A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen

For so many of us a Jane Austen novel is much more than the epitome of a great read. It is a delight and a solace, a challenge and a reward, and perhaps even an obsession. For two centuries Austen has enthralled readers. Few other authors can claim as many fans or as much devotion. So why are we so fascinated with her novels? What is it about her prose that has made Jane Austen so universally beloved?

In essays culled from the last one hundred years of criticism juxtaposed with new pieces by some of today’s most popular novelists and essayists, Jane Austen’s writing is examined and discussed, from her witty dialogue to the arc and sweep of her story lines. Great authors and literary critics of the past offer insights into the timelessness of her moral truths while highlighting the unique confines of the society in which she composed her novels. Virginia Woolf examines Austen’s maturation as an artist and speculates on how her writing would have changed if she’d lived twenty more years, while C. S. Lewis celebrates Austen’s mirthful, ironic take on traditional values.

Modern voices celebrate Austen’s amazing legacy with an equal amount of eloquence and enthusiasm. Fay Weldon reads Mansfield Park as an interpretation of Austen’s own struggle to be as “good” as Fanny Price. Anna Quindlen examines the enduring issues of social pressure and gender politics that make Pride and Prejudice as vital today as ever. Alain de Botton praises Mansfield Park for the way it turns Austen’s societal hierarchy on its head. Amy Bloom finds parallels between the world of Persuasion and Austen’s own life. And Amy Heckerling reveals how she transformed the characters of Emma into denizens of 1990s Beverly Hills for her comedy Clueless. From Harold Bloom to Martin Amis, Somerset Maugham to Jay McInerney, Eudora Welty to Margot Livesey, each writer here reflects on Austen’s place in both the literary canon and our cultural imagination.

We read, and then reread, our favorite Austen novels to connect with both her world and our own. Because, as A Truth Universally Acknowledged so eloquently demonstrates, the only thing better than reading a Jane Austen novel is finding in our own lives her humor, emotion, and love.
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Talking About Detective Fiction

In a perfect marriage of author and subject, P. D. James—one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today—gives us a personal, lively, illuminating exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it. P. D. James examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens’s Bleak House and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, and bringing us into the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Henning Mankell. Along the way she writes about Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie (“arch-breaker of rules”), Josephine Tey, Dashiell Hammett, and Peter Lovesey, among many others. She traces their lives into and out of their fiction, clarifies their individual styles, and gives us indelible portraits of the characters they’ve created, from Sherlock Holmes to Sara Paretsky’s sexually liberated female investigator, V. I. Warshawski. She compares British and American Golden Age mystery writing. She discusses detective fiction as social history, the stylistic components of the genre, her own process of writing, how critics have reacted over the years, and what she sees as a renewal of detective fiction—and of the detective hero—in recent years. There is perhaps no one who could write about this enduring genre of storytelling with equal authority and flair: it is essential reading for every lover of detective fiction.

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Just Passin' Thru: A Vintage Store, the Appalachian Trail, and a Cast of Unforgettable Characters

By Winton Porter
"Collects true accounts about the well-known Appalachian Trail trading post Mountain Crossings and its patrons, in a volume that shares the author's experiences of helping visitors to reunite with loved ones, make chili or otherwise prepare for the 2,200-mile path from Georgia to Maine."
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The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship

The Girls From Ames grew in response to a piece Zaslow wrote about the enduring bonds of women's friendships. He received an email from Jenny Benson Litchman that gave a few details on how the girls met (three were born within a week of each other in a local hospital), what growing up together had been like, and how they still keep in almost daily contact with each other.

Intrigued, Zaslow took a year's leave from work to spend time with the "girls," hoping, no doubt, to find the key to what has kept them so close for so many years. Instead, he discovered what many women could have told him: the friends of one's youth are often the friends who matter the most. They are the ones with whom a million secrets have been shared, fragile dreams have been explored and countless pranks have been pulled. These are the friends who know the best and the worst about each other and, as English poet Robert Southey wrote, they are completely persuaded of each other's worth.

Still, it is extraordinary how these women (10 now, since the early death of one) have maintained such close contact with each other despite lives that have taken them all across the country (none lives in Ames today). They've shared the joys of marriage and childbirth, the pain of divorce, the tragedy of the deaths of children, the fears surrounding breast cancer. They've cried oceans of tears together and laughed so hard they've wet their pants. Or as Cathy says in The Girls of Ames, when asked why their bond remains so strong: "We root each other to the core of who we are, rather than what defines us as adults—by careers or spouses or kids. There's a young girl in each of us who is still full of life. When we're together, I try to remember that."

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Glass Ceilings and 100-Hour Couples: What the Opt-Out Phenomenon Can Teach Us About Work and Family

By Karine Moe
"Over the past 15 years, many highly educated, middle-class women have—whether by inclination or necessity—traded their 50-plus–hour workweeks and considerable paychecks to stay home with their children and enjoy a "saner, less hectic life." Economist Moe and anthropologist Shandy, both of Macalester College, dispassionately dissect the statistics and motivations behind "opting out" to determine whether this recent, still narrow trend denotes a "bellwether," a "fin-de-sicle folly" or just a blip on the cultural radar. The authors also demonstrate how these women differ from the 1950s housewife stereotype. Liberally used economic statistics describe financial sacrifices, potential marital shifts in power and ways to avoid the automatic social invisibility conferred on stay-at-home mothers, while well-placed anecdotes from study subjects weigh flexibility and quality of life for family members. There's no discussion of how recession-proof this trend will be, but this objective analysis provides a calmly informative, readable tool, useful for any couple considering children. "
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India Exposed: The Subcontinent A-Z

By Clive Limpkin
"Retired photojournalist Clive Limpkin traveled to India with his wife for a surprise birthday party. Having heard endless stories about the overwhelming poverty, glacial bureaucracy, and hygienic horrors, what he didn't expect was for the country to surprise him with utter delight. Within twelve hours of landing, he writes in the introduction, he and his wife were "hooked," and spent the next three years crisscrossing the continent. Questions from friends back home got them started on how to define the country. Yes, it was "overloaded, overpopulated, overcooked." There was the garbage, the begging, the red tape. But for all that there were one billion great reasons to visit: the people. As Limpkin writes, "It was not the scenery, nor the wildlife, nor the colors, nor the anarchistic madness than made us fall for the country, but the number of Indians who, with little to their name, still smile in greeting.""
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The Shadows of Youth: The Remarkable Journey of the Civil Rights Generation

A group portrait of leading civil rights activists who comprised the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee draws on original sources to illuminate their challenges to American perspectives on human rights, politics and moral obligation.
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Meltdown Iceland: Lessons on the World Financial Crisis from a Small Bankrupt Island

By Roger Boyes
"An award-winning correspondent presents an authoritative account of the total financial breakdown of the entire country of Iceland in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis, citing the actions of key contributors while offering additional insight into the interconnected nature of the global crisis."
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Real Life on Cannery Row: Real People, Places and Events That Inspired John Steinbeck

"A timeless tour through John Steinbeck's world, REAL LIFE ON CANNERY ROW highlights the unique individuals and memorable moments that influenced Steinbeck's iconic novel. Characters from the novel are brought to life, showcasing true stories behind fictional events. The book offers essential insight into CANNERY ROW and is a helpful companion piece for Steinbeck students and fans".
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The Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar: How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success

Outlines an eleven-part self-education method while describing how the author struggled through school before dropping out in his teens, revealing how he acquired a subsequent education on his own terms and eventually rose to Apple Computer's youngest technical manager.
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What to Do When You Are Fired or Laid Off: A Complete Guide to the Benefits and Legal Rights You Need to Know to Get Back on Your Feet

By P.K Fontana
" This comprehensive guide to the laws and benefits provided to those individuals who have lost their jobs, for whatever reason, will help you discover exactly what you can do to ensure you have the resources you need to salvage your life and your career after losing a job.A complete listing of the requirements your employer is bound to and the legal implications of your particular situation will be provided in multiple chapters broken down to reflect the various situations in which you lost your job. If you were laid off due to a factory closing, you will be given advice on how much of your retirement benefits you are entitled to, how much notice your employer is legally required to provide you (as per the WARN act), and what you can do in the final 60 days to shore up future employment. If your company downsizes, you will be given detailed descriptions of the laws that apply to your workplace according to where you work and how long you have worked there. You will learn what opportunities the federal government provides to those who have lost their jobs, including unemployment benefits and welfare coverage. You will also learn about how you can take advantage of additional workforce training to further your technical skills. You will learn how to handle your taxes while unemployed. You will learn how to know if your firing was legal and if you have a legal basis to reproach your company for laying you off. If you were unfairly terminated, you will be shown how you can approach an attorney and what you need to provide to win your case.Finally, you will be shown which resources and tools are available to help you get back on your feet, finding a new job that utilizes your skills and training. You will learn how you can modernize your skill set with additional training, seek out hiring services, and supplement your income between jobs with temporary or part-time opportunities. Hours of expert opinions have been gathered into this book from hiring managers, employment lawyers, and other experts in the field to help you know exactly what rights you have and what you can do to recover. "
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The Death of Conservatism

Presents a critique of the conservative movement in American politics, arguing that the excesses of the George W. Bush administration represented a low point for the ideology and advocating a return to moderate political discourse.
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Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson

Documents the rise of the iconic boxer against a backdrop of the mid-twentieth century, describing his Harlem youth and emergence as a symbol of black America while offering insight into his athletic talents and his relationships with such figures as Langston Hughes, Lena Horne, and Miles Davis.
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The Worst-Case Scenario Business Survival Guide: How to Survive the Recession, Handle Layoffs, Raise Emergency Cash, Thwart an Employee Coup,and Avoid

Describes how to effectively manage a business during a time of economic crisis, including making payroll, boosting employee morale, and marketing a business on a tight budget.
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The Letter and the Scroll: What Archaeology Tells Us About the Bible

A lavishly illustrated survey of archaeological finds that augment our understandings of biblical cultures features profiles of ancient cities, captioned photographs of important relics and descriptions of archaeological discoveries that reflect historical events and people.
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A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa

"A 350-year history of South Africa traces the mid-seventeenth-century influence of Dutch Calvinist farmers sent to colonize the cape region, through the birth of the racist regime that established the apartheid system, to the emergence of Nelson Mandela."
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Things That Go Boom or Fly, Float, and Zoom!

"Outlines the steps for creating 20 safe homemade projects that demonstrate key engineering and mechanical principles, from a pyrotechnic rocket made from an empty juice carton to a light-sensitive robot mouse that follows a flashlight path."
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Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts With Worry

By Lenore Skenazy
"Skenazy has drawn from her column for the New York Sun to offer advice to parents like her. Well, not like her, but who think they might want to be, at least in some ways. She begins with the 14 free-range commandments, which include avoid experts, eat chocolate, be worldly, get braver, and listen to the kids. Then she provides an alphabetical review of every possible danger to children that she has heard of at least twice (once if it is really funny). Among them are death by stroller, Internet predators and other skeeves online, toilets, school shootings, lunch spoilage, teen sex, playing in the woods, and walking to school or the bus stop. Strangers with candy get a section all to themselves. "
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Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English

"A revised and expanded edition of a best-selling reference, written by a former editor of the New York Times Book Review, shares whimsical, plain-language explanations of common grammatical errors, frequently mispronounced words, and routinely misused terms and phrases."
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P.S. Your Cat Is Dead

By James Kirkwood
"Actor and fledgling writer Jimmy Zoole finds his life caught in downward spiral as his girlfriend leaves him, he loses his job, his best friend is dead, and his apartment has been robbed twice, a situation that culiminates on New Year's Eve when Eddie, a bisexual burglar, returns once again."
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Dark Mirror

By Barry Maitland
"Detective Inspector Kathy Kolla investigates the inexplicable arsenic poisoning of London student Marion Summers, who had moved three years prior without leaving a forwarding address and whose stepfather has an unsavory past ... and present."
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The Leisure Seeker

By Michael Zadoorian
"John and Ella Robina, a couple married 50+ years--she has stopped her cancer treatments, he has Alzheimer's-- kidnap themselves from the adult children and the doctors who seem to run their lives, and steal off on a forbidden vacation determined to prove that, when it comes to life, you can go back for seconds and sneak a little extra time."
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The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

"A Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter identifies 10 multicultural influences most believed to be shaping the Catholic church throughout the next century, citing such factors as biotechnical advances, globalization and the expanding roles of the laity."
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The Vampire Archives: The Most Complete Volume of Vampire Tales Ever Published

"An extensive anthology compiles eighty stories by genre masters from Bram Stoker and H. P. Lovecraft to Anne Rice and Stephen King, in a volume that also provides a comprehensive bibliography of vampire fiction."
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Laura Ashley

"Welsh designer Laura Mountney was born in 1925 and married Bernard Ashley in 1949. She started her fashion empire humbly — on her kitchen table in Pimlico — where she designed and produced distinctive scarves using her husband's silk screen. Her taste for and imaginative use of rustic, romantic fabrics with flowery patterns became a hit in British department stores in the early 1950s. Popularized by Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 film Roman Holiday, head scarves were just one component of a business that would soon touch every area of couture and home decor, from dresses and blouses to household textiles and furnishings. Examining Ashley's art against the background of her life, and showcasing little-seen images of her creations, Martin Wood tells the story of the brand one woman created and built into a worldwide phenomenon that continues to resonate today in the phrase "Laura Ashley style.""
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John Cheever: Complete Novels

Published to coincide with editor Blake Bailey's groundbreaking new biography, here are the five novels of John Cheever, together in one volume for the first time. In these dazzling works Cheever laid bare the failings and foibles of not just the ascendant postwar elite but also the fallen Yankee aristocrats who stubbornly and often grotesquely and hilariously cling to their shabby gentility as the last vestige of former glory. Complete Novels gathers: the riotous family saga The Wapshot Chronicle (winner of the National Book Award) and its sequel The Wapshot Scandal (winner of the William Dean Howells Medal); the dark suburban drama Bullet Park (a magnificent work of fiction, John Gardner remarked in The New York Times Book Review); the prison novel Falconer, a radical departure that met with both critical and popular acclaim; and the lyrical ecological fable Oh What a Paradise It Seems. A companion volume, Collected Stories and Other Writings, is the largest edition of Cheever's stories ever.
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Singer Collected Stories: A Friend of Kafka to Passions

Presents a collection of sixty-five short stories.
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Planet Ape

By Desmond Morris
"Describes the physiology, habitat, social interactions, and ecology of the great apes, including orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees."
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Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America

By Beryl Satter
"Satter (history, Rutgers U.) provides an account of racist real-estate practices and policies in post-war Chicago and the struggles against them. She focuses in particular on the practice of "contract sellers" selling homes to black buyers at vastly inflated prices and with onerous interest and eviction provisions, a practice that was made possible by the redlining of black people by the banks and was responsible for the creation of the slums by sucking millions of dollars of wealth out of black communities. At the heart of her account are the efforts of her father, attorney Mark J. Satter, to expose and battle the profiteers and the subsequent work carried out by the Contract Buyers League."
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American Medical Association Guide to Preventing and Treating Heart Disease: Essential Information You and Your Family Need to Know about Having a Hea

A leading group of medical experts presents an authoritative guide to preventing and treating heart disease, discussing risk factors for both genders, the causes of and therapeutic options for common heart problems, strategies for lifestyle changes, warning signs and symptoms of a problem, heart-healthy nutrition and exercise, and other important topics.
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Best American Sports Writing

"Brings together the year's finest writing on sports. Chosen from more than 350 national, regional and specialty publications, the twenty five pieces here embrace the world of sports in all its drama, humanity, and excitement." Check Our Catalog

Best American Political Writing

"A must-have anthology for political junkies, Best American Political Writing compiles the year’s best political stories from a variety of publications and points of view, in a single, comprehensive volume. Culling from the most memorable reporting of what promises to be a thrilling political year, the 2009 American Political Writing edition will include incisive coverage of the new Obama presidency and its impact nationwide, as well as the most pressing political concerns facing America today—from the depressed economy to our participation in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
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Best American NonRequired Reading

"Presents literature from mainstream and alternative American periodicals, including fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, television writing, and alternative comics."
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When Someone You Love Needs Nursing Home, Assisted Living, or In-Home Care: The Complete Guide

Robert F. Bornstein, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Adelphi University and has published more than 150 articles and book chapters on personality dynamics, diagnosis, and treatment.

Mary A. Languirand, Ph.D., is coauthor of The Thinking Skills Workbook, a pioneering treatment manual for cognitive remediation in older adults. A counselor for older adults and their families, as well as health professionals, she specializes in the complexities of nursing home, assisted care, and in-home services.

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Wolf Hall: A Novel

By Hilary Mantel

Assuming the power recently lost by the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell counsels a mercurial Henry VIII on the latter's efforts to marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of Rome and many of his people, a successful endeavor that comes with a dangerous price.
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The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas

By William J. Bennett

A radio talk-show host and best-selling author unveils the heart and life of the man who inspired the modern-day version of Santa Claus, in a story about Saint Nicholas's selfless giving, due to his devotion to God, in third-century Turkey.
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Supernatural Saratoga Springs: Haunted Place and Famous Ghosts of the Spa City

By Mason Winfield

Amid the famous mineral springs and horse races, Saratoga Springs is a hub for the supernatural. Author Mason Winfield, operator of Saratoga's Haunted History Ghost Walks, chronicles the Spa City's spookiest legends, from the Iroquoian zombie-like vampires to Benedict Arnold's Halloween apparitions. The heart of the city brims with lore, as Covens work in secret in the Devil's Den and phantoms linger at the Arcade on Broadway. In the shadow of the Adirondacks, spectral lights appear on remote Snake Hill, and the Woman in White haunts Saratoga Spa State Park. Explore the creepiest legends of Saratoga history, where some gamblers never leave and demons lurk in the forests.
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Selling Your House in a Tough Market: 10 Strategies That Work

Providing practical and legal information on selling a home in a down market, the authors include the most recent economic legislation and cover such topics as knowing whether the price is right; hiring professionals; how to set a house apart from the pack; how and when to consider other options, including renting; and negotiating the sale.
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The Secret Lives of Buildings: From the Ruins of the Parthenon to the Vegas Strip in Thirteen Stories

By Edward Hollis
"A strikingly original, beautifully narrated history of Western architecture and the cultural transformations that it represents.

Concrete, marble, steel, brick: little else made by human hands seems as stable, as immutable, as a building. Yet the life of any structure is neither fixed nor timeless. Outliving their original contexts and purposes, buildings are forced to adapt to each succeeding age. To survive, they must become shape-shifters.

In an inspired refashioning of architectural history, Edward Hollis recounts more than a dozen stories of such metamorphosis, highlighting the way in which even the most familiar structures all change over time into “something rich and strange.” The Parthenon, that epitome of a ruined temple, was for centuries a working church and then a mosque; the cathedral of Notre Dame was “restored” to a design that none of its original makers would have recognized. Remains of the Berlin Wall, meanwhile, which was once gleefully smashed and bulldozed, are now treated as precious relics.

Altered layer by layer with each generation, buildings become eloquent chroniclers of the civilizations they’ve witnessed. Their stories, as beguiling and captivating as folktales, span the gulf of history."
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Rock Climbing

Experts present the basic techniques and skills for indoor and outdoor rock climbing, appropriate gear and equipment, and safety tips.
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The Pattern In The Carpet; A Personal History With Jigsaws

By Margaret Drabble
"The Pattern in the Carpet, which the author insists is not a memoir, combines the appeal of one’s childish occupations—and the personal memories that surround them—with an adult’s curiosity about their origins. Having recently renounced writing fiction, Drabble here draws instead on many disparate facets of her life. She does it sometimes briskly, sometimes enigmatically, always inventively.
Jigsaw puzzles, one “way of getting quietly through life until death,” are Drabble’s first love, and a perfect allegory for the baffling parts of life that never quite seem to fit together until their time comes. Surprisingly, they were invented as early as the 1700s. Jigsaws went through several historical changes, from “dissected maps” at the start to super-sophisticated Jackson Pollocks in the 1960s. Those are just a few tidbits of the history Drabble recounts here, but the personal touch is never far behind. Auntie Phyl, her trusty jigsaw puzzle partner, and other family members (including her estranged sister and fellow novelist A.S. Byatt) make appearances, adding a human element.
Despite the author’s disclaimers, this quirky book shares many qualities with the memoir. Without the memories of the people in her life who used them, a hopscotch history of the incredible world of human time-killers that existed before TV and the Internet might have been arid and lifeless. But read it fast; many of these games and occupations may be gone before you next look up from the page. " (Book Page Reviews)
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The Humbling

By Philip Roth

"The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Pastoral offers the story of Simon Axler--an actor in his sixties who has lost his wife, his audience and confidence in his talent--whose risky and aberrant desire points toward a dark and shocking end." (Baker & Taylor)

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How To Start A Home-Based Jewelry Making Business

By Maire Loughran
"Counsels aspiring businesswomen on how to transform a promising jewelry-making hobby into a profitable sideline or full-time career, sharing advice on a wide range of topics from developing a sales style and cultivating professional relationships to pricing pieces and setting up a Web site. " (Publisher Description)
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How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint; 365 Simple Ways To Save Energy, Resources and Money

By Joanna Yarrow
"How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint is the world citizen's guide to pushing back the advance of global warming. This colorful handbook offers 500 practical, easily achievable ideas that conserve energy, prevent pollution, and save money. Did you know that unplugging appliances and cell phone chargers when not in use can reduce electricity bills by 10 percent? Or that recycling just one glass bottle saves enough power to run a computer for 30 minutes? Whether the subject is jet travel, dishwashing, or any of the 50 topics in the book, surprising statistics and innovative graphics will inspire action and demonstrate that simple habits can lead to big results." (Hatchette Book Group)
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Homesteading; A Backyard Guide To Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Energy And More

By Abigail Gehring
"Whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or even the wilderness, there is plenty you can do to improve your life from a green perspective. Got sunlight? Start container gardening. With a few plants, fresh tomatoes, which then become canned tomato sauce, are a real option. Reduce electricity use by eating dinner by candlelight (using homemade candles, of course). Learn to use rainwater to augment water supplies. Make your own soap and hand lotion. Consider keeping chickens for the eggs. From what to eat to supporting sustainable restaurants to avoiding dry cleaning, this book offers information on anything a homesteader needs--and more." (Norton Pub)
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Do-It-Yourself-Guide To Preventing Costly Home Repairs; Over 1900 Simple Maintenance Tips..

By Reader's Digest

"Provides advice and tips on maintaining the exterior and interior of a house with inexpensive everyday objects, including pipecleaners, nail polish, and basic tools, preventing costly repairs and damages in the future." (Publisher Description) Check Our Catalog

Best American Mystery Stories

By Jefferey Deaver
"Like previous anthologies in this "best of" series, the impressive 13th volume favors crime stories over whodunits. As series editor Otto Penzler notes in his foreword, "it has become increasingly difficult to find... a new murder method, or an original way to hide a vital clue" (though some may wonder why Deaver passed over Hal White's impossible crime puzzler, "Murder at the Fall Festival," listed in the appendix of "Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2008"). Readers interested in psychology will be more than satisfied by such tales as Joyce Carol Oates's "Dear Husband," a heartrending first-person account of a mother who slaughtered her children, and Tom Bissell's "My Interview with the Avenger," about a vigilante superhero. As always, part of the pleasure derives from exposure to writers who have yet to gain the acclaim they deserve, such as Randy Rohn ("The Man Who Fell in Love with the Stump of a Tree") and Jonathan Tel ("Bola de la Fortuna"). "
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Burying Don Imus; Anatomy Of A Scapegoat

By Michael Awkward
"Awkward posits that as a nation we overreact to comments such as Imus’s-as objectionable as they may be-while failing to understand the historic oppression of African Americans and how it has affected all Americans, black and white alike. What is it about hate speech humor that attracts listeners? Awkward examines the appeal of “Imus in the Morning” and widens his focus to look at other race-related controversies, such as the Duke Lacrosse team accusation and subsequent media coverage. Who delivers a message is of paramount importance to public reaction; for example, whites making jokes about blacks and blacks making jokes about themselves are two very different things. The author has done his research; witness his ten pages of footnotes and extensive bibliography. This is an impressive look at the history of shock radio, especially Don Imus’s contribution “to popular culture and political debate,” and racial politics. " (ForeWard Magazine Review)
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Beyond The Homestretch; What I've Learned From Saving Racehorses

By Lynn Reardon

"The director of a racehorse-adoption ranch, which has saved more than 600 horses from the slaughterhouse, offers an inside look at the world of horseracing--complete with colorful horses, jockeys, trainers and gallop girls--that depicts the insight horses and other animals can offer when people re-evaluate their relationship with them.....In this riveting account, Reardon encounters dozens of unruly racehorses, all with special needs, unusual histories, and distinct personalities. As she fumbles to help them find new careers, they return the favor by becoming her most memorable mentors in horsemanship and life philosophy." (Publisher Description)
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The Anti-Communist Manifestos; Four Books That Shaped The Cold War

By John V. Fleming
"Hell hath no fury like a communist converted and, more so, one who knows how to wield a typewriter. In this lively, bookish tale, medievalist, retired Princeton professor and, importantly for this story, amateur bookbinder Fleming examines the curious careers of four fellow travelers whose conversions away from the cause occasioned once-important books. As the author notes at the outset, their anti-communism means, in the broadest sense, opposition not to socialism but to Stalinism, brought on by personal betrayals and intrigues on one hand and the appalling spectacle of show trials, purges and the Nazi-Soviet concordaton the other. Each of these writers had a checkered career. ...Each wrote books that helped turn the tide away from viewing the Soviet Union as an erstwhile ally and toward considering it a voracious, empire-hungry bear with an appetite for American babies. ...A readable, illuminating discussion of the role of books and ideas, and their sometimes strange originators, in the making of political crusades." (Kirkus Reviews)
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