Steve Tomasula is a novelist like no other; his experiments in narrative and design have won him a loyal following. Exemplifying Tomasula's style, IN & OZ is a heady, avant-garde book, rooted in convincing characters even as it simultaneously subverts the genre of novel and moves it forward.IN & OZ is a novel of art, love, and auto mechanics. The story follows five different characters-an auto designer, photographer, musical composer, poet/sculptor, and mechanic-who live in two very different places: IN, a back-alley here and now; and OZ, which reflects the desire for somewhere better. The men and women who populate Tomasula's landscape desperately hope to fill a void in their lives through a variety of media: music, language, dirt, light, and automobiles. As the plot moves forward, the story of the residents of INand that of their counterparts in OZconverge. A fanciful allegory that tackles class relations, art, commerce, and language, IN & OZ is a tale of the human condition that is as visually compelling as it is moving.A novel not only for fiction lovers, but also for artists of all stripes, IN & OZ creates a fantasy that illumines our own world as it lucidly builds its own.

A Bird in the House is a series of eight interconnected short stories narrated by Vanessa MacLeod as she matures from a child at age ten into a young woman at age twenty. Wise for her years, Vanessa reveals much about the adult world in which she lives."e;Vanessa rebels against the dominance of age; she watches [her grandfather] imitate her aunt Edna; and her rage at times is such that she would gladly kick him. It takes great skill to keep this story within the expanding horizon of this young girl and yet make it so revealing of the adult world."e;-Atlantic"e;A Bird in the House achieves the breadth of scope which we usually associate with the novel (and thereby is as psychologically valid as a good novel), and at the same time uses the techniques of the short story form to reveal the different aspects of the young Vanessa."e; -Kent Thompson, The Fiddlehead"e;I am haunted by the women in Laurence's novels as if they really were alive-and not as women I've known, but as women I've been."e;-Joan Larkin, Ms. Magazine"e;Not since . . . To Kill a Mockingbird has there been a novel like this. It should not be missed by anyone who has a child or was a child."e;-Pittsburgh Post-GazetteOne of Canada's most accomplished writers, Margaret Laurence (1926-87) was the recipient of many awards including Canada's prestigious Governor General's Literary Award on two separate occasions, once for The Diviners.

During the oppressive reign of Louis XIV, Gabrielle Suchon (1632-1703) was the most forceful female voice in France, advocating women's freedom and self-determination, access to knowledge, and assertion of authority. This volume collects Suchon's writing from two works-Treatise on Ethics and Politics (1693) and On the Celibate Life Freely Chosen; or, Life without Commitments (1700)-and demonstrates her to be an original philosophical and moral thinker and writer.Suchon argues that both women and men have inherently similar intellectual, corporeal, and spiritual capacities, which entitle them equally to essentially human prerogatives, and she displays her breadth of knowledge as she harnesses evidence from biblical, classical, patristic, and contemporary secular sources to bolster her claim. Forgotten over the centuries, these writings have been gaining increasing attention from feminist historians, students of philosophy, and scholars of seventeenth-century French literature and culture. This translation, from Domna C. Stanton and Rebecca M. Wilkin, marks the first time these works will appear in English.

The Arkansas Gazette was born in a log cabin November 20, 1819, on a bank of the Arkansas River. A local establishment donated a barrel of whiskey to celebrate the event. The first issue carried a complaint from a citizen that the town had too many lawyers. When the paper died 167 years later, the problem was not lawyers but corporate executives who had found themselves, to their confusion, in charge of the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi and not knowing what to do with it.

William Gilmore Simms's (1806-1870) body of work, a sweeping fictional portrait of the colonial and antebellum South in all its regional diversity, with its literary and intellectual issues, is probably more comprehensive than any other nineteenth-century southern author. Simms's career began with a short novel, Martin Faber, published in 1833. This Gothic tale is reminiscent of James Hogg's Confessions of a Sinner and was written four years before Edgar Allan Poe's "e;William Wilson."e; Narrated in the first person, it is considered a pioneering examination of criminal psychology. Martin seduces then murders Emily so that he might marry another woman, Constance. Martin confesses to his friend and is killed after attempting to stab Constance when she visits him in jail. The book was immediately successful and was well received by the northern media, thus starting Simms's successful career as a writer, one that would rank him as the only major southern literary figure besides Poe before the Civil War. As with other volumes in the Arkansas Edition of Simms's work, this volume includes a critical introduction by the editor and a Simms chronology, as well as appendices dealing with textual matters. This edition also includes Simms's 1829 story, "e;Confessions of a Murderer,"e; which was the germ for his first book of fiction.

Pairing hilarious poetry with the stunning collage work for which he is famous, Michael Roberts takes on the fashion world letter by letter and in the way only a true insider can in Fashion Victims. This gorgeous, stylish book illustrated and written by the Vanity Fair fashion director, influential stylist, and artist is a witty send-up of the fashion world that will delight style lovers, popular culture aficionados, and art lovers alike with its wit, acute observations, truth, and poignancy. Impeccably designed by Roberts himself, Fashion Victims is a perfect tongue-in-chic gift and a timeless collectible.

The daughter of an over-protective father, Millicent Anderson has never been permitted an ounce of freedomher father has kept her completely sheltered from boys, and even quashed her dream of being a teacher. But when a family trip leads her to tiny Moose Falls, Montana, and she catches sight of bad boy Johnny Pickett, her heart flips -- and before she knows it, she's breaking all the rules to be near him. In Johnny's arms, Millie discovers passion, and Millie is just what Johnny needs to heal after war. When her father tries to separate them by dangling her old dreams before her, however, Millie's forced to make a choice: Will she choose the love of her family and the opportunity to build a career -- or will she leave everything behind for the hot guy she's fallen for?

Branded a traitor and imprisoned for refusing to fight for the Confederacy, Clayton Holland returns home to Cedar Grove, only to be spurned by the townspeople, except for vengeful Meg Warner, who finds her hatred and grief transformed by love.

The author of the bestselling Reality Therapy offers daring recommendations to "shake up educators" (Alexander Bassin).

This thought-provoking guide takes a candid look at the moral issues we face in our daily lives. Using the Ten Commandments as a starting point, the authors bring fresh analysis to such problems as the morality of war in a nuclear age, equitable tax structures, abortion, marital fidelity, capital punishment, care of aging parents, euthanasia, homosexuality, and other contemporary concerns. Beyond Moralism offers solid guidance that is consistent with the Word of God as heard throughout the ages.

From New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens comes her RITA-Award winning tale that shows how one night can change everything . . . forever.Robert "Rogue" Gerrard's reputation paints him as one of the ton's most notorious rakes. But once, long ago, he fell in love . . . and he's never forgotten the scintillating emotion he, then too young, turned his back on. But one stormy night, he discovers himself stranded at an inn with his childhood sweetheart, Lydia Makepeace, who has no business being there alone.Lydia, meanwhile, is horrified to find the one man in England guaranteed to protect her standing between her and the scandalous letter she must, simply must, retrieve.

These days, development inspires scant trust in the West. For critics who condemn centralized efforts to plan African societies as latter day imperialism,?such plans?too closely reflect their roots in colonial rule and neoliberal economics. But proponents of this pessimistic view often ignore how significant this concept has become for Africans themselves. In Bewitching Development, James Howard Smith presents a close ethnographic account of how people in the Taita Hills of Kenya have appropriated and made sense of development thought and practice, focusing on the complex ways that development connects with changing understandings of witchcraft.Similar to magic, development's promise of a better world elicits both hope and suspicion from Wataita. Smith shows that the unforeseen changes wrought by development-greater wealth for some, dashed hopes for many more-foster moral debates that Taita people express in occult terms. By carefully chronicling the beliefs and actions of this diverse community-from frustrated youths to nostalgic seniors, duplicitous preachers to thought-provoking witch doctors-BewitchingDevelopment vividly depicts the social life of formerly foreign ideas and practices in postcolonial Africa.

A timely and multifaceted portrait of the lawyers who serve the diverse constituencies of the conservative movement, Lawyers of the Right explains what unites and divides lawyers for the three major groups-social conservatives, libertarians, and business advocates-that have coalesced in recent decades behind the Republican Party. Drawing on in-depth interviews with more than seventy lawyers who represent conservative and libertarian nonprofit organizations, Ann Southworth explores their values and identities and traces the implications of their shared interest in promoting political strategies that give lawyers leading roles. She goes on to illuminate the function of mediator organizations-such as the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy-that have succeeded in promoting cooperation among different factions of conservative lawyers. Such cooperation, she finds, has aided efforts to drive law and the legal profession politically rightward and to give lawyers greater prominence in the conservative movement. Southworth concludes, though, that tensions between the conservative law movement's elite and populist elements may ultimately lead to its undoing.

Not Without Honor threads together the stories of three American POWs-Carano; his buddy Bill Blackmon, who was also at Stalag 17 b; and John C. Bitzer, who survived the brutal "e;Death March"e; from northern Germany to liberation in April 1945. At times the journal reads like a thriller as he records air battles and escape attempts. Yet in their most gripping accounts, these POWs ruminate on psychological survival. The sense of community they formed was instrumental to their endurance. This compelling book allows the reader to journey with these young men as they bore firsthand witness to the best and worst of human nature.

What can we learn about life, love, and artillery from an eighty-two-year-old man whose favorite hobby is firing his homemade cannonsVisit by visit often with his young daughters in tow author Michael Perry is about to find out.Toiling in a shop Perry describes as "an antique store stocked by Rube Goldberg, curated by Hunter Thompson, and rearranged by a small earthquake," Tom Hartwig makes gag shovel handles, parts for quarter-million-dollar farm equipment, and now and then batches of potentially "extralegal" explosives. As he approaches his sixtieth wedding anniversary with his wife, Arlene, Tom, famous for driving a team of oxen in local parades, has an endless reservoir of stories dating back to days of his prize Model A, and an anti-authoritarian streak refreshed daily by the four-lane interstate that was shoved through his front yard in 1965 and now dumps over 8 million vehicles past his kitchen window every year. And yet Visiting Tom is dominated by the elderly man's equanimity and ultimately when he and Perry converse over the kitchen table as husbands and as the fathers of daughters unvarnished tenderness.

Why is the night sky darkHow do dolphins sleep without drowningWhy do hangovers occurWill time travel ever be a realityWhat makes a knuckleball appear to flutterWhy are craters always round?There's only one source to turn to for the answers to the most puzzling and thought-provoking questions about the world of science: Scientific American. Writing in a fun and accessible style, an esteemed team of scientists and educators will lead you on a wild ride from the far reaches of the universe to the natural world right in your own backyard. Along the way, you'll discover solutions to some of life's quirkiest conundrums, such as why cats purr, how frogs survive winter without freezing, why snowflakes are symmetrical, and much more. Even if you haven't picked up a science book since your school days, these tantalizing Q & A's will shed new light on the world around you, inside you, below you, above you, and beyond!

Here is the American adventure. This extraordinary book reveals the intrepid spirit of Americans through-out their history -- from William Bradford's account of the Mayflower landing to the hardship of a pioneer settler, from little-known stories of great figures to harrowing tales from the Wild West, the World Wars, and September 11, 2001. Told with striking eloquence, these are great American stories, tales of daring, adventure, and bravery told by the people who lived them.Drawn from firsthand and historical writings, American Courage gives voice to the pilgrims, founding fathers, revolutionaries, pioneers, '49ers, cowboys, soldiers, pilots, and the many other heroes who have built the nation. Herbert W. Warden III has made the whole of American history fresh and palpably alive, revealing the national character through the growth of precarious "New World" settlements to the formation and defense of the United States of America. Warden has gathered amazing true stories of both everyday Americans and our most beloved national figures, including Ben Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt, in a collection that will astound and inspire generations of readers.In these pages, a Plymouth colonist recounts her abduction by Indians, Ben Franklin recalls his arrival in Philadelphia as a penniless runaway, Daniel Boone explores Kentucky, and George Washington is sent on a perilous winter mission through the wilderness as a twenty-one-year-old soldier. During the Revolutionary period we hear from participants in the Boston Tea Party, about the fates of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and lesser-known tales of courage from the battlefield. From the War of 1812, a privateer writes of battling the British navy. Davy Crockett reports from inside the Alamo. Andrew Jackson survives a duel to the death. From the Civil War era, a slave mother escapes to the North to be with her children and General James Longstreet gives a harrowing account of Pickett's Charge. Some of the book's most exciting stories come from the western frontier. Here are unbelievable stories of wrestling grizzly bears, Indian warfare, the Pony Express, and gold-rush prospectors. In the twentieth century, Charles Lindbergh recounts his transatlantic flight, soldiers do battle on D-Day and at Okinawa, civil rights pioneers risk their lives, Americans land on the moon, heroes emerge from the tragedy of September 11, 2001.American Courage could not be more timely. Collecting the most daring and exciting reports of American bravery, these are stories of the heart and soul of the country, personal accounts that prove that when the United States is challenged, from the frontier to the Civil War to the space missions to terrorism, individual Americans reveal their true, courageous selves. Highly readable, American Courage is an inspiring chorus of bravery and daring from the men and women whose actions formed a nation.

Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. She was a teenager of astonishing common sense and a national heroine who led men in to battle as a courageous warrior. Yet she was also abandoned by the king whose coronation she secured, betrayed by her countrymen, and sold to the enemy. In this meticulously researched landmark biography, Donald Spoto captures her astonishing life and the times in which she lived. Neither wife nor nun, queen nor noblewoman, philosopher nor stateswoman, Joan of Arc demonstrates that everyone who follows their heart has the power to change history.

Paisley Morro has been in love with Eli since she was thirteen years old. But being his best friend and wingman, while keeping her feelings under wraps, has grown more difficult with every passing year and every new woman in his life. After twelve years, Paisley is tired of the constant heartache and has finally decided it's time to lay all her feelings on the table.Eli Jenkins has the life: his dream job, countless beautiful women, and a best friend who's the one he counts on for everything else. One conversation, however, threatens to not only change everything between them, but possibly cause Eli to lose the only girl who has ever meant anything to him.When a family tragedy forces Eli to take a hard look at his life, he realizes life without Paisley isn't a life at all. Only now, he may be too late.

A proposal she had no choice but to accept . . . Though Eli Grayson is one of the most handsome, charming, and intelligent men in Grayson Grove, no one will take a chance on a confirmed bachelor. Unwilling to give up his dreams, Eli convinces his friend Jewel to pose as his wife. Their masquerade is to last just one night . . . but when word gets out, Eli and Jewel must tie the knot to save his career and her reputation.Became a love she never expected . . . Angry at being forced to turn her life upside down, Jewel never imagined that a white-hot passion would consume her once she and Eli became husband and wife. Sharing a bed has turned their prim friendship into a sensuous love affair . . . but when a woman from Eli's past returns to stir up trouble, he and Jewel will learn just how far they'll go to protect the precious gem of their newfound passion.

Rugged Zach MacKenzie has a dangerous secret that could cost him his one chance to win the woman he wants . . . Rose Dubois became a Harvey Girl and came West looking for a new life and a husband preferably a wealthy rancher. She certainly knows better than to get involved with a no-account cowboy like Zach MacKenzie. He's strong and good-looking enough to stop a girl's breath but the dangerous ruffians he runs with are surely heading for bad ends. So why can't Rose calm her pounding heart whenever he's nearbyBut Zach's only pretending to be no good in order to infiltrate an outlaw gang. If he tells Rose he's really a Texas Ranger, not only is his mission in jeopardy, but both of their lives as well! Yet this spirited filly is everything he ever dreamed of. Her lips are downright irresistible, and her passionate fire burns hot enough to make a smart man do something real stupid . . . like fall in love.