From the author of "On The Road" comes this story of two menenganged in a passionate search for Dharma or truth. Their majoradventure is the pursuit of the Zen Way, which takes them climbinginto the high sierras to seek the lesson of solitude.

Vicki Forman gave birth to Evan and Ellie, weighing just a poundat birth, at twenty-three weeks gestation. During the delivery shebegged the doctors to "let her babies go" she knew all too wellthat at twenty-three weeks they could very well die and, if theysurvived, they would face a high risk of permanent disabilities.However, California law demanded resuscitation. Her daughter diedjust four days later; her son survived and was indeed multiplydisabled: blind, nonverbal, and dependent on a feeding tube. ThisLovely Life tells, with brilliant intensity, of what became of theForman family after the birth of the twins the harrowing medicalinterventions and ethical considerations involving the sanctity oflife and death. In the end, the longdelayed first steps of afive-year-old child will seem like the fist-pumping stuff of atriumph narrative. Formans intelligent voice gives a sensitive,nuanced rendering of her guilt, her anger, and her eventualacceptance in this portrait of a mothers fierce love for herchildren.

Kenneth Trachtenberg, the witty and eccentric narrator of"More Die of Heartbreak," has left his native Paris for theMidwest. He has come to be near his beloved uncle, theworld-renowned botanist Benn Crader, self-described aplantvisionary.a While his studies take him around the world, Benn, arestless spirit, has not been able to satisfy his longings afterhis first marriage and lives from affair to affair and from ablissto breakdown.a Imagining that a settled existence will end hisanguish, Benn ties the knot again, opening the door to a flood ofnew torments. As Kenneth grapples with his own problems involvinghis unusual lady-friend Treckie, the two men try to figure out whygifted and intelligent people invariably find themselves aknee-deepin the garbage of a personal life.a

Nine strokes from an old country church toll out the death ofan unknown man and call Lord Peter Wimsey to one of his mostbaffling cases. Set in the strange, flat fen-country of EastAnglia, this is a classic tale of suspense by a master ofmystery.

Tiny Patrick Henry College, a Christian school just outsidethe nations capital, grooms ambitious young evangelicals intotomorrows conservative elite. The future front lines of politics,entertainment, and science will be commanded by these idealisticgraduates, who plan to lead the battle in reclaiming a godlessnation. Hanna Rosins "superb work of extended reportage" (ChicagoSun Times)takes us into the halls and dorms and hearts of PatrickHenry, following students from the campus to the White House,Congress, conservative think tanks, Hollywood, and other keycenters of influence. Lively and evenhanded, her account revealsthe evangelical movement at a moment of crisis and climax, itsfuture leaders struggling to resist the temptations of modern lifeeven as they try to remake the world in their image. Hanna Rosinhas crafted a vibrant, insightful look at kids who may very well bein charge of our country someday.

A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which sparesno one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital,but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealingfood rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to thisnightmare who guides seven strangers-among them a boy with nomother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears-through the barrenstreets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundingsare harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation anda vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century,Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayalof man's worst appetites and weaknesses-and man's ultimatelyexhilarating spirit. The stunningly powerful novel of man's will tosurvive against all odds, by the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize forLiterature

Hailed as a classic upon its first publication in 1934, TheValleys of the Assassins firmly established Freya Stark as oneof her generation's most intrepid explorers. The book chroniclesher travels into Luristan, the mountainous terrain nestled betweenIraq and present-day Iran, often with only a single guide and on ashoestring budget. Stark writes engagingly of the nomadic peoples who inhabit theregion's valleys and brings to life the stories of the ancientkingdoms of the Middle East, including that of the Lords of Alamut,a band of hashish-eating terrorists whose stronghold in the ElburzMountains Stark was the first to document for the RoyalGeographical Society. Her account is at once a highly readabletravel narrative and a richly drawn, sympathetic portrait of apeople told from their own compelling point of view. This edition includes a new Introduction by Jane FletcherGeniesse, Stark's biographer.

Narrated by a fifteen-year-old girl with a ruthless regard fortruth, The Last Life is a beautifully told novel of lies andghosts, love and honor. Set in colonial Algeria, and in the southof France and New England, it is the tale of the LaBasse family,whose quiet integrity is shattered by the shots from agrandfather's rifle. As their world suddenly begins to crumble,long-hidden shame emerges: a son abandoned by the family before hewas even born, a mother whose identity is not what she has claimed,a father whose act of defiance brings Hotel Bellevue-the familybusiness-to its knees. Messud skillfully and inexorably describeshow the stories we tell ourselves, and the lies to which we cling,can turn on us in a moment. It is a work of stunning power from awriter to watch.

city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which sparesno one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital,but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealingfood rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to thisnightmare who guides seven strangers-among them a boy with nomother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears-through the barrenstreets, and the procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundingsare harrowing. A magnificent parable of loss and disorientation anda vivid evocation of the horrors of the twentieth century,Blindness has swept the reading public with its powerful portrayalof man's worst appetites and weaknesses-and man's ultimatelyexhilarating spirit. The stunningly powerful novel of man's will tosurvive against all odds, by the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize forLiterature.

"Drinking a toast to the visible world, his impendingdisappearance from it be damned." That's how John Updike describesan elderly character in his remarkable final collection. He mighthave been talking about himself. In My Father's Tears, Updikerevisits his people, places, and themes--Americans in suburbs,cities, and small towns grappling with faith and infidelity--invivid portraits of the aged, people for whom the past has becomeparamount. My Father's Tears is a superb set of tales that is avital and unforgettable farewell.

Hans Christian Andersen was the profoundly imaginative writerand storyteller who revolutionized literature for children. He gaveus the now standard versions of some traditional fairy tales - withan anarchic twist - but many of his most famous tales sprangdirectly from his imagination. The thirty stories here range fromexuberant early works such as "The Tinderbox" and "The Emperor'sNew Clothes" through poignant masterpieces such as "The LittleMermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling," to more subversive later talessuch as "The Ice maiden" and "The Wood Nymph."

This blood-and-thunder tale, lifelike and thoroughly cynical, certainly carries the ring of authenticity ... a great triumph.' - Independent The exciting thriller that has Westminster buzzing. Here is a political thriller writer with a marvellous inside track knowledge of government.' - Daily Express It has pace, a beguiling authenticity and a cast of Achilles heels.' - Daily Telegraph What a brilliant creation F.U. is.' - Sunday Telegraph

Ruth Anne "Bone" Boatwright, an illegitimate young girl,dreams of escaping her Greenville County, South Carolina, home, hernotorious, hard-living family, and the unwanted attentions of herabusive stepfather, Daddy Glen. A first novel. Reprint. NationalBook Award finalist. NYT.

More than twenty-five years after the groundbreaking movie "StarWars: A New Hope" first hit the silver screen, "Star Wars" remainsone of the most beloved sagas ever told. Together, the threeoriginal "Star Wars" movies-"A New Hope," "The Empire StrikesBack," and "Return of the Jedi"-told one epic: a heroic tale ofinnocence lost and wisdom gained, of downfall and redemption, ofthe never-ending fight between the forces of good and evil. Readthe story of the movies-all three in one trade paperback volume-andrediscover the wonder of the legend that begins: "A long time ago,in a galaxy far, far away . . ."Luke Skywalker lived and worked onhis uncle's farm on the remote planet of Tatooine, but he yearnedto travel beyond the farthest reaches of the universe to distant,alien worlds. Then Luke intercepted a cryptic message from abeautiful, captive princess . . . and found himself catapulted intothe adventure of a lifetime. Luke Skywalker, proud Princess Leia,and headstrong Han Solo . . . merciless Darth Vader, wise Ob

Arriving in the New World, Europeans were awestruck by acontinent awash with birds. Today tens of millions of Americansbirders have made a once eccentric hobby into something somainstream it's (almost) cool. Scott Weidensaul traces the colorfulevolution of American birding: from the frontier ornithologists whocollected eggs between border skirmishes to the society matrons whoorganized the first effective conservation movement; from theluminaries with checkered pasts, such as convicted blackmailerAlexander Wilson and the endlessly self-mythologizing John JamesAudubon, to the awkward schoolteacher Roger Tory Peterson, whose "AField Guide to the Birds" prompted the explosive growth of modernbirding. Spirited and compulsively readable, "Of a Feather"celebrates the passions and achievements of birders throughoutAmericcan history.

The young life of Daoud Hari–his friends call him David–hasbeen one of bravery and mesmerizing adventure. The Translator is asuspenseful, harrowing, and deeply moving memoir of how one personhas made a difference in the world, an on-the-ground account of oneof the biggest stories of our time: the brutal genocide under wayin Darfur. In 2003, Daoud Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman, was among the hundredsof thousands of villagers attacked and driven from their homes bySudanese-government-backed militia groups. Though Hari’s villagewas burned to the ground, his family decimated and dispersed, hehimself escaped, eventually finding safety across the border. Withhis high school knowledge of languages, Hari offered his servicesas a translator and guide. In doing so, however, he had to returnto the heart of darkness–and he has risked his life again and againto help ensure that the story of his people is told while there isstill time to save them.

The enthralling international bestseller. We are in the centerof Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeoisfamilies. RenA(c)e, the concierge, is witness to the lavish butvacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms toevery stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted totelevision. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, RenA(c)e is acultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japaneseculture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives ofthe buildingas tenants, who for their part are barely aware of herexistence. Then thereas Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She isthe daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented andstartlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on thesixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she willcontinue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocrepre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not anoutstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma andRenA(c

Two classic plays translated by a Pulitzer Prize-winning poetinto English verse. In The Misanthrope, society itself is indictedand the impurity of its critics motives is exposed. In Tartuffe,the bigoted and prudish Orgon falls completely under the power ofthe wily Tartuffe. Introductions by Richard Wilbur.

Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse isperfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love ormarriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering inthe romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings ofher good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitablematch for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soonunravel and have consequences that she never expected. With itsimperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle explorationof relationships, "Emma" is often seen as Jane Austen's mostflawless work.