A lively biography of Athénaïs de Montespan, the powerful mistress of France's King Louis XIV, reveals the woman behind the throne of the Sun KIng, discussing her remarkable influence on the political
In the tradition of Jo Ann Beard's Boys of My Youth, and Mary Karr'sThe Liar's Club, Paula McLain has written a powerful and haunting memoir about the years she and her two sisters spent as foster chi
For the first time in paperback comes the magnificent, copiously illustrated companion volume to the landmark PBS television series. 400+ illustrations, many in full color.
The "New York Times" bestselling oral history of "Saturday Night Live" that finally reveals what really went on backstage, on the set, in the writers' offices and on the town is now in paperback.
With all the poignancy, hilarity, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her fiction, Ellen Gilchrist introduces a gallery of unforgettable characters-Southern women and men whose off-kilter lives are d
In this unique tribute, veteran journalist and award winning author Pete Hamill remembers and pays tribute to the legacy of Frank Sinatra. Why Sinatra Matters draws on Hamill's years-long friendship
Lucky Lunt is an endangered species: a third generation lobsterman who works the same Maine waters as his father and grandfather in a boat called The Wooden Nickel. He can identify every car in town f
Black Mischief, " Waugh's third novel, helped to establish his reputation as a master satirist. Set on the fictional African island of Azania, the novel chronicles the efforts of Emperor Seth, assist
Rick Moody's novels have earned him a reputation as a "breathtaking" writer (The New York Times) and "a writer of immense gifts" (The San Francisco Examiner). His remarkable short stories have led
A portrait of the rock musician's life and career notes his impact on the music industry, the achievements that brought him fame in the mid 1970s, his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an
Now in paperback, the bestselling authors of "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend" distill their collective spiritual wisdom in a book that explains how the elements of a monk's life--self-disc
Since Einstein's time, a "theory of everything" -- one coherent mathematical model that would encompass all the forces and particles of nature -- has become the Holy Grail of physics, and it
In 1952, Hellman joined the ranks of intellectuals and artists called before Congress to testify about political subversion. Terrified yet defiant, Hellman refused to incriminate herself or others, an
A highly regarded science journalist--the coauthor of the award-winning study, Fuzzy Logic--explores the complexities of the human face, from its physiology to its ability to convey meaning to its cap
Jack Crabb, hero of Little Big Man and beloved chronicler of the Wild West, is back in the saddle again. This time he meets, drinks with, and rides with Bat Masterson, Annie Oakley, and Doc Holliday,
This slip-cased edition offers the two volumes of arguably the first serious biography of Elvis Presley that refuses to dwell on his myth. Aiming instead to portray in vivid, dramatic terms the life a
As a fourteen-year-old boy from a small Midwestern town, Charles Mee believed in God, family, and his future, which, at the very least, included girls and a long spell as a hometown football hero. But
Twelve short stories by the National Book Award finalist of Pugilist at Rest follow the stories of mental hospital affiliates, including a Vietnam vet, a brilliant but burned out doctor, and a young a
The critically acclaimed author of Victory Over Japan offers an anthology of twenty new short stories that range in setting from a Los Angeles medical clinic that caters solely to hypochondriacs to th
Subtitled "A Novel of Many Manners, " Evelyn Waugh's notorious first novel lays waste the "heathen idol" of British sportsmanship, the cultured perfection of Oxford, and the inviolable honor codes of
The Ebony Tower, comprising a novella, three stories, and a translation of a medieval French tale, echoes themes from John Fowles's internationally celebrated novels as it probes the fitful relations
This spectacular illustrated history tells the story of the last Romanovs - one of the great tragic love stories of all time - with unparalleled vividness & intimacy. The text, which follows Nicholas
On the heels of his award-winning and extravagantly praised first novel, RED EARTH AND POURING RAIN, Vikram Chandra offers five ingeniously linked stories--a love story, a mystery, a ghost story, and
Writing with grace, wit, and remarkable candor, actress Claire Bloom looks back at her crowded life: her accomplishments on stage and screen; her romantic liaisons with some of the great leading men o
It was a big bestseller when it was originally published in 1969. It became a major motion picture that provided Robert DeNiro with his first film role. Its title has entered into the language as a ca
For sheer government absurdity, the War on Drugs is hard to beat. After three decades of increasingly punitive policies, illicit drugs are more easily available, drug potencies are greater, drug killi
The first novel by the acclaimed author of The Ice Storm and Purple America traces a group of friends in Haledon, New Jersey, through one spring in their rocky passage toward adulthood. They are out
From the first, it was an adventure. In 1971, at age twenty-five, Galdikas left the placid world of American academia for the remote jungles of Indonesian Borneo. Living with her husband in a primitiv
The bombing of Hiroshima was one of the pivotal events of the twentieth century, yet this controversial question remains unresolved. At the time, General Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur,
In New York Days, the long-awaited sequel to the prize-winning North Toward Home, Willie Morris recalls his triumphant, exciting, and ultimately devastating years as the youngest ever editor-in-chief
Tuberculosis - the greatest killer of all time - has claimed more than a billion lives worldwide. Dr. Frank Ryan tells the remarkable story of the handful of dedicated doctors, chemists and bacteriolo
When Katie Roiphe arrived at Harvard in the fall of 1986, she found that the feminism she had been raised to believe in had been radically transformed. The women's movement, which had once signaled su
Every Shut Eye Ain't Asleep is a rich collection of the work of post-World War II African-American poets. It brings together the voices of the most important African-American poets of our time, beginn
John D. Barrow's Pi in the Sky is a profound -- and profoundly different -- exploration of the world of mathematics: where it comes from, what it is, and where it's going to take us if we follow it to
A detailed history of the slave trade examines its causes and consequences, shows how African leaders attempted to halt it, and portrays European attitudes towards Africa
Combining archeological evidence and scholarly research, Davidson traces the exciting development of the rich kingdoms of the lost cities of Africa, fifteen hundred years before European ships first c
Laced with cynicism and truth, "A Handful of Dust" satirizes a certain stratum of English life where all the characters have money, but lack practically every other credential. Murderously urbane, it
This thrilling novel of a doctor's life has been the subject of a Mobil Masterpiece Theatre dramatic series on PBS. "Cronin's distinguished achievement. . . . No one could have written as fine, h
Since the late 1950's, Robert Coles has been studying, living with, and, above all, listening to the American poor. The result is one of the most vigorous and searching social studies ever undertaken
