Americans are well aware of lawyers and their many roles. Even those who don’t have personal experience with the law can turn to the countless courtroom dramas and legal thrillers—both real and imagined—on television and at the... Read More

Autism is diagnosed in one out of 150 children. Since it is a lifelong disability families must cope not only with the day-to-day challenges of autism but they must also make plans for providing a lifetime of care. In "Break on Through"... Read More

German police investigator Thomas Freiderich has family scattered all over the world. When he learns that his nephew Jusef may be involved in a planned terrorist attack against the United States he feels compelled to locate the youth and... Read More

Some animals survive in nonnative habitats adapting well when climate and food sources prove favorable. The preteen novel Marvin’s Mysteries tells the story of an exotic animal bred for domestication but lost in a foreign environment.... Read More

In a culture whose media are soaked in hateful anti-gay imagery the malevolent words and deeds of hatemongers like Fred Phelps and legislative initiatives that attempt to deprive gay people of their rights this is a refreshing and... Read More

Oscar Wilde once claimed that life has only two tragedies: “One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” It’s a quote that seems to resonate throughout Jeanne Farewell’s novel, "Old Rye". Old Rye is the... Read More

The Epic of Gilgamesh, Hammurabis Code, Babylon astronomy-the dimly remembered foundations of literature, law and science…It’s an undeniable benefit to have "Civilizations of Ancient Iraq" (note the plural), 190 pages of... Read More

"Digging" collects eighty-four essays and reviews in which the poet, playwright, and critic Amiri Baraka makes an impassioned case for jazz as a central achievement of American culture. Baraka’s 1963 book, Blues People, is a seminal... Read More