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Myself with Others: Selected Essays
by Carlos FuentesIn Myself with Others, Fuentes has assembled essays reflecting three of the great elements of his work: autobiography, love of literature, and politics. They include his reflections on his beginning as a writer, his celebrated Harvard University commencement address, and his trenchant examinations of Cervantes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Borges.
Raw Deal: How the "Uber Economy" and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers
by Steven Hill"What's going to happen to my job?"That's what an increasing number of anxious Americans are asking themselves. The US workforce, which has been one of the most productive and wealthiest in the world, is undergoing an alarming transformation. Increasing numbers of workers find themselves on shaky ground, turned into freelancers, temps and contractors. Even many full-time and professional jobs are experiencing this precarious shift. Within a decade, a near-majority of the 145 million employed Americans will be impacted. Add to that the steamroller of automation, robots and artificial intelligence already replacing millions of workers and projected to "obsolesce" millions more, and the jobs picture starts looking grim. Now a weird yet historic mash-up of Silicon Valley technology and Wall Street greed is thrusting upon us the latest economic fraud: the so-called "sharing economy," with companies like Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit allegedly "liberating workers" to become "independent" and "their own CEOs," hiring themselves out for ever-smaller jobs and wages while the companies profit. But this "share the crumbs" economy is just the tip of a looming iceberg that the middle class is drifting toward. Raw Deal: How the "Uber Economy" and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers,by veteran journalist Steven Hill, is an exposé that challenges conventional thinking, and the hype celebrating this new economy, by showing why the vision of the "techno sapien" leaders and their Ayn Rand libertarianism is a dead end. In Raw Deal, Steven Hill proposes pragmatic policy solutions to transform the US economy and its safety net and social contract, launching a new kind of deal to restore power back into the hands of American workers.
Exploring Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: An Unauthorized Adventure Through The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass
by Lois H. GreshHis Dark Materials is one of the most popular, award-winning fantasies of all time, a bestselling trilogy hailed as "a modern classic" by The New York Times.Now, for the first time ever, Lois H. Gresh helps young readers examine Pullman's intricate universe with Exploring His Dark Materials, the ultimate companion guide. Gresh's fun, interactive book explores the complex science, religion, and fantastic elements of His Dark Materials in a way that's both informative and fun for younger readers. Exploring His Dark Materials is filled with sidebars, history, facts and an in-depth analysis of the books, answering questions like:*What are daemons?*Why is dust important to the series?* Is Dark Material real and how does it relate to our universe?* What are the origins of ghosts and shapeshifters?*And much more!Exploring His Dark Materials is a thrilling and essential guide for young adults to help them explore this fantastic and challenging fantasy world.
The Wild One (A Brooklyn Girls Novel)
by Gemma BurgessSweet, innocent Coco has always been the good one. But when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, she decides it's time to break bad.Coco swiftly goes from spending all her time baking and reading to working nights in (and dancing on) a bar, falling in and out of love (and lust), stealing education - and along the way discovers that she is stronger than she ever knew... In a time when her best friends are suddenly plunged into break ups, break-downs, big breaks, and on the verging of quitting New York City altogether, it's up to Coco to keep them together and find herself along the way.Gemma Burgess' The Wild One: A Brooklyn Girls Novel is the inspiring story about the turmoil, uncertainty, and heartache that every twenty something faces and survives - with the help of her friends.
The Accidental Pope: A Novel
by Robin Moore Ray FlynnThe former US Ambassador to the Vatican and the bestselling author of The French Connection join forces to write an unforgettable, compelling novel about a humble fisherman who is elected as the next Pope.Locked in a stalemate after days of voting, the College of Cardinals struggles through the arduous process of electing a new pope after the death of Pope John Paul II. In an effort to break the impasse at the conclave, Brian Comiskey, Cardinal Primate of All Ireland, in a stunning surprise development, withdraws from the race. Explaining his decision, he offers an anecdote about being among a boat load of clerics who were caught in an unexpected storm, then miraculously rescued by his friend Bill Kelly, a former priest and now a Cape Cod fisherman. The next day at the Sistine Chapel, still undecided about who they should vote for, the Cardinals smile to themselves as they cast what they think are throw-away symbolic votes for Bill Kelly--but no one is laughing when he is elected Pope. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, Bill Kelly is on his boat at sea when he has a very clear and disturbing revelation: God is once again calling him to serve his Church. Thus begins the reign of the first American Pope.Written with the style of bestselling novelist Robin Moore and the political brilliance and authority of former U. S. Ambassador Raymond Flynn, The Accidental Pope is not a religious book about politics, nor a political book about religion, but a story that gives insight into the Vatican and the role of the Holy See in world events. The Accidental Pope is a globetrotting tale full of suspense, drama, and humor.
Fort Pillow: A Novel of the Civil War
by Harry TurtledoveIn April 1864, the Union garrison at Fort Pillow was comprised of almost six hundred troops, about half of them black. The Confederacy, incensed by what it saw as a crime against nature, sent its fiercest cavalry commander, Nathan Bedford Forrest, to attack the fort with about 1,500 men. The Confederates overran the fort and drove the Federals into a deadly crossfire. Only sixty-two of the U.S. colored troops survived the fight unwounded. Many accused the Confederates of massacring the black troops after the fort fell and fighting should have ceased. The "Fort Pillow Massacre" became a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion.Harry Turtledove has written a dramatic recreation of an astounding battle, telling a bloody story of courage and hope, freedom and hatred. With brilliant characterization of all the main figures, this is a novel that reminds us that Fort Pillow was more than a battle---it was a clash of ideas between men fighting to define what being an American ought to mean.
How to Move to Canada: A Primer for Americans
by Carol Bennett Terese Loeb KreuzerAn easy-to-use, step-by-step guide to calling Canada homeMore and more Americans are thinking of moving to Canada to find a job, attend colleges and universities, peace of mind---even retirement---and whatever their motivations, they will have to navigate the Canadian immigration, citizenship, and naturalization processes. So whether you're thinking about moving or already have your bags packed, How to Move to Canada is for you. It's a straightforward, friendly, informative handbook that delivers on its promise, providing readers with a thorough understanding of what to expect and where to get help and more information.How toMove to Canada offers:--A realistic appreciation of what Canada has to offer Americans --Snapshots of Canada's provinces and territories and their major cities --Interviews with immigration experts and Americans who have emigrated to Canada --An immigration checklist and a comprehensive list of resources to consult for more information --Real-life, hands-on perspectives, and invaluable advice How to Move to Canada makes the move north feel possible, supplying readers with a clear understanding of what they'll need in order to make a run for the border.
Loot: And Other Stories
by Nadine GordimerMasterly new fiction from the recipient of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureA startling new work: ten fictions, each a revelation of our interior lives, each entering unforeseen contexts of our contemporary world. In the title story, an earthquake exposes both an ocean bed strewn with treasure among the dead and the avarice of the town's survivors. In "The Diamond Mine," a woman recalls her youthful surreptitious sexual initiation, while she and her parents chauffeured a young soldier to his wartime embarkation. The anopleles mosquito brings death to the saunas and other playgrounds of the developed world in "The Emissary." "Mission Statement" is the story of a development agency official's idealism, the ghosts of colonial history, and a love affair with a government official that ends astoundingly. "The Generation Gap" turns the "gap" upside down when a father's bid for freedom shocks his adult children. In "Homage," one of Europe's aliens visits the grave of the politician he was paid to assassinate. In "Karma," Gordimer's inventiveness knows no bounds: in five returns to the earthly life, taking on different ages and genders, a disembodied narrator testifies to unfinished business--critically, wittily--and questions the nature of existence.
Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn
by Chris Hughes"...deeply felt and cogently argued...Hughes makes a powerful case that deserves a respectful hearing." —The Financial TimesFacebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues that the best way to fight income inequality is with a radically simple idea: a guaranteed income for working people, paid for by the one percent.The first half of Chris Hughes’s life played like a movie reel right out of the “American Dream.” He grew up in a small town in North Carolina. His parents were people of modest means, but he was accepted into an elite boarding school and then Harvard, both on scholarship. There, he met Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz and became one of the co-founders of Facebook. In telling his story, Hughes demonstrates the powerful role fortune and luck play in today’s economy. Through the rocket ship rise of Facebook, Hughes came to understand how a select few can become ultra-wealthy nearly overnight. He believes the same forces that made Facebook possible have made it harder for everyone else in America to make ends meet. To help people who are struggling, Hughes proposes a simple, bold solution: a guaranteed income for working people, including unpaid caregivers and students, paid for by the one percent. The way Hughes sees it, a guaranteed income is the most powerful tool we have to combat poverty and stabilize America’s middle class. Money—cold hard cash with no strings attached—gives people freedom, dignity, and the ability to climb the economic ladder. A guaranteed income for working people is the big idea that's missing in the national conversation. This book, grounded in Hughes’s personal experience, will start a frank conversation about how we earn in modern America, how we can combat income inequality, and ultimately, how we can give everyone a fair shot.
Peril on the Sea: A Novel
by Michael CadnumIt is the summer of 1588 and a pair of unlikely shipmates is traveling on the Vixen, a privateer that will soon be drafted to join a flotilla of English ships bound for a fiery clash with the Spanish Armada. Seventeen-year-old Sherwin is aboard to repay a debt he owes the ship's roguish captain, Brandon Fletcher. Sixteen-year-old Katharine is sailing with them in a desperate bid to save her noble family's fortune. The fight will be harrowing and bloody, and the unfolding tumult will challenge the character of both Sherwin and Katharine, who are about to discover the deeper meaning of strife and of honor. This fascinating tale affords an unusual view of one of the most important naval encounters in history, as a kindling romance between two young people takes place amidst a reluctant race to battle.
Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine
by Richard P. SloanPharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives. Surgeons who pray in the OR. Pro-life clinics and end-of-life interventions, intelligent-design activists and stem-cell-research opponents. Is this the state of modern medicine in America?In Blind Faith, Dr. Richard P. Sloan examines the fragile balance and dangerous alliance between religion and medicine—two practices that have grown disconcertingly close during the twenty-first century. While Sloan does not dispute the fact that religion can bring a sense of comfort in times of difficulty, he nevertheless believes, and in fact proves, that there is no compelling evidence that faith provides an actual cure for any ailment. By exposing the flawed research, Sloan gives readers the tools to understand when good medical science is subverted and, at the same time, provides a thought-provoking examination into the origins and varieties of faith, and human nature itself.
Saturday Night Dirt (Motor Novels)
by Will WeaverIt's a sizzling summer Saturday, and Headwaters Speedway has suddenly become the place to be. Thanks to rainouts across the state, this small-town dirt track is drawing both big-time stock cars and local drivers. There's Trace Bonham, whose Street Stock Chevy is acting up in a big way. And Beau Kim, whose "stone soup" Modified has been patched together from whatever parts he could scrape up. And no one could forget Amber Jenkins, a strawberry blonde who has what it takes to run rings around them all. Keeping everyone on track is Melody Walters, who knows that the impending rain might be exactly what they need to keep her father's speedway afloat—or sink it for good.In Will Weaver's high-revving novel, the first in the Motor series, a cast of car-obsessed teens and adults are all out to prove themselves, both on and off the quarter-mile track, as they move through their day on a collision course to meet on Saturday night dirt.Saturday Night Dirt is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Bad Girl Gone
by Temple MathewsA recently deceased girl must solve her own murder in order to escape purgatory in Bad Girl Gone by Temple Mathews.Sixteen year-old Echo Stone awakens in a cold sweat in a dark room, having no idea where she is or how she got there. But she soon finds out she’s in Middle House, an orphanage filled with mysteriously troubled kids. There’s just one problem: she’s not an orphan. Her parents are very much alive.She explains this to everyone, but no one will listen. After befriending a sympathetic (and handsome) boy, Echo is able to escape Middle House and rush home, only to discover it sealed off by crime scene tape and covered in the evidence of a terrible and violent crime. As Echo grapples with this world-shattering information, she spots her parents driving by and rushes to flag them down. Standing in the middle of street, waving her arms to get their attention, her parents’ car drives right through her. She was right. Her parents are alive—but she’s not. She’s a ghost, just like all the other denizens of Middle House. Desperate to somehow get her life back and reconnect with her still-alive boyfriend, Echo embarks on a quest to solve her own murder. As the list of suspects grows, the quest evolves into a journey of self-discovery in which she learns she wasn’t quite the girl she thought she was. In a twist of fate, she’s presented with one last chance to reclaim her life and must make a decision which will either haunt her or bless her forever.
The Thirty-third Hour: A Novel
by Mitchell ChefitzThe Thirty-third Hour opens at midnight Saturday, in the study of Rabbi Arthur Greenberg, the leader of the largest synagogue in Miami. The Rabbi has until 9 a.m. Monday morning, thirty-three hours, to investigate a sex ethics charge brought against one of his colleagues by a member of the congregation, Brenda, an attractive widow and the mother of an autistic son.That colleague, Moshe Katan, an associate from Arthur's seminary days, has been leading an experimental family education program at the synagogue, bringing together parents and children to explore the stories of the Bible in new and challenging ways. Now, piled on Arthur's desk are the video and audio recordings of these sessions and Brenda's journal, which he has to review in a desperate attempt to avoid a disastrous scandal. The reader becomes judge and jury as Arthur seeks to find out what happened and, in the process, undergoes a spiritual transformation himself.
Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet
by Christopher Wolf Abraham H. FoxmanEmboldened by anonymity, individuals and organizations from both left and right are freely spewing hateful vitriol on the Internet without worrying about repercussions.Lies, bullying, conspiracy theories, bigoted and racist rants, and calls for violence targeting the most vulnerable circulate openly on the web.And thanks to the guarantees of the First Amendment and the borderless nature of the Internet,governing bodies are largely helpless to control this massive assault on human dignity and safety. Abe Foxman and Christopher Wolf expose the threat that this unregulated flow of bigotry poses to the world.They explore how social media companies like Facebook and YouTube, as well as search engine giant Google, are struggling to reconcile the demands of business with freedom of speech and the disturbing threat posed by today's purveyors of hate. And they explain the best tools available to citizens, parents, educators, law enforcement officers, and policy makers toprotect thetwin values of transparency and responsibility. As Foxman and Wolf show, only an aroused and engaged citizenry can stop the hate contagion before it spirals out of control - with potentially disastrous results.
The Kardashians: An American Drama
by Jerry OppenheimerFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Rich comes a blockbuster unauthorized biography of one of the most famous and ubiquitous family dynasties in contemporary culture: The Kardashians.Secrets and scandals of the Kardashians, so closely held that not even hard core fans have heard about them, are finally exposed in New York Times bestselling author Jerry Oppenheimer's forensic dissection of the infamous reality TV clan. From the curious life of patriarch Robert Kardashian, whose family meatpacking business was tainted by scandal, to “momager” Kris Jenner’s top-secret plan for the future, The Kardashians reveals the untold, definitive story based on two years of investigative reporting and scores of candid, on-the-record interviews, ranging from childhood friends to powerful business associates, who break their silence for the first time. In the decade since the Kardashians first appeared on the scene, millions of speculative words have been written about their drama-filled lives. But most has been tabloid hype and gossip column fantasy. Until now. Oppenheimer has written revelatory books on such international icons as the Clintons, the Kennedys, the Hiltons and more, and now comes The Kardashians, the true story that will make headlines and shock even the most loyal fans.
A Girl's Gotta Eat: A Novel
by Michelle ValentineA slick talking, cunning sex siren, Remmi comes from humble beginnings and a tragic past, but is determined to make it in the male-dominated, dog-eat-dog world of Hollywood—using any and every one to make her dreams a reality. Only associating with those who can assist her climb up the success ladder, Remmi encounters a slew of suitors, each who in some way, have a hand in helping her.Remmi takes L.A. by storm, quickly joining the ranks of Hollywood's elite and becoming one of its most sought after new talents. But as she navigates through the Hollywood scene, she leaves a trail of deception in her path. The film world embraces her but all is not necessarily forgotten. History eventually catches up to Remmi, threatening to snatch everything she's worked so hard to get away from her. In an effort to save her career, her image and ultimately her own skin, Remmi is willing to get down, dirty and scandalous. After all, a girl's gotta eat…
Better Than the Best Plan (Sticker Mosaics #6)
by Lauren MorrillLauren Morrill's Better Than the Best Plan is a fresh, funny, romantic YA novel about a teenage girl who finds an unexpected silver lining in her life when plans get turned upside down.Plans are made to be broken.It’s the last day of junior year, and seventeen-year-old Ritzy—short for Maritza—is pretty sure she has a great plan. Summer job—check. Hang with friends at the beach—check. Keep looking after herself as she’s been doing since her mom bailed to follow her bliss—check. Or no check?After someone reports that Ritzy is living alone, a social worker shows up and puts her into foster care. That’s surprise enough. Even more surprising? Ritzy has been in foster care before, as an infant, and the woman who cared for her then takes her in again. But maybe the greatest surprise of all for Ritzy is that living with her foster mother, Kristin, in Kristin’s gorgeous house, isn’t all that bad. And neither is the cute, friendly boy next door. If Ritzy’s mom hadn’t gotten her back all those years ago, this is the life she could have had. But is it the life she should have had?When Ritzy’s old life catches up with her new one, she has some decisions to make. Can she plan for the worst, but still hope for the best?
Letters from Cleo and Tyrone: A Feline Perspective on Love, Life, and Litter
by L. Virginia Browne Linda HamnerTyrone: "Never - but never - come when your name is called. In fact, the moment you hear your name, compress your body into the size of an olive, become as still and invisible as a salesperson at Bloomingdale's, and go back to sleep."Cleo: "...then my daddy got to the check-in desk and announced in a loud stentorian voice that his stupid cat was constipated. Hey, buddy, could you say it a little louder? I don't think the folks in Ames, Iowa, heard you."From dreaming of catnip fields and tummy rubs to driving their mommies crazy, Cleo and Tyrone keep a busy schedule. But they take time out to correspond and share their thoughts - polemics really - about dogs, fashion, real estate, medical science, fine dining, cinema, poetry (haiku included), and the pitiful state of their owners' social lives.More than treatises on the feline and human condition, this is also a love story. Cleo and Tyrone often dramatically - ok, melodramatically - compare themselves to Romeo and Juliet, blaming their evil owners for keeping them apart. Cleo and Tyrone can each be vain, self-centered and manipulative, but somehow, in spite of all their scheming ways, they still manage to wrap their furry little paws around your heart and hold on for a lifetime.
How to Win Friends, Kick Ass & Influence People: A Memoir
by Lynne RussellAfter fifteen years of international exposure as an anchor for CNN's Headline News, Lynne Russell has become one of the most recognized and beloved women working in broadcast journalism. Renowned for her on-air combination of professionalism and irrepressible energy, Russell is every bit as remarkable off camera as she is on. Not only does she know her way around a newsroom, but as a private investigator, bodyguard, and black belt, she is a force to be reckoned with.Russell writes, for the first time, about her amazing life, from her memories of childhood as a self-described nomad following her army father around the globe, to a frank look at her ill-advised early marriage, to her steady rise through the ranks of radio and television. Then she turns her attention to what her remarkable achievements have taught her about work, love, body language, and the best little shoe store on the Champs Elysée, and gives us her gutsy advice for life today.
The Time Pirate (Nick McIver Time Adventures)
by Ted BellA thrilling sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller Nick of Time, in which the young time traveler Nick McIver must prove his courage once more, on two fronts: in World War Two-era England, where Nazis have invaded his homeland, and in America during the Revolution, where Nick stands shoulder to shoulder with General George WashingtonIt's 1940 and the Nazis are invading Nick's beloved home, the British Channel Islands. So Nick takes to the skies: He has discovered an old World War One fighter plane in an abandoned barn. Determined to learn to fly, he is soon risking life and limb to photograph armed German minelayers and patrol boats, and executing incredibly perilous bombing raids over Nazi airfields by night.Meanwhile, the evil pirate, Captain Billy Blood, still desperate to acquire Nick's time machine, returns to Greybeard Island. He kidnaps Nick's sister, Kate, and transports her back to Port Royal, Jamaica, in the year 1781, leaving Nick a message that if he wants to see her alive again, he must come to Jamaica and make an even swap: Kate's life in exchange for Nick's wondrous time machine--that's Blood's bargain.Having traveled back in time, Nick discovers a plot that might change the outcome of the American Revolution. Disguised as an eighteenth-century cabin boy, he travels to the Caribbean and confronts his old enemy, who has assembled the world's largest pirate armada.From the battlefields of the New World to the brutal German occupation of English soil in World War Two, Ted Bell's The Time Pirate has Nick McIver fighting once again to defend his country, the outcome of two wars resting on his young shoulders.
The Skin of the Sky: A Novel
by Elena PoniatowskaThe Skin of the Sky is the fascinating and haunting story of the life of Lorenzo de Tena, a brilliant Mexican astronomer. Born in the 1930s, the illegitimate son of a businessman and a peasant woman, Lorenzo lives happily with his mother, brothers, and sisters on their mother's farm on a small plot of land outside Mexico City. When Lorenzo's mother dies, his father brings the children to live with him in the capital. Thrust into a privileged world, the children struggle to adjust, and an angry Lorenzo turns to the study of the stars to find solace. He pursues his studies at Harvard, then returns to Mexico, where he attempts to do first-world scientific research in a third-world country. A complex and contradictory man, Lorenzo strives to make his country a better place for all her people, especially the very poor and disenfranchised. Setting traditional beliefs against technological progress, and personal sacrifice against professional achievement, The Skin of the Sky details the efforts of a country to join the twenty-first century, and paints the portrait of a lonely man who can find true contentment and satisfaction only in the stars.
Five Plays: Cyprian's Prayer, The Crime in the Whistler Room, This Room and This Gin and These Sandwiches, Beppo and Beth, and The Little Blue Light
by Edmund WilsonFrom the author of To the Finland Station and The Triple Thinkers comes a collection of five extraordinary plays.Collected together in one volume, these selected plays by Edmund Wilson includes such works as Cyprian's Prayer, The Crime in the Whispering Room, This Room and This Gin and These Sandwiches, Beppo and Beth, and The Little Blue Light.
The Caiplie Caves: Poems
by Karen SolieThe award-winning poet Karen Solie’s striking fifth collection of poetry blends the story of a seventh-century monk with contemporary themes of economic class, environmentalism, and solitude in an ever-connected worldif one asks for a signmust one accept what’s given?Ethernan, an Irish missionary in the seventh century, retreated to the Caiplie Caves on the eastern coast of Scotland to consider life as a hermit. In The Caiplie Caves, Karen Solie’s fifth collection of poems, short-listed for the T. S. Eliot Prize, Solie inhabits a figure inspired by Ethernan, a man torn between the communal and the contemplative. His story is remarkable for the mysticism embedded in the ordinary; as Solie writes in her preface, Ethernan is not known for supernatural feats, but “is said to have survived for a very long time on bread and water.” Interwoven with the voice of this figure are poems whose subjects orbit the physical location of the caves and join the sharply contemporary to the mythic past: the fall of a coal-fired power station; a “druid shouting astrology” outside a liquor store, putting “the Ambien in ambience”; seabirds “frontloaded with military tech”; the dichotomous nature of the stinging nettle. These are meditations on the crisis of time and change, on class, power, and belief. Above all, these are ambitious and exhilarating poems from one of today’s most gifted poetic voices.
What on Earth Have I Done?: Stories, Observations, and Affirmations
by Robert FulghumRobert Fulghum's new book begins with a question we've all asked ourselves: "What on Earth have I done?" As Fulghum finds out, the answer is never easy and, almost always, surprising. For the last couple of years, Fulghum has been traveling the world - from Seattle to the Moab Desert to Crete - looking for a few fellow travelers interested in thinking along with him as he delights in the unexpected: trick-or-treating with your grandchildren dressed like a large rabbit, pots of daffodils blooming in mid-November, a view of the earth from outer space, the mysterious night sounds of the desert, every man's trip to a department store to buy socks, the raucous all-night long feast that is Easter in Greece, the trials and tribulations of plumbing problems and the friendship one can strike up with someone who doesn't share the same language. What on Earth Have I Done? is an armchair tour of everyday life as seen by Robert Fulghum, one of America's great essayists, a man who has two feet planted firmly on the earth, one eye on the heavens and, at times, a tongue planted firmly in his cheek. Fulghum writes to his fellow travelers, with a sometimes light heart, about the deep and vexing mysteries of being alive and says, "This is my way of bringing the small boat of my life within speaking distance of yours. Hello…"