Human life is a staggeringly strange thing. On the surface of a ball of rock falling around a nuclear fireball in the blackness of a vacuum the laws of nature conspired to create a naked ape that can look up at the stars and wonder where it came from.[...]

What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey?. Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface--a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character--and there's that[...]

The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED, begun in 1857, wa[...]

Of all the literary forms, the novel is arguably the most discussed . . . and fretted over. From Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote to the works of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and today's masters, the novel has grown with and adapted to changing societies and technologies, mix[...]

From Terry Castle, the brilliant cultural commentator whom Susan Sontag called "the most expressive, most enlightening literary critic at large today," comes a long-awaited collection of captivating personal essays. The title piece at the heart of the anthology--Castle's candid, wry, and rueful rete[...]

Richard Pryor may have been the most unlikely star in Hollywood history. Raised in his family's brothels, in Peoria, Illinois, by a grandmother who often threatened to kick him upstairs with her size-twelve shoes, he always considered himself a bottom dog. He took to the stage originally to escape t[...]

Now there's a young readers' edition of the hit New York Times bestselling adult book that's sold more than 750,000 copies Did you know the Grinch was on a quest? What does it mean when a hero takes a journey? Or eats green eggs and ham? And what are vampires really about? There's always more to a s[...]

A thoroughly revised and updated edition of Thomas C. Foster's classic guide--a lively and entertaining introduction to literature and literary basics, including symbols, themes, and contexts--that shows you how to make your everyday reading experience more rewarding and enjoyable.While many books c[...]

The national bestseller that chronicles the fascinating story of two extraordinary men and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary now available in a limited Olive Edition. The linguistic detective story of the decade. William Safire, New York Times Magazine

Masterfully researched and elo[...]