Comprehensive reading and study guides provide concise critical excerpts that offer a scholarly overview of each work, "The Story Behind the Story" that details the conditions under which the work was written, a biographical sketch of the author, a descriptive list of characters, and more.[...]

Having true international appeal, James Baldwin was as well known in Istanbul and Paris as he was in Harlem. His reputation was made on incendiary and eloquent essays written and published to mass acclaim in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as a trio of early novels dealing with racism, sexual[...]

Harold Bloom is America's most esteemed literary critic and one of the greatest critical minds of our time. Gathered here are his writings on the indispensable novels and novelists in the Western tradition. "Novelists and Novels" contains the best of Bloom's writing on the greatest novels and noveli[...]

Camus' landmark novel traces the aftermath of a shocking crime and the man whose fate is sealed with one rash and foolhardy act. "The Stranger" presents readers with a new kind of protagonist, a man unable to transcend the tedium and inherent absurdity of everyday existence in a world indifferent to[...]

Hailed as "the reigning queen of women's fiction" ("The Sacramento Bee"), #1 "New York Times "bestselling author Debbie Macomber is renowned for her novels of love, friendship, and the promise of fresh starts. Now Macomber returns to the charming Rose Harbor Inn, where each guest finds a second chan[...]

Editors Marta Deyrup and Beth Bloom have brought together well-known educators from the fields of library science, communication, composition, and education to show you how to develop successful strategies for teaching undergraduates how to conduct basic research and write papers. Chapters cover eac[...]

Do you know the difference between burning one and Burning Man? Does using the name Marley as an adjective make total sense to you? Do you chuckle to yourself when the clock strikes 4:20? Are you convinced that the movie "Dazed and Confused" deserved an Oscar? If you answered "Dude!" to any of these[...]

In this richly illustrated flower book, celebrated photographer Ron Van Dongen (Bloom 2007) matches a flower and fortune to each day of the year. Each page features one of Ron's arresting flower portraits along with a brief personality profile of those born on that particular day.[...]

Why are we so fascinated with Jane Austen's novels? Why is Austen so universally beloved? The essayists in this volume offer their thoughts on the delightful puzzle of Austen's popularity. Classic and contemporary writers--novelists, essayists, journalists, scholars, and a filmmaker--discuss the tri[...]

This text acquaints the reader with Martin Buber's works on scripture and with his endeavour to elucidate the meanings of biblical ideas in ages past and in our own time.[...]