After years of pining for the girl next door, 15-year-old Matthew Wainwright must deal with Tabby dating a popular senior just when he needs her most in this fiercely funny and heart-wrenching debut novel.

A concise, “colorful, well-told” history of the City by the Bay, from the Gold Rush to the Summer of Love to the twenty-first century (Los Angeles Times). This is the story of San Francisco, a unique and rowdy tale with a legendary cast of characters. It tells of the Indians and the Spanish missions, the arrival of thousands of gold seekers and gamblers, crackbrains and dreamers, the building of the transcontinental railroad and the cable car, labor strife and political shenanigans, the 1906 earthquake and fire, two World Wars, two World's Fairs, two great bridges, the beatniks and hippies and New Left—a story that is so marvelous and wild that it must be true. A new afterword from the author in this updated third edition brings The City into the twenty-first century—a time just as hectic, experimental, and opportunistic as its rambunctious past.

Worldwide Appreciation of the Short Story Form Spans Cultures and Centuries! In this concise volume, Gulnaz Fatma traces the short story from its origins in fables, ancient poetry, and tales such as "The Arabian Nights," to its modern form in the early American stories of Irving, Poe, and Hawthorne, and then through the twentieth century and throughout the world. The elements of what makes a short story are presented along with a discussion of the difficulties in defining the genre. The short story's relation to the novel as well as its uniqueness as its own form are deftly presented. While the American and European traditions of the short story take up much of this book, the final chapter is a thorough presentation of the short story's development in India. Anyone interested in the short story--teachers, students, writers, and readers--will find this volume informative, thoughtful, and a welcome addition to our understanding of one of literature's most dynamic forms. Gulnaz Fatma is an Indian writer and author. She is a research scholar in the Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India. "As a fiction writer who has also taught the short story form, I was impressed by the thoroughness and insight presented in this concise book. Fatma's broad exploration of the short story form is backed by numerous supporting examples and her chapter on the short story in India will introduce many readers to that country's own literary gems." --Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning "Narrow Lives" From the World Voices Series www.ModernHistoryPress.com Literary Criticism: Short Stories Literary Criticism: Asian - General

A superb history of the world's people during the last four million years, beginning before the human race moved out of Africa to explore and settle the other continents. Mr. Blainey explores the development of technology and skills, the rise of major religions, and the role of geography, considering both the larger patterns and the individual nature of history. A delightful read, gracefully written, and full of odd and interesting pieces of information as well as thoughtful comparisons that span both time and space. —William L. O'Neill

The heroes and villains, triumphs and disasters of English history are instantly familiar -- from the Norman Conquest to Henry VIII, Queen Victoria to the two World Wars. But to understand their full significance we need to know the whole story. A Short History of England sheds new light on all the key individuals and events in English history by bringing them together in an enlightening account of the country's birth, rise to global prominence, and then partial eclipse. Written with flair and authority by Guardian columnist and London Times former editor Simon Jenkins, this is the definitive narrative of how today's England came to be. Concise but comprehensive, with more than a hundred color illustrations, this beautiful single-volume history will be the standard work for years to come.

What is a shogun? Who were the samurai and what is the warrior code? What lies behind the Japanese work ethic? From the ancient tea ceremony to the boom and subsequent downturn of its economic prosperity, this uniquely concise introduction to Japan and its history surveys nearly 10,000 years of society, culture, economics and politics. Balancing economic and political information with new insights into the twin spheres of art and religion, Mikiso Hane offers authoritative coverage of all aspects of Japanese life. With a particular focus on the key events of the last 200 years, the author also pays special attention to the changing conditions of those whose history has been so frequently neglected - the women, the peasants, and the lowest order of untouchables. Well-rounded and enlightening, this informative account of Japan and its people will be greatly appreciated by historians, students and all those with an interest in this diverse and enigmatic country.