Political scientists and social choice theorists often assume that economic diversification within a group produces divergent political beliefs and behaviors. Michael Dawson demonstrates, however, that the growth of a black middle class has left race as the dominant influence on African- American politics. Why have African Americans remained so united in most of their political attitudes? To account for this phenomenon, Dawson develops a new theory of group interests that emphasizes perceptions of "linked fates" and black economic subordination.

Jacky is a translator. He’s a bit of an eccentric. And he can’t quite understand why the alluring and beautiful girl at the bar wants to talk to him. Even more perplexing is the tattered book she carries with her but won’t let him touch. Written in an indecipherable language—even for him—it contains, quite impossibly, what appear to be photographs of her own murder. When she disappears hours later and the book comes into his possession, suspicion falls on him. Pursued by the police and armed with nothing but the book she has left behind, an unwavering determination, and the assistance of the world’s most annoying man, Jacky must race through Paris to solve the mystery and find the missing girl. A wholly original, comical tale of intrigue, betrayal and romance, this is the curious story of the world’s most enigmatic book.

A novel about the recession generation and a young couple who turn to drug trafficking to make it through.

This comprehensive analysis of the complex relationship of black political thought identifies which political ideologies are supported by blacks, then traces their historical roots and examines their effects on black public opinion.

Critically acclaimed throughout Spain, and now available for the first time in English, this tender, satirical novel vividly captures the intrinsic absurdity of war—and the joys of true friendship in a place where it is difficult to distinguish man from beast. Juan Castro Pérez is a simple muleteer caught in the brutal Spanish Civil War. Never far from his closest companion—a stray mule named Valentina whom he is determined to keep for himself after the war—Juan engages in the low-brow drinking escapades, long shots at love, and an otherwise droning existence shared by his compatriots. As he lies, cheats, and steals to protect Valentina during his improbable odyssey home, Juan unwittingly “fights” for both sides—and becomes a reluctant and unlikely hero of the people, exploited by opportunistic journalists desperately trying to convince the Spanish public that the war is under control, when it is anything but…. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Reflects on black politics in America and what it will take to to see equality.

"Lydia Peelle has given us a collection of stories so artfully constructed and deeply imagined they read like classics. It marks the beginning of what will surely be a long and beautiful career." —Ann Patchett In Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing, Lydia Peelle brings together eight brilliant stories—two of which won Pushcart Prizes and one of which won an O. Henry Prize—that peer straight into the human heart. In startling and original prose, she examines lives derailed by the loss of a vital connection to the land and to the natural world of which they are a part. Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing conveys an almost Faulknerian ache for the pre-modern South, for a landscape and a way of life lost to the ravages of money and technology.