Essays that explore the meaning of politics, love, and spiritual life in American poetry from Whitman to the present

Zarek's Point of View: Dark-Hunter: A soulless guardian who stands between mankind and those who would see mankind destroyed. Yeah, right. The only part of that Code of Honor I got was eternity and solitude. Insanity: A condition many say I suffer from after being alone for so long. But I don't suffer from my insanity-I enjoy every minute of it. Trust: I can't trust anyone...not even myself. The only thing I trust in is my ability to do the wrong thing in any situation and to hurt anyone who gets in my way. Truth: I endured a lifetime as a Roman slave, and 900 years as an exiled Dark-Hunter. Now I'm tired of enduring. I want the truth about what happened the night I was exiled-I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Astrid (Greek, meaning star): An exceptional woman who can see straight to the truth. Brave and strong, she is a point of light in the darkness. She touches me and I tremble. She smiles and my cold heart shatters. Zarek: They say even the most damned man can be forgiven. I never believed that until the night Astrid opened her door to me and made this feral beast want to be human again. Made me want to love and be loved. But how can an ex-slave whose soul is owned by a Greek goddess ever dream of touching, let alone holding, a fiery star?

An extended ethnographic essay that explores the socially produced, narratively mediated, and relatively unconscious ideological responses of people--scholars and folk--to a history of race and class domination, with specific reference to several distinct though inter- related spheres of folkloric symbolic action concerning the working classes of Mexican-American south Texas. Paper edition (unseen), $15.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

One of the Boston Globe’s Best Sports Books of the Year: “Incisive, heartbreaking, important and even funny” (Jeremy Schaap, New York Times–bestselling author of Cinderella Man). The people of Brazil celebrated when it was announced that they were hosting the World Cup—the world’s most-viewed athletic tournament—in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics. But as the events were approaching, ordinary Brazilians were holding the country’s biggest protest marches in decades. Sports journalist Dave Zirin traveled to Brazil to find out why. In a rollicking read that travels from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the fabled Maracanã Stadium to the halls of power in Washington, DC, Zirin examines Brazilians’ objections to the corruption of the games they love; the toll such events take on impoverished citizens; and how taking to the streets opened up an international conversation on the culture, economics, and politics of sports. “Millions will enjoy the World Cup and Olympics, but Zirin justly reminds readers of the real human costs beyond the spectacle.” —Kirkus Reviews

Since 1978 in China, foreign direct investment has served as a driver of change that has brought the country into the modern economic world. Mao Zedong had shut out the foreign devilsEuropeans, Japanese, Americans and other outsiders. He created chaos in an economy that was long on suffering but short on foreign currency, technology and capital. In this detailed account, Dick K. Nanto explores how foreign companies came in tofill the gaps in Chinas economy and helped it to become a manufacturing marvel. Hefocuses on topics such as how: Industrialization has created a socialist economy with Chinese characteristics thatare reflected in industrial policy, governmental institutions, state-owned enterprises, the push to climb the high-technology ladder, indigenous innovation, and the drive to create more national champion companies. Chinese are investing abroad, entering the home turf of multinational corporationsand raising issues related to national security. Foreign enterprises are now being squeezed as Beijing seeks to replace them withcompanies of its own. Businesspeople, entrepreneurs, international business students, politicians, and anyoneinterested in how things get done in China will find engaging, informative, andcomprehensive information in Chinas Dance with the Foreign Devils.

A sorceress and a police detective track a reborn Jack the Ripper through historically recreated cities, from Victorian London to Montezuma's Mexico City.

Dreams might be a heart’s desire, but nightmares are its obsession in the first novel of a dark romance series from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas. Erika Fane’s boyfriend's older brother is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college's basketball team gone pro, he's more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than he is with her. But she saw him. She heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid... For years, Erika bit her nails, unable to look away. Now, she’s in college, but she hasn’t stopped watching him. He’s bad and the things she’s seen aren’t content to stay in her head anymore. Because he's finally noticed her. But Michael Crist knows the hold he has on Rika, how much she fears him. She looks down when he enters the room and stills when he’s close. He knows she thinks only of him. When Michael’s brother leaves for the military, leaving Rika alone and unprotected, he knows the opportunity is too good to be true. Three years ago she put Michael’s friends in prison, and now they’re free. Every last one of her nightmares is about to come true.