At first, all Lily Austin knows about 19th–century explorer Mary Kingsley is that, 100 years before, she was the first white woman to venture into the heart of Africa. But as Lily begins reading about Mary Kingsley, she becomes more and more fascinated – and discovers in Mary a kindred spirit. In her own life, Lily feels trapped – on the one hand, she craves family and intimate connection; on the other hand, she has no healthy or satisfying role models. Consequently, as she nears graduation from the University of Virginia, she finds herself uncertain about what to do with her life. As she researches Mary's life – she has begun writing a play about her – Lily comes to witness Mary's incredible bravery and startling originality, qualities that prove inspirational to Lily, whose own bravery is required as she attempts to navigate dysfunctional and destructive relationships with her young husband, her extended family – and a legacy of abuse dating back to her childhood.

By the author of Foreskin's Lament, a novel of identity, tribalism, and mothers. Seventh Seltzer has done everything he can to break from the past, but in his overbearing, narcissistic mother's last moments he is drawn back into the life he left behind. At her deathbed, she whispers in his ear the two words he always knew she would: "Eat me." This is not unusual, as the Seltzers are Cannibal-Americans, a once proud and thriving ethnic group, but for Seventh, it raises some serious questions, both practical and emotional. Of practical concern, his dead mother is six-foot-two and weighs about four hundred and fifty pounds. Even divided up between Seventh and his eleven brothers, that's a lot of red meat. Plus Second keeps kosher, Ninth is vegan, First hated her, and Sixth is dead. To make matters worse, even if he can wrangle his brothers together for a feast, the Can-Am people have assimilated, and the only living Cannibal who knows how to perform the ancient ritual is their Uncle Ishmael, whose erratic understanding of their traditions leads to conflict. Seventh struggles with his mother's deathbed request. He never loved her, but the sense of guilt and responsibility he feels--to her and to his people and to his "unique cultural heritage"--is overwhelming. His mother always taught him he was a link in a chain, thousands of people long, stretching back hundreds of years. But, as his brother First says, he's getting tired of chains. Irreverent and written with Auslander's incomparable humor, Mother for Dinner is an exploration of legacy, assimilation, the things we owe our families, and the things we owe ourselves.

Special 20th Anniversary Edition When Marilyn Monroe died in October 2003, she left behind the first volume of her memoirs (1926 to 1962), award-winning performances, and the memories of a thirty-five-year marriage. Now, after two and a half years of intensive research, (including interviews with noted figures such as Jane Fonda and Hilary Clinton, as well as Marilyn’s children, friends, and co-workers), a detailed accounting of the second half of this incredible life can be told. Utilizing exclusive access to her personal papers granted by her family, Life Among the Cannibals 1962-2003 chronicles not only Monroe’s response to the war and assassinations of the Sixties, her encounters with the likes of Janis Joplin, Pat Nixon, and Mikhail Gorbachev, but traces her evolution from sex symbol to Hollywood’s Conscience. Above all, now in a special 20th Anniversary Edition, Life Among the Cannibals puts an end to the innuendo and speculation surrounding the life and career of one of the 20th century’s most beloved figures. “Instead of mourning what was lost, Marshall celebrates what should have been. With this highly entertaining book, Marshall gives Marilyn Monroe the second act she surely deserved.” Author Tara Hanks “David’s book is absolutely terrific and well deserves a space on your bookshelves. I promise you won’t be disappointed.” Biographer Michelle Morgan “David Marshall has given us all a wonderful gift; a joyful chance to see what SHOULD have been, what COULD have been, as Marilyn makes her way through the rest of the 2Oth century, gaining the personal happiness and respect she always yearned for, forging friendships with some of the most influential figures of our time - and always remaining our beloved Marilyn.” Online Reviewer Mickey52 Cover Photograph of Suzie Kennedy by Chris Bissell

The mysterious disappearance of Michael Rockefeller in New Guinea in 1961 has kept the world and his powerful, influential family guessing for years. Now, Carl Hoffman uncovers startling new evidence that finally tells the full, astonishing story. Despite exhaustive searches, no trace of Rockefeller was ever found. Soon after his disappearance, rumors surfaced that he'd been killed and ceremonially eaten by the local Asmat—a native tribe of warriors whose complex culture was built around sacred, reciprocal violence, head hunting, and ritual cannibalism. The Dutch government and the Rockefeller family denied the story, and Michael's death was officially ruled a drowning. Yet doubts lingered. Sensational rumors and stories circulated, fueling speculation and intrigue for decades. The real story has long waited to be told—until now. Retracing Rockefeller's steps, award-winning journalist Carl Hoffman traveled to the jungles of New Guinea, immersing himself in a world of headhunters and cannibals, secret spirits and customs, and getting to know generations of Asmat. Through exhaustive archival research, he uncovered never-before-seen original documents and located witnesses willing to speak publically after fifty years. In Savage Harvest he finally solves this decades-old mystery and illuminates a culture transformed by years of colonial rule, whose people continue to be shaped by ancient customs and lore. Combining history, art, colonialism, adventure, and ethnography, Savage Harvest is a mesmerizing whodunit, and a fascinating portrait of the clash between two civilizations that resulted in the death of one of America's richest and most powerful scions.

“A first-rate collection of novellas that will break your heart and fill you with hope at the same time.” —Denver Rocky Mountain News In the tradition of William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez comes Wives and Lovers, from the author the Boston Globe calls “One of the most expert and substantial of our writers.” Requisite Kindness—published here for the first time—tells the story of a man who must comes to terms with a life of treating women badly when he goes to live with his sister and dying mother. Rare and Endangered Species demonstrates how a wife and mother’s suicide reverberates in the small community where she lives, and affects the lives of people who don’t even know her. Finally, Spirits is about the pain that men and women can—and do—inflict upon each other. Three very different stories that illuminate the unadorned core of love—not the showy, more celebrated sort, but what remains when the more ephemeral emotions such as lust, jealousy, and passion have been stripped away.

This new edition of Southern Writers assumes its distinguished predecessor's place as the essential reference on literary artists of the American South. Broadly expanded and thoroughly revised, it boasts 604 entries-nearly double the earlier edition's-written by 264 scholars. For every figure major and minor, from the venerable and canonical to the fresh and innovative, a biographical sketch and chronological list of published works provide comprehensive, concise, up-to-date information. Here in one convenient source are the South's novelists and short story writers, poets and dramatists, memoirists and essayists, journalists, scholars, and biographers from the colonial period to the twenty-first century. What constitutes a "southern writer" is always a matter for debate. Editors Joseph M. Flora and Amber Vogel have used a generous definition that turns on having a significant connection to the region, in either a personal or literary sense. New to this volume are younger writers who have emerged in the quarter century since the dictionary's original publication, as well as older talents previously unknown or unacknowledged. For almost every writer found in the previous edition, a new biography has been commissioned. Drawn from the very best minds on southern literature and covering the full spectrum of its practitioners, Southern Writers is an indispensable reference book for anyone intrigued by the subject.

“Unlike me, life isn’t always pretty,” says Tiffany Spratt—a cheerleader destined for fame who will do anything to get there Tiffany is definitely glad that the best-looking boy in the universe just transferred to her high school. Her boyfriend, Wally, got caught hacking into the Pentagon’s computer system and was sent to boarding school, so she almost didn’t have a date for the Homecoming dance! But Tiffany knows that she’ll look fabulous next to her new boyfriend, Cannibal MacLaine—at least she thinks he said his name was Cannibal. Sure, it’s an incredibly unusual name, but then, he is from Los Angeles. Then something even more exciting happens: A major Hollywood director wants to film a horror movie right in their school! Not everyone is as pleased as Tiffany though—in fact, her own mother is leading protests against the plan—but Tiffany is Head Yell Leader at Hi High, so she gets the chamber of commerce on her side. The movie studio signs the contract, and everything is going to be perfect . . . if it doesn’t turn into a perfect nightmare first.