During the summer of 1991, the crack epidemic is destroying lives in cities across the U.S., and New York City is no exception. The members of Fourth Crew live in Queens, where crack addiction has swept through the ghetto and the dealers rule the streets. These young thugs come from middle-class homes in a middle-class neighborhood, but this doesn't make them immune from the lure of fast money and power. They enter the game with dreams of living the high life, but are soon swept up in the violence and betrayal that come with the territory. It doesn't take them long to understand that there are serious repercussions to chasing paper. Loosely based on the author's life, Paper Chasers takes us into the minds of these young hustlers and gives readers a realistic portrait of life on the streets. It's a tale of good and evil that chronicles the ways in which money can destroy friendships, challenge morals, and corrupt even those sworn to serve and protect. An Essence bestseller upon its release, Paper Chasers has become a gritty street classic.

Describes the experience of students within American Law Schools.

The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than about any activity besides identity theft. Dramatically and entertainingly, Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"—the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs. Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.

In My Paper Chase, Harold Evans recounts the wild and wonderful tale of newspapering life. His story stretches from the 1930s to his service in WWII, through towns big and off the map. He discusses his passion for the crusading style of reportage he championed, his clashes with Rupert Murdoch, and his struggle to use journalism to better the lives of those less fortunate. There's a star-studded cast and a tremendously vivid sense of what once was: the lead type, the smell of the presses, eccentrics throughout, and angry editors screaming over the intercoms. My Paper Chase tells the story of Evans's great loves: newspapers and Tina Brown, the bright, young journalist who became his wife. In an age when newspapers everywhere are under threat, My Paper Chase is not just a glorious recounting of an amazing life, but a nostalgic journey in black and white.

The ostensible purpose of a library is to preserve the printed word. But for fifty years our country’s libraries–including the Library of Congress–have been doing just the opposite, destroying hundreds of thousands of historic newspapers and replacing them with microfilm copies that are difficult to read, lack all the color and quality of the original paper and illustrations, and deteriorate with age. With meticulous detective work and Baker’s well-known explanatory power, Double Fold reveals a secret history of microfilm lobbyists, former CIA agents, and warehouses where priceless archives are destroyed with a machine called a guillotine. Baker argues passionately for preservation, even cashing in his own retirement account to save one important archive–all twenty tons of it. Written the brilliant narrative style that Nicholson Baker fans have come to expect, Double Fold is a persuasive and often devastating book that may turn out to be The Jungle of the American library system.

Crime-writer Charles Applegate decided to set his second novel in a school. Taking a job at one to see was it like ‘from the inside,’ Applegate found he was expected to do more than just people-watch. And when a murder took place, his skills as a detective writer were called upon as well. But real-life crime was to prove very different ...