I have collected many, many pulps over the years, but at the back of my mind, I always hoped to edit one. My first job, as editor of two trade newspapers, deluded me. I created a presentation and went to the publisher. He listened, but he never spoke about it. I worked at many newspapers and magazines, but no one was interested. I founded a few magazines: The Antediluvian Levee, The Game's Afoot, Different Deaths, Ride of the Horsemen, etc. I then tried to start the kind of magazine you hold. It didn't work then, though. I just didn't have time to do it. Finally, in late 2018, I started working on it, pulling writers and artists together, doing some preliminary designs, etc. The first few issues came together so fast that I pressed on. I didn't hesitate, but got the first issue into print as soon as possible. This book is a collection of nearly everything that appeared in the four issues of Phenomenal Stories, Volume 1. There's also a best of collection magazine titled Lost Carcosa available.

This fourth issue of Phenomenal Stories features the beginning of the six-part young adult fantasy novel, 'The Book of Power,' by Richard H. Nilsen with illustrations by Linda Naske and a frontispiece by Richard's daughter, Cara Nilsen. The science fiction end of the world novel, 'After,' continues and we start two new columns in this issue. The first is a travel log by put-upon reporter/columnist J.D. Hayes-Canell titled Dunces & Dragons. The second column is all about writer by Richard H. Nilsen titled The Write Stuff. The first installment is a general guide to writing, but future parts will go into specifics to help the budding writer write. The editor takes a look at Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics, and 'Gosh! Wow! A Personal History of the Pulps' continues with part 4. Phenomenal Stories is a modern-day tribute to the science fiction/horror/fantasy/speculative pulp magazines of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

“Disability rights activist Alice Wong brings tough conversations to the forefront of society with this anthology. It sheds light on the experience of life as an individual with disabilities, as told by none other than authors with these life experiences. It's an eye-opening collection that readers will revisit time and time again.” —Chicago Tribune One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Activist Alice Wong brings together this urgent, galvanizing collection of contemporary essays by disabled people, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, From Harriet McBryde Johnson’s account of her debate with Peter Singer over her own personhood to original pieces by authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma; from blog posts, manifestos, and eulogies to Congressional testimonies, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse into the rich complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and the past with hope and love.

Conventional Deterrence is a book about the origins of war. Why do nations faced with the prospect of large-scale conventional war opt for or against an offensive strategy? John J. Mearsheimer examines a number of crises that led to major conventional wars to explain why deterrence failed. He focuses first on Allied and German decision making in the years 1939–1940, analyzing why the Allies did not strike first against Germany after declaring war and, conversely, why the Germans did attack the West. Turning to the Middle East, he examines the differences in Israeli and Egyptian strategic doctrines prior to the start of the major conventional conflicts in that region. Mearsheimer then critically assays the relative strengths and weaknesses of NATO and the Warsaw Pact to determine the prospects for conventional deterrence in any future crisis. He is also concerned with examining such relatively technical issues as the impact of precision-guided munitions (PGM) on conventional deterrence and the debate over maneuver versus attrition warfare.Mearsheimer pays considerable attention to questions of military strategy and tactics. Challenging the claim that conventional detrrence is largely a function of the numerical balance of forces, he also takes issue with the school of thought that ascribes deterrence failures to the dominance of "offensive" weaponry. In addition to examining the military consideration underlying deterrence, he also analyzes the interaction between those military factors and the broader political considerations that move a nation to war.

Tom King and Jason Fabok pay tribute to the legendary creators of Swamp Thing, writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, as they join forces for an earth-shattering Swamp Thing passion project! In this new, squarebound one-shot, Swamp Thing is out of his element as he shepherds a lost boy through a blinding blizzard and other hazards of a strange, frozen tundra. In this touching and harrowing tale of survival, the pair must navigate countless threats throughout a bewildering terrain—with a bloodthirsty snow monster hot on their heels. But how long can they rely on each other? Separated from the Green and stripped of his powers in this dead world, Swamp Thing struggles to fight for their lives and deliver the boy to safety. Disoriented and decaying, Swamp Thing’s fading understanding of his surroundings forces the duo to confront their desperation and uncover the true identity of the snow monster that hunts them. In addition, this special features the final Swamp Thing story from the monster’s co-creator, Len Wein. Originally intended as the start of a new series, it is presented here both in its original script form and with art by Kelley Jones.

One of NPR’s Best Books of the Year: “Humorous, surprising, disarmingly human” essays and comic pieces from one of England’s national treasures (The Washington Post Book World). A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best Book of the Year A Lambda Literary Award finalist Bringing together the hilarious, revealing, and lucidly intelligent writing of one of England’s best-known literary figures, Keeping On Keeping On contains Tony Award–winning playwright, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and actor Alan Bennett’s diaries from 2005 to 2015—with everything from his much celebrated essays to his irreverent comic pieces and reviews—reflecting on a decade that saw four major theater premieres and the films of The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. This entertaining chronicle of a life in letters comes from a “singular voice [with] a highly tuned ironic wit—his special brand of gentleness laced with arsenic” (The New York Times Book Review). “Part of the pleasure of his diaries is the sense that [Bennett] tells them things he would never say out loud.” —The New York Review of Books “Consistently funny and touching.” —The Telegraph