Comedian and cultural icon Chongs insightful personal memoir, inspired by histime in prison, reveals how his spiritual outlook on life and unique point ofview helped him survive and emerge more determined.

An iconic member of the counter-culture comedy duo traces their story from their introduction at a Vancouver comedy club to their renowned stand-up routines and movies to the drug controversies that marked their careers and their acrimonious separation.

An inside look at the politics of book reviewing, from the assignment and writing of reviews to why critics think we should listen to what they have to say Taking readers behind the scenes in the world of fiction reviewing, Inside the Critics’ Circle explores the ways critics evaluate books despite the inherent subjectivity involved and the uncertainties of reviewing when seemingly anyone can be a reviewer. Drawing on interviews with critics from such venues as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post, Phillipa Chong delves into the complexities of the review-writing process, including the considerations, values, and cultural and personal anxieties that shape what critics do. Chong explores how critics are paired with review assignments, why they accept these time-consuming projects, how they view their own qualifications for reviewing certain books, and the criteria they employ when making literary judgments. She discovers that while their readers are of concern to reviewers, they are especially worried about authors on the receiving end of reviews. As these are most likely peers who will be returning similar favors in the future, critics’ fears and frustrations factor into their willingness or reluctance to write negative reviews. At a time when traditional review opportunities are dwindling while other forms of reviewing thrive, book reviewing as a professional practice is being brought into question. Inside the Critics’ Circle offers readers a revealing look into critics’ responses to these massive transitions and how, through their efforts, literary values get made.

Get a look into the mind of Cheech Marin–one half of the renowned Cheech and Chong comedic duo–and follow through the highs and lows of his personal and professional lives. An unborn baby with a fatal heart defect . . . a skier submerged for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake . . . a comatose brain surgery patient whom doctors have declared a "vegetable." The long-awaited memoir from a counterculture legend. Cheech Marin came of age at an interesting time in America and became a self-made counterculture legend with his other half, Tommy Chong. This insightful memoir delves into how Cheech dodged the draft, formed one of the most successful comedy duos of all time, became the face of the recreational drug movement with the film Up in Smoke, forged a successful solo career with roles in The Lion King and, more recently, Jane the Virgin, and became the owner of the most renowned collection of Chicano art in the world. Written in Cheech's uniquely hilarious voice, this memoir will take you to new highs.

Cheech & Chong -- the legendary, award-winning comic duo -- are back with a miscellany on living the stoner lifestyle. In this hilarious and instructive book, the pair take you through the do's and don'ts of a world they helped bring to the mainstream. Including: the basics of pot culture stoner etiquette (how not to Bogey a joint and how to crash a doobie session) awesome games and recipes even Pot Haiku! Cheech & Chong's Almost Legal Book for Stoners offers something for everyone . . . and anyone interested in living the high life!

"More than any other Vietnam book in recent years, The Girl in the Picture confronts us with the ceaseless, ever-compounding casualties of modern warfare." —The San Francisco Chronicle On June 8, 1972, nine-year-old Kim Phuc, severely burned by napalm, ran from her blazing village in South Vietnam and into the eye of history. Her photograph-one of the most unforgettable images of the twentieth century-was seen around the world and helped turn public opinion against the Vietnam War. This book is the story of how that photograph came to be-and the story of what happened to that girl after the camera shutter closed. Award-winning biographer Denise Chong's portrait of Kim Phuc-who eventually defected to Canada and is now a UNESCO spokesperson-is a rare look at the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese point-of-view and one of the only books to describe everyday life in the wake of this war and to probe its lingering effects on all its participants.

"Neil Young is a figure who straddles divisions: he's Canadian and American, folkie and rocker, an old guy relevant enough to be quoted in the suicide note of Kurt Cobain. His brilliant, gnomic, lyrical music has earned him fans of all vintages and persuasions - among them novelist Kevin Chong." "Fast approaching the dreaded age of thirty, Chong is shocked to realize that his boyhood hero is turning sixty. He takes to the road in celebration, crisscrossing the continent with three buddies and a hatbox full of space cakes to visit places central to Neil's life and career. Chong doesn't meet the man in his travels, but that was never his intention. Instead, his brief vacation from adulthood - recounted to hilarious effect in these pages - teaches him something about rock 'n' roll, contrarianism, being cool, and aging gracefully: staying Young."--BOOK JACKET.