A novel written as a sharp parable of American society, addressing love, purpose, discrimination, and poverty. In Jeffrey Lewis's novel of the same name, the Land of Cockaigne, once an old medieval peasants' vision of a sensual paradise on earth, is reimagined as a plot on the coast of Maine. In efforts to assuage their grief over their son's death and to make meaning of his life, Walter Rath and Catherine Gray build what they hope will be a version of paradise for a group of young men from the Bronx. As Walter and Catherine work to reinvent this land, formerly a summer resort, the surrounding town of Sneeds Harbor proves resistant. The residents' well-meaning doubts lead to well-hidden threats, and the Raths' marriage unravels as Walter loses faith in democracy. Meanwhile, the Bronx boys, who had only ever known the city, try to navigate this new land that is completely alien to them. Written as a parable of contemporary American society, Land of Cockaigne is by turns furious, funny, subversive, tragic, and horrifying. Faced with the question of what to do amid disastrous times, Walter Rath offers a clue: Love is an action, not a feeling. Once you go down this path of faith, there is much to be done.

SUMMARY: A collection of maps, histories, sketches, and stories created by C.S. Lewis as a child to describe his private fanyasy world, known as Animal-Land or Boxen. A scholarly introduction explains the stories in the context of Lewis's life.

"Kathryn Lindskoog here provides a helpful introduction to the way C.S. Lewis's ideas of God, man and nature come to expression in the Narnia Tales." -- Back Cover

C.S. Lewis's The Cronicles of Narnia have captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of readers all over the world. Now, in this exciting guide to Narnia, you can read all about the inspiration behind each of the stories, characters, and places in these seven magical volumes, and find out how their creator, C.S. Lewis, came to invent the world beyond the wardrobe door. Meticulously researched by writer Brian Sibley, and lovingly illustrated by artist Pauline Baynes, original illustrator of The Cronicles of Narnia, The Land of Narnia is a fascinating gateway into every aspect of C.S. Lewis's imaginative world.The Land of Narnia invites readers to delve deeper into the wonders of the magical place called Narnia, and examines how C. S. Lewis came to create this fascinating world. Meticulously researched by writer Brian Sibley, and lavishly illustrated with full-color and black-and-white drawings by Pauline Baynes, The Land of Narnia is an illuminating celebration of the mysterious world that lies just beyond the wardrobe door. The Land of Narnia invites readers to delve deeper into the wonders of the magical place called Narnia, and examines how C. S. Lewis came to create this fascinating world. Meticulously researched by writer Brian Sibley, and lavishly illustrated with full-color and black-and-white drawings by Pauline Baynes, The Land of Narnia is an illuminating celebration of the mysterious world that lies just beyond the wardrobe door.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous ‘ I Have a Dream’ speech. Thirty years later his son registered the words ‘ I Have a Dream’ as a trademark and successfully blocked attempts to reproduce these four words. Unlike the Gettysburg Address and other famous speeches, ‘ I Have a Dream’ is now private property, even though some the speech is comprised of words written by Thomas Jefferson, a man who very much believed that the corporate land grab of knowledge was at odds with the development of civil society. Exploring the complex intersection between creativity and commerce, Hyde raises the question of how our shared store of art and knowledge might be made compatible with our desire to copyright everything, and questions whether the fruits of creative labour can – or should – be privately owned, especially in the digital age. ‘ In what sense,’ he writes, ‘ can someone own, and therefore control other people’ s access to, a work of fiction or a public speech or the ideas behind a drug?’ Moving deftly between literary analysis, history and biography (from Benjamin Franklin’ s reluctance to patent his inventions to Bob Dylan’ s admission that his early method of songwriting was largely comprised of ‘ rearranging verses to old blues ballads, adding an original line here or there… slapping a title on it’ ), Common As Air is a stirring call-to-arms about how we might concretely legislate for a cultural commons that would simultaneously allow for financial reward and protection from monopoly. Rigorous, informative and riveting, this is a book for anyone who is interested in the creative process.

Carol Milford dreams of living in a small, rural town. But Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, isn't the paradise she'd imagined. First published in 1920, this unabridged edition of the Sinclair Lewis novel is an American classic, considered by many to be his most noteworthy and lasting work. As a work of social satire, this complex and compelling look at small-town America in the early 20th century has earned its place among the classics.