Using a mix of personal anecdotes and perceptive social analysis, acclaimed cultural critic David J. Skal examines the amazing phenomenon of Halloween, exploring its dark Celtic history and illuminating why it has evolved-in the course of a few short generations-from a quaint, small-scale celebration into the largest seasonal marketing event outside of Christmas.

From acclaimed cultural critic David J. Skal, an in-depth look at one of the most popular-and perplexing-holidays in America. Using a mix of personal anecdotes and brilliant social analysis, Skal examines the amazing phenomenon of Halloween, exploring its dark Celtic history and illuminating why it has evolved-in the course of a few short generations-from a quaint, small-scale celebration into the largest seasonal marketing event outside of Christmas. Traveling the country, Skal profiles a wide cross-section of America-hard-nosed business men who see Halloween in terms of money; fundamentalists who think it is blasphemous; practicing witches who view it as sacred; and more ordinary men and women who go to extraordinary lengths, on this one night only, to transform themselves and their surroundings into elaborate fantasies. Firmly rooted in a deeper cultural and historical analysis, these interviews seek to understand what the various rituals and traditions associated with the holiday have to say about our national psyche.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas tails a serial killer who has a passion for the "Twelve Days of Christmas" in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series. No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New York's most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it is the season to bring lonely hearts together. But Lieutenant Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic serial killer who likes to dress up as Santa Claus, has made a disturbing discovery: all of the victims have been traced to Personally Yours. As the murders continue, Eve enters into an elite world of people searching for their one true love. A world where the power of love leads men and women into the ultimate act of betrayal...

Death suspends activities for three days during which he falls in love with a beautiful girl, and through her realizes why mortals fear him.

Original, entertaining mix of personal anecdotes and social analysis examines America's perplexingly popular holiday, tracing the tradition's evolution from its dark Celtic history to its emergence as a mammoth marketing event.

"In a town where everybody at least pretends to be Somebody, Sandra Tsing Loh reveals the truth about the amount of (slightly rubbery) Canadian Brie served, the $2.99 Chardonnay consumed while airily discussing UCLA Extension "How to Write a Screenplay in One Day" courses, the Melrose Place-style divans suavely reupholstered with staple guns, and the treasured but oh-so-tenuous ties to the studios (aka: somebody's neighbor's best friend just got a job reading scripts for Paramount at $8 an hour)." "With these collected favorites - ranging from "IKEA! Cry of a Lost Generation" to "Hey, Gang, It's Baywatch!" - Tsing Loh's brand of wry, self-deprecating wit is sure to win her new fans all across the country... and to cement her title as the Fran Lebowitz of the futon set."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved