First published in Cuba in 1954 and appearing here in English for the first time, Lydia Cabrera’s El Monte is a foundational and iconic study of Afro-Cuban religious and cultural traditions. Drawing on conversations with elderly Afro-Cuban priests who were one or two generations away from the transatlantic slave trade, Cabrera combines ethnography, history, folklore, literature, and botany to provide a panoramic account of the multifaceted influence of Afro-Atlantic cultures in Cuba. Cabrera details the natural and spiritual landscape of the Cuban monte (forest, wilderness) and discusses hundreds of herbs and the constellations of deities, sacred rites, and knowledge that envelop them. The result is a complex spiritual and medicinal architecture of Afro-Cuban cultures. This new edition of what is often referred to as “the Santería bible” includes a new foreword, introduction, and translator notes. As a seminal work in the study of the African diaspora that has profoundly impacted numerous fields, Cabrera’s magnum opus is essential for scholars, activists, and religious devotees of Afro-Cuban traditions alike.

El Monte became an established community late in the 1850s-much earlier than most cities in what later became Los Angeles County-as the western terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. Its situation between the watersheds of the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River made it one of early California's most fertile farming areas, with English walnut trees and dairy farms dotting the countryside. The city incorporated in 1912 and, in the ensuing decades, became the home of Gay's Lion Farm, where Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer kept the various big cats that roared on a logo announcing 1,001 movies. Crawford's store became known as the "largest country store in the world," and the car culture that enveloped Southern California in the postwar years went through significant developmental chapters in El Monte, home of such regionally famous stops as El Monte Drive-In Theatre, Legion Stadium, and the circular, iconic Stan's Drive-In diner.

A teenage girls diary from 1975 to 1976 revealing bad decisions, first love, heartbreat, rivalry and unexpected peril.

Part memoir, part lies, this imaginative tale is a story about loving a woman made of paper, about the wounds made by first love and sharp objects.

After struggling with the loss of yet another person so dear to her heart, Mia Sullivan channeled her frustration and loneliness into focusing on her future career. At the top of her class at Harvard Law, she was nervous and excited when given the opportunity to work as a summer extern at one of the top firms in Boston. Her new boss was the young, extraordinarily handsome, and successful Marcus DeLuca. As she falls for his charms, she discovers he is keeping something from her. Marcus DeLuca was living two separate lives: one that involved his successful career and the other that could potentially ruin his entire reputation. His secret could jeopardize not only his life but everyone he loves. There was no room in his life for a serious romantic relationship, but after meeting Mia, he makes room. He cannot resist her. She is innocent, humble, and pure-the total opposite of him. She distracts him from all of his deep dark secrets. He knows once Mia finds out the things he has done and who he truly is, she will never want to look at him again. Deep down he knows he must stay away, but he can't. Mia and Marcus are heading down a path of love, lies, heartbreak, and betrayal. Can their love conquer all, or will the web of deceit be too much to overcome?