Nathaniel, a six-year-old boy, wishes for a newt for his birthday. He enjoys his special day and the gifts, but he still wants a newt more than ever, and then the magic happens.

Robert C. Benchley's sketches and articles, published in periodicals like Life, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, earned him a reputation as one of the sharpest humorists of his time; his influence—on contemporaries such as E. B. White, James Thurber, and S. J. Perelman, or followers like Woody Allen, Steve Martin, and Richard Pryor—has left an indelible mark on the American comic tradition. The Benchley Roundup collects those pieces, selected by Benchley's son Nathaniel, "which seem to stand up best over the years"-a compendium of the most endearing and enduring work from one of America's funniest and most penetrating wits. "It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by then I was too famous." —Robert Benchley

A writer's journey with the fan bases of Phish and Insane Clown Posse describes his unexpected discovery of how both groups have tapped the human need for community, a finding that coincided with his diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Disfigured by a car accident that also killed her dad, Jori has been transformed from a popular high school student into a bitter loner. Fatherless, isolated, and betrayed by her best friend, Jori is angry at the world. And now her sister Lisa has disappeared, unable to cope with the changes in her family. Walking home from school one day, Jori stumbles upon a strange house and meets Professor DePris, who shows her a living tapestry woven from dreams. Distrustful of the eccentric old man and the telepathic spider who weaves for him, she resists entering the dream tapestry until she realizes her sister is trapped inside. It’s up to Jori to enter the tapestry and rescue Lisa from the monstrous old man who is feasting on her fantasies. But how can Jori convince Lisa to leave this fantastic, yet dangerous, world where anything—even reuniting with their father—is possible?

""Over seven billion people used to live in the world before the storms came, but no one is allowed to know that now."" Still, some do and that's the problem. An organization known as ""green leaf"" was responsible for saving humanity from itself during the great ecological disaster, but that was a long time ago. In this day and age, it has become inconceivable that mankind ever lived anywhere else but the cities, or that there was ever such a thing as dying of old age. The Family braces itself for its final years against The Corporation, but will everyone in the resistance welcome the new leaders?

This controversial, convincing, and highly original book is important reading for everyone concerned about the origins, present, and future of the American experiment in self-government.