In 1974, Rick Telander intended to spend a few days doing a magazine piece on the court wizards of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant. He ended up staying the entire summer, becoming part of the players' lives and eventually the coach of a loose aggregation known as the Subway Stars. Telander tells of everything he saw: the on-court flash, the off-court jargon, the late-night graffiti raids, the tireless efforts of one promoter-hustler-benefactor to get these kids a chance at a college education. He lets the kids speak for themselves, revealing their grand dreams and ambitions. But he never flinches from showing us how far their dreams are from reality. The roots of today's inner-city basketball can be traced to the world Telander presents in "Heaven is a Playground," the first book of its kind. Rick Telander is a senior writer for "Sports Illustrated" and the winner of the 1987 Notre Dame Club Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism.

What will Heaven be like? Randy Alcorn presents a thoroughly biblical answer, based on years of careful study. His conclusions will surprise readers and stretch their thinking about this important subject.

Seventeen years ago, Sepha Stephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution for a new start in the United States. Now he finds himself running a failing grocery store in a poor African-American section of Washington, D.C., his only companions two fellow African immigrants who share his bitter nostalgia and longing for his home continent. Years ago and worlds away Sepha could never have imagined a life of such isolation. As his environment begins to change, hope comes in the form of a friendship with new neighbors Judith and Naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter. But when a series of racial incidents disturbs the community, Sepha may lose everything all over again. Watch a QuickTime interview with Dinaw Mengestu about this book.

7 Minutes is never enough When you're building a business as the ultimate adult games party planner, you don't have time for games in real life but that's the problem Cassandra Moreland has when she butts heads with security expert Lucas Wilhelm. Lucas is a six foot five wall of testosterone and a thorn in her side for wanting to shut her VIP party down early and she's not about to let him interfere without a fight, even if he is the first guy in a long time to get her heart racing and her palms sweating. Lucas can't believe the pint-sized brunette is ready to go toe to toe with him. He's used to having his instructions obeyed without question, but Cassie has bigger balls than most guys he knows. The tightening in his groin and the pounding in his head has nothing to do with anger and everything to do with sexual interest. The kind of interest that deserves a whole weekend of party games to explore. This story features wet t-shirts, steamy sex and beads--but not the kind you think.

Science fiction, fantasy, comics, romance, genre movies, games all drain into the Cultural Gutter, a website dedicated to thoughtful articles about disreputable art-media and genres that are a little embarrassing. Irredeemable. Worthy of Note, but rolling like errant pennies back into the gutter. The Cultural Gutter is dangerous because we have a philosophy. We try to balance enthusiasm with clear-eyed, honest engagement with the material and with our readers. This book expands on our mission with 10 articles each from science fiction/fantasy editor James Schellenberg, comics editor and publisher Carol Borden, romance editor Chris Szego, screen editor Ian Driscoll and founding editor and former games editor Jim Munroe.