Text in English & French. If Francois Paolini feels 'at home' in Las Vegas, it's because he has found here the possibility to create a world where man raises his eyes to the gods instead of keeping them fixed on the asphalt. Whether they depict a gold ingot, a dark pyramid that has dropped from a science-fiction sky, Legos for big kids or a concourse of giants, Paolini's photos are paintings of atmosphere that bring together in one image what the visitor has perceived without always analysing, as well as a concentration of astonishing dreams for those who were not there. Las Vegas as shown by Paolini is the last sacred ode to the outrageness that this modern, materialistic, down-to-earth world has forgotten. What a wonderful tribute paid to Las Vegas for its Centennial Celebration.

From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys • “Whitehead proves a brilliant sociologist of the poker world.” —The Boston Globe In 2011, Grantland magazine gave bestselling novelist Colson Whitehead $10,000 to play at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. It was the assignment of a lifetime, except for one hitch—he’d never played in a casino tournament before. With just six weeks to train, our humble narrator took the Greyhound to Atlantic City to learn the ways of high-stakes Texas Hold’em. Poker culture, he discovered, is marked by joy, heartbreak, and grizzled veterans playing against teenage hotshots weaned on Internet gambling. Not to mention the not-to-be overlooked issue of coordinating Port Authority bus schedules with your kid’s drop-off and pickup at school. Finally arriving in Vegas for the multimillion-dollar tournament, Whitehead brilliantly details his progress, both literal and existential, through the event’s antes and turns, through its gritty moments of calculation, hope, and spectacle. Entertaining, ironic, and strangely profound, this epic search for meaning at the World Series of Poker is a sure bet. Look for Colson Whitehead’s bestselling new novel, Harlem Shuffle!

This is a reissue of the novel inspired by Hunter S. Thompson's ether-fuelled, savage journey to the heart of the American Dream: We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold... And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas.

In a collection of personal stories and essays, award-winning and bestselling artists from Matt de la Peña and Veera Hiranandani to Max Brallier and R.L. Stine write about how hope always wins, even in the darkest of times. Where does hope live? In your family? In your community? In your school? In your heart? From a family restaurant to a hot-dog shaped car, from an empty road on a moonlight night to a classroom holiday celebration, this anthology of personal stories from award-winning and bestselling authors, shows that hope can live everywhere, even—or especially—during the darkest of times. No matter what happens: Hope wins. Contributors include: Tom Angleberger, James Bird, Max Brallier, Julie Buxbaum, Pablo Cartaya, J.C. Cervantes, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Stuart Gibbs, Adam Gidwitz, Karina Yan Glaser, Veera Hiranandani, Hena Khan, Gordon Korman, Janae Marks, Sarah Mlynowski, Rex Ogle, James Ponti, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Ronald L.Smith, Christina Soontornvat, and R.L. Stine.

"Swing!" is the first book to tell the history of the new swing movement sweeping the country. "Remarkably exhaustive, " ("New York Times"). Details bands, clothes, hairstyles, dancing, vintage cars, top 100 records, A-Z of swing bands--it's a "bible" for swing enthusiasts. "Definitive."--"Washington Post." 365 photos.

Graduated High School in 1971, three months pregnant. I left my mothers house with my Fianc. The only thing I took with me were the clothes on my back, the things I read in books, the things my Grandmother taught me which mainly involved cooking and cleaning, the Bible quotes and old folks tales my Grandmother used to say over and over, the few things my mother taught me during her brief and few periods of time into my life, and also a very special gift from God, which was the ability to play any musical instrument I chose to play. I thought I was grown and knew everything. What I didn't know was although I was very smart, I was also very naive. I got married in 1972 and had another baby in 1974. I worked for a police department from 1977 to 1985. I was in the Army National Guard from 1979 to 1985. So many unbelievable things happened to me during that time, both good and bad. So many more bad things happened than good that I started to think my life was cursed for some reason. It started to happen so much that finally I did not want to live any longer.