In the post-apocalyptic future, 50 years after the last government of turbo-liberals and its president-for-life have been elected, a group of researchers convenes a Congress to address the curious cultural phenomenon of the Baldwins, whose stories have been gathered and archived by the chroniclers since the end of history. “Who are the Baldwins?” the Congress asks. “Do they actually exist, and if so, what is their history and their fate?” Only one thing seems certain to these Baldwinologis...

This is a Mexican codex, one in a series of ten codexes from the Aztec empire which the are being published for the first time ever in digital form this year.They're hundreds of years old, and date from the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico.Delight in them. Linger over the images.

EDITING ANNOTATION FOR ISBN -- 0446672769 TITLE: BEACHCOMBING AT MIRAMAR BY BODE RICHARD C0In this "restful book about the companions we choose and the pace at which we live our lives" ("Los Angeles Times"), the bestselling author of "First You Have to Row a Little Boat" recounts his decision to leave an unfulfilling career and move to a small beach cottage. There, as he walks on the beach and observes the people around him, Bode gradually gains insight into many of the deep mysteries of l...

"A challenging collection that should more than satisfy [Rich's] large and loyal following."—Washington Post Book WorldIn this volume, Adrienne Rich pursues her signature themes and takes them further: the discourse between poetry and history, interlocutions within and across gender, dialogues between poets and visual artists, human damages and dignity, and the persistence of utopian visions. Here Rich continues taking the temperature of mind and body in h...

Biologist Domenica Ligrina fears her planet is dying. She might be right.An atomic disaster near the French-German border has contaminated Northern Europe with radioactivity. Economic and political calamities are destroying the whole planet. Human DNA is mutating, plant species are going extinct, and scientists are feverishly working on possible solutions. It becomes increasingly apparent that the key to future salvation lies in the past. In 2052 a secret research facility in the Va...

New writings on our fear of—and fascination with—the "other" from Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, Kelly Link, Jeffrey Ford, and more.Alien is a powerful and flexible word. Aliens are "other." Aliens are the stuff of science fiction and fantasy. Aliens are traditional literary figures that cause us to see ourselves anew. Indeed, when we witness our "normal" lives through these strangers' eyes, we become the unfamiliar ones.Conjunctions:67, Other ...

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.A wise and graceful new collection by one of our "major, indispensable poets" (Sidney Lea). The mysteries of Eros and Thanatos, the stubborn endurance of mind and body in the face of diminishment--these are the undercurrents of Stephen Dunn's eleventh volume. "I am interested in exploring the 'different' hours," he says, "not only of one's life, but also of the larger historical and philosophical life beyond the personal...

This book narrates 14 well-known stories selected from a large body of fairy tales and legends of Vietnam. Although it is an illustrated work, it is not intended for an audience of children. Many such books already exist, but they usually offer an edited and morally correct version of the stories they narrate. As a result, the justification of the present book is that it submits an unexpurgated text of its 14 stories which indeed are replete with scenes of violence, unprincipled stances an...

She stands in New York Harbor, lifting her light to the world. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of the United States of America. Many people know some things about her, but how much do you know? Do you know:What is the Statue of Liberty's real name?What was the Statue of Liberty originally used for?What was the first part of the Statue to be finished?Which is taller, the statue or the pedestal it stands on?How are the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liber...

Brilliant new poems and an expansive gathering from six collections by a Pulitzer Prize winner celebrated as “indispensable.”What Goes On displays the evolving style and sensibility of a major award-winning poet, and a traceable growth that has blossomed into a provocative confrontation with questions of consciousness and existence. Stephen Dunn’s poems probe life’s big questions without ever losing sight of the significance of the mundane.

Before the beginning of time there was no such thing as surprise.By the way, by the "beginning of time," I mean the beginning of this time, the one that we're now busy living and dying and doing things in, the one we're currently complaining about. There may well have been other times, you understand—there quite likely were, in fact—with their own beginnings and endings and complaints, but our time, the one going on right now and the one we are concerned with here, knows nothing of...

What is death and how does it touch upon life? Twenty writers look for answers.Birth is not inevitable. Life certainly isn't. The sole inevitability of existence, the only sure consequence of being alive, is death. In these eloquent and surprising essays, twenty writers face this fact, among them Geoff Dyer, who describes the ghost bikes memorializing those who die in biking accidents; Jonathan Safran Foer, proposing a new way of punctuating dialogue in the face of...