More democracy means more freedom. Or does it?American democracy is, in many people's minds, the model for the rest of the world. Fareed Zakaria points out that the American form of democracy is one of the least democratic in use today. Members of the Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve, institutions that fundamentally shape our lives, are appointed, not elected. The Bill of Rights enumerates a set of privileges to which citizens are entitled, no matter what the majority says. By...

On the eve of World War II, a murder in New York City draws two vastly different men, an American detective and a German intelligence officer, into the gathering storm.The death of a spinster nurse killed in her apartment was one of hundreds of simple homicides, indistinguishable from any other in 1938. A suspect was caught and convicted. Then Private Investigator Fintan Dunne is lured in to the case, and coerced by conscience into unraveling the setup that has put an innocent man ...

The world has changed forever. Across America, technology has been eclipsed by magic, and ordinary people become the embodiments of their darkest desires, deepest fears, purest selves.To save his sister, Tina, who has been transformed into one of the ethereal creatures known as flares, former lawyer Cal Griffin seeks out the source of this terrifying phenomenon. Cal and his band of unlikely heroes follow the song of a cursed bluesman and the visions of the charming lunatic Goldie t...

“Joan of Arc, a village girl from the Vosges, was born about 1412—burnt for heresy, witchcraft, and sorcery in 1431—rehabilitated after a fashion in 1456—designated Venerable in 1904—declared Blessed in 1908—and finally canonized in 1920. She is the most notable Warrior-Saint in the Christian calendar, and the queerest fish among the eccentric worthies of the Middle Ages.”—George Bernard ShawWith Saint Joan, Shaw reached the height of his fame as a dramatist. Fascinated by the stor...

With the premiere of two new film versions of the Snow White tale, Blackstone enters the fray with its own adult, edgy, and not altogether serious full-cast exposé of fairy-taledom. At last it can be told! Was Snow White really as pure as the driven snow? Did her allegedly wicked stepmother get a bum rap from the Grimm brothers? What went on behind the closed Dutch doors of the dwarves’ cottage? How many handsome princes does it take to screw in a light bulb? These and other burning questi...

One of the finest and most influential horror writers of the twentieth century, Richard Matheson has left his stamp on the collective imagination. Here are more than twenty of Matheson's most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, personally selected by the author himself. Many of these stories have already entered into popular culture, including the title story, which became a landmark episode of The Twilight Zone, and "Duel," the nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspi...

Based on a real-life event, a monied client at a progressive law firm pressures the partners to drop a pro bono case they passionately believe in. Will they choose the easy path to preserve their business or keep fighting for what they believe is right?An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance starring:Michael Gross as BennettSean Sinitski as Hal and othersBob Adrian as AbeNed Schmidtke as DelTony Mockus Jr. as Pete and othersScott Lowell...

What if you were told that you could make a fortune just by pushing a button on a box? But pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world . . . someone you don't know. Would you still push the button?"Button, Button," Richard Matheson's chilling tale of greed and temptation, is now the basis of The Box, the new film from the director of Donnie Darko. In addition, this outstanding collection also contains many...

Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now, he’s hearing the private thoughts of the people around him—and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom’s existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store, as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a compelling message from beyond the grave.This eerie ghost story, by the award-winning author of Hell House and I Am...

“Hell House is the scariest haunted house novel ever written. It looms over the rest the way the mountains loom over the foothills.” — Stephen KingFrom the author of I Am Legend comes Hell House, the basis for the supernatural horror film starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill.For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Regarded as the Mount Everest of haunted houses, its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of u...

From the incomparable master of horror and suspense comes an electrifying collection of contemporary literary horror, with stories from twenty-five writers representing today’s most talented voices in the genre.Horror writing is usually associated with formulaic gore, but New Wave horror writers have more in common with the wildly inventive, evocative spookiness of Edgar Allan Poe than with the sometimes-predictable hallmarks of their peers. Showcasing this cutting-edge talent,

What do you imagine when you hear the name . . . Bradbury?You might see rockets to Mars. Or bizarre circuses where otherworldly acts whirl in the center ring. Perhaps you travel to a dystopian future, where books are set ablaze . . . or to an out-of-the-way sideshow, where animated illustrations crawl across human skin. Or maybe, suddenly, you're returned to a simpler time in small-town America, where summer perfumes the air and life is almost perfect . . . almost...