Singular and star-studded writings on America’s neon-lit playgroundAt once a Technicolor wonderland and the embodiment of American mythology, Las Vegas exists at the Ground Zero of a reverence for risk-taking and the transformative power of a winning hand. Jake Johnson edits a collection of short essays and flash ideas that probes how music-making and soundscapes shape the City of Second Chances. Treating topics ranging from Cher to Cirque de Soleil, the contributo...

College guides written by students for students.Vassar College Students Tell It Like It IsThis insider guide to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, features more than 160 pages of in-depth information, including student reviews, rankings across 20 campus life topics, and insider tips from students on campus. Written by a student at Vassar, this guidebook gives you the inside scoop on everything from academics and nightlife to housing and the meal plan. Read both the good an...

Jeff Speck has dedicated his career to determining what makes cities thrive. And he has boiled it down to one key factor: walkability.The very idea of a modern metropolis evokes visions of bustling sidewalks, vital mass transit, and a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly urban core. But in the typical American city, the car is still king, and downtown is a place that's easy to drive to but often not worth arriving at.Making walkability happen is relatively easy and cheap; seeing exac...

In the spirit of Gretchen Rubin’s megaseller The Happiness Project and Eric Weiner’s The Geography of Bliss, a journalist embarks on a project to discover what it takes to love where you liveThe average restless American will move 11.7 times in a lifetime. For Melody Warnick, it was move #6, from Austin, Texas, to Blacksburg, Virginia, that threatened to unhinge her. In the lonely aftermath of unpacking, she wondered: Aren’t we supposed to put...

From the underbelly of the nuts behind hit websites failblog.org and icanhascheezburger.com comes FAIL Nation, your silent guide and handler to the not-even-close-to-perfect nation of FAIL, chock-full of irrelevant tips and useless suggestions about why to shop, who to eat, and when to see. So fasten your exit and check for the nearest seatbelt—your FAIL plane departs now.

The Ultimate Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the DormDorm life offers you a great chance to meet new people and try new things. But leaving the comforts of home for the first time to enter the roommate-having, small-room-sharing, possibly-coed-bathroom-using world of the dorms can be overwhelming and intimidating.The College Dorm Survival Guide offers expert advice and the inside scoop on:• Choosing the right residence hall for you• Getting along...

If your child seems indecisive about college, don't read the riot act, read this landmark book instead. College is not the only alternative. A New York Times editor and concerned parent tells you why and helps you to find happy alternatives to starting college before your child is ready.As an educated, committed parent, Linda Lee harbored the usual expectation of a prestigious college degree as the illustrious preface to a top-flight career for her child. Some fif...

College guides written by students for students.McGill University Students Tell It Like It IsThis insider guide to McGill University in Montreal, QC, features more than 160 pages of in-depth information, including student reviews, rankings across 20 campus life topics, and insider tips from students on campus. Written by a student at McGill, this guidebook gives you the inside scoop on everything from academics and nightlife to housing and the meal plan. Read both the good ...

A beloved folk singer presents an impassioned account of the fall and rise of the small American towns she cherishes.Dubbed by the New Yorker as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters," Dar Williams has made her career not in stadiums, but touring America's small towns. She has played their venues, composed in their coffee shops, and drunk in their bars. She has seen these communities struggle, but also seen them thrive in the face of postindustria...

Are your ideas stupid? Unreasonable? Or maybe just non-existing? If that is the case, We All Need Heroes is a book for you. Simon Zingerman, with his fantastic collection of anecdotes about the believable, unbelievable and always winning ideas, inspires even the most uninspired couch potato to get up and DO SOMETHING! If your creativity is on a standstill, or if you're just stuck in a project, small or big, this book can be the key to you getting back in business. With these stories you ge...

Abandoned lots and litter-strewn pathways, or rows of green beans and pockets of wildflowers? Graffiti-marked walls and desolate bus stops, or shady refuges and comfortable seating? What transforms a dingy, inhospitable area into a dynamic gathering place? How do individuals take back their neighborhood?Neighborhoods decline when the people who live there lose their connection and no longer feel part of their community. Recapturing that sense of belonging and pride of place can be ...

Previously published as part of The Insider's Guide to the Colleges, 2011.For more than thirty-five years, The Insider's Guide to the Colleges has been the favorite resource of high school students across the country because it is the only comprehensive college reference researched and written by students for students. In interviews with hundreds of peers on campuses, our writers have sought out the inside scoop at every school on everything from the nightlife and ...