This classic comic novel about a midlife man whose life is spiraling out of control is a "heartbreaking delight . . . Nothing less than a joy" ( The Washington Post Book World).Screenwriter Harry Towns, a bicoastal playboy with a broken marriage and a child he rarely sees, has been reveling in the freewheeling atmosphere of the early 1970s. But when cracks start to appear in his perfectly constructed life, he has no option but to pick up the scattered piec...

An "irresistible" collection of short fiction by an author who "has been likened to everyone from J. D. Salinger to Woody Allen" ( The New York Times Book Review).Hailed by Newsweek as "a bona fide literary event," The Collected Short Fiction of Bruce Jay Friedman brings together dozens of the New York Times–bestselling author's greatest stories, which originally appeared in Esquire, The New Yorker, and other ma...

The New York Times–bestselling author finds the pulse of the aging American male in two ingeniously funny novels. "I just laughed myself sick" (Neil Simon).Two classic works of comic self-help fiction by "one of the funniest writers in America" available together for the first time in a single ebook edition (John Gregory Dunne).With its "sparkling . . . winsome and true" look at the single male in America—from his sad new apartment furnishings to h...

New York Times -Bestselling Author: A Jewish man struggles in midcentury suburbia in this dark comic novel "in the tradition of the Charlie Chaplin movie."— TimeThe first novel by Bruce Jay Friedman, the author of such classics as The Lonely Guy and A Mother's Kisses, Stern tells the story of a young Jewish man who relocates his family from the city to the suburbs—where they are besieged by voracious cat...

A brilliant new collection from one of American literature's most original and hilarious purveyors of dark comedySilenced by the horrors of Nazi Germany, a Jewish satirist is inspired to write again by his biggest fan: Joseph Goebbels. A retired English teacher dies on the operating table and wakes up to an afterlife in which literature does not exist; he can claim any masterpiece as his own, from The Catcher in the Rye to Crime and Punishment—if ...

A pencil-pushing policeman becomes a badass sleuth in this off-the-wall detective story from one of America's funniest writersKenneth LePeters (née Sussman) is a "quasi-dick." A public relations man for homicide bureaus, he carries a half-size badge and keeps his pearl-handled Smith & Wesson .38 locked in his desk drawer. Recently returned to the East Coast after 17 years in America's heartland, he finds the cosmopolitan air of a big-city police department refreshin...

An indefatigable, irresistible, and wildly inappropriate Jewish mother takes her 17-year-old son to school in this uproarious coming-of-age comedyTall and scattered-looking, Joseph has just graduated from high school and is ready for college. But is college ready for him? Apparently not, judging by the rejection letter he receives from Bates and the deafening silence that greets his application to Columbia.While his friends pack their bags for schoo...

"Stern" follows the story of Irving Stern, a Jewish man living in New York City who finds himself disillusioned with his life and career. As an advertising executive, Stern is successful but deeply unhappy, feeling trapped in a world of superficiality and materialism.The novel explores Stern's existential crisis as he grapples with questions of identity, purpose, and authenticity. Feeling disconnected from his Jewish heritage and dissatisfied with his marriage and career, Stern embarks on ...

Far From the City of Class, and Other Stories arrives like a sucker punch from the margins of mid-century American life, a debut collection that announced Bruce Jay Friedman as one of the sharpest, most darkly comic voices of his generation. Published in 1963, these stories carve out territory that feels simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking, populated by men who are adrift in a world that seems to have changed the rules without telling them. Friedman's characters stumble through subu...

Leading to Our Future: A Guide to Establishing Children's CouncilsUnlock the potential of young leaders and shape the future with "Leading to Our Future: A Guide to Establishing Children's Councils." This comprehensive guide is a must-read for educators, parents, and community leaders dedicated to fostering leadership skills in students.Drawing from the author's inspiring experience as a representative in a national children’s parliament, this book provides a detailed roadm...

One day in early summer it seemed, miraculously, that Stern would not have to sell his house and move away. Some small blossoms had appeared on one of the black and mottled trees of what Stern called his Cancer Garden, and there was talk of a child in the neighborhood for his son, a lonely boy who sat each day in the center of Stern's lawn and sucked on blankets. Stern had found a swift new shortcut across the estate which cut his walking time down ten minutes to and from the train, and th...

Screenwriter Harry Towns continues his misadventures in this novel from a New York Times–bestselling author and "witty chronicler of urban angst" ( San Francisco Chronicle).Set in late-1980s New York, this novel continues the story of Harry Towns—who is well into his fifties and is feeling increasingly out of place in the world, but doesn't let that stop him from pursuing success as a playwright (or at least making some quick cash by selling a TV ...