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"A brilliant and provocative reinterpretation of Shakespeare's largely forgotten epic poems, and the political controversy they incited. As the year 1600 approached, unrest was stirring in post-Reformation England. The people pitted themselves against Queen Elizabeth, questioning the monarchy and exploring republicanism. Amidst this tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of epic poems dedicated to his patron, the Earl of Southampton, which...
6962) To the mountain: a novel
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"[Marshall, an eleven-year-old autistic boy,] lives in a remote juvenile center in Colorado, where he is bullied by the other boys, misunderstood by all of the other staff except Leslie, and so overwhelmed by the sounds and smells in the cafeteria that getting his lunch is a daily terror. During a blizzard, an unexpected mishap for Marshall and Leslie leads to Marshall's disappearance into the wilderness. His father, Jace, knows that Marshall has...
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Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People (1892) is a novel by Israel Zangwill. Raised in London by parents from Latvia and Poland, Zangwill understood the plight of the city's Jewish community firsthand. Having risen through poverty to become an educator and author, he dedicated his career to the voiceless, the oppressed, and the needy, advocating for their rights and bearing witness to their suffering in some of the most powerful novels...
6964) Night rooms: essays
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A collection of personal essays that weaves together fragmented images from horror films and cultural tropes to meditate on anxiety and depression, suicide, body image, identity, grief, and survival.
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He has been called a genius and a fraud, a hero and an addict, but who really was Sherlock Holmes? With an attention to detail that would make his subject envious, Nick Rennison combs the literature for clues, omissions, and inconsistencies in Dr. Watson's immortal narration. He delves into Holmes's contact with prominent historical figures-including Oscar Wilde and Sigmund Freud-and uncovers startling, new information.
How did a Cambridge dropout...
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The ballad "John Henry" is the most recorded folk song in American history and John Henry--the mighty railroad man who could blast through rock faster than a steam drill--is a towering figure in our culture. But for over a century, no one knew who the original John Henry was--or even if there was a real John Henry. In Steel Drivin' Man, Scott Reynolds Nelson recounts the true story of the man behind the iconic American hero, telling the poignant tale...
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"A riotous collection of comedic
"Showing off their trademark humor and writing chops that have made them a viral sensation, Rebecca Shaw and Ben Kronengold provide a collection of startlingly funny short stories that will keep readers laughing. Naked in the Rideshare is a riotous collection of comedic short stories, bursting with the safe spaces, shrooms dealers, and Notes app apologies that define growing up right now. The essays take a drunken...
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This volume offers readers a concise and accessible introduction to the ideas of Noam Chomsky, described by the New York Time as "arguably the most important intellectual alive."
In these recent, wide-ranging interviews, conducted for Truthout by C. J. Polychroniou, Chomsky discusses his views on the "war on terror" and the rise of neoliberalism, the refugee crisis and cracks in the European Union, prospects for a just peace in Israel/Palestine,...
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First published in 1971 in Chile, where the entire third edition was dumped into the ocean by the Chilean Navy and bonfires were held to destroy earlier editions, How to Read Donald Duck reveals the imperialist, capitalist ideology at work in our most beloved cartoons.Focusing on the hapless mice and ducks of Disney-curiously parentless, marginalized, always short of cash-Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart dissect the narratives of dependency and...
6970) Hotel Cuba: a novel
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Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling Frieda sail for America to join their sister in New York. But discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, and the young women are turned back at Ellis Island. With few options, Pearl and Frieda head for Havana, Cuba, convinced they will find a way to overcome this setback. At first, life in...
6971) Viking tales
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Jennie Hall is most noted for her fascinating travel memoirs of the late eighteenth century. She produced vibrant narratives and brilliantly vivid descriptions that have made her popular among readers who wish to be transported into another area or time period. Her "Viking Tales" is an excellent example of that. The story follows the life of the Viking Harald from infancy to his crowning as King of Norway. It focuses on the Vikings' eagerness for...
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The most enjoyable way to learn about an unfamiliar culture is through its stories-especially when they're told in two languages!
This book introduces 40 stories from the Philippines through bilingual Tagalog and English texts presented on facing pages. Paired with cultural notes, vocabulary lists, exercises, comprehension questions and free online audio recordings, Tagalog Stories for Language Learners is an excellent resource for intermediate language...
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Charles Dickens was regarded as a pillar of respectability in Victorian Britain, but in 1858 this image was nearly shattered. With the break-up of his marriage that year, rumours about a scandalous relationship he may have conducted with young actress Ellen "Nelly" Ternan flourished. For the remaining twelve years of his life, Dickens struggled to quash the gossip. After his death, surviving family members did the same. But when the author's last...
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The House Behind the Cedars (1900) is African-American writer Charles Chesnutt's debut novel. Inspired by his own experience as a Black man capable of passing for white-which Chesnutt consciously chose not to do-as well as by Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, The House Behind the Cedars explores themes of identity, race, and class in the post-Civil War South.
Controversial for its portrayal of interracial romance, Chesnutt's novel was critically acclaimed...
6975) Night train to Marrakech
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In 1960s Marrakech, French student Vicky Baudin and her cousin, Bea, throw themselves into Morocco's wild and glamorous party scene until a murder takes place and Bea goes missing, forcing Vicky to turn to her mysterious grandmother, who has dark secrets of her own, for help.
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"On the Edge probes precarity in contemporary China through the lens of the dark and angry cultural forms that chronic uncertainty has generated since the millennium. Drawing on and expanding from social science work, the only currently available academic treatment of precarity in China, Hillenbrand argues that a substantial minority of Chinese workers-as many as 300 million people-exist in what she calls "zombie citizenship," a state of dehumanizing...
6977) Swann's war: a novel
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Mary Beth Swann has taken over as police captain on a small New England fishing island while her husband is away fighting in World War II. When a POW from a hastily built military prison is found murdered, quiet island life changes. As more bodies appear, Swann must track down the killer while dealing with her own insecurities, unhelpful islanders, and patronizing military officers.
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Herman Melville's epic novel Moby-Dick was a spectacular failure when it was first published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. He never recovered from the setback, and because he did not make much effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about him, and even less about what he called his "wicked book." Now, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden sheds light on this literary mystery to tell the story of Melville's...
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"Mia Mercado is a razor-sharp cultural critic and essayist known for her witty and hilarious dissections of the uncomfortable truths that rule our lives. In this thought-provoking collection of new essays, Mercado examines what it means to be "polite," "agreeable," and "nice." She covers topics from the subtleties of the "Bad Bitch" and why women dominate the ASMR market, to what makes her dog an adorable little freak and how you know if you're shy....
6980) Stories of My Life
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The beloved author of Bridge to Terabithia and other classics of children's literature reveals the fascinating personal stories that have shaped her creative life.
For nearly fifty years, Katherine Paterson's stories have captured readers young and old. From Bridge to Terabithia's Leslie Burke to the unforgettable Gilly Hopkins to countless others, her characters are woven into the memories of several generations. Paterson's writing has always explored...