What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? What is the connection between political strife in our daily lives, and the way we meet our enemies on the page in fiction? How can literature, through its free exchange, affect politics? In this galvanizing guide to literature as resistance, Nafisi seeks to answer these questions. Drawing on her experiences as a woman and voracious reader...

"Jokes change from generation to generation, but the experience of the stand-up comedian transcends the ages: the striving and struggles, the tragedy and triumph. From the Marx Brothers to Milton Berle, George Carlin to Eddie Murphy, Conan O'Brien to Louis C. K.--comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff presents a century of fascinating rebels, forgotten stars, and characters on the precipice of fame in this essnetial history of American comedy."--Book jacket....

A global manga phenomenon in the early 1990s, Akira is a futuristic depiction with apocalyptic elements set in a Neo-Tokyo on the brink of civil war. Katsuhiro Otomo's work is a graphical and narrative treasure trove, confronting the revolutionary views of a disillusioned youth with the danger of scientific progress spiraling out of control. This book provides the social and historical context of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga, which is reflected in its...

"In Bookends, Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon offers a compilation of pieces about literature--age-old classics as well as his own--that presents a unique look into his literary origins and influences, the books that shaped his taste and formed his ideas about writing and reading"--

"Written in plain English, The Literature Book cuts through the literary jargon and is packed with witty illustrations and clear graphics, making it the perfect primer to world literature, from ancient epics such as the Iliad and Mahabharata to contemporary works by Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood." --

"Some pieces of music survive; most fall into oblivion. What gives the ten masterpieces selected for this book their extraordinary vitality? In this magisterial volume, Harvey Sachs, author of the highly acclaimed biography Toscanini, takes readers into the heart of ten great works of classical music--works that have endured because they were created by composers who had a genius for drawing music out of their deepest wellsprings. These masters--Mozart...