As the only maximum-security prison in the state, the Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) has housed some of the most violent criminals on the West Coast, including brutal serial killers Charley Panzram in 1915 and Jerry Brudos in 1969. Sixty men have been executed inside OSP. The prison was originally built in Portland in 1851 but moved to Salem 15 years later, after Oregon became a state. From that time forward, the Oregon State Penitentiary grew from 23 prisoners in 1866 to 1,912 by 1992. T...

Tupperware ladies, eighties people, and leisure concept salesmen beware: Dave Barry is on the loose and no one is safe! In this collection of eighty essays, the inimitable columnist observes everything that makes America the unique, special place you've grown to love: taxes, toilets, airbags, baseball, beer commercials, and numerous other American artifacts.With his beloved brand of zany humor, Barry covers it all, from lauding the little-appreciated characteristics of yeast to the...

Children the world over have believed in the legend of Santa Claus forever—until told differently. Now, there is no reason to think otherwise! Robert Sullivan, a senior editor at Life magazine, has diligently compiled documentation to prove that Santa and flying reindeer are anything but myths and that Santa Claus does, in fact, make his trek around the globe each Christmas Eve. With the expertise of some of the world's most renowned Arctic experts, wildlife biologists, historians...

Ever notice how bad song lyrics get stuck in your head? It's not just you. After Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry's column about this tendency, reader response was enormous. But Barry didn't know what he was getting himself into when he invited his Legion of Alert Readers to submit their nominees in the Bad Song Survey. "Song badness," he soon learned, "is an issue that Americans care deeply about."Encompassing such categories as "songs people always get wrong," "teen dea...

This collection of children’s stories offers a mix of some best-loved tales as well as newer favorites. Included are: “Puss in Boots,” read by Robby Benson; “A Day at Santa’s Workshop,” read by Betty White; “Elfis, the Elf Who Saved Christmas,” read by Brian Austin Green; “Jack and the Beanstalk,” read by John Ritter; “Peter Pan,” read by Sandy Duncan; “Wild Swans,” read by Michael York; and “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” read by Michael York.

These classic stories of magic, imagination, and inspiration will capture children’s interest and spark their imagination story after story.“Jack and the Beanstalk” is read by John Ritter. “Puss in Boots” is read by Robby Benson. “A Day at Santa’s Workshop” is read by Betty White. “Elfis, the Elf Who Saved Christmas” is read by Brian Austin Green. And “The Elves and the Shoemaker” is read by Michael York.

This is the story of a magnificent wolf-dog, born in the wild, who struggles to survive in the harsh Yukon. White Fang is the lone survivor of his family and soon learns to follow the brutal law of the North— kill or be killed. Isolated and mistreated, White Fang becomes a mortal fighter, feared by all. Only through kindness and gentleness is this killer transformed into an animal capable of great love.

The youngest daughter of a high-ranking samurai, Etsu was destined to become a priestess and was molded for that path by some of the best teachers. But her fate changed when she was married off to a businessman and sent across the world to America. Finding herself miles away from the life she had imagined, she had to learn all about a new world—and come to terms with how it was changing her beliefs about what she had been taught and what she still held dear from her upbringing in Japan. Th...

Step back in time to the era of the American Revolution with Washington Irving's classic tale, "Rip Van Winkle," brought to life by the engaging narration of Anthony Pica. This timeless story follows the adventures of Rip Van Winkle, a kind but idle man who escapes the troubles of his nagging wife by wandering into the mountains. There, he encounters mysterious figures who offer him a drink that leads to an extraordinary slumber.Rip awakens twenty years later to find that everythin...

A brilliantly funny look at the tumultuous recent past from the Pulitzer Prize–winning humorist.Remember when everything was going to go to hell when Y2K struck?That didn’t happen, right?But what did happen? To provide a little perspective on a really messed-up millennium (so far), the one and only Dave Barry slips into his historian’s robe (it’s plush terrycloth) and revisits the defining moments in our country’s recent history. As an added bonus, ...