This book is about investigating prison gang crimes—the crimes gang members commit for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association, with the specific intent to promote, further, and assist their criminal street gang. A story told by me, a retired experienced California gang investigator who has testified in San Joaquin County court nine (9) times as a gang expert. Come on this exciting journey and learn how to investigate prison crimes, what to do when you arrive at a crime sce...

In the 1950s, tensions remain high in the border town of La Frontera. Penny loafers and sneakers clash with boots and huaraches. Bowling shirts and leather jackets compete with guayaberas. Convertibles fend with motorcycles. Yet amidst the discord, young love blooms at first sight between Fulgencio Ramirez, the son of impoverished immigrants, and Carolina Mendelssohn, the local pharmacist’s daughter. But as they’ll soon find out, their bonds will be undone by a force more powerful than the...

A collection of the year’s best short stories, selected by National Book Award finalist Min Jin Lee and series editor Heidi Pitlor.“Without stories, we cannot live well,” shares guest editor Min Jin Lee, describing how storytelling affects and nurtures readers. The Best American Short Stories 2023 features twenty pieces of short fiction that reflect a world full of fractured relationships, but also wondrous hope. A lifelong friendship may become a casualty...

**“A diverse and glorious selection . . . a gift of imagination, wit, and wonder. The collection is filled with miniature masterpieces. . . . This must-have anthology is a treasure trove not to be missed.” —Library Journal (starred review)The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by Kate DiCamillo, Jess Walter, Dave Eggers, Allegra Goodman, Jai Chakrabarti, Francisco Gonzalez, and more.**Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-e...

Award-winning writer, columnist, and journalists Carl Zimmer selects twenty science and nature essays that represent the best examples of the form published in 2022.“What's most compelling about a scientific story is the way it challenges us to think about the concepts we take for granted,” writes guest editor Carl Zimmer in his introduction. The essays in this year’s Best American Science and Nature Writing probe at the ordinary and urge us to think more ...

A father, a friend, and a favorite book help a teen boy understand love and loss in this moving and vivid YA novel in verse.Have you ever encountered a book that KO’d you, Iron Mike Tyson style? One that hit you square in the face and heart like some abracadabra casting a hex from an unknown planet?For sixteen-year-old poet and b-baller Marcos Cadena, that book is the beat-up copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude he finds among his late fa...

GROWING UP IN CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente loved to play baseball. He swung a tree branch—since he didn’t have a bat—and hit tin cans. At the age of 19, his passion for the sport paid off when he was tapped for a Major League team. First stop: chilly Montreal, where he warmed the bench and himself, longing to play baseball. Months later, he finally got his chance with the Pittsburgh Pirates where his talent on the field was soon on display. Many fans loved his bold playing style...

Longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award • Finalist for The Story Prize • Finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction • Finalist for the California Book Award • Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence, the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and the New American Voices Award"Ruben Reyes Jr. is a wonder." — Héctor TobarAn electrifying debut story collection about Central American identity that spans past, present, and future...

"Excellent....Taken as a whole, the volume moves beyond food’s sensory pleasures to investigate it as a cultural vessel, a symbol of inequality, and more. It’s a standout addition to the series." —Publisher's Weekly (starred review)A collection of the year’s top food writing, selected by prolific food writer and author of How to Cook Everything Mark Bittman."In almost any culture, at any time, you can find food writing,” w...

Eighteen-year-old Joaquín del Toro’s future looks bright. With his older brother in the priesthood, he’s set to inherit his family’s Texas ranch. He’s in love with Dulceña—and she’s in love with him. But it’s 1915, and trouble has been brewing along the US-Mexico border. On one side, the MexicanRevolution is taking hold; on the other, Texas Rangers fight Tejano insurgents, and ordinary citizens are caught in the middle.As tensions grow, Joaquín is torn away from Dulceña, who...

No Country for Old Men meets Contagion in this story of three teens on the run, carrying a great menace, and chased by a greater evil.Three teenagers are traveling northeast in a navy blue Ford pickup. Turi fled his abusive family at the border to see the beautiful New England landscape he’s always dreamed about. Arnulfo is undocumented and wants only to find someplace safe and quiet. Molly seeks a newlife far away from her nowhere Missouri town. Turi and Arnulfo are best fr...

A spellbinding novel about crossing natural and supernatural bordersEmilia and Gregorio spent their childhood following their grandmother through the mountains of central México, gathering the ingredients she used for curandera work and learning about the supernatural world. When she passes away, the siblings are left alone.So they scrape together their money and pay coyotes to smuggle them to their father in the United States.The siblings are exhausted before they e...