1929 was the end of a golden age. Six aspiring writers spin tales set in a time in history when changes were afoot. While some sought the American Dream, others had to deal with vampiric siblings. Facing lost loves and gaining new freedoms define the beginning of a new age. Of course, the government was going through some changes itself in The Black Chamber, while everyday heroes could be confused with the Devil.Which will be your favorite?

Vintage Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the #1 bestseller that will forever define late-twentieth-century New York style."No one has portrayed New York Society this accurately and devastatingly since Edith Wharton" (The National Review)“A page-turner . . . Brilliant high comedy.” (The New Republic)Sherman McCoy, the central figure of Tom Wolfe's first novel, is a young investment b...

“One of the five best novels I have ever read, maybe the best. . . . It ranks with the greatest of American fiction." —Stephen King, The New York Times“An incandescent fiction. . . . Scintillates with more Rothian wit, paradox, eloquent tantrums, and absurd pitfalls than can be counted." —Los Angeles Times Book Review“The greatest of great American novels.” —Taffy Brodesser-Akner, The New York Times

An intimate early novel from James A. Michener, now remembered as the beloved master of the historical epic, The Fires of Spring unfolds with the bittersweet drama of a boy’s perilous journey into manhood. David Harper is an orphan, seemingly doomed to loneliness and poverty. As an adolescent con artist and petty thief, David spends his days grifting at an amusement park, the place where he first learns about women and the mysteries of love. Soon he discovers that his longing to e...

A father; a husband; a lover; a friend; a rabbi. This is the story about the making of a modern rabbi, his coming of age, and how he finds his place in in a confused and confusing world.Michael Kind is raised in the Jewish cauldron of 1920s New York, familiar with the stresses and materialism of metropolitan life. Turning to the ancient set of ethics of his Orthodox grandfather, with a modern twist, he becomes a Reform rabbi. As insecure and sexually needy...

A compilation of Charles Bukowski's underground articles from his column "Notes of a Dirty Old Man" appears here in book form. Bukowski's reasoning for self-describing himself as a 'dirty old man' rings true in this book."People come to my door-too many of them really-and knock to tell me Notes of a Dirty Old Man turns them on. A bum off the road brings in a gypsy and his wife and we talk . . . . drink half the night. A long distance operator from Newburgh, N.Y. sends me m...

The death of innocenceIn a rural area outside of Detroit, bodies are being found in the snow. One after another. Neatly washed, wrapped in platic, methodically laid out like sleeping angels. And very, very young.The birth of evilForty miles away and at the other end of the world, an honest cop, the deputy chief chief of police, has been framed for a corruption charge. In a world of big-city politics, he wants ace lawyer Charley Sloan t...

This modern classic is "a tough, tender, bitter novel of a black girl struggling towards womanhood" in 1930s Harlem—with a foreword by James Baldwin ( Publishers Weekly).Depression-era Harlem is home for twelve-year-old Francie Coffin and her family, and it's both a place of refuge and the source of untold dangers for her and her poor, working class family. The beloved "daddy" of the title indeed becomes a number runner when he is unable to find legal work...

One of the most beloved American thriller writers of the twentieth century kicks off a rip-roaring career with his exhilarating first novel, a hard-boiled classic full of twists and turns, good intentions and bad coincidences, the stench of corruption and the pursuit of justice at any cost.Introduction by Dean KoontzEx-cop Cliff Bartells might be the last honest man in Florence City, Florida. After quitting the force over a crisis of conscience, he takes a ...

Mad, immortal stories now surfaced from the literary underground.This collection of stories was once part of the 1972 City Lights classic, *Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and General Tales of Ordinary Madness.*That book was later split into two volumes and republished:Tales of Ordinary Madness and, this book, The Most Beautiful Woman in Town.These stories have addicted legions of American readers, even though the high literary establ...

This classic story of a boy, a dog, and small-town America is "a rich experience all around.... Skip turns out to be a dog worth writing about.... I'd take him home in a shot" (The New York Times Book Review).In 1943 in a sleepy town on the banks of the Yazoo River, a boy fell in love with a puppy with a lively gait and an intelligent way of listening. The two grew up together having the most wonderful adventures. My Dog Skip belongs on the same s...

"Block grabs you with the first story and never lets go" in this indispensable collection packed with unforgettable characters and crimes (Elmore Leonard).Enough Rope, a collection of superb stories, establishes the extraordinary skill, power, and versatility of contemporary Grand Master Lawrence Block. Block's beloved series characters are on hand, including ex-cop Matt Scudder, bookselling burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, and the disarming duo of Chip Harrison ...