Wise advice on plot, character, and style from a legendary Esquire editor: "Every aspiring fiction writer ought to read this." — Writer's DigestOver the course of his long and colorful career as fiction editor for Esquire magazine, L. Rust Hills championed the early work of literary luminaries such as Norman Mailer, John Cheever, Don DeLillo, Raymond Carver, and E. Annie Proulx. His skill at identifying talent and understanding story made ...

“A delightful cookbook! All of her recipes really work and are delicious.”—Gluten Free EasilyLow in carbs, fats, and sugars, and naturally packed with vitamin C, cauliflower is the super-est of all superfoods. Why cauliflower? It’s a chameleon and can take on any flavor and texture. In her first cookbook, food blogger and recipe developer Lindsay Grimes Freedman brings her expertise in creating delicious, healthful, and practical recipes to one of the food w...

Good writers follow the rules. Great writers know the rules—and follow their instincts!Finding the right words, in the right order, matters—whether you're a student embarking on an essay, a job applicant drafting your cover letter, an employee composing an email…even a (hopeful) lover writing a text. Do it wrong and you just might get an F, miss the interview, lose a client, or spoil your chance at a second date.Do it right, and the world is yours.

"For the expert investigation of the human will to believe, we recommend The Encyclopedia of Superstitions." — The New York TimesWhy is it said that breaking a mirror or walking under ladders will bring bad luck and misfortunate? Ever wonder why so many people throw salt over their shoulders after spilling it, or wish on shooting stars? The Encyclopedia of Superstitions holds the answers to these questions and more. This c...

The experts at Cook’s Illustrated magazine offer hundreds of definitive, researched, and kitchen-tested answers in this Q&A-style guide for home cooks looking to improve their kitchen prowessDoes searing meat really seal in juices? Does it matter what kind of salt you use? What's the best way to measure a sticky ingredient like honey? Why does whiskey taste better when you add water? How do you actually pronounce dacqu...

A theoretical astrophysicist explores the ideas that transformed our knowledge of the universe over the past century.The cosmos, once understood as a stagnant place, filled with the ordinary, is now a universe that is expanding at an accelerating pace, propelled by dark energy and structured by dark matter. Priyamvada Natarajan, our guide to these ideas, is someone at the forefront of the research—an astrophysicist who literally creates maps of in...

A major addition to the literature of poetry, Edward Hirsch’s sparkling new work is a compilation of forms, devices, groups, movements, isms, aesthetics, rhetorical terms, and folklore—a book that all readers, writers, teachers, and students of poetry will return to over and over.Hirsch has delved deeply into the poetic traditions of the world, returning with an inclusive, international compendium. Moving gracefully from the bards of ancient Greece to the revolutionaries of Latin A...

From the bestselling author of Woe Is I: A guide to grammar fundamentals that's sympathetic to the struggling writer and often just plain funny" ( The Seattle Times).Whether you need to improve your skills for work or school, or aspire to the Great American Novel, a grounding in grammar, spelling, and punctuation is essential—not just to make you look like a professional but to communicate effectively in emails, essays, or anything you need to wri...

A professor of religion offers an "engrossing and excellent" look at how the Good Book has changed—and changed the world—through the ages ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).In a lively journey from early Christianity to the present, this book explores how a box of handwritten scrolls became the Bible, and how the multibillion-dollar business that has brought us Biblezines and Manga Bibles is selling down the Book's sacred capital.Showing us how a...

Do verb tenses make you tense? Does "affect" vs. "effect" put you in a panic? Help is here!This easy-to-use guide to grammar explains just how the English language works—especially the many ways it can trip you up—so you can write and speak with confidence. You'll find:•Thorough coverage of key areas of grammar•Easy-to-understand explanations and plenty of exercises to test and refine your skills•An answer key at the back of the book to encour...

The classic by the renowned economist: "One of those rare works that forces a nation to re-examine its values" ( The New York Times).One of the New York Public Library's "Books of the Century"Hailed as a "masterpiece" ( St. Louis Post-Dispatch), this examination of the "economics of abundance" cuts to the heart of what economic security means (and doesn't mean) and lays bare the hazards of individual and societal complacence about economic...

A landmark collection of five periods of literature from the Land of the Rising Sun.The sweep of Japanese literature in all its great variety was made available to Western readers for the first time in this anthology. Every genre and style, from the celebrated Nō plays to the poetry and novels of the seventeenth century, find a place in this book. An introduction by Donald Keene places the selections in their proper historical context, allowing the readers to enjoy...