"In the vein of The Paris Wife and The Personal Librarian comes this debut novel, a magnificent work of "biographical fiction" that reimagines the turbulent and triumphant early years of Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest singer of the twentieth century. When fifteen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald's mother dies at the height of the Depression in 1932, the teenager goes to work for the mob to support herself and her family. When the law finally catches...

The American Reader is a stirring and memorable anthology that captures the many facets of American culture and history in prose and verse. The 200 poems, speeches, songs, essays, letters, and documents were chosen both for their readablility and for their significance. These are the words that have inspired, enraged, delighted, chastened, and comforted Americans in days gone by. Gathered here are the witings that illuminate---with wit, eloquence,...

A collection of women's writing on nature---poems, essays, stories and journal entries.

This expansive five-volume set offers profiles of 775 prominient African American from a wide range of fields. Most of these people have never been covered in any Great Lives set before, and more than one-half of them are contemporary figures. The set is especially strong in personages from the fields of sports and entertainment.