Other books that might interest you

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  Nothing Up My Sleeve but Pixie...

  Bruce Edwards

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  A 1970s view from behind the counter at Disneyland's Main Street Magic Shop  
  While Disneyland’s magical attractions are known the world over, many overlook the Magic Shop on Main Street as a wondrous showplace of its own. A former resident magician takes listeners on a journey through this distinctive shop’s whimsical past. Go beyond the magic tricks that dazzled park guests to discover the behind-the-scenes shenanigans the public never saw. Hilarious anecdotes reveal secrets kept hidden for decades. If you think you’ve learned all there is to know about Disneyland, prepare to be pleasantly surprised!"If you love Disneyland, this is definitely a must-read. 5 Stars!" —Readers' Favorite"Bruce interlaces a tale that is charming, informational, and, dare I say it, magical. He recounts his days at Disneyland with fondness and nostalgia. I actually didn't want to put the book down and wanted to continue reading it." —Imaginerding.com 
  About the Author 
  BRUCE EDWARDS is an award-winning author of young adult fiction. Before venturing into writing, he made his living as a rock musician and feature film character animator for the big Hollywood studios. He grew up profoundly influenced by the works of Walt Disney, and here turns to nonfiction to share his memories of working at the Happiest Place on Earth. 
  Excerpts and trailers can be viewed at BruceEdwardsBooks.com.

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  The Raven and Other Poems

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  When a modern film script draws inspiration from a poem written more than a century ago, readers can judge its impact on our collective imagination. Such is the resonance of the poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. 
  First published in 1845, "The Raven" is a masterpiece of atmosphere, rhythmic quality and use of language. Constructed in narrative form, it tells the story of a young man who is mourning the loss of his beloved. One December night as he wearily sits up browsing through a classical volume, a mysterious tapping against his window disturbs him. When he opens it to investigate, a strange and mournful raven enters his room and perches on the bust of a Greek goddess inside. The rest of the poem deals with the melancholy and mournful one-sided conversation between the two. The narrator desperately questions the Raven about Lenore, his lost love, but the Raven only gives a single dismal word "Nevermore" in reply. What happens to the narrator in the course of this conversation makes up the rest of the poem. 
  Beside The Raven, there are Alone; A Dream Within A Dream; Annabel Lee; City In the Sea; The Bells; A Dream Within a Dream; Annabel Lee; Dreamland; Evening Star; Lenore; Eldorado; A Valentine and "The Happiest Day".

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  Crime Buff's Guide to Outlaw Los...

  Ron Franscell

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  “[A] meticulously researched guide book into the baddest of the bad in LaLa Land.”—Steve Hodel, New York Times-bestselling author of Black Dahlia Avenger Los Angeles is where America’s dreams and nightmares got all tangled up. In this otherworldly place of seemingly everlasting life, death could have an otherworldly quality, too. In a city where anything was possible, even the ghastly could happen. Where else does a list of a city’s top five most recognized citizens include a mass murderer? Stand in the footsteps of Manson, the Hillside Strangler, the Night Stalker, the Black Dahlia’s killer, and the Onion Field slayers. Visit crime scenes where Hollywood’s weird history took fatal turns for O.J. Simpson, John Belushi, Ramon Novarro, Phil Hartman, Dorothy Stratten, Sal Mineo, and so many others. This book provides a sunset cruise through a place where ordinary inhumanities are entertainment—with GPS coordinates, photos and more. It continues the series that critics, true-crime fans, historians, and travelers have hailed as “thorough and unflinching” and “the best damn crime travel series ever published!” Dozens of fascinating stories are told in the same fast-paced, enthralling voice that’s made Ron Franscell one of America’s most beloved crime writers—and the Crime Buff’s Guides a three-time winner of TrueCrimeZine.com’s Book of the Year.

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  How Rwanda became a global...

  PBS NewsHour

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  Rwanda emerged from its genocide in 1994 to build one of the most successful AIDS responses in Africa and is now working mightily to halt mother-to-child HIV transmissions. They’re doing it with a creative mix of science, technology and “aggressive neighborliness.” William Brangham reports with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting for the fourth part of our series, The End of AIDS?

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  The Life of Charlotte Brontë

  Elizabeth Gaskell

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  The author of Jayne Eyreis brought to life by her friend and fellow novelist in “one of the most remarkable literary biographies in English prose” (The Guardian).  One of the Guardian’s 100 best nonfiction books of all time   First published in 1857, The Life of Charlotte Brontë presents an intimate portrait of the celebrated author through the eyes of Elizabeth Gaskell, a personal friend of Brontë’s and fellow trailblazer of Victorian-era literature. Drawing from hundreds of Brontë’s letters, Gaskell illuminates what she described as a “wild, sad life and the beautiful character that grew out of it.”   Beginning with Brontë’s lonely childhood as a student at the Clergy Daughter’s School in Lancashire, Gaskell chronicles her subject’s development as a writer and first publications under the pseudonym Currer Bell, her relationship with her sisters and reluctant literary stardom, and finally her marriage at age thirty-eight and early death less than a year later.

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  Franz Kafka: The Life and Legacy...

  Charles River Editors

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  Franz Kafka was among the most unique authors in the early 20th century, and as a Jewish German-language writer, he proved to be an ideal conduit for his era’s deepest anxieties. Already emotionally damaged, he was physically weak as well, unable to confront society on any level. His sense of intimidation at the hands of his family reached deeply pathological proportions, and he suffered further from a simultaneous, desperate mix of embrace and revulsion with the Jewish faith. Retreating into familiar representations of his time, Kafka created a series of nightmarish short stories and novels, in which someone much like him played the central role. Settings tended to be a mixture of landmarks, and rather than being based on real events from his life, Kafka’s stories are more linked to the habits of his own inner demons and exterior relationships. 
  Kafka’s work was unprecedented in its day, but terms commonly used to describe his work today include “absurdist” and “visionary fiction.” The former is at times perceived by modern readers as whimsical, but more correctly applies to locales and situations that could not possibly exist or take place. In the latter, Kafka hangs the presiding issues of the piece on fictitious human and natural riddles that exacerbate the victimhood of central characters. These artificial dilemmas stand as the unsolvable barriers that lace each narrative. 
  	Nearly a century after his death, Kafka is considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, despite being a virtual unknown throughout his life. In fact, Kafka never intended for his unpublished work to be released posthumously, but his wishes were ignored, and it was certainly to the world’s benefit. Kafka’s work is so profound and unique that the term “Kafkaesque” is now a part of the English language, a reference to surreal distortions and amazing complexities.

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