For the first time: the Nobel Prize winner’s stunning short fiction collected in one volume, with an introduction by the author. Over the course of his distinguished career, V. S. Naipaul has written a remarkable array of short fiction that moves from Trinidad to London to Africa. Here are the stories from his Somerset Maugham Award–winning Miguel Street (1959), in which he takes us into a derelict corner of Trinidad’s capital to meet, among others, Man-Man, who goes from running for public office to staging his own crucifixion. The tales in A Flag on the Island (1967), meanwhile, roam from a Chinese bakery in Trinidad to a rooming house in London. And in the celebrated title story from the Booker Prize– winning In a Free State (1971), an English couple traveling in an unnamed African country discover, under a veneer of civilization, a landscape of squalor and ethnic bloodletting. No writer has rendered our postcolonial world more acutely or prophetically than V. S. Naipaul, or given its upheavals such a hauntingly human face.

In Marx: A Very Short Introdution, Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. He sees him as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. In plain English, he explains alienation, historical materialism, the economic theory of Capital, and Marx's ideas of communism, and concludes with an assessment of Marx's legacy. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Bestselling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen present another joyful collection of stories for your reading pleasure. Within the pages of A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul you will find shining examples of the best qualities we all share as human beings: compassion, grace, forgiveness, hope, courage, dedication, generosity and faith. Stories may be the most powerful teaching tool available to us, especially when the lessons being taught are love, necessary losses, respect and values. In this volume of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the authors share more collected wisdom on love, parenting, teaching, learning, death, attitude and overcoming obstacles. This book will warm your heart, brighten your darkest day and put a smile on your face that will last a lifetime.

220 pages steamy romance novel with a HEA. No Cliffhanger! When newly hired editor's assistant, Tanya Lacey, reaches out to the unknown author of a steamy new erotic romance novel, she’s stunned to learn that the author is not only a man, but also a handsome billionaire. Wealthy CEO, Erik Sanders, has a secret. Whenever he’s not managing his billion-dollar business, he writes erotic romance novels, but it's not until he meets the charmingly innocent Tanya that he finds out what inspiration truly means. Soon, she becomes his muse, but is it enough? Will work and aspiration come in way of true happiness?

Despite a happy childhood, successful entrepreneur Addison Fox has always yearned to find her birth mother. And with the unexpected death of her adoptive parents comes a renewed determination to fill in the missing pieces of her life--to find her "other" family. But she's too late. Burnt-out from past investigations, Randall Talbot is looking for some relief while helping out at his brother's detective agency. But when Addison Fox walks in, he can't resist her plea for help--even though her case is murder. Addison is the sole survivor of her bloodline-a line that a killer is determined to make extinct. And even if the world-weary Randall has little regard left for life, he may be the only man capable of saving hers...

SHE SHOT THE SHERIFF!Trixianna Lawless can’t believe the man she’s shot on her front porch is the sheriff. She thought he was an intruder. What was he doing scaring her to death before the sun even rose? She is a proper woman who bakes pies, she certainly isn’t Mad Maggie West, a notorious bank robber. Can she help it if she slightly resembles the woman on the wanted poster?SHE SHOT THE SHERIFF!Trixianna Lawless can’t believe the man she’s shot on her front porch is the sheriff. She thought he was an intruder. What was he doing scaring her to death before the sun even rose? She is a proper woman who bakes pies for the restaurant in Grand Fork, Kansas. She isn’t dangerous; she’s simply run to Grand Fork after a misunderstanding with her sister. And she certainly isn’t Mad Maggie West, a notorious bank robber. Can she help it if she slightly resembles the woman on the wanted poster?Sheriff Chance Magrane can’t believe a woman has shot him. He has no choice but to arrest her for bank robbery. In the meantime he has to ignore the fact that she wears the fanciest underpinnings in town and has twinkling green eyes that remind him he is a man.When Trixianna lands in Chance’s house instead of jail, she finds herself in the middle of the biggest mess of her life. As the days pass, Trixianna wishes Chance would believe her. Even as Trixianna and Chance fall in love, he is suspicious. In addition to shooting him, she tries to poison him, stabs him and almost burns down his house. It takes a cast of memorable characters to bring this spirited heroine and stubborn hero together.

While prospecting a creek in the Cariboo Mountains near Barkerville in 1866, Pete comes across the corpse of a murdered man clutching a gold watch in his hand. Pete decides to return the watch to Sylvia, the name engraved on the back, but the owner of the watch, even though he is dead, has vengeance in mind, and a job for Pete. This story first appeared in Crimson Online Magazine #13, 2000.She lay abandoned, moored to the south end of Luna Farside, left for scrap. Captain Dak Smith saw in her something special, an opportunity to burn for the far horizon as an independent, free from the gloms that hold known space in thrall – but he had to get her running first. Armed with a standard-issue captain's eyebrow and an infectious grin, Captain Smith and his hand-picked crew embark on an adventure through deep space filled with scoundrels, pirates, and some incredibly unfortunate peace-loving rocks that happened to be at the wrong place, at the worst time.

The Voice of Reason is part of a collection of short stories touching on the mystical, the inspirational and one that is sometimes laced with a little trip to the dark side. In this short story, Mary Percy finds that life sometimes presents the most unexpected hero in a form you least expect.Mary Percy can see nothing that will change her mother from mending her ways. Her father’s death had resulted in unhappy results for all three of them. When her mother drowns her troubles with drinks, Mary hardens herself to maintain sanity at all costs. She decides to celebrate her father’s life and memory by capturing the poetry that he wrote so intensely atop a cliff close to home. But when she meets Brad, Mary unravels the most unbecoming truth about her father, about the strange nature of life itself and the reason why betrayals sometimes leads to truth in the most unequivocal way.

Sundays with Sophie is a wise, humorous and down to earth read especially for single young ladies in churches, giving advice on sensible ways to manage single years from an older, more experienced "Auntie" (Sophie) to her young protegée.It is the hottest day in the summer of 1965 in Jackson, Mississippi. The March on Washington and the words of Martin Luther King JR ring loud and clear in the town, yet crowds have congregated around the town square with only hatred on their minds.They are determined to remove a 12 year old black boy who sits at the foot of the town monument, a stone sculpture he is determined to paint. A sculpture began by his father who perished at the hands of the KKK weeks earlier.In this short story, on this hot, sweltering afternoon, hatred and prejudice will attempt to deny the love of a son to honour the memory of his father, but this 12 year old has only one purpose. To remain there and finish the work. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

This is a series of essays on life— as it is, as it was or as it might have been— as seen from a singular perspective.The view of any aspect in life depends almost entirely from one's perspective. These views reflect mine.A strong influence on my perspective is age. I'm an old man of 85 and likely have been lied to by more politicians, college professors, merchants, news media and other assorted groups than you. I have also been the recipient of many profound truths from similar groups — and even the same ones.I hope you'll enjoy reading these viewpoints whether or not you agree with them.At least it won't cost you anything to find out.

An Iranian film directed by a familiar name reminds the author of one of her parents’ close friends, the director’s family, and how everybody’s lives, including hers, changed after the revolution.An Iranian film directed by a familiar name reminds the author of one of her parents’ close friends, the director’s family, and how everybody’s lives, including hers, changed after the revolution, the hostage crisis, and the Iran-Iraq war. She recalls the years she lived in the States and the transformation she went through, from being perceived as an exotic Persian girl whose father owned an oil well, to a dangerous I-rain-ian.

Sierra Leone is at the brink of a civil war between the government's army and rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Renegade soldiers in the war front has set up a coup to oust the government. When the Sun Refuses to Shine describes Mariama Kandeh's escape from her primary school in the city; engulfed in persistent gun shots, killings and a fear of the unknown.Imagine you were an upside-down cow.Would you be able to play with all the other cows?Would people call you "a silly cow"?What do upside-down cows say?Find out about Nismo the upside-down cow and more in "The Upside-Down Cow".

"Fresh and funny..." —Publishers WeeklyIngredients for A Glass of Crazy: Take one famous dad who gets caught with his pants down. Add a best friend who becomes a traitor. Toss in a boyfriend who thinks he's not gay. Stir and drink.Between public humiliation and the betrayal of a friend, Abby is losing it. And why Rafa picks this moment to give Abby a ring? This is why God invented vodka."They haunt humanity with two sets of unchanging eyes, confident that one day there will be no more left with the courage to stand up to them, no more left without the fear of sounding mad. One day, no one will say that the majority is a lie or dare call their culture’s progress an illusion. No one will suspect that the ensuing holy war is the work of a two-pronged insanity bent on total destruction.When that day comes, it will be the beginning of the end. Until then, they work and wait with the patience of undying things: a family, a movement, a cult of two."

The author (Agent 33) contacts 'the amazing one' (Al Nino) on a humid spring day to get his take on Arcata (California, USA) and the surrounding area. Al shares some interesting anecdotes as the interrogation proceeds, including some very frank admissions and hyperbole about the winters on the Humboldt County coast.Approx. 1,600 words.No Mr. Malloy in this one.Probable movie rating: PG-13.The author (Agent 33) contacts 'the amazing one' (Al Nino) on a humid spring day to get his take on Arcata (California, USA) and the surrounding area. Al shares some interesting anecdotes as the interrogation proceeds, including some very frank admissions and hyperbole about the winters on the Humboldt County coast.Approx. 1,600 words.No Mr. Malloy in this one.If this little chat were a movie (hard to imagine such), it would most likely be rated PG-13 for some racy language.