Books published by St. Martin's Griffin

A much-needed and hard-hitting plan, from one of the great Democratic minds of our time, to reform America''s broken health-care system. Undoubtedly, the biggest domestic policy issue in the coming years will be America''s health-care system. Millions of Americans go without medical care because they can''t afford it, and many others are mired in debt because they can''t pay their medical bills. It''s hard to think of another public policy problem that has lingered unaddressed for so long. Why have we failed to solve a problem that is such a high priority for so many citizens? Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle believes the problem is rooted in the complexity of the health-care issue and the power of the interest groupsΓÇödoctors, hospitals, insurers, drug companies, researchers, patient advocatesΓÇöthat have a direct stake in it. Rather than simply pointing out the major flaws and placing blame, Daschle offers key solutions and creates a blueprint for solving the crisis. Daschle''s solution lies in the Federal Reserve Board, which has overseen the equally complicated financial system with great success. A Fed-like health board would offer a public framework within which a private health-care system can operate more effectively and efficientlyΓÇöinsulated from political pressure yet accountable to elected officials and the American people. Daschle argues that this independent board would create a single standard of care and exert tremendous influence on every other provider and payer, even those in the private sector. After decades of failed incremental measures, the American health-care system remains fundamentally broken and requires a comprehensive fix. With his bold and forward-looking plan, Daschle points us to the solution.

With a breakneck pace and cat-and-mouse twists, Spring Break is the ultimate beach read. "Help me . . ." These are the last words Chanetelle hears from her friend Ashley, in a static-filled phone call that soon goes dead. Their trip to the island paradise of Artula started the way any trip should, and soon Chanetelle and her friends find themselves in sun-drenched days and party-hopping nights. The vacation is not without its conflicts, however, and old rivalries and new jealousies come to light as the week passes. But no one expects things to turn as ugly as they do. No one expects that they won't all return. And no one expects that murder might be the ultimate souvenir. When Ashley disappears, the question is asked: Was it a random act of violence? Or is something more sinister going on? And is Ashley really dead, after all? "Drawing on real-life tragedies, Perrin creates an unforgettable and chilling tale of the seamy side of an island paradise." - Booklist

"Tom Oliphant is one of the true chroniclers of America. He uses his wit and wisdom to offer critical, insightful, and loving observations of our politics, culture, and society. He is the Will Rogers of our time." ---Madeleine AlbrightThe collapse of the Bush presidency is a broadly acknowledged fact. By any fair assessment, much of the past seven years has been disastrous. The challenge is to understand why.From domestic policy to international goofs, from soaring energy prices to the health care crisis---Thomas Oliphant tackles it all, closely inspecting the initial projections and promises of Bush and his key senior of?cials, and the ways in which they lost control of these well-publicized and overcon?dent plans. By comparing their rhetoric to their dismal record, Oliphant provides a historic analysis of the Bush administration---showing how a system so seemingly competent and mechanized could fail so miserably, and with such frequency. Utter Incompetents is at its heart a searching look at the George W. Bush administration, its policies, and the legacy that it will leave behind on January 20, 2009.

Reverend Buzz Thomas knows there are millions of Americans out there who just want honest answers to life's biggest questions. In 10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You, Rev. Thomas cuts through all the agendas the Bible is used for today and finally says what many ministers are afraid to say when someone asks...- How did it all begin?- Why are we here?- What is the Bible?- Is there really such a thing as a miracle?- How do I please God?- What about women?- What about homosexuality?- What about other faiths?- What happens after we die?- How will it all end? Filled with humor and warmth, Rev. Thomas's answers are long on love, short on judgment, filled with surprises and replete with faith for whatever the twenty-first century may hold.

"A masterful examination of the pathetic rush to judgment in the Duke rape case." -John GrishamThe full story of the Duke Lacrosse case, by the authors who broke it In this American tragedy, Stuart Taylor, Jr., and KC Johnson argue, law enforcement, a campaigning prosecutor, biased journalists, and left-leaning academics repeatedly refused to pursue the truth while scapegoats were made of these young men, recklessly tarnishing their lives. Until Proven Innocent is the only book that covers all five aspects of the case (personal, legal, academic, political, and media) in a comprehensive fashion. It is also the only book to include interviews with all three of the defendants, their families, and their legal teams. And now it includes an up-to-date epilogue detailing the aftershocks and conclusion of the case. Taylor and Johnson's coverage of the Duke case was the earliest, most honest, and most comprehensive in the country, and here they take on the idiocies and dishonesty of right- and left-wingers alike, shedding new light on the danger of a cultural tendency toward media-fueled travesties of justice. The context of the Duke case has vast import, and in its full telling, it is captivating nonfiction with broad political, racial, and cultural relevance to our times."Taylor and Johnson have made a gripping contribution to the literature of the wrongly accused." -The New York Times Book Review"Until Proven Innocent is a stunning book." -The Wall Street Journal"Vivid, at times chilling . . . their most biting scorn is aimed at the 'academic McCarthyism' that they say has infected top-rate American universities like Duke." -Newsweek"A superb new book . . . a book that not only reads like a legal thriller, but also exposes deep problems with America's legal system and academic culture." -The Economist

A perfect gift for connoisseurs of the most popular drink enjoyed in American pubs, Red, White, and Brew is the ultimate beer run across the United States, during which Brian Yaeger visits fourteen breweries of various sizes and talks to founders, owners, brewmasters, consumers, and anyone else he meets on his odyssey and who enjoys the making, tasting, and appreciating of brews.Red, White, and Brew pursues the roots of brewers who brought their craft with them from their homeland and investigates how the tradition is faring today and where it may head in the future. Covering everything from fifth-generation family-run brewing companies to first-wave microbreweries, this book is a travelogue, guide, and genealogical study of beer families and homebrewers from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon. It is filled with eclectic characters and shrewd businesspeople who populate an industry as old as the New World, and who produce liquid philanthropy, one keg at a time.

"Long on sass and spirit . . . brims with brio. . . As a politician/raconteur with a hell of a tale to tell, he sure has my vote."-The New York Times Book ReviewIn this inspiring and often humorous memoir, the outspoken Democratic congressman from Harlem-later the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee-tells about his early years on Lenox Avenue, being awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in a horrific Korean War battle (the last bad day of his life, he says), and his many years in Congress. A charming, natural storyteller, Rangel recalls growing up in Harlem, where from the age of nine he always had at least one job, including selling the legendary Adam Clayton Powell's newspaper; his group of streetwise sophisticates who called themselves Les Garçons; and his time in law school-a decision made as much to win his grandfather's approval as to establish a career. He recounts as well his life in New York politics during the 1960s and the grueling civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery. With New York street smarts, Rangel is a tough liberal and an independent thinker, but also a collegial legislator respected by Democrats and Republicans alike who knows and honors the House's traditions. First elected to Congress in 1970, Rangel served on the House Judiciary Committee during the hearings on the articles of impeachment of President Nixon, helped found the Congressional Black Caucus, and led the fight in Congress to pressure U.S. corporations to divest from apartheid South Africa. Best of all, this is a political memoir with heart, the story of a life filled with friends, humor, and accomplishments. Charles Rangel is one of a kind, and this is the story of how he became the celebrated person and politician he is today. He opens his memoir with a preface about the 2006 elections and an outline of his goals as chairman of Ways and Means. From day one he wants to put the public first so that more Americans can say they haven't had a bad day since.

Finding Grace is the powerful, often humorous, and deeply moving story of one woman's journey of broken dreams. It is the story of how a painful legacy of the past is confronted and met with peace. This book is for anyone who has struggled to understand why our desires- even the simplest ones-are sometimes denied or who has questioned where God is when we need him most. This story is about one woman's unlikely road to motherhood. Finally, it's a book about the "undeserved gift which is life itself." It's the story of "Finding Grace." Donna VanLiere has entertained millions with her inspirational stories. In her new book, she gives us a candid look into her own life, a life filled with suffering and pain, but one that ultimately finds peace with itself.

The first biography of the comedic genius behind the cult favorite TV show "Da Ali G Show" and the high grossing-and gross out-smash film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. If the millions of fans who flocked to the blockbuster films Borat and Talladega Nights tuned in to Sacha Baron Cohen's interviews on late night TV hoping to see the man behind the characters, they were sure to be disappointed. Who exactly is this Sacha Baron Cohen, who has everyone from TV personalities to the government of Kazakhstan all riled up? Did he fool all the politicians and luminaries who made such idiots of themselves on "Da Ali G Show" or did it just look like it? Was it the RV-driving Southern good ole frat boys in Borat-Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan who got taken for a ride or were their on-camera remarks fair game? And how did he get a fiancée as foxy as Isla Fisher, the babe from "Wedding Crashers"? Tracing his roots as the soft-spoken son of an English clothier, biographer Tracy follows Cohen's path to Cambridge, where he ditched the idea of pursuing a Ph.D. for an infinitely trickier comedy career. As we wait to see just what Cohen will come up with next, Tracy gets to the man behind the characters-and details the outrageous moves Cohen has made in character as the boorish English hip-hop journalist Ali G, the tender and tactless Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev, and more

From the poverty-stricken streets of Ponce, Puerto Rico to the vibrant barrios of New York City, HECTOR LAVOE became the singer of all singers, and the driving-force behind the Salsa movement in the mid-1960s. His popularity rivaled that of his contemporaries, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco.Behind the music, Hector's life was filled with drugs, alcohol and women. An endless stream of tragedy plagued him including: a gun-related accident that killed his son, Hector's ninth floor jump from a hotel window and his death in 1993 from AIDS. But Hector's pristine voice, one-of-a-kind stage performances, sold-out concerts and bestselling albums were what his fans remember most and what made him an international icon. His music brought joy to legions of people, and it continues today.

There's a popular misconception that breaking into the modeling business requires expensive head shots and other costly investments. Judy Goss, a former Ford model and professional with twenty years in the business, has set out to dispel that myth once and for all, and tell you how you can actually launch your career for $20 or less. Judy breaks the process down into four simple steps: Preparation, Pictures, Promotion, and Presentation. She gives countless suggestions and tells all sorts of industry secrets, such as how to:* Determine what type of model you are* Take your own pictures at home in the right poses and clothes* Prepare what to say and do at casting calls* Avoid costly scams* And much more.Judy's expert advice will guide aspiring models of any age through the process of finding representation with a reputable agency or manager, and it provides a valuable resource to fall back on even after models start working. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide is the only book you'll need to launch the career of your dreams.

Jenna Miller's job as a florist in the small town of Thornton has kept her too busy for any intimate relationships, and she's feeling that one wild night with an even hotter man is way overdue. So when her friend Eileen asks her to be a tester of the soon-to-be-released online matchmaking service involving anonymous sexual fantasies, Jenna is more than happy to oblige. Troy has been working hard without much time to play hard. He's at the top of his corporate game, but feels he could use a little R&R. But when Troy meets Jenna at Eileen's Orchid Soul kick-off party, everything changes and he finds he cannot forget her. So imagine his surprise when he walks into a flower shop that resides on the property he just purchased, and finds out that the unforgettable Jenna Miller is the owner of the shop. When Troy decides to remain anonymous and seizes on her "Help Wanted" sign to work in her shop, things get very heated. And when the Orchid Soul site leaks their sexual fantasies to each other, things go from heated to blazing hot.

Tiffany has vowed to get revenge on her half-sister and her boyfriend for killing her father Shon and her long-time lover Saliq. But first, Tiffany has to stay low until the dust settles. Tired of being slept on and disrespected, she meets Rasheeda, one of her father's former associates, who is also one of the baddest women in the streets. Rasheeda not only runs an elite escort service and a hot nightclub on the Virginia Beach strip, but she's also one of the major cocaine distributors in the Mid-Atlantic. Rasheeda takes Tiffany under her wing and introduces her to the side of the game that Shon had never revealed to his daughter. Soon Tiffany reconnects with more of her father's former associates, settles old debts and rebuilds her father's drug reign in Virginia. Her reach soon spreads to Charlotte and Memphis. But Tiffany won't be happy until she finds Kanika and Tyrell. There are people who are willing to help Tiffany seek the just revenge that she's been craving for years.

ESPN''s Tim Kurkjian has spent more than twenty-five years covering almost three thousand major league baseball games and interviewing about that many players, coaches, managers, and executives.In Is This a Great Game, or What?, Kurkjian combines his years of experience, uncanny knowledge, and deep love of the game, to create a book filled with some of the most fascinating insight into Major League Baseball this side of Jim Bouton''s bestseller, Ball Four. Whether he''s explaining what goes through a ballplayer''s mind when he faces a fastball in the chapter "My Face Was Crushed by a Bowling Ball Going 90 MPH," detailing bizarre rituals and superstitions performed by baseball''s greatest players, or taking us into the locker room to see what transpires in the clubhouse of a major league team, Kurkjian''s tales are at times hilarious, other times horrifying, yet always entertaining.Kurkjian has spoken to some of the greatest ballplayers ever over the years, and they have revealed details about themselves and the game they love with a candor that readers won''t find anywhere else. Filled with anecdotes and fascinating insights, this is an essential book for baseball fans or anyone curious about America''s pastime.

A slick talking, cunning sex siren, Remmi comes from humble beginnings and a tragic past, but is determined to make it in the male-dominated, dog-eat-dog world of Hollywood-using any and every one to make her dreams a reality. Only associating with those who can assist her climb up the success ladder, Remmi encounters a slew of suitors, each who in some way, have a hand in helping her.Remmi takes L.A. by storm, quickly joining the ranks of Hollywood's elite and becoming one of its most sought after new talents. But as she navigates through the Hollywood scene, she leaves a trail of deception in her path. The film world embraces her but all is not necessarily forgotten. History eventually catches up to Remmi, threatening to snatch everything she's worked so hard to get away from her. In an effort to save her career, her image and ultimately her own skin, Remmi is willing to get down, dirty and scandalous. After all, a girl's gotta eat...

Dante Garrett learned the handyman trade from watching his late grandfather and his father hard at work. Painting, carpentry, and plumbing were among his talents, to the point that he became one of the most wanted men in Park Chester-but not without ducking and dodging some of the horny housewives who were his clients. In fact, Dante goes to great lengths to keep from crossing the line that separates him from clients such as the wispy Ms. Thomas and the regal Mrs. Singletary. It's when he falls head over heels for a client's niece, Stacy, that Dante's life begins to change.Stacy is single and recently relocated from Atlanta, Georgia, in search of opportunities that the big city has to offer. But there are skeletons in her closet that she dare not reveal. And while Dante stands by Stacy through thick and thin, he soon discovers that not all secrets can remain hidden.

How Far Can Home Prices Fall?What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?Home prices are seriously overvalued in many regions of the United States. The question is no longer if, but rather how far, home prices will fall and over what time frame this bubble will deflate. Home values have been escalating in real terms since 1981, the year nominal interest rates last peaked. And the greatest price increases in percentage terms have been in the wealthiest and most exclusive cities in the world.Sell Now! analyses the evidence and offers clear explanations of these perplexing issues. Overly aggressive mortgage lenders have fueled this overheated market by extending too much credit to home buyers and by offering ever-more exotic forms of mortgages. Many home buyers have been caught in a never-ending race to achieve status, often overpaying for homes in the "right" neighborhoods. And people's pursuit of easy profits has pushed prices to unsustainable levels.Finally, there is a reasoned analysis that not only explains how home prices got this high, but why they are sure to fall and by what amount. Sell Now! debunks many theories that purport to show that home prices are neither reasonable or are sustainable at their current high levels.How bad can it get? Unlike previous home-price declines, this cycle has the potential to be not only national, but international in scope. The national economy, so dependent on the housing, mortgage, real estate, banking, and construction industries for growth, is at risk and the entire banking system might come under fire. You owe it to yourself to become better informed about the possible impact on you, your family and your most important asset---your home.

Wasuan Wells has two loves--one is his beautiful girl of two years, Enychi Carter, and the other is his love for dice. Rollin' dice is an everyday hustle for Wasuan, and he's one of the best the hood has ever seen. No one can defeat him. That is, until he stumbles across a dude from the same hood named Tone who has just as much confidence, a little too much mouth, lots of cash to back it up, and a strong desire for Wasuan's girl. When Wasuan is challenged and the stakes grow high, he finds himself caught out in deeper waters than he can swim in, with Tone dangling three options: pay up, take your last breath, or sacrifice something much greater...his girl, Enychi. But when Enychi agrees to spend one night with Tone in order to save her man's life, she finds herself caught up in an unwilling love triangle like the streets have never known. Love, betrayal, lies, sex and money are just the beginning in this scandalous tale, where loyalties are put to the ultimate test.In this new novel, T. N. Baker takes the term "sheisty" to a whole new level.

New York is a Latino cultural hotbed. With nearly well over 2 million people of Hispanic descent in New York City area, more and more of the city's food, shopping, nightlife, and cultural activity revolves around the Latino communities.Nueva York is the only guidebook that gives you the insider view of Latino culture in the city, from food and nightlife to shopping and cultural events. This book reveals the most authentic Latino cuisine in the city, from where to get the best Mexican tamales to the freshest Peruvian ceviche. With Nueva York in your hand, you'll have a completely new and exhilarating experience of New York City:- Taste one of the seven culinary wonders of the world along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. - Dance to merengue, bachata, and reggaeton music at the hottest Latino clubs in the city.- Escape the city noise and bustle in rural-style casitas and community gardens in the Lower East Side and East Harlem.- Explore one of the city's vibrant Latino neighborhoods with the book's walking tours and maps.- Celebrate at one of New York's vibrant festivals and parades.- Shop for the city's best Latino foods, clothing, cigars, beauty supplies, candy, and more!- Learn how to speak Spanish, dance the tango, or negotiate with a livery cab driver.

An easy-to-use, step-by-step guide to calling Canada home More and more Americans are thinking of moving to Canada to find a job, attend colleges and universities, peace of mind---even retirement---and whatever their motivations, they will have to navigate the Canadian immigration, citizenship, and naturalization processes. So whether you're thinking about moving or already have your bags packed, How to Move to Canada is for you. It's a straightforward, friendly, informative handbook that delivers on its promise, providing readers with a thorough understanding of what to expect and where to get help and more information.How to Move to Canada offers:--A realistic appreciation of what Canada has to offer Americans --Snapshots of Canada's provinces and territories and their major cities --Interviews with immigration experts and Americans who have emigrated to Canada --An immigration checklist and a comprehensive list of resources to consult for more information --Real-life, hands-on perspectives, and invaluable advice How to Move to Canada makes the move north feel possible, supplying readers with a clear understanding of what they'll need in order to make a run for the border.

Barely eighteen, Kanika has everything to look forward to. She's fine, smart, and strong-qualities she inherited from a momma who made sure her little girl had every privilege-courtesy of Tony, one of Brooklyn's most powerful crime lords. Born to the life, Kanika knows the hustle from the inside out, but her future holds college and some quality time with Tony's second-in-command, Tyrell...Then Kanika's world explodes in a hail of bullets and blood when a hit takes down both the man who raised her and the mother she adores. Alone, shattered, and possibly a target herself, Kanika lets Tyrell convince her to attend college in Virginia and move in with her birth father. Down South has a whole other rhythm than Brooklyn, and the parent Kanika barely knows is a different kind of mobster than Tony was. Shon is angry and unpredictable...Determined as she is to make things work, Kanika is equally committed to finding out who killed Tony and her momma. She's not about to forget Tyrell. But nothing can prepare Kanika for what she's about to face: from temptation to danger to revelations that will call all her loyalties into question-and put her life on the line...

How much do you earn?Do you wipe your sweat off the machines at the gym?Consider yourself a fix-it man at home?Have you done "it" at work?Ever cheat on your taxes?Do you wax or pluck your eyebrows?Have you ever snooped in someone's medicine cabinet?When it comes to men, just what exactly is normal? How do you-or the man you love-behave compared to other guys? The fact is, men are both entirely predictable and utterly surprising. WHEN IT COMES TO GUYS, WHAT'S NORMAL? takes a look at who they really are, how they behave in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, office, driver's seat and wherever they happen to be on the planet.

The federal government wastes your tax dollars worse than a drunken sailor on shore leave. The 1984 Grace Commission uncovered that the Department of Defense spent $640 for a toilet seat and $436 for a hammer. Twenty years later things weren't much better. In 2004, Congress spent a record-breaking $22.9 billion dollars of your money on 10,656 of their pork-barrel projects. The war on terror has a lot to do with the record $413 billion in deficit spending, but it's also the result of pork over the last 18 years the likes of:- $50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa- $102 million to study screwworms which were long ago eradicated from American soil- $273,000 to combat goth culture in Missouri- $2.2 million to renovate the North Pole (Lucky for Santa!)- $50,000 for a tattoo removal program in California- $1 million for ornamental fish researchFunny in some instances and jaw-droppingly stupid and wasteful in others, The Pig Book proves one thing about Capitol Hill: pork is king!

Be Happy or I'll Scream is for every married woman who has found just the tiniest bit of disconnect between the image of a perfect family in her head-think "The Brady Bunch" or "The Huxtables"-and the evidence in front of her eyes. Instead of darling and compliant rosy-cheeked children and an adorably tolerant husband ready to go along with zany shenanigans, most women are faced with: kids who view family outings with all the enthusiasm of hardened inmates forced to bust rocks in roadside Alabama and a man who would trade every last one of her kooky ideas for a just a teeny little bit more sex and a hot meal on the table at six. Sheri Lynch, co-cost of radio's syndicated Bob & Sheri, is a superb humorist of modern marriage, mores, and motherhood. Her Hello, My Name Is Mommy decoded the pitfalls of pregnancy and trials of new motherhood. Be Happy or I'll Scream taps into the wackier, even more wonderful world of family and husband management, kid-raising, and sanity maintenance in the face of it all. Her take on what life is really like inside a marriage-as opposed to what it looks like on the holiday card version of same-will ring both wacky and true to any woman who was ever foolish enough to dream of the perfect marriage and family.

American Empire is at its apex. We are the sole superpower with no potential challenger for a generation. We can reach any point on the globe with our cruise missiles and smart bombs and our culture penetrates every nook and cranny of the global village. Yet we are now the most hated country on earth, buried beneath a mountain of debt and morally bankrupt.Where the Right Went Wrong chronicles how the Bush administration and Beltway conservatives have abandoned their principles, and how a tiny cabal hijacked U. S. foreign policy, and may have ignited a "war of civilizations" with the Islamic world that will leave America's military mired down in Middle East wars for years to come.At the same time, these Republicans have sacrificed the American worker on the altar of free trade and discarded the beliefs of Taft, Goldwater and Reagan to become a party of Big Government that sells its soul to the highest bidder.A damning portrait of the present masters of the GOP, Where the Right Went Wrong calls to task the Bush administration for its abandonment of true conservatism including:*The neo-conservative cabal-liberal wolves in conservative suits.*Why the Iraq War has widened and imperiled the War on Terror.*How current trade policy outsources American sovereignty, independence and industrial power."Buchanan is an honest writer who...minces nothing except an occasional opponent." --The Philadelphia Inquirer

A great military history about the early days of the American Revolution, Thomas A. Desjardin''s Through a Howling Wilderness is also a timeless adventure narrative that tells of heroic acts, men pitted against nature''s fury, and a fledgling nation''s fight against a tyrannical oppressor. Before Benedict Arnold was branded a traitor, he was one of the colonies'' most valuable leaders. In September 1775, eleven hundred soldiers boarded ships in Massachusetts, bound for the Maine wilderness. They had volunteered for a secret mission, under Arnold''s command to march and paddle nearly two hundred miles and seize British Quebec. Before they reached the Canadian border, hundreds died, a hurricane destroyed canoes and equipment and many deserted. In the midst of a howling blizzard, the remaining troops attacked Quebec and almost took Canada from the British simultaneously weakening the British hand against Washington. With the enigmatic Benedict Arnold at its center, Desjardin has written one of the great American adventure stories.

Myrna Blyth, former editor-in-chief of Ladies' Home Journal, was part of the Spin Sisters media elite for over twenty years. In Spin Sisters, she tells the truth about the business she knows so well---its power and influence, its manipulations, and frequently misguided politics. Spin Sisters is an eye-opener that will change the way you think about a major influence on your life---and about yourself.

A disaffected writer gets caught in the morass of complicated human relationships when he appropriates the life of a former patient and befriends his mentally challenged sister.The people in gay bars on Christmas Day are so desperate for basic human contact that they'd go home with a Doc Marten shoe if it made a move, and maybe even if it didn't.So begins the story of Cameron Dodds, a disenfranchised writer who visits gay bars on Christmas and works at a Salvation Army Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in order to steal the stories of the people he meets there. But when Cameron finds a patient hanged in the utilities closet, his infatuation with other people's stories becomes an obsession. Assuming the man's identity, Cameron seeks out and forges a relationship with the victim's mentally challenged sister, who lives in a home uptown. As Cameron becomes more involved in the woman's life, he begins to discover truths that will challenge him to the very core of his existence.

Ten Green Bottles is the story of Nini Karpel's struggles as she told it to her daughter Vivian Jeanette Kaplan so many years ago. This true story depicts the fierce perseverance of one family, victims of the forces of evil, who overcame suffering of biblical proportion to survive. It was a time when ordinary people became heroes.To Nini Karpel, growing up in Vienna during the 1920s was a romantic confection. Whether schussing down ski slopes or speaking of politics in coffee houses, she cherished the city of her birth. But in the 1930s an undercurrent of conflict and hate began to seize the former imperial capital. This struggle came to a head when Hitler took possession of neighboring Germany. Anti-Semitism, which Nini and her idealistic friends believed was impossible in the socially advanced world of Vienna, became widespread and virulent.The Karpel's Jewish identity suddenly made them foreigners in their own homeland. Tormented, disenfranchised, and with a broken heart, Nini and her family sought refuge in a land seven thousand miles across the world.Shanghai, China, one of the few countries accepting Jewish immigrants, became their new home and refuge. Stepping off the boat, the Karpel family found themselves in a land they could never have imagined. Shanghai presented an incongruent world of immense wealth and privilege for some and poverty for the masses, with opium dens and decadent clubs as well as rampant disease and a raging war between nations.

Missionary Stew follows political fundraiser Draper Haere on a quest to uncover the secret behind a right-wing coup in an unnamed Central american country. He seeks the information in order to get dirt on his boss's opponent in the 1984 US Presidential election. Haere's pursuit of the truth repeatedly puts Haere's life in danger, as the powers-that-be stop at nothing to keep the episode buried. Along the way, Haere carries on an affair with the wife of his candidate and enlists the aid of Morgan Citron, an almost-Pullitzer winning journalist who has recently been released from an African prison where the prisoners where fed human flesh--the titular missionary stew. Together, Citron and Haere face up against cocaine traffickers, Latin American generals, corrupt US officials, and Citron's estranged, tabloid-publisher mother.