A Companion to the American Short Story traces the development of this versatile literary genre over the past 200 years.
Sets the short story in context, paying attention to the interaction of cultural forces and aesthetic principles
Contributes to the ongoing redefinition of the American canon, with close attention to the achievements of women writers as well as such important genres as the ghost story and detective fiction
Embraces diverse traditions including African-American, Jewish-American, Latino, Native-American, and regional short story writing
The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction (Audio CD)
* The only short introduction to this subject * Focuses on the major developments of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries: Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton and beyond * Looks at astronomy in antiquity: the Egyptians and the Greeks: Aristotle, Plato, Eudoxus, Hipparchus * Final chapter on the directions that the subject has taken since 1950
Many scholars believe that the framers of the Constitution intended Congress to be the preeminent branch of government. Indeed, no other legislature in the world approaches its power. Yet most Americans have only a murky idea of how it works. In The U.S. Congress, Donald A. Ritchie, a congressional historian for more than thirty years, takes readers on a fascinating, behind-the-scenes tour of Capitol Hill--pointing out the key players, explaining their behavior, and translating parliamentary language into plain English.
The short story has become an increasingly important genre since the mid-nineteenth century. Complementing The Cambridge Introduction to the American Short Story, this book examines the development of the short story in Britain and other English-language literatures. It considers issues of form and style alongside - and often as part of - a broader discussion of publishing history and the cultural contexts in which the short story has flourished and continues to flourish. In its structure the book provides a chronological survey of the form, usefully grouping writers to show the development of the genre over time.
