Born in Prague when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and recognized today as a master of verse, poet Rainer Maria Rilke was considerably less well known in 1902 when he received a heartfelt letter from an aspiring poet. A 19-year-old student sent Rilke some of his verses, seeking an opinion of their worth. Rilke declined to offer a critique, instead encouraging the student to rely upon his own inner judgment: "Nobody can advise and help...

This charming classic love story, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, at the time, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London at 84, Charing Cross Road. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Their relationship, captured so acutely...

"Tragic family history told in a collection of imaginary letters to a famed collector, Moise de Camondo"-- The Camondos were a Jewish family from Constantinople who made their home in Paris in the 1870s and became philanthropists, art collectors, and fixtures of Belle Époque high society. They were also targets of antisemitism, much like de Waal's relations, the Ephrussi family, to whom they were connected. Eventually, the Camondos were murdered...

Anderson Cooper's intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS' 60 Minutes affords him little time to spend with his ninety-one year old mother. After she briefly fell ill, he and Gloria began a conversation through e-mail unlike any they had ever had before, a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discussed their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.