In a series of interviews with David Naimon, Le Guin discusses craft, aesthetics, and philosophy in her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction works. The discussions provide ample advice and guidance for writers of every level, but also give Le Guin a chance to sound off on some of her favorite subjects: the genre wars, the patriarchy, the natural world, and what, in her opinion, makes for great writing. With excerpts from her own books and those that she...

"Because of our shared English language, as well as the celebrated origin tales of the Mayflower and the rebellion of the British colonies, the United States has prized its Anglo heritage above all others. However, as Carrie Gibson explains with great depth and clarity in El Norte, the nation has much older Spanish roots -- ones that have long been unacknowledged or marginalized. The Hispanic past of the United States predates the arrival of the Pilgrims...

"Identifies [what the author sees as] an epochal shift in the structure of American life--a shift unnoticed by many. Routines that once put doctors and lawyers in touch with grocers and plumbers--interactions that encouraged debate and cultivated compromise--have changed dramatically since the postwar era. Both technology and the new routines of everyday life connect tight-knit circles and expand the breadth of our social landscapes, but they've sapped...

Here, journalist Meyer nails America's early-twenty-first-century mood disorder. He points out the most widespread symptoms, including the belligerence of partisan politics that perverts our democracy, the decline of once common manners, the vulgarity of Hollywood entertainment, the superficiality and untrustworthiness of the news media, the cult of celebrity, and the disappearance of authentic neighborhoods and voluntary organizations (the kind that...

"Changing the world means changing the story, the names, and the language with which we describe it. Calling things by their true names cuts through the lies that excuse, disguise, avoid, or encourage inaction, indifference, obliviousness in the face of injustice and violence. In this powerful and wide-ranging collection, Solnit turns her attention to battles over meaning, place, language, and belonging at the heart of the defining crises of our time....

Discover the sweeping history of black America: the path from slavery to freedom; the on-going struggle to define and realize freedom; and the major social, political and economic changes since 1968. You'll learn how the African American story transcends a single community, and shapes all those who call themselves Americans.

Bill McKibben -- award-winning author, activist, educator -- is fiercely curious. "I'm curious about what went so suddenly sour with American patriotism, American faith, and American prosperity." Like so many of us, McKibben grew up believing -- knowing -- that the United States was the greatest country on earth. As a teenager, he cheerfully led American Revolution tours in Lexington, Massachusetts. He sang "Kumbaya" at church. And with the remarkable...

"The master geopolitical forecaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Next 100 Years focuses on the United States, predicting how the 2020s will bring dramatic upheaval and reshaping of American government, foreign policy, economics, and culture"-- Friedman identifies an 80-year "institutional cycle" and a 50-year "socio-economic cycle" that has seen the formation of the industrial classes, baby boomers, and the middle classes. These two...

"After a decade abroad, the National Book Award--and Pulitzer Prize--winning writer Evan Osnos returns to three places he has lived in the United States--Greenwich, CT; Clarksburg, WV; and Chicago, IL--to illuminate the origins of America's political fury"-- Osnos moved to Washington, D.C., in 2013 after a decade away from the United States, first as the Beijing bureau chief at the Chicago Tribune and then the China correspondent for The New Yorker....

We have vast oceans of information at our disposal, yet increasingly we seek knowledge with brief glimpses at the Yahoo headlines while juggling other tasks. We are networked as never before, but we tend to communicate even with our most intimate friends and family via instant messaging, email, and fleeting face-to-face moments that are rescheduled a dozen times, then punctuated when they do occur with pings and beeps and more multitasking. Welcome...