Following the critical acclaim of his first book, The MiradorsaDescensions of a Man, we arrive at Toolkit in Paradise, a decade of the best in American seriocomic reportage. Finally, we have athe last thing we thought wead ever need in the last place we thought wead ever need it.a Fine-tune your wit and wisdom, laugh until it hurts, and cry until it hurts less as you travel through these painfully funny passageways to our most intimate inner selvesafrom the domestic front to the world stageaand beyond. And, yesayou CAN take them with you when you go.

The Literary Theory Toolkit offers readers a rich compendium of key terms, concepts, and arguments necessary for the study of literature in a critical-theoretical context. Includes varied examples drawn from readily available literary texts spanning all periods and genres Features a chapter on performance, something not usually covered in similar texts Covers differing theories of the public sphere, ideology, power, and the social relations necessary for the understanding of approaches to literature

Shortlisted for the Zócalo Book Prize Named one of the best books of the year by The New Yorker and The New Republic “Consistently entertaining and often downright funny.” —The New Yorker “Wry and revelatory.” —The New York Times "A romp, packed with tales of anger, violence, theft, lust, greed, political chicanery and transportation policy gone wrong . . . highly entertaining." —The Los Angeles Times An entertaining, enlightening, and utterly original investigation into one of the most quietly influential forces in modern American life—the humble parking spot Parking, quite literally, has a death grip on America: each year a shocking number of Americans kill one another over parking spots, and we routinely do ri­diculous things for parking, contorting our professional, social, and financial lives to get a spot. Since the advent of the car, we have deformed our cities in a Sisyphean quest for car storage, and as a result, much of the nation’s most valuable real estate is now devoted to empty vehicles. Parking determines the design of new buildings and the fate of old ones, traffic patterns and the viability of transit, neighborhood politics and municipal finance, and the overall quality of public space. Is this really the best use of our finite resources? Is parking really more important than everything else? In a beguiling and absurdly hilarious mix of history, politics, and reportage, Slate staff writer Henry Grabar brilliantly surveys the nation’s parking crisis, revealing how the compulsion for car storage has exacerbated some of our most acute problems— from housing affordability to the accelerating global climate disaster—and, ultimately, how we can free our cities from park­ing’s cruel yoke.

This complete overview of religious studies provides students with the essential knowledge and tools they need to explore and understand the nature of religion. Covers the early development of religion, with overviews of major and minor religions from Islam to Scientology Considers recent developments including secularization; the relationship between religion and science; and scientific studies on religion, health, and mystical experience Uses humor throughout, allowing students to remain open-minded to the subject Explains what it means to study religion academically, and considers the impact of the study of religion on religion itself Contains numerous student-friendly features including photos, maps, time lines, side bars, historical profiles, and population distribution figures Provides classroom users with a lively website,www.wiley.com/go/religiontoolkit, including questions, quizzes, extra material, and helpful primary and secondary sources

The first in an enchanting new contemporary romance series featuring rugged Alaskan pilots who are about to meet their match from New York Times bestselling author Barbara Dunlop. Supermodel Mia Westberg has found herself under the scrutiny of the paparazzi after her much older husband dies and leaves her his fashion house. In order to stay out of the public eye, she packs her things and leaves Los Angeles, escaping to visit her cousin Raven, a shipping expeditor working in a remote part of Alaska—where Mia is sure the tabloids won't follow. But she isn't ready for everything Paradise, Alaska throws at her: the wild animals, insanely harsh weather, and a certain no-nonsense bush pilot. When pilot Silas Burke flies a beautiful blonde into town, it doesn't take him long to figure her out. She's a spoiled, entitled city girl who has zero business in the rough terrain of Alaska, where the storms are as unforgiving as the dangerous wildlife. After seeing her struggle, and against his better judgment, he helps her acclimate to life in Paradise. But he’s an impatient teacher and she’s a frustrated pupil—and nothing gets them fired up more than each other. Can these two polar opposites find common ground and possibly something more?

Originally published in 1994, Paradise Lost? is the outcome of a unique collaboration between economists and ecologists initiated by the Beijer Institute of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The book examines how the loss of biodiversity is one of the most serious problems the world faces, and suggests that new, interdisciplinary thinking is required to safeguard both us and the biosphere from the effects of species extinction. The book examines how an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the conservation of biodiversity can understand and tackle the issue. It provides an overview of the causes of the problem, and examines previous approaches to dealing with it. The book also addresses how the loss of biodiversity affects natural systems and provides an examination of environmental policy, while discussing how this has been affected by the ecological limits to economic activity. This book will be of interest to both academics and students of environmental sciences, economics and politics.

Petty sabotage knocks Matthias’s freighter off-course to an uncharted moon, but before he can right his ship, a distress call lures him to its hidden compound and the beautiful woman trapped there. Confined to a luxurious prison for years, enhanced until she’s a machine in a human body, Serena is desperate to escape, even if doing so could mean her death. But if she’s going to die anyway, she may as well really live while she still has the chance. ZONE CYBORGS READING ORDER Haven Paradise Oasis Safe Harbor Sanctuary Refuge Keywords: sci fi romance, cyborg romance, science fiction romance, space opera, rapunzel, space opera romance, far future, genetic engineering, cyberpunk romance

Passion heats up in Paradise, Alaska, for two people who couldn't be more different in this sweet, sizzling romance from New York Times bestselling author Barbara Dunlop. Accomplished Los Angeles lawyer Marnie Anton has always been sensible, but when her friend Mia Westberg asks for help with a ridiculous matchmaking project, she can't say no. The idea of transporting city girls into the small town of Paradise, Alaska, is so crazy it just might...work? Against her best judgment, she tags along. Having grown up in a family of intimidating men, Marnie developed a preference for the urbane lawyers and clients in her life in LA. But when she meets a mountain of a buff Alaskan man with an intriguing snake tattoo, intimidated is definitely not the first thing she feels. Conrad "Cobra" Stanford was skeptical of the matchmaking event from the start. Big-city women weren't adventurous, they were judgmental. They'd take one look at him and scorn his lifestyle, just like his first love did. Cobra planned to give the women a wide berth, but one of them won't be ignored. Marnie's everything that's wrong and everything that's right for him all at the same time. Just when he thinks he's got her pegged, she blindsides him with a startling past, falling into his arms and igniting his protective instincts and so much more....