Frank McCourt, the Irish-American schoolteacher whose poignant memoirs earned him a Pulitzer Prize, has passed away at the age of 78. He leaves behind a gripping set of life stories.

Angela's Ashes

'Tis

Teacher Man

Michael Adams, author of Slang: The People's Poetry, has already favored us with a list of five great slang dictionaries to accompany our two-part interview with him. Now he presents five more must-reads in the field of slang studies, from scholars with a diverse set of perspectives.  Continue reading...

When we interviewed Michael Adams about his new book, Slang: The People's Poetry (part one here), we asked him to recommend the best dictionaries of English slang available. If you're curious about the meanings and origins of slang terms, these are the go-to references.  Continue reading...

British author J.G. Ballard, a highly distinctive and often controversial writer, has passed away. Here are some of his most memorable novels and short stories.

Empire of the Sun

Crash

The Atrocity Exhibition

The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard

The National Book Critics Circle has announced its awards for the best books of 2008.

2666 (fiction)

The Forever War (nonfiction)

My Father's Paradise (autobiography)

The World Is What It Is (biography)

Horton Foote, an esteemed dramatist, screenwriter, and memoirist, has passed away at the age of 92. Here is some of his best collected work.

Three Plays

Three Screenplays

Beginnings: A Memoir

Farewell

The late John Updike was a virtuoso of both fiction and non-fiction forms. Here is a sampling of his best work.

Rabbit Novels Vol. 1

Rabbit Novels Vol. 2

Due Considerations

Hugging the Shore