1956-

Each volume provides discussions of the literary and historical background of novels from various cultures and time periods. Includes concise synopses of plot, characters and themes, a brief author biography, discussion of the story's cultural and historical significance, and excerpted criticism.

Presents vital information on the most-studied short stories at the high school and early-college levels. Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.

Presents vital information on the most-studied short stories at the high school and early-college levels. Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.

Presents vital information on the most-studied short stories at the high school and early-college levels. Each entry contains author biography, plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, and criticism.

Provides analysis and criticism of recent novels and other works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama.

"Describes the life and work of Mae Jemison, a doctor and engineer as well as the first African-American woman in space"--Provided by publisher.

Offers a brief overview of the life and career of legendary NFL quarterback Joe Montana, discussing his career highs and lows, personal life, family, retirement, and other related topics.

Eileen Collins was an aviation pioneer her entire career, from her crowning achivements as the first woman to pilot the space shuttle and the first to command an American space mission to her early years as one of the Air Force's first female pilots. She was only the second woman pilot admitted to the Air Force's elite Test Pilot Program at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA had such confidence in her skills as a leader that she was entrusted to command the first shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster, returning the US to spaceflight after a two-year hiatus. Eileen Collins is among the most recognised and admired women in the world, yet this is the first time she has told her story in a book. It is a story not only of achievement and overcoming obstacles but of profound personal transformation. The shy, quiet child of an alcoholic father and struggling single mother, she grew up in modest circumstances and was an unremarkable student. When she graduated from high school, she had few prospects, but she changed her life to pursue her secret dream of becoming an astronaut. She shares her leadership and life lessons throughout the book with the aim of inspiring and passing on her legacy to a new generation.

"In [this book], Amitav Ghosh traces the transformative effect the opium trade had on Britain, India, and China, as well as the world at large. The trade was engineered by the British Empire, which exported Indian opium to sell to China to redress their great trade imbalance, and its revenues were essential to the empire's financial survival. Following the profits further, Ghosh finds opium central to the origins of some of the world's biggest corporations, of America's most powerful families and prestigious institutions . . . and of contemporary globalism itself"--Provided by publisher.

This true story follows Dr. Mae Jemison who found a way to combine her gifts of scientific logic and artistic creativity by becoming an astronaut--and the first Black woman to travel into space.