1949-

Presents a guide to the novel "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle", by Haruki Murakami, and provides biographical information on the author, an analysis of the text-- examining its most important themes and ideas, and a summary of how the novel was received when it was first published, and how it is considered today.

Ari Goldman explores the emotional and spiritual aspects of spending a ritual year in mourning, a required Jewish tradition, after his father died.

The author reflects on how running has influenced his life and writing, discussing the places he has trained, the people he has met, and the races he has run.

Philippe Petit, a French street performer, tells the story of how he planned and executed a walk on a cable rigged between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. Includes photographs taken by Petit's friends and accomplices.

Memoir of the author's childhood in the Candy Hill neighborhood of Bryan, Texas, describing the indignities and economic hardships, as well as the love and warmth of everyday life for the African-Americans living in the segregated area in the years before the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The biography of Bruce Jenner, the Olympic decathlon champion.

Philippe Petit's illicit 1974 high-wire walk between the World Trade Center towers is the touchstone for stories of the people down below, including an Irish monk living in the Bronx projects, a Park Avenue mother in mourning for her son who died in Vietnam, and a heroin-addicted hooker.

David Gilmour traces his unconventional decision to let his son, Jesse, drop out of high school as long as they watched three movies of David's choosing together each week. David discusses how, as the films got them talking about Jesse's interior life, Jesse would come to make a decision that surprised even his father.

Presents a reproducible study guide to the novel for the elementary classroom, and contains chapter summaries, pre-reading activities, and vocabulary and comprehension exercises.