A collection of essays on American culture from the award-winning website's popular 'Life' section includes such pieces as 'Confessions of a Lesbian Sperm Donor,' 'Saucy Soccer Moms,' and 'An Epidemic of Bastards--Multiple Generations of Illegitimate Kids in One Family.' Original.

Essays by Rick Moody, Caroline Knapp, and Jonathan Lethem, among others, highlight a collection of thoughts, experiences, and reflections by both noted writers and ordinary Americans that explore the September 11th terrorist attacks and their aftermath and shed light on how they have affected all our lives. Original. (view table of contents)

An alphabetically organized guide to 225 of the most insteresting authors of the twentieth century features biographical profiles, reviews, and bibliographies of writers ranging from Margaret Atwood and Paul Auster to Alice Walker and Tobias Wolff, along with essays and recommended reading lists by some of these noted authors. Original. (view table of contents)