“Vonnegut’s life was a fascinating tragicomedy worthy of his best novels . . . A superbly researched and above all very entertaining biography.” —Blake Bailey, New York Times–bestselling author of Philip Roth: The Biography A New York Times Notable Book A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book In 2006, Charles Shields reached out to Kurt Vonnegut in a letter, asking for his endorsement for a planned biography. The first response was no (“A most respectful demurring by me for the excellent writer Charles J. Shields, who offered to be my biographer”). Propelled by a passion for his subject, and already deep into his research, Shields wrote again and this time, to his delight, the answer came back: “O.K.” For the next year—which ended up being Vonnegut’s last—Shields had access to Vonnegut and his letters. After four additional years of research and writing, And So It Goes is “the first truly exacting look into the life of a man who has fascinated so many” (Esquire). “An incisive, gossipy page-turner of a biography.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times “A triumphant biography . . . From his harrowing survival of the Dresden firebombing through forty years of culture clashes and domestic battles, here is the Vonnegut we all thought we knew and the man we never got to see, a writer of searing wit and wisdom, of driving ambition, and perhaps most of all, of aching loneliness.” —Jess Walter, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins “An engaging, surprising and empathetic page-turner.” —Deirdre Donahue, USA Today “Adroit literary analysis that highlights obscure or overlooked influences on Vonnegut . . . . With access to more than 1,500 letters, Shields conducted hundreds of interviews to produce this engrossing, definitive biography.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An extensively revised and updated edition of the bestselling biography of Harper Lee, reframed from the perspective of the recent publication of Lee's Go Set a Watchman To Kill a Mockingbird—the twentieth century's most widely read American novel—has sold thirty million copies and still sells a million yearly. In this in-depth biography, first published in 2006, Charles J. Shields brings to life the woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters, Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout. Years after its initial publication—with revisions throughout the book and a new epilogue—Shields finishes the story of Harper Lee's life, up to its end. There's her former agent getting her to transfer the copyright for To Kill a Mockingbird to him, the death of Lee's dear sister Alice, a fuller portrait of Lee’s editor, Tay Hohoff, and—most vitally—the release of Lee's long-buried first novel and the ensuing public devouring of what has truly become the book of the year, if not the decade: Lee's Go Set a Watchman.

The colorful life of the remarkable woman who created To Kill a Mockingbird—the classic that became a touchstone for generations of Americans To Kill a Mockingbird, the twentieth-century's most widely read American novel, has sold thirty million copies and still sells a million yearly. Yet despite the book's perennial popularity, its creator, Harper Lee has become a somewhat mysterious figure. Now, after years of research, Charles J. Shields has brought to life the warmhearted, high-spirited, and occasionally hardheaded woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters—Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout—and who contributed to the success of her lifelong friend Truman Capote's masterpiece, In Cold Blood. At the center of Shields's lively book is the story of Lee's struggle to create her famous novel. But her life contains many other highlights as well: her girlhood as a tomboy in overalls in tiny Monroeville, Alabama; the murder trial that made her beloved father's reputation and inspired her great work; her journey to Kansas as Capote's ally and research assistant to help report the story of the Clutter murders; the surrogate family she found in New York City. Drawing on six hundred interviews and much new information, Mockingbird is the first book ever written about Harper Lee. Highly entertaining, filled with humor and heart, this is an evocative portrait of a writer, her dream, and the place and people whom she made immortal.

Interchange Third Edition is a fully revised edition of New Interchange, the world's most successful series for adult and young adult learners of North American English. The course has been thoroughly revised to reflect the most recent approaches to language teaching and learning.

A biography of the third president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, a relative unknown hand-picked by Boris Yeltsin to succeed him.

Includes materials on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing positive numbers; algebraic expressions; and solving and graphing equations.

After the Civil War, countless arrivals from around the world pushed into the West; some seeking treasure, but most were hoping for the chance for a new life in the New World. But a dark cloud hung over the area: the Indians who were already living here. The new United States government helped the new settlers by placing Indians on reservations, providing US troops to maintain order. One of these was Sgt. Conner, who had just guided four new settlers into a lovely mountain glade. Upon his return, he learned sadly that a band of young braves had attacked a wagon train killing all but two, a boy in his early teens, and his older sister who had been taken alive by the leader of the band, Dark Cloud. The next day, Conner and his troops recovered the bodies and belongings of the settlers. But to Conner’s dismay, there were tracks of the attackers heading toward the very mountain glade he had just visited. Dreading the outcome he led some troops back to that glade and found the four new settlers killed by the attacking Indians. While there, the site was visited by Chief Three Eagles who accepted his braves as responsible but added white men were involved. Conner returned to the fort to learn what he could from the two survivors. Would the Indians and white men be brought to justice? What would become of the two orphaned survivors?

Provides comprehensive overview of strategies for solving word problems to be used in classroom or home setting.