The Racketeer [Hardcover]

Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. On paper, Malcolm’s situation isn’t looking too good these days, but he’s got an ace up his sleeve. He knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and he knows why. What was in the safe? The FBI would love to know. And Malcolm Bannister would love to tell them. But everything has a price—especially information as explosive as the sequence of events that led to Judge Fawcett’s death. And the Racketeer wasn’t born yesterday. Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered. Such is some of the footage in this story.

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) [Paperback]

Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a family of healers, and raised in rural Mexico by a curandera (healer) mother and a nagual (shaman) grandfather. In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. In the tradition of the Toltec, a nagual guides an individual to personal freedom. Don Miguel Ruiz, a nagual from the Eagle Knight lineage, is dedicated to sharing his knowledge of the teachings of the ancient Toltec. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements -- be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, always do your best -- offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform life into a new experience of freedom, love, and true happiness.  For more than a decade, he has worked to impart this wisdom to his students through lectures, workshops, and journeys to sacred sites around the world.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood [Paperback]

PERSEPOLIS is what has come to be known as a "graphic novel." In its purist form, a graphic novel is a story told through sequential art. PERSEPOLIS has been compared to MAUS, and certainly Satrapi's topic is somewhat similar, but her artistic style is closer to that of Los Bros Hernandez, whose brilliant LOVE AND ROCKETS is sadly missed. Persepolis begins with a short introduction. It is an abbreviated history of Iran from its first occupation by Indo-European nomads, to the establishment of the Persian Empire, to the 1979 Islamic revolution. The author writes that the purpose of her book is to show that Iran is not a country of fundamentalists and terrorists, and that characterizations of the country by the West are inaccurate. Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Satrapi was born in 1969 in Rasht, Iran…but grew up in Tehran. Her comic book illustrations in Persepolis represent her life from about the age of six through the age of fourteen and ends when she leaves to attend school in Austria (where her parents sent her to escape the escalating violence in Iran). PERSEPOLIS ends with Satrapi's parents sending her to Austria to avoid the repercussions of the Islamic government. One is left wondering what became of Satrapi and her parents. Satrapi is reportedly working on a sequel to PERSEPOLIS, which undoubtedly will be most welcomed by readers of this volume.

Everything's an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz (2009, Paperback)

This best-selling brief text shows students how to analyze all kinds of arguments — not just essays and editorials, but clothes, cars, ads, and Web site designs — and then how to use what they learn to write their own effective arguments. With engaging, informal,
and jargon-free instruction that emphasizes cultural currency,
humor, and visual argument, "Everything's an Argument "is
student-centered and immediately accessible. Students like this book because it helps them understand how a world of argument already surrounds them; instructors like it because it helps students construct their own arguments about that world.