In this town, everyone's a bottom feeder ... Five desperate criminals are robbing one of the last remaining banks in Freedom City, a town devastated by the previous nuclear war. But these are no ordinary criminals. They are members of the House of Cards, an organization designed to help the less fortunate citizens of the city. In a place where the poor are separated from the rich, jobs are as scarce as clean water, and even the doctors are as corrupt as the politicians, the House of Cards are a final beacon of hope in an otherwise hopeless world. Featuring: radiation fetishists, balloon people, mutant crabs, sail-bike road warriors, and a love affair between a woman and an H-Bomb. This is one mean asshole of a city. Welcome to Crab Town.

In the great tradition of the American almanac, The Areas of My Expertise is a brilliant and hilarious compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom on all topics large and small. Although bestsellers such as Poor Richard’s Almanack and The Book of Lists were certainly valuable, they also were largely true. Here is a different kind of handy desk reference, one in which all of the historical oddities and amazing true facts are sifted through the singular, illuminating imagination of John Hodgman—which is the nice way of saying: He made it all up. John Hodgman brings his considerable expertise to bear in answering all of the questions book buyers have been asking: -What are the mottoes of the 51 United States? THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED -Who were the U.S. presidents who had hooks for hands? THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED -What role does the Yale secret society “Skull and Bones” play in the secret world government? THERE IS NO SECRET WORLD GOVERNMENT -What was the menu at the first Thanksgiving, and did it include eels? Technically, that is two questions, but do not apologize, for John Hodgman shall answer them both . . . LATER. -Aside from a compendium of fake trivia, what is the best kind of book to write? A SIMPLE TABLE OF THE 55 MOST DRAMATIC LITERARY SITUATIONS PROVIDES THE ANSWER, and John Hodgman is the author of that table. Imagine if The Book of Lists had been rewritten by Peter Cook and Jorge Luis Borges under the pseudonym of “John Hodgman” and then renamed The Areas of My Expertise, and you will only begin to have a sense of the dizzying, uproarious, sublimely weird, and strangely wise journey that is contained within this book (along with all the pages and words). Perfect for anyone who thirsts for knowledge, and especially for collectors of books of fake trivia, The Areas of My Expertise offers through absurdity a better understanding of the world we share—and recognizes that while the truth may be stranger than fiction, it is never as strange as lies . . . or as true. Look out for John Hodgman's latest book, Vacationland, available from Viking in Fall 2017.

The last jog I took marked me for life. The home invasion was real. I really did have my hands tied and my eyes covered. My adoptive father really was naked, laying there wondering when the beatings from the men in black masks would end. His back bloodied, his face paler than I'd ever seen before. That one window of escape was too risky. My disabled brother was left behind while my adoptive mother mysteriously escaped the horror of it all. The gun went off and hearing in my ears ceased.

Newly revised guide to the best paddling trips in Iowa, contains trip ideas, and environmental, geological, and historic points of interest.

Do you live in Scotland, Denmark, China or Peru? Do you live in Paris, London, Moscow or Berlin? You can live in any of these places and still live in America. There is Indiana, PA; Florida, NM; and Honolulu, NC. Many family names (first, second and last) are found in the towns and communities where we live all across America. One may also find a variety of interesting, even fun names, including Asylum, Bamboo, and Cow Yard. These pages contain tens of thousands of names dealing with occupations, animals, plants, and points around the globe.

While science may wish to be impersonal, everyone is personally affected by it. It has become increasingly hard to make the case that Science exists to serve humanity. Not only is the world's environment threatened but society itself that should protect us has become fearsome. In this novel the lead character Ben Wright discovers to his dismay his ideas are not his own. The government insists that if the idea weaponry potential, it belongs to the state. Nobody told this to Ben during the forty years he worked on the most vexing problem in physics, the Unified Field Theory, and the moment he attempts to make it known, all hell breaks loose. Running for cover to gain time to sort things out, he returns to his native home, the town of Crisfield, Maryland. It is there the novel reveals the complexity of the human condition, how people count and are in the end all that matters. Science and technology collide in an epic showdown with the regular people of a small town who are anything but regular. In a similar way the residents of Gettysburg, PA in 1864 probably felt it highly unlikely the fate of the nation would be decided on its turf. Crisfield may seem to be an unlikely place for a showdown having worldwide implications, never the less, it happens here. It is in the small towns of America where the moral compass still points to true north, to the direction we must take if we are to survive the unsavory things we do in the name of progress. This isn't an anti-science book, it is a book demanding science, like government, serve the people.While the novel's charm is moved forward by these weighty issues, it is the wonderful characters in this town that reveal the nobility, humor, and endearing qualities of a people. The people make the story! You can throw away the science if you want but enjoy the people you will meet and feel good again that all is not lost.