A guide to etiquette for the grossly unsophisticated.

Robert Rebein argues that much literary fiction of the 1980s and 90s represents a triumphant, if tortured, return to questions about place and the individual that inspired the works of Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Faulkner, and other giants of American literature. Concentrating on the realist bent and regional orientation in contemporary fiction, he discusses in detail the various names by which this fiction has been described, including literary postmodernism, minimalism, Hick Chic, Dirty Realism, ecofeminism, and more. Rebein's clearly written, nuanced interpretations of works by Raymond Carver, Cormac McCarthy, Don DeLillo, Louise Erdrich, Dorothy Allison, Barbara Kingsolver, E. Annie Proulx, Chris Offut, and others, will appeal to a wide range of readers.

From the runways to the glossies, supermarkets to the Supermodels... enter the fashionable world of Angelica Hicks as the it-gang of the Instagram generation get reimagined in her cult "tongue-in-chic" illustrations. Grouped into six categories including Fashion Weak and High-powered Hybrids, here the who's who of fashion are illustrated and re-imagined, reinvigorated and celebrated in a collection of witty visual puns. With introduction by American Vogue's Hamish Bowles if you know your Moschi-NOs from your Azzedine Alai-YAHs, your Angels from your Rockstuds, this fashion gift book is for you.

"When Ethan crashed, the sky flipped. His head flung back upon the ice with a yellow, electric flash. Then there was dark nothingness. He never felt the pain when the tendon attached to his left kneecap suddenly let go." Shy but athletic, honest but unlucky, Ethan Atwood's path through life goes from triumph to tragedy, from winning the toughest of downhill ski races to a night of seduction and betrayal. After a skiing accident on the Italian slopes, Ethan ends up in the hospital. Recovering from knee surgery, his dreams of World Cup victories and of spending the rest of his life in Vermont with the only woman he ever loved splinter into shards with the visit of a beautiful, young Italian girl. Set against the European Alps, the ski mountains of New England, and the Colorado Rockies, "Moonlight in Vermont" moves from hilarity and the highly competitive thrills of downhill racing to the bitterness of rejection, drunkenness, and depression. But it's during a wild blizzard on a Vermont mountain that Ethan's destiny will be decided.

How does a man working behind the counter of a mom-and-pop diner for 21 years turn a good idea into a restaurant chain with $2 billion in annual sales? The founder and CEO of Chick-fil-A, offers countless nuggets of wisdom in this work.

Texas-born T Bone Burnett is an award-winning musician, songwriter, and producer with over forty years of experience in the entertainment industry. In The Philosopher King, Heath Carpenter evaluates and positions Burnett as a major cultural catalyst by grounding his work, and that of others abiding by a similar “roots” ethic, in the American South. Carpenter examines select artistic productions created by Burnett to understand what they communicate about the South and southern identity. He also extends his analysis to artists, producers, and cultural tastemakers who operate by an ethic and aesthetic similar to Burnett’s, examining the interests behind the preservationist/heritage movement in contemporary roots music and how this community contributes to ongoing conversations regarding modern southern identity. The Philosopher King explores these artistic connections, the culture in which they reside, and most specifically the role T Bone Burnett plays in a contemporary cultural movement that seeks to represent a traditional American music ethos in distinctly Southern terms. Carpenter looks at films, songs, soundtracks, studio albums, fashion, and performances, each loaded with symbols, archetypes, and themes that illuminate the intersection between past and present issues of identity. By weaving together ethnographic interviews with cultural analysis, Carpenter investigates how relevant social issues are being negotiated, how complicated discussions of history, tradition, and heritage feed the ethic, and how the American South as a perceived distinct region factors into the equation.

Atlanta magazine’s editorial mission is to engage our community through provocative writing, authoritative reporting, and superlative design that illuminate the people, the issues, the trends, and the events that define our city. The magazine informs, challenges, and entertains our readers each month while helping them make intelligent choices, not only about what they do and where they go, but what they think about matters of importance to the community and the region. Atlanta magazine’s editorial mission is to engage our community through provocative writing, authoritative reporting, and superlative design that illuminate the people, the issues, the trends, and the events that define our city. The magazine informs, challenges, and entertains our readers each month while helping them make intelligent choices, not only about what they do and where they go, but what they think about matters of importance to the community and the region.