When professional magician Irving Flax uses a fiery magic trick to thwart a convenience store robbery, he gets arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. What follows is the outrageously funny, extremely satirical and altogether fascinating story of a man trying to extricate himself from a legal system that may be broken beyond repair. Joining the high-speed adventure are Irvings family (wait until you meet his mother), his lawyer (of questionable origin), his benefactor (who will resort to anything to increase his fortune), his rabbi (who wants to have Irving excommunicated), and a variety of savory and unsavory characters, with special guest appearances by a host of show business personalities. And you will have a back-stage view of Irvings magical performances where most of his illusions work, most of the time. This is a laugh-out-loud story that pokes serious fun at everything. It is a novel best read by humans. Heres what some readers are saying about Magic Irving and His Magic Shoppe: This is the funniest, most intelligent and thought provoking book ever written. -Monica Ostrow, wife of the author Magic Shoppe tickled me silly. -Mark Twain (or someone posing as Mark Twain) I do not appreciate how author Stephen Ostrow treats the justice system. -J. Edgar Hoover (if he were still alive) In Magic Shoppe, Stephen Ostrow makes Judaism seem fun. I didnt teach him that. -Rabbi Joseph Schwindall Stephen Ostrows former rabbi Stephen Ostrow sent me a copy of Magic Shoppe, but I did not read it. -Former U.S. President Jorge V. Bushwacker

“A true emotional phenomenon . . . Entertaining . . . Of particular interest to fans will be the evolution of Johnson’s relationship with Bird, his great karmic partner in the game.”—Newsday (New York) He's faced challenges all of his life, but now Magic Johnson faces the biggest challenge of all, his own brave battle with HIV. In this dramatic, exciting, and inspirational autobiography, Magic Johnson allows readers into his life, into his tirumphs and tragedies on and off the court. In his own exuberant style, he tells readers of the friends and family who've been constant supporters and the basketball greats he’s worked with. It’s all here, the glory and the pain the character, charisma, and courage of the hero called Magic. AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB

Thirty-five years in the making, and destined to be the last word in fanta-film references! This incredible 1,017-page resource provides vital credits on over 9,000 films (1896-1999) of horror, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, heavy melodrama, and film noir. Comprehensive cast lists include: directors, writers, cinematographers, and composers. Also includes plot synopses, critiques, re-title/translation information, running times, photographs, and several cross-referenced indexes (by artist, year, song, etc.). Paperback.

The short-story commenced its career as a verbal utterance, or, as Robert Louis Stevenson puts it, with "the first men who told their stories round the savage camp-fire." The short story is to-day our most common literary product. It is read by everyone. Not every boy or girl will read novels after leaving school, but every boy or girl is certain to read short stories. It is important in the high school to guide taste and appreciation in short story reading, so that the reading of days when school life is over will be healthful and upbuilding. Here is a collection that is entirely modern. The authors represented are among the leading authors of the day, the stories are principally stories of present-day life, the themes are themes of present-day thought. The students who read this book will be more awake to the present, and will be better citizens of to-day. The great number of stories presented has given opportunity to illustrate different types of short story writing. Washington Irving. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Edgar Allan Poe. The Gold Bug Herman Melville. Bartleby, the Scrivener Bret Harte. The Luck of Roaring Camp Leo Tolstoy. The Death of Ivan Ilyich Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Rudyard Kipling. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The Yellow Wallpaper Anton Chekhov. The Lady with the Dog D.H. Lawrence. The Prussian Officer James Joyce. Araby Ivan Turgenev:First Love Nikolay Gogol:The Mantle Mikhail Bulgakov: The Embroidered Towel Ivan Bunin:The Gentleman from San Francisco Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla O.Henry:The Gift of the Magi Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Robert Louis Stevenson: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde H.G. Wells: The Magic Shop W.W. Jacobs: The Monkey's Paw Arthur Conan Doyle His Last Bow Henry James. Daisy Miller H.P. Lovecraft: The Call of Cthulhu Alexsandr Pushkin:The Queen of Spades G.K. Chesterton: The Blue Cross

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