Is it really possible to invent a machine that does the job of a writer? What is it about the landlady's house that makes it so hard for her guests to leave? Does Sir Basil Turton value most his wife or one of his priceless sculptures? These compelling tales are a perfect introduction to the adult writing of a storytelling genius.

The constant rain gets Plip so down that he decides to become an umbrella. But even as an umbrella man, life isn't always easy. Plip came into the world as an ordinary man. But when it started to rain, he became more and more unhappy. At first, he thought the rain would stop. When it didn't, Plip decided to live the rest of his life as an umbrella man. Plip now walks through the world protected from raindrops, but he's lonely. When he meets an umbrella woman, they try to hug, but their umbrellas get in the way. This makes Plip even sadder and he finally closes himself up and leaves the umbrella woman behind. Feelings rage inside of him. Cyclones, tornadoes, and typhoons break over him and his umbrella can't hold up. It turns inside out and collects a whole sea of rainwater that gets heavier and heavier until Plip has no choice to pour himself out. With his story of Plip, author David Sire explores important facets of life including doubt, love, and confidence. To emphasize the inner workings of Plip's psyche, Illustrated by Thomas Baas works only with cool blue tones and one warm red. The metaphor of rain and its various meanings inspire young readers to think about how they deal with their own emotions.

Rumor has it that a long-lost movie showing a second gunman in the Kennedy assassination exists somewhere in Dallas. Eddie Nickles, an entrepreneur who gleefully leads tourists along the ill-fated motorcade route, offers a quarter-million dollars he doesn't have to anyone who provides the mystery footage. When he drags P.I. Jack Flippo into the mix, it isn't long before both men are running for their lives.

Originally published in 1940, Why England Slept was written by then-Harvard student and future American president John F. Kennedy. It was Kennedy's senior thesis that analyzed the tremendous miscalculations of the British leaders in facing Germany on the advent of World War II, and in doing so, also addressed the challenges that democracies face when confronted directly with fascist states. In Why England Slept, at the book's core, John F. Kennedy asks: Why was England so poorly prepared for the war? He provides a comprehensive analysis of the tremendous miscalculations of the British leadership when it came to dealing with Germany and leads readers into considering other questions: Was the poor state of the British army the reason Chamberlain capitulated at Munich, or were there other, less-obvious elements at work that allowed this to happen? Kennedy also looks at similarities to America's position of unpreparedness and makes astute observations about the implications involved. This re-publication of the classic book contains excerpts from the foreword to the 1940 original edition by Henry R. Luce, an American magazine magnate during that era; the foreword to the 1961 edition, also written by Luce; and a new foreword by Stephen C. Schlesinger, written in 2015.

Traces the story of gangster Michael Joseph Boyle, describing his activities as a corrupt leader of Chicago's most powerful union, his friendly relationship with Al Capone, and the controversial events surrounding the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup competition.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

In the neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, 1959, a playground confrontation leaves two white youths bludgeoned to death by a gang of Puerto Rican kids. Sixteen-year-old Salvador Agron, who wore a red-lined satin cape, was charged with the murders, though no traces of blood were found on his dagger. At seventeen, Agron was the youngest person ever to be sentenced to death in the electric chair. After nearly two years in the Death House at Sing Sing Prison, a group of prominent citizens, including Eleanor Roosevelt and the governor of Puerto Rico, convinced Governor Rockefeller to commute Agron's sentence to one of life imprisonment. In 1973 Richard Jacoby began a voluminous, twelve-year correspondence with Agron. His Conversations with the Capeman is guaranteed to challenge deeply held notions of crime, punishment, and redemption. Salvador Agron was released from prison in 1979 and died in the Bronx in 1986 at the age of forty-two. With a new preface