Simon & Schuster

Completely updated with new entries and extensive revisions of the previous 1,800, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia Of Rock & Roll is the authoritative volume on the world's music makers — from the one-hit wonders to the megastars. In 1983, Rolling Stone Press introduced its first Rock & Roll Encyclopedia. Almost two decades later, it has become the premier guide to the history of rock & roll, and has been selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum as its official source of information. Giving full coverage to all aspects of the rock scene, it tells the story of rock & roll in a clear and easy reference format, including complete discographies, personnel changes for every band, and backstage information like date and place of birth, from Elvis Presley to Eminem. Since the last edition, the music scene has exploded in every area, from boy-bands to hip-hop, electronica to indie rock. Here, the Encyclopedia explores them all — 'NSync, Notorious B.I.G., Ricky Martin, Radiohead, Britney Spears, Blink-182, Sean Puffy Combs, Portishead, Fatboy Slim, Fiona Apple, Lil' Kim, Limp Bizkit, Oasis, Outkast, Yo La Tengo, TLC, and many, many more. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Third Edition includes all the facts, phenomena, and flukes that make up the history of rock. Accompanying the biographical and discographical information on the nearly 2,000 artists included in this edition are incisive essays that reveal the performers' musical influences, first breaks, and critical and commercial hits and misses, as well as evaluations of their place in rock history. Filled with hundreds of historical photos, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia is more than just a reference book, it is the bible of rock & roll.

In autumn, a strong wind blows flower seeds high in the air and carries them far across the land. One by one, many of the seeds are lost — burned by the sun, fallen into the ocean, eaten by a bird. But some survive the long winter and, come spring, sprout into plants, facing new dangers — trampled by playing children, picked as a gift for a friend. Soon only the tiniest seed remains, growing into a giant flower and, when autumn returns, sending its own seeds into the wind to start the process over again. Eric Carle's eloquent text and brilliant collages turn the simple life cycle of a plant into an exciting story, a nature lesson, and an inspiring message of the importance of perseverance.

When a Chinese gang hits Sunnydale, racial tensions in the community are sparked. Buffy has seen the baddies shake down Willy the Snitch, so naturally her Slayer senses are up. But to Willow, the situation poses a more personal threat. Her new friend Jia Li has been feeling the backlash from this cross-cultural hostility — and it's tearing her family apart. Jia remains true to her ancient cultural heritage, but her brother, the angry, outspoken Lok, is ready to toss out old Chinese customs for the modern American lifestyle. And he's willing to use the occult for just that purpose. Suddenly, a beautiful martial-arts warrior arrives on the scene. It's impossible to tell where her allegiance lies, but Xander — whose romances are becoming habitually complicated — is smitten, Giles is in full research mode, and before long, Buffy is wondering who's behind the gang warfare. Is supernatural evil brewing?

DARKNESS THREATENS to overtake Earthsea. As the world and its wizards are losing their magic, Ged — powerful Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord — embarks on a sailing journey with highborn young prince, Arren. They travel far beyond the realm of death to discover the cause of these evil disturbances and to restore magic to a land desperately thirsty for it. With millions of copies sold, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere. Complex, innovative, and deeply moral, this quintessential fantasy sequence has been compared with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and has helped make Le Guin one of the most distinguished fantasy and science fiction writers of all time. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Brazen, incisive, and outrageous as ever, Hunter S. Thompson is back with another astonishing volume of his private correspondence, the highly anticipated follow-up to The Proud Highway. When that first book of letters appeared in 1997, Time pronounced it «deliriously entertaining»; Rolling Stone called it «brilliant beyond description»; and The New York Times celebrated its «wicked humor and bracing political conviction». Spanning the years between 1968 and 1976, these never-before-published letters show Thompson building his legend: running for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado; creating the seminal road book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; twisting political reporting to new heights for Rolling Stone; and making sense of it all in the landmark Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. To read Thompson's dispatches from these years — addressed to the author's friends, enemies, editors, and creditors, and such notables as Jimmy Carter, Tom Wolfe, and Kurt Vonnegut — is to read a raw, revolutionary eyewitness account of one of the most exciting and pivotal eras in American history.

Read this history-making serial novel — from cliffhanger to cliffhanger — in its entirety. When it first appeared, one volume per month, Stephen King's The Green Mile was an unprecedented publishing triumph: all six volumes ended up on the New York Times bestseller list — simultaneously — and delighted millions of fans the world over. Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk the Green Mile, keeping a date with «Old Sparky», Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he's never seen anyone like John Coffey, a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. In this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about Coffey, a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs...and yours.

Derrick has a thriving business, good looks, and charisma to spare, but his success seems empty without a special lady to share it with. Tony was an unredeemable ladies' man until Tracie caught his heart. But will his conniving ex, Valarie, let them live happily ever after? Any woman would be lucky to have Benjamin. But his weakness for young women has only made him a target for gold diggers in search of a sugar daddy. Will he ever find true love? And, finally, there's Mark. Still bitter from being rejected by black women when he was young, he seeks acceptance in the arms of a white lover. But will his friends and family accept her?

Ancient myths told of a place called Earth, but the modern world knew it was nonsense. Science knew the Ship was all the Universe, and as long as the sacred Converter was fed, lights would glow and air would flow through the miles of metal corridors. Hugh never questioned these truths until a despised mutie showed him the Control Room and he learned the true nature of the Ship and its mission.

When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son — and now an idyllic home. As a family, they've got it all... right down to the friendly cat. But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth — more terrifying than death itself...and hideously more powerful.

Imagine that the novelist — his name here is Eugene Pota — realizes that the days are dwindling and he needs to come up with one more novel. But what should he write? That first novel, the one that launched him, the one that made him into the cultural icon he seems fated to remain, has become a touchstone for his life, and his life since has pretty much been a critical failure. And now, when he is faced with the compulsion to write one more novel, to take a stab at the even bigger one, what should it be? Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man follows the journey that Eugene Pota undertakes as he sifts through the detritus of his life in an effort to settle on a subject for his final work. He talks to everyone, including his wife, his old lovers, and his editor. While everyone has ideas, no one offers any real answers. Written with sections that alternate between Pota's real-life efforts to settle on what novel to write and his many and various false starts writing that novel, Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man is a rare and enthralling look into the artist's search for creativity.

The Overlook Hotel is more than just a home-away-from-home for the Torrance family. For Jack, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, it is a place where past horrors come to life. And where those gifted with the shining do battle with the darkest evils. Stephen King's classic thriller is one of the most powerfully imagined novels of our time.

Gotham City: a dark, twisted reþection of urban America. Overcrowded, overbuilt, and overshadowed by a continuous air of menace, this gothic nightmare is a breeding ground for the depraved, the indifferent, and the criminally insane. It's also the object of one man's obsession. Witness to the brutal murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne has dedicated his life to protecting this city, taking a form to inspire hope in the innocent...and fear in the guilty. He is the masked vigilante known as the Batman. Now the battlefield has changed. Leveled by a massive earthquake that left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been transformed into a lawless wilderness — a No Man's Land — where the survivors are turning against one another, and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all.

Years ago, they had escaped together from the sinister Tombs of Atuan — she, an isolated young priestess; he, a powerful wizard. Now she is a farmer's widow, having chosen for herself the simple pleasures of an ordinary life. And he is a broken old man, mourning the powers lost to him through no choice of his own. Once, when they were young, they helped each other at a time of darkness and danger and shared an adventure like no other. Now they must join forces again, to help another in need — the physically and emotionally scarred child whose own destiny has yet to be revealed. With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guin's «Earthsea Cycle» has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.

When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away from her-home, family, possessions, even her name. She is now known only as Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the labyrinthine Tombs of Atuan, shrouded in darkness. When a young wizard, Ged Sparrowhawk, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, Tenar's rightful duty is to protect the Tombs. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic and tales of a brighter world Tenar has never known. Will Tenar risk everything to escape the darkness that has become her domain? With millions of copies sold worldwide, Ursula K. Le Guin's «Earthsea Cycle» has earned a treasured place on the shelves of fantasy lovers everywhere, alongside the works of such beloved authors as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis.

A description of life in the Easy Company, 101st Airborne Division, US Army, from the time of their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory. Drawing on interviews, journals and letters, the author tells — often in their own words — the story of these American heroes.

Cannie Shapiro never wanted to be famous. The smart, sharp, plus-sized reporter was perfectly happy writing about other people's lives for her local newspaper. And for the previous twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannic. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father had long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her job, her friends, her dog and her life. She loves her apartment and her commodious, quilt-lined bed. She has made a tenuous peace with her body and she even felt OK about ending her relationship with Bruce. But now this...'Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world, Bruce has written in a national woman's magazine. And Cannie — who never knew that Bruce saw her as a larger woman, or thought that loving her was an act of courage — is plunged into misery, and the most amazing year of her life.

New York fashion designer Jamie Nova has chosen the glitz of Las Vegas as the setting for celebrating her impending divorce. Joined by her two best friends, street-smart Madison Castelli, and Natalie de Barge, an ambitious TV reporter — Jamie plans to make the most of her hard-earned holiday and forget all about her controlling ex. When the threesome encounters Mark Blaine, the fun-loving playboy scion of a real estate billionaire, things start to heat up very quickly. Madison and Natalie receive a frantic midnight phone call telling them Mark is lying in Jamie's bed. And he's dead...

Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is propelled from north to south when a nine-year-old girl is brutally shot on a Montreal street and the remains of a missing North Carolina teenager are found hundreds of miles away. The connection between the crimes leads Brennan into a bizarre culture of outlaw motorcycle gangs, where one misstep can bring disaster.

Caught between two lovers, Madison Castelli, the savvy heroine from the L.A. Connections series, discovers someone close to her is keeping deadly secrets. Madison is plunged into the high-powered circles of New York and manic thrills of Las Vegas, only to find out nothing is ever as it seems.

With Earth in the path of the rapacious Posleen, the Galactic Federation offers help to the backward humans — for a price. You can protect yourself from your enemies, but God save you from your allies!

When all of the performers at the circus are out sick with ear infections, it's up to Olivia to save the day! That's no problem for Olivia, of course, because she knows how to do everything. From lion taming to trampoline jumping, unicycling to tight-rope walking, Olivia is the ultimate performer — with the ultimate imagination. Now in a board book edition perfect for little hands, readers will delight to see how Ringmaster Olivia learns to fly!

On a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother, Pete, and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, and then tries to catch up by attempting a shortcut, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her Walkman to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when her radio's reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her — protecting her from an all-too-real enemy who has left a trail of slaughtered animals and mangled trees in the dense, dark woods....

By Atlantis, Kang means the 1960s, that otherworldly decade which, like the fabled continent, has sunk into myth. Here, in five interconnected narratives that span from 1960 to 1999, King draws a stunning portrait of American life after the Vietnam War.

Prehistoric Hysteria Buffy Summers and her gang know that Sunnydale is a haven for outsiders, whether of the supernatural or strictly adolescent variety. Shy transfer student Kevin Sanderson is no exception. But Kevin instantly finds a mentor in Daniel, a paleontologist and fellow dino-phile at the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. When Buffy starts hearing rumors of alligators in the sewers, she has to wonder about Kevin and Daniel's hobbies. Meanwhile, the Slayerettes are having extracurricular excitement of their own. Alysa, a hotshot talent agent, wants to represent the Dingoes, and she's offering the Scooby Gang fame and fortune. If she's legit, it could be Oz's big break. But Buffy's too busy to run a background check — Daniel and Kevin have reanimated an ancient creature with a new agenda... an agenda that begins and ends with the destruction of the Slayer...