Thomas Paine is most famous for writing Common Sense, a pamphlet distributed during the American Revolution advocating for colonial America’s independence from Great Britain. Now, collected here in a beautiful gift book volume are excerpts from this important historical American document, as well as several of his other writings. Paine believed in more than just freedom in the form of revolution and overthrowing governments. He also believed in...

Living in a "perfect" world without social ills, a boy approaches the time when he will receive a life assignment from the Elders, but his selection leads him to a mysterious man known as the Giver, who reveals the dark secrets behind the utopian facade. This special edition contains a new afterword by the author, as well as her Newbery Medal acceptance speech.

A disgraced detective teams up with an ambitious FBI special agent to prevent a cycle of murders by a killer who ended the life of a colleague's sister. --Publisher Detective Kara Quinn, on leave from the LAPD, is on an early morning jog in her hometown of Liberty Lake when she comes upon the body of a young nurse. The manner of death shows a pattern of highly controlled rage. Meanwhile in DC, FBI special agent Mathias Costa is staffing his newly...

Do we take our liberties for granted at the risk of losing them in the war on terror? Grayling (Descartes: The Life and Times of a Genius), a professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a leading British public intellectual, believes so. This book is, in some respects, an old-fashioned, triumphalist history of the rise of Western liberty since the 16th century (with Martin Luther, John Locke and Elizabeth Cady Stanton playing...

"Whoever controls our memories controls the future. Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts-as a means of self-conception-could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life...

"Get ready to blast back to the past and learn all about the Statue of Liberty! When people think about the Statue of Liberty, that iconic statue will surely come to mind. But why do we have that statue, and who is that woman anyway? This engaging nonfiction book, complete with black-and-white interior illustrations, will make readers feel like they've traveled back in time. It covers everything from how the statue was built to the history behind...

"The 1619 Project illuminated the ways in which every aspect of life in the United States was and is shaped by the existence of slavery. Black Ghost of Empire focuses on emancipation and how this opportunity to make right further codified the racial caste system-instead of obliterating it.To understand why the shadow of slavery still haunts society today, we must not only look at what slavery was, but also the unfinished way it ended. One may think...

The author argues that breaking from a regimented lifestyle is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign that balance is a core value in life.