The rich Duke Brothers wager on whether a born loser like Billy Ray Valentine, a hustler from the ghetto, can become as successful as Winthorpe, a wealthy investment executive, if put in the proper environment--and would a prig like Winthorpe turn to a life of crime if he were to lose it all.

"When her best friend Madison mysteriously disappears, Caroline feels compelled to get involved in the investigation. She has her own reasons not to trust the police, and she owes Madison - big time. Suddenly Caroline realizes how little she knew of what her friend was up to. Caroline has some uncomfortable secrets about the hours before Madison disappeared, but they're nothing compared to the secrets Madison has been hiding. Why do all paths seem...

A revelatory look at why we dehumanize each other, with stunning examples from world history as well as today's headlines. "Brute." "Lice." "Vermin." "Dog." These and other monikers are constantly in use to refer to other humans--for political, religious, ethnic, or sexist reasons. Human beings have a tendency to regard members of their own kind as less than human. This tendency has made atrocities like the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, and the...

"Middle-class American life is defined by relentless competition among families, waged from elite preschools to youth sports to selective universities. The lengths to which parents will go to give their children a leg up have become notorious: ostentatious birthday parties to wow the neighbors, fistfights on the soccer sidelines over playing time, criminal conspiracies to cheat at college admissions. Such excesses make it easy to say that parents...

Anton DiSclafani immerses readers in the sun-drenched world of 1950s Texas socialites with a story of friendship that is as obsessive, euphoric, and consuming as any romance. --Publisher

"For the past thirty years, Mr. and Mrs. Jha's lives have been defined by cramped spaces, cut corners, gossipy neighbors, and the small dramas of stolen yoga pants and stale marriages. They thought they'd settled comfortably into their golden years, pleased with their son's acceptance into an American business school. But then Mr. Jha comes into an enormous and unexpected sum of money, and moves his wife from their housing complex in East Delhi to...

When he accompanies his son on a college tour, a man begins to compare himself with his old college buddies and examines his life.

With her 1847 novel, Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë created one of the most unforgettable heroines of all time. Jane Eyre is an orphan, penniless and plain, but full of courage and spirit. She has endured incredible hardship to secure her humble status as a governess in the household of her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester. Jane's sharp wit and defiant nature meet with Rochester's sardonic temperament. The two become enmeshed in a deep, intense bond....

Professor Higgins succeeds in transforming an unkempt London flower girl into a society belle.

A Chinese peasant overcomes the forces of nature and the frailties of human nature to become a wealthy landowner.