A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for Joseph Heller's Catch-22, which eponymously coined the term so frequently used today to describe the predicament of being, trapped by contradictory rules. As a novel of post-World War II America, Catch-22 is profound in its conception, complex in its artistry, and radical in its message. Moreover, in some colleges it is, studied as the modern counterweight to Homer's...

One family’s household has been in a state of disarray because of one small furry problem. Meet Houdini, an extraordinarily brilliant escapologist. No, not that Houdini. This one is a hamster. Once you meet him, you will understand that his owners just couldn’t name him anything else, for his name is quite fitting. He can escape from anything—a cage or the clutches of a mean cat. While on his escapades, he causes all kinds...

In this autobiography, initially published in 1903, Helen Keller recalls her remarkable life as a blind and deaf woman taught to communicate by Ann Sullivan. Here among other memories, Keller describes her epiphany at the water pump when she connected the physical world with its linguistic counterpart. Keller was eventually educated at Radcliffe University, where she graduated with honors.

"Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), who overcame adversity to become a prominent orator and educator, believed that education was the key to racial equality. Beginning with his early life, this classic work conveys the triumphs and tragedies he encountered during his pursuit of freedom and learning. From a childhood shaped by slavery to the experiences that led to his founding of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a center of learning that focused...

Go Room One! It's time for the first-grade kickball tournament! Only, here's the problem. Junie B. has hurt her big piggy toe and she can't play on the team. So, now what? She definitely doesn't want to be a cheerleader. But wait! Maybe she could be in Sheldon's halftime show! Then all eyes would be on her! And she would be the star! Hurray! Hurray! Junie B.--in the spotlight. What could possibly go wrong?

Barry Goldwater on state rights, the Civil Rights Movement, farm supports, right to work, high taxes, welfare state, federal aid to education, and Cold War.

A self-styled intellectual rebel, William Deresiewicz never thought Jane Austen's novels had anything to offer him. But when he was assigned to read Emma as a Columbia graduate student, something extraordinary happened. Austen's devotion to the everyday and her belief in the value of ordinary lives ignited something in him. Viewing the world through her eyes and treating people as generously, his life suddenly acquired the fascination of a novel.

Join us as we explore some of the avoidant and reactive behaviors surrounding phobias and the use of exposure therapy, relaxation and medication.