Squires takes a rollicking look at the pomp, arrogance, passion, and avarice that drive both man and horse in the most exciting two minutes in sports. Photos.

Literary mashup master Waldrop is back with new stories of pirates, hidden movie history, the Wolfman of Alcatraz, and more.

This short story by Suzanne Selfors is a companion to her novel A Semi-Charming Kind of Life. At Ever After High, some students are paired with companion creatures; some aid them in their quests to fulfill their destinies, while others offer the kind of friendships you find only in fairytales. Darling Charming loves riding her horse, Sir Gallopad, who has the ability to camouflage himself by changing colors! But Sir Gallopad hasn't always felt so special. Read this original short story about how Darling got her enchanting pet horse.

Ralph Moody was eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there early in the twentieth century. Auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms give authentic color to Little Britches. So do adventures, wonderfully told, that equip Ralph to take his father's place when it becomes necessary. Little Britches was the literary debut of Ralph Moody, who wrote about the adventures of his family in eight glorious books, all available as Bison Books.

In considering exactly what takes place in creative writing classrooms, this collection of 22 essays reexamines the profession of writing teacher and ponders why certain practices and contexts prevail. The essays and their authors are as follows: "Introduction: Of Radishes and Shadows, Theory and Pedagogy" (Hans Ostrom); (1) "The Workshop and Its Discontents" (Francois Camoin); (2) "Reflections on the Teaching of Creative Writing: A Correspondence" (Eugene Garber and Jan Ramjerdi); (3) "The Body of My Work Is Not Just a Metaphor" (Lynn Domina); (4) "Life in the Trenches: Perspectives from Five Writing Programs" (Ann Turkle and others); (5) "Theory, Creative Writing, and the Impertinence of History" (R. M. Berry); (6) "Teaching Creative Writing if the Shoe Fits" (Katharine Haake); (7) "Pedagogy in Penumbra: Teaching, Writing, and Feminism in the Fiction Workshop" (Gayle Elliott); (8) "Literary Theory and the Writer" (Jay Parini); (9) "Creativity Research and Classroom Practice" (Linda Sarbo and Joseph M. Moxley); (10) "On Seeing the Green Parrot and the Green Salad" (Alice G. Brand); (11) "It Is Ourselves That We Remake: Teaching Creative Writing in Prison" (Diane Kendig); (12) "Voice(s) in Writing: Symphony and/or Cacophony" (Carl Leggo); (13) "Crossing the Lines: On Creative Composition and Composing Creative Writing" (Wendy Bishop); (14) "Voices from the Writing Center: Risky Business/Safe Places" (Julie Neff); (15) "Voices from the Writing Center: Storytelling in the Writing Center" (Beverly Conner); (16) "Voices from the Writing Center: It's Okay To Be Creative--A Role for the Imagination in Basic-Writing Courses" (Lea Masiello); (17) "Oral Literature in the Teaching of Creative Writing" (Maxine Clair); (18) "Without a Net: Collaborative Writing" (Linda Tomol Pennisi and Patrick Lawler); (19) "Reading the Creative Writing Course: The Teacher's Many Selves" (Patrick Bizzaro); (20) "The MFA Graduate as Composition Instructor: A Self-Analysis" (David Starkey); (21) "The End of Books" (Robert Coover); (22) "Riding the Bus in Silicon Valley: Building Virtual Worlds" (Sarah Jane Sloane); and "Afterword--Colors of a Different Horse: On Learning to Like Teaching Creative Writing" (Wendy Bishop). A comprehensive selected bibliography of resources for teaching creative writing is appended. (NKA)

Hitchcock Sewell, Baltimore's hippest undertaker and civilian sleuth, is back in a second sly, original mystery. One of the most charming and offbeat amateur detectives to come around in years, Hitchcock Sewell does for the undertaking profession what Marilyn Monroe did for the ukulele--gives it a touch of class. In this rollicking follow-up to Tim Cockey's "witty, punchy, snappy, well-written, and dang funny debut" (Harlan Coben, author of The Final Detail), a surprise blizzard dumps more than snow on the steps of Sewell & Sons funeral home--it leaves behind the corpse of a murdered waitress as well. Hitch's television meteorologist girlfriend sees the crime as an opportunity to move into hard news. Her unctuous mentor wants to beat Hitch to the punch. Hitch's snooping takes him from low-life strip joints to high-tone mansions, proving yet again that undertakers and their clue-happy cohorts can be a pretty lively bunch.

Color has fascinated horse lovers for centuries, and the story of the formation of the different breeds is closely tied to the subject of color. The Equine Tapestry explores the role color has played, both from a historical perspective and in changing trends of the modern horse world. Combining a modern understanding of genetics with a wealth of historical documentation, this series gives a more complete picture of the founding of the different breeds and shows how this relates to the unusual colors popular in the present day. An Introduction to Colors and Patterns opens the series with a look at the different colors and patterns, giving detailed explanations written in plain English. Full color photos and illustrations are used throughout to enhance the text.