Siempre, el metro será blanco y no naranja como algunos suelen asimilarlo. Será blanco de historias, de fantasías, de interminables anécdotas en las que sólo, quienes hayan merodeado lo bastante en sus instalaciones, podrán discernir la confusión incipiente entre lo real o en su defecto, lo imaginario que igualmente llegará a ser ostensible en la medida que pasen las horas en sus inmediaciones... en su vientre. Cada estación de metro y cada vagón en las diversas metrópolis mundiales, tiene más historias que los millones de personas que transporta. Si sabemos que cada individuo tiene una leyenda o quizá dos... Los cuentos de este libro, son parte de esa historia. Vidas completas en el subterráneo, dan cuenta de ello...

Volume 39

Since the publication of the still very valuable Biblioteca histórica de la filología by Cipriano Muñoz y Manzano, conde de la Viñaza (Madrid, 1893), our knowledge of the history of the study of the Spanish language has grown considerably, and most manuscript and secondary sources had never been tapped before Hans-Josef Niederehe of the University of Trier courageously undertook the task to bring together any available bibliographical information together with much more recent research findings, scattered in libraries, journals and other places. The resulting Bibliografía cronológica de la lingüística, la gramática y la lexicografía del español: Desde los principios hasta el año 1600 (BICRES) began appearing in 1994. BICRES I covered the period from the early beginnings to 1600), followed by BICRES II (1601–1700), BICRES III (1701–1800), and together with Miguel Ángel Esparza Torres of Madrid there followed BICRES IV (1801 to 1860). Now, the fifth volume, has become available, covering the years from 1861 to 1899. Access to the bibliographical information of altogether 5,272 titles is facilitated by several detailed indexes, such as a short title index, a listing of printers, publishers and places of production, and an author index. More than twenty years of research in the major libraries of Spain and other European countries have gone into this unique work — relative sources of the Americas have also been covered — making it exhaustive source for any serious scholar of any possible aspect of the Spanish language.

On October 14-19, 1990, the 6th International Conference on the Conservation of Earthen Architecture was held in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Sponsored by the GCI, the Museum of New Mexico State Monuments, ICCROM, CRATerre-EAG, and the National Park Service, under the aegis of US/ICOMOS, the event was organized to promote the exchange of ideas, techniques, and research findings on the conservation of earthen architecture. Presentations at the conference covered a diversity of subjects, including the historic traditions of earthen architecture, conservation and restoration, site preservation, studies in consolidation and seismic mitigation, and examinations of moisture problems, clay chemistry, and microstructures. In discussions that focused on the future, the application of modern technologies and materials to site conservation was urged, as was using scientific knowledge of existing structures in the creation of new, low-cost, earthen architecture housing.

The first novel written by Booker finalist Tom McCarthy—acclaimed author of Remainder and C—Men in Space is set in a Central Europe rapidly fragmenting after the fall of communism. It follows an oddball cast—dissolute bohemians, political refugees, a football referee, a disorientated police agent, and a stranded astronaut—as they chase a stolen painting from Sofia to Prague and onward. Planting the themes that McCarthy’s later works develop, here McCarthy questions the meaning of all kinds of space—physical, political, emotional, and metaphysical—as reflected in the characters’ various disconnections. What emerges is a vision of humanity adrift in history, and a world in a state of disintegration. With an afterword by Simon Critchley, author of The Book of Dead Philosophers

Grantland Book of the Year Vol. 1 Brooklyn, A Year of Favorites, Jason Diamond Book Riot, 2014’s Must-Read Books from Indie Presses "Valeria Luiselli is a writer of formidable talent, destined to be an important voice in Latin American letters. Her vision and language are precise, and the power of her intellect is in evidence on every page."—Daniel Alarcón "I'm completely captivated by the beauty of the paragraphs, the elegance of the prose, the joy in the written word, and the literary sense of this author."—Enrique Vilas-Matas Valeria Luiselli is an evening cyclist; a literary tourist in Venice, searching for Joseph Brodsky's tomb; an excavator of her own artifacts, unpacking from a move. In essays that are as companionable as they are ambitious, she uses the city to exercise a roving, meandering intelligence, seeking out the questions embedded in our human landscapes. Valeria Luiselli was born in Mexico City in 1983 and grew up in South Africa. Her novel and essays have been translated into many languages and her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Granta, and McSweeney's. Some of her recent projects include a ballet performed by the New York City Ballet in Lincoln Center; a pedestrian sound installation for the Serpentine Gallery in London; and a novella in installments for workers in a juice factory in Mexico. She lives in New York City.