Urban Commentary

"The many characters, who come from a variety of socioeconomic, racial and ethnic scales, are all captured convincingly by narrator Edoardo Ballerini."—The Washington Post "This novel is way better than good...Cynical, tender, sharp, dense, funny, and loaded with inside dope about how New York...

Elaine Sciolino, the former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, invites us on a tour of her favorite Parisian street, offering an homage to street life and the pleasures of Parisian living. While many cities suffer from the leveling effects of globalization, the rue des Martyrs maintains its distinct allure. On this street, the patron saint of France was beheaded and the Jesuits took their first vows.

Los Angeles, Zombie Apocalypse! By James Bachman When the outbreak spreads to the City of Angels, chaos reigns. Los Angeles descends into a nightmare as wildfires blaze, the infected roam the streets, and survivors scramble to escape a city consumed by death. In a world where the rich hide behind gates and the poor are left to fend for themselves, the lines between life and death blur—and survival comes at an unimaginable cost. Fast-paced, gritty, and unrelenting, Los Angeles, Zombie Apocalypse! plunges readers into a city where every moment is a fight to stay alive. Perfect for fans of ...

As a kid growing up in Manhattan, William Helmreich played a game with his father they called "Last Stop." They would pick a subway line and ride it to its final destination, and explore the neighborhood there. Decades later, Helmreich teaches university courses about New York, and his love for exploring the city is as strong as ever. Putting his feet to the test, he decided that the only way to truly understand New York was to walk virtually every block of all five boroughs - an astonishing 6,000 miles.

Encircling London like a noose, the M25 is a road to nowhere, but when Iain Sinclair sets out to walk this asphalt loop - keeping within the 'acoustic footprints' - he is determined to find out where the journey will lead him. Stumbling upon converted asylums, industrial and retail parks, ring-fenced government institutions and lost villages, Sinclair discovers a Britain of the fringes, a landscape consumed by developers. London Orbital charts this extraordinary trek and round trip of the soul, revealing the country as you've never seen it before.

A true story of how a middle-aged married couple abandon lucrative white-collar professional careers to become long-haul truck drivers for Schneider National in Green Bay, Wisconsin. David Hamel, a mechanical engineer, and Shelley Hamel, past Director of Product Development for the American Girl doll company, decide to ditch their urban life and go to truck-driving school. For David, driving school was a piece of cake. For Shelley, it was murder. Nearly flunking out of truck driving school, Shelley successfully faces her twin demons of double-clutching and 10 nasty gears.

Chicago: Metropolis of the Mid-Continent provides a comprehensive portrayal of the growth and development of Chicago from the mudhole of the prairie to today's world-class city. This completely revised fourth edition skillfully weaves together the geography, history, economy, and culture of the city and its suburbs with a special emphasis on the role of the many ethnic and racial groups that comprise the "real Chicago" of its neighborhoods.

At a time when Google Maps can take you on a virtual tour of Yosemite's remotest trails and cell phones double as navigational systems, it's hard to imagine there's any uncharted ground left on the planet. In Unruly Places, Alastair Bonnett goes to some of the most unexpected, offbeat places in the world to reinspire our geographical imagination. Bonnett's remarkable tour includes moving villages, secret cities, no man's lands, and floating islands.

‘An enthralling guide one of the world’s great cities – that blends history and insights into the present day from one of the most astute commentators on the politics of Istanbul. A book that is as informative as it is enjoyable' PETER FRANKOPAN Walking along the crumbling defensive walls...

A stolen Desert Eagle, a weapon designed to protect warriors defending their nations, the official sidearm of the Israeli military, continues its fall from grace in LA misadventures.

In the year 2525... the United Planetary Conference (UPC) makes first contact with a new planet in the Beta Arguli system, Hyrmozanyx. The initial encounter has some pitfalls and Lorewyn (a UPC Ambassador) is sent to smooth relations and extend a olive branch, along with Rhianyn (a UPC Fleet Admiral who's commanding the mission) and their daughter Noelyn (who's now an officer and ship's navigator in the Fleet). What they discover is a strange new world indeed... an unusual and seemingly utopian society whose hierarchy is governed by standards of physical beauty. What's further discovered ...

BECAUSE THE QUEEN AIN'T NO NIGGA, AND THE KING AIN'T NO BITCH........ When the man behind a once-iconic, now infamous TV character is asked to don the wig one last time, he’s torn between a check with too many zeroes… and the legacy his community desperately needs. With the cameras rolling, egos clashing, and corporate culture hungry for easy laughs, one man decides to stop playing the role — and start changing the narrative. Cinderfella is a gritty, gripping, and unapologetically Black satire that blurs the line between entertainment and exploitation. Bold dialogue, electric tension,...

In a city where silence speaks louder than words and human connection flickers under the neon haze of nightlife, FRENZY follows the unravelling of Tristan—a mute young man haunted by love, loss, and the noise of a world that refuses to listen. When Ayla, the woman he once loved, moves on, Tristan’s quiet desperation boils into a final act of chaotic clarity. As social media vultures circle and city lights blur into oblivion, a single name, etched in desperation, becomes the story’s heart. Raw, poetic, and unflinchingly modern, FRENZY is a searing portrait of emotional collapse and the...

Book One in the series, inspired by radio interviews collected on round-Australia jaunt for a national broadcaster; stories mostly light and bright with an amusing “innocent abroad” feel.