With its ability to review and interpret all American law, the Supreme Court of the United States is arguably the most influential branch of government. Yet, institutionally, it is the least powerful. Its authority relies entirely on the willing consent of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government and of the American people to accept it as law's ultimate arbiter. Perhaps for this very reason the Court has taken great care to shield...

Arranged in alphabetical order, a companion volume to Word Histories and Mysteries offers an informative look at the rich diversity of the English language as it traces the origins and histories of additional everyday words.

Four brief "stories" about parents, trains, and cows, or is it really all one story? The author recommends careful inspection of words and pictures to both minimize and enhance confusion.

Text and detailed drawings follow the planning and construction of a magnificent Gothic cathedral in the imaginary French town of Chutreaux during the thirteenth century. The craftsmen were the master quarryman, the master stone cutter, the master sculptor, the master mortar maker, the master mason, the master carpenter, the master blacksmith, the master roofer, and the master glass maker.

Although he loves his freedom, Henry, a bear modeled on Henry Thoreau, goes to jail rather than go against his principles. Based on an incident in the life of Henry David Thoreau.

MacShane examines the works of James Jones who entered the literary scene in 1951 with the publication of From Here to Eternity. Jones was forced by the Depression to join the army for five years, but escaped the misery of army life by reading and writing. The publication of his novel about the American army brought him not only the National Book Award but also friendships with writers such as Norman Mailer and William Styron, and Hollywood stars...

"The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is designed expressly for speakers and writers in the Americas, featuring the full range of American English and Latin American Spanish. With more than 2,500 new words and phrases, the Second Edition has the most up-to-date word list available today. The new vocabulary comes from all parts of the hemisphere and from a variety of fields such as medicine, sports, ecology, and popular culture, with a special...

"In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, a girl faces prejudice and accusations of witchcraft in seventeenth-century Connecticut. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her...

Macaulay traces the evolution of the creative process in building "Cathedral" from initial concept to finished drawings.