A collection of seventeen short stories includes three tales featuring a small-town newspaper column called "Our Town Today with Hank Fiset."

"At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril's son Danny, as he and his older...

A gentle Eastern European immigrant arrives in New York City after his family and his life have been torn apart by his country's civil war. A man who loves to bowl rolls a perfect game--and then another and then another and then many more in a row until he winds up ESPN's newest celebrity, and he must decide if the combination of perfection and celebrity has ruined the thing he loves. An eccentric billionaire and his faithful executive assistant venture...

The companion colume to the magnificent seven-part PBS series. The American experience of World War II captured in the words and deeds, thoughts and feelings of those who made history on the battlefields and on the home front.

Viktor is a simple man with a mission who finds himself entrapped in JKF airport after the accidental loss of his country to villainous coup. He becomes a man without a country and is stuck in at the airport's international terminal with no visa, and is instructed that he is not allowed to leave. Slowly he encounters airport workers who come to his aid by mutual coercion. Gupta the hilarious Indian custodian; Enrique who transports food; Torres the...

Based on the comical and moving New York Times bestseller, it tells the story of Otto Anderson, a grumpy widower whose only joy comes from criticizing and judging his exasperated neighbors. When a lively young family moves in next door, he meets his match in quick-witted and very pregnant Marisol, leading to an unexpected friendship that will turn his world upside down.

Max has an active imagination, who will throw a fit if others don't go along with what he wants. Following an incident with his sister Claire and her friends, Max throws a tantrum when his mother pays more attention to her boyfriend than to him - runs away from home. Wearing his wolf costume at the time, Max not only runs away physically, but runs toward a world in his imagination. This world, an ocean away, is inhabited by large wild beasts, including...

Buck Howard is a mentalist extraordinaire who used to spend his days in the limelight. But nowadays, it's become clear to everyone but Buck that his act has long ago lost its luster. Yet, Buck is convinced his comeback is imminent. With the help of his new personal assistant, recent law school drop-out and would-be writer Troy, not to mention his fiery publicist, Buck surprisingly lands back in the American consciousness, taking Troy along for the...

Toula is a quiet, devoted daughter in a big, crazy Greek family. Working in her father's restaurant, she hides behind her family and keeps the world at a distance. One day at the restaurant she finds herself pouring coffee for a man who inspires her to change her life, and the way she sees the world ... forever.