Mr Tall

Mr. Tall has one long problem, his legs! Can anyone help him?

In Mr.Tall, his first story collection in two decades, Tony Earley brings us seven rueful, bittersweet, riotous studies of characters both ordinary and mythical, seeking to make sense of the world transforming around them. He demonstrates once again the prodigious storytelling gifts that have made him one of the most accomplished writers of his generation. In the title story, a lonely young bride terrifyingly shares a remote mountain valley with a larger-than-life neighbor, while the grieving widow of "The Cryptozoologist" is sure she's been visited by a Southern variant of Bigfoot. "Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?" introduces us to the ghost of Jesse James, who plagues an elderly woman in the wake of a neighborhood girl's abduction. In "Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands" a newly empty-nest couple stumbles through an impenetrable Outer Banks fog seeking a new life to replace the one they have lost, while "Yard Art" follows the estranged wife of a famous country singer as she searches for an undiscovered statue by an enigmatic artist. In the concluding novella, "Jack and the Mad Dog," we find Jack-the giant killer of the stories-in full flight from threats both canine and existential. Earley indelibly maps previously undiscovered territories of the human heart in these melancholy, comic, and occasionally strange stories. Along the way he leads us on a journey from contemporary Nashville to a fantastical land of talking dogs and flying trees, teaching us at every step that, even in the most familiar locales, the ordinary is never just that.

Hot off the press! Word around town is Ethan Traub— of the Texas Traubs—is bringing the family oil business to Thunder Canyon, along with his sassy personal assistant, Lizzie Landry. Settling down isn't part of this wealthy bachelor's game plan. So why are we hearing rumors that he's starting to see Lizzie as something more than his devoted employee? Lizzie may be secretly in love with her heart-meltingly handsome boss, but she knows better than anyone that he's not the marrying kind. Besides, she's got her own dreams—to hightail it back to Texas to open her own bakery. But my sources tell me the oil baron won't let her go so easily. Stay tuned, faithful readers, to find out if this is one deal Ethan will seal with a kiss!

Spencer West is many things. Accomplished speaker. University graduate. Natural prankster. Former cheerleader. And a young man without legs—something that has never held him back. Spencer was born without the use of his legs. When he was five, doctors decided to amputate below his pelvis to better help him get around. It didn’t bother him; he was Superman and nothing would ever get in his way. Or so he thought. Navigating through life on his hands, Spencer has always lived with purpose. But he wanted more out of life than just a paycheque and material possessions. He wanted to make an impact but wasn’t always sure how. That was until he had the epiphany: He was different for a reason. Infused with humour and humility, Spencer has never lost the hope or courage he needed to tackle personal obstacles—bullying, isolation, failure, or pride. His secret? Always standing tall.

Robert Karplus, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, became a leader in the movement to reform elementary school science in the 1960s. This book selects the enduring aspects of his work and presents them for the scientists and science educators of today. In an era when `science education for ALL students' has become the clarion call, the insights and works of Robert Karplus are as relevant now as they were in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. This book tries to capture the essence of his life and work and presents selections of his published articles in a helpful context.