The creative process can be a grueling grind — but for some unlucky authors, it has ultimately proven to be fatal. In this morbidly fascinating volume, author P. H. Ditchfield catalogs writers who didn't survive the birth of their beloved masterpiece, as well as others whose reputations were destroyed as a result of a particular publication. It makes for a grim — but totally engrossing — read.

In this literary smackdown, one giant of American literature thoroughly demolishes the literary output of another. With his trademark plainspoken wit, Mark Twain presents a catalog of everything he hates about the work of James Fenimore Cooper, author of such classics as The Last of the Mohicans. Whether you're Team Twain or Team Fenimore Cooper, you're sure to be entertained by this cutting takedown.

A candid, darkly comic, and emotionally naked tale of a former NPR journalist who—driven by grief, loss, and the desire to find his "tribe"—seeks solace in the world's most dangerous places and his pursuit to join the ranks of combat-tested war correspondents. The learning curve of reporting in hostile environments is steep and at times comical, at others nearly fatal. He encounters a lot of dust, ragged infrastructure, weaponry, scary