Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania, to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies
American Indian Stories

The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life

The Blacker the Berry (1929), Wallace Thurman’s debut novel, broke new ground as an exploration of issues of “colorism,” intra-racial prejudice, and internalized racism in African American life. Its protagonist, the young Emma Lou Morgan, is simply “too dark” for a world in which every kind of advancement seems to require a light complexion. Seeking acceptance and opportunity, she moves––much like the dark-skinned young Thurman had, four years before the novel’s publication––from Idaho to California to New York. Harlem, the “city of surprises,” is in many ways the novel’s true subject, its low-down, licentious streets, glittering cabarets, and variegated cast of characters offering a rich backdrop for Emma Lou’s ambivalent, picaresque progress.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • Twelve short stories that mark a turning point in the work of “one of the true American masters" (The New York Review of Books).

  • Prima ballerina Natalia Leonova returns to St. Petersburg after a life-altering accident, confronting the ghosts of her past and the complex relationships that shaped her career. As she grapples with the allure of the stage and the pain of her memories, she must choose between the world of Russian dance that nearly destroyed her and the possibility of redemption through love and artistry.

    Read More about "City of Night Birds"...

  • In Collision of Power, Marty Baron recounts his tenure as editor of The Washington Post during a tumultuous period marked by the ownership change to Jeff Bezos and the election of Donald Trump. Facing unprecedented challenges, Baron and his team navigated the complexities of reporting on a president who aggressively targeted the media, all while adapting to the evolving dynamics within their newsroom.

    Read More about "Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post"...

  • In a dazzling display of protean imagination, Cool Machine roves all over the city, from Windows on the World to the Meadowlands, to show that in New York, and in the lives of Whitehead’s vivid characters, it’s what’s below the surface that reveals the truth.