Fiction. CONTAGION AND OTHER STORIES is one of Brian Evenson's most sought after and lauded collections of fiction. It has been out of print for nearly a decade. With short stories like the O. Henry Award-winning "Two Brothers," Evenson takes his readers into a world that is at once apocalyptic, dark, observant, and grotesque without ever dipping into static genre conventions. CONTAGION AND OTHER STORIES shows Brian Evenson at his best--taunt sentences, sharp dialogue, and deep psychological subtext. A must have for any fan of contemporary fiction or fans of Brian Evenson. "CONTAGION remains one of the most strange and powerful books of the new millennium"--The Believer.

Economic bubbles go hand in hand with financial inventions, financial liberalization and excess leverage. Frequently these bubbles are fueled by the overoptimistic outlook not only of the so-called experts or gurus but also by the extremely positive perception of the general public. Great hikes in asset and commodity markets are believed to be a result of the new economy that has been created. Historical levels of markets and where the level of fundamentals should really be are either unknown or completely ignored. Partially one could account this to the short financial memory of market participants. Partially the abstract nature of the markets and the complexity of financial products themselves may be the reason. This paper tries to identify regularities defining economic bubbles concentrating on the most recent ones. Different approaches in explaining market movements will be discussed. Further, not only structural but especially psychological factors which may cause the emergence, the inflation and the implosion of economic bubbles are considered. Already existing agent based models, policy responses and possible future policy measures are analyzed and evaluated.

The Trial for Murder and Other Stories Table Of Contents THE SIGNAL-MAN THE HAUNTED HOUSE THE TRIAL FOR MURDER

The Haunted House, and Other Stories Table Of Contents THE HAUNTED HOUSE NO. 1 BRANCH LINE: THE SIGNAL-MAN THE BOOTS AT THE HOLLY-TREE INN

This compilation contains set of short stories by Tolstoy written under the influence of intense Christian beliefs. They are interesting to read, as they are based on common theme discussing characters who have mistaken ideas about what will bring them contentment. These are evident of Tolstoy's uncanny ability to break into human psychology and then expose them to their weaknesses. Must read!

The metaphor of contagion pervades critical discourse across the humanities, the medical sciences, and the social sciences. It appears in such terms as 'social contagion' in psychology, 'financial contagion' in economics, 'viral marketing' in business, and even 'cultural contagion' in anthropology. In the twenty-first century, contagion, or 'thought contagion' has become a byword for creativity and a fundamental process by which knowledge and ideas are communicated and taken up, and resonates with André Siegfried's observation that 'there is a striking parallel between the spreading of germs and the spreading of ideas'. In Contagious Metaphor, Peta Mitchell offers an innovative, interdisciplinary study of the metaphor of contagion and its relationship to the workings of language. Examining both metaphors of contagion and metaphor as contagion, Contagious Metaphor suggests a framework through which the emergence and often epidemic-like reproduction of metaphor can be better understood.

Follows middle-aged Martin Fissel-Brandt who begins a quest to find his former lover, Anna Posso, after he finds a hidden letter addressed to the apartment where they used to meet.

In this collection of eight stories by one of America's most gifted writers, Helen McCloy takes the reader into a world of mystery and imagination. In the signature story - 'The Singing Diamonds' - Mathilde Verworn enlists the help of Basil Willing, a psychiatrist-sleuth, to answer the question of whether there is such a thing as collective hallucination. Six people from six different locations testify to seeing diamond-shaped objects in the sky, and four of those six have died in peculiar circumstances in the past twelve days ...

Brian Evenson has added an O. Henry Award?winning short story, "Two Brothers," to this controversial book and a new afterword, in which he describes the troubling aftermath of the book's publication in 1994.

Suppose you woke up one day to learn that the worship of your god was anti American; the adherence to your religion was a threat to world security and your morals were archaic and divisive? In exchange the government would provide you a new god, (self) a new religion, (Islam) and a new set of morals (tolerance of all beliefs, vices and perversions). How would you take this news? How would you respond? Would you be angry? Would you be ecstatic? Would you want to strike out and fight for your rights or would you just sell out and enjoy the ride? Our journey takes us through this house of mirrors and we learn first hand how dangerous and destructive the aforementioned world becomes. We see how an average American Joe (James White heart Valdez, "the Contagion") treads through the swamplands of the "New America" in search of the world he once held dear only to find himself public enemy number one. Fortunately he isn't alone and countless rise up in allegiance to war against the dragon of the new world order. Compliance is not in the mix. Assimilation is not part of their vocabulary and truth; the black and white version found only in the sacred pages of the forbidden Bible is forged in their hearts and minds and is the impetus that drives them to shed light in the catacombs of a once flourishing dream called America.

Supernaturally tinged stories from William T. Vollmann, author of the National Book Award winner Europe Central In this magnificent new work of fiction, his first in nine years, celebrated author William T. Vollmann offers a collection of ghost stories linked by themes of love, death, and the erotic. A Bohemian farmer’s dead wife returns to him, and their love endures, but at a gruesome price. A geisha prolongs her life by turning into a cherry tree. A journalist, haunted by the half-forgotten killing of a Bosnian couple, watches their story, and his own wartime tragedy, slip away from him. A dying American romances the ghost of his high school sweetheart while a homeless salaryman in Tokyo animates paper cutouts of ancient heroes. Are ghosts memories, fantasies, or monsters? Is there life in death? Vollmann has always operated in the shadowy borderland between categories, and these eerie tales, however far-flung their settings, all focus on the attempts of the living to avoid, control, or even seduce death. Vollmann’s stories will transport readers to a fantastical world where love and lust make anything possible.