Barack Obama says that his story could only take place in America, and this revealing biography traces the events of his remarkable life thus far. From his upbringing in humble circumstances in Hawaii and Indonesia to becoming the fifth African American senator in U.S. history, and later, a presidential candidate, this well-researched volume highlights the hardships and successes, the people who most influenced his career, his personal life, and his meteoric rise to pop icon status. Rounded out with photos, a timeline, a bibliography, and an index, this volume is a must-read for high school and undergraduate students of current events and political science.

This volume provides an overview of reading comprehension strategies and strategy interventions that have been shown empirically to be effective in helping readers to overcome comprehension challenges. This volume differs from other books that might be found on reading strategies in two important ways.

In the twentieth century more people spoke English and more people wrote poetry than in the whole of previous history, and this Companion strives to make sense of this crowded poetical era. The original contributions by leading international scholars and practising poets were written as the contributors adjusted to the idea that the possibilities of twentieth-century poetry were exhausted and finite. However, the volume also looks forward to the poetry and readings that the new century will bring.
The Companion embraces the extraordinary development of poetry over the century in twenty English-speaking countries.

Osteoporosis, Two-Volume Set, Volume 1-2, Third Edition
Now in its third edition, Osteoporosis, is the most comprehensive, authoritative reference on this disease. Written by renowned experts in the field, this two-volume reference is a must-have for academic and medical libraries, physicians, researchers, and any company involved in osteoporosis research and development. Worldwide, 200 million women between 60-80 suffer from osteoporosis and have a lifetime risk of fracture between 30 and 40 percent continuing to make osteoporosis a hot topic in medicine.

Sociolinguistic Variation brings together a group of leading scholars in the field of language variation and change to address the directions that sociolinguistic research is taking in the new millennium. Among the main themes of the volume are the construction of identity, the nature of "place" as distinct from "community", and the role of attitudes in language variation. These themes are explored through a variety of types of data, from traditional sources such as narratives, to relatively new sources, such as postings on the Internet or television documentaries.

Combining the voices of established scholars in the field with the perspectives of promising younger scholars this volume provides crucial guidance for anyone interested in doing research on sociolinguistic variation. Contributors include Guy Bailey, Penelope Eckert, Barbara Johnstone, William Labov, Ronald Macaulay, Lesley Milroy, Dennis Preston, John Rickford, Gillian Sankoff, Natalie Schilling-Estes, Jan Tillery, and Walt Wolfram.