Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race,...

First published in 1948, Cry, the Beloved Country stands as the single most important novel in twentieth century South African literature. A work of searing beauty, it is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its contemporaneity, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of...

In this hard-hitting novel, first published in 1924, the murky personal relationship between an Englishwoman and an Indian doctor mirrors the troubled politics of colonialism. Adela Quested and her fellow British travelers, eager to experience the "real" India, develop a friendship with the urbane Dr. Aziz. While on a group outing, Adela and Dr. Aziz visit the Marabar caves together. As they emerge, Adela accuses the doctor of assaulting her. While...

"At fourteen, Christian Picciolini was recruited by a now notorious skinhead leader and encouraged to fight with the movement to "protect the white race from extinction." Soon, he had become an expert in racist ideology, a neo-Nazi terror who roamed the neighborhood, quick to throw fists. By the time he left the movement years later and was able to see clearly for the first time, Picciolini found that his life was in shambles and the nation around...

"The endgame is at hand for Penn Cage and his family in this final volume in the epic Natchez Burning trilogy, set in modern-day Natchez, Mississippi"-- Shattered by grief, Penn Cage's world is collapsing around him. The woman he loves is gone, his principles have been irrevocably compromised, and his father, once a paragon of the community that Penn leads as mayor, is about to be tried for the murder of a former lover. Tom Cage has secrets, including...

"According to commentator and lawyer Elie Mystal, Republicans are wrong when they tell you the First Amendment allows religious fundamentalists to discriminate against gay people who like cake. They're wrong when they tell you the Second Amendment protects the right to own a private arsenal. They're wrong when they say the death penalty isn't cruel or unusual punishment, and they're wrong when they tell you we have no legal remedies for the scourge...

The setting is a dusty Southern town during the Depression. A white woman accuses a black man of rape. Though he is obviously innocent, the outcome of his trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him-- except the town's most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defense costs him many friendships but earns him the respect and admiration of his two motherless children.

Based on Harper Lee's novel about a lawyer defending a black man accused of raping a white woman.

When Adisa Johnson, an African-American lawyer, visits hometown Campbellton, Ga., after her aunt suffers a stroke, she doesn't expect to stay for long. However, after being fired from her law firm, she begins exploring job opportunities in the area. When she hears that a young African-American boy is in a coma after being shot by a white police officer, her initial reaction is sympathy, though she has no desire to get involved. But then a twist will...

Virgil Tibbs is a renowned homicide detective from Philadelphia returning to Mississippi in the sweltering summer to visit his mother, when a rich factory owner is found dead. The industrialist was white, Tibbs is black and in the Deep South at the time, that is enough reason for the local cops to arrest him on suspicion murder. After his identity and credentials are established, the Chief of Police lets Tibbs go and attempts to enlist his help in...