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September 2007

Note: Prices listed below reflect the publisher's suggested list price. They are subject to change without notice.

Playing for Pizza: A Novel

By John Grisham

Doubleday (Hardcover, $21.95, ISBN: 0385525001)

Publication date: September 2007

Description:

Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.

But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick—for which team?

The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.

Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers—at least until a better offer comes along—and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma—not even where it is—has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian.

To say that Italy—the land of opera, fine wines, extremely small cars, romance, and Football Americano— holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.

The New Wolves: The Return of the Mexican Wolf to the American Southwest

By Rick Bass

Lyons Press (Paperback, $14.95, ISBN: 1599212285)

First published: 2001

Publication date: September 2007

Description from the publisher:

The award-winning writer documents changing wildlife patterns

This is the hopeful story of the resurgence of a long-hunted animal that nearly disappeared from the planet. The Mexican wolves were reintroduced to the Blue Mountains a few years ago, and Bass’ celebration of their revival is writing at its best. Bass’ newest release, The Lives of Rocks, is creating new readers for this classic from 2001.

“This is a ballad of a book, a hymn to the gloriously defiant power of survival.” —Publishers Weekly

“Enthralling and brilliant.” —Jim Harrison.