Most Popular Books by Charles Wilson

The Classical Music Encylopedia, now fully updated, traces the development of Western music from medieval times through to the twenty-first century. Each chapter begins with an Introduction to the era, followed by an A to Z of the key composers and musicians of the era, with an expert''s recommended recording for each entry. Within these, the musical greats – from Mozart to Stravinksy – have more extensive entries. The Styles and Forms sections discuss the many different styles of music, from the earliest notation to the minimalism of the twentieth century, while the development of each era''s Instruments is also extensively investigated. Written by many of the world''s leading experts in the field, this invaluable encyclopedia is comprehensive, easy-to-use and highly informative – an essential guide for readers of all levels.

IN MEXICO...the charred remains of a medical clinic hold a clue to an experiment that can change the world. IN LOS ANGELES...a famous model, desperate to have a baby of her own, sends a detective to track down a legend...and a doctor missing for twenty years. IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI...a little boy plays with matchs and smiles. IN A SECRET LOCATION...the radical procedure begins, leading to a scientific miracle ...or the beginning of a nightmare. What does the next step in high-tech reporduction hold for humankind? In a tale as real as tomorrow''s headlines, a rich, successful woman takes a desperate gamble to have a child. A young lawyer discovers a fatal flaw in an unethical experiment. And a new life begins -- a life that could signal a revolution in modern medicine...or the end of us all.

"An intelligent horror story with skin-crawling entertainment. Crooked Tree is one of the rare books that uses Indian lore with intelligence and respect. The result is an unusual thriller whose supernatural roots are native witchcraft and the werewolf-like concept of ''the Grizzly Woman''." ---Denver Post "An intense, meticulously researched thriller that handles Native American beliefs with both suspense and dignity." ---New York Times "It makes your hair stand on end. A cross between Jaws and The Exorcist." ---Liz Smith, New York Newsday "Crooked Tree is a story of considerable suspense and plentiful action. The author does a professional job of building a suspension bridge for disbelief." ---Boston Globe "Crooked Tree is flat-out terrific. Well-crafted with lush descriptions of Michigan''s north country, this book will send chills down your spine as it builds suspense upon suspense." ---Detroit Free Press "Crooked Tree is a well-conceived thriller, intelligently crafted. It was a book that I could not put down." ---James Kirkwood, playwright, A Chorus Line

A young ER doctor questions the mortality rate in a city hospital and finds that the patients have more to fear than just death.

The Hugo Award–winning author of Spin, praised as "a hell of a storyteller" by Stephen King, gives time travel his own mind-bending twist . . . Two events made September 1st a memorable day for Jesse Cullum. First, he lost a pair of Oakley sunglasses. Second, he saved the life of President Ulysses S. Grant. In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson''s Last Year, the technology exists to open doorways into the past—but not our past, not exactly. Each "past" is effectively an alternate world, identical to ours but only up to the date on which we access it. And a given "past" can only be reached once. After a passageway is open, it''s the only road to that particular past; once closed, it can''t be reopened. A passageway has been opened to a version of late 19th-century Ohio. It''s been in operation for most of a decade, but it''s no secret, on either side of time. A small city has grown up around it to entertain visitors from our time, and many locals earn a good living catering to them. But like all such operations, it has a shelf life; as the "natives" become more sophisticated, their version of the "past" grows less attractive as a destination. Jesse Cullum is a native. And he knows the passageway will be closing soon. He''s fallen in love with a woman from our time, and he means to follow her back—no matter whose secrets he has to expose in order to do it. "Wilson''s prose is beautifully constructed in this intelligent and gripping novel." — Chicago Review of Books

Building effective state institutions before introducing democracy is widely presumed to improve different development outcomes. Conversely, proponents of this “stateness-first” argument anticipate that democratization before state building yields poor development outcomes. In this Element, we discuss several strong assumptions that (different versions of) this argument rests upon and critically evaluate the existing evidence base. In extension, we specify various observable implications. We then subject the stateness-first argument to multiple tests, focusing on economic growth as an outcome. First, we conduct historical case studies of two countries with different institutional sequencing histories, Denmark and Greece, and assess the stateness-first argument (e.g., by using a synthetic control approach). Thereafter, we draw on an extensive global sample of about 180 countries, measured across 1789–2019 and leverage panel regressions, preparametric matching, and sequence analysis to test a number of observable implications. Overall, we find little evidence to support the stateness-first argument.