Mark Dawidziak

"A Mystery of Mysteries is a brilliant biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines the renowned author's life through the prism of his mysterious death and its many possible causes. It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just forty, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. What was the cause of his untimely death, and what happened...

Curated by a noted Mark Twain scholar who mined many of his lesser-known texts, speeches, and notebooks, this collection presents the best of the curmudgeonly author's thoughts on many of life's endeavors and distractions-from diet and exercise to medicine, smoking, drinking, romance, parenting, old age, fashion, finances, politics, and stress management. Always entertaining and unapologetically honest, Twain's sage advice for the ages will leave...

"Can you live your life by what The Twilight Zone has to teach you? Yes, and maybe you should. The proof is in this lighthearted collection of life lessons, ground rules, inspirational thoughts, and stirring reminders found in Rod Serling's timeless fantasy series. Written by veteran TV critic, Mark Dawidziak, this unauthorized tribute is a celebration of the classic anthology show, but also, on another level, a kind of fifth-dimension self-help book,...

When The Bruiser was first published in 1936, almost every reviewer praised Jim Tully's gritty boxing novel for its authenticity-a hard-earned attribute. Twenty-eight years before the appearance of The Bruiser, Tully began a career in the ring, fighting regularly on the Ohio circuit. He knew what it felt like to step inside the ropes, hoping to beat another man senseless for the amusement of the crowd. Having won acclaim in the 1920s for such hard-boiled...