A New York Times bestselling writer explores what our unique sonic signature reveals about our species, our culture, and each one of us. Finally, a vital topic that has never had its own book gets its due. There's no shortage of books about public speaking or language or song. But until now, there has been no book about the miracle that underlies them all--the human voice itself. And there are few writers who could take on this surprisingly vast topic with more artistry and expertise than John Colapinto. Beginning with the novel--and compelling--argument that our ability to speak is what made us the planet's dominant species, he guides us from the voice's beginnings in lungfish millions of years ago to its culmination in the talent of Pavoratti, Martin Luther King Jr., and Beyonce--and each of us, every day. Along the way, he shows us why the voice is the most efficient, effective means of communication ever devised: it works in all directions, in all weathers, even in the dark, and it can be calibrated to reach one other person or thousands. He reveals why speech is the single most complex and intricate activity humans can perform. He travels up the Amazon to meet the Piraha, a reclusive tribe whose singular language, more musical than any other, can help us hear how melodic principles underpin every word we utter. He heads up to Harvard to see how professional voices are helped and healed, and he ventures out on the campaign trail to see how demagogues wield their voices as weapons. As far-reaching as this book is, much of the delight of reading it lies in how intimate it feels. Everything Colapinto tells us can be tested by our own lungs and mouths and ears and brains. He shows us that, for those who pay attention, the voice is an eloquent means of communicating not only what the speaker means, but also their mood, sexual preference, age, income, even psychological and physical illness. It overstates the case only slightly to say that anyone who talks, or sings, or listens will find a rich trove of thrills in This Is the Voice.

Cal Cunningham, a penniless Manhattan bookstore clerk, has always dreamed of writing a book that would rocket him to the top of the bestsellers list. 'Almost Like Suicide', the great novel, based on Cal's life, fulfils his every fantasy making Cal the hottest thing in New York. But is Cal the author? And what happened to his flatmate Stewart, who died in a bicycle accident, and had literary aspirations of his own?

In John Colapinto's highly acclaimed, wickedly satiric thriller, plagiarism, deception and blackmail culminate in Cal plotting not just his second book, but also his first killing.

'"A perfect novel…A thriller of which Patricia Highsmith would have been proud."'
'Sunday Times'

'"A 'noir' thriller – gleaming, well written and exciting."'
'Financial Times'

'"Don't miss this clever, intense story."'
'Marie Claire'

'"Brilliant debut novel."'
'Time Out'

In 1967, after a twin baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment that would alter his gender. The case would become one of the most famous in modern medicine and a total failure. "As Nature Made Him" tells the extraordinary story of David Reimer, who, when finally informed of his medical history, made the decision to live as a male. A macabre tale of medical arrogance, it is first and foremost a human drama of one man's and one family's amazing survival in the face of terrible odds.

Just how did Cal Cunningham -- a twenty-five-year-old bookstore stockboy who is new to Manhattan and who has never written anything -- publish a bestselling novel that sells to the movies for a million dollars?

A mysterious roommate, a timely bike accident, and the rapacious literary agent Blackie Yaeger all play a role in Cal's success.

Deception, blackmail, and murder all play a role in his desperate bid to hold on to it.

And About the Author is his first-person account of how he performed this remarkable feat.

Already hailed and persecuted for its perverse humor and wildly wicked sensibility, Undone is the tour-de-force black comedy by International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Nominee John Colapinto. In modern day America, Dez is a former lawyer and teacher -- an ephebophile with a proclivity for teenage girls, hiding out in a trailer park with his latest conquest, Chloe. Having been in and out of courtrooms (and therapists' offices) for a number of years, Dez is adrift, at odds with a society that persecutes him over his desires. From his couch one afternoon, Dez watches an interview with Jasper Ulrickson, a doting father and loving husband whose heartrending memoir, Lessons from My Daughter, has become a national bestseller. The memoir chronicles his journey with his wife, Pauline, who suffered a stroke giving birth to their only child and has been in a locked-in state ever since. Espousing their deep connection and chaste marriage, Jasper's selfless devotion to his wife has made him one of the most popular and admired men in America. So Dez sets out to do what any red-blooded American would do: destroy Ulrickson by using Chloe to pose as the famous author's long-lost daughter, infiltrate his family, seduce him, and, when