The mere absence of war is not peace (John F. Kennedy). That is the premise of "The Late Unpleasantness", a post-Civil War novel whose title derives from a common reference by genteel folk of the time to the war that left over 600,000 dead. Through the experiences of survivors, the story evolves within Camp Douglas, a Confederate prisoner of war camp located in Chicago, the Andersonville prisoner of war camp in Georgia, and the fictitious town of Mission, Wyoming. Dubbed the "Andersonville of the North", Camp Douglas easily matched the brutality of its Southern counterpart and nearly six...

Although they have no characters in common, The Zoo and Duet are two screenplays deeply connected thematically. These compelling narratives, set in the Auschwitz concentration camp (The Zoo) and in East Berlin behind the Berlin Wall (Duet), bring the best and the worst of humanity into sharp focus as the characters struggle with captivity, pervasive cruelty, and their own helplessness and insignificance in the face of larger socio-political realities.

While World War II and its lingering shadow are certainly the driving forces behind the action, these stories are about people: In The Zoo, a...

Although they have no characters in common, The Zoo and Duet are two screenplays deeply connected thematically. These compelling narratives, set in the Auschwitz concentration camp (The Zoo) and in East Berlin behind the Berlin Wall (Duet), bring the best and the worst of humanity into sharp focus as the characters struggle with captivity, pervasive cruelty, and their own helplessness and insignificance in the face of larger socio-political realities.

While World War II and its lingering shadow are certainly the driving forces behind the action, these stories are about people: In The Zoo, a...