New Releases by Michael Fry

"These are wicked little guys who''ll pick your pocket as they steal your heart."--Ted Koppel, host of ABC''s Nightline Suburbanites treasure their sameness, safety, and security, little knowing what lurks just Over the Hedge. There, in a strikingly successful comic strip created by writer Michael Fry and illustrator T Lewis, reside the only slightly displaced original inhabitants of the land: R.J., an irascible raccoon, and his sidekick turtle, Verne. Verne and R.J. have found little trouble adapting to the ways of their human neighbors. In fact, the relationship works out just perfectly when it comes to borrowing their hot tubs, setting the table with gourmet leftovers, or relaxing on their lawn furniture. It''s not that the dynamic duo don''t want to stick up for sovereign rights to their turf. It''s just that barbecue feasts, television, and even computers keep luring them closer to the enemy camp. Now in Over the Hedge 2, Fry and Lewis present their second tour de farce. They''ve got RJ arguing with one of his woodland neighbors, "This ''angry white mole'' thing is so early eighties." There''s Verne breaking the Internet by e-mailing seven million copies of Spam and potato chip pie recipe. And also, both of the "boyz in the wood" taking off in their human-neighbor Nate''s Harley with the help of training wheels and a nine-iron pedal extender. Through it all, Fry, who also produces the nationally syndicated strip Committed, sustains a wickedly funny commentary on the joys of suburban living, while Lewis, a successful illustrator of fourteen children''s books, keeps the masked wonder and his shell-shacked companion fresh from frame to frame. Over the Hedge 2 is sure to appeal to animal lovers, suburbanites, and anyone who can laugh at the human condition, as seen through the eyes of two nearly-human opportunists.

Parental Fantasy No. 1: Six Ways to Eliminate Barney. So begins one of Michael Fry''s hilarious installments of Committed, the strip that epitomizes the trials of parenting on the run. From microwave dependence to quality time on the couch, from abbreviated fairy tales to Sunday drives on the information superhighway, Committed celebrates the experiences of harried parents everywhere.Send in the Stunt More lampoons everything working parents face, from having daughters who want to grow up to be Barbie to kid logic: Stop brushing our teeth, they rot, fall out...and bingo! We''re rich! Thanks, Tooth Fairy! Parents suffer from job envy and attempt to track their kids'' progress in school while trying to keep up with the neighbors next door. Wry and irreverent, Committed blends wild cynicism and warm humor into a strip that speaks to families across the nation.Committed first appeared in the alternative newspaper the Houston Press, and began national syndication in 1994 by United Feature Syndicate. Its edgy and offbeat take on the fiascoes of modern family life has been hailed as cutting-edge humor ever since. Last year''s What I Want to Be When THEY Grow Up was a hit with parents and non-parents alike, and this year''s Send in the Stunt More promises to be every bit as enthusiastically received.

All the tragic majesty of Thomas Hardy''s celebrated novel is captured in this arresting and theatrically exciting adaptation, narrated by a masked Chorus in the style of Greek tragedy (Hardy''s favoured form of theatre) and using songs to counterpoint and underline the action. Michael Fry''s adaptation provides a clear and thrilling experience and an enlightening and fascinating re-evaluation of a familiar text.

On the 1st April 1996 the Environmental Protection Act comes into force, transferring responsibilities for environmental protection to new Agencies. This manual incorporates the text of the Environment Act 1995 establishing the new Agencies together with the legislation containing theirpollution control functions. In addition to the statutes, the manual contains a comprehensive set of statutory instruments, which form an essential part of the legislation together with other associated materials.The Environment Agency will take over the functions of the National Rivers Authority, Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Pollution and waste regulation authorities, Her Majesty''s Industrial Pollutions Inspectorate and certain functions of other authorities. Both Agencies will also take over particularfunctions of the Secretaries of State.The manual covers the work of the Agencies related to integrated pollution control, the control of pollution of water resources and the regulation of controlled waste and of radioactive substances. The manual also includes additional provisions related to pollution control, namely legislationconcerning clean air and statutory nuisances.All the legislation is presented in fully annotated form which shows the Acts as they are in force on the date the legislation becomes law. This is thus an extremely useful and practical guide to the new legislation which will be indispensable to anyone working on the environment.

If stressed-out parents of the ''90s are looking for something to get them through the day, then Committed--a strip appearing in more than 100 newspsper in North America--should be at the top of the list. This hilarious, all-too-true cartoon perfectly captures the chaos of life in many two-career families. From Barney overdoses to looking for lost romance, this clever collection keeps the chuckles coming fast and furiously.

In this volume, Michael Fry brings together research on the political history of Scotland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He traces the distinctively Scottish course of liberalism, socialism, nationalism, industry and trade unionism, as well as the effects of church politics. His starting point is 1832, though he refers to much before then: he takes his story up to the 1980s.