I’ve had a varied career and none of my books has much to do with the others; but here’s information about each of them.
Bawdy Tales from the Courts of Medieval France

However, the book has entertained and informed quite a few people (including Barbara Tuchman, who cited it in A Distant Mirror), including some teachers who use photocopies of certain stories in their classes. For this I get an occasional royalty check. It includes the only English translation of a very rare Arthurian tale, “The Knight of the Sword” in which Gawain is tested on a magical bed, as well as such low-brow entertainments as “The Lady Who Was Castrated” and “The Lay of the Lecher.”
The hardbound library edition is extremely rare (I have a few copies for sale to libraries only), but paper copies appear from time to time at reasonable prices from used book dealers. Try searching at ABEBooks.com

This history and annotated bibliography of nuclear war as it has been depicted in fiction was the product of ten years of research. I published widely on the subject until the end of the Cold War led to a sharp dropoff in interest in the subject. The first edition of 1986 almost sold out before Kent State University Press remaindered it. There are no copies presently available for sale, but many libraries own a copy. However, this book has been rendered obsolete by the Web publication of the second edition, which should be used instead.

A custom-published reader for the study of world civilizations. Samples and further information are available by clicking on the title above. Copies can be purchased from Amazon.com.

Published 2003 by William, James Co., this is the book version of my popular Web site, “Common Errors in English.” It is a usage guide which attempts to be helpful and entertaining without overwhelming the reader with technical detail.

Published 2003 by Greenwood Press. This is a discussion of some authors from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka who write fiction in English (Attia Hosain, Jhumpa Lahiri, Rohinton Mistry, Bharati Mukherjee, R. K. Narayan, Michael Ondaatje, Raja Rao, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Shyam Selvadurai, Khushwant Singh, Bapsi Sidhwa, Manil Suri, and Rabindranath Tagore). These essays are aimed at being helpful to readers beginning to explore this popular literature. It avoids fearsome theoretical and critical vocabulary and aims at explaining what needs explaining without giving away plot surprises. Ideal for libraries, reading groups, and beginning college courses on the subject.

For a full list of my publications, including articles, contributed chapters in books, and e-publications, see my vita.
Paul Brians
Department of English
Washington State University
Pullman 99164-5020.