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.

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. Large flexible cast

Over the Hedge, created by T Lewis and Michael Fry, takes a freshly skewed look at suburban living from the perspective of the animals who lived there first. The strip stars RJ, a mischievous raccoon, and Verne, his sensitive best-buddy turtle. Together they fight to save their wooded wonderland from the evils of encroaching suburbia but end up becoming distracted by wide-screen TVs, discarded fast food containers and the fun of wreaking havoc on the local homeowners' association.

The First World War was in many ways the most formative experience for the western world in the twentieth century. Little if anything of importance escaped its influence. For those who helped shape foreign and deference policies in Britain, the United States, and Canada, the war and the consequent peacemaking raised perplexing political, ideological, and racial problems. In their search for solutions, some among the anglophone elites of these three countries arrived at the idea of Atlanticism. To them it seemed possible that the British empire and the United States, the core of the victorious allied coalition, could create a global hegemony, an amended version of the Pax Britannica, which might provide a panacea for the ills of the postwar world. As their views became known, the Atlanticists met with some enthusiasm and much outright hostility. Deliberations for and against Atlanticism focused on renewal of the Anglo-Japanese alliance and on two vital postwar conferences, the Imperial Conference of 1921 and the Washington Conference of 1921-2. Initial prospects for Atlanticism seemed encouraging, but hopes were dashed in real political issues of war debts and European recovery by the end of 1922. The Atlanticist thesis languished and despite periods of co-operation it never regained its appeal throughout the interwar years. Michael Fry relates in fascinating detail the history of these deliberations and of the statesmen who worked for and against Atlanticism. His study sheds light on the evolution of foreign policy in Britain, the dominions, and the United States, and yields insights into relations between these governments during an important time in history.