The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood's devastating irony, wit and astute perception.

A compassionate, hilarious tour of the United States explores the quirky side of life in America, from airline food to tax returns, from the perspective of a world traveler who has lived abroad for two decades. By the author of A Walk in the Woods. Reprint.