For almost four decades Armistead Maupin’s "Tales of the City" has blazed its own trail through popular culture—from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to a classic novel, to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of nine novels about the residents of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales is both a sparkling comedy of manners and an indelible portrait of an era that changed forever the way we live. The nine-volume cult series is like a soap opera in newspaper format.