The Dogs of Babel (also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK) is the debut novel of Carolyn Parkhurst. It was one of The New York Times Notable Fiction & Poetry books of 2003. The Dogs of Babel was the first book that Parkhurst wrote; it was not the first novel that Parkhurst envisioned.

The book is narrated by Paul Iverson, a linguist who calls home one day to find out his wife is dead. He spends the remainder of the book trying to teach the only witness of her death, his dog Lorelei, to speak. Throughout the book, Paul uncovers more about his wife's last day and remembers events through their life they led up to it.

The Dogs of Babel is an allusion to the Tower of Babel, the Biblical story that explains the existence of different languages. Like the builders in the story, Paul is hampered by the differences in communication between himself and Lorelei.

Paul Iverson called home to find a police officer answering the phone and suggesting that he come home. When he comes home he finds his wife, Alexandra "Lexy" Ransome, dead, fallen from an apple tree. The police declare it an accident, but Paul is bothered by the "anomalies" he finds, such as signs of someone cooking steak, a rearrangement of the book shelf, and the question as to what his wife was doing in the apple tree in the first place. The only witness to her death is their dog Lorelei, and Paul goes on a crusade to teach Lorelei to speak, in order to clear up the mystery. He cites several past attempts as evidence he will be successful, especially the case of Dog J, who was surgically altered by Wendell Hollis, "the Dog Butcher of Brooklyn", so that he could make human sounds. Paul leaves his job at the college, and dedicates his time to this single cause.

Steven John "Steve" Carell ( /kəˈrɛl/; born August 16, 1962) is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office. He has also starred in lead roles in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty, Dan in Real Life, Get Smart, Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.; and voiced characters in the animated films Over the Hedge, Horton Hears a Who!, and Despicable Me. Carell was nominated as "America's funniest man" in Life magazine, and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series for playing the lead role of Michael Scott for The Office in 2006.

Carell, the youngest of four brothers, was born at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts, and was raised in nearby Acton by his parents, Harriet T. (née Koch), a psychiatric nurse, and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer. His maternal uncle, Stanley Koch, worked with Allen B. DuMont to create cathode ray tubes. Carell's paternal grandfather was Italian; his father was born with the surname "Caroselli", later shortening it to "Carell". Carell was raised Roman Catholic, and was educated at The Fenn School and Middlesex School. Carell also played ice hockey as a teenager for his high school.^{[citation needed]} He played the fife, performing with other members of his family, and later joined a reenacting group portraying the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot. Carell attributed his interest in history to this, in which he earned his degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1984. While at Denison, Carell was a member of Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe.

The Dogs were a 1990s hip hop group consisting of Disco Rick, Keith Bell, Labrant Dennis and Fergus "Cracked Up" Smith, best known for "Crack Rock," their hit single with the chant "Yo' Mama's on Crack Rock!" The group released three studio albums The Dogs in 1990, Beware of The Dogs in 1991 and K-9 Bass in 1992.

Labrant Dennis was arrested in May 1996 for the double murder of Marlin Barnes, a University of Miami football player, and Timwaneka Lumpkin, his exgirlfriend.

Carolyn Parkhurst (born January 18, 1971, Manchester, New Hampshire) is an American author who has published three books. Her first, the 2003 best-seller The Dogs of Babel also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK, was a New York Times Notable Book and on the New York Times Best Seller List.

She followed that effort with the New York Times bestselling Lost and Found in June 2006 and The Nobodies Album in June 2010. Her first children's book, written with Dan Yaccarino, Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly, was released in Fall, 2010.

Parkhurst says she wrote her first story at age three by dictating The Table Family to her mother. An only child, she grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts; her parents separated when she was two years old. Parkhurst spent so much time reading as a child, she had to be sent outside to play. She attended Belmont Day School and the Winsor School in Boston. Her first story in print was for a Halloween contest by a local newspaper.

Her first job in publishing came at age 15, writing record reviews for a magazine called Star Hits. Parkhurst received her B.A. degree from Wesleyan University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from American University. Married since 1998 and the mother of two children, she currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Henric de la Cour born Paul Henric Dornonville de La Cour in Eskilstuna on 8 October 1974 is a Swedish songwriter, musician and singer.

Henric de la Cour started his musical career as the lead vocal in the Swedish group Yvonne made up of Henric de la Cour (vocals), David Lindh (guitar), Tobias Holmberg and Rikard Lindh (synthesizers), Christian Berg (bass) and Niklas Jonsson (drummer). It was founded in 1993 and folded in 2002. In a decade, the group released 4 albums and a great number of singles. For Swedish language page of group, see Yvonne (musikgrupp)

After break-up of Yvonne, three of its members including lead vocalist Henric de la Cour formed Strip Music in 2003 made up of Henric de la Cour (vocals), David Lindh (guitar), Christian Berg and Jens Hellqvist (synthesizers), Valdemar Asp (bass) and Richard Ankers (drums). It disbanded after releasing two albums. Strip Music traveled internationally and performed in England, The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Finland. In 2009, the group was put on hold as Henric de la Cour turned his attention to other projects. For Swedish language page of group, see Strip Music