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The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune
by Conor O'CleryChuck Feeney was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a blue-collar Irish-American family during the Depression. After service in the Korean War, he made a fortune as founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. By 1988, he was hailed by Forbes Magazine as the twenty-fourth richest American alive. But secretly Feeney had already transferred all his wealth to his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies. Only in 1997 when he sold his duty free interests, was he "outed" as one of the greatest and most mysterious American philanthropists in modern times. After going "underground" again, he emerged in 2005 to cooperate on a biography promoting giving while living. Now in his mid-seventies, Feeney is determined his foundation should spend down the remaining $4 billion in his lifetime.
Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
by Muhammad YunusMuhammad Yunus set up the Grameen Bank in his home country of Bangladesh with a loan of just u17, to lend tiny amounts of money to the poorest of the poor - those to whom no ordinary bank would lend. Most of his customers - as they still are - were illiterate women, wanting to set up the smallest imaginable village enterprises. It was his conviction that this new system of 'micro-credit', lending even such small sums, would give such people the spark of initiative needed to pull themselves out of poverty. Today, Yunus's system of micro-credit is practised around the world in some 60 countries, including the US, Canada and France. His Grameen Bank is now a billion-pound business. It is acknowledged by world leaders and by the World Bank to be a fundamental weapon in the fight against poverty. Banker to the Poor is Yunus's enthralling story of how he did it: how the terrible famine in Bangladesh in 1974 focused his ideas on the need to enable its victims to grow more food; how he overcame the sceptics in many governments and among traditional economic thinking; and how he saw his micro-credit extended even outside the Third World into credit unions in the West. Such is the importance of his book that HRH the Prince of Wales has contributed a Foreword in which he hails 'a remarkable man who] spoke the greatest good sense'. "
The Rolling Stone Interviews: The Full Rolling Stone Interviews From 1970 (A\rolling Stone Press Book Ser.)
by Jann WennerThe Rolling Stone interview was the centerpiece of the most important American magazine of its generation. It was--and continues to be today--the imprimatur of true cultural importance, the place where our heroes, idols, and stars unveil their great selves as nowhere else. Indeed, Lennon, Dylan, Clapton, Springsteen, Madonna, Bono, Eminem, Gore, Tutu, Eastwood, Scorsese, Kubrick, Brando, Nicholson, and countless others revealed the secrets behind their art and their lives in Rolling Stone's pages. And now, for the first time ever, the very best interviews from the magazine's remarkable 40-year history have been collected in a single volume. All of the biggest and most important musicians, writers, political figures, and directors are here--completely unafraid to bare their souls and comment candidly on the issues of their day. THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEWS is more than a collection; it's a marvelous cultural history.
Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus: Writings 1968-2010
by Greil MarcusHis foremost interpreter revisits more than forty years of listening to Dylan?weaving individual moods and moments into a brilliant history of their changing times
The Impostor's Daughter: A True Memoir (Graphic Novel)
by Laurie SandellLaurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect job--interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. <p><p> But while researching an article on her dad's life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he's not the man he says he is--not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them--herself.<P> <i>Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. To explore further access options with us, please contact us through the Book Quality link on the right sidebar. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these. </i>
How Great Women Lead: A Mother-Daughter Adventure into the Lives of Women Shaping the World
by Bonnie St. John Darcy DeaneIn boardrooms and lecture halls, on the field and at home, strong female leaders are making a statement around the globe. In HOW GREAT WOMEN LEAD Bonnie St. John and her teenage daughter, Darcy Deane, explore the qualities that motivate some of the world's most powerful women. Through engaging, out-of-the-spotlight interchanges, the authors discover commonly held values, behaviors, and attitudes, as well as the subtle, special skills inherent in female leaders.From the ethics of Dr. Condoleeza Rice to the fortitude of Hillary Rodham Clinton to the enthusiasm of Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp and the discipline of Geena Davis, each woman in this book shares the exciting story of her rise to the top and the unique qualities it took to get there.
Signor Marconi's Magic Box: The Most Remarkable Invention Of The 19th Century & The Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked A Revo
by Gavin WeightmanThe world at the turn of the twentieth century was in the throes of "Marconi-mania"-brought on by an incredible invention that no one could quite explain, and by a dapper and eccentric figure (who would one day win the newly minted Nobel Prize) at the center of it all. At a time when the telephone, telegraph, and electricity made the whole world wonder just what science would think of next, the startling answer had come in 1896 in the form of two mysterious wooden boxes containing a device Marconi had rigged up to transmit messages "through the ether. " It was the birth of the radio, and no scientist in Europe or America, not even Marconi himself, could at first explain how it worked. . . it just did. Here is a rich portrait of the man and his era-a captivating tale of British blowhards, American con artists, and Marconi himself-a character par excellence, who eventually winds up a virtual prisoner of his worldwide fame and fortune.
If I'd Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves
by Ellyn SpraginsNow in paperback, the popular second volume in the What I Know Now™ series offers wonderfully candid letters from women under forty, who give advice to the girls they once were. Readers will discover familiar names as well as new voices, including actress Jessica Alba; singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield; author Hope Edelman; Olympic soccer gold medalist Julie Foudy; singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb; and actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Here are stories of young love; of daring to chart a new path when everyone tells you to play it safe; of realizing that perfection is a pipe dream. The ideal gift for any young woman in your life, this collection provides "a boost of hope that today’s turmoil can foster tomorrow’s growth, success, and happiness” (Boston Globe).
The Gospel Side of Elvis
by Joe MoscheoGospel music was a significant part of not only who Elvis became as a man, but as an artist as well. As Elvis mania continues to consume generation after generation throughout the world, fans still crave new insights into the person of Elvis Presley. This book takes a look at his roots and the role of gospel in his foundational years, as well as the comfort, solace, and strength it offered him in the years of his meteoric rise in popularity. THE GOSPEL SIDE OF ELVIS is a rarely explored aspect of this American icon and one that reveals so much about the Elvis so many have yet to discover.
Hank Williams: The Biography
by Colin Escott George Merritt William MacewenIn his brief life, Hank Williams created one of the defining bodies of American music. Songs such as 'Your Cheatin' Heart,' 'Hey, Good Lookin',' and 'Jambalaya' sold millions of records and became the model for virtually all country music that followed. But by the time of his death at age 29, Williams had drunk and drugged and philandered his way through two messy marriages and out of his headline spot on the Grand Ole Opry. Even though he was country music's top seller, Williams was so famously unreliable toward the end that he was lucky to get a booking in a beer hall. Now Colin Escott adds the fruit of several years of impeccable new research to what was already the most full-blooded portrait of Hank Williams. With the benefit of recently discovered legal files, exclusive access to Williams's autopsy, and new research on the singer's final hours, Escott brings to light much that was previously unknown or hidden about Hank Williams.
Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton
by Jeff Gerth Don Van NattaTwo Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative journalists deliver: Previously undisclosed details about the Clinton's multi-decade plan for power including 8 years in the White House for Bill and 8 years for Hillary. Never-before-revealed information about Hillary's involvement in her husband's campaigns - including cover-ups and the truth about Bill's draft record; New details regarding Hillary's rivalry with Al Gore - and why it is likely to heat up. Provocative new information about Hillary's vote to authorize the Iraq War, and the steps she has taken to distance herself from that vote Revelations about Bill Clinton's role in Hillary's campaign and his surprising opinion of Barack Obama; New details of Hillary's failure to adhere to Senate ethics rules, and what this says about her political empire She is one of the most influential and recognizable figures in our country, and perhaps the single most divisive individual in our political landscape. She has been the subject of both hagiography and vitriolic smear jobs. But although dozens of books have been written about her, none of them have come close to uncovering the real Hillary--personal, political, in all her complications. Now, as she make her historic run for the presidency, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr. bring us the first comprehensive and balanced portrait of the most important woman in American politics. Drawing upon myriad new sources and previously undisclosed documents, Her Way shows us how, like many women of her generation, Hillary Rodham Clinton tempered a youthful idealism with the realities of corporate America and big-league politics. It takes readers from the dorm rooms at Wellesley to the courthouses of Arkansas and Washington; to the White House and role as First Lady like none other; inside the back rooms of the Senate, where she expertly navigates the political and legislative shoals; to her $4 million mansion in Washington, where she presides over an unparalleled fundraising machine; and to her war room, from which she orchestrates ferocious attacks against her critics. Throughout her career, she has been alternately helped and hindered by her marriage to Bill Clinton. Her Way unravels the mysteries of their political partnership--one of the most powerful and enigmatic in American history. It also explains why Hillary is such a polarizing figure. And more than any other book, it reveals what her ultimate hopes and ambitions are--for herself and for America.
Growing Up Dead: The Hallucinated Confessions of a Teenage Deadhead
by Peter ConnersA colorful journey from straight-laced suburban kid to ?DeadheadOCO nomad to mid-thirties dad, against the backdrop of the late OCO80s and mid-OCO90s"
First in Peace: How George Washington Set the Course for America
by O'Brien Conor CruiseJust before he died after a long and distinguished international career as a politician, commentator, and author, Conor Cruise O’Brien completed a study of George Washington’s presidency. Cruise O’Brien has been described as "a man who so persistently asks the right questions” (The Economist), and in this, his last book, he explores the question of how early America’s future was determined. First in Peace considers the dissension between Washington and Jefferson during the first U. S. presidency, and reveals Washington’s clear-sighted political wisdom while exposing Jefferson’s dangerous ideology. Cruise O’Brien makes the case that Washington, not Jefferson, was the true democrat, and commends his clarity of vision in restoring good relations with Britain, his preference for order and pragmatism, and his aversion to French political extremism.
Sundays at Eight: 25 Years of Stories from C-SPAN'S Q&A and Booknotes
by Brian Lamb C-SpanFor the last 25 years, Sunday nights at 8pm on C-SPAN has been appointment television for many Americans. During that time, host Brian Lamb has invited people to his Capitol Hill studio for hour-long conversations about contemporary society and history. In today's soundbite culture that hour remains one of television's last vestiges of in-depth, civil conversation.First came C-SPAN's Booknotes in 1989, which by the time it ended in December 2004, was the longest-running author-interview program in American broadcast history. Many of the most notable nonfiction authors of its era were featured over the course of 800 episodes, and the conversations became a defining hour for the network and for nonfiction writers.In January 2005, C-SPAN embarked on a new chapter with the launch of Q and A. Again one hour of uninterrupted conversation but the focus was expanded to include documentary film makers, entrepreneurs, social workers, political leaders and just about anyone with a story to tell.To mark this anniversary Lamb and his team at C-SPAN have assembled Sundays at Eight, a collection of the best unpublished interviews and stories from the last 25 years. Featured in this collection are historians like David McCullough, Ron Chernow and Robert Caro, reporters including April Witt, John Burns and Michael Weisskopf, and numerous others, including Christopher Hitchens, Brit Hume and Kenneth Feinberg.In a March 2001 Booknotes interview 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt described the show's success this way: "All you have to do is tell me a story." This collection attests to the success of that principle, which has guided Lamb for decades. And his guests have not disappointed, from the dramatic escape of a lifelong resident of a North Korean prison camp, to the heavy price paid by one successful West Virginia businessman when he won $314 million in the lottery, or the heroic stories of recovery from the most horrific injuries in modern-day warfare. Told in the series' signature conversational manner, these stories come to life again on the page. Sundays at Eight is not merely a token for fans of C-SPAN's interview programs, but a collection of significant stories that have helped us understand the world for a quarter-century.
Balance: A Story of Faith, Family, and Life on the Line
by David Ritz Nik WallendaNik Wallenda, "King of the High Wire," doesn't know fear. As a seventh generation of the legendary Wallenda family, he grew up performing, entertaining, and pushing the boundaries of gravity and balance. When Nik was four years old, he watched a video from 1978 of his great grandfather, Karl Wallenda, walking between the towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel in Puerto Rico, stumbling, and falling to his death because of improper rigging. When Nik heard his father quote his great-grandfather-"Life is on the wire, everything else is just waiting"-the words resonated deep within his soul and he vowed to be a hero like Karl Wallenda. Balance is the theme of Nik's life: between his work and family, his faith in God and artistry, his body and soul. It resonates from him when performing and when no one is looking. When walking across Niagara Falls, he prayed aloud the entire time, and to keep his lust for glory and fame in check, Nik returned to the site of his performance the next day and spent three hours cleaning up trash left by the crowd. Nik Wallenda is an entertainer who wants to not only thrill hearts, but to change hearts for Christ. Christ is the balance pole that keeps him from falling.Nik Wallenda is an entertainer who wants to not only thrill hearts, but to change hearts for Christ. Christ is the balance pole that keeps him from falling.
Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians
by Hedges"Collateral Damage" brings together testimony from the largest number of on the record, named, combat veterans who reveal the disturbing, daily reality of war and occupation in Iraq. Through their eyes, we learn how the mechanics of war lead to the abuse and frequent killing of innocents. They describe convoys of vehicles roaring down roads, smashing into cars, and hitting Iraqi civilians. They detail raids that leave families shot dead in the mayhem. And they describe a battlefield in which troops, untrained to distinguish between combatants and civilians, are authorized to shoot whenever they feel threatened.
I Am Ozzy
by Chris Ayres Ozzy Osbourne"They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat. ' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove. ' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies ...' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the f**king things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night. It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty f**king years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at f**king two miles per hour. People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of sixty, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn't have put money on me, no f**king way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time. A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."
Horse Of A Different Color: A Tale of Breeding Geniuses, Dominant Females, and the Fastest Derby Winner Since Secretariat
by Jim SquiresJim Squires's rollicking look at the pomp, arrogance, passion, and avarice that drive both man and horse in the most exciting two minutes in sports?the Kentucky Derby
Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16
by Moshe KasherRising young comedian Moshe Kasher is lucky to be alive. He started using drugs when he was just 12. At that point, he had already been in psychoanlysis for 8 years. By the time he was 15, he had been in and out of several mental institutions, drifting from therapy to rehab to arrest to...you get the picture. But KASHER IN THE RYE is not an "eye opener" to the horrors of addiction. It's a hilarious memoir about the absurdity of it all.When he was a young boy, Kasher's mother took him on a vacation to the West Coast. Well it was more like an abduction. Only not officially. She stole them away from their father and they moved to Oakland , California. That's where the real fun begins, in the war zone of Oakland Public Schools. He was more than just out of control-his mother walked him around on a leash, which he chewed through and ran away.Those early years read like part Augusten Burroughs, part David Sedaris, with a touch of Jim Carrol...but a lot more Jewish. In fact, Kasher later spends time in a Brooklyn Hasidic community. Then came addicition...Brutally honest and laugh-out-loud funny, Kasher's first literary endeavor finds humor in even the most horrifying situations.
Passing Game: Benny Friedman and the Transformation of Football
by Murray GreenbergBenny Friedman, the son of working class immigrants in Cleveland's Jewish ghetto, arrived at the University of Michigan and transformed the game of football forever. At the time, in the 1920s, football was a dull, grinding running game, and the forward pass was a desperation measure. Benny would change all of that.In Ann Arbor, the rookie quarterback's passing abilities so eclipsed those of other players that legendary coach Fielding Yost came back from retirement to coach him. The other college teams had no answer for Friedman's passing attack. He then went pro-an unpopular decision at a time when the NFL was the poor stepchild to college football-and was equally sensational, eventually signing with the New York Giants for an unprecedented $10,000, bringing fans and attention to the fledgling NFL.Passing Game rediscovers this little-known sports hero and tells the story of Friedman's evolution from upstart to American celebrity, in a vivid narrative that will delight and enlighten football fans of all ages.
Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers
by Ed SikovPeter Sellers's explosive talent made him a beloved figure in world cinema and continues to attract new audiences. With his darkly comic performances in Dr. Strangelove and Lolita and his outrageously funny appearances as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films, he became one of the most popular movie stars of his time. Sellers himself identified most personally with the character he played in Being There--an utterly empty man on whom others projected what they wanted, or needed, to see. In this lively and exhaustively researched biography, Ed Sikov offers unique insight into Sellers's comedy style. Beginning with Sellers' lonely childhood with a mother who wouldn't let go of him, through his service in the Royal Air Force and his success on BBC Radio's The Goon Show, Sikov goes on to detail his relationships with co-stars such as Alec Guinness, Sophia Loren, and Shirley MacLaine; his work with such directors as Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, and Blake Edwards; his four failed marriages; his ridiculously short engagement to Liza Minnelli; and all the other peculiarities of this eccentric man's unpredictable life. The most insightful biography ever written of this endlessly fascinating star, Mr. Strangelove is as comic and tragic as Peter Sellers was himself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny (Signature Ser.)
by Frank FreidelFreidel (history emeritus, Harvard U., U. of Washington), whose four- volume biography of the young FDR concluded with the launching of the New Deal, now offers a one-volume complete biography. Although he details Roosevelt's life before his presidency, the focus is on the Depression and wartime periods. This will probably become the standard one-volume biography. Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Suspected of Independence: The Life of Thomas McKean, America's First Power Broker
by David MckeanThe Founding Fathers, mythologized for their fervor for and dedication to democratic principles, were as heavily mired in partisanship, plagued by petty infighting, and driven by personal gain as, arguably, the most notorious members of today's Congress. In fact, David McKean reveals in this brilliant panoramic history that today's muddled political system is heavily indebted to a tradition begun from the outset, and perhaps to no one more so than Thomas McKean.Thomas McKean was America's first political operator-a man who installed himself at the center of every major political event of his time. In an extraordinary career that spanned almost half a century, McKean represented Pennsylvania and Delaware to the Stamp Act Congress and both Continental Congresses, and was instrumental in the creation of both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. He was one of the first to lobby for independence from British rule, the last to sign the Declaration of Independence, and was briefly the second President of Congress while George Washington was away. For twenty-two years, he served as chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, during which time his rulings would set the precedent for what was to become the American legal system. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania three times, during which time he fostered a tradition of partisanship in his government. Although lesser known than his friends at different times-John Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson-McKean was among the most prominent of the Founding Fathers, and the only one to serve in all three branches of government.But McKean was also a difficult, arrogant man whose political beliefs seemed to his adversaries to be expediently flexible. In the 1770s, when the bulk of McKean's constituency in Pennsylvania consisted of radical farmers and artisans who favored political participation regardless of property ownership and independence-and so McKean did too. It was on this platform he quickly rose to become a populist leader with mass appeal. As political parties began to emerge in the decades following independence, Thomas McKean, like many others, grew increasingly partisan, and fervently believed that political loyalty should play as important a role as competence in both the selection and removal of public servants.John Adams wrote that the early Founding Father, his colleague in the Continental Congress, was the one of the few "to see more clearly to the end of the business than any others in the whole body.” by a quintessential DC insider, and inheritor to Thomas McKean's aptitude for nimble politicking, The Revolutionary Life of Thomas McKean offers a complex historical biography of a man who had an invaluable impact on the nature of governance in this country for centuries.
Living Oprah: One Woman, One Year, All Oprah
by Robyn OkrantWhat happens when a thirty-five-year-old average American woman spends one year following every piece of Oprah Winfrey's advice on how to "live your best life"? Robyn Okrant devoted 2008 to adhering to all of Oprah's suggestions and guidance delivered via her television show, her Web site, and her magazine. LIVING OPRAH is a month-by-month account of that year. Some of the challenges included enrollment in Oprah's Best Life Challenge for physical fitness and weight control, living vegan, and participating in Oprah's Book Club. After 365 days of LIVING OPRAH, Okrant reflects on the rewards won and lessons learned as well as the tolls exacted by the experiment.
Miles Davis: The Definitive Biography
by Ian CarrThis exhaustively researched, revised edition of Ian Carr's classic biography throws new light on Davis' life and career: from the early days in New York with Charlie Parker; to the Birth of Cool; through his drug addiction in the early 1950s and the years of extraordinary achievements (1954-1960), during which he signed with Columbia and collaborated with such unequaled talents as John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly and Cannonball Adderly. Carr also explores Davis' dark, reclusive period (1975-1980), offering firsthand accounts of his descent into addiction, as well as his dramatic return to life and music. Carr has talked with the people who knew Miles and his music best including Bill Evans, Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett, and Jack DeJohnette, and has conducted interviews with Ron Carter, Max Roach, John Scofield and others.