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Sinatra and Me: In the Wee Small Hours (A Gift for Frank Sinatra Fans)
by Mary Jane Ross Tony OppedisanoThis intimate, revealing portrait of Frank Sinatra—from the man closest to the famous singer during the last decade of his life—features never-before-seen photos and new revelations about some of the most famous people of the past fifty years, including Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Sam Giancana, Madonna, and Bono. &“If you are a Frank fan, buy this book&” (Jimmy Kimmel).More than a hundred books have been written about legendary crooner and actor Frank Sinatra. Every detail of his life seems to captivate: his career, his romantic relationships, his personality, his businesses, his style. But a hard-to-pin-down quality has always clung to him—a certain elusiveness that emerges again and again in retrospective depictions. Until now. From Sinatra&’s closest confidant and an eventual member of his management team, Tony Oppedisano, comes an extraordinarily intimate look at the singing idol that offers &“new information on almost every page&” (The Wall Street Journal). Deep into the night, for more than two thousand nights, Frank and Tony would converse—about music, family, friends, great loves, achievements and successes, failures and disappointments, the lives they&’d led, the lives they wished they&’d led. In these full-disclosure conversations, Sinatra spoke of his close yet complex relationship with his father, his conflicts with record companies, his carousing in Vegas, his love affairs with some of the most beautiful women of his era, his triumphs on some of the world&’s biggest stages, his complicated relationships with his talented children, and, most important, his dedication to his craft. Toward the end, no one was closer to the singer than Oppedisano, who kept his own rooms at the Sinatra residences for many years, often brokered difficult conversations between family members, and held the superstar entertainer&’s hand when he drew his last breath. &“Frank Sinatra fans, pull up a chair and let longtime confidante and road manager Tony Oppedisano regale you with tales from the entertainer&’s inner circle&” (Parade magazine)—Sinatra and Me pulls back the curtain on a man whom history has, in many ways, gotten wrong.
Enough
by Cassidy Hutchinson#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Cassidy Hutchinson&’s desk was mere steps from the most controversial president in recent American history. Now, she provides a riveting account of her extraordinary experiences as an idealistic young woman thrust into the middle of a national crisis, where she risked everything to tell the truth about some of the most powerful people in Washington. Ever since a childhood visit to Washington, DC, Cassidy Hutchinson aspired to serve her country in government. Raised in a working-class family with a military background, she was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. Despite having no ties to Washington, Hutchinson landed a vital position at the center of the Trump White House. Her life took a dramatic turn on January 6th, 2021, when, at twenty-four, she found herself in one of the most extraordinary and unprecedented calamities in modern political history. Hutchinson was faced with a choice between loyalty to the Trump administration or loyalty to the country by revealing what she saw and heard in the attempt to overthrow a democratic election. She bravely came forward to become the pivotal witness in the House January 6 investigations, as her testimony transfixed and stunned the nation. In her memoir, Hutchinson reveals the struggle between the pressures she confronted to toe the party line and the demands of the oath she swore to defend American democracy. Enough reaches far beyond the typical insider political account. It&’s the saga of a woman whose fierce determination helped her overcome childhood challenges to get her dream job, only to face a crisis of conscience—one that more senior White House aides tried to evade—and, in the process, find her voice and herself. This is a portrait of how the courage of one person can change the course of history.
Reaganland: America's Right Turn 1976-1980
by Rick PerlsteinA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020 From the bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge comes the dramatic conclusion of how conservatism took control of American political power.Over two decades, Rick Perlstein has published three definitive works about the emerging dominance of conservatism in modern American politics. With the saga&’s final installment, he has delivered yet another stunning literary and historical achievement. In late 1976, Ronald Reagan was dismissed as a man without a political future: defeated in his nomination bid against a sitting president of his own party, blamed for President Gerald Ford&’s defeat, too old to make another run. His comeback was fueled by an extraordinary confluence: fundamentalist preachers and former segregationists reinventing themselves as militant crusaders against gay rights and feminism; business executives uniting against regulation in an era of economic decline; a cadre of secretive &“New Right&” organizers deploying state-of-the-art technology, bending political norms to the breaking point—and Reagan&’s own unbending optimism, his ability to convey unshakable confidence in America as the world&’s &“shining city on a hill.&” Meanwhile, a civil war broke out in the Democratic party. When President Jimmy Carter called Americans to a new ethic of austerity, Senator Ted Kennedy reacted with horror, challenging him for reelection. Carter&’s Oval Office tenure was further imperiled by the Iranian hostage crisis, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, near-catastrophe at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant, aviation accidents, serial killers on the loose, and endless gas lines. Backed by a reenergized conservative Republican base, Reagan ran on the campaign slogan &“Make America Great Again&”—and prevailed. Reaganland is the story of how that happened, tracing conservatives&’ cutthroat strategies to gain power and explaining why they endure four decades later.
On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft
by Stephen KingTwentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen KingONE OF TIME MAGAZINE&’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King&’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work. &“Long live the King&” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King&’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer&’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King&’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships
by Nina TotenbergCelebrated NPR correspondent Nina Totenberg delivers an extraordinary memoir of her personal successes, struggles, and life-affirming relationships, including her beautiful friendship of nearly fifty years with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Four years before Nina Totenberg was hired at NPR, where she cemented her legacy as a prizewinning reporter, and nearly twenty-two years before Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, Nina called Ruth. A reporter for The National Observer, Nina was curious about Ruth&’s legal brief, asking the Supreme Court to do something revolutionary: declare a law that discriminated &“on the basis of sex&” to be unconstitutional. In a time when women were fired for becoming pregnant, often could not apply for credit cards, or get a mortgage in their own names, Ruth patiently explained her argument. That call launched a remarkable, nearly fifty-year friendship. Dinners with Ruth is an extraordinary account of two women who paved the way for future generations by tearing down professional and legal barriers. It is also an intimate memoir of the power of friendships as women began to pry open career doors and transform the workplace. At the story&’s heart is one, special relationship: Ruth and Nina saw each other not only through personal joys, but also illness, loss, and widowhood. During the devastating illness and eventual death of Nina&’s first husband, Ruth drew her out of grief; twelve years later, Nina would reciprocate when Ruth&’s beloved husband died. They shared not only a love of opera, but also of shopping, as they instinctively understood that clothes were armor for women who wanted to be taken seriously in a workplace dominated by men. During Ruth&’s last year, they shared so many small dinners that Saturdays were &“reserved for Ruth&” in Nina&’s house. Dinners with Ruth also weaves together compelling, personal portraits of other fascinating women and men from Nina&’s life, including her cherished NPR colleagues Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer; her beloved husbands; her friendships with multiple Supreme Court Justices, including Lewis Powell, William Brennan, and Antonin Scalia, and Nina&’s own family—her father, the legendary violinist Roman Totenberg, and her &“best friends,&” her sisters. Inspiring and revelatory, Dinners with Ruth is a moving story of the joy and true meaning of friendship.
I'm Glad My Mom Died
by Jennette McCurdy* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 2 MILLION COPIES SOLD! A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life. Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother&’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called &“calorie restriction,&” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, &“Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn&’t tint hers?&” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income. In I&’m Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (&“Hi Gale!&”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants. Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I&’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.
Elon Musk
by Walter Isaacson#1 New York Times bestseller From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter. When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist. His father&’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive. At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. &“I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,&” he said. It was a wistful comment, not a New Year&’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world&’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground. For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?
Did I Ever Tell You?: A Memoir
by Genevieve KingstonNew York Times Editors&’ Choice THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY, LIFE-AFFIRMING MEMOIR YOU WILL EVER READ ABOUT THE POWER OF LOVE.Did I Ever Tell You? reads like a novel but is an unforgettable true story. Genevieve (Gwen) Kingston was just eleven years old when her mother passed away, leaving behind a chest filled with gifts and letters to celebrate the milestones of Gwen&’s life and each of her birthdays until age thirty. When Did I Ever Tell You? opens, just three packages remain: engagement, marriage, and first baby. Tracing Gwen&’s coming-of-age, the book reveals a treasure hunt, with each gift and letter unveiling more about her mother, her family, and—ultimately—herself. Like Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Did I Ever Tell You? is a riveting book filled with unexpected twists and powerful life lessons. Through her mother&’s fierce and courageous love, Gwen was granted the tools not only to move through grief but to cherish life. For as her mother says in one of her letters: &“love is stronger than death.&”
Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America
by Christopher LeonardNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2019 * WINNER OF THE J ANTHONY LUKAS WORK-IN-PROGRESS AWARD * FINANCIAL TIMES&’ BEST BOOKS OF 2019 * NPR FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2019 * FINALIST FOR THE FINACIAL TIMES/MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF 2019 * KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOKS OF 2019 * SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOKS OF 2019 &“Superb…Among the best books ever written about an American corporation.&” —Bryan Burrough, The New York Times Book Review Just as Steve Coll told the story of globalization through ExxonMobil and Andrew Ross Sorkin told the story of Wall Street excess through Too Big to Fail, Christopher Leonard&’s Kochland uses the extraordinary account of how one of the biggest private companies in the world grew to be that big to tell the story of modern corporate America.The annual revenue of Koch Industries is bigger than that of Goldman Sachs, Facebook, and US Steel combined. Koch is everywhere: from the fertilizers that make our food to the chemicals that make our pipes to the synthetics that make our carpets and diapers to the Wall Street trading in all these commodities. But few people know much about Koch Industries and that&’s because the billionaire Koch brothers have wanted it that way. For five decades, CEO Charles Koch has kept Koch Industries quietly operating in deepest secrecy, with a view toward very, very long-term profits. He&’s a genius businessman: patient with earnings, able to learn from his mistakes, determined that his employees develop a reverence for free-market ruthlessness, and a master disrupter. These strategies made him and his brother David together richer than Bill Gates. But there&’s another side to this story. If you want to understand how we killed the unions in this country, how we widened the income divide, stalled progress on climate change, and how our corporations bought the influence industry, all you have to do is read this book. Seven years in the making, Kochland &“is a dazzling feat of investigative reporting and epic narrative writing, a tour de force that takes the reader deep inside the rise of a vastly powerful family corporation that has come to influence American workers, markets, elections, and the very ideas debated in our public square. Leonard&’s work is fair and meticulous, even as it reveals the Kochs as industrial Citizens Kane of our time&” (Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Private Empire).
The Choice: Embrace the Possible
by Dr. Edith Eva EgerA New York Times Bestseller &“I&’ll be forever changed by Dr. Eger&’s story…The Choice is a reminder of what courage looks like in the worst of times and that we all have the ability to pay attention to what we&’ve lost, or to pay attention to what we still have.&”—Oprah &“Dr. Eger&’s life reveals our capacity to transcend even the greatest of horrors and to use that suffering for the benefit of others. She has found true freedom and forgiveness and shows us how we can as well.&” —Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate &“Dr. Edith Eva Eger is my kind of hero. She survived unspeakable horrors and brutality; but rather than let her painful past destroy her, she chose to transform it into a powerful gift—one she uses to help others heal.&” —Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle Winner of the National Jewish Book Award and Christopher AwardAt the age of sixteen, Edith Eger was sent to Auschwitz. Hours after her parents were killed, Nazi officer Dr. Josef Mengele, forced Edie to dance for his amusement and her survival. Edie was pulled from a pile of corpses when the American troops liberated the camps in 1945. Edie spent decades struggling with flashbacks and survivor&’s guilt, determined to stay silent and hide from the past. Thirty-five years after the war ended, she returned to Auschwitz and was finally able to fully heal and forgive the one person she&’d been unable to forgive—herself. Edie weaves her remarkable personal journey with the moving stories of those she has helped heal. She explores how we can be imprisoned in our own minds and shows us how to find the key to freedom. The Choice is a life-changing book that will provide hope and comfort to generations of readers.
1776: 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, John Adams, The Johnstown Flood, Mornings On Horseback, Path Between The Seas, Truman, The Course Of Human Events
by David McCulloughAmerica&’s beloved and distinguished historian presents, in a book of breathtaking excitement, drama, and narrative force, the stirring story of the year of our nation&’s birth, 1776, interweaving, on both sides of the Atlantic, the actions and decisions that led Great Britain to undertake a war against her rebellious colonial subjects and that placed America&’s survival in the hands of George Washington.In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence—when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper. Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King&’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known. Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough&’s 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.
Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy
by Rachel KrantzAn award-winning journalist chronicles her first open relationship with &“breathtaking honesty&” (Los Angeles Times) in this &“sexy, messy, necessary look at polyamory&” (The Advocate).FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar, Them When Rachel Krantz met and fell for Adam, he told her that he was looking for a committed partnership—just one that did not include monogamy. Intrigued and more than a little nervous, Krantz decided to see whether their love could coexist with the freedom to date other people. Could they strike an exquisite balance between intimacy and independence, and find a way to feel passion for each other once the honeymoon phase ended? Krantz documents her dive into polyamory, from Brooklyn sex parties to swinging and beyond, in her extraordinary debut memoir. As she attempts to write a new plot for her love story with Adam, she runs up against miscommunications, gaslighting, and ancient power dynamics, and seeks solid ground in a relationship where the rules are ever-shifting. An award-winning journalist, she interviewed scientists, psychologists, and people living and loving outside the mainstream as she searched to understand what polyamory would do to her heart, her mind, and her life. With an unflinching eye and page-turning storytelling, Open is groundbreaking in both its documentarian approach to polyamory and its explicit subject matter. From debilitating anxiety spirals to heart-opening connections with the men and women she dates, Rachel puts her whole self on the line as she attempts to redefine what a relationship is—or could be.
Horse Barbie: A Memoir of Reclamation
by Geena Rocero&“A moving chronicle of trans resilience and joy&” (Vogue) from one of Out100&’s Most Impactful and Influential LGBTQ+ Storytellers&“Groundbreaking . . . [Rocero] quite literally models what triumph can look like.&”—Glamour (Women of the Year)WINNER OF THEM&’S AWARD FOR LITERATURE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Book Riot, Elle, EsquireAs a young femme in 1990s Manila, Geena Rocero heard, &“Bakla, bakla!,&” a taunt aimed at her feminine sway, whenever she left the tiny universe of her eskinita. Eventually, she found her place in trans pageants, the Philippines&’ informal national sport. When her competitors mocked her as a &“horse Barbie&” due to her statuesque physique, tumbling hair, long neck, and dark skin, she leaned into the epithet. By seventeen, she was the Philippines&’ highest-earning trans pageant queen.A year later, Geena moved to the United States where she could change her name and gender marker on her documents. But legal recognition didn&’t mean safety. In order to survive, Geena went stealth and hid her trans identity, gaining one type of freedom at the expense of another. For a while, it worked. She became an in-demand model. But as her star rose, her sense of self eroded. She craved acceptance as her authentic self yet had to remain vigilant in order to protect her dream career. The high-stakes double life finally forced Geena to decide herself if she wanted to reclaim the power of Horse Barbie once and for all: radiant, head held high, and unabashedly herself.A dazzling testimony from an icon who sits at the center of transgender history and activism, Horse Barbie is a celebratory and universal story of survival, love, and pure joy.
Comrade Sao: A Former Porridge Cook of Samrong Temple Prison, Battambang Province, Cambodia, during the Khmer Rouge Regime
by Firos Iseu‘Thursday 17 April 1975 is the day that I will never forget until the day I die. That was the day the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh and overthrew the government of General Lon Nol and his Republican Party…’ Thus begins Firos Iseu’s gripping memoir of his experiences during the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime in Cambodia between April 1975 and January 1979. At the tender age of 12, Iseu – whose ‘revolutionary name’, Comrade Sao, provides the book with its title – faced the horrors of the regime’s first wave of killings, which at a stroke deprived him of his parents and elder siblings. Bearing a diverse heritage of Indian, Laotian, and Vietnamese roots, he was branded a ‘17 April’ or ‘new’ person, marking him as an outsider and second-class citizen. Comrade Sao stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, showcasing the author’s remarkable courage and resourcefulness in the face of terrifying adversity. This harrowing, unflinching and above all honest narrative sheds a necessary light on one of the darkest chapters of humanity of the past 50 years.
Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets
by Burkhard BilgerA New Yorker staff writer investigates his grandfather, a Nazi Party Chief, in &“a finely etched memoir with the powerful sweep of history&” (David Grann, #1 bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon) &“Fatherland maintains the momentum of the best mysteries and a commendable balance.&”—The New York Times &“Unflinching and illuminating . . . Bilger&’s haunting memoir reminds us, the past is prologue to who we are, as well as who we choose to be.&”—The Wall Street Journal A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Kirkus ReviewsOne spring day in northeastern France, Burkhard Bilger&’s mother went to the town of Bartenheim, where her father was posted during the Second World War. As a historian, she had spent years studying the German occupation of France, yet she had never dared to investigate her own family&’s role in it. She knew only that her father was a schoolteacher who was sent to Bartenheim in 1940 and ordered to reeducate its children—to turn them into proper Germans, as Hitler demanded. Two years later, he became the town&’s Nazi Party chief.There was little left from her father&’s era by the time she visited. But on her way back to her car, she noticed an old man walking nearby. He looked about the same age her father would have been if he was still alive. She hurried over to introduce herself and told him her father&’s name, Karl Gönner. &“Do you happen to remember him?&” she said. The man stared at her, dumbstruck. &“Well, of course!&” he said. &“I saved his life, didn&’t I?&”Fatherland is the story behind that story—the riveting account of Bilger&’s nearly ten-year quest to uncover the truth about his grandfather. Was he guilty or innocent, a war criminal or a man who risked his life to shield the villagers? Long admired for his profiles in The New Yorker, Bilger brings the same open-hearted curiosity to his family history and the questions it raises: What do we owe the past? How can we make peace with it without perpetuating its wrongs?
The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying
by Johanna Schneller Jean MarmoreoNATIONAL BESTSELLER*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 WRITERS' TRUST BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY*An urgently important exploration of the human stories behind Canada's evolving acceptance of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), from one of its first and most thoughtful practitioners.Dr. Jean Marmoreo spent her career keeping people alive. But when the Supreme Court of Canada gave the green light to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in 2016, she became one of a small group of doctors who chose to immediately train themselves in this new field. Over the course of a single year, Marmoreo learns about end-of-life practices in bustling Toronto hospitals, in hospices, and in the facilities of smaller communities. She found that the needed services were often minimal—or non-existent.The Last Doctor recounts Marmoreo's crash course in MAiD and introduces a range of very different and memorable patients, some aged, some suffering from degenerative conditions or with a terminal disease, some surrounded by supportive love, some quite alone, who ask her help to end their suffering with dignity and on their own terms.Dr. Marmoreo also shares her own emotional transformation as she climbs a steep learning curve and learns the intimate truths of the vast range of end-of-life situations. What she experiences with MAiD shakes her to her core, makes her think deeply about pain, loneliness, and joy, and brings her closer to life&’s most profound questions.At a time when end-of-life care and its quality are more in the public eye than ever before, The Last Doctor provides an accessibly personal, deeply humane, and authoritative guide through this difficult subject.
Life's Too Short: A Memoir
by Darius Rucker"Darius has always been one of my favorite people to sing with and to call a friend in this industry and yet even knowing him well for as long as I have, there are so many incredible stories in Life's Too Short that I enjoyed learning for the first time.”—Sheryl CrowA raw, heartfelt memoir from Darius Rucker, the Grammy Award– winning country music sensation and multiplatinum-selling lead singer of Hootie & The Blowfish In 1986 Darius Rucker cofounded Hootie & The Blowfish at the University of South Carolina. What began as a party band playing frat houses and dive bars quickly became a global pop rock phenomenon through their multiplatinum-selling debut album, cracked rear view, which featured era-defining hit songs like “Only Wanna Be with You,” “Let Her Cry,” and “Hold My Hand.” Later, Darius would chart a pioneering path as a solo country music artist, with classic anthems like “Wagon Wheel” and “Alright.” Nearly forty years after the band’s formation, Darius tells his remarkable story through the lens of the songs that shaped him—from Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and KISS to Lou Reed, Billy Joel, Nanci Griffith, and so many more. Set against the soundtrack of his life, Darius recounts his childhood as the son of a single mother in Charleston, South Carolina. He traces the unlikely ascent of his band and shares wild tales of life on the road—but he also faces his missteps, defeats, and demons. As moving as it is entertaining, Life’s Too Short is a timeless book about a man and his music.
Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre
by Niigaan SinclairFrom ground zero of this country's most important project: reconciliationNiigaan Sinclair has been called provocative, revolutionary, and one of this country's most influential thinkers on the issues impacting Indigenous cultures, communities, and reconciliation in Canada. In his debut collection of stories, observations, and thoughts about Winnipeg, the place he calls "ground zero" of Canada's future, read about the complex history and contributions of this place alongside the radical solutions to injustice and violence found here, presenting solutions for a country that has forgotten principles of treaty and inclusivity. It is here, in the place where Canada began—where the land, water, people, and animals meet— that a path "from the centre" is happening for all to see.At a crucial and fragile moment in Canada's long history with Indigenous peoples, one of our most essential writers begins at the centre, capturing a web spanning centuries of community, art, and resistance. Based on years' worth of columns, Niigaan Sinclair delivers a defining essay collection on the resilience of Indigenous peoples. Here, we meet the creators, leaders, and everyday people preserving the beauty of their heritage one day at a time. But we also meet the ugliest side of colonialism, the Indian Act, and the communities who suffer most from its atrocities. Sinclair uses the story of Winnipeg to illuminate the reality of Indigenous life all over what is called Canada. This is a book that demands change and celebrates those fighting for it, that reminds us of what must be reconciled and holds accountable those who must do the work. It's a book that reminds us of the power that comes from loving a place, even as that place is violently taken away from you, and the magic of fighting your way back to it.
Pretty: A Memoir
by KB BrookinsBy a prize-winning, young Black trans writer of outsized talent, a fierce and disciplined memoir about queerness, masculinity, and race.Even as it shines light on the beauty and toxicity of Black masculinity from a transgender perspective—the tropes, the presumptions—Pretty is as much a powerful and tender love letter as it is a call for change. &“I should be able to define myself, but I am not. Not by any governmental or cultural body,&” Brookins writes. &“Every day, I negotiate the space between who I am, how I&’m perceived, and what I need to unlearn. People have assumed things about me, and I can&’t change that. Every day, I am assumed to be a Black American man, though my ID says &‘female,&’ and my heart says neither of the sort. What does it mean—to be a girl-turned-man when you&’re something else entirely?&” Informed by KB Brookins&’s personal experiences growing up in Texas, those of other Black transgender masculine people, Black queer studies, and cultural criticism, Pretty is concerned with the marginalization suffered by a unique American constituency—whose condition is a world apart from that of cisgender, non-Black, and non-masculine people. Here is a memoir (a bildungsroman of sorts) about coming to terms with instantly and always being perceived as &“other&”
The Call to Serve: The Life of an American President, George Herbert Walker Bush: A Visual Biography
by Jon MeachamIn honor of the one hundredth anniversary of George H. W. Bush&’s birth, this visually stunning chronicle features never-before-published photos and memories celebrating the forty-first president&’s vision of leadership as service to country—curated by Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Meacham.Lavishly illustrated, The Call to Serve is an intimate, illuminating portrait of the forty-first president, a man who was so much more than just his politics. In words and images—many found in a lifetime of scrapbooks kept by Barbara Pierce Bush—Jon Meacham brings George H. W. Bush vividly to life. From the values of integrity, empathy, and grace that Bush learned in childhood to his leadership at the highest levels in tumultuous times, the forty-first president embodied an ideal of service that warrants attention in our own divided time.Bush pursued a life of service to America through his heroic combat experience in the Pacific during World War II, his political rise in Texas, his serving as U.S. ambassador to the UN, his time as envoy to China and as director of the CIA, his tenure as Ronald Reagan&’s vice president, and his election as the forty-first president of the United States. Set against the background of America during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this book commemorates the legacy of a man who was far from perfect—he could be cutthroat on the campaign trail—but whose ambition was not an end unto itself. Bush&’s drive to succeed was, rather, a means to put the values of balance, patriotism, and respect for others into action in the political arena. Toward the end of Bush&’s life, the forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, said that Bush put the country first &“both before he was president, while he was president, and ever since.&”Featuring more than 450 photographs, Meacham&’s introduction and commentary throughout, and narration drawn from his biography of George H. W. Bush, Destiny and Power, this is an essential tribute to a uniquely American life.
Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir
by Danny RamadanA queer Syrian refugee reckons with a life spent out of place.&“Writing this memoir is a betrayal.&” So begins this electrifying personal account from Danny Ramadan, a celebrated novelist who has long enjoyed the shield his fiction provides. Now, to tell the story of his life, he must revisit dark corners of his past he&’d rather forget and unearth memories of a city he can no longer return to.Starting with his family&’s humble beginnings in Damascus, he takes readers on an epic, border-crossing journey: to the city&’s underground network of queer safe homes; to a clandestine party at a secluded villa in Cairo; through Arab Spring uprisings across the Middle East, a reckless hoax that threatens the safety of Syria&’s LGBTQ+ community, and a traumatic six-week imprisonment; to beaches and sunsets with friends in Beirut; to an arrival in Vancouver that&’s not as smooth as it promised to be; and ultimately to a life of hard-won comfort and love.What emerges is a powerful refutation of the oversimplified refugee narrative—a book that holds space for joy alongside sorrow, for nuance and complicated ambivalences. Written with fearless intimacy, Crooked Teeth is a singular achievement in which a master storyteller learns that his greatest story is his own.
The Passionate Tudor: A Novel of Queen Mary I
by Alison WeirThe New York Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series explores the dramatic and poignant life of King Henry VIII&’s daughter—infamously known as Bloody Mary—who ruled England for five violent years.Born from young King Henry&’s first marriage, his elder daughter, Princess Mary, is raised to be queen once it becomes clear that her mother, Katherine of Aragon, will bear no more children. However, Henry&’s passion for Anne Boleyn has a devastating influence on the young princess&’s future when, determined to sire a male heir, he marries Anne, has his marriage to Katherine declared unlawful, brands Mary illegitimate, and banishes them both from the royal court. But when Anne too fails to produce a son, she is beheaded and Mary is allowed to return to court as the default heir. At age twenty, she waits in vain for her own marriage and children, but who will marry her, bastard that she is? Yet Mary eventually triumphs and becomes queen, after first deposing a seventeen-year-old usurper, Lady Jane Grey, and ordering her beheading. Any hopes that Mary, as the first female queen regent of England, will show religious toleration are dashed when she embarks on a ruthless campaign to force Catholicism on the English by burning hundreds of Protestants at the stake. But while her brutality will forever earn her the name Bloody Mary, at heart she is an insecure and vulnerable woman, her character forged by the unhappiness of her early years. In Alison Weir&’s masterful novel, the drama of Mary I&’s life and five-year reign—from her abusive childhood, marriage, and mysterious pregnancies to the cruelty that marks her legacy—comes to vivid life.
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
by Kevin FedarkoTwo friends, zero preparation, one dream. From the author of the beloved bestseller The Emerald Mile, a rollicking and poignant account of the epic misadventure of a 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America&’s most magnificent national park and the grandest wilderness on earth.A few years after quitting his job to follow an ill-advised dream of becoming a guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, the National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision as bold as it was harebrained. Together, they would embark on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon, a journey that, McBride promised, would be &“a walk in the park.&” Against his better judgment, Fedarko agreed to the scheme, unaware that the small cluster of experts who had completed the crossing billed it as &“the toughest hike in the world.&” The ensuing ordeal, which lasted more than a year, revealed a place that was deeper, richer, and far more complex than anything the two men had imagined—and came within a hair&’s breadth of killing them both. They struggled to make their way through the all but impenetrable reaches of its truest wilderness, a vertical labyrinth of thousand-foot cliffs and crumbling ledges where water is measured out by the teaspoon and every step is fraught with peril—and where, even today, there is still no trail along the length of the country&’s best-known and most iconic park. Along the way, veteran long-distance hikers ushered them into secret pockets, invisible to the millions of tourists gathered on the rim, where only a handful of humans have ever laid eyes. Members of the canyon&’s eleven Native American tribes brought them face-to-face with layers of history that forced them to reconsider myths at the center of our national parks—and exposed them to the impinging threats of commercial tourism. Even Fedarko&’s dying father, who had first pointed him toward the canyon more than forty years earlier but had never set foot there himself, opened him to a new way of seeing the landscape. And always, there was the great gorge itself: austere and unforgiving but suffused with magic, drenched in wonder, and redeemed by its own transcendent beauty. A Walk in the Park is a singular portrait of a sublime place, and a deeply moving plea for the preservation of America&’s greatest natural treasure.
The Prince
by Stephen MaherThe first comprehensive biography of Justin Trudeau as prime minister—an honest, compelling story of his government&’s triumphs and failures, based on interviews with over 200 insiders and Trudeau himself.As one of the longest-surviving prime ministers and son of the legendary Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Justin Trudeau is near royalty in Canada. But how did this former high school teacher with no noteworthy accomplishments put together a team that managed to take over the Liberal Party and bring it from third place to a majority government in 2015? The Prince shows just that. In this first comprehensive history of the Justin Trudeau government, veteran journalist Stephen Maher takes readers behind the scenes of a tumultuous decade of Canadian politics. Through hundreds of interviews with political insiders, he describes how Trudeau—a Canadian prince—had the famous name, the political instincts, the work ethic, and the confidence to overcome errors in judgment and build a global brand, winning in the boxing ring and on the debate stage. And then things changed as key people left the Trudeau team and the government lost direction. Trudeau is an enigmatic figure—a politician who has been in the public eye since childhood and seeks attention but has always concealed his actual feelings from those around him. He has shown admirable strength and skill, deftly handling Donald Trump in trade deals and international meetings and in leading Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic. He has delivered substantial results for people within his political coalition—the most successful attack on poverty in a generation, real progress on climate change, and a sustained application of money and political capital to Indigenous reconciliation. Even as the government overcame major challenges, however, errors in judgment and personality conflicts wasted political capital. Trudeau has struggled to manage his own office, with devastating consequences, and alienated people outside his coalition, to the point where he can&’t hold a public event without protesters screaming curses at him. The Prince takes readers behind the curtain as the government goes from triumph to embarrassment and back again, revealing the people, the conflicts, and the struggles both in the government and on the opposition benches. Above all, it traces why this ambitious government led by a global media darling is now so unpopular it is in danger of imminent collapse.
Conquest of the Useless: Fever Dreams in the Jungle
by Werner HerzogNewly repackaged as a Penguin paperback, Conquest of the Useless, the legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog's diary of the making of Fitzcarraldo, one of his most revered and classic filmsIn 1982, the visionary directory Werner Herzog released Fitzcarraldo, a lavish film about a would-be rubber baron who pulls a 320-ton steamship over a mountain. It was hailed instantly by critics around the globe as a masterpiece and won Herzog the 1982 Outstanding Director Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, affirming Herzog&’s reputation as one of the most revered and enigmatic filmmakers of his time.Conquest of the Useless is the diary Herzog kept during the making of Fitzcarraldo, compiled from June 1979 to November 1981. Emerging as if out of an Amazonian fever dream during filming, Herzog&’s writings are an extraordinary documentary unto themselves. Strange and otherworldly events are recounted by the filmmaker. The crew's camp in the heart of the jungle is attacked and burned to the ground; the production of the film clashes with a border war; and, of course, Herzog unravels the impossible logistics of moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill without the use of special effects.In his preface, Herzog warns that the diary entries collected in Conquest of the Useless do not represent &“reports on the actual filming&” but rather &“inner landscapes, born of the delirium of the jungle.&” Thus begins an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a genius during the making of one of his greatest achievements.