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Up and Running: The Jami Goldman Story
by Jami Goldman Andrea CaganMeet tall, beautiful Jami Goldman: world-class athlete, Adidas spokesperson, motivational speaker -- and double amputee. More than a decade ago, a wrong turn on a back road during a blizzard resulted in a terrifying fight for her life. Now for the first time, Jami recounts her gripping story of being trapped in the snow for eleven endless days, the grievous loss of her legs, and the fortitude it has taken to not only walk again but run like the wind -- all the way to freedom. On December 23, 1987, nineteen-year-old Jami Goldman and her friend Lisa Barzano headed home from a ski trip in Purgatory, Colorado, never imagining they would end up in a freezing hell on a back road that the state of Arizona had closed without checking for travelers in distress. The girls' car battery died during that first long night, stranding them in below-zero temperatures. With only a cinnamon roll and a six-pack of frozen Diet Pepsi, the next ten days became an exercise in survival, testing their faith and courage even after they were rescued -- when Jami's legs and feet were deemed beyond saving. Wise, forthright, and astonishing, Up and Running follows Jami's global journey from loss to recovery. Her story, which often reads like a compelling mystery, features her supportive family and friends, a devastating court case, her passionate relationship with the man she married, and finally, her triumph over inconceivably fearful obstacles. In the end, Up and Running shows us all how to use adversity as a stepping-stone -- leading us to heights we previously considered out of reach and beyond our wildest dreams.
Healing Lazarus: A Buddhist's Journey from Near Death to New Life
by Lewis RichmondLazarus lies in his bed, helpless to move. But he sees now that he is not alone. His beloved wife is with him, all of his relatives and closest friends. They mop his brow; they change his clothes and linen. They stroke his limbs and speak soothing words into his ear. For so many years Lazarus had been the master, the authority, the one who made decisions and told others what to do. And now, for the first time, the roles were reversed, and he found his heart filled with such gratitude, even over the simplest things -- the light streaming in from the window, the warmth of the fire in the fireplace. How wonderful it was to be alive. For Lewis Richmond, overcoming a swift and devastating brain injury -- one that left him unable to sit up or speak -- was only the beginning of a journey to recovery. As the 52-year-old Buddhist teacher soon discovered, regaining his health would be the most difficult thing he could ever imagine. But love, courage, and the Buddhist teachings that sustained him throughout his adult life would help guide him not only back to wellness, but to rebirth and transformation. Richmond's timely, compassionate memoir can help anyone on the road back to health -- be it from illness, life crisis, or other catastrophe. In sharing this experience, as well as many others, Richmond offers insightful information about the struggles, setbacks, and frustrations of getting well -- and tells of the lessons learned and rewards gained. Illuminating from the first page to the last, Healing Lazarus is one man's affirmation of life, as well as a steadfast companion for those who may face days that are physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging.
Joshua Jackson
by Nancy KrulikJoshua Jackson Tall, dark, handsome hunk Joshua Jackson is the superstar of tomorrow. It's easy to see why! How many other stars can boast of appearing in nearly twenty movies, not to mention being the breakout performer in Dawson's Creek, one of America's biggest teen series? The Mighty Ducks, Cruel Intentions, The Skulls, and Gossip. Not only is his charisma indisputable, Josh is also a bona fide hero, having helped rescue four teens from the water off the coast of North Carolina. What's Josh really like when the cameras are turned off? Who does he pal around with? All the fascinating facts are inside...and don't forget to check out the tough J.J. quiz, only for his most faithful fans!
Jim Carrey
by Nancy KrulikKidding Around with the King of Comedy Jim Carrey is used to being laughed at. In fact, he thrives on entertaining others. As a precocious young boy, he practiced pulling faces in the bathroom mirror -- a talent that would later prove to be instrumental in his success -- and performed self-created skits for his family. Unfortunately, his life wasn't one smooth cruise to the top. The Canadian-born funnyman's rags-to-riches tale is the stuff dreams are made of. Since his early smash hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the blockbuster movie roles just keep on coming. But Carrey isn't content simply to play it safe and stick with the slapstick comedy roles he knows and performs so confidently. In fact, with releases such as The Truman Show and Man on the Moon, Carrey has challenged himself creatively and shown audiences that he is capable of demonstrating sensitivity and immense dramatic range. With his latest hit move, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this shooting star's future just keeps getting brighter!
Like Sound Through Water: A Mother's Journey Through Auditory Processing Disorder
by Karen J. FoliA mother's account of her family's struggle with APD (Auditory Processing Disorder) in her oldest son, Ben.
Marion Jones
by Bill GutmanRace for the record! At the Sydney Games, Marion Jones strove to become the first person ever to win five gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics, making headlines for simply believeing she could do it. Driven to succeed at a very early age, Marion won multiple titiles at the Junior National Championships and set a junior record in the 200 meters. A multisport athlete, she helped lead the University of North Carolina women's basketball team to a national championship during her freshman year and also competed in track and field, until an injury forced her to reevaluate her priorities. Refocused on her track career, Marion quickly became the woman to beat, racking up an impressive thirty-five wims of the thiry-six events she entred in 1998. And after another injury sidelined her hopes of winning four gold medal at the 1999 World Championships, marion fought back in the 2000 season and is once again dominating the field. Get the full story of this amazing runner's race for the record, from her childhood dreams of gold medals to her tough choice between two sports and her determined drive to become the fastest woman in the world.
Frankie Muniz Boy Genius
by Nancy KrulikMeet Frankie Muniz! He's the star of Malcolm in the Middle, one of the hottest shows on TV today. Frankie's fifteen, funny, and now he's famous. Here, for every fan who can't get enough of Frankie, is everything you need to know about him: how he broke into show business, what his hobbies are, where to find Frankie fan clubs on the Web, and whether his zodiac sign is compatible with yours! Extra bonus: take the all-Frankie quiz inside!
Silence and Noise
by RichmondA fresh new voice in American Buddhism -- a twenty-nine-year-old raised among Buddhists in California -- offers wisdom for both longtime practitioners and a new generation of students in this fascinating memoir of his Zen upbringing. Over half a century ago, when the first Zen Masters came to America, eager young students in search of enlightenment flocked to hear their teachings. Many, like Ivan Richmond's parents, became Buddhist teachers themselves while raising their children at monasteries and retreat centers. Growing up in the seventies in the deliberate silence of a Buddhist community, young Ivan knew only the hippies and redwoods of Northern California. When his family left in 1983, he became an immigrant in his own country, suddenly entering a mainstream society that was full of paradox and pop culture, uncertainty and noise. This is the story of his struggle to find peace amidst the chaos. Whether dispensing kernels of Buddhist insight taught to him as a child or reflecting on the merits of rock concerts, Richmond narrates his emergence from seclusion with a sensitivity that is often touching, frequently funny, and always honest. The story of the powerfully resonant journey of this foot soldier in the front lines of American Buddhism is an essential read for anyone interested in the current state of Zen in America.
The Camino
by Shirley MaclaineIt has been nearly three decades since Shirley MacLaine commenced her brave and public commitment to chronicling her personal quest for spiritual understanding. In testament to the endurance and vitality of her message, each of her eight legendary bestsellers -- fromDon't Fall Off the MountaintoMy Lucky Stars-- continues today to attract, dazzle, and transform countless new readers. Now Shirley is back -- with her most breathtakingly powerful and unique book yet. This is the story of a journey. It is the eagerly anticipated and altogether startling culmination of Shirley MacLaine's extraordinary -- and ultimately rewarding -- road through life. The riveting odyssey began with a pair of anonymous handwritten letters imploring Shirley to make a difficult pilgrimage along the Santiago de Compostela Camino in Spain. Throughout history, countless illustrious pilgrims from all over Europe have taken up the trail. It is an ancient -- and allegedly enchanted -- pilgrimage. People from St. Francis of Assisi and Charlemagne to Ferdinand and Isabella to Dante and Chaucer have taken the journey, which comprises a nearly 500-mile trek across highways, mountains and valleys, cities and towns, and fields. Now it would be Shirley's turn. For Shirley, the Camino was both an intense spiritual and physical challenge. A woman in her sixth decade completing such a grueling trip on foot in thirty days at twenty miles per day was nothing short of remarkable. But even more astounding was the route she took spiritually: back thousands of years, through past lives to the very origin of the universe. Immensely gifted with intelligence, curiosity, warmth, and a profound openness to people and places outside her own experience, Shirley MacLaine is truly an American treasure. And once again, she brings her inimitable qualities of mind and heart to her writing. Balancing and negotiating the revelations inspired by the mysterious energy of the Camino, she endured her exhausting journey to Compostela until it gradually gave way to a far more universal voyage: that of the soul. Through a range of astonishing and liberating visions and revelations, Shirley saw into the meaning of the cosmos, including the secrets of the ancient civilizations of Atlantis and Lemuria, insights into human genesis, the essence of gender and sexuality, and the true path to higher love. With rich insight, humility, and her trademark grace, Shirley MacLaine gently leads us on a sacred adventure toward an inexpressibly transcendent climax. The Caminopromises readers the journey of a thousand lifetimes.
Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
by Kenn HarperIn 1897 the arctic explorer Robert Peary brought six Eskimos from northern Greenland to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. For a brief time the Eskimos became a living exhibit. When four of the group died their skeletons were put on display. Six-year-old Minik, who managed to survive, was adopted by an American family and lost much of his Eskimo identity. Yet at 18 he chose to return to Greenland, where he struggled to rebuild his life among his own people. Meticulously researched and compellingly written, this is the poignant story of a young man who lived in two worlds and never fully belonged to either one. It is also the story of the scientific and economic exploitation of the indigenous people of the Arctic.
Getting Open
by Tom Graham Rachel Graham CodyBill Garrett was the Jackie Robinson of college basketball. In 1947, the same year Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball, Garrett integrated big-time college basketball. By joining the basketball program at Indiana University, he broke the gentleman's agreement that had barred black players from the Big Ten, college basketball's most important conference. While enduring taunts from opponents and pervasive segregation at home and on the road, Garrett became the best player Indiana had ever had, an all-American, and, in 1951, the third African American drafted in the NBA. In basketball, as Indiana went so went the country. Within a year of his graduation from IU, there were six African American basketball players on Big Ten teams. Soon tens, then hundreds, and finally thousands walked through the door Garrett opened to create modern college and professional basketball. Unlike Robinson, however, Garrett is unknown today. Getting Open is more than "just" a basketball book. In the years immediately following World War II, sports were at the heart of America's common culture. And in the fledgling civil rights efforts of African Americans across the country, which would coalesce two decades later into the Movement, the playing field was where progress occurred publicly and symbolically. Indiana was an unlikely place for a civil rights breakthrough. It was stone-cold isolationist, widely segregated, and hostile to change. But in the late 1940s, Indiana had a leader of the largest black YMCA in the world, who viewed sports as a wedge for broader integration; a visionary university president, who believed his institution belonged to all citizens of the state; a passion for high school and college basketball; and a teenager who was, as nearly as any civil rights pioneer has ever been, the perfect person for his time and role. This is the story of how they came together to move the country toward getting open. Father-daughter authors Tom Graham and Rachel Graham Cody spent seven years reconstructing a full portrait of how these elements came together; interviewing Garrett's family, friends, teammates, and coaches, and digging through archives and dusty closets to tell this compelling, long-forgotten story.
The Five of Hearts
by Patricia O'TooleThe Five of Hearts, who first gathered in Washington in the Gilded Age, included Henry Adams, historian and scion of America's first political dynasty; his wife, Clover, gifted photographer and tragic victim of depression; John Hay, ambassador and secretary of state; his wife, Clara, a Midwestern heiress; and Clarence King, pioneering geologist, entrepreneur, and man of mystery. They knew every president from Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt and befriended Henry James, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, and a host of other illustrious figures on both sides of the Atlantic.
Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer
by Stephen SingularTo all appearances, Dennis Rader was a model citizen in the small town of Park City, Kansas, where he had lived with his family almost his entire life. He was a town compliance officer, a former Boy Scout leader, the president of his church congregation, and a seemingly ordinary father and husband. But Rader's average life belied the existence of his dark, sadistic other self: he was the BTK serial killer. The self-named BTK (for Bind, Torture, Kill) had terrorized Wichita for thirty-one years, not only with his brutal, sexually motivated crimes, but also through his taunting, elusive communications with the media and law enforcement. In 1974, BTK committed his first murders -- torturing and strangling four members of the Otero family -- and wrote the police an audacious letter declaring his responsibility for the Oteros' deaths and labeling himself, for the first time, BTK. Thus he established a pattern -- stalking and killing a series of ten victims, then bragging and claiming ownership of his crimes -- that ended in 1991 but left law enforcement confounded and the public with deeply troubling memories. Until, that is, he resurfaced in 2004 with another string of letters that would finally lead to his arrest. Drawing from extensive interviews with Rader's pastor, congregation, detectives, and psychologists who worked the case, and from his unnervingly de-tailed thirty-two-hour confession, bestselling author Stephen Singular delves into the disturbing life and crimes of BTK to explore fully -- for the first time -- the most dangerous and complex serial killer of our generation and the man who embodied, at once, astonishing extremes of normality and abnormality. In Unholy Messenger, Singular recounts the year prior to Rader's arrest, in which the BTK killer reemerged, and the aftermath. Woven throughout are the details of his crimes, elaborate schemes, and bids for public attention, and the wrenching impact his deception had on his family, church, and heartland community. The result is a chilling story of a man considered a "spiritual leader" by his pastor and congregation, who turned out to be the devil next door. More than just true crime, Unholy Messenger is a powerful, thoroughly engrossing examination of the intersection between good and evil, and of the psychology and spirituality of a killer in whom faith and bloodshed converged.
Playing a Round with the Little Pro: A Life in the Game
by Eddie Merrins Mike PurkeyIn the world of professional golf, everyone knows "the Little Pro" -- Eddie Merrins, the head professional at the Bel-Air Country Club. A living bridge between the Golden Age of the sport and the greatest champions of today, his experiences and friendships reach back to Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan, and all the way forward to Tiger Woods, Amy Alcott, and Vijay Singh. Both on and off the course, he's an embodiment of the highest principles of the game. In dozens of short, personal anecdotes told with his trademark wit and modesty, Merrins invites readers to share the decades he spent in the very good company of famous Hollywood stars, celebrated athletes and coaches, and countless lovers of the game seeking his advice and encouragement. In these pages, Merrins generously offers for the first time all his insights on the mental, physical, technical, and even spiritual aspects of the sport. Ranging from swing fundamentals to setting goals to shotmaking, this advice is relevant to players at every level of experience. Playing a Round with the Little Pro celebrates a wonderful life lived in and for the great sport of golf, and it is destined, like its author, to be a classic of the game.
Nine Months at Ground Zero: The Story of the Brotherhood of Workers Who Took on a Job Like No Other
by Glenn Stout Charles Vitchers Robert GrayA powerful account of the lesser-known heroes of 9/11—the construction workers who toiled outside the spotlight cleaning up the stunning destruction at Ground Zero, and recovering the bodies of the victims who perished there. With color photographs by Joel Meyerowitz.Hours after two airplanes hit the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, Charlie Vitchers, a construction superintendent, and Bobby Gray, a crane operator, headed downtown. They knew their skills would be crucial amid the chaos and destruction after the towers fell. What they could not imagine—and what they would soon discover—was the enormity of the task at Ground Zero. Four hundred million pounds of steel; 600,000 square feet of broken glass; and 2,700 vertical feet of building had been reduced to a pile of burning debris covering sixteen acres. Charlie, Bobby, and hundreds of other construction workers, many of whom had helped to build the Twin Towers, were the only ones qualified to safely handle the devastation. Everyone working the site faced the looming danger of the collapse of the slurry wall protecting lower Manhattan from the waters of the Hudson River, the complexity of shifting tons of steel without losing additional lives, and the day-to-day challenge and emotional strain of recovering victims. Charlie Vitchers became the go-to guy for the hundreds of people and numerous agencies laboring to clean up Ground Zero. What he and Bobby Gray make dramatically evident is how the job of dismantling the remaining ruins and restoring order to the site was far more complex and dangerous than constructing the tallest buildings in the world. With stunning full-color photographs donated by Joel Meyerowitz—a celebrated and award-winning artist and the only non-newsroom photographer allowed access to the site—and first-person oral accounts of the tragedy from the morning of the attack to the Last Column ceremony, Nine Months at Ground Zero is a harrowing but ultimately redemptive story of forthright and heroic service.
One Good Horse
by Tom GronebergSince moving west over a decade ago, Tom Groneberg has worked with horses as a trail guide, as a ranch hand, and as the manager of his own ranch in Montana, but he has never owned a really good horse. Until, on an autumn night, in a warm barn under a blanket of snow, Blue is born. Soon, he will belong to Tom Groneberg. "If I had a good horse," writes Tom, "I could give it my life. I could ride it for years. We could grow old together. " So begins this unique American love story about a man and his horse. In straightforward, poetic prose, Tom Groneberg chronicles the early successes and failures of trying to train Blue, earning the animal's trust, and saddling him for the first time. The experience is challenging, but ultimately rewarding for Tom. Through his relationship with the animal, he develops a deeper understanding of the land and his community, and of himself -- as a man, and as a husband and father. In a world in which horses are fast becoming nothing more than warm-blooded lawn ornaments, Tom still believes these animals are important in human lives. At its heart,One Good Horseis about the power of hope, the simple story of a horse and the way people connect with nature and with each other across the generations.
The Bill from My Father: A Memoir
by Bernard CooperBernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and laugh-out-loud humor. Like Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, Cooper's account of growing up and coming to terms with a bewildering father is a triumph of contemporary autobiography. Edward Cooper is a hard man to know.Dour and exuberant by turns, his moods dictate the always uncertain climate of the Cooper household. Balding, octogenarian, and partial to a polyester jumpsuit, Edward Cooper makes an unlikely literary muse. But to his son he looms larger than life, an overwhelming and baffling presence. As The Bill from My Father begins, Bernard and his father find themselves the last remaining members of the family that once included his mother, Lillian, and three older brothers. Now retired and living in a run-down trailer, Edward Cooper had once made a name for himself as a divorce attorney whose cases included "The Case of the Captive Bride" and "The Case of the Baking Newlywed," as they were dubbed by the Herald Examiner. An expert at "the dissolution of human relationships," the elder Cooper is slowly succumbing to dementia. As the author attempts, with his father's help, to forge a coherent picture of the Cooper family history, he discovers some peculiar documents involving lawsuits against other family members, and recalls a bill his father once sent him for the total cost of his upbringing, an itemized invoice adding up to 2 million dollars. Edward's ambivalent regard for his son is the springboard from which this deeply intelligent memoir takes flight. By the time the author receives his inheritance (which includes a message his father taped to the underside of a safe deposit box), and sees the surprising epitaph inscribed on his father's headstone, The Bill from My Father has become a penetrating meditation on both monetary and emotional indebtedness, and on the mysterious nature of memory and love.
Tell Them I Didn't Cry
by David Ignatius Jackie Spinner Jenny SpinnerWhen she arrived in Iraq in May 2004 as the most junior member of the Washington Post bureau staff, Jackie Spinner entered a war zone where traditional reporting had become impossible. Bombs were a daily occurrence and kidnapping an ever-present threat for American journalists. Yet "the longer I stayed, the more Iraq felt like my home," she writes. Tell Them I Didn't Cry is Jackie's vivid and intensely personal story of being a journalist in Iraq -- where for nine months she covered the war from its center in Baghdad, Fallujah, Kurdistan, and Abu Ghraib -- and of being transformed, eventually, from a rookie correspondent into a seasoned foreign reporter. As she grew accustomed to the realities of living and reporting in Iraq, Jackie found that there was as much to love as there was to fear. The frenetic and grueling pace was an exhilarating challenge, and she discovered a powerful sense of purpose in delivering the story of Iraq. Soon, the Iraqi translators, drivers, and bodyguards that the Post staff relied on to be their eyes and ears, and, more important, to keep them safe, became not only her colleagues, but also her close friends and tightly knit family. Still, security rapidly deteriorated and Jackie describes with chilling simplicity narrowly surviving a kidnapping attempt and writing her name and blood type on her flak jacket before covering the battle in Fallujah. By turns lighthearted, grave, vulnerable, and fiery, Jackie recounts the difficulties of being a woman in a country where women are marginalized and a journalist where the press are no longer safe. She eloquently chronicles what occurred behind her headlines as she struggled to preserve her sanity, and sometimes her life, while also doing the one job in which she had found true meaning. Jackie's account is punctuated by brief vignettes written by her identical twin sister, Jenny, who watched as Jackie was drawn further and further into a world increasingly fraught with danger. Every morning she looked for Jackie's byline in the Post, knowing only then that her sister had survived another day. Through it all -- the violence and fear as well as the moments of humor, camaraderie, and warmth -- Jackie Spinner brings home with brilliant intensity and candor what it is like to report on a war under exceptional circumstances.
American Connections: The Founding Fathers. Networked.
by James BurkeUsing the unique approach that he has employed in his previous books, author, columnist, and television commentator James Burke shows us our connections to the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence. Over the two hundred-plus years that separate us, these connections are often surprising and always fascinating. Burke turns the signers from historical icons into flesh-and-blood people: Some were shady financial manipulators, most were masterful political operators, a few were good human beings, and some were great men. The network that links them to us is also peopled by all sorts, from spies and assassins to lovers and adulterers, inventors and artists. The ties may be more direct for some of us than others, but we are all linked in some way to these founders of our nation. If you enjoyed Martin Sheen as the president on television's The West Wing, then you're connected to founder Josiah Bartlett. The connection from signer Bartlett to Sheen includes John Paul Jones; Judge William Cooper, father of James Fenimore; Sir Thomas Brisbane, governor of New South Wales; an incestuous astronomer; an itinerant math teacher; early inventors of television; and pioneering TV personality Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the inspiration for Ramon Estevez's screen name, Martin Sheen.
Last Days in Babylon: The History of a Family, The Story of a Nation
by Marina BenjaminMarina Benjamin grew up in London feeling estranged from her family's exotic Middle Eastern ways. She refused to speak the Arabic her mother and grandmother spoke at home. She rejected the peculiar food they ate in favor of hamburgers and beer. But when Benjamin had her own child a few years ago, she realized that she was losing her link to the past. In Last Days in Babylon, Benjamin delves into the story of her family's life among the Jews of Iraq in the first half of the twentieth century. When Iraq gained independence in 1932, Jews were the largest and most prosperous ethnic group in Baghdad. They dominated trade and finance, hobnobbed with Iraqi dignitaries, and lived in grandiose villas on the banks of the Tigris. Just twenty years later the community had been utterly ravaged, its members effectively expelled from the country by a hostile Iraqi government. Benjamin's grandmother Regina Sehayek lived through it all. Born in 1905, when Baghdad was still under Ottoman control, her childhood was a virtual idyll. This privileged existence was barely touched when the British marched into Iraq. But with the rise of Arab nationalism and the first stirrings of anti-Zionism, Regina, then a young mother, began to have dark premonitions of what was to come. By the time Iraq was galvanized by war, revolution, and regicide, Regina was already gone, her hair-raising escape a tragic exodus from a land she loved -- and a permanent departure from the husband whose gentle guiding hand had made her the woman she was. Benjamin's keen ear and fluid writing bring to life Regina's Baghdad, both good and bad. More than a stirring story of survival, Last Days in Babylon is a bittersweet portrait of Old World Baghdad and its colorful Jewish community, whose roots predate the birth of Islam by a thousand years and whose culture did much to make Iraq the peaceful desert paradise that has since become a distant memory. In 2004 Benjamin visited Baghdad for the first time, searching for the remains of its once vital Jewish community. What she discovered will haunt anyone who seeks to understand a country that continues to command the world's attention, just as it did when Regina Sehayek proudly walked through Baghdad's streets. By turns moving and funny, Last Days in Babylon is an adventure story, a riveting history, and a timely reminder that behind today's headlines are real people whose lives are caught -- too often tragically -- in the crossfire of misunderstanding, age-old prejudice, and geopolitical ambition.
Rabble-Rouser for Peace: The Authorized Biography of Desmond Tutu
by John AllenTo be a rabble-rouser for peace may seem to be a contradiction in terms. And yet it is the perfect description for Desmond Tutu, Nobel laureate and spiritual father of a democratic South Africa. Tutu understood that justice -- a genuine regard for human rights -- is the only real foundation for peace. And so he stirred up trouble, courageously engaging in heated face-to-face confrontations with South Africa's leaders; he stirred up trouble in the streets, leading peaceful demonstrations amid the barely controlled fury of police battalions; he stirred up trouble on the world stage, seeking international disinvestment in the apartheid economy. Tutu has led one of the great lives of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and to read his story in full is to be reminded of the power of one inspired man to change history. In this authorized biography, written by John Allen, a distinguished journalist and longtime associate of Tutu, we are witnesses to courage, stirring oratory, and a demonstration of the power of faith to transform the seemingly intransigent. We know in retrospect that the apartheid resistance movement was successful and that South Africa, though not without its problems, today faces an infinitely brighter future than it might if it had not been for the efforts of Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and other leaders. But no such outcome was ever a certainty. Through the author's personal experiences, total access to the Tutu family and their papers, and considerable research, including the use of new archival material, Allen tells the story of a barefoot schoolboy from a deprived black township who became an international symbol of the democratic spirit and of religious faith. Allen personally observed how Tutu, at genuine risk to his own safety, repeatedly intervened between armed soldiers and stone-throwing students to keep the peace, how he faced constant death threats and angrily stood up to the leaders of the cruel apartheid system. Using his own faith as a cudgel, Tutu asked those officials to confront their own Christian background and made them reconcile their actions with their own professions of belief. Often through the sheer power of moral example and with a lyrical command of the English language, Tutu was able to appeal to the conscience of the world and to the emotions of an angry crowd in the streets. And then, when the battle for South African rights was finally won, it was Tutu who insisted on finding a path to forgive the former oppressors by strongly backing and serving on the unprecedented Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Today, the archbishop continues to appeal to the world's conscience by opposing the continuance of war and the inadequacy of the international response to the AIDS/HIV crisis sweeping Africa. He has led a life of commitment, one that continues to matter. John Allen has movingly captured the flavor and details of that life and marshaled them into a commanding story, one that sheds light on the struggles and triumphs of our times.
The Faith Club
by Priscilla Warner Suzanne Oliver Ranya Idliby"Welcome to the Faith Club. We're three mothers from three faiths -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism -- who got together to write a picture book for our children that would highlight the connections between our religions. But no sooner had we started talking about our beliefs and how to explain them to our children than our differences led to misunderstandings. Our project nearly fell apart." After September 11th, Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, faced constant questions about Islam, God, and death from her children, the only Muslims in their classrooms. Inspired by a story about Muhammad, Ranya reached out to two other mothers -- a Christian and a Jew -- to try to understand and answer these questions for her children. After just a few meetings, however, it became clear that the women themselves needed an honest and open environment where they could admit -- and discuss -- their concerns, stereotypes, and misunderstandings about one another. After hours of soul-searching about the issues that divided them, Ranya, Suzanne, and Priscilla grew close enough to discover and explore what united them. The Faith Club is a memoir of spiritual reflections in three voices that will make readers feel as if they are eavesdropping on the authors' private conversations, provocative discussions, and often controversial opinions and conclusions. The authors wrestle with the issues of anti-Semitism, prejudice against Muslims, and preconceptions of Christians at a time when fundamentalists dominate the public face of Christianity. They write beautifully and affectingly of their families, their losses and grief, their fears and hopes for themselves and their loved ones. And as the authors reveal their deepest beliefs, readers watch the blossoming of a profound interfaith friendship and the birth of a new way of relating to others. In a final chapter, they provide detailed advice on how to start a faith club: the questions to ask, the books to read, and most important, the open-minded attitude to maintain in order to come through the experience with an enriched personal faith and understanding of others. Pioneering, timely, and deeply thoughtful, The Faith Club's caring message will resonate with people of all faiths. For more information or to start your own faith club visit www.thefaithclub.com
The Way of the Shark
by Greg Norman Donald T. Phillips"Sharks never sleep. You must be willing to do the hard work it takes to stay on top." With his trademark charm and eloquence, Greg Norman reveals the secrets behind his myriad achievements, tracing his journey from Queensland, Australia, to the World Golf Hall of Fame to chairman and CEO of a global business. Since the days in 1975 when he made thirtyeight dollars a week working as a trainee, Norman has won ninety-one professional tournaments around the world, including two British Opens and twenty U.S. PGA Tour titles, and he held the No. 1 World Ranking for an astonishing 331 weeks. Norman has brought the same competitive fire to the boardroom, building a business that reflects the diversity of his interests and the power of his brand. Norman has done something very few professional athletes have ever managed -- he has transcended the sport that made him famous. As head of Great White Shark Enterprises, Norman presides over a multimillion-dollar empire that ranges from golf course design to real estate to apparel to wine. An astute businessman with unmatched desire and drive, he has an unerring instinct for knowing what will work and what won't. He has combined a hands-on approach with an overall strategic vision to produce an internationally recognized and respected brand. In these pages, Norman illustrates the principles that are at the core of his successes and offers readers concrete advice for applying their own talents to successfully play both the "front nine" and the "back nine" of life. Practical, engaging, and incisive, The Way of the Shark shares the lessons Greg Norman has learned both on the course and off, demonstrating how anyone, at any stage of his or her career, can be a champion.
The Way of the Shark
by Donald T. Phillips Greg Norman"Sharks never sleep. You must be willing to do the hard work it takes to stay on top." With his trademark charm and eloquence, Greg Norman reveals the secrets behind his myriad achievements, tracing his journey from Queensland, Australia, to the World Golf Hall of Fame to chairman and CEO of a global business. Since the days in 1975 when he made thirtyeight dollars a week working as a trainee, Norman has won ninety-one professional tournaments around the world, including two British Opens and twenty U.S. PGA Tour titles, and he held the No. 1 World Ranking for an astonishing 331 weeks. Norman has brought the same competitive fire to the boardroom, building a business that reflects the diversity of his interests and the power of his brand. Norman has done something very few professional athletes have ever managed -- he has transcended the sport that made him famous. As head of Great White Shark Enterprises, Norman presides over a multimillion-dollar empire that ranges from golf course design to real estate to apparel to wine. An astute businessman with unmatched desire and drive, he has an unerring instinct for knowing what will work and what won't. He has combined a hands-on approach with an overall strategic vision to produce an internationally recognized and respected brand. In these pages, Norman illustrates the principles that are at the core of his successes and offers readers concrete advice for applying their own talents to successfully play both the "front nine" and the "back nine" of life. Practical, engaging, and incisive, The Way of the Shark shares the lessons Greg Norman has learned both on the course and off, demonstrating how anyone, at any stage of his or her career, can be a champion.
The Way of the Shark
by Donald T. Phillips Greg Norman"Sharks never sleep. You must be willing to do the hard work it takes to stay on top." With his trademark charm and eloquence, Greg Norman reveals the secrets behind his myriad achievements, tracing his journey from Queensland, Australia, to the World Golf Hall of Fame to chairman and CEO of a global business. Since the days in 1975 when he made thirtyeight dollars a week working as a trainee, Norman has won ninety-one professional tournaments around the world, including two British Opens and twenty U.S. PGA Tour titles, and he held the No. 1 World Ranking for an astonishing 331 weeks. Norman has brought the same competitive fire to the boardroom, building a business that reflects the diversity of his interests and the power of his brand. Norman has done something very few professional athletes have ever managed -- he has transcended the sport that made him famous. As head of Great White Shark Enterprises, Norman presides over a multimillion-dollar empire that ranges from golf course design to real estate to apparel to wine. An astute businessman with unmatched desire and drive, he has an unerring instinct for knowing what will work and what won't. He has combined a hands-on approach with an overall strategic vision to produce an internationally recognized and respected brand. In these pages, Norman illustrates the principles that are at the core of his successes and offers readers concrete advice for applying their own talents to successfully play both the "front nine" and the "back nine" of life. Practical, engaging, and incisive, The Way of the Shark shares the lessons Greg Norman has learned both on the course and off, demonstrating how anyone, at any stage of his or her career, can be a champion.