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Alan Clark: A Life In His Own Words
by Alan Clark Ion TrewinSome of the most talked about books of recent years, Alan Clark's diaries provide a witty and irreverant insider's account of political life in Britain. Now in one volume.'From the moment the first scabrous and brilliant volume was published, people wanted more. Now they have it and they will not be disappointed... These diaries are not wonderful simply because they show a politician unafraid to say what he thinks, and refusing to suck up to those whom he represents. They are great because they show all sides of a man who was, within his complex personality, arrogant, sensitive, loyal, unfaithful, patriotic, selfish, selfless, and - at all times - completely Technicolour' Simon Heffner, DAILY MAIL
Alan Clark: The Biography
by Ion TrewinThe unknown life of Alan Clark, celebrated diarist, womaniser, Tory MP and controversial minister in Mrs Thatcher's governments.Celebrated diarist, famous womaniser, Tory MP and controversial minister - a castle-owning toff and lecherous cad to some, to others a colourful and life-enhancing figure - Alan Clark was politically incorrect before the term was invented. He is best remembered for his sensational diaries - but what of the man? Alan Clark rarely spoke about his upbringing, even to his family. Was it as unhappy as he hinted? Ion Trewin has had unrestricted access to extensive family papers (including twenty years of unpublished diaries). He has talked to politicians, to those who knew him at the prep school which burnt down, to friends at Eton and Oxford, and to some of the many women he found impossible to resist despite a loving marriage of forty-one years. From his struggles to teach himself to write to formidable historian and diarist, from his enthusiasm for Margaret Thatcher to the 'drunk at the Commons dispatch box' affair, ALAN CLARK THE BIOGRAPHY is a revealing and absorbing account of a remarkable and unforgettable man.
Alan Clark: The Biography
by Ion TrewinThe unknown life of Alan Clark, celebrated diarist, womaniser, Tory MP and controversial minister in Mrs Thatcher's governments.Celebrated diarist, famous womaniser, Tory MP and controversial minister - a castle-owning toff and lecherous cad to some, to others a colourful and life-enhancing figure - Alan Clark was politically incorrect before the term was invented. He is best remembered for his sensational diaries - but what of the man? Alan Clark rarely spoke about his upbringing, even to his family. Was it as unhappy as he hinted? Ion Trewin has had unrestricted access to extensive family papers (including twenty years of unpublished diaries). He has talked to politicians, to those who knew him at the prep school which burnt down, to friends at Eton and Oxford, and to some of the many women he found impossible to resist despite a loving marriage of forty-one years. From his struggles to teach himself to write to formidable historian and diarist, from his enthusiasm for Margaret Thatcher to the 'drunk at the Commons dispatch box' affair, ALAN CLARK THE BIOGRAPHY is a revealing and absorbing account of a remarkable and unforgettable man.
Alan Brooke—Churchill's Right-Hand Critic: A Reappraisal of Lord Alanbrooke
by Andrew Sangster<p>This new biography focusses on the war years, exploring why he was the right man for the job, and why he has been overlooked since the Allied victory.<p> <p>Lord Alanbrooke was Churchill’s right-hand man during World War II, and as Chief of the Imperial General Staff he had an integral part in shaping the strategy of Britain and the Allies. Despite this crucial role, he is very little known compared to military commanders such as Montgomery, Alexander, Slim, Mountbatten, Patton, or Eisenhower. This new biography of Lord Alanbrooke uses archival material and his diaries to trace his life, including his experiences in World War I and the development of his military career in the interwar years, with a focus on his post as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during World War II. Voted the greatest Briton of the 20th century, Churchill has long been credited with almost single-handedly leading his country to victory in World War II. However without Brooke, a skilled tactician, at his side the outcome might well have been disastrous. Brooke more often than not served as a brake on some of Churchill’s more impetuous ideas. However, while Brooke's diaries reveal his fury with some of Churchill's decisions, they also reveal his respect and admiration for the wartime prime minister. In return Churchill must surely have considered Brooke one of his most difficult subordinates but later wrote that he was "fearless, formidable, articulate, and in the end convincing." As CIGS, Brooke was integral to coordination between the Allied forces, and so had to wrestle with the cultural strategy clash between the British and Americans. Comments in his diaries offer up his opinions of both his British and American military colleagues – his negative assessments of Mountbatten’s ability, and acerbic comments on the difficult character of de Gaulle and the weaknesses of Eisenhower. Conversely he was clearly over-indulgent in the face of Montgomery's foibles. Brooke was often seen as a stern and humorless figure, but a study of his private life reveals an little-seen lighter side, a lifelong passion for birdwatching, and abiding love for his family. The two tragedies that befell his immediate family were a critical influence on his life. Sangster completes this new biography with a survey of the way various historians have assessed Brooke, explaining how he has lapsed into seeming obscurity in the years since his crucial part in the Allied victory in World War II.<p>
Alan Bristow, Helicopter Pioneer: The Autobiography
by Alan Bristow Patrick Malone&“You could be forgiven for taking Bristow&’s story as the invention of an action thriller writer . . . One of the best flying books you&’ll ever read.&” —Pilot Magazine Alan Bristow was a truly remarkable man. As a merchant navy officer cadet during the war, he survived two sinkings, played a part in the evacuation of Rangoon and was credited with shooting down two Stukas in North Africa. He joined the Fleet Air Arm and trained as one of the first British helicopter pilots, becoming the first man to land a helicopter on a battleship and Westland&’s first helicopter test pilot. He flew in France, Holland, Algeria, Senegal and elsewhere, narrowly escaping many helicopter crashes before winning the Croix de Guerre evacuating wounded French soldiers in Indochina. For four years he flew for Aristotle Onassis&’s pirate whaling fleet in Antarctica before joining Douglas Bader and providing support services to oil drillers in the Persian Gulf. Out of that grew Bristow Helicopters Ltd, the largest helicopter company in the world outside America. Bristow&’s circle included the great helicopter pioneers such as Igor Sikorsky and Stan Hiller, test pilots like Harold Penrose and Bill Waterton, Sheiks and Shahs and political leaders, business giants like Lord Cayzer and Freddie Laker, and the author James Clavell, a lifelong friend whose book Whirlwind was a fictionalized account of Bristow&’s overnight evacuation of his people and helicopters from revolutionary Iran. Bristow and precipitated the Westland Affair when he made a takeover bid which eventually led to the resignation of Michael Heseltine and Leon Brittain, and almost to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.&“Has all the ingredients of a bestselling novel.&” —Firetrench
Alan Bean: Astronaut and Artist (Fountas & Pinnell Classroom, Guided Reading)
by Suzanne SladeNIMAC-sourced textbook. Art from Outer Space. Twelve American astronauts have walked on the moon, but only one used art to share his incredible adventures in space. Painting on a textured background made with tools he used on the moon, Alan Bean created paintings that are out of this world!
Alan Ball: Conversations (Television Conversations Series)
by Thomas FahyAlan Ball: Conversations features interviews that span Alan Ball's entire career and include detailed observations and insights into his Academy Award-winning film American Beauty and Emmy Award-winning television shows Six Feet Under and True Blood. Ball began his career as a playwright in New York, and his work soon caught the attention of Hollywood television producers. After writing for the sitcoms Grace Under Fire and Cybill, Ball turned his attention to the screenplay that would become American Beauty. The critical success of this film opened up exciting possibilities for him in the realm of television. He created the critically acclaimed show Six Feet Under, and after the series finale, he decided to explore the issue of American bigotry toward the Middle East in his 2007 play All That I Will Ever Be and the film Towelhead, which he adapted and directed in the same year. Ball returned to television once again with the series True Blood—an adaptation of the humorous, entertaining, and erotic world of Charlaine Harris’s vampire novels. In 2012 Ball announced that he would step down as executive producer of True Blood, in part, to produce both a new television series and his screenplay, What’s the Matter with Margie?
Alan Ball: The biography of the youngest 1966 World Cup Hero
by David TossellIt is a special footballer who wins the World Cup as a 21-year-old and ends a two-decade career as one of the most revered players in the history of four clubs. Former England captain Alan Ball was such a man: prodigy at Blackpool, youngest hero of 1966, Championship winner at Everton, British-record signing for the second time at Arsenal and veteran schemer for Southampton - not to mention footwear trend-setter. And all after being told he was too small to succeed in the game.Yet his years as a flat-cap wearing manager consisted mostly of relegation and promotion battles, some successful and some not, and plenty of frustration as he fought to produce winners in his own image and emulate the feats of his playing days. His life already touched tragically by the car crash that killed his father and the loss of his beloved wife Lesley to cancer, Ball died, aged only 61, after suffering a heart attack during a garden blaze.A decade on from his death, and drawing on interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Jimmy Armfield, Sir Geoff Hurst, George Cohen, Gordon Banks, Joe Royle, Mick Channon, Lawrie McMenemy, Francis Lee, George Graham, Frank McLintock, Matthew Le Tissier and many more, Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots is the definitive study of one of English football's most enduring figures.
Alan Ameche
by Dan ManoyanThis is first biography of Alan “The Horse” Ameche, one of America’s great gridiron heroes. Born in 1933 to Italian immigrants, he grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he played for one of the state’s best-ever high school football teams. From there he went on to break Big Ten rushing records for the University of Wisconsin Badgers, leading them to the 1953 Rose Bowl and winning the 1954 Heisman Trophy. He earned his nickname “The Horse” for his tremendous training ethic, power, and stamina. In a professional career with the Baltimore Colts that lasted just six seasons before injury ended it, he was the 1955 NFL Rookie of the Year and went to the Pro Bowl five times. The 1958 championship game of the National Football League that pitted Ameche’s Colts against the New York Giants has often been called the NFL’s “Greatest Game Ever Played. ” It was the first national title game to be televised, and forty-five million people were watching. It was also the first-ever NFL game to go into sudden death overtime. Ameche and future Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas teamed up on several key plays in the decisive touchdown drive. Ameche’s dramatic one-yard plunge into the end zone ended the game at 8:15 of the overtime period, captured the attention of television viewers across the nation, and laid the groundwork for football to become the enormously popular and lucrative business it is today. Author Dan Manoyan has delved into Ameche’s history, interviewing the Ameche family, Kenosha friends, Wisconsin Badger players, and several of Ameche’s Baltimore Colts teammates-including NFL Hall of Fame members Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Art Donovan, and Raymond Berry-to offer revealing insights about Alan Ameche the man. Manoyan gives a fuller picture of him as an Academic All-American, a devoted husband and father, a highly successful businessman after his football career, a pioneer in race relations, a patron of the arts, and a committed philanthropist.
Alain Resnais: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)
by T. Jefferson KlineAmong the most innovative and influential filmmakers of the twentieth century, Alain Resnais (1922–2014) did not originally set out to become a director. He trained as an actor and film editor and, during the sixty-eight years of his working life, delved into virtually every corner of filmmaking, working at one time or another as screenwriter, assistant director, camera operator and cinematographer, special effects coordinator, technical consultant, and even author of source material. From such award-winning documentaries as Van Gogh and Night and Fog to the groundbreaking dramas Hiroshima mon amour, Last Year at Marienbad, and Muriel, Resnais’s films experiment with such themes as consciousness, memory, and the imagination. Distinguishing himself from associations with the French New Wave movement, Resnais considered his films to be “anti-illusionist,” never allowing his spectators to forget they were watching a work of art. In Alain Resnais: Interviews, editor Lynn A. Higgins collects twenty-one interviews with the filmmaker, twelve of which are translated into English for the first time. Spanning his entire career from his early short subjects to his final feature film, the volume highlights Resnais’s creative strategies and principles, illuminates his place in world cinema history, and situates his work relative to the New Wave, American film, and experimental filmmaking more broadly. Like his films, the interviews collected here reveal a creator who is at once an intellectual, a philosopher, an entertainer, a craftsman, and an artist.
Alain L. Locke: Biography of a Philosopher
by Leonard Harris Charles MolesworthAlain L. Locke (1886-1954), in his famous 1925 anthology "The New Negro", declared that "the pulse of the Negro world has begun to beat in Harlem". Often called the father of the Harlem Renaissance, Locke had his finger directly on that pulse, promoting, influencing, and sparring. Leonard Harris and Charles Molesworth trace Locke's story through his Philadelphia upbringing, his undergraduate years at Harvard and his tenure as the first African American Rhodes Scholar. The heart of their narrative illuminates Locke's heady years in 1920s New York City and his forty-year career at Howard University, where he helped spearhead the adult education movement of the 1930s and wrote on topics ranging from the philosophy of value to the theory of democracy. Harris and Molesworth show that throughout this illustrious career -- despite a formal manner that many observers interpreted as elitist or distant -- Locke remained a warm and effective teacher and mentor, as well as a fierce champion of literature and art as means of breaking down barriers between communities. The multifaceted portrait that emerges from this engaging account effectively reclaims Locke's rightful place in the pantheon of America's most important minds.
Alabama v. King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Criminal Trial That Launched the Civil Rights Movement
by Dan Abrams Fred D. GrayThe defense lawyer for Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the Selma marchers, and other civil rights heroes reveals the true story of the historic trial that made Dr. King a national hero. Fred D. Gray was just twenty-four years old when he became the defense lawyer for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a young minister who had become the face of the bus boycott that had rocked the city of in Montgomery, Alabama. In this incredible history, Gray takes us behind the scenes of that landmark case, including such unforgettable moments as: *Martin Luther King's courageous response to a bomb threat on his own home*Poignant, searing testimony that exposed the South's racist systems to an worldwide audience*The conspiracy to destroy Gray's career and draft him into the Vietnam War*The unforgettable moment when a Supreme Court ruling brought the courtroom to a halt Alabama v. King captures a pivotal moment in the fight for equality, from the eyes of the lawyer who Dr. King called "the brilliant young leader who later became the chief counsel for the protest movement."
Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography
by Lawrence Grobel Al PacinoFor more than a quarter century, Al Pacino has spoken freely and deeply with acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Lawrence Grobel on subjects as diverse as childhood, acting, and fatherhood. Here, for the first time, are the complete conversations and shared observations between the actor and the writer; the result is an intimate and revealing look at one of the most accomplished, and private, artists in the world. Pacino grew up sharing a three-room apartment in the Bronx with nine people in what he describes as his "New York Huckleberry Finn" childhood. Raised mostly by his grandparents and his mother, Pacino began drinking at age thirteen. Shortly after he was admitted to the renowned High School for Performing Arts, his classmates nicknamed him "Marlon," after Marlon Brando, even though Pacino didn't know who Brando was. Renowned acting coach Charlie Laughton saw Pacino when he was nineteen in the stairwell of a Bronx tenement, and the first words out of Laughton's mouth were "You are going to be a star. " And so began a fabled, lifelong friendship that nurtured Al through years of not knowing where his next meal would come from until finally -- at age twenty-six -- he landed his first salaried acting job. Grobel and Pacino leave few stones unturned, touching on the times when Pacino played piano in jazz clubs until four a. m. before showing up on the set of Scarecrow a few hours later for a full day's work; when he ate Valium like candy at the Academy Awards; and when he realized he had been in a long pattern of work and drink. As the pivotal character in The Godfather trilogy and the cult classic Scarface, Pacino has enshrined himself in film history. He's worked with most of Hollywood's brightest luminaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Michael Mann, Norman Jewison, Brian De Palma, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, and Robin Williams, among many others. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards before winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in Scent of a Woman. Pacino still seems to prefer his work onstage to film and, if he's moved by a script or play, is quick to take parts in independent productions. Al Pacino is an intensely personal window into the life of an artist concerned more with the process of his art than with the fruits of his labor, a creative genius at the peak of his artistic powers who, after all these years, still longs to grow and learn more about his craft. And, for now, it's as close to a memoir as we're likely to get.
Al Oír Sobre la Muerte de Mi Madre Seis Años Después de que Ocurrió
by Lori Schafer Héctor MolinaEra la primavera de 1989. Tenía dieciséis, era una estudiante honoraria de preparatoria. Tenía lo que toda adolescente quiere: una familia estable, un lindo hogar en los suburbios, un gran grupo de amigos, grandes planes para mi futuro, y ninguna razón para creer que nada de eso cambiaría. Entonces llegó la psicosis de mi madre. Experminenté de primera mano el terror de ver a alguien que amaba transformarse en un montruo - El terror de descubrir que yo sería su primera víctima. Durante años he vivido con la tristeza de saber que ella, también, era una víctima - La víctima de una terrible enfermedad que la consumió y destruyó a la mujer fuerte y cuidadosa que una vez llamé Mamá. La enfermedad de mi madre se llevó todo. Mi familia, mi hogar, mis amigos, mi futuro. Año y medio más tarde estaría viviendo sola en la calle del otro lado del país, preguntándome si podría sobrevivir por mi cuenta. Pero lo hice. Así es como mi madre - mi madre real - me crió. Para sobrevivir. Ella, también, era una sobreviviente
Al-Mutanabbi: The Poet Of Sultans And Sufis (Makers of the Muslim World)
by Margaret LarkinThis exhaustive and yet enthralling study considers the life and work of al-Mutanabbi (915-965), often regarded as the greatest of the classical Arab poets. A revolutionary at heart and often imprisoned or forced into exile throughout his tumultuous life, al-Mutanabbi wrote both controversial satires and when employed by one of his many patrons, laudatory panegyrics. Employing an ornate style and use of the ode, al-Mutanabbi was one of the first to successfully move away from the traditionally rigid form of Arabic verse, the 'qasida'.
Al mig de la vida, jo
by Marina PorrasLa biografia sobre l'autora més influent de la literatura catalana des de la mirada fresca i revel·ladora de Marina Porras, periodista i crítica literària La vida de Mercè Rodoreda és la conquesta de la individualitat que es necessita per escriure. De nena va ser educada per ser una esposa convencional, de jove aspirava a ser una periodista del sistema i dues guerres la van fer créixer i descobrir de cop el món del segle XX. De l'estricta supervivència al descobriment de la solitud, Rodoreda va entendre que només se salvaria a través de l'escriptura si els seus llibres rescataven la memòria del seu temps. Marina Porras, periodista i crítica literària, explica en aquest retrat biogràfic la manera com es lliguen la vida i l'obra de l'escriptora més influent de la literatura catalana. La infantesa a la Barcelona d'abans de la guerra, la joventut a l'exili francès, la vida parisenca, l'esclat artístic a Ginebra i els anys finals a Romanyà.Una biografia fresca i directa amb il·lustracions de Elisa Munsó.
Al Jaffee's Mad Life: A Biography
by Mary-Lou Weisman“One of the great cartoonists of our time.” –New Yorker cartoonist Arnold Roth The remarkable story of one of America’s most prolific and beloved cartoonists, Al Jaffee, with dozens of original color illustrations. Jaffe’s career in cartooning stretches back to 1941—with early humor pieces for Timely Comics, a precursor to Marvel Comics—but the iconic artist remains best known for the brilliant Fold-In cartoons he invented at Bill Gaines’s Mad magazine in 1964. The cerebral and sardonic illustrations have inspired generations of Mad readers—including Stephen Colbert, R. Crumb, Gary Larson and Charles Shultz—to embrace a firm and healthy irreverence towards the status quo. New York Times columnist and bestselling author Mary-Lou Weisman (My Middle-Aged Baby Book) helps Jaffe tell his remarkable story.
Al-jabartai's Chronicle of The French Occupation 1798 (Napoleon in Egypt)
by Al-Jabarti Shmuel MorehWhen Napoleon descended upon Egypt in 1798 it was the first contact between a Western European power with imperial ambitions & the Arab world. Sheikh Al-Jabarti chronicled the occupation & has left a fascinating record of how the Arabs viewed the French enterprise.
Al Gore: Vice President
by Rebecca StefoffThrough the dauntless pursuit of a dream or the unwavering belief in an idea, each of the individuals featured in these fascinating biographies has changed the world.
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate
by Al Franken<P>From Senator Al Franken - #1 bestselling author and beloved SNL alum - comes the story of an award-winning comedian who decided to run for office and then discovered why award-winning comedians tend not to do that.This is a book about an unlikely campaign that had an even more improbable ending: the closest outcome in history and an unprecedented eight-month recount saga, which is pretty funny in retrospect. <P>It's a book about what happens when the nation's foremost progressive satirist gets a chance to serve in the United States Senate and, defying the low expectations of the pundit class, actually turns out to be good at it. <P>It's a book about our deeply polarized, frequently depressing, occasionally inspiring political culture, written from inside the belly of the beast.In this candid personal memoir, the honorable gentleman from Minnesota takes his army of loyal fans along with him from Saturday Night Live to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and/or hilarious moments of his new career in politics. <P>Has Al Franken become a true Giant of the Senate? Franken asks readers to decide for themselves. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Al final, lo único que pasa es que todo pasa
by Núria Jordà«Al principio fue duro, no paraba de pensar por qué me había tenido que pasar a mí. Pero con el tiempo he aprendido a sacar la parte positiva a todo» La protagonista de esta historia tenía apenas veintiún años cuando le detectaron un tumor en la carótida izquierda que cambió su vida para siempre. Al diagnóstico le siguieron muchas pruebas, un baipás, una delicada operación para extirparle el tumor y otra demoledora noticia al despertar: tenía disfagia -un trastorno poco conocido que impide tragar.A partir de entonces, Núria tuvo que (re)aprenderlo casi todo: a beber agua, a convivir con la enfermedad, a compartir su historia con miles de personas a través de una pantalla y a sacar fuerzas de donde no las hay. Este libro es una lección sobre cómo convertir la debilidad en fortaleza y la angustia en esperanza. Es una invitación a ser más empáticos y a buscar el lado positivo de las adversidades incluso cuando la vida se hace muy cuesta arriba. En la vida todo es temporal y a pequeños pasos se pueden construir grandes cosas.
Al final, asuntos de vida o muerte: El conocido neurocirujano se enfrenta a su propia enfermedad
by Henry MarshUn libro elegíaco y luminoso sobre la vida y la muerte, por el autor de Ante todo no hagas daño. Como neurocirujano jubilado, Henry Marsh creyó saber lo que era estar enfermo, pero no estaba preparado para recibir un diagnóstico de cáncer avanzado. Tras el impacto de la noticia, el autor indaga en lo que sucede cuando alguien que se ha pasado todo el tiempo luchando en primera línea ante la difusa frontera entre la vida y la muerte, se encuentra de frente con lo que podría ser su propia sentencia final. Esta nueva entrega de las memorias de Henry Marsh, un neurocirujano humanista y solidario que sorprendió y conmovió a los lectores de todo el mundo con Ante todo no hagas daño, no es tanto una meditación sobre la muerte sino más bien una celebración de la vida y de todo aquello que de verdad importa. Reseñas:«Ante la contemplación de la muerte, Henry Marsh ilumina el don de la vida, haciéndola aún más preciosa. Este libro posee toda la franqueza, la elegancia y las sorpresas que siempre esperamos de Marsh. Lo leí de un tirón llevado por la fuerza de la prosa y la belleza de las ideas. Un libro para releer y guardar como un tesoro.»Gavin Francis «En esta estupenda meditación sobre la vida y la muerte, Henry Marsh aborda la cuestión de la mortalidad con su ingenio, sabiduría, delicadeza y humildad habituales. El autor dirige su extraordinaria inteligencia y su prosa afilada como un bisturí hacia sí mismo y la profesión médica, y el resultado es magnífico. Inquebrantable, hondo y sumamente humano, este libro es espléndido.»Rachel Clarke
Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend
by Deirdre BairFrom a National Book Award-winning biographer, the first complete life of legendary gangster Al Capone to be produced with the cooperation of his family, who provided the author with exclusive access to personal testimony and archival documents. From his heyday to the present moment, Al Capone--Public Enemy Number One--has gripped popular imagination. Rising from humble Brooklyn roots, Capone went on to become the most infamous gangster in American history. At the height of Prohibition, his multimillion-dollar Chicago bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling operation dominated the organized-crime scene. His competition with rival gangs was brutally violent, a long-running war that crested with the shocking St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. Law enforcement and the media elite seemed powerless to stop the growth of his empire. And then the fall: a legal noose tightened by the FBI, a conviction on tax evasion, Alcatraz. After his release he returned to his family in Miami a much diminished man, living quietly until the ravages of his neurosyphilis took their final toll. But the slick mobster persona endures, immortalized in countless novels and movies. The true flesh-and-blood man behind the legend has long remained a mystery. Unscrupulous newspaper accounts and Capone's own tall tales perpetuated his mystique, but through dogged research Deirdre Bair debunks the most outrageous of these myths. With the help of Capone's descendants, she discovers his essential humanity, uncovering a complex character that was flawed and sometimes cruel but also capable of nobility. And while revealing the private Al Capone, a genuine family man as remembered by those who knew him best, Bair relates how his descendants have borne his weighty legacy. Rigorous and intimate, Al Capone provides new answers to the enduring questions about this fascinating figure, who was equal parts charismatic gangster, devoted patriarch, and calculating monster.From the Hardcover edition.
Al Bernstein: 30 Years, 30 Undeniable Truths About Boxing, Sports, and TV
by Al BernsteinThe legendary cable television sports broadcaster takes a humorous look back on the fight game—as seen from a ringside seat. For more than thirty years, Al Bernstein has been one of the most recognizable and respected sportscasters in America. In those three decades, the &“voice of boxing&” reported the funny, poignant, and bizarre events that helped shape sports television, ESPN, boxing, Las Vegas, and SHOWTIME. With an eclectic cast of characters that includes every big name in boxing, including Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, as well as such names in the entertainment world as Rodney Dangerfield, Sylvester Stallone, Russell Crowe, and Jerry Lewis, Bernstein&’s memoir will have you in stitches.