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Football All-stars: The NFL's best
by Bob KnottsChildren's biographies of NFL football players, who were picked for one reason only - because they are the best at the position they play.
Knight: My Story
by Bob Knight Bob HammelA riveting glimpse into the life and legacy of the legendary basketball coach “that will intrigue knowledgeable college hoop fans” (Kirkus Reviews).Immerse yourself in the riveting memoir of Bob Knight, a titan in the world of college basketball, whose towering success and public controversies epitomize a storied career spanning over three decades. Embodying both triumph and turmoil, Knight: My Story goes beyond headlines, offering an intimate, first-hand account of a sports legend.From his humble beginnings as the youngest head coach at Army to constructing a formidable dynasty at Indiana University, Knight’s journey is a testament to resolute determination and undying passion. Drawing from his experiences, Knight provides a rare glimpse into the winning strategies and philosophies that kept top players lining up to play under his guidance.From winning an unprecedented 700 plus games and becoming National Coach of the Year four times to meeting unparalleled success on the national and international stage, Knight’s contributions to college basketball are truly unmatched. Knight is a must-read for college basketball fans and anyone captivated by the timeless power of leadership, dedication, and college sports.“There is a fascinating man hiding in these pages, a man whose multisided personality, startling depth, and undeniable intelligence may surprise many.” —Booklist“The text is a lively read flavored with scores of anecdotes involving famous athletes, coaches, politicians, and other public figures with whom Knight has come into contact.” —Library Journal“They say there are two sides to every story. In Knight, Bob Knight presents his, well told.” —Book Page
The Final Mission: Spooky 8
by Bob KingThe Final Mission tells the story of Bob King, who for seventeen years, beginning with his military career as a member of the Special Forces Unit in Vietnam, led an incredible double life, carrying out the U.S. government's high-risk missions--without involving its military. Then, in 1992, King and his men, secret members of a U.S. Tactical Reconnaissance Team, were sent to Colombia. The mission was "an easy breather," until the men walked into an ambush and found out the real reason they were there. They had been sent to die.With three men dead, and King himself wounded, the band of mercenaries began a desperate battle for survival-- and for the truth-- that led from South America all the way to Washington, D.C. Now, in this chilling, action-packed book, Bob King goes public: with the covert operations he carried out, the hidden deals he witnessed, and the horrific shadow war he survived-- against a U.S. government desperate to bury its secrets and its own men.
Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock
by Bob KealingOn September 19, 1973, Gram Parsons became yet another rock-and-roll casualty in an era of excess, a time when young men wore their dangerous habits like badges of honor. Unfortunately, his many musical accomplishments have been overshadowed by a morbid fascination with his drug overdose in the Joshua Tree desert at the age of twenty-six.Known as the father of country rock, Parsons played with the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. In the late 1960s and early 70s, he was a key confidante of Keith Richards. In 1972, he gave Emmylou Harris her first big break. When Tom Petty re-formed his Florida garage band Mudcrutch, he invoked the name of Gram Parsons as an inspiration. Musicians as diverse as Elvis Costello, Dwight Yoakam, Ryan Adams, Patty Griffin, and Steve Earle have also paid homage to alt-country's patron saint.In Calling Me Home, Kealing traces the entire arc of Parsons's career, emphasizing his Southern roots. Drawing on dozens of new interviews as well as rare letters and photographs provided by Parsons's family and legendary photojournalist Ted Polumbaum, Kealing has uncovered facts that even the most stalwart Parsons fans will find revealing.Travelling from Parsons' boyhood home in Waycross, Georgia, to the southern folk mecca of Coconut Grove, Florida, from the birthplace of outlaw country in Austin, Texas, to the Ryman auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee Kealing celebrates Parsons's timeless and transformative musical legacy.
Elvis Ignited: The Rise of an Icon in Florida
by Bob Kealing“A persuasive argument that Presley’s “moonshot” to fame could not have happened without Florida. . . . Deftly captures a pre-Interstate Florida where an anonymous Presley would be traveling for grueling hours down every two-laner in the state in his signature automobile.”—Palm Beach Post “I don’t think there was a better time and place to be a teenager than in Florida in the 1950s. It was such a magical place. Elvis is part of what contributed to that excitement.”—Bob Graham, former Florida governor and United States senator “Kealing tells us the story of what happened when Elvis arrived in Florida and what role the Sunshine State played in his life and musical career. This is a critical era in the Elvis Saga.”—William McKeen, editor of Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay: An Anthology “A Florida-centric look at his 1956 breakout state for people who thought they knew everything about Elvis.”—Joel Selvin, author of Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day “Presents a great picture of what it was like to be a touring musician in the 1950s and also of Florida at the time and how the culture was changed by the shock of Elvis.”—Joy Wallace Dickinson, author of Remembering Orlando: Tales from Elvis to Disney It was his most electric and influential time as a live performer. The young and hungry Elvis burst onto stages large and small—sexy, controversial, brimming with talent and ambition. One lightning-hot year in Florida fueled his rise from novelty act to headlining megastar. Elvis Ignited tracks the rising star through his tours of Florida, from 1955 when Presley was an unknown to 1956 when Presley played more concerts in Florida than in any other state. In only fifteen months, Presley toured Florida four times, becoming the object of worship, scorn, and controversy. Struck by a new kind of music and performances so different from anything they had known before, Floridians saw how special Elvis was before the rest of the world caught on. Before their very eyes, he transformed from Hillbilly Cat to the King of Rock and Roll. Bob Kealing interviews people who saw the King up close, recalling the time-stands-still memories of hearing his iconic songs for the first time. He speaks with Floridians who helped Elvis along the way: the late Jim Kirk from Ocala, who offered Presley his first headlining opportunity; former governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham, who saw the young rockabilly god at the dawning of Elvis mania; Steve Binder, who produced Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special; and Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin, who opened for Presley in Florida. Kealing follows Elvis after his return from the Army to his homecoming TV special in Miami with Frank Sinatra and through the filming of Follow That Dream in Florida in 1961, offering unique insights into the singer’s relationship with co-star Anne Helm, his controversial manager Tom Parker, and the beginnings of his melancholy as a prisoner of fame. This book is a roadmap to Elvis’s time in the Sunshine State, a guide to the many small and large venues he played up and down the peninsula, and a spotlight on the people who witnessed, supported, and even opposed his meteoric rise to fame. It was a turning point in American music history; it was the arrival of rock and roll.
Good Day Sunshine State: How the Beatles Rocked Florida
by Bob KealingThe musical and cultural impact of the Fab Four in Florida In 1964, Beatlemania flooded the United States. The Beatles appeared live on the Ed Sullivan Show and embarked on their first tour of North America—and they spent more time in Florida than anywhere else. Good Day Sunshine State dives into this momentous time and place, exploring the band’s seismic influence on the people and culture of the state. Bob Kealing sets the historical stage for the band’s arrival—a nation dazed after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and on the precipice of the Vietnam War; a heavily segregated, conservative South; and in Florida, recent events that included the Cuban Missile Crisis and the arrest and imprisonment of Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine. Kealing documents the culture clashes and unexpected affinities that emerged as the British rockers drew crowds, grew from fluff story to the subject of continual news coverage, and basked in the devotion of a young and idealistic generation. Through an abundance of letters, memorabilia, and interviews with journalists, fellow musicians, and fans, Kealing takes readers behind the scenes into the Beatles’ time in locations such as Miami Beach, where they wrote new songs and met Muhammad Ali. In the tropical environs of Key West, John Lennon and Paul McCartney experienced milestone moments in their friendship. And the band dodged the path of Hurricane Dora to play at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, where they famously refused to perform until the city agreed to integrate the audience. Kealing highlights the hopeful futures that the Beatles helped inspire, including stories of iconic rock-and-rollers such as Tom Petty who followed the band’s lead in their own paths to stardom. This book offers a close look at an important part of the musical and cultural revolution that helped make the Fab Four a worldwide phenomenon.Funding for this publication was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Life of the Party
by Bob Kealing'She was one of the most important businesswomen of the 20th century, the prototype for all these Facebook and Google women who are leaning in.' Before Martha Stewart and Mary Kay, there was Brownie Wise, the charismatic Tupperware executive who converted postwar optimism into a record breaking sales engine powered by ordinary housewives. Having started her own business after divorcing her alcoholic husband, the plucky Southern businesswoman caught the eye of Tupperware inventor Earl Tupper, whose plastic containers were collecting dust on store shelves. The now legendary Tupperware Party that Wise popularised, a masterclass in the soft sell, drove Tupperware's sales to stratospheric heights. It also gave poorly educated and economically invisible postwar women, including many African-American women, an acceptable outlet for making their own money for their families - and for being rewarded for their efforts. With the people skills of Dale Carnegie, the looks of Doris Day, and the magnetism of Eva Peron, Wise was as popular among her many devoted followers as she was among the press, and in 1954 she became the first woman to appear on the cover of Business Week. Then, at the height of her success, Earl Tupper fired her under mysterious circumstances, wrote her out of Tupperware's success story, and left her with a pittance. He walked away with a fortune and she disappeared - until now. Originally published as Tupperware Unsealed, Life of the Party is a revised and updated edition perfectly timed to take advantage of this trail-blazing dynamo returning to the spotlight where she belongs.
Life of the Party: The Remarkable Story of How Brownie Wise Built, and Lost, a Tupperware Party Empire
by Bob KealingThe incredible story of Brownie Wise, the Southern single mother--and postwar #Girlboss--who built, and lost, a Tupperware home-party empireBefore Mary Kay, Martha Stewart, and Joy Mangano, there was Brownie Wise, the charismatic Tupperware executive who converted postwar optimism into a record-breaking sales engine powered by American housewives. In Life of the Party, Bob Kealing offers the definitive portrait of Wise, a plucky businesswoman who divorced her alcoholic husband, started her own successful business, and eventually caught the eye of Tupperware inventor, Earl Tupper, whose plastic containers were collecting dust on store shelves. The Tupperware Party that Wise popularized, a master-class in the soft sell, drove Tupperware's sales to soaring heights. It also gave minimally educated and economically invisible postwar women, including some African-American women, an acceptable outlet for making their own money for their families--and for being rewarded for their efforts. With the people skills of Dale Carnegie, the looks of Doris Day, and the magnetism of Eva Peron, Wise was as popular among her many devoted followers as she was among the press, and she become the first woman to appear on the cover of BusinessWeek in 1954. Then, at the height of her success, Wise's ascent ended as quickly as it began. Earl Tupper fired her under mysterious circumstances, wrote her out of Tupperware's success story, and left her with a pittance. He walked away with a fortune and she disappeared--until now. Originally published as Tupperware Unsealed by the University Press of Florida in 2008--and optioned by Sony Pictures, with Sandra Bullock attached to star--this revised and updated edition is perfectly timed to take advantage of renewed interest in this long-overlooked American business icon.From the Hardcover edition.
Brilliant!
by Bob JohnstoneA revolution in the way we use artificial lighting is underway, one that is every bit as sweeping and significant as Edison's invention of the light bulb. The technology of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is ready for widespread implementation. Its impacts will include a reduction in energy consumption for electric lighting by up to 80 percent.Brilliant! tells the story of Shuji Nakamura, a gifted Japanese engineer who came out of nowhere to stun the world with his announcement that he had created the last piece in the puzzle needed for manufacturing solid-state white lights. The invention of this holy-grail product, which promises to make Edison's light bulb obsolete, had eluded the best minds at the top electronic firms for twenty-five years. Until his startling announcement, Nakamura had not even been on the radar screen of most industry observers. Veteran technology writer Bob Johnstone traces the career of Nakamura, which included many years of obstinate individual effort as well as a dramatic legal battle pitting him against his former Japanese employer. Over a five-year span, Nakamura distinguished himself with an unprecedented series of inventions--bright blue, green, ultraviolet, and then white LEDs, plus a blue laser that will play an essential role in the next-generation DVD players. Then he was forced to leave Nichia Chemical, the company where he had worked for twenty years, and his former employer sued him. The result was a multimillion-dollar settlement in a landmark decision that acknowledged, for the first time, the rights of individual inventors working in a corporate context. Today, Nakamura holds a professor's chair at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he continues to develop the technology of LEDs. Johnstone, the first Western journalist to meet and interview Nakamura, has received the brilliant engineer's full cooperation through a series of exclusive interviews given for the book. Johnstone has also interviewed other key players in the imminent lighting revolution, providing an exciting preview of the technological, entrepreneurial, and artistic creativity that will soon be unleashed by Nakamura's inventions.
Chasing Perfect
by Bob HurleyThe inspiring story of the most famous high school basketball coach in America.In 40 seasons as the head coach of St. Anthony High School, a private parochial school in Jersey City, New Jersey, Bob Hurley has established a standard of excellence and achievement without peer, and remarkably, he has done this at a high school with a total student body enrollment of about 230, with no gymnasium, and with an operating deficit that threatens to shut the place down each year. Hurley himself sweeps the floor before each home game. Despite the long odds against them, Hurley's teams have captured 26 state titles and four consensus national championships, all behind an astonishing career winning percentage of .905. In Chasing Perfect, Hurley opens up his tool box and shares some of the championship strategies he's developed to help lift his players up and out of Jersey City. The narrative centerpiece will be each of St. Anthony's seven undefeated seasons, with sketch profiles of some of the most memorable players, making some of the most memorable plays in St. Anthony history. Along the way, he'll offer empowering insights to help coaches and players to elevate their games, while empowering the rest of us to walk a more purposeful path. Part memoir, part coach's notebook and part reflection on the St. Anthony players it has been Hurley's privilege to coach, Chasing Perfect will stand as a compelling barometer of life in and around the hardscrabble streets of Jersey City, set against the backdrop of one of the most enduringly competitive high school basketball programs in the country.
Not a Proper Journalist
by Bob HumphrysBob Humphrys is one of the most famous names in sports journalism. As sports correspondent of BBC Wales's flagship news programme Wales Today, he was at the centre of every major story of the past twenty turbulent years. He was there right at the heart of Ruddockgate, there on the players' balcony when Glamorgan celebrated winning a county championship, there in the Mondeo driving Joe Calzaghe to his first world title fight. In short, he was where every sports fan would love to be - as close to the action as you can get without scoring a try, taking a corner or hitting a four.Despite a life-long love affair with sport, Bob wasn't always a sports journalist. Early in his career, his brother John - the Rottweiler of Radio 4's Today programme - took him aside and told him, 'The one thing you want to avoid is covering sport - that is not proper journalism.' But the man who always read his newspaper from back to front found it hard to resist sport's magnetic pull. After his successful stints as a feature writer and current affairs reporter - encountering everyone from Argentinian presidents to Danish drug dealers and Sir Anthony Hopkins - the BBC's Wales Today came calling, and Bob quickly discovered the politics in current affairs paled into insignificance compared to the politics in sport. In Bob's first week in the job, Welsh rugby imploded with a rebel tour to South Africa - and for the next twenty years Welsh sport would lurch from triumph to disaster and back again, with Bob right there in the middle, loving every moment.Tragically, Bob Humphrys died in August 2008. But he left a magnificent epitaph: this book. In Not a Proper Journalist, the former face of Welsh sport reveals for the first time the story behind the stories. The friendships, the feuds, the glory and the heartbreak, straight from the horse's mouth. It's revealing, exhilarating, provocative and very funny - and if that's not proper journalism, brother John can eat his hat...
Wanderings of a Ten Pound Pom: Anecdotes Of A 1960's Emigrant From England To Australia
by Bob HorsmanWanderings of a Ten Pound Pom is about an English emigrant to Australia beginning almost 50 years ago in 1966, until his marriage in 1977. The stories revolve around his work as an electrician in this new country and his travels throughout the world during that time. Those travels include visits to 32 countries with over a hundred locations. There are some funny moments, some are adventurous and some are more than a little embarrassing. Some are serious and some are light-hearted. An entertaining read, for the bus or the train, over a coffee or at bedtime. Bob Horsman's writing of those times has been almost as enjoyable for him as living them. It is his hope that the reading of these anecdotes will do the same for you.
Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!
by Bob HarrisA.: This is the story of a working-class guy from Ohio with little real knowledge of Ambidextrous Presidents, Things Made from Rubber, and hundreds of other categories, but who nonetheless plunges so far into cramming for Jeopardy! that it changes his relationships, bends his worldview, and literally leads him to the ends of the earth, trying to understand it all. Q.: What is Prisoner of Trebekistan? Welcome to a world where obscure information is crucial to survival, vast sums of cash are at stake, and milliseconds can change not just a game but the course of your entire life. (Plus, you could win two Camaros and enough Bon Ami cleanser to scrub a small nation. ) Prisoner of Trebekistan is Bob Harris's hilarious, insightful account of one man's unlikely epic journey through Jeopardy!, gleefully exploring triumph and failure, the nature of memory, and how knowledge itself can transform you in unpredictable ways--all against the backdrop of the most popular quiz show in history. In Prisoner of Trebekistan, Bob chronicles his transformation from a struggling stand-up comic who repeatedly fails the Jeopardy! audition test into an elite player competing against the show's most powerful brains. To get there, he embarks on a series of intense study sessions, using his sense of humor to transform conventional memory skills into a refreshingly playful approach to learning that's as amusing as it is powerful. What follows is not only a captivating series of high-stakes wins and losses on Jeopardy!, but also a growing appreciation of a borderless world that Bob calls Trebekistan, where a love of learning reigns and the smarter you get the more you realize how much you don't yet know. Filled with secrets that only a veteran contestant could share--from counter-intuitive game strategies to Jedi-like tactics with the Jeopardy!signaling device--Prisoner of Trebekistan also gives you the chance to play along with the actual clues that led to victory or defeat in high-level tournaments, plus candid, moving reflections on how the games affected Bob's offstage life--and vice versa. Not only an irresistible treat for Jeopardy! fans, Prisoner of Trebekistan is a delight for anyone who loves a rollicking tale that celebrates the unpredictability of life and the sneaky way it has of teaching us the things that really matter.
Drive: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods
by Bob HarigBob Harig's latest deep-dive into Tiger Woods' thrilling career, as seen through his iconic 2019 Masters comeback and win. In April of 1997, the world of golf was forever changed. At the age of 21, a young Tiger Woods won the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, the Masters, by a record of 12 strokes. Woods became the youngest golfer ever to win the Masters and the first African or Asian-American player to win a major. History had been made - and would continue to be made over the next 15 years.Woods transformed the game, turning golf geeks into keen observers, casual golf fans into ardent followers and even indifferent sports fans into curiosity mavens. He will undoubtedly be known for the raw numbers: 82 PGA Tour titles, 15 major championships, and according to Forbes, a billionaire who amassed more than $110-million in official PGA Tour earnings. Woods has proven to be a complicated figure through his decades in the spotlight. Plagued by marital scandal, a reckless driving arrest, and severe back injuries that resulted in what even he believed would be a career-ending spinal fusion surgery in 2017, Woods’ career finally seemed to be coming to an end. That all changed through 2018 and into 2019 as Woods returned slowly from the surgery. In 2019, on the same course where he won for the first time in 1997, Tiger Woods made history once again, winning the Masters one final time. The 2019 Masters brought together all the qualities that ultimately make up someone who has been an enduring figure for 30 years.In this captivating and emotional portrait of one of the most famous figures in sports, Bob Harig brings readers the true story of the grit and perseverance of Tiger Woods in the final years of his career. Drive will show that Woods’ true legacy is one of resolve and redemption.
Tiger & Phil: Golf's Most Fascinating Rivalry
by Bob HarigBob Harig's Tiger & Phil provides an in-depth chronicle of the decades-long rivalry that drove the success of golf's two biggest stars, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.For more than two decades, there have been two golfers who have captivated, bemused, inspired, frustrated, fascinated, and entertained us, and in doing so have demanded our attention – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Even with all the ink that has been spilled on Tiger, no one has ever written about his relationship with Phil and how their careers have been inextricably intertwined. Furthermore, very little has been written about Phil Mickelson, who is more than just an adversary. He is a fascinating Hall of Fame golfer in his own right. These two biggest names (and draws) in golf have, for better and for worse, been the ultimate rivals. But it is so much more complicated than that. Each player has pushed the other to be better. They have teased each other and fought. They have battled to the bitter end on the course making for some of the greatest moments in the game for the last 20 years. They have each gone through injury and health problems, legal problems, falling in and out of favor with the press. And over the course of their time together in the game they have gradually become not just rivals but friends.In the tradition of major bestsellers such as Arnie & Jack, When the Game Was Ours, The Rivals, and Brady vs. Manning, Tiger & Phil will change the way we look at these players and the game itself.
The Bill Cook Story
by Bob HammelBill Cook epitomizes the American success story. His business ventures in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, genetics, real estate, retail management, and travel services have made him a billionaire. Yet, Cook continues to lead a modest life, involving himself in a variety of philanthropic activities that have included historic preservation and even a marching band. This riveting story is the first-ever biography of the entrepreneur who, working from the spare bedroom of his Bloomington, Indiana, apartment in 1963 with a $1,500 investment, began to construct the wire guides, needles, and catheters that would become the foundation of the global multi-billion-dollar Cook Group. Biographer Bob Hammel, with extraordinary access to Cook, his files, and his associates, has created a vivid portrait of this modern, multidimensional Horatio Alger--quirky humor, widely varied interests, and all. Informative and inspiring, this book celebrates an exceptional self-made individual.
The Bill Cook Story II: The Re-Visionary
by Bob HammelA look into the final years of the billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist and his work in historic preservation in Indiana.Working from the spare bedroom of his Bloomington, Indiana, apartment in 1963 with a $1,500 investment, Bill Cook began to construct the wire guides, needles, and catheters that would become the foundation of the global multi-billion-dollar Cook Group. This story has been eloquently told in Bob Hammel’s The Bill Cook Story: Ready, Fire, Aim. The sequel to this story explores Cook’s final years, when the restoration work he championed, epitomized by the spectacular West Baden Hotel, became a driving force in his life and a source of great satisfaction and pleasure. Hammel takes us behind the scenes on the important restorations of Beck’s Mill, a Methodist Church that is now Indiana Landmarks Center, and the remarkable commitment of Cook toward reviving his hometown, Canton, Illinois. At the heart of the book are the events of Bill Cook’s final days and his death in April, 2011, but this solemn chronicle soon gives way to fond recollections of Cook’s extraordinary life and legacy, and to the continuing saga of the company he founded as it looks toward a bright future.“In The Bill Cook Story II: The Re-Visionary, Bob Hammel engagingly highlights several of Cook’s major restoration efforts, and also chronicles how he remained dedicated to such work even as his health failed.” —Indiana Magazine of History
The Last Undercover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dangerous Dance with Evil
by Bob HamerA 26-year veteran of the FBI reflects on the challenges he has endured and overcome, as he stared the dark side of humanity in the face and never blinked.
Impact Statement: A Family's Fight for Justice against Whitey Bulger, Stephen Flemmi, and the FBI
by Bob HalloranAs the biggest criminal trial since the Boston Strangler draws nearer, the public's fascination with the life and crimes of mob boss Whitey Bulger continues to heat up. Many stories have been told about the murders Whitey and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi committed, and the tacit permission they received from the FBI. But never before has the story been told from the point of view of one of the victim's families--until now.Impact Statement is the first book to provide background into the family of a victim and their own compelling history and experiences, their decades-old fight for justice, the momentous victory over the US government, and their angry quest for the closure that Bulger's trial may provide.Author Bob Halloran will have front-row access to the trial and the ensuing media blitz, as he observes the trial alongside Steven F. Davis, perhaps the most outspoken advocate for the victims' families. The murder of Davis's sister, Debbie, is what keeps Flemmi jailed to this day, and remains the most horrific and arbitrary killing committed by Bulger and Flemmi.Steven Davis's colorful commentary and reflective admissions of his own criminal past will reveal how he was once a protégé of Flemmi's, and how the Davis family's longstanding relationship with Flemmi cost them a father, two sisters, and a brother. Such is the devastating impact Bulger and Flemmi's violence had not only on their own families, but many others as well.
Impact Statement: A Family's Fight for Justice against Whitey Bulger, Stephen Flemmi, and the FBI
by Bob HalloranNo one can deny that mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi are two of the most brutal killers in American history—not even the two gangsters themselves. But a jury denied the Davis family closure for the slaying of Debbie Davis, Flemmi's beautiful young girlfriend, who went missing in 1981 and whose remains were found nearly twenty years later under the Neponset River Bridge in Quincy, Massachusetts.Now serving a life sentence, Stephen Flemmi testified in graphic detail how he lured Debbie to a house in South Boston where Bulger jumped out of the shadows and strangled her to death. Flemmi then extracted her teeth and buried her body by the Neponset River while Bulger watched. Bulger wanted Debbie dead, Flemmi claimed, because she knew that the two men were meeting with an FBI agent named John Connolly. That, and he might have been jealous of the time Flemmi and Debbie were spending together. Throughout his trial, Bulger stubbornly insisted that he never would have committed the dishonorable act of killing a woman. In the end, it was one stone-cold murderer's testimony against another's.In Impact Statement, veteran journalist Bob Halloran looks at the devastating impact Bulger and Flemmi have had on the Davis family, whose longstanding relationship with the two mobsters cost them a father, two sisters, and a brother. Through up-to-the-minute coverage of Bulger's criminal trial and extensive interviews with Debbie's brother Steve Davis, a one-time protégé of Flemmi's and now an outspoken advocate for the victims' families, Halloran has pieced together this unique and compelling story of a family's quest for justice.
Backcountry Lawman: True Stories from a Florida Game Warden (Florida History and Culture)
by Bob H. LeeWith thirty years of backcountry patrol experience in Florida, Bob Lee has lived through incidents of legend, including one of the biggest environmental busts in Florida history. His fascinating memoir reveals the danger and the humor in the unsung exploits of game wardens.
Bad Guys, Bullets, and Boat Chases: True Stories of Florida Game Wardens
by Bob H. Lee“Stories are brimming with confrontations and high-stakes action. . . . Lee’s observations radiate authenticity and he effectively conveys his sophisticated knowledge base about the law, the Everglades and the criminal mind and the skill sets of conservation professionals. Once you get into this book, you won’t be able to put it down.”—Florida Weekly “Engaging, humorous, and touching. As we meet this crazy real-life cast, Lee shows us that the true character of those on the frontlines of the fight against wildlife crime is integrity and a commitment to protect animals and landscapes.”—Laurel A. Neme, author of Animal Investigators: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab Is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species “The job of a wildlife officer is never boring. Lee takes you behind the scenes on patrol—using everything from airboats to airplanes—as he and other state wildlife officers track and apprehend poachers in the Sunshine State.”—W. H. “Chip” Gross, coauthor of Poachers Were My Prey: Eighteen Years as an Undercover Wildlife Officer “Lee’s enlightening and entertaining stories will open your eyes to the duties and responsibilities that these officers perform on any given day.”—Dave Grant, past president, North American Game Warden Museum “Lee provides remarkable insight into a world and culture unknown to most people, revealing the true diversity and dangers of the game warden profession.”—Craig Hunter, director of law enforcement, Texas Parks and Wildlife “These stories convey the feel of the Florida environment, the tedium of the hiding and waiting, the thrill of the chase and capture, and the exhaustion, exhilaration, or heartbreak of the search and rescue. You won’t be disappointed.”—James “Tom” Mastin, consulting forester and principal, Natural Resource Planning Services, Inc. Imagine yourself alone in the wilderness holding two lawbreaking suspects at gunpoint. No onlookers, no backup. Just you in the dark, in the middle of nowhere, with suspects who would cheerfully kill you if they thought they could get away with it. Veteran wildlife officer Bob Lee takes readers deep into the days and nights of Florida game wardens in Bad Guys, Bullets, and Boat Chases. Some people might think that all these officers do is check fishing licenses, but this book tells a very different story, one of shoot-outs, survival, rescue, and powerboat chases. Tracking black-market gator poachers, jumping through truck windows, shredding boat propellers on underwater logs, trapping airboats in wild hog muck, ferrying crates of baby sea turtles, hunting for missing persons in remote areas, getting stuck under a 500-pound all-terrain vehicle at the bottom of a sinkhole—these are just some of the situations game wardens find themselves in. And beyond the action and excitement, the highs and lows of a wildlife officer’s job would test the mental limits of even the bravest adventurer. In these stories, a rookie game warden works to rescue survivors after a jumbo jet crashes in a swamp; an experienced trapper leads a challenging search for a rogue gator after a tragic attack; and a dedicated lieutenant helps a deer poacher turn his life around. From Live Oak to the Everglades, from the cattle ranches west of Lake Okeechobee to the inshore fishing grounds of Pine Island, these amazing experiences span the state. Discover the excitement, dangers, and disasters that game wardens face every day on the job.
Right Place, Right Time: The Life of a Rock & Roll Photographer
by Bob Gruen“Gruen chronicles his adventures as one of the preeminent photographers of rock and roll in his spectacular memoir . . . a roller-coaster narrative” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Bob Gruen is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in rock and roll. From John Lennon to Johnny Rotten; Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones; Elvis to Madonna; Bob Dylan to Bob Marley; Tina Turner to Debbie Harry, he has documented the music scene for more than fifty years in photographs that have captured the world’s attention. In Right Place, Right Time, Gruen recounts his personal journey from discovering a love of photography in his mother’s darkroom when he was five, through his time in Greenwich Village for 1960s rock and 1970s punk, to being named the world’s premiere rock photographer by the New York Times. With fast-paced stories and iconic images, Gruen gives the reader both a front row seat and a backstage pass to the evolution of American music culture over the last five decades. In the words of Alice Cooper, “Bob had the ultimate backstage pass. Can you imagine the stories he’s got?”
And You Know You Should Be Glad: A True Story of Lifelong Friendship
by Bob GreeneA highly personal and moving true story of friend-ship and remembrance from the New York Times bestselling author of Duty and Be True to Your SchoolGrowing up in Bexley, Ohio, population 13,000, Bob Greene and his four best friends -- Allen, Chuck, Dan, and Jack -- were inseparable. Of the four, Jack was Bob's very best friend, a bond forged from the moment they met on the first day of kindergarten. They grew up together, got into trouble together, learned about life together -- and were ultimately separated by time and distance, as all adults are. But through the years Bob and Jack stayed close, holding on to the friendship that had formed years before.Then the fateful call came: Jack was dying. And in this hour of need, as the closest of friends will do, Bob, Allen, Chuck, and Dan put aside the demands of their own lives, came together, and saw Jack through to the end of his journey.Tremendously moving, funny, heart-stirring, and honest, And You Know You Should Be Glad is an uplifting exploration of the power of friendship to uphold us, sustain us, and ultimately set us free.
Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War
by Bob GreeneWhen Bob Greene went home to central Ohio to be with his dying father, it set off a chain of events that led him to knowing his dad in a way he never had before—thanks to a quiet man who lived just a few miles away, a man who had changed the history of the world.Greene's father—a soldier with an infantry division in World War II—often spoke of seeing the man around town. All but anonymous even in his own city, carefully maintaining his privacy, this man, Greene's father would point out to him, had "won the war." He was Paul Tibbets. At the age of twenty-nine, at the request of his country, Tibbets assembled a secret team of 1,800 American soldiers to carry out the single most violent act in the history of mankind. In 1945 Tibbets piloted a plane—which he called Enola Gay, after his mother—to the Japanese city of Hiroshima, where he dropped the atomic bomb.On the morning after the last meal he ever ate with his father, Greene went to meet Tibbets. What developed was an unlikely friendship that allowed Greene to discover things about his father, and his father's generation of soldiers, that he never fully understood before. Duty is the story of three lives connected by history, proximity, and blood; indeed, it is many stories, intimate and achingly personal as well as deeply historic. In one soldier's memory of a mission that transformed the world—and in a son's last attempt to grasp his father's ingrained sense of honor and duty—lies a powerful tribute to the ordinary heroes of an extraordinary time in American life.What Greene came away with is found history and found poetry—a profoundly moving work that offers a vividly new perspective on responsibility, empathy, and love. It is an exploration of and response to the concept of duty as it once was and always should be: quiet and from the heart. On every page you can hear the whisper of a generation and its children bidding each other farewell.