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Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando
by Andrea WangWorld War II was over, but in Japan, lines for a simple bowl of ramen noodles wound down the sidewalk. What Momofuku Ando did next would change food forever. Andrea Wang, author of Watercress (a Newberry honor book and winner of the Caldecott Medal), tells the true story behind the creation of one of the world's most popular foods."An inspiring story of persistence and an ideal purchase for any collection." School Library Journal, STARRED review2021 Nutmeg Book Awards NomineeWinner of the 2020 Sakura AwardRead Across America Book of the Month, May 2021Center for Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book of 2019 ListSmithsonian Magazine '10 Best Children's Books of 2019′ ListEvery day, Momofuku Ando would retire to his lab--a little shed in his backyard. For years, he'd dreamed about making a new kind of ramen noodle soup that was quick, convenient, and tasty for the hungry people he'd seen in line for a bowl on the black market following World War II. Peace follows from a full stomach, he believed.Day after day, Ando experimented. Night after night, he failed. But Ando kept experimenting.With persistence, creativity, and a little inspiration, Ando succeeded. This is the true story behind one of the world's most popular foods.
Magic Season: A Son's Story
by Wade Rouse"Honest, authentic, heartbreaking and healing. I devoured it in one day."—Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author Bestselling author Wade Rouse finds solace with his dying father through their shared love of baseball in this poignant, illuminating memoir of family and forgiveness.Before his success in public relations, his loving marriage and his storied writing career, Wade Rouse was simply Ted Rouse's son. A queer kid in a conservative Ozarks community, Wade struggled at a young age to garner his father's approval and find his voice. For his part, Ted was a hard-lined engineer, offering little emotional support or encouragement. But Wade and Ted had one thing in common: an undying love of the St. Louis Cardinals.For decades, baseball offered Wade and his father a shared vocabulary—a way to stay in touch, to connect and to express their emotions. But when his father's health takes a turn for the worst, Wade returns to southwest Missouri to share one final season with his father. As the Cards race towards a dramatic pennant race, Wade and his father begin to open up in way they never thought possible. Together, inning by inning during their own magic season, they'll move towards forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace.Heartfelt, hilarious and lovingly rendered, Magic Season is an unforgettable story of love, family and forgiveness against the backdrop of America's favorite pastime.
Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art
by J. H. ShapiroVacant lots. Abandoned houses. Trash--lots of trash. Heidelberg Street was in trouble!Tyree Guyton loved his childhood home--that's where his grandpa Sam taught him to "paint the world." So he wanted to wake people up... to make them see Detroit's crumbling communities.Paintbrush in hand, Tyree cast his artistic spell, transforming everyday junk into magic trash. Soon local kids and families joined Tyree in rebuilding their neighborhood, discovering the healing power of art along the way.This picture book biography of Tyree Guyton, an urban environmental artist, shows how he transformed his decaying, crime-ridden neighborhood into the Heidelberg Project, an interactive sculpture park. The story spans from Tyree's childhood in 1950s Detroit to his early efforts to heal his community through art in the 1980s. Tyree's awards include Michigan Artist of the Year and International Artist.MAGIC TRASH offers strong themes of working together, the power of art, and the importance of inspiring community--especially kids--to affect action. The Heidelberg Project is internationally recognized for providing arts education to children and adults and for the ongoing development of several houses on Heidelberg Street. Not only does the Heidelberg Project prove that when a community works together it can rebuild itself, but it also addresses the issues of recycling, environmentalism, and community on a global level.
Magic and Loss: In Letters to His Young Daughter, a Father, Suddenly Facing Death, Rediscovers Life
by Greg Raver LampmanAt age 37, journalist Lampman discovered that he was dying from a brain tumor and began writing these letters to his three-year-old adopted daughter, Emmy. Along with stories of good family times are the details of convulsions, MRIs, surgery, and radiation therapy--"The tumor has been removed, but the doctors fear it will grow back, only time will tell." His references to his wife as "mommy" are natural, considering the letters are addressed to his young daughter, but cloying nonetheless. Perhaps he makes the most definitive statement of his feelings when he writes, "I remember I used to hear a siren, or see an ambulance, and wonder whether there was some story I should chase. Now, I hear a siren and feel a pang of empathy." When his editors encouraged him to publish some of the letters, he was inundated with responses and so this book evolved and has been selected by Reader's Digest for its Christmas-issue condensed book section.
Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World about Water Pollution
by Julie WinterbottomAn entertaining and gorgeous picture book biography of scientist and environmental hero Ruth Patrick, one of the first to warn about the dangers of pollution.A brilliant scientist and intrepid explorer, the ecologist Ruth Patrick taught the world how to care for the environment. She studied water pollution long before it became a public concern and gave other scientists the tools to do something about it. Born in 1907, Ruth Patrick was one of the only women in her field when she made her breakthrough discovery about biodiversity and the ecosystem of rivers, forever changing how ecologists understand pollution.Lyrically, joyfully written, exquisitely illustrated, and full of fascinating details and a rich afterword and timeline, this STEM biography will inspire readers who love the environment to follow their passion and curiosity.
Magic: The Life of Earvin “Magic” Johnson
by Roland LazenbyThe definitive biography of the basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, from the highly respected, career sportswriter and author of Michael Jordan: The Life.Magic Johnson is one of the most beloved, and at times controversial, athletes in history. His iconic smile lifted the dowdy sport of American professional basketball from a second-tier sport with low ratings into the global spotlight—a transformation driven by Magic’s ability to eviscerate opponents with a playing style that featured his grand sense of fun. He was a master entertainer who directed the Los Angeles “Showtime” Lakers to the heights of both glory and epic excess, all of it driven by his mind-blowing no-look passes and personal charm.Then, in 1991, at the height of his charismatic power, Johnson shocked the world with a startling cautionary tale about sexually transmitted disease that pushed public awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Then out came his confession of unprotected sex with hundreds of women each year, followed by his retirement, an attempted return, and a proper farewell on the iconic 1992 Olympic Dream Team.Longtime biographer Roland Lazenby spent years tracking the unlikely ascension of Johnson—an immensely popular public figure who was instantly scandalized but who then turned to his legendary will to rise again as a successful entrepreneur with another level of hard-won success. In Lazenby’s portrayal, Johnson’s tale becomes bigger than that of one man. It is a generational saga spanning parts of three centuries that reveals a great deal, not just about his unique basketball journey but about America itself.Through hundreds of interviews with Johnson’s coaches, representatives past and present, teammates, opponents, friends, and loved ones, as well as key conversations with Johnson himself over the years, Lazenby has produced the first truly definitive study, both dark and light, of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr.—the revolutionary player, the icon, the man.
Magical Habits (Writing Matters!)
by Monica HuertaIn Magical Habits Monica Huerta draws on her experiences growing up in her family's Mexican restaurants and her life as a scholar of literature and culture to meditate on how relationships among self, place, race, and storytelling contend with both the afterlives of history and racial capitalism. Whether dwelling on mundane aspects of everyday life, such as the smell of old kitchen grease, or grappling with the thorny, unsatisfying question of authenticity, Huerta stages a dynamic conversation among genres, voices, and archives: personal and critical essays exist alongside a fairy tale; photographs and restaurant menus complement fictional monologues based on her family's history. Developing a new mode of criticism through storytelling, Huerta takes readers through Cook County courtrooms, the Cristero Rebellion (in which her great-grandfather was martyred by the Mexican government), Japanese baths in San Francisco—and a little bit about Chaucer too. Ultimately, Huerta sketches out habits of living while thinking that allow us to consider what it means to live with and try to peer beyond history even as we are caught up in the middle of it.Duke University Press Scholars of Color First Book Award recipient
Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment
by Katrina Kenison"No longer indispensable, no longer assured of our old carefully crafted identities, no longer beautiful in the way we were at twenty or thirty or forty, we are hungry and searching nonetheless." From the author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day, this intimate memoir of loss, self-discovery, and growth will resonate deeply with any woman who has ever mourned the passage of time, questioned her own purpose, or wondered, "Do I have what it takes to create something new in my life?" With the candor and warmth that have endeared her to readers, Kenison reflects on the inevitable changes wrought by time: the death of a dear friend, children leaving home, recognition of her own physical vulnerability, and surprising shifts in her marriage. She finds solace in the notion that midlife is also a time of unprecedented opportunity for growth as old roles and responsibilities fall away, and unanticipated possibilities appear on the horizon. More a spiritual journey than a physical one, Kenison's beautifully crafted exploration begins and ends with a home, a life, a marriage. But this metamorphosis proves as demanding as any trek or pilgrimage to distant lands-it will guide and inspire every woman who finds herself asking "What now?"
Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family
by Anika FajardoA young woman from Minnesota searches out the Colombian father she&’s never known in this powerful exploration of what family really means He loved Colombia too much to leave it. The explanation from her Minnesotan mother was enough to satisfy a child&’s curiosity about her missing father. But at twenty-one, Anika Fajardo wanted more. She wanted to know her father better and to know what kind of country could have such a hold on him. And so, in 1995, Fajardo boarded a plane and flew to Colombia to discover a birthplace that was foreign to her and a father who was a stranger. There she learns that sometimes, no matter how many pieces you find, fitting together a family history isn&’t easy.With her tentative entry into her father&’s world, Fajardo steps on a path that will take her in surprising directions, toward unsuspected secrets about her family and herself. Set against the changing backdrops of Colombia and the American Midwest, her journey carries her back to the 1970s and the beginnings of her parents&’ broken marriage, and forward to the present day, where the magic and reality of love and heartache—and her own experience as a parent—await her. The way is strewn with obstacles, physical and metaphysical—from the perils encountered on a mountain road in Colombia to the death of a loved one to the birth of her own child—but the toughest to negotiate are the shifting place of memory and truth while coming to understand her place in her family and in the world.Vivid and heartfelt in the telling, Fajardo&’s story is powerfully compelling in its bridging of time and place and in its moving depiction of self-transformation. Family, she comes to find, is where you find it and what you make of it.
Magical Thinking: True Stories
by Augusten BurroughsMore stories from Burroughs's weird childhood to his neurotic adulthood, hilarious, wicked and heart-breaking.
Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders
by Vanessa Angélica VillarrealA brilliant, singular collection of essays that looks to music, fantasy, and pop culture—from Beyoncé to Game of Thrones—to excavate and reimagine what has been disappeared by migration and colonialism. Upon becoming a new mother, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal was called to Mexico to reconnect with her ancestors and recover her grandmother&’s story, only to return to the sudden loss of her marriage, home, and reality. In Magical/Realism, Villarreal crosses into the erasure of memory and self, fragmented by migration, borders, and colonial and intimate violence, reconstructing her story with pieces of American pop culture, and the music, video games, and fantasy that have helped her make sense of it all. The border between the real and imagined is a speculative space where we can remember, or re-world, what has been lost—and each chapter engages in this essential project of world-building. In one essay, Villarreal examines her own gender performativity through Nirvana and Selena; in another, she offers a radical but crucial racial reading of Jon Snow in Game of Thrones; and throughout the collection, she explores how fantasy can help us interpret and heal when grief feels insurmountable. She reflects on the moments of her life that are too painful to remember—her difficult adolescence, her role as the eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants, her divorce—and finds a way to archive her history and map her future(s) with the hope and joy of fantasy and magical thinking. Magical/Realism is a wise, tender, and essential collection that carves a path toward a new way of remembering and telling our stories—broadening our understanding of what memoir and cultural criticism can be.
Magician of Light: A Novel
by J FremontFor fans of Marie Benedict, Lauren Willig, and Diana Gabaldon, comes a Gothic romance about the charming and ambitious glassmaker René Lalique, the mysterious Englishwoman he falls in love with and their haunting encounters. Fascinated by the occult, René feels stifled, apprenticed to a traditional jeweler. Yearning for the creative freedom to explore the mythical world in his art, he leaves Paris to study at the Crystal Palace outside London. There, he meets Lucinda Haliburton and her dysfunctional family. Having returned from an archaeological dig and tomb discovery in Egypt, Lucinda believes she is preyed upon by ancient spirits. Rene finds her unearthly situation both enchanting and frightening. Is it imagination, delusional, or a real ghostly encounter? Magician of Light illuminates the dark side of Lalique’s life while spinning a suspenseful tale of twisting fates. An enthralling love story filled with historical intrigue and overshadowed by the unknowable.
Magician of the Modern: Chick Austin and the Transformation of the Arts in America
by Eugene R. GaddisThe story of Chick Austin is the story, in Virgil Thomson's words, of "a whole cultural movement in one man." Becoming director of Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum at the age of twenty-six, Austin immediately set about to introduce modern art to America and to transform this conservative insurance capital into a cultural mecca that would become the talk of the art world during the yeasty years between the two world wars.The first in the United States to mount a major Picasso retrospective, Austin was soon acquiring works by Dalí, Mondrian, Miró, Balthus, Max Ernst, and Alexander Calder. In the museum's new theater (which he designed), he staged the premiere of the revolutionary Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson opera Four Saints in Three Acts (with an all-black cast). At Lincoln Kirstein's instigation, he brought Balanchine to America. And he embraced all the new art forms, making film, photography, architecture, and contemporary music part of the life of his museum. For his own family he built a Palladian villa (now a recently restored national historic landmark), filling it with the baroque and the Bauhaus and inviting all the locals in to see how it felt to be modern.Austin's instinct for quality proved infallible. Whether acquiring a matchless Caravaggio or a startling Dalí, he balanced the old masters with the modern. Mounting provocative shows that linked the past to the present, he created dramatic installations--and he threw himself into everything, hanging fabrics, creating backdrops, stitching up costumes. He loved to teach, to paint, to act, to give lavish costume balls, and to dazzle audiences of all ages with his performances as a magician, the Great Osram.Brilliant at using his magician's sleight of hand, he could manipulate his conservative trustees to get what he wanted--but only up to a point. One more purchase of an incomprehensible abstract canvas, one outrageous party too many, one more shocking theatrical role, eventually led to a crisis. Never one to be idle for long, Austin left Hartford and took on a new challenge--to make an artistic triumph of the pink-and-white palace in Sarasota, Florida, known as the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, which housed the circus king's moldering but magnificent collection.Here is the colorful life of Chick Austin, and as we relish his audacious career--the risks he took, the successes he enjoyed along with the inevitable setbacks--we understand what a far-reaching influence he had on the way Americans look at and think about art. Not only a brilliant portrait of an extraordinary man, this wonderfully American story gives us a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the art world as it was then--and in many ways still is today.From the Hardcover edition.
Magnetized: Conversations with a Serial Killer
by Carlos BusquedA "haunting and unsettling" psychological portrait for readers of true crime classics such as My Dark Places, The Stranger Beside Me, and I&’ll Be Gone In the Dark, one of Argentina&’s most innovative writers brings to life the story of a serial killer who, in 1982, murdered four taxi drivers without any apparent motive (NPR, One of the Best Books of the Year).Over the course of one ghastly week in September 1982, the bodies of four taxi drivers were found in Buenos Aires, each murder carried out with the same cold precision. The assailant: a nineteen–year–old boy, odd and taciturn, who gave the impression of being completely sane. But the crimes themselves were not: four murders, as exact as they were senseless.More than thirty years later, Argentine author Carlos Busqued began visiting Ricardo Melogno, the serial killer, in prison. Their conversations return to the nebulous era of the crimes and a story full of missing pieces. The result is a book at once hypnotic and unnerving, constructed from forensic documents, newspaper clippings, and interviews with Melogno himself. Without imposing judgment, Busqued allows for the killer to describe his way of retreating from the world and to explain his crimes as best he can. In his own words, Melogno recalls a visit from Pope Francis, grim depictions of daily life in prison, and childhood remembrances of an unloving mother who drove her son to Brazil to study witchcraft. As these conversations progress, the focus slowly shifts from the crimes themselves, to Melogno&’s mistreatment and mis–diagnosis while in prison, to his current fate: incarcerated in perpetuity despite having served his full sentence.Using these personal interviews, alongside forensic documents and newspaper clippings, Busqued crafted Magnetized, a captivating story about one man&’s crimes, and a meditation on how one chooses to inhabit the world, or to become absent from it.
Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon
by Buzz Aldrin Ken AbrahamOn July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin became the second human to walk on the moon. <P><P>Here, he offers a first-person account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure, and gives an insider's perspective on how being part of NASA's nonstop public relations 'world tour' led him into a downward spiral of depression and alcoholism. <P><P>The book continues on an optimistic note through Aldrin's recovery, his second marriage, and his work opening the doors of space tourism for all. Color historical and personal photos are included. <P><P>Co-author Ken Abraham is a New York Times bestselling author.
Magnificent Obesity
by Martha MoravecThe voice of a generation, speaking on issues of mortality, body image, health and dreams deferred, Magnificent Obesity recounts one woman's effort to look honestly and compassionately at her obesity through the lenses of anxiety, addiction, aging and agnosticism. Although things don't always turn out the way she'd hoped or planned, Martha's indomitable spirit and her conviction that it's never too late to grow up, that it is possible to feel born again at any age, and that there is no sell-by date on dreams will inspire anyone who yearns to rewrite their story and take their own magnificent leap into a life lived with passion, purpose, and authentic power.When Martha Moravec shows up at the ER with severe anxiety, she does not expect to be told she is having a heart attack at age 55. What follows is a journey of mind, body, and soul as the shock accelerates a tolerable midlife crisis into a race to close the gap between where she is headed in life and the very different place she wants to be.A woman living alone, Martha recruits a team of doctors, therapists, and priests, helpers, healers, and friends from the tight-knit weave of small town life in southern Vermont. The patience and dedication of the people she calls "angels we can see" proves that it takes a village to raise a happy, self-actualized adult. As she addresses childhood trauma, panic attacks and phobias, addictive behaviors and an obsessive fear of death, Martha walks an often painful, always illuminating path in her fight to recover her physical, mental, and spiritual health.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Magnificent Rebel: Nancy Cunard in Jazz Age Paris
by Anne de CourcyAnne de Courcy, the author of Husband Hunters and Chanel's Riviera, examines the controversial life of legendary beauty, writer and rich girl Nancy Cunard during her thirteen years in Jazz-Age Paris.Paris in the 1920s was bursting with talent in the worlds of art, design and literature. The city was at the forefront of everything new and exciting; there was no censorship; life and love were there for the taking. At its center was the gorgeous, seductive English socialite Nancy Cunard, scion of the famous shipping line. Her lovers were legion, but this book focuses on five of the most significant and a lifelong friendship.Her affairs with acclaimed writers Ezra Pound, Aldous Huxley, Michael Arlen and Louis Aragon were passionate and tempestuous, as was her romance with black jazz pianist Henry Crowder. Her friendship with the famous Irish novelist George Moore, her mother’s lover and a man falsely rumored to be Nancy’s father, was the longest-lasting of her life. Cunard’s early years were ones of great wealth but also emotional deprivation. Her mother Lady Cunard, the American heiress Maud Alice Burke (who later changed her name to Emerald) became a reigning London hostess; Nancy, from an early age, was given to promiscuity and heavy drinking and preferred a life in the arts to one in the social sphere into which she had been born. Highly intelligent, a gifted poet and widely read, she founded a small press that published Samuel Beckett among others. A muse to many, she was also a courageous crusader against racism and fascism. She left Paris in 1933, at the end of its most glittering years and remained unafraid to live life on the edge until her death in 1965. Magnificent Rebel is a nuanced portrait of a complex woman, set against the backdrop of the City of Light during one of its most important and fascinating decades.
Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self
by Andrea Wulf'Elegantly written, deeply researched and totally gripping' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIOREIn the 1790s an extraordinary group of friends changed the world. Disappointed by the French Revolution's rapid collapse into tyranny, what they wanted was nothing less than a revolution of the mind. The rulers of Europe had ordered their peoples how to think and act for too long. Based in the small German town of Jena, through poetry, drama, philosophy and science, they transformed the way we think about ourselves and the world around us. They were the first Romantics.Their way of understanding the world still frames our lives and being.We're still empowered by their daring leap into the self. We still think with their minds, see with their imagination and feel with their emotions. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfilment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our role as a member of our community and our responsibilities towards future generations who will inhabit this planet. This extraordinary group of friends changed our world. It is impossible to imagine our lives, thoughts and understanding without the foundation of their ground-breaking ideas.
Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self
by Andrea WulfFrom the Costa Prize-winning author of The Invention of Nature, Magnificent Rebels is a riveting, eye-opening biography of the first Romantics: a revolutionary group of friends based in the small German town of Jena whose modern ideas transformed society and the way we lead our lives today.In the 1790s an extraordinary group of friends changed the world. Disappointed by the French Revolution's rapid collapse into tyranny, what they wanted was nothing less than a revolution of the mind. The rulers of Europe had ordered their peoples how to think and act for too long. Based in the small German town of Jena, through poetry, drama, philosophy and science, they transformed the way we think about ourselves and the world around us. They were the first Romantics.Their way of understanding the world still frames our lives and being. We're still empowered by their daring leap into the self. We still think with their minds, see with their imagination and feel with their emotions. We also still walk the same tightrope between meaningful self-fulfilment and destructive narcissism, between the rights of the individual and our role as a member of our community and our responsibilities towards future generations who will inhabit this planet. This extraordinary group of friends changed our world. It is impossible to imagine our lives, thoughts and understanding without the foundation of their ground-breaking ideas.(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Magnificent Sam: The Amazing Adventures Of Sam Houston
by Laurie Cockerell Travis Dougherty"Magnificent Sam" is a children's picture book detailing the exciting life and amazing adventures of Sam Houston. Beautiful full-color illustrations accompany the text, as the reader is introduced to one of Texas' - and America's - greatest heroes. The book concludes with a glossary, timeline, discussion questions and additional resource section. Gold Medal: Will Rogers Medallion Award - Western Non-Fiction, Young Readers; Finalist: Western Writers of America Spur Award - Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction; Finalist: Writers' League of Texas Book Awards - Children's Picture Book
Magnificent Voyage: An American Adventurer on Captain James Cook's Final Expedition
by Laurie LawlorWhen Captain James Cook set off on his third and final voyage in 1776, a crew of intrepid and perhaps naive men sailed with him, including a twenty-five-year-old American named John Ledyard. This riveting account based on Ledyard's journal brings dramatic events of that historic voyage to life, including the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by Europeans, and the desperate attempts to find the Northwest Passage along the treacherous Alaskan coast. Maps, time line, biographies of the expedition's crew members, source notes, and index are included.
Magnifico!: The A to Z of Queen
by Mark Blake&“An engaging mix of humor and detailed critical analysis…great fun.&” —Mojo From the award-winning author of Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond and Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd comes this deeply researched alphabetical biography of Queen and each of its dynamic members.Addressing the phenomenal success of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, acclaimed music journalist Mark Blake builds on the legend of Queen and their enduring audience appeal. Providing a fresh, unparalleled take on Queen&’s music, story, and legacy, Blake&’s complete portrait covers not only the major hits and bestselling albums, but also the inside stories behind the music. Via a series of essays, interviews, and biographies, the author shares a wealth of lesser-known details—gained from over thirty years of original material—and explores what the songs of Queen say about their creators. &“You want it all? There&’s not much missing here.&” —Classic Rock
Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo De' Medici
by Miles J. UngerMagnifico is a vividly colorful portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici, the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age. A true "Renaissance man," Lorenzo dazzled contemporaries with his prodigious talents and magnetic personality. Known to history as Il Magnifico (the Magnificent), Lorenzo was not only the foremost patron of his day but also a renowned poet, equally adept at composing philosophical verses and obscene rhymes to be sung at Carnival. He befriended the greatest artists and writers of the time -- Leonardo, Botticelli, Poliziano, and, especially, Michelangelo, whom he discovered as a young boy and invited to live at his palace -- turning Florence into the cultural capital of Europe. He was the leading statesman of the age, the fulcrum of Italy, but also a cunning and ruthless political operative. Miles Unger's biography of this complex figure draws on primary research in Italian sources and on his intimate knowledge of Florence, where he lived for several years. Lorenzo's grandfather Cosimo had converted the vast wealth of the family bank into political power, but from his earliest days Lorenzo's position was precarious. Bitter rivalries among the leading Florentine families and competition among the squabbling Italian states meant that Lorenzo's life was under constant threat. Those who plotted his death included a pope, a king, and a duke, but Lorenzo used his legendary charm and diplomatic skill -- as well as occasional acts of violence -- to navigate the murderous labyrinth of Italian politics. Against all odds he managed not only to survive but to preside over one of the great moments in the history of civilization. Florence in the age of Lorenzo was a city of contrasts, of unparalleled artistic brilliance and unimaginable squalor in the city's crowded tenements; of both pagan excess and the fire-and-brimstone sermons of the Dominican preacher Savonarola. Florence gave birth to both the otherworldly perfection of Botticelli's Primavera and the gritty realism of Machiavelli's The Prince. Nowhere was this world of contrasts more perfectly embodied than in the life and character of the man who ruled this most fascinating city.
Magnified (Wesleyan Poetry Series)
by Minnie Bruce PrattThis collection of love poems draws us into the sacred liminal space that surrounds death. With her beloved gravely ill, poet and activist Minnie Bruce Pratt turns to daily walks and writing to find a way to go on in a world where injustice brings so much loss and death. Each poem is a pocket lens "to swivel out and magnify" the beauty in "the little glints, insignificant" that catch her eye: "The first flowers, smaller than this s." She also chronicles the quiet rooms of "pain and the body's memory," bringing the reader carefully into moments that will be familiar to anyone who has suffered similar loss. Even as she asks, "What's the use of poetry? Not one word comes back to talk me out of pain," the book delivers a vision of love that is boldly political and laced with a tumultuous hope that promises: "Revolution is bigger than both of us, revolution is a science that infers the future presence of us." This lucid poetry is a testimony to the radical act of being present and offers this balm: that the generative power of love continues after death.Oh Death Someone sang, Oh death! Oh death! Won't youpass me over for another day? Someone said, I dreamed of you last night. I dreamed youwere telling me your whole life story. Whole. Whorled. Welkin, winkle, wrinkle.The loop of time holds us all together. The pile of laundry on the bed. Youfolding socks one inside the other. Wehave had this day, and now this night. The clothes are put away, and from the bed we seethe moon folding light into darkness, not death.
Magnolia Table, Volume 3: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering
by Joanna GainesJoanna Gaines—cofounder of Magnolia, cook and host of Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, and New York Times bestselling author—brings us her third cookbook filled with timeless and nostalgic recipes—now reimagined—for today’s home cook. Whether it’s in the making, the gathering, or the tasting of something truly delicious, this collection of recipes from Magnolia Table, Volume 3 is an invitation to savor every moment. In Joanna’s first cookbook, the #1 New York Times bestselling Magnolia Table, she introduced readers to her favorite passed-down family recipes. For her second cookbook, Magnolia Table, Volume 2, she pushed herself beyond her comfort zone to develop new recipes for her family. In this, her third cookbook, Joanna shares the recipes—old and new—that she’s enjoyed the most over the years. The result is a cookbook filled with recipes that are timeless, creative, and delicious! Just as in her past books, within each recipe Joanna speaks to the reader, explaining why she likes a recipe, what inspired her to create it in the first place, and how she prefers to serve it. The book is beautifully photographed and filled with dishes you will want to bring into your own home, including:Honey Butter Layered Biscuit Bites Bananas Foster Pancakes Brussels Sprout Gruyére Gratin White Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Garlic Shrimp over Parmesan Risotto Peanut Butter Pie Brownie Cookies