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The Fixers: The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossipmongers, and Porn Stars Who Created the 45th President
by Joe Palazzolo Michael RothfeldThe shocking, definitive account of the lawyers and media tycoons who enabled the rise of Donald Trump, featuring new revelations from a Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal team With his blunt-force fame and the myths he&’s propagated about himself, Donald Trump has always moved in a world of gossip barons, crooked lawyers, and porn stars. But when he became the Republican nominee for the presidency in 2016, all of these characters crawled out from the underbelly of Trump&’s stardom and stumbled onto the global stage with him. In The Fixers, Joe Palazzolo and Michael Rothfeld have produced a deeply reported and exquisitely drawn portrait of that world, full of secret phone calls, hidden texts, and desperate deals, unearthing the practice of &“catch and kill&” by which Trump surrogates paid hush money to cover up his affairs, and detailing Trump&’s historic relationship with his fixers—from his early, influential relationship with Roy Cohn to his reliance on Michael Cohen, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. It traces the arc of their interactions from the 1970s through the 2016 campaign and beyond. It is a distinctly American saga that navigates the worlds of reality TV, cash-for-trash tabloids, single-shingle law shops, celebrity bashes, high-end real estate, pornography, and politics. The characters and settings of this book are part of a vulgar circus that crisscrosses the country, from New York to L.A. to D.C. Terrifying, darkly comic, and compulsively readable, The Fixers is an epic political adventure in which greed, corruption, lust, and ambition collide, and that leads, ultimately, to the White House.Advance praise for The Fixers &“Of the dozens of books chronicling Donald Trump&’s presidency, The Fixers is destined to sit atop the pile. It has everything you look for in a political page-turner: Colorful characters, intrigue, sex, corruption and—unlike much of the Trump canon—meticulous, factual reporting by two ace reporters. What a read!&”—John Carreyrou, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Blood
The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened
by Bill McKibbenBill McKibben—award-winning author, activist, educator—is fiercely curious. “I’m curious about what went so suddenly sour with American patriotism, American faith, and American prosperity.”Like so many of us, McKibben grew up believing—knowing—that the United States was the greatest country on earth. As a teenager, he cheerfully led American Revolution tours in Lexington, Massachusetts. He sang “Kumbaya” at church. And with the remarkable rise of suburbia, he assumed that all Americans would share in the wealth.But fifty years later, he finds himself in an increasingly doubtful nation strained by bleak racial and economic inequality, on a planet whose future is in peril.And he is curious: What the hell happened?In this revelatory cri de coeur, McKibben digs deep into our history (and his own well-meaning but not all-seeing past) and into the latest scholarship on race and inequality in America, on the rise of the religious right, and on our environmental crisis to explain how we got to this point. He finds that he is not without hope. And he wonders if any of that trinity of his youth—The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon—could, or should, be reclaimed in the fight for a fairer future.
The Flamboya Tree
by Clara Kelly"The Flamboya Tree is a fascinating story that will leave the reader informed about a missing piece of the World War II experience, and in awe of one family's survival."--Elizabeth M. Norman, author of We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japanese "It is a well-known fact that war, any war, is senseless and degrading. When innocent people are brought into that war because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it becomes incomprehensible. Java, 1942, was such a place and time, and we were those innocent people."Fifty years after the end of World War II, Clara Olink Kelly sat down to write a memoir that is both a fierce and enduring testament to a mother's courage and a poignant record of an often overlooked chapter of the war.As the fighting in the Pacific spread, four-year-old Clara Olink and her family found their tranquil, pampered lives on the beautiful island of Java torn apart by the invasion of Japanese troops. Clara's father was taken away, forced to work on the Burma railroad. For Clara, her mother, and her two brothers, the younger one only six weeks old, an insistent knock on the door ended all hope of escaping internment in a concentration camp. For nearly four years, they endured starvation, filth-ridden living conditions, sickness, and the danger of violence from their prison guards. Clara credits her mother with their survival: Even in the most perilous of situations, Clara's mother never compromised her beliefs, never admitted defeat, and never lost her courage. Her resilience sustained her three children through their frightening years in the camp.Told through the eyes of a young Clara, who was eight at the end of her family's ordeal, The Flamboya Tree portrays her mother's tenacity, the power of hope and humor, and the buoyancy of a child's spirit. A painting of a flamboya tree--a treasured possession of the family's former life--miraculously survived the surprise searches by the often brutal Japanese soldiers and every last-minute flight. Just as her mother carried this painting through the years of imprisonment and the life that followed, so Clara carries her mother's unvanquished spirit through all of her experiences and into the reader's heart.From the Hardcover edition.
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin)
by Elspeth HuxleyIn an open cart Elspeth Huxley set off with her parents to travel to Thika in Kenya. As pioneering settlers, they built a house of grass, ate off a damask cloth spread over packing cases, and discovered—the hard way—the world of the African. With an extraordinary gift for detail and a keen sense of humor, Huxley recalls her childhood on the small farm at a time when Europeans waged their fortunes on a land that was as harsh as it was beautiful. For a young girl, it was a time of adventure and freedom, and Huxley paints an unforgettable portrait of growing up among the Masai and Kikuyu people, discovering both the beauty and the terrors of the jungle, and enduring the rugged realities of the pioneer life. .
The Flame: Poems, Notebooks, Lyrics, Drawings
by Leonard CohenA Stirring Mosaic of Leonard Cohen: Poet, Lyricist and ArtistDive into The Flame, a profound exploration of the celebrated poet and musician, Leonard Cohen. This final work, hailed as a top read by Vogue, TIME, and The Washington Post, offers a rich blend of his life's work, sure to ignite the imagination of Cohen's enduring fans and newcomers alike.With his works spanning generations and continents, Cohen is a remarkable figure who continues to captivate audiences—his ground trodden upon by “very, very few” (Bono).The Flame provides a deeply personal view of Cohen, weaving a vivid tapestry of poems, diary excerpts, lyrics, and intimate hand-drawn self-portraits. This trailblazing collection presents a multi-faceted view of a life lived passionately.“This volume contains my father’s final efforts as a poet,” writes Cohen’s son, Adam Cohen, in his foreword. “It was what he was staying alive to do, his sole breathing purpose at the end.”Whether you’re a lyricist, musician, or a Cohen devotee, The Flame is a glowing tribute to Leonard Cohen that’s sure to inspire and captivate.
The Flaming Cow: The Making of Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother
by Nick Mason Ron Geesin‘a fantastic read . . . witty and incredibly detailed’ Brain DamageBy the late 1960s, popular British prog-rock group Pink Floyd were experiencing a creative voltage drop, so they turned to composer Ron Geesin for help in writing their next album.The Flaming Cow offers a rare insight into the brilliant but often fraught collaboration between the band and Geesin, the result of which became known as Atom Heart Mother – the title track from the Floyd’s first UK number-one album. From the time drummer Nick Mason visited Geesin’s damp basement flat in Notting Hill, to the last game of golf between bassist Roger Waters and Geesin, this book is an unflinching account about how one of Pink Floyd’s most celebrated compositions came to life.Alongside photographs from the Abbey Road recording sessions and the subsequent performances in London and Paris, this new and updated edition of The Flaming Cow describes how the title was chosen, why Geesin was not credited on the record, how he left Hyde Park in tears, and why the group did not much like the work. Yet, more than fifty years on, Atom Heart Mother remains a much-loved record with a burgeoning cult status and an increasing number of requests for the score from around the world. It would appear there’s still life in the Flaming Cow yet.
The Flatlanders: Now It's Now Again (American Music Series)
by John T. Davis&“Conservative West Texas spawns radical creativity and lifelong bonds of friendship in this story of an unlikely band&” from the renowned music journalist (Kirkus Reviews). A group of three friends who made music in a house in Lubbock, Texas, recorded an album that wasn&’t released and went their separate ways into solo careers. That group became a legend and then—twenty years later—a band. The Flatlanders—Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock—are icons in American music, with songs blending country, folk, and rock that have influenced a long list of performers, including Robert Earl Keen, the Cowboy Junkies, Ryan Bingham, Terry Allen, John Hiatt, Hayes Carll, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, and Lyle Lovett. In The Flatlanders: Now It&’s Now Again, Austin author and music journalist John T. Davis traces the band&’s musical journey. He explores why music was, and is, so important in Lubbock and how earlier West Texas musicians such as Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, as well as a touring Elvis Presley, inspired the young Ely, Gilmore, and Hancock. Davis recounts their first year (1972–1973) as a band, during which they recorded the songs that, decades later, were released as the albums More a Legend Than a Band and The Odessa Tapes. He follows the three musicians through their solo careers and into their first decade as a (re)united band, in which they cowrote songs for the first time on the albums Now Again and Hills and Valleys and recovered their extraordinary original demo tape, lost for forty years. Many roads later, the Flatlanders are finally both a legend and a band.
The Flawed Genius of William Playfair: The Story of the Father of Statistical Graphics
by David R. BellhouseA product of the Scottish Enlightenment, William Playfair (1759–1823) worked as a statistician, economist, engineer, banker, land speculator, scam artist, and political propagandist. It has been claimed – erroneously – that Playfair was a spy for the British government and ran a forging operation to print the paper money of the French Revolution. The Flawed Genius of William Playfair offers a complete account of Playfair’s life, richly contextualized in the economic, political, and cultural history of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The book explores the many peaks and troughs of Playfair’s career, ranging from moderate prosperity to bankruptcy and imprisonment. Through careful analysis, David R. Bellhouse shows that Playfair was neither a spy nor a forger, but perhaps briefly a one-time courier for a government minister. Bellhouse pieces together as complete a picture as possible of the forging operations supported by the British government and illuminates Playfair’s lasting contributions in economics and statistics, where he is known as the father of statistical graphics. Disputing the misinformation about the man, The Flawed Genius of William Playfair highlights that the truth about Playfair’s life is often more intriguing than the fictions that surround him.
The Flea: The Amazing Story of Leo Messi
by Michael PartThe Flea tells the amazing story of a boy who was born to play the beautiful game and destined to become the world's greatest soccer player.
The Fleet Street Girls: The women who broke down the doors of the gentlemen's club
by Julie Welch<p>When Julie Welch called in her first ever football report at the Observer, an entire room of men fell silent. Heart in her mouth, Julie waited for the voice on the other end of the line to declare it passable. She'd done it. She was the first ever female football reporter.<p> <p>In The Fleet Street Girls, Julie looks back at the steps that led to that moment, from the National Union of Journalists nearly calling a strike when she dared to write an article as a mere secretary (despite allowing men who weren't journalists to write for the same pages), and many other battles in between.<p> <p>Julie also shines a light on the other trail-blazing women who were climbing the ladder against all odds, from Lynn Barber (of An Education fame) to Wendy Holden, a war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, and many more, as well as some of the secretaries whom the men overlooked but who actually knew everything. Pioneers one and all.<p> <p>The Fleet Street Girls is a fascinating story of the hopes and despairs, triumphs and tribulations of a group of women in the glitzy heyday of journalism, where they could be interviewing Elton John one moment and ducking flying bullets or fighting off the sex pests the next. At a time when Fleet Street was the biggest, cosiest all-male club you can imagine, and the interests of half the human race were consigned to 'The Women's Page' in the paper, we follow Julie and her contemporaries through dramas, excitement and sheer fun in their battle to make sure women's voices were heard.<p>
The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945
by James D. Hornfischer<P>The extraordinary story of the World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower <P>One of America's preeminent military historians, James D. Hornfischer has written his most expansive and ambitious book to date. Drawing on new primary sources and personal accounts by Americans and Japanese alike, here is a thrilling narrative of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War, focusing on the U.S. invasion of the Mariana Islands in June 1944 and the momentous events that it triggered. <P>With its thunderous assault into Japan's inner defensive perimeter, America crossed the threshold of total war. From the seaborne invasion of Saipan to the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the largest banzai attack of the war and the strategic bombing effort that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas became the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender--with consequences that forever changed modern war. <P>These unprecedented operations saw the first large-scale use of Navy Underwater Demolition Teams; a revolution in the fleet's ability to sustain cross-hemispheric expeditionary warfare; the struggle of American troops facing not only a suicidal enemy garrison but desperate Japanese civilians; and the rise of the U.S. Navy as the greatest of grand fleets. From the Marianas, B-29 Superfortresses would finally unleash nuclear fire on an enemy resolved to fight to the end. <P>Hornfischer casts this clash of nations and cultures with cinematic scope and penetrating insight, focusing closely on the people who rose to the challenge under fire: Raymond Spruance, the brilliant, coolly calculating commander of the Fifth Fleet; Kelly Turner, whose amphibious forces delivered Marine General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith's troops to the beaches of Saipan and Tinian; Draper Kauffman, founder of the Navy unit that predated today's SEALs; Paul Tibbets, who created history's first atomic striking force and flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima; and Japanese warriors and civilians who saw the specter of defeat as the ultimate test of the spirit. <P> From the seas of the Central Pacific to the shores of Japan itself, The Fleet at Flood Tide is a stirring and deeply humane account of World War II's world-changing finale. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Flight Portfolio: Based on a true story, utterly gripping and heartbreaking World War 2 historical fiction
by Julie Orringer1940, Nazi occupied France. In the middle of a devastating war, how many lives can you save?Varian Fry, a young American journalist, arrives in Marseille, shortly after the Germans have occupied the country. He is armed only with three thousand dollars and a list of writers, thinkers and artists he hopes to rescue - so long as the Nazis don't get to them first.With borders closing around him, Varian tries to track down those on his list - renowned artists like Marc Chagall, who cannot believe that he will ever be unsafe in the country he loves. He smuggles them over the Pyrenees mountains and across the sea hidden in boats, but everyday hundreds of ordinary Jewish refugees beg him for help. Does Varian have the right to choose who to save?At home in New York, making a list seemed simple, but in the middle of the worst war imaginable, he must do all he can to help. And as the Nazis begin to get word of Varian's secret operation, he must find dig deep and find the courage to rescue as many innocents as he can.Even though his own life may be in terrible danger. An incredibly compelling and heart-wrenching historical novel, inspired by true events, about the extraordinary courage and friendships forged during humanity's darkest hour. If you loved Schindler's List, All The Light We Cannot See or The Tattooist of Auschwitz, you'll adore The Flight Portfolio.What readers are saying about The Flight Portfolio:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Oh - it's FABULOUS!... The best historical novel I've read in a long time.' Goodreads Reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I love this book so much I can barely breathe.' Goodreads Reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Such a wonderful novel!!... Please do yourself a favour and read it!!' Goodreads Reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Couldn't put this down. Beautiful writing and a riveting plot make this book an absolute page-turner!' Goodreads Reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I did not want this book to end... Riveting. I loved it.' Goodreads Reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'An outstanding book for anyone who likes historical fiction, a gripping story, lyrical writing, or all three. It is one of those books that you never want to end.' Goodreads Reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I can't begin to believe that I will read another book this year that will even come close to reaching the heights of The Flight Portfolio.' Goodreads Reviewer
The Flight of Icarus: Artisan Autobiography in Early Modern Europe
by James S. AmelangExploring autobiographical texts written by European urban craftsmen from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, this wide-ranging book studies memoirs, diaries, family chronicles, travel narratives, and other forms of personal writings from Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and England. In the process, it considers the motivations of the authors, the changing forms and emphases of artisan narratives, and, more generally, the significance of written self-expression in early modern popular culture. By analyzing reading and writing as practices laden with social meaning, this work aims to illuminate the changing role of the lower classes and other groups considered marginal in the history of literature and literacy. It uncovers an “Icarian” logic by which writing about the self and one’s immediate and private world developed as a complex response to widely shared expectations regarding the cultural and political subordination of craftsmen and others relegated to the margins of public life and discourse. The book also contributes to the contemporary interdisciplinary debate concerning the nature and evolution of autobiographical writing. It draws upon those currents within literary studies, such as feminist criticism, which favor a more flexible approach to the study of first-person narrative than that adopted by traditional literary critics and historians of ideas. It also argues for revising the standard history of autobiography, eschewing the teleological presentation of a small handful of classic texts in favor of a more nuanced trajectory in which a wide range of social actors helped shape the emerging patterns of modern self-understanding and expression.
The Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown
by Theodore TaylorThis volume tells the story of Jesse Leroy Brown, who became the Navy's first black pilot. Taylor consulted Brown's training and flight records and logs and includes quotes from them, in addition to letters. He describes Brown's training, experiences in combat, personal life, and other details. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The Flight of Jesse Leroy Brown
by Theodore TaylorThis biography of America&’s first African American naval aviator is a &“compelling portrait of a quiet hero [and] the racial climate between 1926 and 1959&” (Booklist). &“In the late 1940s, when every aspiring black pilot had heard of the army&’s Tuskegee program, Jesse Leroy Brown set his sights on becoming a navy aviator. An outstanding student and top athlete, the 17-year-old&’s ambition was met with a combination of incredulity and resistance. Yet, at a time when Jim Crow laws were rampant, Brown managed to break the color barrier to become the first black U.S. Navy pilot. Taylor puts his considerable narrative skills to good use in tracing Brown&’s path from his youth in poverty-stricken Palmer&’s Crossing, Miss., to his eventual induction into the heady and dangerous world of carrier aviation. Taylor based much of his research on interviews with those who knew Brown and on personal letters from more than a half-century ago [and] doesn't skimp on the indignities Brown suffered. . . . An engaging and intimate glimpse of a young pioneer who desperately wanted to earn his aviator&’s wings.&” —Publishers Weekly &“More than a biography, this is a thrilling story of naval aviation and combat.&” —School Library Journal
The Flight: A Father’s War, a Son’s Search
by Tyler BridgesBoth history and memoir, The Flight tells the story of Richard W. “Dick” Bridges’s heroic service in World War II. Bridges survived a German attack on his plane, the Fascinatin’ Witch, by parachuting out of the exploding B-24. He escaped detection in Austria, became the first American prisoner of war in Hungary, was sent to Yugoslavia, escaped from his POW camp there, was sheltered by the Partisans one step ahead of the Germans, and was finally airlifted to safety in Italy by the British.Bridges’s story, which seems almost too astonishing to be true, went untold until after his death in 2003, when his son, Tyler Bridges, pieced it together. The younger Bridges’s odyssey in search of his father’s wartime experiences connected him with the families of other crew members aboard the Fascinatin’ Witch and led him to retrace his father’s footsteps through Austria, Hungary, and the former Yugoslavia.With his findings, Bridges has woven a story not only about World War II and the bravery of this unique group of soldiers, but also about fathers and sons, what can get lost in the gulf between generations, and how patience and understanding can bridge that gap.
The Flight: Charles Lindbergh's Daring and Immortal 1927 Transatlantic Crossing
by Dan HamptonFrom "one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history"* comes a masterful account of Charles Lindbergh’s death-defying nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis—an inspiring achievement that brought the world to a halt in May 1927 and made Lindbergh the most celebrated man of his time. <p><p> On the rainy morning of May 20, 1927, a little-known American pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and prepared to take off from a small airfield on Long Island, New York. Despite his inexperience—the twenty-five-year-old Lindbergh had never before flown over open water—he was determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised since 1919 to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris, a terrifying adventure that had already claimed six men’s lives. Ahead of him lay a 3,600-mile solo journey across the vast north Atlantic and into the unknown; his survival rested on his skill, courage, and an unassuming little aircraft with no front window. Only 500 people showed up to see him off. <p><p>Thirty-three and a half hours later, a crowd of more than 100,000 mobbed the Spirit as the audacious young American touched down in Paris, having achieved the seemingly impossible. Overnight, as he navigated by the stars through storms across the featureless ocean, news of his attempt had circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Europe. He returned to the United States a national hero, feted with ticker-tape parades that drew millions, bestowed every possible award from the Medal of Honor to Time’s "Man of the Year" (the first to be so named), commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp within months, and celebrated as the embodiment of the twentieth century and America’s place in it. <p><p>Acclaimed aviation historian Dan Hampton’s The Flight is a long-overdue, flyer’s-eye narrative of Lindbergh’s legendary journey. A decorated fighter pilot who flew more than 150 combat missions in an F-16 and made numerous transatlantic crossings, Hampton draws on his unique perspective to bring alive the danger, uncertainty, and heroic accomplishment of Lindbergh’s crossing. Hampton’s deeply researched telling also incorporates a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh’s own personal diary and writings, as well as family letters and untapped aviation archives that fill out this legendary story as never before. *New York Post
The Flitting: A Memoir Of Loss And Butterflies
by Ben Masters"A book with wings."—Ali Smith A deeply felt and moving memoir about how butterflies become a vital connection between a son and his dying father. The Flitting: A Memoir of Fathers, Sons, and Butterflies is a masterful and touching memoir blending natural history, pop culture, and literary biography—delivering a richly layered and nuanced portrait of a son’s attempt, after years of stubborn resistance, to take on his dying father’s love of the natural world. With his father unable to leave the house and follow the butterfly cycle for the first time since he was a child, Masters endeavors to become his connection to the outdoors and his treasured butterflies, reporting back with stories of beloved species—Purple Emperors, Lulworth Skippers, Wood Whites and Silver-studded Blues—and with stories of the woods and meadows that are their habitats and once were his. Structured around a series of exchanges and remembrances, butterflies become a way of talking about masculinity, memory, generational differences, and ultimately loss and continuation. Masters takes readers on an unlikely journey where Luther Vandross and The Sopranos rub shoulders with the likes of Angela Carter and Virginia Woolf on butterflies and gender; the metamorphoses of Prince; Zadie Smith on Joni Mitchell and how sensibilities evolve; and the lives and works of Vladimir Nabokov and other literary lepidopterists. In this beautiful debut memoir, Ben Masters offers an intensely authentic, unforgettable portrait of a father and son sharing passions, lessons, and regrets before they run out of time.
The Flock
by Joan Frances Casey Lynn WilsonWhen, as a twenty-six-year-old married graduate student, Joan Frances Casey awoke on the ledge of a building ready to jump, she did not know how she had gotten there. And it wasn't the first time she had blanked out. This time, she thought she would give therapy another try. After only a few sessions, Lynn Wilson, an experienced psychiatric social worker, was shocked to discover that Joan had MPD-Multiple Personality Disorder. And as she came to know Joans distinct selves, Lynn uncovered a nightmarish pattern of emotional and physical abuse, including rape and incest, that nearly succeeded in smothering the artistic and intellectual gifts of this amazing young woman. In an extraordinary move that challenged the medical establishment-many of whom believe MPD does not exist-Lynn embarked on a radical program of reparenting therapy to bring out and individually treat Joans twenty-four separate personalities: Missy, the five-year-old artist; Jo, the scholar, Rusty, the motherless boy, Renee, the people pleaser; Josie, the self-destructive toddler; Joan Frances, the perfect one; and all the other deeply scarred members of The Flock that had been helping Joan Frances Casey function, despite tremendous psychic pain, since she was a child.
The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush
by Howard BlumIt is the last decade of the 19th century. The Wild West has been tamed and its fierce, independent and often violent larger-than-life figures - gun-toting wanderers, trappers, prospectors, Indian fighters, cowboys, and lawmen -are now victims of their own success. They are heroes who've outlived their usefulness.But then gold is discovered in Alaska and the adjacent Canadian Klondike and a new frontier suddenly looms - an immense unexplored territory filled with frozen waterways, dark spruce forests, and towering mountains capped by glistening layers of snow and ice. "Klondicitis," a giddy mix of greed and lust for adventure, ignites a stampede. Fleeing the depths of a worldwide economic depression and driven by starry-eyed visions of vast wealth, tens of thousands rush northward. Joining this throng of greenhorns and grifters, whores and highwaymen, sourdoughs and seers are three unforgettable men. In a true-life tale that rivets from the first page, we meet Charlie Siringo, a top-hand sharp-shooting cowboy who, after futilely trying to settle down with his new bride, becomes one of the Pinkerton Detective Agency's shrewdest; George Carmack, a California-born American Marine who's adopted by an Indian tribe, raises a family with a Taglish squaw, makes the discovery that starts off the Yukon Gold Rush - and becomes fabulously rich; and Soapy Smith, a sly and inventive predator-conman who rules a vast criminal empire.As we follow this trio's lives, we're led inexorably into a perplexing mystery. A fortune in gold bars has somehow been stolen from the fortress-like Treadwell Mine in Juneau, Alaska, with no clues as to how the thieves made off with such an immensely heavy cargo. To many it appears that the crime will never be solved. But the Pinkerton Agency has a reputation for finding the answers that elude others. Charged with getting the job done is Charlie Siringo who discovers that, to run the thieves to ground, he must embark on a rugged cross-territory odyssey that will lead him across frigid waters and through a frozen wilderness. Ultimately, he'll have his quarry in his sights. But then an additional challenge will present itself. He must face down Soapy Smith and his gang of 300 cutthroats. Hanging in the balance: George Carmack's fortune in gold. At once a compelling true-life mystery and an unforgettable portrait of a time in America's history when thousands were fired with a vision of riches so unimaginable as to be worth any price, The Floor of Heaven is also an exhilarating tribute to the courage and undaunted spirit of the men and women who helped shape America.
The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush
by Howard BlumIt is the last decade of the 19th century. The Wild West has been tamed and its fierce, independent and often violent larger-than-life figures -- gun-toting wanderers, trappers, prospectors, Indian fighters, cowboys, and lawmen -- are now victims of their own success. They are heroes who've outlived their usefulness. But then gold is discovered in Alaska and the adjacent Canadian Klondike and a new frontier suddenly looms - an immense unexplored territory filled with frozen waterways, dark spruce forests, and towering mountains capped by glistening layers of snow and ice. "Klondicitis," a giddy mix of greed and lust for adventure, ignites a stampede. Fleeing the depths of a worldwide economic depression and driven by starry-eyed visions of vast wealth, tens of thousands rush northward. Joining this throng of greenhorns and grifters, whores and highwaymen, sourdoughs and seers are three unforgettable men. In a true-life tale that rivets from the first page, we meet Charlie Siringo, a top-hand sharp-shooting cowboy who, after futilely trying to settle down with his new bride, becomes one of the Pinkerton Detective Agency's shrewdest; George Carmack, a California-born American Marine who's adopted by an Indian tribe, raises a family with a Taglish squaw, makes the discovery that starts off the Yukon Gold Rush - and becomes fabulously rich; and Soapy Smith, a sly and inventive predator-conman who rules a vast criminal empire. As we follow this trio's lives, we're led inexorably into a perplexing mystery. A fortune in gold bars has somehow been stolen from the fortress-like Treadwell Mine in Juneau, Alaska, with no clues as to how the thieves made off with such an immensely heavy cargo. To many it appears that the crime will never be solved. But the Pinkerton Agency has a reputation for finding the answers that elude others. Charged with getting the job done is Charlie Siringo who discovers that, to run the thieves to ground, he must embark on a rugged cross-territory odyssey that will lead him across frigid waters and through a frozen wilderness. Ultimately, he'll have his quarry in his sights. But then an additional challenge will present itself. He must face down Soapy Smith and his gang of 300 cutthroats. Hanging in the balance: George Carmack's fortune in gold. At once a compelling true-life mystery and an unforgettable portrait of a time in America's history when thousands were fired with a vision of riches so unimaginable as to be worth any price, The Floor of Heaven is also an exhilarating tribute to the courage and undaunted spirit of the men and women who helped shape America.
The Floppy Show
by Jeff SteinIn 1957, WHO-TV asked staff performer Duane Ellett to come up with an idea to help teach children how to better care for their pets. Ellett created Floppy, a high-voiced beagle dog puppet that became his sidekick for the next 30 years. Together, the iconic duo made 200 personal appearances every year at community festivals and events. The Floppy Show aired weekday afternoons in part of four decades, featuring a live studio audience of children telling Floppy riddles, beeping his nose for luck, and watching cartoons. On weekends, the duo appeared in a variety of programs over time, from the S.S. Popeye in earlier years to The Floppytown Gazette in the 1980s, featuring Floppy and other puppets Ellett created. Thousands of Iowans outside of Des Moines discovered the duo from their performances at the Iowa State Fair. Even now, 30 years after their last television appearance, Duane and Floppy still hold a warm place in the hearts of baby boomers across America.
The Florist's Daughter
by Patricia HamplThis New York Times Notable memoir of a middle-class, middle-America family is a &“beautiful bouquet of a book&” (Entertainment Weekly). They say &“a daughter is a daughter all her life,&” and no statement could be truer for Patricia Hampl. Born to a Czech father—an artistic florist—and a wary Irish mother, Hampl experienced a childhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, that couldn&’t have been more normal, the perfect example of a twentieth century middle-class, middle-American upbringing. But as she faces the death of her mother, Hampl reflects on the struggles her parents went through to provide that normal, boring existence, and her own struggles with fulfilling the role of dutiful daughter as she grew through the postwar years to the turbulent sixties and couldn&’t help wanting to rebel against the notion of a &“relentlessly modest life.&” Named a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year, The Florist&’s Daughter is Hampl&’s most extraordinary work to date—a &“quietly stunning&” reminiscence of a Midwestern girlhood, and a reflection on what it means to be a daughter (People).
The Flourishing Community: A Story of Hope for America's Distressed Places
by Brad KetchBrad Ketch's The Flourishing Community is a story of defying the odds, fighting for change, and bringing hope to the poorest community in the state of Oregon. An early-morning knock on the door changed everything for Brad Ketch, who was insulated from the struggles of his neighboring community outside of Portland, Oregon. When Brad&’s eyes were opened to the poverty in Rockwood, he knew he had to find out why. Whereas many organizations focus on relief for distressed communities, Brad learned that what Rockwood needed was a holistic approach, encompassing both relief and development from within. He founded a backbone organization that would act as a support for the work that his Rockwood neighbors were already doing. The result is a place that is now flourishing. In what amounted to a one step forward, two steps back journey, with resistance from officials and property owners, Brad and those he partnered with took on the task of serving his neighbors, ridding the community of bad players, and providing ways to sustain a thriving community. Along the way, unbelievable events and fascinating people entered the story and drove it to its exhilarating conclusion. In The Flourishing Community, you'll see that it is possible to create this kind of change. It is never easy, but it is always worth it. Every city in America has a Rockwood, and this book provides a guide for those who want to get to work. After reading this book, you will be like Brad after answering the knock on his door: never the same.
The Flowering: The Autobiography Of Judy Chicago
by Judy ChicagoIn this provocative and resonant autobiography, world-renowned artist and feminist icon Judy Chicago reflects on her extraordinary life and career. Judy Chicago is America’s most dynamic living artist. Her works comprise a dizzying array of media from performance and installation to the glittering table laid for thirty-nine iconic women in The Dinner Party (now permanently housed at the Brooklyn Museum), the groundbreaking Birth Project, and the meticulously researched Holocaust Project. She designed the monumental installation for Dior’s 2020 Paris couture show and, in 2019, established the Judy Chicago Portal, which will help to accomplish her lifelong goal of overcoming the erasure that has eclipsed the achievements of so many women. The Flowering is her vivid and revealing autobiography, fully illustrated with photographs of her work, as well as never-before-published personal images and a foreword by Gloria Steinem. Chicago has revised and updated her earlier, classic works with previously untold stories, fresh insights, and an extensive afterword covering the last twenty years. This powerful narrative weaves together the stories behind some of Chicago’s most significant artworks and her journey as a woman artist with the chronicles of her personal relationships and her understanding, from decades of experience and extensive research, of how misogyny, racism, and other prejudices intersect to erase the legacies of artists who are not white and male while dismissing the suffering of millions of creatures who share the planet. With the first career retrospective of her work forthcoming at the de Young Museum in 2021, Chicago reinforces her message of resilience for a new generation of artists and activists. The Flowering is an essential read for anyone interested in making change.