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The Good Guys Of Baseball: Sixteen True Sports Stories
by Mike Levine Terry Egan Stan FriedmanA collection of inspirational stories about contemporary baseball heroes, including Kirby Puckett, Ken Griffey, Jr., Cal Ripken, Jr., Jim Abbott, and Frank Thomas.
The Good Guys: 50 Heroes Who Changed the World with Kindness
by Rob KempA life-changing book that shows kids it's cool to be kind. A gloriously illustrated celebration of heroes who have changed the world with kindness and compassion, from David Attenborough to Nelson Mandela, Oskar Schindler to Usain Bolt.What if we celebrated boys for their kindness as well their strength? For their generosity as well as their success? For their loyal friendship as well as their charm? The Good Guys introduces us to 50 heroes who have showed that changing the world doesn't require a sword or a corporate jet. Readers will find stories of extraordinary men including Muhammad Ali, Professor Green, Patrick Stewart and Lionel Messi, as well as unsung heroes such as James Harrison, who has spent fifty years donating his rare blood to save millions of babies. There's even a section celebrating ten boys who didn't let their young age stop them from helping others, such as Matthew Kaplan, who responded to his brother's bullies by setting up an anti-bullying programme for schools. The Good Guys celebrates the feats of heroes and everyday men, and will show kids that it really is cool to be kind.
The Good Hand: A Memoir of Work, Brotherhood, and Transformation in an American Boomtown
by Michael Patrick Smith"Remarkable . . . this is the book that Hillbilly Elegy should have been." --Kirkus ReviewsA vivid window into the world of working class men set during the Bakken fracking boom in North DakotaLike thousands of restless men left unmoored in the wake of the 2008 economic crash, Michael Patrick Smith arrived in the fracking boomtown of Williston, North Dakota five years later homeless, unemployed, and desperate for a job. Renting a mattress on a dirty flophouse floor, he slept boot to beard with migrant men who came from all across America and as far away as Jamaica, Africa and the Philippines. They ate together, drank together, argued like crows and searched for jobs they couldn't get back home. Smith's goal was to find the hardest work he could do--to find out if he could do it. He hired on in the oil patch where he toiled fourteen hour shifts from summer's 100 degree dog days to deep into winter's bracing whiteouts, all the while wrestling with the demons of a turbulent past, his broken relationships with women, and the haunted memories of a family riven by violence.The Good Hand is a saga of fear, danger, exhaustion, suffering, loneliness, and grit that explores the struggles of America's marginalized boomtown workers--the rough-hewn, castoff, seemingly disposable men who do an indispensable job that few would exalt: oil field hands who, in the age of climate change, put the gas in our tanks and the food in our homes. Smith, who had pursued theater and played guitar in New York, observes this world with a critical eye; yet he comes to love his coworkers, forming close bonds with Huck, a goofy giant of a young man whose lead foot and quick fists get him into trouble with the law, and The Wildebeest, a foul-mouthed, dip-spitting truck driver who torments him but also trains him up, and helps Smith "make a hand."The Good Hand is ultimately a book about transformation--a classic American story of one man's attempt to burn himself clean through hard work, to reconcile himself to himself, to find community, and to become whole.
The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World
by Kara CooneyWritten in the tradition of historians like Mary Beard and Stacy Schiff who find modern lessons in ancient history, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today. In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, best-selling author Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs--Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa--to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every tomb, offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many.From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again.
The Good Life According to Hemingway
by A. E. Hotchner“Scholars and [fans] will delight . . . provide[s] a window into the multifaceted mind of a literary giant. A tasty bonus is roughly 150 mostly rare pix.” —Library JournalIn the fourteen years that A. E. Hotchner traveled with Ernest Hemingway, he collected a lifetime's worth of Hemingway's experiences, anecdotes, and observations on the backs of matchbooks, napkins, and slips of paper. Speaking on everything from war to women to writing, Hemingway's words are at turns funny and poignant, revealing a rich portrait of the American literary giant and the world he took by storm.Complete with black-and-white photographs that cover nearly two decades of Hemingway's life, The Good Life According to Hemingway is an exuberant celebration of his remarkable genius and the chaotic adventure of his life.“[E]ntertaining.” —Publishers Weekly
The Good Life: The Autobiography Of Tony Bennett
by Tony BennettA wonderfully warm, resonant, and captivating autobiography from iconic singer and entertainer Tony Bennett.He&’s that regular guy from Astoria, Queens, who left his heart in San Francisco. He&’s the postwar heartthrob who inspired hundreds of young girls to wear black outside St. Patrick&’s Cathedral on his wedding day. He&’s the darling of the MTV generation who made music history when, at the age of 68, he won the coveted Grammy Award for Album of the Year. He&’s the consummate artist known worldwide for his paintings. He&’s Tony Bennett, and here, this legend shares his amazing life story. &“Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it,&” praised The New York Times. From his appearance with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the 1993 MTV Video Awards to his Radio City Music Hall concert with Lady Gaga, Bennett was the hottest—and coolest—pop-culture icon for today&’s younger listeners, while remaining beloved by their parents and grandparents. Multiple generations have experienced the Tony Bennett magic—the mesmerizing spell of a singer in love with singing, who embraces his audience with a soulful serenity communicated by both the man and his music. Honored with countless awards and with more than ninety albums to his credit, no other recording artist has attained Bennett&’s stature—or garnered the half-century of memories shared in The Good Life. From Sinatra, Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald, to k.d. lang and Elvis Costello, Bennett shares his unique takes on the most fascinating talents of our time. Here is the story of his lifelong love affair with art, music, and performing—from his childhood in Depression-era Queens, where opera and Billie Holiday flowed freely; to his stint as a singing waiter; to soaking up the New York jazz scene in the 1940s. With crisp wit and firmly grounded emotion, Bennett captures the people and places that shaped his sublime performances. The dozens of hits he introduced to the great American songbook, including &“Because of You,&” &“Rags to Riches,&” &“Cold, Cold Heart,&” and his signature song, &“I Left My Heart in San Francisco,&” remain a legacy of truth and beauty for the classic art of intimate singing. In this unforgettable self-portrait, we get to know Tony Bennett as he really is: an unpretentious and thoughtful human being. Through all of his personal and artistic challenges, he was, in his own words, &“a humanist&” whose Zen-like philosophy of life remains an inspiration for all ages. Like the fascinating story he shares in The Good Life, Tony Bennett was one of a kind, an American treasure, an enduring artist seasoned with experience and self-knowledge, and a true class act.
The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett
by Tony BennettHe's that regular guy from Astoria, Queens, who left his heart in San Francisco. He's the postwar heartthrob who inspired hundreds of young girls to wear black outside St. Patrick's Cathedral on his wedding day. He's the darling of the MTV generation who made music history when, at the age of 68, he won the coveted Grammy Award(R) for Album of the Year. He's the consummate artist known worldwide for his paintings. He's Tony Bennett, whose star shines brighter than ever as he enters his fifth decade of performing. Now, for the first time, this legend shares his amazing life story -- in a voice that's pure Tony Bennett: warm, resonant, and unforgettable. "Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it," praised "The New York Times. " Since his appearance with the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the 1993 MTV Video Awards, and the addition of his seminal video, "Steppin' Out," to the MTV playlist, Bennett has become the hottest -- and coolest -- pop-culture icon for today'syounger listeners, while remaining beloved by their parents and grandparents. An astonishing four generations have experienced the Tony Bennett
The Good Little Girl: She Stayed Quiet For A Very Long Time... (Big Sky Publishing Ser.)
by Annette StephensOn her eleventh birthday, Annette&’s parents gave her a cowgirl suit. She loved it: she put it on immediately, and set off for her favourite playground, in a nearby park. Some time later she returned home, her flesh scraped and bruised, her brand new suit now dirty and torn. Annette didn&’t answer when her parents asked her what had happened. She didn&’t know what to say, so she kept quiet. She would keep quiet for a long time after that day … This powerful autobiography tells the sad story of a life stunted in childhood. Traumatised by a brutal assault, Annette retreats into herself. Many years pass before she seeks help: a friend recommends a &‘personal development organisation&’. Before she knows it, she has fallen into the clutching hands of a cult called Kenja. Forsaking her children, her home, her job and her finances, she devotes herself with a convert&’s zeal to Kenja&’s activities, doing menial jobs to raise money for its leaders, spending all of her life&’s savings on its &‘courses&’, and recruiting members of the public to join its ranks. Over time, Annette realises that, for all she has given to Kenja, she has not improved, and is instead completely dependent on the group for her self-esteem. She wants to get out but finds herself unable to: she can&’t stop being the prey. When she eventually does act – having suffered further assaults, and witnessed others – she is devastated, forsaken and despised by the only community she has ever belonged to. Determined to bring Kenja&’s leader to justice – and, in the process, find some redemption and perhaps even peace for herself – Annette embarks on a legal odyssey. The Good Little Girl is Annette&’s story about a traumatic beginning and journey to a triumphant ending.
The Good Man of Nanking
by John RabeThe Good Man of Nanking is a crucial document for understanding one of World War II's most horrific incidents of genocide, one which the Japanese have steadfastly refused to acknowledge. It is also the moving and awe-inspiring record of one man's conscience, courage, and generosity in the face of appalling human brutality.Until the recent emergence of John Rabe's diaries, few people knew abouth the unassuming hero who has been called the Oskar Schindler of China. In Novemgber 1937, as Japanese troops overran the Chinese capital of Nanking and began a campaign of torture, rape, and murder against its citizens, one man-a German who had lived in China for thirty years and who was a loyal follower of Adolph Hitler-put himself at risk and in order to save the lives of 200,000 poor Chinese, 600 of whom he sheltered in his own home.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom
by Nancy ReddyTimely and thought-provoking, Nancy Reddy unpacks and debunks the bad ideas that have for too long defined what it means to be a "good" mom.When Nancy Reddy had her first child, she found herself suddenly confronted with the ideal of a perfect mother—a woman who was constantly available, endlessly patient, and immediately invested in her child to the exclusion of all else. Reddy had been raised by a single working mother, considered herself a feminist, and was well on her way to a PhD. Why did doing motherhood "right" feel so wrong?For answers, Reddy turned to the mid-20th century social scientists and psychologists whose work still forms the basis of so much of what we believe about parenting. It seems ludicrous to imagine modern moms taking advice from midcentury researchers. Yet, their bad ideas about so-called “good” motherhood have seeped so pervasively into our cultural norms. In The Good Mother Myth, Reddy debunks the flawed lab studies, sloppy research, and straightforward misogyny of researchers from Harry Harlow, who claimed to have discovered love by observing monkeys in his lab, to the famous Dr. Spock, whose bestselling parenting guide included just one (1!) illustration of a father interacting with his child.This timely and thought-provoking book will make you laugh, cry, and want to scream (sometimes all at once). Blending history of science, cultural criticism, and memoir, The Good Mother Myth pulls back the curtain on the flawed social science behind our contemporary understanding of what makes a good mom.
The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World's Most Powerful Mafia
by Alex Perry“Highly compelling . . . An impossible-to-put-down page-turner revealing the Mafia makeup and three courageous women who bore witness to save others.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewNOW A MAJOR TV SERIESThe Calabrian Mafia—known as the ’Ndrangheta—is one of the richest and most ruthless crime syndicates in the world. The ’Ndrangheta’s power derives from a mix of violence and silence—omertà. Yet it endures because of family ties: you are born into the syndicate, or you marry in. Loyalty is absolute. Bloodshed is revered. You go to prison or your grave and kill your own father, brother, sister, or mother in cold blood before you betray The Family. In 2009, after one abused ’Ndrangheta wife was murdered for turning state’s evidence, prosecutor Alessandra Cerreti approached two more mafia wives, persuading them to testify in return for a new future for themselves and their children.The Good Mothers is the riveting story of a high-stakes battle pitting a brilliant, driven woman fighting to save a nation against ruthless mafiosi. Caught in the middle are three women fighting for their children and their lives. Not all will survive.“An essential addition to the growing library on organized crime [that] puts the women . . . at the center of a story . . . Perry keeps the emphasis on the risks taken by a brave few Calabrian women . . . Pesce [is] a character worthy of Elena Ferrante.” —Washington Post“A staggeringly impressive work of investigative reporting . . . A life changing read.” —Booklist, starred review“Wow, this is something special.” —Nicholas Schmidle, The New Yorker
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
by Maxwell KingFred Rogers (1928–2003) was an enormously influential figure in the history of television and in the lives of tens of millions of children. As the creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was a champion of compassion, equality, and kindness. Rogers was fiercely devoted to children and to taking their fears, concerns, and questions about the world seriously. The Good Neighbor, the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers, tells the story of this utterly unique and enduring American icon. Drawing on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents, Maxwell King traces Rogers’s personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work, including a surprising decision to walk away from the show to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood with increasingly sophisticated episodes, written in collaboration with experts on childhood development. An engaging story, rich in detail, The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure, cherished by multiple generations.
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
by Maxwell KingThe New York Times bestseller: “A superb, thoughtful biography” of the creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (David McCullough).Fred Rogers was an enormously influential figure in the history of television and in the lives of tens of millions of children. Through his long-running television program, he was a champion of compassion, equality, and kindness. Rogers was fiercely devoted to children and to taking their fears, concerns, and questions about the world seriously.The Good Neighbor, the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers, tells the story of this utterly unique and enduring American icon. Drawing on original interviews, oral histories, and archival documents, Maxwell King traces Rogers’s personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work. King explores Rogers’s surprising decision to walk away from his show to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood with increasingly sophisticated episodes, written in collaboration with experts on childhood development. An engaging story, rich in detail, The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure, cherished by multiple generations.
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder
by Charles GraeberAfter his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed "The Angel of Death" by the media. But Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a favorite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history. Cullen's murderous career in the world's most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. When, in March of 2006, Charles Cullen was marched from his final sentencing in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, courthouse into a waiting police van, it seemed certain that the chilling secrets of his life, career, and capture would disappear with him. <p><p> Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, journalist Charles Graeber presents the whole story for the first time. Based on hundreds of pages of previously unseen police records, interviews, wire-tap recordings and videotapes, as well as exclusive jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself and the confidential informant who helped bring him down, THE GOOD NURSE weaves an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship, and betrayal. Graeber's portrait of Cullen depicts a surprisingly intelligent and complicated young man whose promising career was overwhelmed by his compulsion to kill, and whose shy demeanor masked a twisted interior life hidden even to his family and friends. <p><p> Were it not for the hardboiled, unrelenting work of two former Newark homicide detectives racing to put together the pieces of Cullen's professional past, and a fellow nurse willing to put everything at risk, including her job and the safety of her children, there's no telling how many more lives could have been lost. In the tradition of In Cold Blood, THE GOOD NURSE does more than chronicle Cullen's deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him; it paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and offers a penetrating look inside America's medical system. Harrowing and irresistibly paced, this book will make you look at medicine, hospitals, and the people who work in them, in an entirely different way.
The Good Pope: The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of the Church
by Greg Tobin“John XXIII was, in the best possible sense, a revolutionary—a Pope of modernization who kept in continuity with the church’s past, yet made even the most enlightened of his 20th century predecessors seem like voices of another age.”—Time magazine“The story of Good Pope John is always worth telling….Greg Tobin tells it very well. As we wait for better days, this story will help to keep hope alive.”—Thomas Groome, Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College, author of Will There Be Faith Published in the 50th anniversary year of the historic Vatican Council II, The Good Pope by Greg Tobin is the first major biography of Pope John XXIII, a universally beloved religious leader who ushered in an era of hope and openness in the Catholic Church—and whose reforms, had they been accepted, would have enabled the church to avoid many of the major crises it faces today. Available prior to John XXIII’s likely canonization, Tobin’s The Good Pope is timely and important, offering a fascinating look at the legacy of Vatican Council II, an insightful investigation into the history of the Catholic Church, and a celebration of one of its true heroes.
The Good Rat: A True Story
by Jimmy BreslinA Pulitzer Prize winning journalist reveals a history of the American mob with “perfect diabolical detail. . . . A master at transforming crookery into opera” (New York Times Book Review).In his inimitable New York voice, New York Times bestselling author Jimmy Breslin gives us a look through the keyhole at the people and places that define the Mafia—characters like John Gotti, Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso (named for his weapon of choice), and Jimmy “the Clam” Eppolito—interwoven with the remarkable true-crime saga of the good rat himself, Burt Kaplan of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, the star witness in the trial of two NYPD detectives indicted for carrying out eight gangland executions. Through these unforgettable real-life and long-forgotten Mafia stories, Jimmy Breslin captures the moments in which the mob was made and broken.“The ineffable Breslin, the mob’s Homer, may not have done much to ensure Kaplan’s longevity, but he has surely granted him immortality.” —Boston Globe“Bad cops, good crook, great story.” —USA Today“Breslin is a writer of the heart. It’s hard to name another author who demonstrates a better understanding of the passions of urban misrule.” —Playboy“Completely sure of what he’s doing, the author knows how to hook a reader.” —New York Observer“Brilliant . . . a colorfully nuanced depiction of Burt Kaplan.” —New York Daily News“Jimmy Breslin at his best.” —New York Times “The Good Rat tells us about the corkscrew workings of the criminal mind where Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment left off.” —Nicholas Pileggi, New York Times bestselling author of Wiseguy“Smart and stinging . . . a winner.” —Kirkus Reviews“[Breslin’s] writing, like the Mafia itself, breezily transitions from humorous to horrifying.” —Publishers Weekly
The Good Rich and What They Cost Us
by Robert F. Dalzell Jr.This timely book holds up for scrutiny a great paradox at the core of the American Dream: a passionate belief in the principle of democracy combined with an equally passionate celebration of the creation of wealth. Americans treasure an open, equal society, yet we also admire those fortunate few who amass riches on a scale that undermines social equality. In today's era of "vulture capitalist" hedge fund managers, internet fortunes, and a growing concern over inequality in American life, should we cling to both parts of the paradox? Can we? To understand the problems that vast individual fortunes pose for democratic values, Robert Dalzell turns to American history. He presents an intriguing cast of wealthy individuals from colonial times to the present, including George Washington, one of the richest Americans of his day, the "robber baron" John D. Rockefeller, and Oprah Winfrey, for whom extreme wealth is inextricably tied to social concerns. Dalzell uncovers the sources of contradictory attitudes toward the rich, how the very rich have sought to be perceived as "good rich," and the facts behind the widespread notion that wealth and generosity go hand in hand. In a thoughtful and balanced conclusion, the author explores the cost of our longstanding attitudes toward the rich. Among the case studies in America's Good Rich:Puritan merchant Robert KeayneGeorge WashingtonManufacturers Amos & Abbot LawrenceOil magnate John D. RockefellerBill GatesWarren BuffetSteve JobsOprah Winfrey
The Good Shufu
by Tracy SlaterThe brave, wry, irresistible journey of a fiercely independent American woman who finds everything she ever wanted in the most unexpected place. Shufu: in Japanese it means "housewife," and it's the last thing Tracy Slater ever thought she'd call herself. A writer and academic, Tracy carefully constructed a life she loved in her hometown of Boston. But everything is upended when she falls head over heels for the most unlikely mate: a Japanese salary-man based in Osaka, who barely speaks her language. Deciding to give fate a chance, Tracy builds a life and marriage in Japan, a country both fascinating and profoundly alienating, where she can read neither the language nor the simplest social cues. There, she finds herself dependent on her husband to order her food, answer the phone, and give her money. When she begins to learn Japanese, she discovers the language is inextricably connected with nuanced cultural dynamics that would take a lifetime to absorb. Finally, when Tracy longs for a child, she ends up trying to grow her family with a Petri dish and an army of doctors with whom she can barely communicate. And yet, despite the challenges, Tracy is sustained by her husband's quiet love, and being with him feels more like "home" than anything ever has. Steadily and surely, she fills her life in Japan with meaningful connections, a loving marriage, and wonder at her adopted country, a place that will never feel natural or easy, but which provides endless opportunities for growth, insight, and sometimes humor. A memoir of travel and romance, The Good Shufu is a celebration of the life least expected: messy, overwhelming, and deeply enriching in its complications.From the Hardcover edition.
The Good Sister: The gripping domestic page-turner perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty
by Sally HepworthA dark, twisty psychological thriller about the unyielding bond between two sisters and a secret that will break them. 'There's only been one time that Rose couldn't stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.'Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be . . . dangerous.When Rose discovers that she cannot fall pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.Fern's mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of unexpected love.(P) 2021 Macmillan Audio
The Good Soldier: The Biography of Douglas Haig
by Gary MeadA balanced look at one of the most controversial commanders of World War I, using interviews with his son and new archival material to shed light onto an intensely private manPosterity has not been kind to Douglas Haig, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front for much of World War I. Haig has frequently been presented as a commander who sent his troops to slaughter in vast numbers at the Somme in 1916 and at Passchendaele the following year. This account reexamines Haig's record in these battles and presents his predicament with a fresh eye. More importantly, it reevaluates Haig himself, exploring the nature of the man, turning to both his early life and army career before 1914, as well as his unstinting work on behalf of ex-servicemen's organizations after 1918. Finally, in this definitive biography, the man emerges from the myth.
The Good Soldiers
by David FinkelIt was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it the surge. Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. "Well, here are the differences," he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them. Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad, and almost every grueling step of the way. What was the true story of the surge? And was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. Combining the action of Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down with the literary brio of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, The Good Soldiers is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale-- not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.
The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved
by Christopher AndersenThe #1 New York Times bestselling author delivers another dramatic look into the lives of the Kennedys—including new details about JFK Jr., his relationship with his mother, his many girlfriends, and the night of his tragic death.Critically acclaimed author Christopher Andersen is a master of celebrity biographies—boasting sixteen bestsellers, among them These Few Precious Days, Mick, and William and Kate. Now, in his latest thrilling book, new and untold details of the life and death of JFK Jr. come to light.At the heart of The Good Son is the most important relationship in JFK Jr.’s life: that with his mother, the beautiful and mysterious Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Andersen explores his reactions to his mother’s post-Dallas suicidal depression and growing dependence on prescription drugs (as well as men); how Jackie felt about the women in her son’s life, from Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker to Daryl Hannah and Carolyn Bessette, to his turbulent marriage; the plane crash the took his life; and the aftermath of shock, loss, grief, and confusion.Offering new insights into the intense, tender, often stormy relationship between this iconic mother and son, The Good Son is a riveting, bittersweet biography for lovers of all things Kennedy.
The Good Son: The Life of Ray ',Boom Boom', Mancini
by Mark KriegelFRANK SINATRA FAWNED OVER HIM. WARREN ZEVON WROTE A TRIBUTE SONG. Sylvester Stallone produced his life story as a movie of the week. In the 1980s, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini wasn’t merely the lightweight champ. An adoring public considered him a national hero, the real Rocky. From the mobbed-up steel city of Youngstown, Ohio, Mancini was cast as the savior of a sport: a righteous kid in a corrupt game, symbolically potent and demographically perfect, the last white ethnic. He fought for those left behind in busted-out mill towns across America. But most of all, he fought for his father. Lenny Mancini—the original Boom Boom, as he was called—had been a lightweight contender himself. But the elder Mancini’s dream ended on a battlefield in November 1944, when fragments from a German mortar shell nearly killed him. Almost four decades later, Ray promised to win the title his father could not. What came of that vow was a feel-good fable for network television. But it all came apart November 13, 1982, in a brutal battle at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Mancini’s obscure Korean challenger, Duk Koo Kim, went down in the 14th round and never regained consciousness. Three months later, Kim’s despondent mother took her own life. The deaths would haunt Ray and ruin his carefully crafted image, suddenly transforming boxing’s All-American Boy into a pariah. Now, thirty years after that nationally televised bout, Mark Kriegel finally uncovers the story’s full dimensions. In tracking the Mancini and Kim families across generations, Kriegel exacts confessions and excavates mysteries—from the killing of Mancini’s brother to the fate of Kim’s son. In scenes both brutal and tender, the narrative moves from Youngstown to New York, Vegas to Seoul, Reno to Hollywood, where the inevitably romantic idea of a fighter comes up against reality. With the vivid style and deep reporting that have earned him renown as a biographer, Kriegel has written a fast-paced epic. The Good Son is an intimate history, a saga of fathers and fighters, loss and redemption.
The Good Story
by J. M. Coetzee Arabella KurtzA fascinating dialogue on the human desire to make up stories between Nobel Prize-winning author J. M. Coetzee and psychotherapist Arabella Kurtz The Good Story is an exchange between a writer with a long-standing interest in moral psychology and a psychotherapist with training in literary studies. Coetzee and Kurtz consider psychotherapy and its wider social context from different perspectives, but at the heart of both their approaches is a fascination with narrative. Working alone, the writer is in control of the story he or she tells. The therapist, on the other hand, collaborates with the patient in telling the story that might reveal the "truth." The authors discuss both individual psychology and the psychology of the group: the school classroom, the gang, the settler nation in which the brutal deeds of the ancestors must be accommodated into a national story. In a meeting of the minds that is illuminating, surprising, and thought provoking, Coetzee and Kurtz explore the human capacity for self-examination--our attempts to understand our own individual life stories as well as our part in the larger story through language.
The Good Story: Exchanges on Truth, Fiction and Psychotherapy
by J. M. Coetzee Arabella KurtzJ.M. Coetzee: What relationship do I have with my life history? Am I its conscious author, or should I think of myself as simply a voice uttering with as little interference as possible a stream of words welling up from my interior?Arabella Kurtz: One way of thinking about psychoanalysis is to say that it is aimed at setting free the narrative or autobiographical imagination.The Good Story is a fascinating dialogue about psychotherapy and the art of storytelling between a writer with a long-standing interest in moral psychology and a psychotherapist with training in literary studies. Coetzee and Kurtz consider psychotherapy and its wider social context from different perspectives, but at the heart of both of their approaches is a concern with narrative. Working alone, the writer is in control of the story he or she tells. The therapist, on the other hand, collaborates with the patient in developing an account of the patient's life and identity that is both meaningful and true.In a meeting of minds that is illuminating and thought-provoking, the authors discuss both individual psychology and the psychology of the group: the school classroom, gangs and the settler nation, in which the brutal deeds of ancestors are accommodated into a national story. Drawing on great writers like Cervantes and Dostoevsky and psychoanalysts like Freud and Melanie Klein, Coetzee and Kurtz explore the human capacity for self-examination, our wish to tell our own life stories and the resistances we encounter along the way.J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, will soon be available from Viking.From the Hardcover edition.