- Table View
- List View
Summary and Analysis of Patient H.M.: Based on the Book by Luke Dittrich (Smart Summaries)
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Patient H.M. tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Luke Dittrich&’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Patient H.M. by Luke Dittrich: Patient H.M. tells the extraordinary true story of Henry Molaison, a young man who underwent a lobotomy in 1953 in hopes of curing his epilepsy. Instead, he suffered extensive memory loss and would became the most studied patient in the history of neuroscience. Luke Dittrich, whose grandfather performed the surgery, artfully combines family history, medical science, and investigative journalism to create a suspenseful and unsettling narrative on the search to understand the most elusive of scientific research topics: the human memory. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of The Professor and the Madman: Based on the book by Simon Winchester
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Professor and the Madman tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Simon Winchester’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester includes:Historical contextChapter-by-chapter summariesDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester: Simon Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman is the remarkable tale of two Victorian-era scholars, the English language, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Recounting the unlikely bond between a criminally insane American Civil War veteran and the renowned Scottish editor of the OED, the enchanting story of their relationship illuminates the decades of the dictionary’s compilation—from A to Z. Wittily eloquent and historically incisive, The Professor and the Madman is the portrait of a friendship and, by extension, of the greatest dictionary ever created in the English language. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Profiles in Courage: Based on the Book by John F. Kennedy (Smart Summaries)
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Profiles in Courage tells you what you need to know—before or after you read John F. Kennedy&’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Profiles in Courage includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy: John F. Kennedy&’s Profiles in Courage takes an in-depth look at eight US senators who displayed courage by going against their political party&’s platform and acting on integrity and convictions. These timeless stories of political courage and inner strength are no less poignant today than upon the book&’s original publication in 1955. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of The Real Jane Austen: Based on the Book by Paula Byrne
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Real Jane Austen tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Paula Byrne’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsDetailed timeline of key eventsProfiles of the main charactersImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne: The Real Jane Austen forgoes the style of a conventional biography, and uses personal mementos as jumping-off points to explore the life of the celebrated author of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and other classics of the British literary canon. The objects—a cocked hat, a vellum notebook, and a royalty check—illuminate various compelling aspects of Jane Austen’s life and personality. Although early biographies suggest she led a quiet, uneventful life, Austen was aware of the realities of the French Revolution, the slave trade in the West Indies, and the Napoleonic Wars, and she was influenced by the people and events of her day. Whether traveling throughout England or writing in the comfort of her home, the real Jane Austen was a complex and driven woman whose work has been loved for generations. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Rise of the Rocket Girls: Based on the Book by Nathalia Holt
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Rise of the Rocket Girls tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Nathalia Holt’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Rise of the Rocket Girls includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt: When the Jet Propulsion Laboratory first began researching rocket science and the possibilities within space exploration in the middle of the twentieth century, they hired a hyper intelligent group of female mathematicians to work with their staff of engineers. In Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars, Nathalia Holt examines four decades of the JPL’s major accomplishments from interviews and research of these groundbreaking women who were recruited to be “human computers,” Including, from this team of unsung heroes, Barbara Paulson, Helen Ling, Sue Finley, and Sylvia Lundy. As the JPL’s projects evolved from developing missiles and satellites to executing moon landings and planetary exploration projects, the women’s roles grew too, becoming the team responsible for launching America into Space—and they did it all while balancing marriage and children, too. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of The Romanovs: Based on the Book by Simon Sebag Montefiore
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Romanovs tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Simon Sebag Montefiore’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Romanovs: 1613–1918 includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout The Romanovs by Simon Sebag Montefiore: Award-winning historian Simon Sebag Montefiore’s The Romanovs delves into the reign of the Romanovs, Russia’s most infamous ruling family, showing how the formidable clan rose to power and held on to it for more than three hundred years. In a sweeping chronological narrative of tsars and tsarinas, Sebag Montefiore’s well-researched biography details the drama that characterized Russia’s greatest dynasty, shedding light on the monarchs’ lives and actions. Beginning with Michael’s accession in 1613—marking the end of the Time of Troubles—and ending with the family’s tragic massacre in 1918, The Romanovs shows how generations of Russian tsars ruled autocratically, through violence, greed, and intrigue. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Shrill: Based on the Book by Lindy West
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Lindy West’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman includes: Chapter-by-chapter overviewsCharacter profilesImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West: A New York Times–bestselling memoir by feminist writer and humorist Lindy West, Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman follows the author’s metamorphosis from a painfully shy girl to a confidence-boosting journalist. Written in a no-holds-barred style, full of wisecracking, vulnerability, and humanity, West throws open a window and asks us to peer inside the sometimes lonely and misunderstood world of womanhood. Shrill examines how society views and treats big girls with big ideas and personalities. The discussion isn’t always pretty (touching on topics such as abortion, period stigma, and rape culture), but it’s entertaining and thought-provoking. Her story is a ballsy and provocative look at what it means to be fat and female in America. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of The Stranger Beside Me: Based on the Book by Ann Rule
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Stranger Beside Me tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Ann Rule’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule includes: Historical contextSection-by-section summariesDetailed timeline of important eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule: Among American serial killers, Ted Bundy is infamous not just for his crimes, but for the way he was able to charm his victims. Bundy’s friendly demeanor fooled many, including Ann Rule, bestselling true crime author and former law enforcement officer. Rule and Bundy met while working together at a suicide hotline. The two remained friends throughout the period of Bundy’s crimes, trials, and fight against execution. This friendship gives the reader an intimate window into a man countless psychiatrists struggle to explain. Get to know Ted Bundy, a true sociopath, and learn about his reign of terror in the Pacific Northwest, Florida, and perhaps beyond. Rule’s police background adds compelling perspective to one of the most popular, detailed, and personal books written about Ted Bundy. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of the Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Based on the Book by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana is the inspiring true story of Kamila Sidiqi, a young woman who received her teaching certificate the day the Taliban entered and occupied Kabul in 1990. With ingenuity, faith, and leadership, Kamila established a garment business in her living room—employing family members and neighbors—which enabled their survival in during one of the most tumultuous decades in the region. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon tells the uplifting story of the women who, with quiet heroism, not only survived Taliban rule, but supported and protected their families and fellow Afghans. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: Based on the Book by Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger (Smart Summaries)
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger&’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter summariesImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger: In 1785, US merchant ships that sailed the Mediterranean Sea began to face an unexpected threat: pirates from the North African coast. American sailors were subjected to pillage and enslavement while their government tried to negotiate tributes and ransom prices with the Islamic rulers of the Barbary nations. As the Barbary conflict intensified, Thomas Jefferson saw that negotiations could only proceed if the United States showed its military strength through a naval presence and the use of force in the Mediterranean. Jefferson committed himself to this cause as he rose to the position of secretary of state and later, president of the United States. In Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War that Changed American History, authors Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger trace the exciting tale of how these kidnappings led to the First Barbary War, what transpired between the warring nations, and how Thomas Jefferson&’s decisions helped shape US policy today. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Unbroken: Based on the Book by Laura Hillenbrand
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Unbroken tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Laura Hillenbrand’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsDetailed timeline of eventsCharacter profilesImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand: Louis Zamperini was a true American hero: He proudly represented the United States as a champion runner in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, served his country as a skilled Air Corps bombardier during World War II, and survived more than a month lost at sea after his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean—only to end up as a prisoner of war in Japan. When he was finally released, Zamperini was tormented by personal demons and wracked by post-traumatic stress disorder. After meeting evangelical minister Billy Graham, he became a born-again Christian and was able to forgive the captors who tortured him. More than a military biography, Unbroken is a timeless, engrossing, and inspiring story of bravery, endurance, and resilience. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of Victoria: Based on the Book by Julia Baird (Smart Summaries)
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of Victoria: The Queen tells you what you need to know—before or after you read Julia Baird&’s book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and gives you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of Victoria: The Queen includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter overviewsProfiles of the main charactersDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original workAbout Victoria:The Queen by Julia Baird: Julia Baird explores and unpacks the legend of Victoria: long-reigning monarch, wife, mother, and symbol of the British Empire. Rather than contributing to the myths surrounding this fascinating and complex woman, Baird describes Victoria as she really was: passionate, strong-willed, hot-tempered, hard-working, and desperate to hold on to power and govern her nation while remaining the loyal wife to her beloved Prince Albert. Baird&’s biography takes readers through Queen Victoria&’s life and long reign, giving a clear and lucid analysis of often complex political events and relationships, as well as the personal dynamics of her household, and providing a thorough understanding of a transformative era in British history. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summary and Analysis of The Wright Brothers: Based on the Book by David McCullough
by Worth BooksSo much to read, so little time? This brief overview of The Wright Brothers tells you what you need to know--before or after you read David McCullough's book. Crafted and edited with care, Worth Books set the standard for quality and give you the tools you need to be a well-informed reader. This short summary and analysis of The Wright Brothers by David McCullough includes: Historical contextChapter-by-chapter summariesDetailed timeline of key eventsImportant quotesFascinating triviaGlossary of termsSupporting material to enhance your understanding of the original work About David McCullough's The Wright Brothers: Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough's biography is a fresh, personal account of Wilbur and Orville Wright: two young men from the American Midwest who, armed with dedication, ingenuity, and the skills they acquired as bicycle mechanics, invented the first practical airplane in history. Based on extensive research--including the brothers' personal correspondence and diaries--The Wright Brothers brings these two iconic American heroes to life as never before. More than the chronicle of an invention, The Wright Brothers is the story of an American family whose belief in the values of hard work and perseverance made all things seem possible--even the conquest of the skies. The summary and analysis in this ebook are intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.
Summer (Seasons Quartet Ser. #4)
by Anselm Kiefer Karl Ove KnausgaardThe grand finale of Karl Ove Knausgaard's masterful and intensely-personal series about the four seasons, illustrated with paintings by the great German artist Anselm Kiefer.2 June--It is completely dark out now. It is twenty-three minutes to midnight and you have already slept for four hours. What you will dream of tonight, no one will ever know. Even if you were to remember it when you wake up, you wouldn't have a language in which to communicate it to us, nor do I think that you quite understand what dreams are, I think that is still undefined for you, that your thoughts haven't grasped it yet, and that it therefore lies within that strange zone where it neither exists nor doesn't exist. <P><P>The conclusion to one of the most extraordinary and original literary projects in recent years, Summer once again intersperses short vividly descriptive essays with emotionally-raw diary entries addressed directly to Knausgaard's newborn daughter. Writing more expansively and, if it is possible, even more intimately and unguardedly than in the previous three volumes, he mines with new depth his difficult memories of his childhood and fraught relationship with his own father. Documenting his family's life in rural Sweden and reflecting on a characteristically eclectic array of subjects--mosquitoes, barbeques, cynicism, and skin, to name just a few--he braids the various threads of the previous volumes into a moving conclusion. At his most voluminous since My Struggle, his epic sensational series, Knausgaard writes for his daughter, striving to make ready and give meaning to a world at once indifferent and achingly beautiful. In his hands, the overwhelming joys and insoluble pains of family and parenthood come alive with uncommon feeling.
Summer (Seasons Quartet Ser. #4)
by Karl Ove KnausgaardThe grand finale of Karl Ove Knausgaard's masterful and intensely-personal series about the four seasons, illustrated with paintings by the great German artist Anselm Kiefer2 June--It is completely dark out now. It is twenty-three minutes to midnight and you have already slept for four hours. What you will dream of tonight, no one will ever know. Even if you were to remember it when you wake up, you wouldn't have a language in which to communicate it to us, nor do I think that you quite understand what dreams are, I think that is still undefined for you, that your thoughts haven't grasped it yet, and that it therefore lies within that strange zone where it neither exists nor doesn't exist.The conclusion to one of the most extraordinary and original literary projects in recent years, Summer once again intersperses short vividly descriptive essays with emotionally-raw diary entries addressed directly to Knausgaard's newborn daughter. Writing more expansively and, if it is possible, even more intimately and unguardedly than in the previous three volumes, he mines with new depth his difficult memories of his childhood and fraught relationship with his own father. Documenting his family's life in rural Sweden and reflecting on a characteristically eclectic array of subjects--mosquitoes, barbeques, cynicism, and skin, to name just a few--he braids the various threads of the previous volumes into a moving conclusion. At his most voluminous since My Struggle, his epic sensational series, Knausgaard writes for his daughter, striving to make ready and give meaning to a world at once indifferent and achingly beautiful. In his hands, the overwhelming joys and insoluble pains of family and parenthood come alive with uncommon feeling.
Summer at Tiffany
by Marjorie HartThe New York Times-bestselling memoir of two Iowa girls in 1945 New York City: “Hart has a genuine gift for conveying the texture of midcentury Manhattan.” —USA Today“Although the country is still at war, Manhattan during the summer of 1945 is an intoxicating place, especially for two fresh-faced young coeds who step off a train from Iowa armed with little more than their youthful exuberance and the name of a very influential contact. The combination is enough to land Marjorie and her best friend, Marty, jobs as pages at the prestigious Tiffany & Co., making them the first female employees ever to work the sales floor. From this groundbreaking vantage point, the girls see and do it all, from assisting notorious gangsters and international playboys at the jewelry counters, to rubbing elbows with celebrities at the city's legendary nightclubs, to glimpsing General Eisenhower during his triumphant victory parade . . . Remarkably, this winsome memoir was written 60 years after that giddy summer spent pinching pennies and dreaming of diamonds, yet Hart’s infectious vivacity resonates with a madcap immediacy, delectably capturing the city’s heady vibrancy and a young girl’s guileless enchantment.” —Booklist “[A] warm account of more innocent times.” —Kirkus Reviews“[A] glorious once-upon-a-time fairytale come true. . . . I loved every moment!”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times-bestselling author of The Good Left Undone“Reminiscent of The Best of Everything.” —BookPage “Hart writes about that stylish summer with verve, recollecting with a touching purity a magical summer in Manhattan, seen through the eyes of two 21-year-olds, just as the end of World War II approached.” —The Cleveland Plain DealerIncludes photographs
The Summer Book
by Kathryn Davis Thomas Teal Tove JanssonIn The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer--its sunlight and storms--into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia's grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. "On an island," thinks the grandmother, "everything is complete." In The Summer Book, Jansson creates her own complete world, full of the varied joys and sorrows of life.Tove Jansson, whose Moomintroll comic strip and books brought her international acclaim, lived for much of her life on an island like the one described in The Summer Book, and the work can be enjoyed as her closely observed journal of the sounds, sights, and feel of a summer spent in intimate contact with the natural world.
A Summer Bright and Terrible: Winston Churchill, Lord Dowding, Radar, and the Impossible Triumph of the Battle of Britain (Biography And Memoir Ser.)
by David E. FisherLord Hugh Dowding, Air Chief Marshall of the Royal Air Force, Head of Fighter Command, First Baron of Bentley Priory, lived in the grip of unseen spirits. In thrall of the supernatural, he talked to the ghosts of his dead pilots, proclaimed that Hitler was defeated only by the personal intervention of God, and believed in the existence of faeries. How could it be that such a man should be put in charge of evaluating technical developments for the British air ministry? Yet it was he who brought the modern multi–gunned fighter into existence. And he insisted that his scientists investigate the mysterious invisible rays that would prove to be the salvation of Britain: radar.Dowding, who provided the organization and training that led to victory, has been all but ignored by U. S. biographers of Churchill and historians of the Battle of Britain. Yet his story is vital to tell, for its importance to the defense of Britain and the free world, and for the intriguing character study that emerges from his ongoing conflict with Churchill and the British government during the crisis years of the empire. Part military history, part science narrative, part biography; this an incredible story.
Summer Doorways: A Memoir
by W. S. MerwinAmerica today is a mobile society. Many of us travel abroad, and few of us live in the towns or cities where we were born. It wasn't always so. “Travel from America to Europe became a commonplace, an ordinary commodity, some time ago, but when I first went such departure was still surrounded with an atmosphere of adventure and improvisation, and my youth and inexperience and my all but complete lack of money heightened that vertiginous sensation,” writes W. S. Merwin. Twenty-one, married and graduated from Princeton, the poet embarked on his first visit to Europe in 1948 when life and traditions on the continent were still adjusting to the postwar landscape.
The Summer Friend: A Memoir
by Charles McGrathAlive with the intoxicating magic of summer in New England, former editor of the New York Times Book Review Charles McGrath&’s evocative memoir looks back at that sun-soaked season, at family, youth, and a singular bond made at a time when he thought he was beyond making friends. &“To read Chip McGrath&’s gentle, elegant memoir … is to lose yourself in your own past summers, especially the ones of your youth, when you imagined there&’d be an infinite number of them, and also friends to share those summers with. That both turn out to be numbered makes this book positively ache with beauty and loss.&” —Richard RussoIt was early evening and a new acquaintance had come to retrieve his daughter from a play date. Instead of driving up in a minivan, he arrived by water, tacking his sailboat smartly across a squiggly channel in the marsh, throwing a rope overboard, and zipping back home, his gleeful daughter riding in the wake. Who knew you could do such a thing? And how could you resist befriending a man such as that? Over the course of this rich memoir, McGrath recalls with a gimlet eye the pleasures of summers past: amateur lobstering, 9-hole golf, family costume charades, bridge-jumping, and a friendship forged between two men from different backgrounds who came together late in life. Recounting the vagaries of summer with such precision and warmth-- peeling long strips of sunburnt skin from your shoulder as if &“shuffling off your own cocoon,&” the outdoor shower curtain blowing open in the breeze, an M80 firework in the mailbox--The Summer Friend is simultaneously a potent evocation of the rhythms and rituals of summer and a stirring remembrance of a friend found and then lost.
The Summer Guest: A Novel of Chekhov
by Alison AndersonA young Anton Chekhov connects the lives of three women: “An enchanting era-spanning novel [and] a literary mystery that goes beyond the limits of time.” —Entertainment Weekly, “Must List”During the long, hot summer of 1888, an extraordinary friendship blossoms between Anton Chekhov and Zinaida Lintvaryova, a young doctor. Recently blinded by illness, Zinaida has retreated to her family’s estate in the lush countryside of Eastern Ukraine, where she is keeping a diary to record her memories of her earlier life. But when the Chekhov family arrives to spend the summer at a dacha on the estate, and she meets the middle son, Anton Pavlovich, her quiet existence is transformed. What begins as a journal kept simply to pass the time becomes an intimate, introspective narrative of Zinaida’s singular relationship with this fellow doctor and writer of growing fame.Over a century later, in 2014, the diary’s discovery represents Katya Kendall’s last chance to save her struggling London publishing house. Zinaida’s description of a gifted young man still coming to terms with his talent offers profound insight into a literary legend, but also raises a tantalizing question: Did Chekhov, known only as a short story writer and playwright, write a novel over the course of their friendship that has since disappeared? Finding the answer proves an irresistible challenge for Ana Harding, the translator Katya hires. Increasingly drawn into Zinaida and Chekhov’s world, Ana is consumed by a desire to find the “lost” book. As she delves deeper into the moving account of two lives changed by a meeting on a warm May night, she discovers that the manuscript is not the only mystery contained within the diary’s pages.Inspired by the real friendship between Chekhov and the Lintvaryov family, The Summer Guest “explores the intimate relationships of one of Russia’s best loved writers and poses intriguing questions about the fine line between art and deception” (Kathleen Tessaro, New York Times-bestselling author of The Perfume Collector).“Transporting.” —Seattle Times“An exceptional novel about the transcendent possibilities of literature, friendship, and contemplation.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Elegant. . . . packs a heartbreakingly lovely emotional punch.” —Booklist (starred review)“The Summer Guest gives us all of the pleasures of a superb mystery novel, but most of all it is a profound meditation on the power, and necessity, of the imagination.” —Ron Rash, New York Times-bestselling author of The Caretaker
The Summer I Met Jack: A Novel
by Michelle Gable"[The Summer I Met Jack] offers an alternate Kennedy family history that will leave readers wondering whether America knew the real JFK at all." --Kirkus ReviewsNew York Times bestselling author imagines the affair between John F. Kennedy and Alicia Corning Clark - and the child they may have had.Based on a real story - in 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America. Alicia is at once dazzled by the large and charismatic family, in particular the oldest son, a rising politician named Jack. Alicia and Jack are soon engaged, but his domineering father forbids the marriage. And so, Alicia trades Hyannisport for Hollywood, and eventually Rome. She dates famous actors and athletes and royalty, including Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, and Katharine Hepburn, all the while staying close with Jack. A decade after they meet, on the eve of Jack’s inauguration as the thirty-fifth President of the United States, the two must confront what they mean to each other. The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable is based on the fascinating real life of Alicia Corning Clark, a woman who J. Edgar Hoover insisted was paid by the Kennedys to keep quiet, not only about her romance with Jack Kennedy, but also a baby they may have had together.
The Summer I Met the City (Fountas & Pinnell LLI Gold #Level N)
by Sunita ApteFar from Home. When Sunita spends the summer in Budapest, she makes some important discoveries--and not just about new places and people. What she learns about herself will stay with her forever.
A Summer in Gascony, New Edition
by Martin CalderGascony's incredible culture and beautiful landscape shine as Martin Calder is introduced to "the other South of France." In the tiny hamlet of Peguilhan, Martin discovers the unique personalities of Jacques-Henri (the hardworking farmer), Anja (the lovely German student), Pattes (a trouble-making stray dog), and more-including the town gossip and a man with incredible Gascon heritage.
Summer in the City: John Lindsay, New York, and the American Dream
by Joseph P. ViterittiThe history, policies, and legacy of John Lindsay, mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973.Summer in the City takes a clear look at John Lindsay’s tenure as mayor of New York City during the tumultuous 1960s, when President Lyndon Johnson launched his ambitious Great Society Program. Providing an even-handed reassessment of Lindsay’s legacy and the policies of the period, the essays in this volume skillfully dissect his kaleidoscope of progressive ideas and approach to leadership—all set in a perfect storm of huge demographic changes, growing fiscal stress, and an unprecedented commitment by the federal government to attain a more equal society. Compelling archival photos and a timeline give readers a window into the mythic 1960s, a period animated by civil rights marches, demands for black power, antiwar demonstrations, and a heroic intergovernmental effort to redistribute national resources more evenly.Written by prize-winning authors and leading scholars, each chapter covers a distinct aspect of Lindsay’s mayoralty (politics, race relations, finance, public management, architecture, economic development, and the arts), while Joseph P. Viteritti’s introductory and concluding essays offer an honest and nuanced portrait of Lindsay and the prospects for shaping more balanced public priorities as New York City ushers in a new era of progressive leadership.The volume’s sharp focus on the controversies of the Mad Men era will appeal not only to older readers who witnessed its explosive events, but also to younger readers eager for a deeper understanding of the time. A progressive Republican with bold ideals and a fervent belief in the American Dream, Lindsay strove to harness the driving forces of modernization, democratization, acculturation, inclusion, growth, and social justice in ways that will inform our thinking about the future of the city.Contributors: Lizabeth Cohen, Paul Goldberger, Brian Goldstein, Geoffrey Kabaservice, Mariana Mogilevich, Charles R. Morris, David Rogers, Clarence Taylor, and Joseph P. Viteritti