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Why Karen Carpenter Matters (Music Matters)
by Karen TongsonA Pitchfork Best Music Book of 2019: A look at what the beloved pop singer meant to fans, written with “nostalgic affection and astute critical thinking” (Los Angeles Times).In the ’60s and ’70s, America's music scene was marked by raucous excess, reflected in the tragic overdoses of young superstars such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. At the same time, the uplifting harmonies and sunny lyrics that propelled Karen Carpenter and her brother, Richard, to international fame belied a different sort of tragedy—the underconsumption that led to Karen’s death at age thirty-two from the effects of an eating disorder.In Why Karen Carpenter Matters, Karen Tongson (whose Filipino musician parents named her after the pop icon) interweaves the story of the singer’s rise to fame with her own trans-Pacific journey between the Philippines—where imitations of American pop styles flourished—and Karen Carpenter’s home ground of Southern California. Tongson reveals why the Carpenters’ chart-topping, seemingly whitewashed musical fantasies of “normal love” can now have profound significance for her—as well as for other people of color, LGBT+ communities, and anyone outside the mainstream culture usually associated with Karen Carpenter’s legacy. This hybrid of memoir and biography excavates the destructive perfectionism at the root of the Carpenters’ sound, while finding the beauty in the singer’s all too brief life.
Why Kerouac Matters
by John LelandLegions of youthful Americans have taken On the Road as a manifesto for rebellion and an inspiration to hit the road. But there is much more to the book than that. In Why Kerouac Matters, John Leland embarks on a wry, insightful, and playful discussion of the novel, arguing that it still matters because it lays out an alternative road map to growing up. Along the way, Leland overturns many misconceptions about On the Road as he examines the lessons that Kerouac?s alter ego, Sal Paradise, absorbs and dispenses on his novelistic journey to manhood, and how those lessons?about work and money, love and sex, art and holiness? still reverberate today.
Why Labelle Matters (Music Matters)
by Adele Bertei&“A smart, shrewd, joyful read, as piercing as any top C shriek from the woman who gave Labelle their name.&” —Barney Hoskyns, author of Glam! Bowie, Bolan, and the Glitter Rock Revolution Performing as the Bluebelles in the 1960s, Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash wore bouffant wigs and chiffon dresses, and they harmonized vocals like many other girl groups of the era. After a decade on the Chitlin Circuit, however, they were ready to write their own material, change their name, and deliver—as Labelle—an electrifyingly celestial sound and styling that reached a crescendo with a legendary performance at the Metropolitan Opera House to celebrate the release of Nightbirds and its most well-known track, &“Lady Marmalade.&” In Why Labelle Matters, Adele Bertei tells the story of the group that sang the opening aria of Afrofuturism and proclaimed a new theology of musical liberation for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people across the globe. With sumptuous and galactic costumes, genre-bending lyrics, and stratospheric vocals, Labelle&’s out-of-this-world performances changed the course of pop music and made them the first Black group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. Why Labelle Matters, informed by interviews with members of the group as well as Bertei&’s own experience as a groundbreaking musician, is the first cultural assessment of this transformative act.</
Why Labelle Matters (Music Matters)
by Adele Bertei&“A smart, shrewd, joyful read, as piercing as any top C shriek from the woman who gave Labelle their name.&” —Barney Hoskyns, author of Glam! Bowie, Bolan, and the Glitter Rock Revolution Performing as the Bluebelles in the 1960s, Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash wore bouffant wigs and chiffon dresses, and they harmonized vocals like many other girl groups of the era. After a decade on the Chitlin Circuit, however, they were ready to write their own material, change their name, and deliver—as Labelle—an electrifyingly celestial sound and styling that reached a crescendo with a legendary performance at the Metropolitan Opera House to celebrate the release of Nightbirds and its most well-known track, &“Lady Marmalade.&” In Why Labelle Matters, Adele Bertei tells the story of the group that sang the opening aria of Afrofuturism and proclaimed a new theology of musical liberation for women, people of color, and LGBTQ people across the globe. With sumptuous and galactic costumes, genre-bending lyrics, and stratospheric vocals, Labelle&’s out-of-this-world performances changed the course of pop music and made them the first Black group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. Why Labelle Matters, informed by interviews with members of the group as well as Bertei&’s own experience as a groundbreaking musician, is the first cultural assessment of this transformative act.
Why Leaders Fight
by Horowitz, Michael C. and Stam, Allan C. and Ellis, Cali M. Michael C. Horowitz Allan C. Stam Cali M. EllisThe history of political events is made by people. From wars to elections to political protests, the choices we make, our actions, how we behave, dictate events. Not all individuals have the same impact on our world and our lives. Some peoples' choices alter the pathways that history takes. In particular, national chief executives play a large role in forging the destinies of the countries they lead. Why Leaders Fight is about those world leaders and how their beliefs, world views, and tolerance for risk and military conflict are shaped by their life experiences before they enter office - military, family, occupation, and more. Using in-depth research on important leaders and the largest set of data on leader backgrounds ever gathered, the authors of Why Leaders Fight show that - within the constraints of domestic political institutions and the international system - who ends up in office plays a critical role in determining when and why countries go to war.
Why Lincoln Matters Today More Than Ever
by Mario Cuomo Harold HolzerBased on how Lincoln would perceive our world today.
Why Longfellow Lied: The Truth About Paul Revere's Midnight Ride
by Jeff LantosPaul Revere's daring midnight ride made him an instant celebrity, right? Wrong! At first, no one in Boston even wanted to mention it. Jeff Lantos pulls apart Longfellow's famous poem "Paul Revere's Ride" to unravel how and why he twisted historical facts.Do you know how historically inaccurate "Paul Revere's Ride" is? And do you know why? Author Jeff Lantos pulls apart Longfellow's poem, tells the real story about Paul Revere's historic ride, and sets the record right. Not only that, he lays out when and why Longfellow wrote his poem and explains how without it, many of us wouldn't know much about Revere at all. This is Steve Sheinkin for the younger set, complete with an American mystery and a look at two important moments in the history of our country.
Why Me? Totally True Embarrassing Stories
by Rebecca GomezHave you ever had a totally embarrassing experience that you never thought you'd live down? You're not alone!Totally True Embarrassing Stories is packed with hilarious accounts of some of the most mortifying moments experienced by kids just like you. It's a laugh-out-loud read that you don't want to miss! This is a collection of embarrassing stories told by kids like you about being embarrassed with pets, your family, strangers and in front of other kids and the kid you have a crush on.
Why Minsky Matters
by L. Randall WrayPerhaps no economist was more vindicated by the global financial crisis than Hyman P. Minsky (1919-96). Although a handful of economists raised alarms as early as 2000, Minsky's warnings began a half-century earlier, with writings that set out a compelling theory of financial instability. Yet even today he remains largely outside mainstream economics; few people have a good grasp of his writings, and fewer still understand their full importance. Why Minsky Matters makes the maverick economist's critically valuable insights accessible to general readers for the first time. L. Randall Wray shows that by understanding Minsky we will not only see the next crisis coming but we might be able to act quickly enough to prevent it.As Wray explains, Minsky's most important idea is that "stability is destabilizing": to the degree that the economy achieves what looks to be robust and stable growth, it is setting up the conditions in which a crash becomes ever more likely. Before the financial crisis, mainstream economists pointed to much evidence that the economy was more stable, but their predictions were completely wrong because they disregarded Minsky's insight. Wray also introduces Minsky's significant work on money and banking, poverty and unemployment, and the evolution of capitalism, as well as his proposals for reforming the financial system and promoting economic stability.A much-needed introduction to an economist whose ideas are more relevant than ever, Why Minsky Matters is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why economic crises are becoming more frequent and severe--and what we can do about it.
Why Mugabe Won: The 2013 Elections in Zimbabwe and their Aftermath
by Stephen Chan Julia GallagherThe 2013 general elections in Zimbabwe were widely expected to mark a shift in the nation's political system, and a greater role for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. However, the results, surprisingly, were overwhelmingly in favour of long-time President Robert Mugabe, who swept the presidential, parliamentary and senatorial polls under relatively credible and peaceful conditions. In this book, a valuable and accessible read for both students and scholars working in African politics, and those with a general interest in the politics of the region, Stephen Chan and Julia Gallagher explore the domestic and international context of these landmark elections. Drawing on extensive research among political elites, grassroots activists and ordinary voters, Chan and Gallagher examine the key personalities, dramatic events, and broader social and political context of Mugabe's success, and what this means as Zimbabwe moves towards a future without Mugabe.
Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad
by Mike GreenbergMeet Mike Greenberg, the popular host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, the highest-rated drive-time sports talk show on the dial. To his three-million-plus listeners, Greeny is the guy who's equally as comfortable dissecting zone defenses as he is discussing cashmere sweaters. He's been to Super Bowls and World Series, All-Star Games and Final Fours. He's interviewed Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, and Wayne Gretzky. He gets paid to enthuse about sports, which means he's the envy of most men in America. This is the hilarious, sometimes touching, and endlessly entertaining debut of one of America's fastest-rising sportscasters, a wry and revealing look at one man's good-hearted but mistake-prone attempt to grow up before his children do. Marriage, fatherhood, manhood, fame, athletes, crazed aunts with gambling problems, the true significance of sports, the worst possible thing to say in a room full of pregnant women-no topic is beyond his reach. But don't take our word on it, read what Greeny has to say about: * Dating: "People who reminisce fondly about dating are blocking out all the disasters and focusing only on the few great nights. If that is all you choose to remember, fine. But be aware that no experience is without good moments. I'm sure during the sacking of Rome there were a few decent nights; maybe they put on a play." * Life on the road: "Wife + television = no sleep." "No wife + no television = no sleep." "Wife + no television = sleep." "No wife + television = porn." * Keeping things in perspective: "Never assume you know more than the guy in the camouflage tux." * And, of course, marriage: "All of us are married to women who think we're idiots." Whether he's talking trash on the radio or talking dirty diapers over a fancy dinner, Greeny's determined to reconcile two halves of a whole. So if your enthusiasm has ever been curbed, or you're feeling remote without the remote, or you're just wondering what exactly goes on in a guy's brain, Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot will be a source of comfort and unadulterated laughter.
why niebuhr matters
by Charles LemertReinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was a Protestant preacher, an influential religious thinker, and an important moral guide in mid-twentieth-century America. But what does he have to say to us now? In what way does he inform the thinking of political leaders and commentators from Barack Obama and Madeleine Albright to David Brooks and Walter Russell Mead, all of whom acknowledge his influence? In this lively overview of Niebuhr's career, Charles Lemert analyzes why interest in Niebuhr is rising and how Niebuhr provides the answers we ache for in the face of seismic shifts in the global order. In the middle of the twentieth century, having outgrown a theological liberalism, Niebuhr challenged and rethought the nonsocialist Left in American politics. He developed a political realism that refused to sacrifice ideals to mere pragmatism, or politics to bitterness and greed. He examined the problem of morality in an immoral society and reimagined the balance between rights and freedom for the individual and social justice for the many. With brevity and deep insight, Lemert shows how Niebuhr's ideas illuminate our most difficult questions today.
Why Niebuhr Now?
by John Patrick DigginsBarack Obama has called him "one of my favorite philosophers. " John McCain wrote that he is "a paragon of clarity about the costs of a good war. " Andrew Sullivan has said, "We need Niebuhr now more than ever. " For a theologian who died in 1971, Reinhold Niebuhr is maintaining a remarkably high profile in the twenty-first century. In Why Niebuhr Now? acclaimed historian John Patrick Diggins tackles the complicated question of why, at a time of great uncertainty about America's proper role in the world, leading politicians and thinkers are turning to Niebuhr for answers. Diggins begins by clearly and carefully working through Niebuhr's theology, which focuses less on God's presence than his absence--and the ways that absence abets the all-too-human sin of pride. He then shows how that theology informed Niebuhr's worldview, leading him to be at the same time a strong opponent of fascism and communism and a leading advocate for humility and caution in foreign policy. Turning to the present, Diggins highlights what he argues is a misuse of Niebuhr's legacy on both the right and the left: while neoconservatives distort Niebuhr's arguments to support their call for an endless war on terror in the name of stopping evil, many liberal interventionists conveniently ignore Niebuhr's fundamental doubts about power. Ultimately, Niebuhr's greatest lesson is that, while it is our duty to struggle for good, we must at the same time be wary of hubris, remembering the limits of our understanding. The final work from a distinguished writer who spent his entire career reflecting on America's history and promise, Why Niebuhr Now? is a compact and perceptive book that will be the starting point for all future discussions of Niebuhr.
Why Not?
by Ray RobertsonFeatured on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.SHORTLISTED FOR THE $60,000 HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTIONLonglisted for the $25,000 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction."Clear-eyed ... Robertson is no stranger to confronting unsavoury truths."-Steven Beattie, That Shakespearean Rag"Many of us sense that the world has too many moving parts and can become utterly defeated. Ray Robertson found a 'road back' in this splendid and intriguing book." -Jim HarrisonShortly after completing his sixth novel, Ray Robertson suffered a depression of suicidal intensity. Soon after his recover, he decided to try and answer two of the biggest questions we can ask. What makes humans happy? And what makes a life worth living?His answers aren't what you might expect from a mental illness memoir-but they're exactly what you'd expect from Ray Robertson. With the vitality of Nick Hornby and a brashness all his own, Robertson runs his hands over life, death, intoxication, and art. Unashamedly working-class and unabashedly literary, Why Not? is a rolling, rocking, anti-Sisyphean odyssey.Ray Robertson is the celebrated author of eight books and six novels, including What Happened Later, about Jack Kerouac's last years. He lives and writes in Toronto, Ontario.
Why Not, Lafayette?
by Jean FritzTraces the life of the French nobleman who fought for democracy in revolutions in both the United States and France.
Why Not Me?
by Mindy KalingFrom the author of the beloved New York Times bestselling book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and the creator and star of The Mindy Project comes a collection of essays that are as hilarious and insightful as they are deeply personal. In Why Not Me?, Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it's falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you're constantly reminded that no one looks like you. In "How to Look Spectacular: A Starlet's Confessions," Kaling gives her tongue-in-cheek secrets for surefire on-camera beauty, ("Your natural hair color may be appropriate for your skin tone, but this isn't the land of appropriate-this is Hollywood, baby. Out here, a dark-skinned woman's traditional hair color is honey blonde.") "Player" tells the story of Kaling being seduced and dumped by a female friend in L.A. ("I had been replaced by a younger model. And now they had matching bangs.") In "Unlikely Leading Lady," she muses on America's fixation with the weight of actresses, ("Most women we see onscreen are either so thin that they're walking clavicles or so huge that their only scenes involve them breaking furniture.") And in "Soup Snakes," Kaling spills some secrets on her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and close friend, B.J. Novak ("I will freely admit: my relationship with B.J. Novak is weird as hell.") Mindy turns the anxieties, the glamour, and the celebrations of her second coming-of-age into a laugh-out-loud funny collection of essays that anyone who's ever been at a turning point in their life or career can relate to. And those who've never been at a turning point can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bradley Cooper.
Why Not Me?: The Battle for My Life and My Baby
by Mandy McMillanMandy McMillan was not a fighter. She was ordinary: a hairdresser, a party girl, a bit of a coward when it came to all things medical. The worst she'd ever fought was a cold. Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27 - the second in her group of five friends to be struck down by the disease. She'd had a one in 1,900 chance of getting it. Her cancer was incurable; chemotherapy almost killed her, her body was so ravaged that she almost gave up, but Mandy battled on. Her one stroke of good fortune? The arrival of new wonder-drug, Herceptin. Then a miracle happened: Mandy gave birth to Britain's first Herceptin baby, a little girl conceived, carried and born to a mum on long-term treatment. A drug saved Mandy McMillan, now a daughter called Holly is keeping her alive. And she will fight every single day to see her child grow up.
Why Not Me?: The Battle for My Life and My Baby
by Mandy McmillanMandy McMillan was not a fighter. She was ordinary: a hairdresser, a party girl, a bit of a coward when it came to all things medical. The worst she'd ever fought was a cold. Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27 - the second in her group of five friends to be struck down by the disease. She'd had a one in 1,900 chance of getting it. Her cancer was incurable; chemotherapy almost killed her, her body was so ravaged that she almost gave up, but Mandy battled on. Her one stroke of good fortune? The arrival of new wonder-drug, Herceptin. Then a miracle happened: Mandy gave birth to Britain's first Herceptin baby, a little girl conceived, carried and born to a mum on long-term treatment. A drug saved Mandy McMillan, now a daughter called Holly is keeping her alive. And she will fight every single day to see her child grow up.
Why Not Me?: A True Story about a Miracle in Miami
by Raymond Rodriguez-TorresWhy Not Me? describes, in a very inspirational tone, how Raymond believes there is a divine purpose for everything. Raymond is an executive who dedicates his free time to helping cancer families and others to live lives of purpose, balance & victory. He holds the title of Sir. Knight in the Knights of Columbus and enjoys giving back to his community. He lives in Miami with his daughters and his wife Shannah.
Why Not Me?: A Story of Love and Loss
by Barbara WantRuthlessly honest memoir of a widow's pain in coming to terms with the death of her husband.This haunting memoir of grief recounts the death from cancer of Nick Clarke, much-loved BBC radio presenter of THE WORLD AT ONE - and the aftermath - from his widow Barbara's point of view. With painful honesty, Barbara lays open her ambivalent feelings about the illness as it progressed, and her instinctive fear that this would be the end. As he got sicker, her fear grew, until he died an unfeasibly short time after his diagnosis.Barbara chronicles in unflinching prose her life after his death. A howl of anguish and anger, she describes how many of her friends and colleagues don't call, and don't offer support - how alone she is, and how she struggles to explain the unexplainable to her young twin sons. She has a breakdown, and a short-lived relationship (met with condemnation from some of her friends), but knows the process of dealing with her grief is barely beginning.A ruthlessly honest dissection of a widow's pain, this book is also a love story - an uncomfortably raw, utterly compelling memoir which ends without resolution; its author still fighting to come to terms with the hand life has dealt her.
Why Not Me?: A Story of Love and Loss
by Barbara WantRuthlessly honest memoir of a widow's pain in coming to terms with the death of her husband.This haunting memoir of grief recounts the death from cancer of Nick Clarke, much-loved BBC radio presenter of THE WORLD AT ONE - and the aftermath - from his widow Barbara's point of view. With painful honesty, Barbara lays open her ambivalent feelings about the illness as it progressed, and her instinctive fear that this would be the end. As he got sicker, her fear grew, until he died an unfeasibly short time after his diagnosis.Barbara chronicles in unflinching prose her life after his death. A howl of anguish and anger, she describes how many of her friends and colleagues don't call, and don't offer support - how alone she is, and how she struggles to explain the unexplainable to her young twin sons. She has a breakdown, and a short-lived relationship (met with condemnation from some of her friends), but knows the process of dealing with her grief is barely beginning.A ruthlessly honest dissection of a widow's pain, this book is also a love story - an uncomfortably raw, utterly compelling memoir which ends without resolution; its author still fighting to come to terms with the hand life has dealt her.
Why Not Say What Happened: A Sentimental Education
by Morris DicksteinA renowned cultural critic tells his own deeply engaging story of growing up in the turbulent American culture of the postwar decades. At once a coming-of-age story, an intellectual autobiography, and vivid cultural history, Why Not Say What Happened is an eloquent, gripping account of an intellectual and emotional education from one of our leading critics. In this "acutely observed, slyly funny memoir" (Molly Haskell), Morris Dickstein evokes his boisterous and close-knit Jewish family, his years as a yeshiva student that eventually led to fierce rebellion, his teenage adventures in the Catskills and in a Zionist summer camp, and the later education that thrust him into a life-changing world of ideas and far-reaching literary traditions. Dickstein brilliantly depicts the tension between the parochial religious world of his youth and the siren call of a larger cosmopolitan culture, a rebellion that manifested itself in a yarmulka replaced by Yankees cap, a Shakespeare play concealed behind a heavy tractate of the Talmud, and classes cut on Wednesday afternoons to take in the Broadway theater. Tracing a path from the Lower East Side to Columbia University, Yale, and Cambridge, Dickstein leaves home, travels widely, and falls in love, breaking through to new experiences of intimacy and sexual awakening, only to be brought low by emotional conflicts that beset him as a graduate student--homesickness, a sense of cultural dislocation--issues that come to a head during a troubled year abroad. In Why Not Say What Happened we see Dickstein come into his own as a teacher and writer deeply engaged with poetry: the "daringly modern" Blake, the bittersweet "negotiations of time and loss" in Wordsworth, and the "shifting turns of consciousness itself" in Keats. While eloquently evoking the tumult of the sixties and a culture in flux, Why Not Say What Happened is enlivened by Dickstein's "Zelig-like presence at nearly every significant aesthetic and political turning of the second half of the American twentieth century" (Cynthia Ozick). Dickstein crafts memorable portraits of his own mentors and legendary teachers like Lionel Trilling, Peter Gay, F. R. Leavis, and Harold Bloom, who become inimitable role models. They provide him with a world-class understanding of how to read and nourish his burgeoning feeling for literature and history. In the tradition of classic memoirs by Alfred Kazin and Irving Howe, this frank and revealing story, at once keenly personal and broadly cultural, sheds light on the many different forms education can take.
Why Not Say What Happened?
by Ivana LowellBeautiful, intelligent and wealthy, Ivana Lowell seemed to have it all. Part of the Guinness dynasty, her family were glamorous and well-connected. Her charismatic but spoilt grandmother Maureen had made an excellent marriage with the Lord of Dufferin and Avon and was a leader of the fashionable set in her youth. Her mother, the writer Caroline Blackwood, socialised with the most glitteringly bohemian and high-profile figures of New York and London. Caroline had intense love affairs and was married to the painter Lucian Freud and the talented composer Israel Citkowitz before finally settling down with the poet Robert Lowell. However, being born into the Guinness inheritance was not the blessing that it appeared to be. Ivana's life of glamour and high-living has been marked by tragedy and loss. Like her brilliant but troubled mother, she has been plagued by an addiction to alcohol which took root when she was still a self-conscious schoolgirl. Having survived a childhood accident which left her physically scarred and the instability of a frenetic home life, she is also faced with the discovery of a secret which threatens to undermine her entire past. This frank and witty memoir is both vibrant and sad. It is laced with anecdotes and familiar names from the 1940s to the present, but it is ultimately an account of the relationship between mother and daughter, the story of two women whose deep affection for each other withstands everything that life has to throw at them.
Why Not the Best? The First Fifty Years
by Jimmy CarterIn this autobiography, Jimmy Carter details the youth and experiences that led him to seek the highest office in the land. He describes his idyllic childhood, his naval career, his strong Christian underpinnings, and the values of his mother and father.
Why Peacocks?: An Unlikely Search for Meaning in the World's Most Magnificent Bird
by Sean FlynnAn acclaimed journalist seeks to understand the mysterious allure of peacocks—and in the process discovers unexpected and valuable life lessons.When Sean Flynn&’s neighbor in North Carolina texted &“Any chance you guys want a peacock? No kidding!&” he stared bewilderedly at his phone. He had never considered whether he wanted a peacock. But as an award-winning magazine writer, this kind of mystery intrigued him. So he, his wife, and their two young sons became the owners of not one but three charming yet fickle birds: Carl, Ethel, and Mr. Pickle. In Why Peacocks?, Flynn chronicles his hilarious and heartwarming first year as a peacock owner, from struggling to build a pen to assisting the local bird doctor in surgery to triumphantly watching a peahen lay her first egg. He also examines the history of peacocks, from their appearance in the Garden of Eden to their befuddling Charles Darwin to their bewitching the likes of Flannery O&’Connor and Martha Stewart. And fueled by a reporter&’s curiosity, he travels across the globe to learn more about the birds firsthand, with stops including a Scottish castle where peacocks have resided for centuries, a southern California community tormented by a serial killer of peacocks, and a Kansas City airport hotel hosting an annual gathering of true peafowl aficionados. At turns comically absurd and deeply poignant, Why Peacocks? blends lively, insightful memoir and illuminating science journalism to answer the title&’s question. More than that, it offers surprising lessons about love, grief, fatherhood, and family.