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Valor: The American Odyssey of Roy Dominguez
by Rogelio "Roy" DominguezThe son of Hispanic immigrants, Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez grew up in gang-plagued Gary, Indiana. With strong family support, he managed to beat the odds, graduating with distinction from Indiana University, finishing law school after a rough start, and maturing into a successful attorney and officeholder. Yet there was more in store for Roy. Ready to start a family and embark on a career as a deputy prosecutor, he was stricken with Guillain-Barré syndrome. How he coped with and eventually overcame this debilitating affliction is a compelling part of his story. The experience steeled him to meet future crises with wisdom, perspective, and grit. An inspiring true story, Valor is also a significant and original contribution to the social, ethnic, and political history of Indiana.
Valor: Unsung Heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front
by Mark Lee GreenblattValor features the thrilling stories that are the fruit of Mark Lee Greenblatt&’s interviews with brave American servicemen from twenty-first-century wars. These soldiers, sailors, and Marines have risked their lives several times over for their country as well as for their fellow troops and civilians. Still, until now, their stories have largely gone unnoticed by the public, perhaps lost in the frenzied and often nasty debate surrounding those conflicts. As the author writes, &“This generation does not have an Audie Murphy. I set out to change that with this book.&” Detailing incredible and evocative feats—including an Army pilot who rescued two fellow pilots from a deadly crash in hostile territory and strapped himself to the helicopter&’s exterior for the flight to the hospital—Greenblatt provides glimpses into the minds of these men as they face gut-wrenching decisions and overcome enormous odds.However, this book is much more than tales of riveting action. Each chapter goes beyond linear combat stories to explore each hero&’s motivations, dreams, and the genuine emotions that were evoked in the face of extreme danger. Readers will be transported to a variety of settings—from close-quarters urban fighting in Iraq to mountainside ambushes in rural Afghanistan to a midnight rescue in the middle of the Atlantic—as they accompany the men who do not see themselves as heroes but as patriots in the line of duty.
Valorizing the Barbarians
by Eric AdlerWith the growth of postcolonial theory in recent decades, scholarly views of Roman imperialism and colonialism have been evolving and shifting. Much recent discussion of the topic has centered on the ways in which ancient Roman historians consciously or unconsciously denigrated non-Romans. Similarly, contemporary scholars have downplayed Roman elite anxiety about their empire’s expansion. In this groundbreaking new work, Eric Adler explores the degree to which ancient historians of Rome were capable of valorizing foreigners and presenting criticisms of their own society. By examining speeches put into the mouths of barbarian leaders by a variety of writers, he investigates how critical of the empire these historians could be. Adler examines pairs of speeches purportedly delivered by non-Roman leaders so that the contrast between them might elucidate each writer’s sense of imperialism. Analyses of Sallust’s and Trogus’s treatments of the Eastern ruler Mithradates, Polybius’s and Livy’s speeches from Carthage’s Hannibal, and Tacitus’s and Cassius Dio’s accounts of the oratory of the Celtic warrior queen Boudica form the core of this study. Adler supplements these with examinations of speeches from other characters, as well as contextual narrative from the historians. Throughout, Adler wrestles with broader issues of Roman imperialism and historiography, including administrative greed and corruption in the provinces, the treatment of gender and sexuality, and ethnic stereotyping.
Values of the Game
by Bill BradleyThis New York Times bestseller offers &“slam-dunk lessons in teamwork and character&” from the NBA hall of famer and former US senator (People). Bill Bradley, whose varied career highlights include a gold-medal win in the Olympics, two world championship victories with the New York Knicks, and three terms as a US senator from New Jersey, writes here about the game that helped form his philosophies for success in basketball and in life. Each chapter is devoted to a value that is fundamental to Bradley&’s vision of a purposeful life: passion, discipline, selflessness, respect, perspective, courage, leadership, responsibility, resilience, and imagination. In each, he illustrates these principles with personal anecdotes and observations, creating a concise philosophical treatise that readers can apply to their own lives. With an introduction by Bradley&’s friend and teammate Phil Jackson, this &“love letter to basketball . . . is every bit as prescient, thoughtful, and just plain valuable a work as you&’d expect from a man who never approaches any task without a full commitment&” (The Boston Globe). &“Bradley hits nothing but net with Values of the Game. Call it The Book of Virtues meets hardwood.&” —USA Today &“This may be the single most important present a parent can give a sports-loving child.&” —The Dallas Morning News
Vamos todos morrer: Biografias breves de gente que já morreu
by Hugo van der DingNÃO VALE A PENA ESPERAR OUTRA COISA DA VIDA A NÃO SER O SEU FIM. PORÉM, COMO DIZIA CAMÕES, HÁ AQUELES QUE SE VÃO DA LEI DA MORTE LIBERTANDO. DA RUBRICA DIÁRIA DA ANTENA 3 PARA O LIVRO, VAMOS TODOS MORRER, DE HUGO VAN DER DING, OFERECE-NOS NOTAS NECROLÓGICAS DE ANTOLOGIA. UMA PROVA DE QUE O HUMOR E A CULTURA NÃO SÃO MUTUAMENTE EXCLUSIVAS. Joana d'Arc, Pablo Escobar, Maria Antonieta, Santo António, Rosa Parks, Napoleão, Ada Lovelace, Saramago, Lucrécia Bórgia, Jesus Cristo, Sartre, Lady Di, Bob Marley: todos mortos. Não vale a pena esperar outra coisa da vida a não ser o seu fim. Porém, como dizia Camões, há aqueles que se vão da lei da morte libertando e, em vez de irem fazer tijolo, fazem História - nem sempre pelas razões mais nobres, mas é, provavelmente, para o lado que dormem melhor. Com as suas notas necrológicas dignas de antologia, Hugo van der Ding demonstra, todas as manhãs, na rubrica Vamos Todos Morrer da Antena 3, e, agora, com este livro, que nem a História tem de ser um relato aborrecido e soporífero dos grandes feitos e acontecimentos, nem o entretenimento tem de ser um atentado a todos os nossos neurónios. Até ao fecho do presente livro, das 141 almas que foram desta para melhor e cujas venturas são aqui descritas, nem uma reclamou do obituário que lhe calhou em sorte.
Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror
by W. Scott PooleThe new book from award-winning historian W. Scott Poole is a whip-smart piece of pop culture detailing the story of cult horror figure Vampira that actually tells the much wider story of 1950s America and its treatment of women and sex, as well as capturing a fascinating swath of Los Angeles history.In Vampire, Poole gives us the eclectic life of the dancer, stripper, actress, and artist Maila Nurmi, who would reinvent herself as Vampira during the backdrop of 1950s America, an era of both chilling conformity and the nascent rumblings of the countercultural response that led from the Beats and free jazz to the stirring of the LGBT movement and the hardcore punk scene in the bohemian enclave along Melrose Avenue. A veteran of the New York stage and late nights at Hollywood's hipster hangouts, Nurmi would eventually be linked to Elvis, Orson Welles, and James Dean, as well as stylist and photographer Rudi Gernreich, founder of the Mattachine Society and designer of the thong. Thanks to rumors of a romance between Vampira and James Dean, his tragic death inspired the circulation of stories that she had cursed him and, better yet, had access to his dead body for use in her dark arts.In Poole's expert hands, Vampira is more than the story of a highly creative artist continually reinventing herself, but a parable of the runaway housewife bursting the bounds of our straight-laced conventions with an exuberant display of camp, sex, and creative individuality that owed something to the morbid New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams, the evil queen from Disney's Snow White, and the popular, underground bondage magazine Bizarre, and forward to the staged excesses of Madonna and Lady Gaga. Vampira is a wildly compelling tour through a forgotten piece of pop cultural history, one with both cultish and literary merit, sure to capture the imagination of Vampira fans new and old.
Vampire Boys: True Tales from Operators of the RAF's First Single-Engined Jet
by Charlotte BaileySliding out of the shadows of World War Two, the de Havilland Vampire – accompanied by the distinctive whine of its Goblin engine – quickly proved itself an effective alternative to piston-powered fighters. After entering operational service with the RAF (as the service’s first single-engined jet) in 1946, the Vampire – sought by air forces the world over – held a number of notable records: the first fighter to exceed 500 mph, the first to set a world altitude record of almost 60,000 ft, the first jet to take off and land from an aircraft carrier, and the first jet to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Not bad for something built partly of wood. Throughout these pages, the ‘Vampire Boys’ bring to life the trials and tribulations of operating a first-generation jet across the globe. Through their insightful anecdotes and exceptional experiences, the reader can follow squadrons across the dusty deserts of Iraq to exercises in West Germany. First-hand tales of training, aerial handling, incidents and accidents (including the much-maligned spin characteristics) and squadron life – accompanied by unique images – bring together a portrait of a pioneering time in aviation advancement, right up to the present day with the T.11 still flying from Coventry Airport.
Vampire: The Richard Chase Murders (WildBlue Press True Crime)
by Kevin SullivanThe author of The Bundy Murders tells the harrowing true story of &“one of the most bizarre serial killers in America&” (Katherine Ramsland, bestselling author of Confession of a Serial Killer). A city under siege, held captive while a psychopathic vampire serial killer instills fear in its residents, taunts the authorities, and brutally kills his victims. This book is a chilling and stomach-churning look into the life of a twisted, sick man, so evil one would wonder if he was even human. From his early days when he would liquify rabbits in a blender to drink their intestines and blood to mutilating his victims, his thirst for killing could not be satiated. This is the story of Richard Trenton Chase, the Vampire of Sacramento. It is not for the faint of heart. &“Fraught with emotion and detail . . . a must have book for all true crime enthusiasts and collectors.&” —RJ Parker, award-winning author of Escaped Killer &“Sullivan has written a fascinating account of an abnormal psyche of egregious proportions, and captures the very essence of Richard Chase&’s monstrous crime spree the citizens of Sacramento will never forget.&” —Gary C. King, author of Love, Lies, and Murder
Van Gogh (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists)
by Mike VeneziaThis easy to follow biography is great for all ages of Vincent Van Gogh the master of brining paintings to life. Talks about his life, and details his work in simple language for children and beginners to the art world. Worth a look if you are an art lover.
Van Gogh and the Artists He Loved
by Steven NaifehThe compelling story of how Vincent van Gogh developed his audacious, iconic style by immersing himself in the work of others, featuring hundreds of paintings by Van Gogh as well as the artists who inspired him—from the New York Times bestselling co-author of Van Gogh: The Life&“Important . . . inspires us to look at Van Gogh and his art afresh.&”—Dr. Chris Stolwijk, general director, RKD–Netherlands Institute for Art History Vincent van Gogh&’s paintings look utterly unique—his vivid palette and boldly interpretive portraits are unmistakably his. Yet however revolutionary his style may have been, it was actually built on a strong foundation of paintings by other artists, both his contemporaries and those who came before him. Now, drawing on Van Gogh&’s own thoughtful and often profound comments about the painters he venerated, Steven Naifeh gives a gripping account of the artist&’s deep engagement with their work. We see Van Gogh&’s gradual discovery of the subjects he would make famous, from wheat fields to sunflowers. We watch him experimenting with the loose brushwork and bright colors used by Édouard Manet, studying the Pointillist dots used by Georges Seurat, and emulating the powerful depictions of the peasant farmers painted by Jean-François Millet, all vividly illustrated in nearly three hundred full-color images of works by Van Gogh and a variety of other major artists, including Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, positioned side by side. Thanks to the vast correspondence from Van Gogh to his beloved brother, Theo, Naifeh, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is able to reconstruct Van Gogh&’s artistic world from within. Observed in eloquent prose that is as compelling as it is authoritative, Van Gogh and the Artists He Loved enables us to share the artist&’s journey as he created his own daring, influential, and widely beloved body of work.
Van Gogh and the Post-Impressionists for Kids: Their Lives and Ideas, 21 Activities
by Carol SabbethVincent van Gogh's admiration for and departure from Impressionism and his relationships with the other enthusiastic, like-minded artists who ultimately formed the Post-Impressionist movement are explained and explored in this collection of art activities for kids. Debunking the persistent stereotype of the mad pauper who cut off his ear, van Gogh is revealed as the serious boy who loved nature and reading and spoke four languages; the young man who took great satisfaction in the study of art, his successful career as a gallery salesman, and the "brotherhood of artists" he helped to create; and the increasingly troubled and ill man who cared deeply for family and friends and tried in vain to recover. Through a series of fun and creative projects, such as a Starry Night Peep Box, a Pointillist Sailboat, and a Japanese Fold-out Album, kids will be exposed to such art as van Gogh's vibrant landscapes, Paul Signac's Mediterranean Sea images in dazzling dots, and Paul Gauguin's tropical landscapes in unnatural colors. Aspiring young artists and history buffs will learn whether or not these famous painters always got along, how they helped each other in the process, and what made Post-Impressionist art unlike anything ever painted.
Van Gogh on Art and Artists: Letters to Emile Bernard
by Vincent Van GoghThese letters, written from 1887 to 1889, are among the most important and relevant sources of insight into van Gogh's life and art. 23 missives, accompanied by reproductions of a number of his major paintings and facsimiles from his letters, radiate their author's impulsiveness, intensity, and mysticism. Chronology. Select Bibliography. Index. 32 full-page black-and-white illustrations.
Van Gogh's Ear
by Bernadette MurphyThe best-known and most sensational event in Vincent van Gogh's life is also the least understood. For more than a century, biographers and historians seeking definitive facts about what happened on a December night in Arles have unearthed more questions than answers. Why would an artist at the height of his powers commit such a brutal act? Who was the mysterious "Rachel" to whom he presented his macabre gift? Did he use a razor or a knife? Was it just a segment--or did Van Gogh really lop off his entire ear? In Van Gogh's Ear, Bernadette Murphy reveals, for the first time, the true story of this long-misunderstood incident, sweeping away decades of myth and giving us a glimpse of a troubled but brilliant artist at his breaking point. Murphy's detective work takes her from Europe to the United States and back, from the holdings of major museums to the moldering contents of forgotten archives. She braids together her own thrilling journey of discovery with a narrative of Van Gogh's life in Arles, the sleepy Provençal town where he created his finest work, and vividly reconstructs the world in which he moved--the madams and prostitutes, café patrons and police inspectors, shepherds and bohemian artists. We encounter Van Gogh's brother and benefactor Theo, his guest and fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and many local subjects of Van Gogh's paintings, some of whom Murphy identifies for the first time. Strikingly, Murphy uncovers previously unknown information about "Rachel"--and uses it to propose a bold new hypothesis about what was occurring in Van Gogh's heart and mind as he made a mysterious delivery to her doorstep. As it reopens one of art history's most famous cold cases, Van Gogh's Ear becomes a fascinating work of detection. It is also a study of a painter creating his most iconic and revolutionary work, pushing himself ever closer to greatness even as he edged toward madness--and one fateful sweep of the blade that would resonate through the ages.
Van Gogh's Progress: Utopia, Modernity, and Late-Nineteenth-Century Art (California Studies in the History of Art #36)
by Carol ZemelThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1997.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived</DIV
Van Gogh: La vida
by Steven Naifeh Gregory White SmithPor fin, el retrato completo del incomparable maestro. Vida, muerte y genialidad de la mano de dos ganadores del premio Pulitzer Van Gogh trabajó como marchante de arte con escaso éxito, intentó convertirse en predicador, hizo incursiones como ilustrador de revistas y, por último, tuvo una carrera de pintor tan brillante como corta. Cuando murió en Francia a los 37 años sus cuadros se amontonaban, sin que casi nadie los mirase, en los armarios, desvanes y habitaciones de sus parientes, amigos y acreedores. Sin embargo, en su breve y tempestuosa vida, Vincent van Gogh había cambiado el curso del arte occidental para siempre. Trabajando con la plena colaboración del Museo Van Gogh de Ámsterdam, Steven Naifeh y Gregory White Smith, ganadores del Premio Pulitzer por su biografía de Jackson Pollock, han tenido acceso a materiales inéditos, incluyendo correspondencia familiar hasta ahora desconocida, para recrear, con increíble viveza y una sorprendente precisión psicológica, la extraordinaria vida del pintor. Los autores arrojan nueva luz sobre muchos de los aspectos inexplorados de la existencia de Van Gogh: su permanente lucha para encontrar su lugar en el mundo, su intensa relación con su hermano Theo, su errática y tumultuosa vida sentimental y sus ataques de depresión y problemas mentales. Ofrecen además un convincente e inesperado relato sobre las circunstancias de su muerte que da un vuelco a las teorías manejadas hasta ahora. Esta monumental biografía es, sin duda, el retrato definitivo de uno de los grandes genios de la historia del arte. La crítica ha dicho...«Para esta generación, el retrato definitivo del pintor. El logro más importante de Naifeh y Smith es haber logrado un ajuste de cuentas con la -locura- ocasional de Van Gogh que no pierde de vista la lucidez y la inteligencia -la profunda cordura- de su arte.»Time «Una biografía que se lee como una novela, llena de suspense y detalles íntimos.»The Washington Post «En su magistral nueva biografía Steven Naifeh y Gregory White Smith ofrecen una visita guiada por el mundo personal y la obra de este pintor holandés, iluminando la evolución de su arte a la vez que elaboran una teoría sobre su muerte destinada a crear controversia.»The New York Times «Cautivador... Los autores reconstruyen vívidamente las historias entrelazadas de su vida y su arte, retratándolo como una "víctima de su propio corazón fanático". Su excelente libro tiene el potencial no sólo de revitalizar el interés popular por Van Gogh, sino de presentar a uno de los espíritus más valiosos de la historia del arte a toda una nueva generación.»The Wall Street Journal «Una nueva teoría sobre la muerte de Vincent van Gogh puede acabar reescribiendo la historia del arte... Después de leer cientos de documentos, de libros traducidos para ellos por el museo Van Gogh y de recorrer la correspondencia del artista, la obra dibuja a un hombre más complejo de lo mostrado hasta la fecha.»El País
Van Gogh: The Life
by Steven Naifeh Gregory White SmithSteven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, who galvanized readers with their Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of Jackson Pollock, have written another tour de force—an exquisitely detailed, compellingly readable portrait of Vincent van Gogh. Working with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Naifeh and Smith have accessed a wealth of previously untapped materials to bring a crucial understanding to the larger-than-life mythology of this great artist: his early struggles to find his place in the world; his intense relationship with his brother Theo; and his move to Provence, where he painted some of the best-loved works in Western art. The authors also shed new light on many unexplored aspects of Van Gogh’s inner world: his erratic and tumultuous romantic life; his bouts of depression and mental illness; and the cloudy circumstances surrounding his death at the age of thirty-seven. Though countless books have been written about Van Gogh, no serious, ambitious examination of his life has been attempted in more than seventy years. Naifeh and Smith have re-created Van Gogh’s life with an astounding vividness and psychological acuity that bring a completely new and sympathetic understanding to this unique artistic genius. NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER Praise forVan Gogh: The Life “Magisterial. ”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “This generation’s definitive portrait of the great Dutch post-Impressionist. ”—Time “A tour de force . . . an enormous achievement . . . Reading his life story is like riding an endless roller coaster of delusional highs and lows. . . . [A] sweepingly authoritative, astonishingly textured book. ”—Los Angeles Times “Marvelous . . . [Van Gogh] reads like a novel, full of suspense and intimate detail. . . . In beautiful prose, Naifeh and Smith argue convincingly for a subtler, more realistic evaluation of Van Gogh, and we all win. ”—The Washington Post “Brilliant . . . At once a model of scholarship and an emotive, pacy chunk of hagiography. ”—The Daily Telegraph(London) ANEW YORK TIMESNOTABLE BOOK NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYTHE WASHINGTON POST • THE WALL STREET JOURNAL • SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE• NPR •THE ECONOMIST • NEWSDAY• BOOKREPORTER
Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal
by Greg RenoffAfter years of gigging everywhere from suburban backyards to dive bars, Van Halen - led by frontman extraordinaire David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen - had the songs, the swagger and the talent to turn the rock world on its ear. The quartet's classic 1978 debut, Van Halen, sold more than a million copies within months of release and sky-rocketed the band to the stratosphere of rock success. Their high-energy shows left fans and bands alike floored. Based on more than 230 original interviews, Van Halen Rising tells of the band's electric rise to fame.
Vance Packard and American Social Criticism
by Daniel HorowitzVance Packard's bestselling books--Hidden Persuaders (1957), Status Seekers (1959), and Waste Makers (1960)--taught the generation that came of age in the late 1950s and early 1960s about the dangers posed by advertising, social climbing, and planned obsolescence. Like Betty Friedan and William H. Whyte, Jr., Packard (1914- ) was a journalist who played an important role in the nation's transition from the largely complacent 1950s to the tumultuous 1960s. He was also one of the first social critics to benefit from and foster the newly energized social and political consciousness of this period. Based in part on interviews with Packard, Daniel Horowitz's intellectual biography focuses on the period during which Packard left magazine writing to author his most famous works of social criticism. Horowitz traces the influence of Packard's education and early years in rural Pennsylvania, providing a deeper understanding of his thought and his later books. Packard's life, Horowitz contends, illuminates the dilemmas of a freelance social critic without inherited wealth or academic affiliation. His career also expands our understanding of how one era shaped the next, underscoring how the adversarial 1960s drew on the mass culture of the previous decade.Originally published in 1994.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Vancouver Blue
by Wayne CopeWayne Cope has TV to blame for starting him on his long career as an officer of the Vancouver Police Department. He grew up watching gunslingers like James Arness and Richard Boone, inspiring him to join up even before he finished college-and his real-life working career has turned out to be more exciting than he could have hoped. In his years on the force from 1975 to 2006, Cope has seen practically everything on the ever-changing streets of Vancouver-he's worked as a jailer and a traffic cop, talked people down from bridges, worked on dog squads, gone undercover in pursuit of serious criminals and worked the historical unsolved homicide unit. And behind each assignment, there's a story, a joke or a revealing insight into the realities of police work. In Vancouver Blue, Cope shares pearls of wisdom and anecdotes inspired by his years on the force, describing some of the most outlandish costumes for undercover drug purchases, many different ways to total a brand-new motorbike, and the precise ratio of competent officers to idiots in any given squad. He also sheds light on the behind-the-scenes life of VPD officers and their off-duty antics. Cope also provides detailed accounts of some of his most fascinating cases, like the sensational Centrefold Murder and the infamous killing of the Stanley Park flamingoes. For those looking for even more insight into the mind of a detective, Cope has created a cipher with a theme inspired by the book, offering a reward of five Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins to the first person to break the code.
Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
by Anderson Cooper Katherine HoweNew York Times bestselling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty—his mother’s family, the Vanderbilts. <P><P>When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father’s small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money, build two empires—one in shipping and another in railroads—that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by “the Commodore,” subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers—the seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius’s grandson and namesake had built—the family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all. <P><P>Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family’s empire, basked in the Commodore’s wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other. <P><P>Written with a unique insider’s viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures. <P><P><b>A New York Times Best Seller</b>
Vanessa & Virginia: A Novel
by Susan Sellers Jenny BrownThis novel of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell &“captures the sisters&’ seesaw dynamic as they vacillate between protecting and hurting each other&” (The Christian Science Monitor). You see, even after all these years, I wonder if you really loved me. Vanessa and Virginia are sisters, best friends, bitter rivals, and artistic collaborators. As children, they fight for the attention of their overextended mother, their brilliant but difficult father, and their adored brother, Thoby. As young women, they support each other through a series of devastating deaths, then emerge in bohemian Bloomsbury, bent on creating new lives and groundbreaking works of art. Through everything—marriage, lovers, loss, madness, children, success and failure—the sisters remain the closest of co-conspirators. But they also betray each other. In this lyrical, impressionistic account, written as a love letter and an elegy from Vanessa to Virginia, Susan Sellers imagines her way into the heart of the lifelong relationship between writer Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell. With sensitivity and fidelity to what is known of both lives, Sellers has created a powerful portrait of sibling rivalry, and &“beautifully imagines what it must have meant to be a gifted artist yoked to a sister of dangerous, provocative genius&” (Cleveland Plain Dealer). &“A delectable little book for anyone who ever admired the Bloomsbury group. . . . A genuine treat.&” —Publishers Weekly
Vanessa Bares All: The hilarious and inspiring official autobiography from the queen of British entertainment
by Vanessa FeltzThe heartfelt, witty and inspiring first and only autobiography from one of Britain's most beloved celebrities. 'Raw and revelatory' Sunday Times'Showbiz memoir of the year' Daily Express'A rip roaring and honest story that pulls absolutely no punches' Best'A treasure trove of gems which even Elton John would be jealous of.' Daily MirrorYou think you already know all there is to know about Vanessa? You don't know the half of it.Brace yourself for the achingly funny, deeply moving untold story: the behind-the-scenes lowdown on the parents who planned her wedding before she could walk, how she became the nation's second-most-famous fat person, life as the British Oprah, feuding with Madonna and Miss Piggy aboard the Big Breakfast bed, an excruciatingly public divorce, gruesome gastric band surgery, a sixteen-year skirmish with an ageing boybander and finding herself shockingly single at sixty-one.She's spent thirty-five years in the public eye and now, for the first time, Vanessa seizes her chance to set the record straight in this warm, witty, intensely human story. She spares no one's blushes, including her own. How could someone so clever make such cataclysmic mistakes?Vanessa's often wrong, but always relatable. She puts the 'Oh my goodness, I can never unread that paragraph!' into celebrity autobiography.
Vanessa Hudgens: An Unauthorized Biography
by Grace NorwichVanessa Hudgens is the star to watch. She has admiring fans the world over, thanks to her starring role as Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel's smash hit High School Musical.
Vanessa: A Portrait of Evil
by Wensley ClarksonThe compelling and disturbing true story of Vanessa George and the evil abuse she doled out upon the children of more than 300 families.As a nursery worker, wife and mother, she was a figure to place trust in. Yet her adulterous relationship and sick love triangle with Colin Blanchard and Angela Allen drew her into a dark world of violence and sexual abuse. To compete for Blanchard's attention she would do everything in her power to impress him, even if this meant committing unspeakable acts of sexual violence on children as young as two years old.What could have driven a mother to betray not only her daughters and loving husband, but the very families who entrusted her with their children? How could a seemingly caring women become engaged in a sordid and vile love triangle with a man and woman she had never met? Were there events in her own childhood that pushed her to commit these acts?True crime expert Wensley Clarkson pieces together the events surrounding the case as well as new investigative research to compile a fascinating yet disturbing account of a case which shocked a nation.We may never know the full extent of Vanessa George's cruelty, but the horror of her story will remain as a chilling memory for generations.
Vanessa: The Life of Vanessa Redgrave
by Dan CallahanIn this first-ever biography of the woman many have called our greatest living actress, the formidable Vanessa Redgrave is at last revealed to us in all of her different personas. Who isn't in awe of Vanessa Redgrave? Her career on stage and screen remains vital and her extreme-left political stands are still quite controversial. This is the moment, and this is the biography, to take stock of Vanessa Redgrave both as actress and as political activist with a critical, objective study of her life and career. It is also time to account for her unparalleled achievements as an empathetic actress of considerable genius. In his Biographical Dictionary of Film, David Thomson writes about Redgrave, "She has made mistakes, but there is a case for her as the best actress alive, ready for further challenge." Anyone who has seen Redgrave in her numerous stage and film roles will know why Thomson rates her as the very best we have. The radiant, fearless, daring, perverse and always unpredictable Redgrave is the brightest light in the forest of her famous family.