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Wisdom of the Presidents: The Wisdom of FDR, The Wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt, The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, and The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson
by Philosophical LibraryThe collected writings and wisdom of four great US presidents: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Featuring both official and personal letters, documents, speeches, and articles, this brilliant anthology is filled with the ideas and observations of four iconic leaders who not only guided their nation through trying times, but also left a legacy of wisdom to guide future generations.The Wisdom of FDR What made Franklin Delano Roosevelt an effective leader? His policies and decisions changed our nation's and the world's history. But more than his skill as a savvy politician and progressive thinker, FDR's ability to voice his thoughts on national concerns, social change, and humanity directly and eloquently spoke to the hearts of the people. His observations and opinions cover everything from faith, war, and peace to religion, freedom, and the very definition of what it is to be an American. The essays included here--"The Four Freedoms," "We Belong to Many Races," "True Education," "The Rights of the Common Man," "Dynamic Democracy," and "Government with a Soul"--illustrate how a great American president communicated a changing worldview.The Wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt Few American presidents are remembered for such a vivid personality as Teddy Roosevelt. In this fascinating portrait of one of America's most dynamic figures, the vibrant thinker, politician, and outdoorsman relays his passionate feelings on a wide array of subjects, showcasing his evolving beliefs on topics including his strenuous life, the bully pulpit, childhood, imperialism, religion, and even his daughter, Alice. Through his own words, the modern reader comes to understand how Roosevelt saw deeply into American society and its problems and willed the people to mobilize and deal with issues head on.The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln Remembered for his leadership during the dark years of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most studied and intriguing figures in American history. The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln examines the sixteenth president's statements on politics, the Civil War, slavery, education, law, Reconstruction, and his private life, offering both his most notable remarks in their original context and insight on a variety of earlier and less explored historical events. His wry and self-deprecating humor comes through whether he is speaking of his own election or writing to his wife, and his quotes reflect his evolution from humble small-town politician to a leader facing his nation's greatest internal crisis and massive social change.The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson Statesman. Diplomat. Politician. Scholar. Inventor. Architect. President. Few men exemplify the Enlightenment ideal more than Thomas Jefferson. Here, his dynamic personality and insatiable curiosity jump off the page and draw the reader into the young country he so greatly influenced. Whether the topic is the right to freedom or the future of Native Americans, westward expansion or the political climate in France, his personal impressions of historical luminaries or his architectural preferences, his financial troubles or his feelings about religious freedom, Jefferson's convictions are brilliantly explained and often ahead of their time. The Wisdom of Thomas Jefferson paints a detailed and revealing portrait of the mind of an American Renaissance man.
Wisdom's Journey: Living the Spirit of Islam in the Modern World
by John HerlihyWhy do more than one billion people claim Islam as their religion? American convert John Ahmed Herlihy provides his personal answer and takes readers on a journey to the heart of Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world. Weaving details of Islam''s central beliefs and practices-its Five Pillars-with intimate autobiographical details of his more than thirty years in the religion, Herlihy presents readers with an insightful glimpse into a religion that remains so often misunderstood.
Wisdom: The Good Life: Literature and the Rule of Benedict
by Irene Nowell John KlassenWe all want to live well, but how can we put that desire into action? With thoughtful reflection on the biblical wisdom writers and the Rule of Benedict, Irene Nowell shows us how we too can live the good life. Each chapter includes reflection questions and meditative prayers, guiding us on a renewed journey toward wisdom and encouraging us to embody this wisdom more in our daily lives.
Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage
by Nathalia HoltFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls comes the never-before-told story of a small cadre of influential female spies in the precarious early days of the CIA—women who helped create the template for cutting-edge espionage (and blazed new paths for equality in the workplace) in the treacherous post-WWII era.In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the &“wise gals&” by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels. They were smart, courageous, and groundbreaking agents at the top of their class, instrumental in both developing innovative tools for intelligence gathering—and insisting (in their own unique ways) that they receive the credit and pay their expertise deserved. Throughout the Cold War era, each woman had a vital role to play on the international stage. Adelaide rose through the ranks, developing new cryptosystems that advanced how spies communicate with each other. Mary worked overseas in Europe and Asia, building partnerships and allegiances that would last decades. Elizabeth would risk her life in the Middle East in order to gain intelligence on deadly Soviet weaponry. Eloise would wield influence on scientific and technical operations worldwide, ultimately exposing global terrorism threats. Through their friendship and shared sense of purpose, they rose to positions of power and were able to make real change in a traditionally &“male, pale, and Yale&” organization—but not without some tragic losses and real heartache along the way. Meticulously researched and beautifully told, Holt uses firsthand interviews with past and present officials and declassified government documents to uncover the stories of these four inspirational women. Wise Gals sheds a light on the untold history of the women whose daring foreign intrigues, domestic persistence, and fighting spirit have been and continue to be instrumental to our country&’s security.
Wise Guy: Lessons from a Life
by Guy KawasakiSilicon Valley icon and bestselling author Guy Kawasaki shares the unlikely stories of his life and the lessons we can draw from them.Guy Kawasaki has been a fixture in the tech world since he was part of Apple's original Macintosh team in the 1980s. He's widely respected as a source of wisdom about entrepreneurship, venture capital, marketing, and business evangelism, which he's shared in bestselling books such as The Art of the Start and Enchantment. But before all that, he was just a middle-class kid in Hawaii, a grandson of Japanese immigrants, who loved football and got a C+ in 9th grade English. Wise Guy, his most personal book, is about his surprising journey. It's not a traditional memoir but a series of vignettes. He toyed with calling it Miso Soup for the Soul, because these stories (like those in the Chicken Soup series) reflect a wide range of experiences that have enlightened and inspired him. For instance, you'll follow Guy as he . . . * Gets his first real job in the jewelry business--which turned out to be surprisingly useful training for the tech world. * Disparages one of Apple's potential partners in front of that company's CEO, at the sneaky instigation of Steve Jobs. * Blows up his Apple career with a single sentence, after Jobs withholds a pre-release copy of the Think Different ad campaign: "That's okay, Steve, I don't trust you either." * Reevaluates his self-importance after being mistaken for Jackie Chan by four young women. * Takes up surfing at age 62--which teaches him that you can discover a new passion at any age, but younger is easier!Guy covers everything from moral values to business skills to parenting. As he writes, "I hope my stories help you live a more joyous, productive, and meaningful life. If Wise Guy succeeds at this, then that's the best story of all."
Wise Irish Women: A Journey of Love, Loyalty, and Friendship to Inspire the Irish Spirit (Wise Irish Women Ser.)
by Patricia Connorton Kagerer Laura Prendergast GordonThis collection of interviews with exceptional women from the Emerald Isle &“will make you laugh, and cry, and think, and love&” (Mary Higgins Clark, international bestselling mystery author). Open the door to the legends of successful, inspirational women with one common thread—a heartwarming connection to Ireland. Each story, in its own unique way, is about pursuing a dream and making a difference. Whether it&’s one by the great mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark, playwright Marianne McDonald, or the authors themselves, each illuminates how these wise women have made a difference in their own corner of the world. &“What a wonderful book, again illustrating that the Irish have it all, both the tragedy that shaped their thoughts and the joy and wit to see the rainbow after every rainfall. This book is the most precious pot of gold you could ever find.&”—Marianne McDonald, PhD, MRIA &“Wise Irish Women embraces the essence of the Fearless Women books, illuminating women who shine in their lives and make a difference in spite of their challenges and fears.&”—Mary Ann Halpin, internationally acclaimed author and photographer of the Fearless Women books
Wise Men and Their Tales: Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters
by Elie WieselIn Wise Men and Their Tales, a master teacher gives us his fascinating insights into the lives of a wide range of biblical figures, Talmudic scholars, and Hasidic rabbis. The matriarch Sarah, fiercely guarding her son, Isaac, against the negative influence of his half-brother Ishmael; Samson, the solitary hero and protector of his people, whose singular weakness brought about his tragic end; Isaiah, caught in the middle of the struggle between God and man, his messages of anger and sorrow counterbalanced by his timeless, eloquent vision of a world at peace; the saintly Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who by virtue of a lifetime of good deeds was permitted to enter heaven while still alive and who tried to ensure a similar fate for all humanity by stealing the sword of the Angel of Death. Elie Wiesel tells the stories of these and other men and women who have been sent by God to help us find the godliness within our own lives. And what interests him most about these people is their humanity, in all its glorious complexity. They get angry--at God for demanding so much, and at people, for doing so little. They make mistakes. They get frustrated. But through it all one constant remains--their love for the people they have been charged to teach and their devotion to the Supreme Being who has sent them. In these tales of battles won and lost, of exile and redemption, of despair and renewal, we learn not only by listening to what they have come to tell us, but by watching as they live lives that are both grounded in earthly reality and that soar upward to the heavens.
Wise as Serpents; Harmless as Doves: Christians in China Tell Their Story
by Jonathan Chao Richard Van HoutenInterviews with Chinese Christians.
Wiseguy: The 25th Anniversary Edition
by Nicholas PileggiNicholas Pileggi&’s vivid, unvarnished, journalistic chronicle of the life of Henry Hill—the working-class Brooklyn kid who knew from age twelve that &“to be a wiseguy was to own the world,&” who grew up to live the highs and lows of the mafia gangster&’s life—has been hailed as &“the best book ever written on organized crime&” (Cosmopolitan).This is the true-crime bestseller that was the basis for Martin Scorsese&’s film masterpiece GoodFellas, which brought to life the violence, the excess, the families, the wives and girlfriends, the drugs, the payoffs, the paybacks, the jail time, and the Feds…with Henry Hill&’s crackling narration drawn straight out of Wiseguy and overseeing all the unforgettable action. &“Nonstop...absolutely engrossing&” (The New York Times Book Review). Read it and experience the secret life inside the mob—from one who&’s lived it.
Wisenheimer
by Mark OppenheimerHave you ever met a child who talked like an adult? Who knew big words and how to use them? Was he a charmer or an insufferable smart aleck--or maybe both? Mark Oppenheimer was just such a boy, his talent for language a curse as much as a blessing. But when he got to junior high, Oppenheimer discovered an outlet for his loquaciousness: the debate team. Frank and comical, Wisenheimer chronicles the travails of a hyperarticulate child who finds salvation in the heady world of competitive oratory. In stirring prose, Oppenheimer describes what it was like to have a gift with no useful application. Unlike math or music prodigies, he had no way to showcase his unique skill, except to speak like a miniature adult--a trick some found impressive but others found irritating. Frustrated and isolated, Oppenheimer used his powers for ill--he became a wisenheimer, pushing his peers and teachers away. Then, in junior high, he discovered the world he was meant for: the debate club. His skill with language was finally being channeled, refined, and honed into something beautiful. As Oppenheimer blossomed as a person, he also became a world-champion high school and college debater. His journey from loneliness to fulfillment affords a fascinating inside look at the extraordinary subculture of world-class high school debate and at the power of language to change one's life. Oppenheimer writes movingly about the art of rhetoric, of his passion for it, and of the inspiration he derived from debating and watching others do it. This smart, funny memoir not only reveals a strange, compelling subculture, it also offers a broader discussion of the splendor and power of language and of the social and developmental hazards of being a gifted child. Finally, it looks with hope at our present age, in which oratory is once again an important force in American culture. Revealing, touching, and entertaining, Wisenheimer offers a brilliant portrait of the rarefied world of high school and college debate--and of what it's like to grow up talkative in America.
Wisenheimer: A Childhood Subject to Debate
by Mark OppenheimerHave you ever met a child who talked like an adult? Who knew big words and how to use them? Was he a charmer or an insufferable smart aleck--or maybe both? Mark Oppenheimer was just such a boy, his talent for language a curse as much as a blessing. But when he got to junior high, Oppenheimer discovered an outlet for his loquaciousness: the debate team. Frank and comical, Wisenheimer chronicles the travails of a hyperarticulate child who finds salvation in the heady world of competitive oratory. In stirring prose, Oppenheimer describes what it was like to have a gift with no useful application. Unlike math or music prodigies, he had no way to showcase his unique skill, except to speak like a miniature adult--a trick some found impressive but others found irritating. Frustrated and isolated, Oppenheimer used his powers for ill--he became a wisenheimer, pushing his peers and teachers away. Then, in junior high, he discovered the world he was meant for: the debate club. His skill with language was finally being channeled, refined, and honed into something beautiful. As Oppenheimer blossomed as a person, he also became a world-champion high school and college debater. His journey from loneliness to fulfillment affords a fascinating inside look at the extraordinary subculture of world-class high school debate and at the power of language to change one's life. Oppenheimer writes movingly about the art of rhetoric, of his passion for it, and of the inspiration he derived from debating and watching others do it. This smart, funny memoir not only reveals a strange, compelling subculture, it also offers a broader discussion of the splendor and power of language and of the social and developmental hazards of being a gifted child. Finally, it looks with hope at our present age, in which oratory is once again an important force in American culture. Revealing, touching, and entertaining, Wisenheimer offers a brilliant portrait of the rarefied world of high school and college debate--and of what it's like to grow up talkative in America.
Wish Granted: 25 Stories of Strength and Resilience from America's Favorite Athletes
by Don Yaeger“Those kids are my heroes and by actively deciding to help them continue their fight with a little more hope, you’re one of my heroes, too.”—Michael Jordan, from the IntroductionPoignant stories from this nation’s best loved athletes include Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, John Cena, Bethany Hamilton, Danica Patrick, Tony Hawk, the New England Patriots, and many more.Imagine a seriously ill child who gets to make one wish . . . and that wish is to meet you. How would you measure up? Wish Granted shows how twenty-five of the most celebrated professional athletes of all time answered this question by sharing what it is like to transform the lives of Make-A-Wish kids. You will find out that these wishes are game changers, not just for the kids . . . for the athletes themselves. Some, like record-breaking gold medalist Michael Phelps, discover the tremendous impact wish kids have had on wish granters’ perspectives, on their understanding of real strength, and on how we all want to live our lives.Sports fans will be thrilled to get an insider’s look into the deeply personal moments of their favorite superstars, and every reader will find inspiration in the amazing gift of human connection.
Wish I Was Here
by M. John HarrisonBOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE GUARDIAN, THE OBSERVER (LONDON), GRANTA, AND TLS One of our greatest and most original living writers sets out the perils of the writing life with joyful provocation in this &“anti-memoir.&”M. John Harrison has produced one of the greatest bodies of fiction of any living British author, encompassing space opera, speculative fiction, fantasy, and magical and literary realism. But is there even an M. John Harrison and if so, where do we find him? This is the question the author asks in this memoir-as-mystery, turning for clues to forty years of notetaking: &“A note or it never happened. A note or you never looked.&” Are these notebooks records of failed presence? How do they shine a light on a childhood in the industrial Midlands, a portrait of a young artist in counterculture London, on an adulthood of restless escape into hill and moorland landscapes? And do they tell us anything about the writing of books, each one so different from the last that it might have been written by another version of the author? With aphoristic daring and laconic wit, this anti-memoir will fascinate and delight. It confirms M. John Harrison still further in his status as the most original British writer of his generation. &“Wish I Was Here is a beautifully strange masterwork. It is as if M. John Harrison&’s prose devises its own autobiography, while the figure of its author stands to one side tinkering at a eulogy for a dead cat, a manifesto against ruin porn, and a manual of operating procedures for creativity as funky as a Brian Eno card deck. How can this also produce a sublime fugue on memory and aging? Read it and see.&” —Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude
Wish I Was a Baller
by Amar ShahWish I Was a Baller is part New Kid, part The Tryout, and part Dragon Hoops!Amar Shah has some story to tell! In 1995, he was a fourteen-year-old aspiring sports journalist (and basketball superfan) angling to get into an Orlando Magic team practice. He did, and it took him on the ride of his life!Wish I Was a Baller is a graphic memoir chronicling Amar's real-life experiences as a fourteen-year-old sports journalist covering the golden era of the NBA, when he befriended Shaq and hung out with Michael Jordan and the Bulls-all while surviving the high school caste system, dealing with crushes, and friendships being tainted by jealousy.
Wish It Lasted Forever: Life with the Larry Bird Celtics
by Dan ShaughnessyFor fans of the hit basketball documentary The Last Dance, and from award-winning Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, a nostalgia-filled retelling of the Boston Celtics&’ 1980s dominance, which featured the sublime play of NBA legend Larry Bird.Today the NBA is a vast global franchise—a billion-dollar industry viewed by millions of fans in the United States and abroad. But it wasn&’t always this successful. Before primetime ESPN coverage, lucrative branding deals like Air Jordans, and $40 million annual player salaries, there was the NBA of the 1970s and 1980s—when basketball was still an up-and-coming sport featuring old school beat reporters and players wore Converse All-Stars. Enter Dan Shaughnessy, then the beat reporter for The Boston Globe who covered the Boston Celtics every day from 1982 to1986. It was a time when reporters travelled with professional teams—flying the same commercial airlines, riding the same buses, and staying in the same hotels. Shaughnessy knew the athletes as real people, losing free throw bets to Larry Bird, being gifted cheap cigars by the iconic coach Red Auerbach, and having his one-year-old daughter Sarah passed from player to player on a flight from Logan to Detroit Metro. Drawing on unprecedented access and personal experiences that would not be possible for any reporter today, Shaughnessy takes us inside the legendary Larry Bird-led Celtics teams, capturing the camaraderie as they rose to dominate the NBA. Fans can witness the cockiness of Larry Bird (who once walked into an All Star Weekend locker room, announced that he was going to win the three-point contest, and did); the ageless athleticism of Robert Parish; the shooting skills of Kevin McHale; the fierce, self-sacrificing play of Bill Walton; and the playful humor of players like Danny Ainge, Cedric &“Cornbread&” Maxwell, and M.L. Carr. For any fan who longs to return—for just a few hours—to those magical years when the Boston Garden rocked, the LA Lakers were the perennial mountain to be climbed, and the winner&’s circle was mostly colored Boston Green, Wish It Lasted Forever is a VIP courtside seat and masterful tribute to the Larry Bird era and the Celtics&’ age of dominance.
Wish We Knew What to Say: Talking with Children About Race
by Dr Pragya Agarwal'A thoughtful, prescient read for any mother or father parenting through the unique challenges of this racially polarised year, decade and beyond' Kenya Hunt 'Comprehensive, readable, and so very important. The next generation needs you to read this book' Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times bestselling author'A vital book that equips us to have conversations about race and racism with young people, ensuring we are all playing our part to raise the next generations as anti-racist. With excellent, clear advice from Dr Agarwal I Wish We Knew What to Say is a quick, engaging and easily digestible read' Nikesh ShuklaWe want our children to thrive and flourish in a diverse, multi-cultural world and we owe it to them to help them make sense of the confusing and emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and others. These early years are the most crucial when children are curious about the world around them, but are also quick to form stereotypes and biases that can become deeply ingrained as they grow older. These are the people who are going to inherit this world, and we owe it to them to lay a strong foundation for the next phases of their lives. Wish We Knew What to Say is a timely and urgent book that gives scenarios, questions, thought starters, resources and advice in an accessible manner on how to tackle tricky conversations around race and racism with confidence and awareness. it brings in the science of how children perceive race and form racial identity, combining it with personal stories and experiences to create a handy guide that every parent would refer to again and again. Written by behavioural and data scientist, Dr Pragya Agarwal, Wish We Knew What to Say will help all parents, carers and educators give children the tools and vocabulary to talk about people's differences and similarities in an open, non-judgemental, curious way, and help them address any unfairness they might see or encounter.
Wish We Knew What to Say: Talking with Children About Race
by Dr Pragya Agarwal'A thoughtful, prescient read for any mother or father parenting through the unique challenges of this racially polarised year, decade and beyond' Kenya Hunt 'Comprehensive, readable, and so very important. The next generation needs you to read this book' Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times bestselling author'A vital book that equips us to have conversations about race and racism with young people, ensuring we are all playing our part to raise the next generations as anti-racist. With excellent, clear advice from Dr Agarwal I Wish We Knew What to Say is a quick, engaging and easily digestible read' Nikesh ShuklaWe want our children to thrive and flourish in a diverse, multi-cultural world and we owe it to them to help them make sense of the confusing and emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and others. These early years are the most crucial when children are curious about the world around them, but are also quick to form stereotypes and biases that can become deeply ingrained as they grow older. These are the people who are going to inherit this world, and we owe it to them to lay a strong foundation for the next phases of their lives. Wish We Knew What to Say is a timely and urgent book that gives scenarios, questions, thought starters, resources and advice in an accessible manner on how to tackle tricky conversations around race and racism with confidence and awareness. it brings in the science of how children perceive race and form racial identity, combining it with personal stories and experiences to create a handy guide that every parent would refer to again and again. Written by behavioural and data scientist, Dr Pragya Agarwal, Wish We Knew What to Say will help all parents, carers and educators give children the tools and vocabulary to talk about people's differences and similarities in an open, non-judgemental, curious way, and help them address any unfairness they might see or encounter.
Wish You Happy Forever: What China's Orphans Taught Me about Moving Mountains
by Jenny BowenWish You Happy Forever chronicles Half the Sky founder Jenny Bowen's personal and professional journey to transform Chinese orphanages—and the lives of the neglected girls who live in them—from a state of quiet despair to one of vibrant promise.After reading an article about the thousands of baby girls languishing in Chinese orphanages, Bowen and her husband adopted a little girl from China and brought her home to Los Angeles, not out of a need to build a family but rather a commitment to save one child. A year later, as she watched her new daughter play in the grass with her friends, thriving in an environment where she knew she was loved, Bowen was overcome with a desire to help the children that she could not bring home. That very day she created Half the Sky Foundation, an organization conceived to bring love into the life of every orphan in China and one that has actually managed to fulfill its promise.In Wish You Happy Forever, a fish out of water tale like no other, Bowen relates her struggle to bring the concept of "child nurture and responsive care" to bemused Chinese bureaucrats and how she's actually succeeding. Five years after Half the Sky's first orphanage program opened, government officials began to mention child welfare and nurturing care in public speeches. And, in 2011, at China's Great Hall of the People, Half the Sky and its government partners celebrated the launch of The Rainbow Program, a groundbreaking initiative to change the face of orphan care by training every child welfare worker in the country. Thanks to Bowen's relentless perseverance through heartbreak and a dose of humor, Half the Sky's goal to bring love the lives of forgotten children comes ever closer.
Wish You Were Here
by Sheridan JobbinsA Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.
Wish You Were Here: A Murdered Girl, a Brother's Quest and the Hunt for a Serial Killer
by Patricia Pearson John AlloreAs compelling as Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark or James Ellroy's My Dark Places, this is the story of a brother's lifelong determination to find the truth about his sister's death, a police force that was ignoring the cases of missing and murdered women, and, to the surprise of everyone involved, a previously undiscovered serial killer.In the fall of 1978 teenager Theresa Allore went missing near Sherbrooke, Quebec. She wasn't seen again until the spring thaw revealed her body in a creek only a few kilometers away. Shrugging off her death as a result of 1970s drug culture, police didn't investigate. Patricia Pearson started dating Theresa's brother John during the aftermath of Theresa's death. Though the two teens would go their separate ways, the family's grief, obsession with justice and desire for the truth never left Patricia. Little did she know, the shockwaves of Theresa's death would return to her life repeatedly over the next forty years.In 2001, John had just moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife and young children, when the cops came to the door. They had determined that a young girl had been murdered and buried in the basement. John wondered: If these cops could look for this young girl, why had nobody even tried to find out what happened to Theresa? Unable to rest without closure, he reached out to Patricia, by now an accomplished crime journalist and author, and together they found answers far bigger and more alarming than they could have imagined--and a legacy of violence that refused to end.
Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams
by Nick WebbIn the Sagittarius arm of our galaxy, the unfashionable end, there’s a small planet that swarms with life of all varieties including a dominant species of primates. One of them, who was exceptionally large and exceptionally clever, sported a Himalayan nose and a distinctly odd way of looking at everything. His name was Douglas Adams, the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, four more wildly funny volumes in the same trilogy, and much else besides. His writing is full of excellent jokes and expressions that have entered the language. Are we ready for Life, the Universe and Everything? Militantly atheist, Douglas was possessed by a disturbing sense of wonder. Step back from the familiar, he thought, and it is very strange that we exist at all. This biography was written with the help of Douglas’s family and friends; it is an insider’s account of a man who is still missed by millions of fans around the world.
Wish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope
by Amy WelbornWish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope is the story of Amy Welborn's trip to the island of Sicily with three of her children five months after her husband's sudden death from a heart attack. Her journey through city and countryside, small town and ancient ruins, opens unexpected doors of memory and reflection, a pilgrimage of the heart and an exploration of the soul. It is an observant and wry memoir and travelogue, intensely personal yet speaking to universal experiences of love and loss. Along the narrow roads and hairpin turns, the narrative reveals the beauty of the ordinary and the commonplace and asks stark questions about how we fill the empty places that a loved one leaves behind. It is a meditation on the possibility of faith, one that is unflinching, uncompromising, and altogether unsentimental when confronted by the ultimate test of belief. This book is not only a well-told memoir, but a testimony to the truth that love is stronger than death.
Wishbone
by Julie Marie Wade"For a long time, everything only happened to other people," Julie Wade writes. Or so she thought. She records her falls. The "stunned body, the purloined speech" she experiences after crashing to the ground from a swing. The sensation of slipping from the platform saddle atop a circus elephant, sliding "flat as a penny against his wrinkled skin, rattling the bones of my ribs." The shame and uncertainty of being spilled from the security of parental love. And, finally, triumphantly, the felix culpa, the fortunate fall, of love.Juxtaposed against the fragmentary structure of the memoir, this fall comprises both the energy source, the burning center of the book, and its thematic vantage point. Falling in love is an explosion in Julie's mind as well as her body, an epiphany that remakes the map of her world, slicing the knot of her parents' shame, unmasking the visceral truths of her body. In love she is in motion, reimagining the past, striking out on road trips. Suddenly, she is living, grabbing, tasting, writing, her mouth full of "honey and moonlight," her mind afire. And we are reminded yes, this is what love does, this is how it saves us.Julie Wade has received the Oscar Wilde Poetry Prize (2005), the Literal Latte Nonfiction Award (2006), the AWP Intro Journals Award for Nonfiction (2009), the American Literary Review Nonfiction Prize (2010), the Arts & Letters Nonfiction Prize (2010), the Thomas J. Hruska Nonfiction Prize (2011), the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir (2011), and seven Pushcart Prize nominations.
Wishful Drinking
by Carrie FisherThe bestselling author of Postcards from the Edge comes clean (well, sort of) in her first-ever memoir, adapted from her one-woman Broadway hit show. Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of "Hollywood in-breeding," come of age on the set of a little movie called Star Wars, and become a cultural icon and bestselling action figure at the age of nineteen.Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It's an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty--Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher--homewrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed. Wishful Drinking, the show, has been a runaway success. Entertainment Weekly declared it "drolly hysterical" and the Los Angeles Times called it a "Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes." This is Carrie Fisher at her best--revealing her worst. She tells her true and outrageous story of her bizarre reality with her inimitable wit, unabashed self-deprecation, and buoyant, infectious humor.
Wishful Drinking
by Carrie Fisher<p>In Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher tells the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Warswhen only 19 years old. <p>"But it isn't all sweetness and light sabres." <p>Alas, aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mother (not to mention the hyperspace hairdo), Carrie also spends her free time battling addiction and weathering the wild ride of manic depression. It's an incredible tale - from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, and from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>