- Table View
- List View
Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy
by Debra CaplanYiddish Empire tells the story of how a group of itinerant Jewish performers became the interwar equivalent of a viral sensation, providing a missing chapter in the history of the modern stage. During World War I, a motley group of teenaged amateurs, impoverished war refugees, and out- of- work Russian actors banded together to revolutionize the Yiddish stage. Achieving a most unlikely success through their productions, the Vilna Troupe (1915– 36) would eventually go on to earn the attention of theatergoers around the world. Advancements in modern transportation allowed Yiddish theater artists to reach global audiences, traversing not only cities and districts but also countries and continents. The Vilna Troupe routinely performed in major venues that had never before allowed Jews, let alone Yiddish, upon their stages, and operated across a vast territory, a strategy that enabled them to attract unusually diverse audiences to the Yiddish stage and a precursor to the organizational structures and travel patterns that we see now in contemporary theater. Debra Caplan’s history of the Troupe is rigorously researched, employing primary and secondary sources in multiple languages, and is engagingly written.
Yip Harburg: Legendary Lyricist and Human Rights Activist (Music/Interview)
by Harriet Hyman AlonsoKnown as "Broadway's social conscience," E. Y. Harburg (1896–1981) wrote the lyrics to the standards, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," "April in Paris," and "It's Only a Paper Moon," as well as all of the songs in The Wizard of Oz, including "Over the Rainbow." Harburg always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism, poverty, and war. Interweaving close to fifty interviews (most of them previously unpublished), over forty lyrics, and a number of Harburg's poems, Harriet Hyman Alonso enables Harburg to talk about his life and work. He tells of his early childhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, his public school education, how the Great Depression opened the way to writing lyrics, and his work on Broadway and Hollywood, including his blacklisting during the McCarthy era. Finally, but most importantly, Harburg shares his commitment to human rights and the ways it affected his writing and his career path. Includes an appendix with Harburg's key musicals, songs, and films.
Yo vengo a ofrecer mi corazón: Memorias
by Susana BacaUna viene a este mundo con un acumulado de sueños. Una quiere ser todo: héroe, villana, poderosa, única, sobresaliente, pero, finalmente, la mejor versión de una misma es la que vive y perdura con los pies en su raíz… Susana Baca Yo vengo a ofrecer mi corazón es un recorrido por la vida y obra de Susana Baca contada por su propia protagonista. Se trata de las memorias iniciales de los primeros cincuenta años de una artista que ha llevado su voz -y a través de ella, la cultura peruana- a países y escenarios donde nunca había sonado un cajón o un landó. Tejido con mucho esmero, en este libro la cantante nos relata las barreras que tuvo que superar desde pequeña: por ser mujer, por ser pobre, por ser afroperuana, pero también los sueños que fue cumpliendo gracias al talento construido sobre la base de su personalidad infatigable. Es la historia de la pasión por cantar que se convierte ahora en pasión por contar. Memorias en las que el coraje, la vitalidad, la ternura y la rebeldía se funden en la misma voz que esta vez -como en cada canción- viene a ofrecernos su corazón.
Yogi: It Ain't Over ...
by Yogi Berra Tom HortonToday, Yogi Berra is known for what he said. During his Hall of Fame career, he was also known for what he did--which was to play stellar baseball. Here, the three-time MVP tells readers all about himself and his roller-coaster times in major league baseball.
Yogscast: The Diggy Diggy Book
by The YogscastYogscast is a wildly popular YouTube channel--with more than 4 BILLION views--that is made up of 20+ gamers who create hilarious videos, animations, and songs based on their favorite games.Drop your axe. Lower your sword. And open the ultimate, must-have book for gamers of all ages! The Diggy Diggy Book includes the best (and worst) jokes from the massively successful YouTube creators. Meet the Yogscast, see exclusive look inside YogTowers, become a JaffaQuest cadet, read the tourists guide to Datlof and more, so much more that we don't want to give away. (Yet!) If you've ever watched a Minecraft YouTube video, chances are you know who The Yogscast is. This is THE book for you.
Yoko
by David Sheff'Illuminating and affectionate… an intimate and perceptive portrait' Publishers WeeklyAn intimate and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono from bestselling author of Beautiful Boy David Sheff met Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1980 when conducting an in-depth interview with them just months before John&’s murder. In the aftermath, Sheff and Yoko became close friends as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and continued creating groundbreaking art and music. Drawing from their decades-long friendship and interviews with Yoko, her family, close friends and collaborators, Sheff shares the story of one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo and her harrowing experience as a child during WW2 to her arrival in the avant-garde art scenes of London, Tokyo and New York. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime imaginable: breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history. So often remembered only for her impact on The Beatles, Yoko has been caricatured as an opportunistic seductress or manipulative impostor. Yoko delves into her life as an artist, musician, feminist and activist, reframing her incredible achievements independent of Lennon. Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. It highlights Ono&’s incredible talent and acknowledges her as a true artistic icon.
Yoko: A Biography
by David SheffAn intimate and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Boy.John Lennon once described Yoko Ono as the world&’s most famous unknown artist. &“Everybody knows her name, but no one knows what she does.&” She has only been important to history insofar as she impacted Lennon. Throughout her life, Yoko has been a caricature, curiosity, and, often, a villain—an inscrutable seductress, manipulating con artist, and caterwauling fraud. The Lennon/Beatles saga is one of the greatest stories ever told, but Yoko&’s part has been missing—hidden in the Beatles&’ formidable shadow, further obscured by flagrant misogyny and racism. This definitive biography of Yoko Ono&’s life will change that. In this book, Yoko Ono takes centerstage. Yoko&’s life, independent of Lennon, was an amazing journey. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo, her harrowing experience as a child during the war, her arrival in avant-garde art scene in London, Tokyo, and New York City. It delves into her groundbreaking art, music, feminism, and activism. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless, and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime imaginable: breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history. This book was nearly a half century in the making. In 1980, David Sheff met Yoko and John when Sheff conducted an in-depth interview with them just months before John&’s murder. In the aftermath of the killing, he and Yoko became close as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and betrayals, and went on to create groundbreaking art and music while campaigning for peace and other causes. Drawing from his experiences and interviews with her, her family, closest friends, collaborators, and many others, Sheff shows us Yoko&’s nine decades—one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived. Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive, and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. The book not only rehabilitates Yoko Ono&’s reputation but elevates it to iconic status.
Yokohama Threeway
by Beth LisickPeering into life's cringe-worthy moments, best-selling author Beth Lisick excavates territory that most would rather ignore. Funny, odd, deeply personal, yet somehow universal, these are the kind of memories that haunt us all, the small awful moments of shame and humiliation that we'd rather forget than relive.Beth Lisick has made a career of opening her life to her readers in all of its messy, smart hilarity, but this type of story doesn't usually find its way into a memoir. With her trademark humor and sly intelligence, writing in short flashes the way these episodes tend to pop up in memory, Lisick recounts her most embarrassing moments with gusto. From a trick she played on a neighbor thirty years ago to what she accidentally blurted out at last night's dinner party, she explores the bad judgments and free-floating regrets that keep her up at night, and the result is a daring, candid, and wickedly funny collection of embarrassment embraced, the triumph of humor and perspective over everyday mortification.Writer, performer, and independent film actress Beth Lisick is the author of the New York Times best-selling comic memoir Everybody Into the Pool and the gonzo self-help manifesto Helping Me Help Myself.
You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes
by Laura LoveLaura Love has always had a knack for getting her audiences to listen. Now, for the first time, she has channeled her artistic talents into prose. The story is hers, and this coming-of-age memoir is an enthralling account of resilience and resolve. Laura grew up in Nebraska, where she survived a childhood that was miserable under the best of circumstances and nearly unbearable under the worst. Shuffled among a mentally unstable mother unable to cope with daily life, foster homes, and orphanages, Laura survived, thanks ultimately to her own personal resources and the love and support she received from her sister, from neighbors, and from a few teachers along the way. Those were the best of times. At other times, Laura and her sister lived in dreadfully sordid conditions, struggling to make sense of the emotional turbulence, mental illness, and poverty that shaped life at home--and the racism and racial politics that affected life on the sidewalks and streets, playgrounds and classrooms of Omaha and Lincoln. Despite the odds, the two sisters managed to get by, and in smaller moments, even triumph. As they entered their high school years, they began to assert their independence by creating their own sources of support and income, so as not to be dependent on a mother incapable of caring for them. It was at this time, too, that Laura discovered a secret that her mother had kept from her since birth. Wrenching, shocking, but ultimately hopeful, You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes brings readers a story of growth under the most detrimental of circumstances. Here is a young girl's attempt to make sense of her life and her place in it, and a powerful emotional experience wrought in searing, unadulterated prose.--From the bookjacket
You Are Not Alone
by Jermaine JacksonJermaine Jackson--older than Michael by four years--offers a keenly observed memoir tracing his brother's life starting from their shared childhood and extending through the Jackson 5 years, Michael's phenomenal solo career, his loves, his suffering, and his tragic end. It is a sophisticated, no-holds-barred examination of the man, aimed at fostering a true and final understanding of who he was, why he was, and what shaped him. Jermaine knows the real Michael as only a brother can. In this raw, honest, and poignant account, he reveals Michael the private person, not Michael "the King of Pop." Jermaine doesn't flinch from tackling the tough issues: the torrid press, the scandals, the allegations, the court cases, the internal politics, the ill-fated This Is It tour, and disturbing developments in the days leading up to Michael's death. But where previous works have presented only thin versions of a media construct, he provides a rare glimpse into the complex heart, mind, and soul of a brilliant but sometimes troubled entertainer. As a witness to history on the inside, Jermaine is the only person qualified to deliver the real Michael and reveal what made him tick, his private opinions, and unseen emotions through the most headline-making episodes of his life. Filled with keen insight, rich in anecdotes and behind-the-scenes detail, You Are Not Alone is the book for any true Michael Jackson fan and for anyone trying to make sense of the artist whose death was so premature.
You Are Not Alone
by Jermaine JacksonJermaine Jackson--older than Michael by four years--offers a keenly observed memoir tracing his brother's life starting from their shared childhood and extending through the Jackson 5 years, Michael's phenomenal solo career, his loves, his suffering, and his tragic end. It is a sophisticated, no-holds-barred examination of the man, aimed at fostering a true and final understanding of who he was, why he was, and what shaped him. Jermaine knows the real Michael as only a brother can. In this raw, honest, and poignant account, he reveals Michael the private person, not Michael "the King of Pop." Jermaine doesn't flinch from tackling the tough issues: the torrid press, the scandals, the allegations, the court cases, the internal politics, the ill-fated This Is It tour, and disturbing developments in the days leading up to Michael's death. But where previous works have presented only thin versions of a media construct, he provides a rare glimpse into the complex heart, mind, and soul of a brilliant but sometimes troubled entertainer. As a witness to history on the inside, Jermaine is the only person qualified to deliver the real Michael and reveal what made him tick, his private opinions, and unseen emotions through the most headline-making episodes of his life. Filled with keen insight, rich in anecdotes and behind-the-scenes detail, You Are Not Alone is the book for any true Michael Jackson fan and for anyone trying to make sense of the artist whose death was so premature.
You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa!: The Year's Work on The Room, the Worst Movie Ever Made (The Year's Work)
by Adam M. RosenWhen released in 2003, The Room, an obscure, self-financed relationship drama by an eccentric self-taught filmmaker named Tommy Wiseau, should have been completely forgotten. Yet nearly two decades later, "the worst movie ever made"—as many a critic would have it—has become the most popular cult film since The Rocky Horror Picture Show.In You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa!, contributors explore this priceless cultural artifact, offering fans and film buffs critical insight into the movie's various meanings, historical context, and place in the cult canon. Even if by complete accident, The Room touches on many issues of modern concern, including sincerity, authenticity, badness, artistic value, gender relations, Americanness, Hollywood conventions, masculinity, and even the meaning of life. Revealing the timeless, infamous power of Wiseau's The Room, You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa! is a deeply entertaining deconstruction of an original work of all-American failure.
You Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
by Samantha Renke'A powerful book on how to live boldly and love your fabulous self' Fearne CottonWe are made to think that what makes us human - our flaws, failures, and heartaches - are things to keep hush-hush. Being unapologetically imperfect is seen as something we should be embarrassed by. But what I've learned is that we all experience the same insecurities. We just aren't talking about it. Well, I'm here to break the silence.For starters, I have way too many nipple hairs. I prefer the company of my pets to other people. And repeatedly I question Am I normal? I was born with brittle bone condition and so far, I've broken my bones 200 times. But most of the hurdles I face don't come from my disability, they come from things we all experience.In this book, I will share the lessons I have learned and why you should embrace your uniqueness as what makes you fabulous. We spend a lot of time living by others' expectations and it's only when you stop, that you start saying yes to life. Irrespective of who you are and the obstacles you might face, you can do whatever you want. Be free and unapologetically you.
You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything
by Walter HickeyPulitzer Prize-winning author and data expert Walt Hickey explains the power of entertainment to change our biology, our beliefs, how we see ourselves, and how nations gain power. Virtually anyone who has ever watched a profound movie, a powerful TV show, or read a moving novel understands that entertainment can and does affect us in surprising and significant ways. But did you know that our most popular forms of entertainment can have a direct physical effect on us, a measurable impact on society, geopolitics, the economy, and even the future itself? In You Are What You Watch, Walter Hickey, Pulitzer Prize winner and former chief culture writer at acclaimed data site FiveThirtyEight.com, proves how exactly how what we watch (and read and listen to) has a far greater effect on us and the world at large than we imagine. Employing a mix of research, deep reporting, and 100 data visualizations, Hickey presents the true power of entertainment and culture. From the decrease in shark populations after Jaws to the increase in women and girls taking up archery following The Hunger Games, You Are What You Watch proves its points not just with research and argument, but hard data. Did you know, for example, that crime statistics prove that violent movies actually lead to less real-world violence? And that the international rise of anime and Manga helped lift the Japanese economy out of the doldrums in the 1980s? Or that British and American intelligence agencies actually got ideas from the James Bond movies? In You Are What You Watch, readers will be given a nerdy, and sobering, celebration of popular entertainment and its surprising power to change the world.
You Are the Key: Turning Imperfections into Purpose
by Caitlin CrosbyFor anyone who feels less-than about your work, worth, body, or the life you're building, find here an incredible hope: you don't have to have it all together to "qualify" for your life's calling.Just ask Caitlin Crosby - the former Hollywood talent who didn't finish college, never got an MBA, and wasn't supposed to become a CEO, yet that's exactly what she did (even if being a new mother means she forgets to brush her teeth sometimes before heading to the office). Caitlin's passion for people led her to launch The Giving Keys, a give-back jewelry brand with the mission of helping its employees transition out of homelessness. Each of their one million plus keys sold represents a person who wore it, then shared it with someone else, in a unique pay-it-forward model.Yet just as her jewelry repurposes throw-away keys to bear bold messages of hope, faith, and courage,Caitlin has fought hard to believe her own imperfections can lead to her greatest purpose.In You Are the Key, Caitlin reveals imperfections aplenty: like the time she accidentally voice-texted a huge fight with her husband to her entire leadership team, or the terrifying day a disgruntled employee brought a gun to their office, or the time this #girlboss landed herself in the ER. For the first time, Caitlin also opens up about her own secret "flaw" that rocked her sense of self-worth for the better part of two decades, and her private battle to believe our scars are not sources of shame but proof of courage and prompts toward purpose.Through Caitlin's all-too-real stories, sparkling with warmth and humor, you'll find your own free pass to embrace your flaws and reframe your imperfections not as limitations but signposts toward your greatest purpose.
You Bantering Me?: The life story of Love Island's biggest star
by Chris HughesWith the nation gripped by Love Island fever, the show's most popular contestant ever shares his unique take on the world in a book that will be hilarious, endearing, heartfelt and as lovable as its author.Chris Hughes walked away from the sizzling hot, smash hit show Love Island as its biggest star. Viewers fell in love with this cheeky, happy-go-lucky guy who surprised people by being unafraid to show his vulnerable side just as readily as having a laugh with his mates in the sun. They were captivated by the rollercoaster relationship between Chris and girlfriend Olivia and entertained by the bromance that developed between Chris and best pal Kem.But what really makes Chris tick? What made this down-to-earth country lad swap life on the farm with his family for red carpets and newspaper front pages? Chris reveals all about his life before the hit reality TV show and how the crippling anxiety he has suffered from before still haunts him to this day. He shares how he has found fame and adjusted to his new life as well as the things he is learning about himself as his life is put under the spotlight for all to see.With his trademark sense of humour and way with words, this is Chris's take on the world, his life laid bare.(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
You Bantering Me?: The life story of Love Islands biggest star
by Chris HughesChris Hughes walked away from the sizzling hot, smash hit show Love Island as its biggest star. Viewers fell in love with this cheeky, happy-go-lucky guy who surprised people by being unafraid to show his vulnerable side just as readily as having a laugh with his mates in the sun. They were captivated by the rollercoaster relationship between Chris and girlfriend Olivia and entertained by the bromance that developed between Chris and best pal Kem.But what really makes Chris tick? What made this down-to-earth country lad swap life on the farm with his family for red carpets and newspaper front pages? Chris reveals all about his life before the hit reality TV show and how the crippling anxiety he has suffered from before still haunts him to this day. He shares how he has found fame and adjusted to his new life as well as the things he is learning about himself as his life is put under the spotlight for all to see.With his trademark sense of humour and way with words, this is Chris's take on the world, his life laid bare.
You Bantering Me?: The life story of Love Island’s biggest star
by Chris HughesChris Hughes walked away from the sizzling hot, smash hit show Love Island as its biggest star. Viewers fell in love with this cheeky, happy-go-lucky guy who surprised people by being unafraid to show his vulnerable side just as readily as having a laugh with his mates in the sun. They were captivated by the rollercoaster relationship between Chris and girlfriend Olivia and entertained by the bromance that developed between Chris and best pal Kem.But what really makes Chris tick? What made this down-to-earth country lad swap life on the farm with his family for red carpets and newspaper front pages? Chris reveals all about his life before the hit reality TV show and how the crippling anxiety he has suffered from before still haunts him to this day. He shares how he has found fame and adjusted to his new life as well as the things he is learning about himself as his life is put under the spotlight for all to see.With his trademark sense of humour and way with words, this is Chris's take on the world, his life laid bare.
You Better Watch Out
by Greg Malone"It is, I contend, no small achievement to survive the perfect family." So Greg Malone says at the beginning of a graceful, generous and sometimes hilarious memoir of his childhood in the St. John's of the 1950s and 60s.A memoir from one of Canada's comic geniuses that is as moving as it is funny, about a young boy who survives, among other things, a school run by the Christian Brothers, encounters with the bullies of New Gower Street and the perfect family.We first meet Greg harnessed to a bush at a picnic wearing underpants on his head - a small boy squalling because he can't take part in the goings-on. From here, Greg takes us on a wild ride through the streets of old St. John's. We meet luminaries along the way, even Danny Williams, the future premier, sourly playing St. Bernadette in the all-boys' play, with Greg hardly concealing his joy in performing as her "chatty sister." Humble, poignant, funny and authentic - this is a delightful first book from a natural storyteller. Excerpt:I loved Barbara Lynn. Her sunny face was slightly freckled. She had blue eyes and her straight, caramel-blonde hair was pulled back and tied with a ribbon showing her high, smooth forehead. She had even, regular features and a smile that showed her perfect, white teeth. . . . We played house every day for endless summers and into the long winter nights, when she would take her big brother Basil's long toboggan without asking, so the two of us could go sliding together down over the hill, under the pole light, across St. Clare Ave. and down into the Knights of Columbus field where the full moon glittered on the glazed snow, and the toboggan would fly along forever on the longest slide we'd ever had.From the Hardcover edition.
You Call Me Louis, Not Mr. Horst
by Dorothy MaddenDorothy Madden's lively book about Louis Horst (You don't call me Mr. Horst, you call me Louis, he always said) makes for compulsive reading. She follows Horst's extraordinary life, punctuating her narrative with reminiscences, illuminating anecdotes from her personal store of memories, as well as the shared thoughts of others, all interspersed with her choice of evocative and expressive photographs and illustrations, to create a dynamic and memorable portrait of this key figure in American modern dance. Louis Horst: musician, composer, pianist, violonist, pit player, arranger, super accompanist (all sorts), conductor, régisseur, stage manager, tour tartar, catalyst, editor, writer, critic, teacher, consoler, the Sherlock Holmes of restaurants, keeper of journals and budgets, loan provider, lover, friend...
You Can Do It!: Speak Your Mind, America
by Rob SchneiderAn unfiltered and outrageously funny commentary on the threats to free speech in America from the legendary comedian, actor, and Emmy-nominated SNL writer. Rob Schneider&’s childhood in the San Francisco Bay area with parents of mixed-race backgrounds shaped his view of the world: that America affords the greatest opportunity for peoples from all nations and all faiths. But today, in this world gone mad, free speech is under attack. And Schneider keeps finding himself in controversy for questioning what woke ideology is doing to our great nation. Still, he refuses to be censored. In his debut book, Schneider will make you laugh out loud as he tells his unique story of a Hollywood-comedian-turned-vocal-advocate for open dialogue. He takes readers along for a ride through his life in show business (where he&’s starred in 27 movies with his friend Adam Sandler), shares stories from the glory days of Saturday Night Live, and makes a persuasive case for fearlessness in speech and pushing the boundaries in comedy. Comedians matter because they have a unique position in society to stand up against tyranny. In this book, Schneider shares never-before-told personal stories about Chris Farley, Norm Macdonald, Christopher Walken, Dana Carvey, and Martin Landau, and other comedy legends. You Can Do It! is part celeb memoir, part warning, and part siren call to action. It was said during the days of Covid the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth was about six months. Influenced by his own experiences in Hollywood, Schneider illustrates his points about free expression with provocative commentary on things you aren't suppose to question, like identity politics, Covid tyranny, "global boiling," medical freedoms and more. Schneider refuses to believe he&’s dangerous for saying what he thinks. In fact, the opposite is true—it&’s dangerous to not question the narrative. It&’s dangerous to not exercise your free speech. That&’s what Rob Schneider&’s doing. And as this humorous, shocking, irreverent but insightful book shows readers, you can do it too.
You Can Run but You Can't Hide: Life And Times Of Dog The Bounty Hunter
by Duane Dog Chapman"Freeze!"Duane "Dog" Chapman entertains and inspires millions on Dog the Bounty Hunter, his #1-rated show on A&E--but there is more to his story. From troubled beginnings and tragedy to triumph and transformation, he reveals all for the first time in this no-holds-barred memoir.Dog spent the first twenty-three years of his life on the wrong side of the law. In You Can Run but You Can't Hide, he offers an inside look at his days as a gang member; his dark years of addiction and abuse; and how serving eighteen months in prison for a murder he didn't commit helped him recommit to his faith. He also shares stories of some of his most dangerous bounty hunts--including his capture of Max Factor heir and convicted rapist Andrew Luster, which made international headlines.In You Can Run but You Can't Hide, Dog recounts his incredible story, chronicling his journey from his onetime criminal past to the guiding faith that has led him to become one of the most successful bounty hunters in American history. Against all odds, Dog turned his life around and went from ex-con to American icon in the process. This is his story.
You Can Run, But You Can't Hide
by Laura Morton Duane Dog ChapmanAutobiography of bounty hunter "Dog" Chapman, how he turned his life around after serving time for murder and abusing drugs, to a life devoted to justice and religion.
You Can't Be Serious
by Kal PennThe star of the Harold and Kumar franchise, House, and Designated Survivor recounts why he rejected the advice of his aunties and guidance counselors and, instead of becoming a doctor or &“something practical,&” embarked on a surprising journey that has included confronting racism in Hollywood, meeting his future husband, and working in the Obama administration, in this &“incredibly joyful and insightful&” (Kiefer Sutherland) memoir.You Can&’t Be Serious is a series of funny, consequential, awkward, and ridiculous stories from Kal Penn&’s idiosyncratic life. It&’s about being the grandson of Gandhian freedom fighters, and the son of immigrant parents: people who came to this country with very little and went very far—and whose vision of the American dream probably never included their son sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in the raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie Van Wilder…or getting a phone call from Air Force One as Kal flew with the country&’s first Black president. &“By turns hilarious, poignant, and inspiring&” (David Axelrod, New York Times bestselling author), Kal reflects on the most exasperating and rewarding moments from his journey so far. He pulls back the curtain on the nuances of opportunity and racism in the entertainment industry and recounts how he built allies, found encouragement, and dealt with early reminders that he might never fit in. He describes his initially unpromising first date with his now-fiancé Josh, involving an 18-pack of Coors Light and an afternoon of watching NASCAR. And of course, he reveals how, after a decade and a half of fighting for and enjoying successes in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to take a sabbatical from a fulfilling acting career for an opportunity to serve his country as an Obama White House aide. Above all, You Can&’t Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. The book &“is insightful, funny, and instructive for anyone who&’s ever grappled with how they fit into the American dream&” (Ronan Farrow, New York Times bestselling author), and demonstrates that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. And okay, yes, it&’s also about how Kal accidentally (and very stupidly) accepted an invitation to take the entire White House Office of Public Engagement to a strip club—because, let&’s be honest, that&’s the kind of stuff you really want to hear about.