- Table View
- List View
Berlusconi: The Epic Story of the Billionaire Who Took Over a Country
by Alan FriedmanInspired by the Frost/Nixon interviews, and Walter Isaacson's author-subject relationship to Steve Jobs, Alan Friedman tells the story of Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul turned prime minster who has dominated Italian life for the past twenty years. Berlusconi has cooperated with the bestselling author and award-winning journalist in the telling of his life story. Warts and all. From the bunga-bunga parties to his most secret moments with world leaders. The book is rich in anecdotes and revelations involving Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Geroge W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Mickhail Gorbachev, Tony Blair, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel , and many others.Berlusconi's incredible rise to power started from nothing. A self-created man, he was a cruise ship crooner as a young man, became a real estate tycoon in the '70s, started the first commercial television network in history, and turned AC Milan into a world-class soccer club. And that was all before he survived the squalid swampland of Italian politics to became prime minister who has not only served the longest in Italian history, but also has generated the most controversy of arguably any world leader today. All of which will be explored thoroughly and candidly in these pages in a book that reads like a thriller.
Bernard Buffet: The Invention of the Modern Mega-artist
by Nicholas FoulkesIt is said that asphyxiation brings on a state of hallucinatory intoxication...in which case the 71 year old artist who lay in his sprawling Provencal villa died happy. In the early afternoon of Monday 4 October 1999, wracked with Parkinson's, and unable to paint because of a fall in which he had broken his wrist, Bernard Buffet calmly placed a plastic bag over his head, taped it tight around his neck and patiently waited the few minutes it took for death to arrive. Bernard Buffet:The Invention of the Modern Mega-artist tells the remarkable story of a French figurative painter who tasted unprecedented critical and commercial success at an age when his contemporaries were still at art school. Then, with almost equal suddenness the fruits of fame turned sour and he found himself an outcast. Scarred with the contagion of immense commercial success no leper was more untouchable. He was the first artist of the television age and the jet age and his role in creating the idea of a post-war France is not to be underestimated. As the first of the so-called Fabulous Five (Francoise Sagan, Roger Vadim, Brigitte Bardot and Yves Saint Laurent) he was a leader of the cultural revolution that seemed to forge a new France from the shattered remains of a discredited and demoralized country. Rich in incident Buffet’s remarkable story of bisexual love affairs, betrayal, vendettas lasting half a century, shattered reputations, alcoholism, and drug abuse, is played out against the backdrop of the beau monde of the 1950s and 1960s in locations as diverse as St Tropez, Japan, Paris, Dallas, St Petersburg and New York, before coming to its miserable conclusion alone in his studio.
Bernie Sanders: In His Own Words: 250 Quotes from America's Political Revolutionary
by Robert Reich Chamois Holschuh Walker BragmanHere is a collection of the most salient hard-hitting, no-nonsense quotes that have made Bernie Sanders the beloved political revolutionary he is today. The longest-serving independent in US congressional history, Sanders currently serves as US senator from Vermont and is in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are flocking to Sanders’s events to hear his wisdom on political corruption, distribution of wealth, international relations, immigration, health-care reform, climate change, education, and equality. Now fans and critics alike can hear what Bernie has to say just by picking up this book. Known for his firm opinions on the economy, health care, and the environment, Bernie Sanders is a self-declared democratic socialist. He has called for free state college and university tuition, spoken out against Wall Street practices, insisted on increasing the minimum wage, and demanded tax reform. He has proposed significant health-care reforms, championed causes for veterans and senior citizens, and urged the government to address climate change in a proactive manner. "A political revolution,” his campaign slogan, befits his assertion that the country is in need of an overhaul--economically, socially, and politically. As his grassroots campaign continues to explode, his social media presence flourishes and his events are attended in record-breaking numbers. Feel the Bern!
The Best American Essays 2015 (The Best American Series)
by Ariel Levy&“22 contributors explore a wide range of experiences&” in this &“illuminating, invaluable&” anthology edited by the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs (Publishers Weekly). Writing an essay is like catching a wave, posits guest editor Ariel Levy. To catch a wave, you need skill and nerve, not just moving water. The writers featured in this volume are certainly full of nerve, and have crafted a wide range of pieces awash in a diversity of moods, voices, and stances. Leaving an abusive marriage, parting with a younger self, losing your sanity to Fitbit, and even saying goodbye to a beloved pair of pants are just some of the experience probed by essays that are unified in the daring of their creation. As Levy notes, Writing around an idea you think is worthwhile—an idea you suspect is an insight—requires real audacity.&” The Best American Essays 2015 includes entries by Hilton Als, Roger Angell, Justin Cronin, Meghan Daum, Anthony Doerr, Margo Jefferson, David Sedaris, Zadie Smith, Rebecca Solnit and others.
The Best Party of Our Lives
by Sarah GalvinThis moving collection of true stories about gay weddings shows how LGBT couples have overcome cultural and personal obstacles to their unions, made wedding traditions their own, and what everyone can learn from them. Told in a series of essays that mimics the course of a traditional wedding, from engagement to walking down the aisle to the honeymoon and beyond, The Best Party of Our Lives invites readers to reflect on what makes their own relationships unique, and the significance of public celebrations of love. With chapters each focusing on a different couple's love story, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they learned, the book offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the changing face of marriage. The perspective these trailblazing couples gain by examining and remaking marriage for themselves will inform anyone who is planning a wedding and inspire anyone who has ever been in love.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Best Team Money Can Buy
by Molly KnightNews-making, inside revelations about the tumultuous years when the Los Angeles Dodgers were remade from top to bottom--from the ownership of the team to management to the players on the field--becoming the most talked-about and most colorful team in baseball.In 2012 the Los Angeles Dodgers were bought out of bankruptcy in the most expensive sale in sports history. Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson and his partners hoped to put together a team worthy of Hollywood: consistently entertaining. By most accounts they have succeeded, if not always in the way they might have imagined. Now Molly Knight tells the story of the Dodgers' 2013 and 2014 seasons with detailed, previously unreported revelations. She shares a behind-the-scenes account of the astonishing sale of the Dodgers, and why the team was not overpriced, as well as what the Dodgers actually knew in advance about rookie phenom and Cuban defector Yasiel Puig and how they and teammates handled him during his first two roller-coaster seasons. We learn how close manager Don Mattingly was to losing his job during the 2013 season--and how the team turned around the season in the most remarkable fifty-game stretch (42-8) of any team since World War II, before losing in the NLCS. Knight also provides a rare glimpse into the infighting and mistrust that derailed the team in 2014, and resulted in ridding the roster of difficult personalities and the hiring of a new front office. Knight also reveals new facts behind the blockbuster trade with the Red Sox. She paints an intimate portrait of star pitcher Clayton Kershaw, probably the best pitcher in the game today, including details about the record contract offer he turned down before accepting the richest contract any pitcher ever signed. Exciting, surprising, and filled with juicy details, Molly Knight's account is a must-read for baseball fans and anyone who wants the inside story of today's Los Angeles Dodgers.
Betrayed: One Girl's Struggle to Escape a Cruel Life Defined By Family Honour
by Rosie LewisIn the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of 13-year-old Zadie. When the young teenage girl runs away from home and is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie she is polite and well-behaved, but understandably suspicious of the family around her. Through Rosie’s support and understanding, gradually Zadie begins to settle into her new surroundings, but loyalty to her relatives, and fear of bringing shame on those around her, prevents her from confessing the horrifying truth about her troubled past. When the shocking truth finally emerges, Rosie and her family can hardly believe that Zadie had managed to keep the shocking secrets to herself for so long.
The Betrod Sister (The Daughters of Hastings #3)
by Carol McgrathA beautifully woven tale of an exiled princess's quest for happiness. Compelling and convincing, the medieval world is brought vividly to life. Charlotte Betts What happened to the family of King Harold after William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings? Carol McGrath has delved into one of history's forgotten footnotes and come up with the astonishing story of Thea, the exiled English princess destined for Russian royalty. An enthralling tale, told with elegance and sympathy. Vanora Bennett "The Betrothed Sister is like one of its own rich embroideries, cut from the cloth of history and stitched with strange and passionate lives." Emma Darwin It is September 1068. Thea, also known as Gytha, the elder daughter of King Harold II, travels with her brothers and grandmother into exile carrying revenge in her heart. She is soon betrothed to a prince of Kiev. Will her betrothal and marriage bring her happiness, as she confronts enemies from inside and outside Russian territories? Will she prove herself the courageous princess she surely is, win her princely husband's respect and establish her independence in a society protective towards its women?
Bette And Joan: Divine Feud
by Shaun Considine'An absolute must-read' VANITY FAIRBette Davis and Joan Crawford: two of the deadliest arch-rivals of all time. Born in the same year (though Davis swore 'Crawford is five years older than me if she's a day'), the two fought bitterly throughout their long and brilliant Hollywood careers. Joan became a star first, which always irked her rival, who suggested her success had come via the casting couch. 'It sure as hell beats the hard cold floor' was Crawford's scathing response. According to Davis, Crawford was not only a nymphomaniac but also 'vain, jealous and about as stable and trustworthy as a basket of snakes'. Crawford, in turn, accused Davis of stealing her glory and planning to destroy her.The two rivals fought over as many men as they did parts - when Bette fell in love with her co-star in DANGEROUS, Franchot Tone, Joan stepped in and married him. The women worked together only once, in the classic thriller WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, in which their violent hatred of each other as rival sisters was no act.'Shaun Considine's story of the two divas is vastly informative and in parts hilarious' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'Fascinating and vastly entertaining . . . all you want is more' TIME OUT 'Considine's well-researched book is an account of one of Hollywood's most extraordinary relationships' DAILY EXPRESS '[A] Scurrilously readable twin biography' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Considine's dual biography is a guilty pleasure' SUNDAY HERALD'Brilliant, outrageous and hysterical' Suranne Jones (Star of BBC One's Doctor Foster)
Better
by Amy Robach"I have breast cancer." When Good Morning America anchor Amy Robach revealed her shocking diagnosis on live television in November 2013, the seasoned news reporter embarked on the most difficult and illuminating journey of her life. In this intimate memoir she retraces the twelve months following her announcement and speaks candidly, for the first time, about how her illness affected her family life and her marriage, tapped into her deepest fears and strengths, and transformed her in ways she never could have imagined. Only weeks earlier, in September 2013, ABC producers asked Robach to get an on-air mammogram to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Her first instinct was to say no--there was no history of cancer in her family, she was only forty years old, and she felt strange drawing attention to herself when she had no personal connection to the issue. (She'd been meaning to get her first mammogram that year but had conveniently "lost" the prescription.) Her colleague Robin Roberts, herself a cancer survivor, convinced her to do it with one simple sentence: "I can pretty much guarantee it will save a life." To Robach's surprise, the life she saved was her own: Tests revealed malignant tumors in her breast, and she immediately underwent a bilateral mastectomy, followed by six months of chemotherapy treatments. Better is more than a story of illness and recovery. Robach recounts the day she and her husband, Andrew Shue, got the terrible news; the difficulty of telling her two young daughters, and the challenges of carrying on with the everyday duties of parenting, nurturing a fledgling second marriage, and managing a public career. She lays bare the emotional toll of her experience and mines her past for the significant moments that gave her the resilience to face each day. And she describes the incredible support network that lifted her when she hit bottom. With honesty, humility, and humor, Robach connects deeply with women just like her who have struggled with any kind of sudden adversity. More important, she shares valuable wisdom about the power of the human spirit to endure the worst--and find the way to better.Advance praise for Better "By selflessly sharing the incredible story of her unexpected journey with breast cancer, Amy has given countless others hope. Better is the perfect title for her beautiful book. Sitting next to her every morning at GMA, I'm blessed to experience how my dear colleague and friend makes everything and everyone better."--Robin Roberts, co-anchor of Good Morning America "Amy is tough as nails and tenderhearted. The perfect combination, no? I have loved her for years, but never more than when I watched her beat cancer with such strength and grace. Her book is full of hope and healing--for Amy, and for all of us."--Hoda Kotb, co-host of Today "In Better, Amy Robach deftly brings us to the brink and back, showing us how, in life's most wicked rapids, we can rise above our fear and find safe passage."--Kelly Corrigan, author of Glitter and Glue "Amy Robach describes her experience with cancer in a way that incorporates the medical, emotional, personal, professional, maternal, and romantic aspects of life. You will laugh, cry, and learn."--Jennifer Ashton, M.D., ob-gyn, ABC News senior medical contributor and co-host of The DoctorsFrom the Hardcover edition.
Bettyville: A Memoir
by George Hodgman<P>When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself--an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook--in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. <P>Will George lure her into assisted living? <P>When hell freezes over. <P>He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure--the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay. <P>As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty's life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town--crumbling but still colorful--to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair. <P>Evocative of The End of Your Life Book Club and The Tender Bar, Hodgman's New York Times bestselling debut is both an indelible portrait of a family and an exquisitely told tale of a prodigal son's return. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Bettyville
by George Hodgman'OUR FAVOURITE READS OF 2016' THE TIMES | A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A BOOK THAT HAS YOU EMAILING FRIENDS "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS"' The Sunday Times - 'A WARM AND POIGNANT MEMOIR' Daily Express - 'WITHOUT A DOUBT MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE YEAR' Nathan Lane, Wall Street JournalSigned by Paramount for TV starring Oscar-winner Shirley MacLaine & Tony-winner Matthew BroderickA witty, tender memoir of a son's journey home to care for his irascible mother with dementia - a tale of secrets, silences, and enduring love.When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself-an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook-in a head-on collision with his ageing mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure-the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay.As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty's life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town-crumbling but still colourful-to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair. Evocative of The End of Your Life Book Club and The Tender Bar, Hodgman's New York Times bestselling debut is both an indelible portrait of a family and an exquisitely told tale of a prodigal son's return.
Between Gods: A Memoir
by Alison PickProfound, honest, and masterfully written—Between Gods forces us to reexamine our beliefs and the extent to which they define us.Growing up in a tight-knit Christian family, Alison Pick went to church regularly. But as a teenager, she discovered a remarkable family secret: her paternal grandparents fled from the Czech Republic at the start of WWII because they were Jewish. Tragically, other family members who hesitated to emigrate were sent to Auschwitz.Haunted by the Holocaust, Alison's grandparents established themselves in their new lives as Christians. Not even Alison's father knew of his parents' past until he visited the Jewish cemetery in Prague as an adult. This atmosphere of shame and secrecy haunted Alison's journey into adulthood.Drowning in a sense of emptiness, she eventually came to realize that her true path forward lay in reclaiming her history and identity as a Jew, and she began attending conversion classes. But the process was far from easy as old wounds were opened, and all of her relationships were tested.
Between Politics and Sanity: From Michelle Obama (A Vintage Short)
by Peter SlevinFrom the definitive biography of the former First Lady, this is an inspiring window into the life of Michelle Obama as she navigated adversity and made her mark in the early White House years that followed her husband Barack Obama’s historic victory. Deeply researched and told with a storyteller’s eye for detail, Peter Slevin highlights how Michelle became an admired and beloved American icon as she learned to inhabit the office with purpose, grace and humor--even as she faced unprecedented public scrutiny of her policy initiatives, her fashion choices and her day-to-day family life. A Vintage Shorts Selection. An ebook short.
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.”<P><P> In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?<P> Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.<P> <b>Winner of the National Book Award</b> <p> <b>Winner of the 2016 Alex Award (10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences)</b> <P><b> Nominee for the 2018 Young Reader's Choice Award </b> <i>(Pacific Northwest Library Association)</i>
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen
by Mary Norris"Hilarious. . . . This book charmed my socks off." --Patricia O'Conner, New York Times Book Review Mary Norris has spent more than three decades in The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. Now she brings her vast experience, good cheer, and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in a boisterous language book as full of life as it is of practical advice. Between You & Me features Norris's laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation, and usage--comma faults, danglers, "who" vs. "whom," "that" vs. "which," compound words, gender-neutral language--and her clear explanations of how to handle them. Down-to-earth and always open-minded, she draws on examples from Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and the Lord's Prayer, as well as from The Honeymooners, The Simpsons, David Foster Wallace, and Gillian Flynn. She takes us to see a copy of Noah Webster's groundbreaking Blue-Back Speller, on a quest to find out who put the hyphen in Moby-Dick, on a pilgrimage to the world's only pencil-sharpener museum, and inside the hallowed halls of The New Yorker and her work with such celebrated writers as Pauline Kael, Philip Roth, and George Saunders. Readers--and writers--will find in Norris neither a scold nor a softie but a wise and witty new friend in love with language and alive to the glories of its use in America, even in the age of autocorrect and spell-check. As Norris writes, "The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around."
Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen
by Mary NorrisThe most irreverent and helpful book on language since the #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Mary Norris has spent more than three decades in The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. Now she brings her vast experience, good cheer, and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in a boisterous language book as full of life as it is of practical advice. Between You & Me features Norris's laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation, and usage--comma faults, danglers, "who" vs. "whom," "that" vs. "which," compound words, gender-neutral language--and her clear explanations of how to handle them. Down-to-earth and always open-minded, she draws on examples from Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and the Lord's Prayer, as well as from The Honeymooners, The Simpsons, David Foster Wallace, and Gillian Flynn. She takes us to see a copy of Noah Webster's groundbreaking Blue-Back Speller, on a quest to find out who put the hyphen in Moby-Dick, on a pilgrimage to the world's only pencil-sharpener museum, and inside the hallowed halls of The New Yorker and her work with such celebrated writers as Pauline Kael, Philip Roth, and George Saunders. Readers--and writers--will find in Norris neither a scold nor a softie but a wise and witty new friend in love with language and alive to the glories of its use in America, even in the age of autocorrect and spell-check. As Norris writes, "The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around."
Beyond Championships: A Playbook for Winning at Life
by Chris Morrow Dru Joyce II Lebron JamesAs the coach of one of high school basketball’s greatest programs, Coach Dru Joyce has been mentor and motivator to some of the nation’s best young players, including basketball legend LeBron James. Despite having virtually no experience in the sport, in less than ten years Dru went from a no-name fan to one of the highest profile basketball coaches in the country. With insight and grit earned from his years on and off the court, Coach Dru shares for the first time the secrets to his teams’ success and his own coaching achievements. Far more than a sports book, Beyond Championships is a blueprint for anyone looking to make better choices, reach their full potential, and become winners in all areas of life. As Dru outlines the nine principles that he promotes to his players and tries to live in his own life as well, you’ll discover that the solid foundation on which he built so many successful basketball programs can be applied to almost any situation. As you assess your chosen path in life and look for ways to embark on a more inspiring and rewarding journey, Coach Dru offers an accessible and relatable roadmap for personal evolution.
Beyond Championships Teen Edition: A Playbook for Winning at Life
by Lebron James Chris Morrow Dru Joyce IIIn Beyond Championships Teen Edition, Coach Dru Joyce lays out the steps teens can follow to become winners on and off the court. Much more than a sports book, Beyond Championships Teen Edition is a blueprint for anyone looking to make better choices and reach their full potential. The book speaks to athletes aspiring to emulate LeBron’s success, as well as anyone who feels either uninspired or unable to change the direction of their lives. In less than ten years, Coach Dru went from someone resigned to a dull-yet-stable existence to one of the highest profile basketball coaches in the country, despite having virtually no background in the sport. It was an incredible transformation, the type most people only dream of, but one Coach Dru proved can become a reality with the right combination of faith and hard work. Beyond Championships Teen Edition focuses on the nine principles Coach Dru promotes to his players and tries to live his own life. While these principles act as the foundation on which Coach Dru has built so many successful basketball teams, their universality ensures that they can be applied to any situation.
Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting meaning and joy in all that you have
by Anthony SeldonAs Britain's best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world. In this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. In fact, the author is highly critical of 'positive psychology' and other dominant schools of thought.In fact, we need to reach beyond this if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper levels of experience, which alone result in the joyful life which is our birthright. Paradoxically, as this book demonstrates, stepping off the happiness treadmill will ultimately make for a happier and more fulfilled life. It is time to go beyond happiness.
Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting meaning and joy in all that you have
by Anthony SeldonAs Britain's best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world. In this book Anthony Seldon distinguishes between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. In fact, the author is highly critical of 'positive psychology' and other dominant schools of thought. In fact, we need to reach beyond this if we are to access the deepest levels of human experience open to us, and find our own unique path in life. The author offers a further 5 steps, which point the way to accessing these deeper levels of experience, which alone result in the joyful life which is our birthright. Paradoxically, as this book demonstrates, stepping off the happiness treadmill will ultimately make for a happier and more fulfilled life. It is time to go beyond happiness.
Beyond No Mean Soldier: The Explosive Recollections of a Former Special Forces Operator
by Peter McAleeseThe SAS veteran, mercenary and author of No Mean Soldier looks back on a life of combat in this revised and expanded edition of his classic memoir. Peter McAleese&’s No Mean Soldier set the bar for the modern military memoir. This completely revised and expanded edition sees a philosophical McAleese revisiting his time with Britain's Parachute Regiment, the SAS, Rhodesia's SAS and the South African Defense Force's 44 Para Brigade. Peter also recounts a range of other adventures, from his experiences with private military companies to near fatal skydiving accidents. With previously unpublished photos from McAleese&’s private collection, Beyond No Mean Soldier delves deeper and further into the author&’s wide-ranging experiences, the men he's served with, and the operations he'd conducted. Here in startling detail are the Aden insurgency; covert operations with the Rhodesian SAS; one of the first ever operational HALO inserts in British military history; assaults on SWAPO positions with 44 Para's Pathfinder Company; a botched assassination attempt in Colombia; and much more.
Bichitra: The Making of an Online Tagore Variorum (Quantitative Methods in the Humanities and Social Sciences)
by Sukanta ChaudhuriThis book documents the creation of the Bichitra Online Tagore Variorum, a publicly accessible database of Rabindranath Tagore's complete works in Bengali and English totaling some 140,000 pages of primary material. Chapters cover innovative aspects of the site, all replicable in other projects: a hyperbibliography; a search engine and hyperconcordance working across the database; and a unique collation program comparing variant texts at three levels. There are also chapters on the special problems of processing manuscripts, and on planning the website. Early chapters take readers through the history of the project, an overview of Tagore's works, and the Bengali writing system with the challenges of adapting it to electronic form. The name Bichitra, meaning "various" in Bengali, alludes both to the great variety of Tagore's works and to their various stages of composition. Beyond their literary excellence, they are notable for their sheer quantity, the number of variant forms of a great many items, and their afterlife in translation, often the poet's own. Seldom if ever has the same writer revised his material and recast it across genres on such a scale. Tagore won the Nobel Prize in 1913. By its value-added presentation of this range of material, Bichitra can be a model for future databases covering an author's complete works or other major corpus of texts. It offers vastly expanded access to Tagore's writings, and enables new kinds of research including computational text analysis. The "book of the website" shows in technical and human terms how researchers with interests in art, literature and technology can collaborate on cultural informatics projects.
The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray: A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor
by Robert SchnakenbergHe's the sort of actor who can do Hamlet and Charlie's Angels in the same year. He shuns managers and agents and once agreed to voice the part of Garfield because he mistakenly believed it was a Coen brothers film. Bill Murray's extraordinary career is rich with fascinating anecdotes, contradictions, and mystery, from his early success on Saturday Night Live and the biggest blockbusters of the 1980s (Caddyshack, Stripes, Tootsie, Ghostbusters) to his reinvention as a hipster icon in the early 21st century (in films like Lost in Translation and Moonrise Kingdom). And now you can get your fill of Bill: part biography, part critical appreciation, part love letter, and all fun, The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray chronicles every single Murray performance in loving detail, relating all the milestones, yarns, and controversy in the life of this beloved but enigmatic performer. These pages are packed with color film stills and behind-the-scenes photography.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Big Bill
by H. A. BranhamThe first major authorized biography of NASCAR founder, Bill France Sr.Big Bill is the consummate "insider" book on the life and legend of NASCAR founder Bill France and tells the tale of a classic American success story. France Sr. brought his family to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1934, put down roots and immersed himself in the business of racing, both as a driver and an owner. Nicknamed "Big Bill" because of his 6-foot-5 stature, he made significant contributions to the racing world - he founded NASCAR in December 1947, built Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and built Talladega Superspeedway in 1969, and landed the landmark R.J. Reynolds/Winston sponsorship deal in 1971 that not only transformed NASCAR but also transformed corporate sponsorship of sports in America. The France family has spent the last 30 years gathering a vast collection of files and material about their family patriarch and has turned over countless interviews -- both written and taped -- as well as NASCAR documents, memorabilia, memos, letters and various other materials to the author for this definitive biography. Big Bill offers NASCAR fans a rich, entertaining, emotional, and detailed story about America's most recognized and admired racing family.