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Purpose: An Immigrant's Story
by Anthony Bozza Wyclef JeanPurpose is Wyclef Jean’s powerful story of a life rooted in struggle, soul-searching, art, and survival.In his own voice the multi-platinum musician and producer shares everything, from his childhood in Haiti to his rise to the top of the American music scene. For the first time ever, Wyclef reveals the behind-the-scenes story of the Fugees, including his partnership with Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel, the details of their award-winning album The Score, and the solo career that followed.For fans of early Wyclef efforts like The Carnival or later albums like From the Hut, To the Projects, To the Mansion—and for fans of books like Jay-Z’s Decoded or Russell Simmons’ Super Rich—Wyclef’s Purpose is an inspiring, one-of-a-kind look at one of the world’s most talented artists.
Pursuing China: Memoir of a Beaver Liaison Officer
by Brian L. EvansA memoir of one academic’s lifelong fascination with China, examining China’s history as well as its relationship with Canada.Brian Evans blends memoir and history to draw a vivid picture of China and its cultural outreach over the past three decades. His historical and sociological insights as student, scholar, and administrator form an authentic commentary as he discusses China and the Cold War; the Cultural Revolution; the post-Mao transformation of China; Canada’s relations with China; the cultural impact of the overseas Chinese community on the Canadian Prairies; development of China studies in Canada and elsewhere; the current impact of China on Canadian higher education; and recent Chinese history seen within a broader context. With this book, Evans seeks to make a contribution to the understanding of the nature and wide range of Canada-China relations, an area in which he himself has played a role.Praise for Pursuing China“It’s no dry academic tome. Instead, Evans mixes his analysis of China’s history and geopolitics with raucous yarns, recounting his personal adventures and misadventures, at home and abroad.” —Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal“As a memoirist, Evans has two great strengths. The first is his sense of humour, which brings us several wonderful anecdotes. . . . Evans’ second strength is his unflinching honesty.” —Diana Lary, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 85, No. 4“[Evans’] book makes compelling reading.” —George Fetherling, Diplomat and International Canada, Summer 2012
Pursuing China: Memoir of a Beaver Liaison Officer
by Brian L. EvansA memoir of one academic’s lifelong fascination with China, examining China’s history as well as its relationship with Canada.Brian Evans blends memoir and history to draw a vivid picture of China and its cultural outreach over the past three decades. His historical and sociological insights as student, scholar, and administrator form an authentic commentary as he discusses China and the Cold War; the Cultural Revolution; the post-Mao transformation of China; Canada’s relations with China; the cultural impact of the overseas Chinese community on the Canadian Prairies; development of China studies in Canada and elsewhere; the current impact of China on Canadian higher education; and recent Chinese history seen within a broader context. With this book, Evans seeks to make a contribution to the understanding of the nature and wide range of Canada-China relations, an area in which he himself has played a role.Praise for Pursuing China“It’s no dry academic tome. Instead, Evans mixes his analysis of China’s history and geopolitics with raucous yarns, recounting his personal adventures and misadventures, at home and abroad.” —Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal“As a memoirist, Evans has two great strengths. The first is his sense of humour, which brings us several wonderful anecdotes. . . . Evans’ second strength is his unflinching honesty.” —Diana Lary, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 85, No. 4“[Evans’] book makes compelling reading.” —George Fetherling, Diplomat and International Canada, Summer 2012
Push Off from Here: Nine Essential Truths to Get You Through Sobriety (and Everything Else)
by Laura McKowenFrom the bestselling author of We Are the Luckiest and founder of the international recovery community The Luckiest Club comes a modern exploration of addiction that offers nine foundational building blocks that anyone at any stage of sobriety can use.No matter how far astray you&’ve gone or how many times you&’ve tried and failed before, as long as you&’re still sitting here, breathing, and reading these words, freedom and joy are still possible.When Laura McKowen was two years sober, she received an email from a woman whose sister was struggling with alcohol addiction. McKowen had barely climbed out from the dark place the woman&’s sister was in, but she made a list of the things she most needed to hear when she was deep in her own battle.1. It is not your fault. 2. It is your responsibility.3. It is unfair that this is your thing.4. This is your thing.5. This will never stop being your thing until you face it.6. You cannot do it alone.7. Only you can do it.8. You are loved.9. We will never stop reminding you of these things.In Push Off from Here, McKowen delves deeply into each of her nine points: what they mean, how they work, and how every person can live them. She addresses topics such as the correlation between trauma and addiction, the importance of radical honesty, letting go of the illusion of control, the value of community, a reminder that healing is a continual process, and that the process is a gift. Whether you&’re just starting out or have been sober for decades, McKowen instructs us to be kind to ourselves: Change is messy and progress is rarely linear, but we can always push off from here.The stories and advice McKowen shares are specific to alcohol addiction, but the tenets are universal in their application and useful no matter what challenge you face. With profound honesty and boundless compassion, Push Off from Here provides an actionable framework for healing what pains us and proves that a life of sobriety can be synonymous with a life of magic, peace, and freedom.
Pushing Past the Night
by Michael Moore Mario Calabresi Roger CohenDecember 15, 1969, was the most important day of Mario Calabresi's life, although he would not be born for another year. On that date, the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli fell to his death from a window at the Milan police headquarters, where he was being questioned about his role in the Piazza Fontana massacre, the most infamous episode of domestic terrorism in Italy.Police Inspector Luigi Calabresi, Mario's father, was in the building, though not in the room, at the time of the accident. This didn't stop the rumors that Pinelli had been killed by Calabresi. These suspicions kicked off "a ferocious lynching, albeit in slow motion"--as the Italian paper La Repubblica characterized it--that culminated in the murder of Luigi Calabresi outside his home one morning in 1972. Calabresi left behind his pregnant wife and two young sons.In this memoir, Mario Calabresi explores the personal and political fallout of Italy's era of domestic terrorism in a poignant and very personal account. His grief at the murder of his father is balanced by a desire to overcome the divisions that still scar Italy today. This powerful book calls not only for accountability but also for redemption. As Mario Calabresi's mother always told him, you have to look to the future, stake your bets on life, and refuse to be a prisoner of hatred.
Pushing Past the Night: Coming to Terms with Italy's Terrorist Past
by Mario CalabresiDecember 15, 1969, was the most important day of Mario Calabresi's life, although he would not be born for another year. On that date, the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli fell to his death from a window at the Milan police headquarters, where he was being questioned about his role in the Piazza Fontana massacre, the most infamous episode of domestic terrorism in Italy. Police Inspector Luigi Calabresi, Mario's father, was in the building, though not in the room, at the time of the accident. This didn't stop the rumors that Pinelli had been killed by Calabresi. These suspicions kicked off "a ferocious lynching, albeit in slow motion"-as the Italian paperLa Repubblicacharacterized it-that culminated in the murder of Luigi Calabresi outside his home one morning in 1972. Calabresi left behind his pregnant wife and two young sons. In this memoir, Mario Calabresi explores the personal and political fallout of Italy's era of domestic terrorism in a poignant and very personal account. His grief at the murder of his father is balanced by a desire to overcome the divisions that still scar Italy today. This powerful book calls not only for accountability but also for redemption. As Mario Calabresi's mother always told him, you have to look to the future, stake your bets on life, and refuse to be a prisoner of hatred.
Pushing Time Away: My Grandfather and the Tragedy of Jewish Vienna
by Peter Singer"A beautifully written and deeply moving personal document by one of our preeminent contemporary philosophers." --Joyce Carol Oates Peter Singer's Pushing Time Away is a rich and loving portrait of the author's grandfather, David Oppenheim, from the turn of the twentieth century to the end of his life in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Oppenheim, a Jewish teacher of Greek and Latin living in Vienna, was a contemporary and friend of both Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. With his wife, Amalie, one of the first women to graduate in math and physics from the University of Vienna, he witnessed the waning days of the Hapsburg Empire, the nascence of psychoanalysis, the grueling years of the First World War, and the rise of anti-Semitism and Nazism. Told partly through Oppenheim's personal papers, including letters to and from his wife and children, Pushing Time Away blends history, anecdote, and personal investigation to pull the story of one extraordinary life out of the millions lost to the Holocaust. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Peter Singer, including rare photos from the author's personal collection.
Pushing the Agenda
by Matthew N. BeckmannToday's presidents enter office having campaigned on an ambitious policy agenda, eager to see it enacted, and willing to push so that it is. The central question of presidents' legislative leadership, therefore, is not a question of resolve, it is a question of strategy: by what means can presidents build winning coalitions for their agenda? Pushing the Agenda uncovers the answer. It reveals the predictable nature of presidents' policy making opportunities and the systematic strategies White House officials employ to exploit those opportunities. Drawing on an eclectic array of original evidence - spanning presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush and issues ranging from education to energy, and healthcare to taxes - Matthew N. Beckmann finds modern presidents' influence in Congress is real, often substantial, and - to date - largely underestimated.
Pushing the Boundaries: The Perfect Gift Book for Cricket Fans
by Derek PringleDerek Pringle is finally ready to tell his story of cricket in the 80s. First chosen by England whilst still at university in 1982, Derek featured in the national side for the next 11 years. He played 30 Tests, 44 One Day Internationals, and appeared in 2 World Cups.Inside the dressing room, and out on the pitch, Derek witnessed at first hand an era of English cricket populated by characters such as Botham, Gooch, Lamb, and Gower. An era so far removed from today's rather anodyne sporting environment. And it wasn't just at international level that the sport lived life to the full. He was an integral part of Essex's all conquering side that won the County Championship 6 times as well as numerous one day trophies. Full of insight and experience here is the story of one of English cricket's most tumultuous periods told by someone who was there.
Pushing the Boundaries: The Perfect Gift Book for Cricket Fans
by Derek PringleDerek Pringle is finally ready to tell his story of cricket in the 80s. First chosen by England whilst still at university in 1982, Derek featured in the national side for the next 11 years. He played 30 Tests, 44 One Day Internationals, and appeared in 2 World Cups.Inside the dressing room, and out on the pitch, Derek witnessed at first hand an era of English cricket populated by characters such as Botham, Gooch, Lamb, and Gower. An era so far removed from today's rather anodyne sporting environment. And it wasn't just at international level that the sport lived life to the full. He was an integral part of Essex's all conquering side that won the County Championship 6 times as well as numerous one day trophies. Full of insight and experience here is the story of one of English cricket's most tumultuous periods told by someone who was there.
Pushkin: A Biography
by T. J. BinyonIn the course of his short, dramatic life, Aleksandr Pushkin gave Russia not only its greatest poetry-including the novel-in-verse Eugene Onegin-but a new literary language. He also gave it a figure of enduring romantic allure-fiery, restless, extravagant, a prodigal gambler and inveterate seducer of women. Having forged a dazzling, controversial career that cost him the enmity of one tsar and won him the patronage of another, he died at the age of thirty-eight, following a duel with a French officer who was paying unscrupulous attention to his wife.In his magnificent, prizewinning Pushkin, T. J. Binyon lifts the veil of the iconic poet's myth to reveal the complexity and pathos of his life while brilliantly evoking Russia in all its nineteenth-century splendor. Combining exemplary scholarship with the pace and detail of a great novel, Pushkin elevates biography to a work of art.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Put Me Back on My Bike: In Search of Tom Simpson
by William FotheringhamDiscover the story of Britain’s ultimate cyclist and his ill-fated race during the 1967 Tour de France, from the bestselling author of Half Man Half BikeTom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death during the 1967 Tour. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper 'Major Tom' inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life. Put Me Back on My Bike revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to produce the definitive story of Britain's greatest ever cyclist. The fully revised and updated edition of William Fotheringham's classic biography features a new foreword and postscript further exploring the truth behind the legend.‘The best cycling biography ever written' Velo ‘A beautiful explanation of why Simpson's legend still exerts such a powerful hold’ Sunday Times
Put More Cash in Your Pocket: Turn What You Know into Dough
by Loral LangemeierMoney management expert Loral Langemeier tells us it’s time to stop pinching pennies and worrying about debt. With Put More Cash in Your Pocket, she shows us how to make $1000 more a month by turning skills, hobbies, and chores into extra income. The Wall St. Journal, Business Week, USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author and personal finance guru regularly featured on Dr. Phil, Langemeier offers a treasure trove of workable strategies for thriving in today’s difficult economic times. Don’t let the recession get you down! Stop sacrificing and Put More Cash in Your Pocket!
Puta gorda, feminazi
by Penny JayG (Sara García)La historia de una cómica, una feminista y una casi suicida: la biografía autorizada de Penny Jay, creadora de la Riot Comedy Cuando, en enero de 2019, Penny Jay acudió a La Resistencia para hablar de la Riot Comedy, el proyecto en el que daba voz a mujeres cómicas, estaba segura de que le iba a cambiar la vida. Y, desde luego, lo hizo. Las redes se incendiaron. «Puta», «gorda» y «feminazi» fueron alguna de las cosas más suaves que la llamaron. ¿Su crimen? Atreverse a hablar en contra de lo establecido.Pero su viaje comenzó mucho antes, en un barrio del sur de Madrid. Haciendo un repaso tan sarcástico como descarnado de su vida, Penny Jay reflexiona sobre el machismo, el feminismo, las drogas, el sexo y todos los escollos que ha tenido que superar al viajar entre las luces y las sombras del mundo de la comedia. Entre tanto confeti, nacieron las envidias, las traiciones y los intereses, y ahí es donde casi me pierdo.
Puthumaippithan (Inthiya Ilakkiya Sirpikal)
by VallikkannanThis book is a monograph in Tamil on Puthumaippithan, the pseudonym of C. Viruthachalam (April 25, 1906 - May 5, 1948), one of the most influential and revolutionary writers of Tamil fiction whose writings were the reflections of social satire, progressive thinking and threadbare criticism of accepted conventions.
Putin
by Philip ShortThe first comprehensive, fully up-to-date biography of Vladimir Putin, woven into the tumultuous saga of Russia over the last sixty years Vladimir Putin is the world’s most dangerous man. Alone among world leaders, he has the power to reduce the United States and Europe to ashes in a nuclear firestorm and has threatened to do so. He invades his neighbors, most recently Ukraine, meddles in western elections, and orders assassinations inside and outside Russia. His regime is autocratic and deeply corrupt. But that is only half the story.Unflinching, hard-hitting, and objective, Philip Short’s biography gives us the whole tale, up to the present day. To the fullest extent anyone has yet been able, Short cracks open the strongman’s thick carapace to reveal the man underneath those bare-chested horseback rides. In this deeply researched account, readers meet the Putin who slept in the same room as his parents until he was twenty-five years old, who backed out of his wedding right beforehand, and who learned English in order to be able to talk to George W. Bush.Vladimir Putin is wreaking havoc in Europe, threatening global peace and stability and exposing his fellow citizens to devastating economic countermeasures. Yet puzzlingly many Russians continue to support him. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the many facets of the man behind the mask that Putin wears on the world stage.Drawing on almost two hundred interviews conducted over eight years in Russia, the United States, and Europe and on source material in more than a dozen languages, Putin will be the last word for years to come.
Putin And The Rise Of Russia: The Country That Came In From The Cold
by Michael StuermerA brilliant analysis of Putin and the key role a resurgent Russia has to play in world affairs.When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was left wondering about its destiny. Russia is still an enormous power with a population exceeding 140 million, immense military resources and giant energy reserves - in short, a vast land full of promise and opportunity.Russia has the potential to be a force of stability or a force of turmoil, but when it comes to global affairs, can she be persuaded to join the world order? Will yesterday's revolutionary power become tomorrow's stabilizer?Professor Stuermer's authoritative and timely account considers a Russia going through a defining phase after the departure of Vladimir Putin. History is on the move: we face an open and challenging future in which Russia, for better or for worse, will play a key role.
Putin And The Rise Of Russia: The Country That Came In From The Cold
by Michael StuermerA brilliant analysis of Putin and the key role a resurgent Russia has to play in world affairs.When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was left wondering about its destiny. Russia is still an enormous power with a population exceeding 140 million, immense military resources and giant energy reserves - in short, a vast land full of promise and opportunity.Russia has the potential to be a force of stability or a force of turmoil, but when it comes to global affairs, can she be persuaded to join the world order? Will yesterday's revolutionary power become tomorrow's stabilizer?Professor Stuermer's authoritative and timely account considers a Russia going through a defining phase after the departure of Vladimir Putin. History is on the move: we face an open and challenging future in which Russia, for better or for worse, will play a key role.
Putin Redux: Power and Contradiction in Contemporary Russia
by Richard SakwaThis book builds on the strengths of the previous volumes by the same author to provide the most detailed and nuanced account of the man, his politics and his profound influence on Russian politics, foreign policy and society. However, this is not a new edition of the earlier books but is an entirely new work. The focus now is on the dilemmas of power since 2008. There is a brief biographical sketch of Vladimir Putin and much analysis of his ideas and policies, but the book now focuses on the systemic contradictions that have created a blockage on modernisation and a stalemate in politics, Putin's role as Prime Minister since 2008 and his political successes and failures, analysis of the implications of Putin's third term as President and the 2011-12 electoral cycle and the ensuing crisis which led to thousands protesting on the streets This work assesses the achievements and failing of Putin’s rule, but above all tries to make sense of contemporary developments. This is the definitive account of Putin and is essential reading for all scholars and students of Russian politics.
Putin's Prisoner: My Time as a Prisoner of War in Ukraine
by John Sweeney Aiden AslinBrought to you by Penguin.Aiden Aslin joined the Ukrainian marines in 2018, compelled to defend his adopted homeland from the growing threat of Russian invasion. In February 2022, as Russia mounted a full-scale offensive, Aiden and his unit were stationed at the frontline at Mariupol.Pinned down at a Mariupol steelworks, after a month-long siege and running out of supplies, Aiden was part of the mass surrender of over a thousand Ukrainian troops, in April 2022. Then his real ordeal began.Singled out for his British passport, Aiden was interrogated, tortured, stabbed, turned into a propaganda zombie, tried by a kangaroo court and then sentenced to death. A victim of a catalogue of abuses of international law, Aiden struggled to cling on to any hope of survival. Certain that he was going to be executed, he was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange and permitted to return home.In Putin's Prisoner, Aiden will tell the full, harrowing story of his time fighting in Putin's war, of his six months in Russian captivity, and of his hardened resolve to defend the freedoms of the people of Ukraine.©2023 Aiden Aslin & John Sweeney (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Putin: His Downfall and Russia's Coming Crash
by Richard LourieAn electrifying and timely book, by leading Russian expert Richard Lourie, that explores Putin's failures and whether Trump's election gives Putin extraordinarily dangerous opportunities in our mad new world."A master chronicler of modern Russia. Drawing on his own expertise, Lourie paints a convincing portrait of a ruthless authoritarian leader headed toward failure. This book serves as an essential primer on Putin and, by extension, Russia."—Publishers WeeklyFor reasons that are made clear in this book, Putin’s Russia will collapse just as Imperial Russia did in 1917 and as Soviet Russia did in 1991. The only questions are when, how violently, and with how much peril for the world. The U.S. election complicates everything, including:· Putin’s next land grab· Exploitations of the Arctic· Cyber-espionage· Putin and China…and many more crucial topics.Putin: His Downfall and Russia's Coming Crash is an essential read for everybody bewildered and dismayed by the new world order.
Putin: Russia's Choice
by Richard SakwaThe new edition of this extremely well-received political biography of Vladimir Putin builds on the strengths of the first edition to provide the most detailed and nuanced account of the man, his politics and his profound influence on Russian politics, foreign policy and society. New to this edition: analysis of Putin's second term as President more biographical information in the light of recent research detailed discussion of changes to the policy process and the élites around Putin developments in state-society relations including the conflicts with oligarchs such as Khodorkovsky review of changes affecting the party system and electoral legislation, including the development of federalism in Russia details on economic performance under Putin, including more discussion of the energy sector and pipeline politics Russia’s relationship with NATO after the ‘big bang’ enlargement, EU-Russian relations after enlargement, and Russia’s relations with other post-Soviet states the conclusion brings us up-to-date with debates over the question of democracy in Russia today and the nature of Putin’s leadership and his place in the world. Putin is essential reading for all scholars and students of Russian politics.
Putinism
by Marcel H. Van HerpenIn this original analysis of contemporary Russia, the author shows how Putin's regime is a completely new, right-wing political model that combines features of Mussolini's Italy with the 19th Century Bonapartism of Napoleon III and 21st Century Populism of Berlusconi. An essential read.
Puto lindo: La vida de Fernando Peña (y sus criaturas)
by Diego ScottDiego Scott, productor y testigo privilegiado, reconstruye la vida de Fernando Peña y propone recordar a un tipo con un talento descomunal que rompió las estructuras de la radio, el teatro y la televisión de la mano de La Mega, Palito, Roberto Flores, Sabino, Dick Alfredo, Milagritos y Martín Revoira Lynch. A través de la memoria de sus amigos y colaboradores, Diego Scott, productor y testigo privilegiado, reconstruye la vida de Fernando Peña y sus entrañables e inolvidables criaturas. Nos propone recordar a un tipo con una capacidad de observación descomunal que le permitió desarrollar su inmenso talento. Los excesos, la generosidad, la droga, el sexo y la inteligencia fueron solo la punta del iceberg de una personalidad absolutamente sensible que cambió y rompió con todos los formatos de la radio, el teatro y la televisión de la mano de La Mega, Palito, Roberto Flores, Sabino, Dick Alfredo, Milagritos y Martín Revoira Lynch. Como dice Sebastián Wainraich en el prólogo, este libro permite "visitar a Fernando Peña. Sentirlo vivo de nuevo. Traerlo un rato de la muerte para recordarnos que Fernando fue real y que todo lo que pasó y nos pasó con él fue de verdad". Lleno de nostalgia, el libro pone en primer plano nuevamente la voz de Peña y la intimidad de sus últimos días por esta vida que no le resultó fácil: "La gente gay tiene que actuar mucho. Es muy difícil: tu madre te rechaza, tu padre te hace problema, la sociedad, los amigos... entonces tenés que actuar de varias cosas".
Puttin' On the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache, A Biography
by Peter LevinsonFred Astaire defined elegance on the dance floor. With white tie, tails and a succession of elegant partners - Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth, Eleanor Powell, Judy Garland and others - he created an indelible image of the Anglo bon vivant. His origins, though, were far more humble: Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Fred Astaire came from Midwestern stock that partially had its origin in the late nineteenth century Jewish communities of Austria. At first, he played second fiddle in vaudeville to his sister, Adele; however, once he learned how to tap and bought his first Brooks Brothers suit, the game changed. How did he transform himself from a small town Nebraska boy into the most sophisticated man ever to dance across a dance floor? In this comprehensive new book about the life and artistry of Fred Astaire, Peter Levinson looks carefully at the entirety of Astaire's career from vaudeville to Broadway to Hollywood to television. He explores Astaire's relationships with his vivacious dance partners, his friendship with songwriters like George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and his relationship with choreographers like Hermes Pan to discover how Astaire, in effect, created his elegant persona. Astaire put his mark on the Hollywood musical, starting his career at RKO and then moving to MGM. From his long list of films, certain classics like "Swing Time", "Top Hat", "Royal Wedding" and "The Bandwagon" revolutionized the presentation of dance on film; but, he also revolutionized the television variety special with the Emmy-Award-Winning "An Evening With Fred Astaire". For 'Puttin' on the Ritz", veteran Hollywood insider, Peter Levinson interviewed over two hundred people who worked closely with Astaire such as Debbie Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke, Artie Shaw, Bobby Short, Oscar Peterson, Mel Ferrer, Betty Garrett, Joel Grey, Arlene Dahl, Michael Kidd, Betty Comden, Onna White, Margaret Whiting, Andy Williams, and others like Quincy Jones, John Travolta, and John Williams, to provide an intimate window on to his professional as well as his personal life. His new biography of Astaire is a celebration of the great era of sophistication on Broadway and in Hollywood as seen through the life of a man who learned how to put on the Ritz and become America's premiere song-and-dance-man: Fred Astaire.