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Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know: The Fathers of Wilde, Yeats and Joyce
by Colm ToibinFrom Colm Tóibín, the formidable award-winning author of The Master and Brooklyn, an illuminating, intimate study of Irish culture, history, and literature told through the lives and work of three men—William Wilde, John Butler Yeats, and John Stanislaus Joyce—and the complicated, influential relationships they had with their complicated sons.Colm Tóibín begins his incisive, revelatory Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know with a walk through the Dublin streets where he went to university—a wide-eyed boy from the country—and where three Irish literary giants also came of age. Oscar Wilde, writing about his relationship with his father, William Wilde, stated: “Whenever there is hatred between two people there is bond or brotherhood of some kind…you loathed each other not because you were so different but because you were so alike.” W.B. Yeats wrote of his father, John Butler Yeats, a painter: “It is this infirmity of will which has prevented him from finishing his pictures. The qualities I think necessary to success in art or life seemed to him egotism.” John Stanislaus Joyce, James’s father, was perhaps the most quintessentially Irish, widely loved, garrulous, a singer, and drinker with a volatile temper, who drove his son from Ireland. Elegant, profound, and riveting, Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know illuminates not only the complex relationships between three of the greatest writers in the English language and their fathers, but also illustrates the surprising ways these men surface in their work. Through these stories of fathers and sons, Tóibín recounts the resistance to English cultural domination, the birth of modern Irish cultural identity, and the extraordinary contributions of these complex and masterful authors.
Life Inside My Mind: 31 Authors Share Their Personal Struggles
by Amber Benson Maureen Johnson Francesca Lia Block Ellen Hopkins Melissa Marr Wendy Toliver Crissa-Jean Chappell Sara Zarr Hannah Moskowitz Cyn Balog Francisco X. Stork Aprilynne Pike Amy Reed Jessica Burkhart Lauren Oliver Cynthia Hand Megan Kelley Hall Robison Wells Dan Wells E. Kristin Anderson Tom Pollock Jennifer L. Armentrout Sarah Fine Karen Mahoney Rachel M. Wilson Candace Ganger Kelly Fiore-Stultz Scott Neumyer Tara Kelly Kimberly McCreight Cindy L. RodriguezYour favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental illness in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD. <P><P>Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t get out of bed? Not the occasional morning, but every day? Do you find yourself listening to a voice in your head that says “you’re not good enough,” “not good looking enough,” “not thin enough,” or “not smart enough”? Have you ever found yourself unable to do homework or pay attention in class unless everything is “just so” on your desk? Everyone has had days like that, but what if you have them every day? You’re not alone. Millions of people are going through similar things. However issues around mental health still tend to be treated as something shrouded in shame or discussed in whispers. It’s easier to have a broken bone—something tangible that can be “fixed”—than to have a mental illness, and easier to have a discussion about sex than it is to have one about mental health. <P><P>Life Inside My Head is an anthology of true-life events from writers of this generation, for this generation. These essays tackle everything from neurodiversity to addiction to OCD to PTSD and much more. The goals of this book range from providing home to those who are feeling alone, awareness to those who are witnessing a friend or family member struggle, and to open the floodgates to conversation. Participating writers include E.K. Anderson, J.L. Armentrout, Cyn Balog, Amber Benson, Francesca Lia Block, Jessica Burkhart, Crissa Chappell, Sarah Fine, Kelly Fiore, Candace Ganger, Meghan Kelley Hall, Cynthia Hand, Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, Tara Kelly, Karen Mahoney, Melissa Marr, Kim McCreight, Hannah Moskowitz, Scott Neumyer, Lauren Oliver, Aprilynne Pike, Tom Pollack, Amy Reed, Cindy Rodriquez, Francisco Stork, Wendy Tolliver, Rob Wells, Dan Wells, Rachel Wilson, and Sara Zarr.
La búsqueda de un sueño: Una autobiografía (Atria Espanol)
by Reyna GrandeLa extraordinaria historia de Reyna Grande—que comenzó en su exitosa autobiografía La distancia entre nosotros—continúa ahora en esta fabulosa travesía para encontrar su lugar en los Estados Unidos como universitaria latina de primera generación y como escritora.Reyna Grande tenía nueve años cuando cruzó la frontera de México y los Estados Unidos buscando un hogar y el reencuentro con sus padres, quienes la habían dejado en su tierra natal para migrar a Los Ángeles en busca de una mejor vida. Sin embargo, lo que encontró fue a una madre indiferente y a un padre alcohólico y violento, en un país cuyo sistema educativo menospreciaba sus raíces. Reyna se refugió en las palabras. Su amor por la lectura y la escritura fueron su inspiración para salir adelante y lograr lo que parecía imposible: ser la primera persona en su familia en asistir a la universidad. Pero la experiencia universitaria resultó intimidante, y muy pronto descubrió que desconocía lo que se requiere para forjar una carrera a partir de un sueño. Contra viento y marea, Reyna convirtió su condición de inmigrante indocumentada en la de “una escritora valiente, inteligente y brillante” (Cheryl Strayed, autora de Wild) que “habla por millones de inmigrantes cuyas voces no han sido escuchadas” (Sandra Cisneros, autora de La casa en Mango Street). Narrada con esa prosa conmovedora y sincera que la caracteriza, en La búsqueda de un sueño Reyna Grande nos relata cómo persiguió sus sueños para construir lo que siempre había anhelado: un hogar duradero.
Out on a Leash: How Terry's Death Gave Me New Life
by Shirley MaclaineFrom internationally bestselling author, beloved actress, and “one-of-a-kind wit” (Vanity Fair) Shirley MacLaine comes a brilliant, fun-loving, and inspiring story of unconditional love.Shirley MacLaine found perfect love—in the furry bundle of irresistible canine charms that was Terry. With her winning terrier ways and an endless wellspring of absolute love, Terry succeeded in doing what no one before her ever had: slowing Shirley’s nomadic lifestyle and leading her home. Some of Shirley’s greatest pleasures included being with Terry on her New Mexico ranch or on a New York street, romping on the beach together, or sharing a long plane ride to a new location for making a film. With Terry by her side, Shirley was able to see the world in new ways she never thought possible. In this utterly charming book, told in both Shirley and Terry’s voices, Shirley explores how her beloved Terry provided a window for exploring the true nature of love and how to truly and fully live in the moment. Updated with a brand new ending, the book relates in deeply moving language Terry’s last days, and the joy Shirley felt when her bond with Terry proved unbreakable and Terry contacts her from the other side. A unique, witty, and ultimately wise memoir by one of the truly remarkable women of our time, Out on a Leash is the perfect gift for dog lovers and spiritual seekers everywhere.
Road to Gold: The Untold Story of Canada at the World Juniors
by Mark SpectorFrom bestselling author Mark Spector comes the behind-the-scenes story of the Canadian World Junior program&’s journey from obscurity to the international powerhouse that it is today.On the world junior hockey stage today, Canada is known as the team to beat. They hold the record for the most gold medals won (seventeen since the tournament&’s inception), their games draws millions of fans each year, and the tournament serves as a showcase for each year&’s best talent. But things weren&’t always so rosy. For years, Canada languished in obscurity at the World Juniors. Wearing the red-and-white wasn&’t a mark of honour but merely a sideshow to the players, owners resented the interruption to their league operations, and Canada was an afterthought at the tournament. Canada was supposed to be better at hockey than any nation on earth—how could the team languish in such obscurity? So, the team set out on a reclamation mission. The Program of Excellence was born, and with it, a new hope for hockey&’s future in Canada. No more would Canada be content with merely showing up. Instead, each year, the country would send its best talent—from Gretzky to Lemieux to Crosby to McDavid—to reclaim its spot at the top of the hockey world. Tracing the owner disputes, off-ice antics, and riveting on-ice action of nearly forty years at the World Juniors—and full of inside stories from hockey greats—this is hockey history as you&’ve never seen it before. Funny, smart, and clear-eyed, Mark Spector traces the remarkable rise of the Canadian World Junior program and shows how the World Juniors created not just a new team, but a new dream for the sport.
Wicked Kansas (Wicked)
by Adrian ZinkKansans like to think of their state as a land of industrious, law-abiding and friendly people, and for the most part they are correct. But its history has many tales of murders, cons, extrajudicial killings and other crimes. Its restive frontier attracted menacing characters, such as a cowboy who murdered a man for snoring, the serial-killing Bender family and the train-robbing James-Younger Gang. Although the area was eventually settled, the scandals did not cease. Learn about how a quack doctor nearly won the governorship, a decommissioned nuclear missile silo housed the largest LSD manufacturing operation in American history and more. Author Adrian Zink explores the salacious side of Kansas history in these wild and degenerate stories.
Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family
by Mitch AlbomChika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince. <p><p> With no children of their own, the forty-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. Chika’s arrival makes a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delights the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says, “No one in Haiti can help you with.” <p> Mitch and Janine bring Chika to Detroit, hopeful that American medical care can soon return her to her homeland. Instead, Chika becomes a permanent part of their household, and their lives, as they embark on a two-year, around-the-world journey to find a cure. As Chika’s boundless optimism and humor teach Mitch the joys of caring for a child, he learns that a relationship built on love, no matter what blows it takes, can never be lost. <p> Told in hindsight, and through illuminating conversations with Chika herself, this is Albom at his most poignant and vulnerable. Finding Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed—a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made. <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America
by Weijian ShanForeword by Janet YellenWeijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a powerful memoir and commentary that will be one of the most important books on China of our time, one with the potential to re-shape how Americans view China, and how the Chinese view life in America.Shan, a former hard laborer who is now one of Asia's best-known financiers, is thoughtful, observant, eloquent, and brutally honest, making him well-positioned to tell the story of a life that is a microcosm of modern China, and of how, improbably, that life became intertwined with America. Out of the Gobi draws a vivid picture of the raw human energy and the will to succeed against all odds.Shan only finished elementary school when Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution tore his country apart. He was a witness to the brutality and absurdity of Mao’s policies during one of the most tumultuous eras in China’s history. Exiled to the Gobi Desert at age 15 and denied schooling for 10 years, he endured untold hardships without ever giving up his dream for an education. Shan’s improbable journey, from the Gobi to the “People’s Republic of Berkeley” and far beyond, is a uniquely American success story – told with a splash of humor, deep insight and rich and engaging detail.This powerful and personal perspective on China and America will inform Americans' view of China, humanizing the country, while providing a rare view of America from the prism of a keen foreign observer who lived the American dream.Says former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen: “Shan’s life provides a demonstration of what is possible when China and the United States come together, even by happenstance. It is not only Shan’s personal history that makes this book so interesting but also how the stories of China and America merge in just one moment in time to create an inspired individual so unique and driven, and so representative of the true sprits of both countries.”
Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel
by Mark SullivanPino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager--obsessed with music, food, and girls--but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. <P><P>In an attempt to protect him, Pino's parents force him to enlist as a German soldier--a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler's left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich's most mysterious and powerful commanders. <P><P>Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share. <P><P>Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbroken will enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.
El niño de Schindler
by Leon LeysonLa conmovedora historia de Leon Leyson, el más joven de los mil judíos que Oskar Schindler salvó del Holocausto Leon solo tenía diez años cuando el ejército nazi invadió Polonia y su familia fue trasladada primero al gueto y, más tarde, al campo de concentración. Sobrevivió gracias a su valentía y determinación, pero solo un acto de bondad desinteresada pudo salvarlo: la lista de personas que creó Oskar Schindler, el empresario alemán cuya gesta se llevó a la gran pantalla en La lista de Schindler. Estas memorias, el único testimonio que tenemos de esta historia real, retratan a la perfección la inocencia de un niño que sufrió lo inimaginable y, aun así, supo conservar la dignidad, la esperanza y la fe en la humanidad.
James, su vida
by Nelson Freddy PadillaLa biografía de uno de los mejores jugadores colombianos de fútbol de los últimos tiempos. Después de entrevistar a más de 60 personas entre amigos, familiares, entrenadores y jugadores cercanos a James Rodríguez, recoger decenas de fotografías desde su infancia y de recorrer sus pasos, Nelson Fredy Padilla, autor de este libro, logra reconstruir con la minucia de un detective privado la vida de un niño que muy rápido se hizo hombre y que hoy hace parte del más selecto grupo de jugadores de élite internacional. Este libro es la confirmación de que en el fútbol, a la perseverancia, al sacrificio y al talento innato a veces le siguen la fama y felicidad absolutas..La vida de James está llena de gloria y esfuerzo y por eso todavía sus amigos recuerdan el día que su profesor de matemáticas lo regañó y le dijo: 'Acuérdese de que tiene que educar se porque usted es el hombre de la casa. O es que piensa vivir del fútbol'. Ante lo que James respondió: 'Sí señor. Amo el fútbol y voy a vivir del fútbol'
Justice for Bonnie: An Alaskan Teenager's Murder And Her Mother's Tireless Crusade For The Truth
by I. J. Schecter Karen FosterWhen Karen Foster was told that something had happened to her eighteen-year-old daughter, Bonnie Craig, she knew what it meant. The Alaska State Troopers investigating the scene ruled it a hiking accident, but for Karen, the pieces didn't add up. Bonnie would never have ditched class to go hiking. And she didn't drive--so how would she have reached McHugh Creek, miles out of town, in the first place? Armed with little more than her own conviction, Karen set out to find the truth behind her daughter's death. After a long series of false leads and dead ends, it seemed the case would forever go unsolved. Then, after twelve years of public campaigning, private despair, and increasingly tense dealings with the detectives working the case, Karen received an e-mail that would change everything; the system, at long last, had produced a match for the unknown DNA in the case--from a man in a jail all the way across the country. Here is the chilling tale of a mother's unflagging fight to track down the monster who stole her daughter's life--and the battle to ensure that he, and others like him, would no longer be able to evade justice. INCLUDES PHOTOS
The Cosmonaut Who Couldn't Stop Smiling: The Life And Legend Of Yuri Gagarin
by Andrew Jenks"Let’s go!" With that, the boyish, grinning Yuri Gagarin launched into space on April 12, 1961, becoming the first human being to exit Earth’s orbit. The twenty-seven-year-old lieutenant colonel departed for the stars from within the shadowy world of the Soviet military-industrial complex. Barbed wires, no-entry placards, armed guards, false identities, mendacious maps, and a myriad of secret signs had hidden Gagarin from prying outsiders not even his friends or family knew what he had been up to. Coming less than four years after the Russians launched Sputnik into orbit, Gagarin’s voyage was cause for another round of capitalist shock and Soviet rejoicing. The Cosmonaut Who Couldn’t Stop Smiling relates this twentieth-century icon’s remarkable life while exploring the fascinating world of Soviet culture.
It's Garry Shandling's Book
by Edited an introduction by Judd ApatowFrom Judd Apatow comes an intimate portrait of his mentor, the legendary stand-up comic and star of The Larry Sanders Show, with never-before-seen journal entries and photos, as well as new contributions by fellow comedians and writers. Garry Shandling was a singular trailblazer in the comedy world. His two hit shows, It&’s Garry Shandling&’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show, broke new ground and influenced future sitcoms like 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his stand-up laid the foundation for a whole new generation of comics. There&’s no one better to tell Shandling&’s story than Judd Apatow—Shandling gave Apatow one of his first jobs and remained his mentor for the rest of his life—and the book expands on Apatow&’s Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.Here, Apatow has gathered journal entries, photographs, and essays for a close-up look at the artist who turned his gaze back onto the world of show business. Beyond his success, though, Shandling struggled with fame, the industry of art, and the childhood loss of his brother, which forever affected his personal and professional lives. His diaries show Shandling to be self-aware and insightful, revealing a deep philosophical and spiritual side. Contributions by comedians and other leading lights of the industry, as well as people who grew up with Shandling, along with never-before-seen pieces of scripts and brilliant jokes that he never performed, shed new light on every facet of his life and work. This book is the final word on the lasting impact of the great Garry Shandling.
Professor Berman: The Last Lecture of Minnesota's Greatest Public Historian
by Hy Berman Jay WeinerBehind the scenes of Minnesota history, by way of the engaging life story of the state’s best-known and beloved political observer Professor Hy Berman (1925–2015) was, by most accounts, the face of public history in Minnesota for many decades—a peerless political observer and labor historian, popular lecturer and university professor, and familiar presence on the Twin Cities PBS show Almanac, dependably interpreting Minnesota history—and making some of his own. In Professor Berman: The Last Lecture of Minnesota’s Greatest Public Historian, readers encounter the Hy Berman audiences and students loved, telling stories as only he could—stories that are at once a close-up view of Minnesota history and a conversational self-portrait of a man who often found himself in the middle of that history even as it was unfolding. Berman came by his passion for history and politics naturally: as the “red diaper baby” of left-wing, Yiddish-speaking Polish immigrants in New York. With humor, sharp wit, and the insight of wisdom acquired over ninety years, he takes us back to that heady 1920s milieu that set him on a path that would one day lead to, among other adventures, a brush with the House Un-American Activities Committee, a role in a black student takeover on the University of Minnesota campus, and a lifelong alliance with Minnesota’s “Happy Warrior” for civil rights, Hubert Humphrey. Featuring an all-star cast of the state’s politicians (from Humphrey to Rudy Perpich, Harold Stassen, Arne Carlson, and Jesse Ventura) and full of engaging, often surprising anecdotes, Berman’s “last lecture” describes a rich life devoted to teaching that reached far beyond the classroom—and that found the professor translating history for an avid TV audience, helping to appoint the state’s first female Supreme Court justice, and testifying at Minnesota’s landmark tobacco trial. Edited and with an Introduction and Afterword by long-time Twin Cities journalist Jay Weiner, Hy Berman’s final lecture is a strong and powerful contribution to Minnesota’s story.
The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History
by Kassia St. ClairA Sunday Times (UK) Book of the Year Shortlisted • Society of Authors' Somerset Maugham Award A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week The best-selling author of The Secret Lives of Color returns with this rollicking narrative of the 30,000-year history of fabric, briskly told through thirteen charismatic episodes. From colorful 30,000-year-old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to the Indian calicoes that sparked the Industrial Revolution, The Golden Thread weaves an illuminating story of human ingenuity. Design journalist Kassia St. Clair guides us through the technological advancements and cultural customs that would redefi ne human civilization—from the fabric that allowed mankind to achieve extraordinary things (traverse the oceans and shatter athletic records) and survive in unlikely places (outer space and the South Pole). She peoples her story with a motley cast of characters, including Xiling, the ancient Chinese empress credited with inventing silk, to Richard the Lionhearted and Bing Crosby. Offering insights into the economic and social dimensions of clothmaking—and countering the enduring, often demeaning, association of textiles as “merely women’s work”—The Golden Thread offers an alternative guide to our past, present, and future.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice: A Memoir of Picasso, Provence, and Douglas Cooper
by John RichardsonJohn Richardson's riveting memoir about growing up in England and, at twenty-five, beginning his twelve-year adventure with the controversial art collector Douglas Cooper. With a new introduction by Jed Perl, here is John Richardson's richly entertaining memoir of his life with the brilliant but difficult British art expert Douglas Cooper--a fiendish, colorful, Evelyn Waugh-like figure who single-handedly assembled the world's most important private collection of Cubist paintings. John Richardson tells the story of their ill-fated but comical association, which began in London in 1949 when Richardson was twenty-five and moved onto the Château de Castille, the famous colonnaded folly in Provence that they restored and filled with masterpieces by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Juan Gris. Richardson unfurls a fascinating adventure through twelve years, encompassing famous artists and writers, collectors and other celebrities--Francis Bacon, Jean Cocteau, Luis Miguel Dominguín, Dora Maar, Peggy Guggenheim, and Henri Matisse, to name only a few. And central to the book is Richardson's close friendship with Picasso, which coincided with the emergence of the artist's new mistress, Jacqueline Roque, and gave Richardson an inside view of the repercussions she would have on Picasso's life and work.With an eye for detail, an ear for scandal, and a sparkling narrative style, Richardson has written a unique, fast-paced saga of modernism behind the scenes.
Taken for Granted: How Conservatism Can Win Back the Americans That Liberalism Failed
by Gianno CaldwellA Fox News political analyst tackles some of our communities&’ toughest challenges with timely insight from his own life: the story of how conservative values helped a kid from the South Side of Chicago find a life of opportunity.&“A must-read.&”—Brian Kilmeade, bestselling author of Sam Houston and the Alamo AvengersBorn to a mother consumed by drugs and raised by his grandmother in poverty on the South Side of Chicago, Gianno Caldwell saw firsthand how lawmakers from both parties have failed African American voters on issues like poverty, welfare, and education. But as someone who beat the odds growing up under a fear-based mentality that limits what people can achieve, Caldwell believes there&’s another way.In this groundbreaking book, the Fox News analyst describes his personal journey while detailing a hopeful vision for a nation no longer beholden to identity politics and self-limitations. Trapped within the expectations and traditions of our communities, families, political parties, faith, race, and gender, we fail to challenge our politicians and ourselves to create real change. Now more than ever, we need to confront preconceived notions about the Democrats and Republicans, public policy, and American history. Looking at the obstacles facing urban communities, such as crime, education, and social mobility, Caldwell digs beneath the statistics. By spotlighting the moments that enabled his rise to success, he proffers steps that can help more people overcome the odds—whether through policy reform or the heroic efforts of men and women who are already working to make a difference in their own communities.
Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows (Lives Of The Masters Ser. #No. 18)
by Thupten JinpaThe new standard work and definitive biography of Tsongkhapa, one of the principle founders of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism--the school of the Dalai Lamas. In this groundbreaking addition to the Lives of the Masters series, Thupten Jinpa, a scholar-practitioner and long-time translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, offers the most comprehensive portrait available of Jé Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), one of the greatest Buddhist teachers in history. A devout monastic, Tsongkhapa took on the difficult task of locating and studying all of the Indian Buddhist classics available in Tibet in his day. He went on to synthesize this knowledge into a holistic approach to the path of awakening. In an achievement of incredible magnitude, he integrated the pivotal yet disparate Mahayana teachings on emptiness while retaining the important role of critical reason and avoiding the extreme of negating the reality of the everyday world. Included in this volume is a discussion of Tsongkhapa&’s early life and training; his emergence as a precociously intelligent Buddhist mind; the composition of his Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Great Exposition of Tantra, and many other important works; and his founding of the Lhasa Prayer Festival and Ganden Monastery. This is a necessary resource for anyone interested in Tsongkhapa&’s transformative effect on the understanding and practice of Buddhism in Tibet in his time and his continued influence today.
What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man's Blues
by Clifford ThompsonAn African-American writer's concise, heartfelt take on the state of his nation, exploring the war between the values he has always held and the reality with which he is confronted in twenty-first-century America.In the tradition of James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time and Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me comes Clifford Thompson's What It Is. Thompson was raised to believe in treating every person of every color as an individual, and he decided as a young man that America, despite its history of racial oppression, was his home as much as anyone else's. As a middle-aged, happily married father of biracial children, Thompson finds himself questioning his most deeply held convictions when the race-baiting Donald Trump ascends to the presidency—elected by whites, whom Thompson had refused to judge as a group, and who make up the majority in this country Thompson had called his own. In the grip of contradictory emotions, Thompson turns for guidance to the wisdom of writers he admires while knowing that the answers to his questions about America ultimately lie in America itself. Through interviews with a small but varied group of Americans he hears sharply divergent opinions about what is happening in the country while trying to find his own answers—conclusions based not on conventional wisdom or on what he would like to believe, but on what he sees.
Bowie's Bookshelf: The Hundred Books that Changed David Bowie's Life
by John O'ConnellNamed one of Entertainment Weekly&’s 12 biggest music memoirs this fall. &“An artful and wildly enthralling path for Bowie fans in particular and book lovers in general.&” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) &“The only art I&’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.&” ―David Bowie Three years before David Bowie died, he shared a list of 100 books that changed his life. His choices span fiction and nonfiction, literary and irreverent, and include timeless classics alongside eyebrow-raising obscurities.In 100 short essays, music journalist John O&’Connell studies each book on Bowie&’s list and contextualizes it in the artist&’s life and work. How did the power imbued in a single suit of armor in The Iliad impact a man who loved costumes, shifting identity, and the siren song of the alter-ego? How did The Gnostic Gospels inform Bowie&’s own hazy personal cosmology? How did the poems of T.S. Eliot and Frank O&’Hara, the fiction of Vladimir Nabokov and Anthony Burgess, the comics of The Beano and The Viz, and the groundbreaking politics of James Baldwin influence Bowie&’s lyrics, his sound, his artistic outlook? How did the 100 books on this list influence one of the most influential artists of a generation? Heartfelt, analytical, and totally original, Bowie&’s Bookshelf is one part epic reading guide and one part biography of a music legend.
Conversations with Dickens: A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts
by Paul SchlickeSheltering from a summer downpour, you encounter the ghost of Charles Dickens. Join him for a chat in the inn beloved by Mr Pickwick and be swept away by his vigour, warmth and humanity. You&’ll feel as if you&’ve known him all your life.The great novelist Charles Dickens attracted international adulation on an unprecedented scale. He cultivated a genial intimacy with his readers, and after he died many of his admirers felt that they had lost a personal friend. Sit back and listen to this master conversationalist talk about everything from work in a boot-polish factory to lecture tours in America.Who could possibly ask for more?
Conversations with Galileo: A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts
by William SheaWhen Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the skies, he ushered in a scientific revolution: the Moon turned out to be covered with mountains and craters, stars popped out of nowhere, and four satellites were found to be orbiting Jupiter. His discovery of the phases of Venus in 1610 forever shattered the notion that the Sun orbited the Earth and transformed humanity&’s sense of itself and its place in the cosmos. It also contributed to the demise of the idea that knowledge about the world was to be found in ancient texts or supernatural authority.Eavesdrop on an enlightening conversation, and make your own discoveries – about Galileo&’s life in the Medici court, his love of wine and women, and how he came to spend his last eight years under house arrest.
Conversations with Buddha: A Fictional Dialogue Based on Biographical Facts
by Joan Duncan OliverA relaxed chat with the Buddha tells us what he thought about impermanence, karma, mindfulness, compassion, love, and everything else that leads us toward a true understanding of ourselves and the cosmos.We know him as the Buddha, the &“Awakened One&”. Born Siddhartha Gautama 2,500 years ago in northern India, he became one of the world&’s greatest spiritual leaders. He suffered as we do, then by his own efforts found the key to liberation from the bonds of desire, hatred and ignorance. As Westerners living in relative prosperity, we can identify with this man who had it all – love, success, money, talent, privilege – but set these things aside to search for something deeper and more enduring. This book presents an account of the Buddha&’s life followed by a series of plausible and illuminating but imagined conversations, which probe all aspects of his philosophy for living. The insights he conveys here offer us practical wisdom for a better life.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by: A Novel
by Mark SullivanBased on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours. Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders. Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.