- Table View
- List View
The Man Who Saw Too Much: David Brill, Combat Cameraman
by John LittleThis is the story of David Brill, one of the very best of Australian cameramen - past and present. He is in the same company as Damien Parer and Neil Davis.Over the past forty years he has covered wars and disasters all over the world. He filmed the fall of Saigon. He was in Moscow during the collapse of communism. He has covered countless other conflicts and natural disasters in Asia, Africa and North and South America.He has been single-mindedly dedicated to the pursuit of his craft: to get the story, get the film - always to preserve and present the human dimension, no matter how large or mindless the conflict or event.David Brill has paid a high price for this uncompromising style. He has two failed marriages, and at times has been overcome by demons such as alcohol. This biography is also a great adventure story, a journey through war zones and various hell holes of the world. And it is an inside look at what makes some people follow a profession where their life is on the line - as a standard feature of their day.
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow: The Life and Inventions of Stanford R. Ovshinsky (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Lillian Hoddeson Peter GarrettThe first full-length biography of a brilliant, self-taught inventor whose innovations in information and energy technology continue to shape our world.The Economist called Stanford R. Ovshinsky (1922–2012) “the Edison of our age,” but this apt comparison doesn't capture the full range of his achievements. As an independent, self-educated inventor, Ovshinsky not only created many important devices but also made fundamental discoveries in materials science. This book offers the first full-length biography of a visionary whose energy and information innovations continue to fuel our post-industrial economy.In The Man Who Saw Tomorrow, Lillian Hoddeson and Peter Garrett tell the story of an unconventional genius with no formal education beyond high school who invented, among other things, the rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries that have powered everything from portable electronics to hybrid cars, a system for mass-producing affordable thin-film solar panels, and rewritable CDs and DVDs. His most important discovery, the Ovshinsky effect, led to a paradigm shift in condensed matter physics and yielded phase-change memory, which is now enabling new advances in microelectronics. A son of the working class who began as a machinist and toolmaker, Ovshinsky focused his work on finding solutions to urgent social problems, and to pursue those goals, he founded Energy Conversion Devices, a unique research and development lab. At the end of his life, battered by personal and professional losses, Ovshinsky nevertheless kept working to combat global warming by making solar energy “cheaper than coal”—another of his many visions of a better tomorrow.
The Man Who Saw the Future
by Catherine BlackledgeA spellbinding tale of prophecy, power and politics, this book tells the fascinating story of the 17th-century astrologer William Lilly how his celestial forecasts of the future changed the course of the English Civil War, and the establishment s attempts to silence him.Winter, 1643. Astrologer William Lilly is gazing at a chamber pot. Parliament has asked him to help: will leader John Pym live or die? Using an ancient astrological technique called horary, Lilly predicts Pym will die in eight days time. He is correct.In the pages of his best-selling pamphlets, Lilly enthrals the civil war-torn nation with his uncannily accurate astral forecasts of who will triumph in combat. He advises the New Model Army on when to fight based on his judgement of King Charles I s horoscope; the key battle of Naseby is won with this astrological intelligence. Foreseeing the King s death seals his status as the nation s arch magus. But not everyone is happy with Parliament s new prophet and his enemies begin to plot their revenge. Can Lilly s astonishing gift help him best those in power, and save his profession and his life?With a cast of star-gazers, soldiers and scryers; politicians, priests and prophets, internationally acclaimed author Catherine Blackledge grants a fresh insight into a tumultuous period: illuminating William Lilly s extraordinary life and revealing the secrets of his astonishing foresight.
The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
by H. W. BrandsFrom New York Times bestselling author H. W. Brands, a masterful biography of the Civil War general and two-term president who saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House, holding the country together at two critical turning points in our history. Ulysses Grant rose from obscurity to discover he had a genius for battle, and he propelled the Union to victory in the Civil War. After Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the disastrous brief presidency of Andrew Johnson, America turned to Grant again to unite the country, this time as president. In Brands's sweeping, majestic full biography, Grant emerges as a heroic figure who was fearlessly on the side of right. He was a beloved commander in the field but willing to make the troop sacrifices necessary to win the war, even in the face of storms of criticism. He worked valiantly to protect the rights of freedmen in the South; Brands calls him the last presidential defender of black civil rights for nearly a century. He played it straight with the American Indians, allowing them to shape their own fate even as the realities of Manifest Destiny meant the end of their way of life. He was an enormously popular president whose memoirs were a huge bestseller; yet within decades of his death his reputation was in tatters, the victim of Southerners who resented his policies on Reconstruction. In this page-turning biography, Brands now reconsiders Grant's legacy and provides a compelling and intimate portrait of a man who saved the Union on the battlefield and consolidated that victory as a resolute and principled political leader.
The Man Who Rode the Thunder
by William H. RankinIt was July 26, 1959. An F8U Crusader jet fighter streaked across the sky, down the Carolina coast, close to the speed of sound. Altitude: 47,000 feet. Flying conditions: Perfect. Marine Lt. Colonel William Rankin gave only a fleeting glance at the mounting black thunderheads far below. Seconds later began the most incredible 40 minutes in history. Here is the thrilling, detailed account of how Col. Rankin was forced to bail out at almost 50,000 feet without special pressure equipment. How, after dropping 7 miles in a free fall, he plunged into the grip of a violent storm--an inferno of turbulence, rain, hail, thunder and lightning such as no man had ever seen before. For over a half hour, Col. Rankin was an airborne captive of the storm, and his eventual survival was against overwhelming odds. Here is the true story behind that headline-making event. And here is the adventurous life of the Marine--a life that fitted him so well for the fantastic ordeal he was forced to undergo. You will go with Col. Rankin as he recalls his adventures as a Marine Sergeant in World War II; into early flight training to become one of the three oldest cadets ever admitted for flying. You will fly with him as one of the famous "Fearless Four" as they bomb the bridges of Toko-Ri in Korea. You will know the thrill of trailblazing the jet age when Col. Rankin assumes command of the famous Marine Fighter Squadron 122. Finally, you will share one of the most astounding adventures of modern times--a thrilling epic of man against the terrifying forces of nature--the story of a man who survived because he had lived and trained in the true tradition of the United States Marine Corps. This book also serves as an important contribution to medical inquiries into what happens to man at great altitudes.
The Man Who Robbed the Pierre: The Story of Bobby Comfort and the Biggest Hotel Robbery Ever
by Ira BerkowThis Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s true account of the thief behind the famed 1972 heist is “an engrossing crime biography and a fast-paced romp” (Kirkus Reviews). Growing up in Rochester, New York, Bobby Comfort wanted to be a good something. He turned out to be great at being a criminal. In January 1972, men in tuxedos robbed the Pierre, the luxurious Manhattan hotel, and got away with eleven million dollars’ worth of cash and jewelry. The police were baffled by how such a large-scale operation could go off so smoothly. The answer lay in the leader of the thieves, a man by the name of Bobby Comfort. He had taken to crime from a young age with card sharping and petty theft. Eventually, taking money from the rich was where he excelled. Sort of like Robin Hood—except for the part where he kept the loot himself—Comfort masterminded what was, at the time, the most lucrative heist in history, while appearing to his neighbors like an ordinary suburban family man. In this blend of insightful biography and true crime, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ira Berkow chronicles the story, using first-hand accounts to weave together a fascinating portrait of a criminal and “a corking good cops-and-robbers tale” (Library Journal).
The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III
by Peter Baker Susan GlasserFrom two of America's most revered political journalists comes the definitive biography of legendary White House chief of staff and secretary of state James A. Baker III: the man who ran Washington when Washington ran the world. <P><P>For a quarter-century, from the end of Watergate to the aftermath of the Cold War, no Republican won the presidency without his help or ran the White House without his advice. James Addison Baker III was the indispensable man for four presidents because he understood better than anyone how to make Washington work at a time when America was shaping events around the world. The Man Who Ran Washington is a page-turning portrait of a power broker who influenced America's destiny for generations. <P><P>A scion of Texas aristocracy who became George H. W. Bush's best friend on the tennis courts of the Houston Country Club, Baker had never even worked in Washington until a devastating family tragedy struck when he was thirty-nine. Within a few years, he was leading Gerald Ford's campaign and would go on to manage a total of five presidential races and win a sixth for George W. Bush in a Florida recount. He ran Ronald Reagan's White House and became the most consequential secretary of state since Henry Kissinger. He negotiated with Democrats at home and Soviets abroad, rewrote the tax code, assembled the coalition that won the Gulf War, brokered the reunification of Germany and helped bring a decades-long nuclear superpower standoff to an end. Ruthlessly partisan during campaign season, Baker governed as the avatar of pragmatism over purity and deal-making over division, a lost art in today's fractured nation. <P><P>His story is a case study in the acquisition, exercise, and preservation of power in late twentieth-century America and the story of Washington and the world in the modern era--how it once worked and how it has transformed into an era of gridlock and polarization. This masterly biography by two brilliant observers of the American political scene is destined to become a classic. <P><P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Man Who Ran London During the Great War: The Diaries and Letters of Lieutenant General Sir Francis Lloyd, GCVO, KCB, DSO, 1853–1926
by Richard MorrisIn 1913 Lieutenant General Sir Francis Lloyd was appointed to the supreme position reserved for Guardsmen, the command of the London Districts. The war saw an extension of his responsibilities to include the hospitals and main railway termini in the metropolis. He was also put in charge of the construction of the defensive circle of trenches around London. Whether it was meeting hospital trains returning from the front with wounded soldiers, or visiting areas of the City that had suffered from the Zeppelin and Gotha Bomber air raids, Francis Lloyds presence would help to revive the populations flagging morale. This led him to be described by newspapers as The Man who runs London.
The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone: The Story of Tom Longboat
by Jack BattenTom Longboat was a hero. A member of the Onondaga Nation, he was born on the Six Nations reserve in Oshwegen, near Brantford, Ontario. Despite poverty, poor training, and prejudice, Longboat went on to become one of the world's best runners. In 1907, at the height of his fame, he won the Boston Marathon and ran in the 1908 Olympic Marathon. Longboat was one of the best-known people of his day, and certainly the most prominent member of the Six Nations. Throughout his career he had to race against opponents, as well as rumors of illegal running activities. Nevertheless, he maintained his dignity, and his achievements still inspire people who understand the great pleasure of running, and running fast.
The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone: The Story of Tom Longboat
by Jack BattenTom Longboat was a hero. A member of the Onondaga Nation, he was born on the Six Nations reserve in Oshwegen, near Brantford, Ontario. Despite poverty, poor training, and prejudice, Longboat went on to become one of the world's best runners. In 1907, at the height of his fame, he won the Boston Marathon and ran in the 1908 Olympic Marathon. Longboat was one of the best-known people of his day, and certainly the most prominent member of the Six Nations. Throughout his career he had to race against opponents, as well as rumors of illegal running activities. Nevertheless, he maintained his dignity, and his achievements still inspire people who understand the great pleasure of running, and running fast.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Man Who Quit Money
by Mark SundeenA Walden for the 21st century, the true story of a man who has radically reinvented "the good life" In 2000, Daniel Suelo left his life savings; all thirty dollars of it; in a phone booth. He has been living without money; and with a newfound sense of freedom and security; ever since. The Man Who Quit Money is an account of how one man learned to live, sanely and happily, without earning, receiving, or spending a single cent. Suelo doesn't pay taxes, or accept food stamps or welfare. He lives in caves in the Utah canyonlands, forages wild foods and gourmet discards. He no longer even carries an I. D. Yet he manages to amply fulfill not only the basic human needs-for shelter, food, and warmth-but, to an enviable degree, the universal desires for companionship, purpose, and spiritual engagement. In retracing the surprising path and guiding philosophy that led Suelo into this way of life, Sundeen raises provocative and riveting questions about our relationships with money and the decisions we all make, by default or by design; about how we live and how we might live better.
The Man Who Quit Money
by Mark SundeenIn 2000, Daniel Suelo left his life savings-all thirty dollars of it-in a phone booth. He has lived without money-and with a newfound sense of freedom and security-ever since. The Man Who Quit Money is an account of how one man learned to live, sanely and happily, without earning, receiving, or spending a single cent. Suelo doesn't pay taxes, or accept food stamps or welfare. He lives in caves in the Utah canyonlands, forages wild foods and gourmet discards. He no longer even carries an I. D. Yet he manages to amply fulfill not only the basic human needs-for shelter, food, and warmth-but, to an enviable degree, the universal desires for companionship, purpose, and spiritual engagement. In retracing the surprising path and guiding philosophy that led Suelo into this way of life, Sundeen raises provocative and riveting questions about the decisions we all make, by default or by design, about how we live-and how we might live better.
The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis: The Political Life of Henry S. Foote, Southern Unionist (Southern Biography Series)
by Ben WynneRegarded as one of the most vocal, well-traveled, and controversial statesmen of the nineteenth century, antebellum politician Henry Stuart Foote played a central role in a vast array of pivotal events. Despite Foote’s unique mark on history, until now no comprehensive biography existed. Ben Wynne fills this gap in his examination of the life of this gifted and volatile public figure in The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis: The Political Life of Henry S. Foote, Southern Unionist.An eyewitness to many of the historical events of his lifetime, Foote, an opinionated native Virginian, helped to raise money for the Texas Revolution, provided political counsel for the Lone Star Republic’s leadership before annexation, and published a 400-page history of the region. In 1847, Mississippi elected him to the Senate, where he promoted cooperation with the North during the Compromise of 1850. One of the South’s most outspoken Unionists, he infuriated many of his southern colleagues with his explosive temperament and unorthodox ideas that quickly established him as a political outsider. His temper sometimes led to physical altercations, including at least five duels, pulling a gun on fellow senator Thomas Hart Benton during a legislative session, and engaging in run-ins with other politicians—notably a fistfight with his worst political enemy, Jefferson Davis. He left the Senate in 1851 to run for governor of Mississippi on a pro-Union platform and defeated Davis by a small margin. Several years later, Foote moved to Nashville, was elected to the Confederate Congress after Tennessee seceded, and continued his political sparring with the Confederate president.From Foote’s failed attempt to broker an unauthorized peace agreement with the Lincoln government and his exile to Europe to the publication of his personal memoir and his appointment as director of the United States mint in New Orleans, Wynne constructs an entertaining and nuanced portrait of a singular man who constantly challenged the conventions of southern and national politics.
The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch
by Michael WolffMurdoch's News Corp holdings - from The New York Post, Fox News, The Australian, and most recently The Wall Street Journal, to name just a few - are vast , and his power is unrivalled. So what makes a man like this tick? Michael Wolff gives us the definitive answer in THE MAN WHO OWNS THE NEWS. With unprecedented access to Murdoch himself, his associates, and family, Wolff chronicles the astonishing growth of the $70 billion media kingdom. In intimate detail he probes the Murdoch family dynasty, from the battles that have threatened to destroy it to the reconciliations that seem to only make it stronger. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of interviews, he offers accounts of the Dow Jones takeover as well as plays for Yahoo! and Newsday as they've never been revealed before. But Murdoch is more than a predatory and merciless deal-maker. His company does not only generate dizzying profits and growth rates. His company generates the information that forms our understanding of the world. He presides over what we read, what we watch, what we come to believe about ourselves, to an extent that is without serious parallel anywhere on earth. In the words of Michael Wolff, Murdoch 'held more power over more time than any other contemporary figure'. This is an opportunity to see and hear one of the most vivid, powerful, unusual, menacing and captivating men of the age. One of the central figures of our times. Written in the irresistible style that only an award-winning columnist for 'Vanity Fair' can deliver, THE MAN WHO OWNS THE NEWS offers an exclusive glimpse into a man who wields extraordinary power and influence in the media on a worldwide scale - and whose family is being groomed to carry his legacy into the future.
The Man Who Outshone the Sun King: A Life of Gleaming Opulence and Wretched Reversal in the Reign of Louis XIV
by Charles DrazinA richly textured biography of seventeenth-century minister Nicolas Fouquet, whose cunning and charisma brought him vast wealth and wide-ranging fame and, eventually, his own destruction
The Man Who Organized Nature: The Life of Linnaeus
by Professor Gunnar BrobergA new biography of Carl Linnaeus, offering a vivid portrait of Linnaeus’s life and workCarl Linnaeus (1707–1778), known as the father of modern biological taxonomy, formalized and popularized the system of binomial nomenclature used to classify plants and animals. Linnaeus himself classified thousands of species; the simple and immediately recognizable abbreviation “L” is used to mark classifications originally made by Linnaeus. This biography, by the leading authority on Linnaeus, offers a vivid portrait of Linnaeus’s life and work. Drawing on a wide range of previously unpublished sources—including diaries and personal correspondence—as well as new research, it presents revealing and original accounts of his family life, the political context in which he pursued his work, and his eccentric views on sexuality.The Man Who Organized Nature describes Linnaeus’s childhood in a landscape of striking natural beauty and how this influenced his later work. Linnaeus’s Lutheran pastor father, knowledgeable about plants and an enthusiastic gardener, helped foster an early interest in botany. The book examines the political connections that helped Linnaeus secure patronage for his work, and untangles his ideas about sexuality. These were not, as often assumed, an attempt to naturalize gender categories but more likely reflected the laissez-faire attitudes of the era. Linnaeus, like many other brilliant scientists, could be moody and egotistical; the book describes his human failings as well as his medical and scientific achievements. Written in an engaging and accessible style, The Man Who Organized Nature—one of the only biographies of Linnaeus to appear in English—provides new and fascinating insights into the life of one of history’s most consequential and enigmatic scientists.
The Man Who Never Stopped Sleeping: A Novel
by Aharon AppelfeldFrom the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author (“One of the greatest writers of the age”—The Guardian): a young Holocaust survivor takes his first steps toward creating a new life in the newly established state of Israel. Erwin doesn’t remember much about his journey across Europe when the war finally ended because he spent most of it asleep, carried by other survivors as they emerged from their hiding places or were liberated from the camps and made their way to the shores of Naples,where they filled refugee camps and wondered what was to become of them. As he struggles to stay awake, Erwin becomes part of a group of boys being rigorously trained both physically and mentally by an emissary from Palestine for life in their new home. The fog of sleep slowly begins to lift, and when Erwin and his fellow clandestine immigrants are released by British authorities from the detention camp in Atlit, he and his comrades are assigned to a kibbutz, where they learn how to tend to the land and speak their new language. But a part of Erwin desperately clings to the past—to memories of his parents, to his mother tongue, to the Ukrainian city where he was born—and he knows that despite what he is being told, who he was is just as important as who he is now becoming.When he is wounded in an engagement with snipers, Erwin must spend long months recovering from multiple surgeries and trying to regain the use of his legs. As he exercises his body, he exercises his mind as well, copying passages from the Bible in his newly acquired Hebrew and working up the courage to create his own texts in this language both old and new, hoping to succeed as a writer where his beloved, tormented father had failed. With the support of his friends and of other survivors, and with the encouragement of his mother (who visits him in his dreams), Erwin takes his first tentative steps with his crutches—and with his pen. Once again, Aharon Appelfeld mines heartrending personal experience to create dazzling, masterly fiction with a universal resonance.From the Hardcover edition.
The Man Who Named the Clouds
by Joan Holub Paige Billin-Frye Julie HannaIn 1782, when Luke Howard was ten, he began keeping a weather journal to describe what he saw in the sky--he especially loved to watch the clouds. As an adult, Luke wanted to classify clouds, though many others had failed at this.
The Man Who Moved the World: The Life and Work of Mohamed Amin
by Bob Smith Salim Amin Michael BuerkMohamed Amin was the most famous photo journalist in the world, making the news as often as he covered it. His coverage of the 1984 Ethiopian famine proved so compelling that it inspired a collective global conscience and became the catalyst for the greatest-ever act of giving--the "We Are the World" campaign. Unquestionably, it also saved the lives of millions of men, women and children. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Mo covered every major event in Africa and beyond, braving torture, surviving bombs and bullets to emerge as the most decorated news cameraman of all time. But his frenetic life was cut tragically short when, in November, 1996, hijackers took over an Ethiopian airliner forcing it to ditch in the Indian Ocean killing 123 passengers and crew. Mo died on his feet still negotiating with the terrorists.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales
by Oliver SacksIn his most beloved and extraordinary book, Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients inhabiting the compelling world of neurological disorders. Featuring a preface never before included.Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with perceptual and intellectual disorders: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; whose limbs seem alien to them; who lack some skills yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. In Dr. Sacks's splendid and sympathetic telling, his patients are deeply human, and his tales are studies of struggles against incredible adversity. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine's ultimate responsibility: "the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject."
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales
by Oliver SacksIn his most extraordinary book, the bestselling author of Awakenings and "poet laureate of medicine&” (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients inhabiting the compelling world of neurological disorders, from those who are no longer able to recognize common objects to those who gain extraordinary new skills.Featuring a new preface, Oliver Sacks&’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with perceptual and intellectual disorders: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; whose limbs seem alien to them; who lack some skills yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents. In Dr. Sacks&’s splendid and sympathetic telling, his patients are deeply human and his tales are studies of struggles against incredible adversity. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine&’s ultimate responsibility: &“the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject.&”
The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
by Vanda KrefftA riveting story of ambition, greed, and genius unfolding at the dawn of modern America. This landmark biography brings into focus a fascinating brilliant entrepreneur—like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney, a true American visionary—who risked everything to realize his bold dream of a Hollywood empire.Although a major Hollywood studio still bears William Fox’s name, the man himself has mostly been forgotten by history, even written off as a failure. Now, in this fascinating biography, Vanda Krefft corrects the record, explaining why Fox’s legacy is central to the history of Hollywood.At the heart of William Fox’s life was the myth of the American Dream. His story intertwines the fate of the nineteenth-century immigrants who flooded into New York, the city’s vibrant and ruthless gilded age history, and the birth of America’s movie industry amid the dawn of the modern era. Drawing on a decade of original research, The Man Who Made the Movies offers a rich, compelling look at a complex man emblematic of his time, one of the most fascinating and formative eras in American history.Growing up in Lower East Side tenements, the eldest son of impoverished Hungarian immigrants, Fox began selling candy on the street. That entrepreneurial ambition eventually grew one small Brooklyn theater into a $300 million empire of deluxe studios and theaters that rivaled those of Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, and the Warner brothers, and launched stars such as Theda Bara. Amid the euphoric roaring twenties, the early movie moguls waged a fierce battle for control of their industry. A fearless risk-taker, Fox won and was hailed as a genius—until a confluence of circumstances, culminating with the 1929 stock market crash, led to his ruin.
The Man Who Made Parks: The Story Of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted
by Frieda Wishinsky Song Nan ZhangWhen the great cities of North America were being developed, there was little thought to creating “green spaces. ” Frederick Law Olmsted combined his childhood love for nature with the structured beauty of the great parks of London and Paris to turn a neglected, swampy area into one of the most acclaimed parks in North America: Central Park in New York City.
The Man Who Made Mark Twain Famous: Stories from the Kennedy Center, the White House, and Other Comedy Venues
by Cappy McGarrIn The Man Who Made Mark Twain Famous, Cappy McGarr shares how he became an Emmy-nominated co-creator/executive producer of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and got involved in national politics—all with charming southern style and a self-deprecating sense of humor.For decades, Cappy McGarr has been in the room where it happens. With The Man Who Made Mark Twain Famous, he&’d like to invite you into that room, complete with his color commentary on the other folks inside. For the first time in print, Cappy reveals how the Mark Twain Prize was conceived, how it changed venues and networks, and even how it almost wasn&’t renewed after a controversial first outing with Richard Pryor. From there, Cappy pulls back the curtain for a behind-the-scenes look at over two decades of the Mark Twain Prize, sharing his take on the Kennedy Center&’s tributes to Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Neil Simon, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Ellen DeGeneres, Carol Burnett, Jay Leno, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, David Letterman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Dave Chappelle. Cappy also gives the inside scoop on several shows he produced from the East Room of the White House, including the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Plus, he tells tales from his involvement in national politics—including encounters with the likes of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Governor Ann Richards, President George W. Bush, President Barack Obama, and many others. &“Reading Cappy&’s book is not unlike sitting down to dinner with him and listening to the stories he has picked up from decades of rubbing elbows with political leaders and comedians alike. There are historic set pieces. There are laughs and howls and chuckles and chortles.&” —Ken Burns Cappy is donating all of his proceeds from this book to the Kennedy Center Arts Education Programs.
The Man Who Made Lists
by Joshua KendallIn the tradition of The Professor and the Madman, a "brisk and vivid"( Los Angeles Times) account of an obsessive scholar. Polymath, eccentric, and synonym aficionado, Peter Mark Roget had a host of female admirers, was one of the first to test the effects of laughing gas, invented the slide rule, and narrowly escaped jail in Napoleon's France. But Roget is best known for making lists. After the tragic turmoil of his early life (both his mother and sister were institutionalized), Roget longed for order in his chaotic world. At the age of eight, he began his quest to put everything in its rightful place, one word at a time. This is the fascinating story of a driven man and a brilliant scholar-and the legacy he has left for generations.