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62: Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees, and the Pursuit of Greatness
by Bryan Hoch&“The definitive story&” (Tyler Kepner, The New York Times baseball columnist) of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge&’s incredible, unparalleled run to break Roger Maris&’s home run record and the franchise both men called home.Aaron Judge, the hulking superman who carried an easy aw-shucks demeanor from small-town California to stardom in the Big Apple, had long established his place as one of baseball&’s most intimidating power hitters. Baseballs frequently rocketed off his bat like cannon fire, dispatching heat-seeking missiles toward the &“Judge&’s Chambers&” seating area in right field, sending delirious fans scattering for souvenirs. But even in a high-tech universe where computers measure each swing to the nth degree, Roger Maris&’s American League mark of sixty-one home runs seemed largely out of reach. It had been more than a decade since baseball wiped clean the stains of its performance-enhanced era, in which cartoonish sluggers Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds made a mockery of the record book. Given a more level playing field against pitchers sporting hellacious arsenals unlike anything Babe Ruth or Maris could have imagined, only an exceptional talent could even consider making a run at sixty-one homers. Judge, who placed the bet of his life by turning down a $213.5 million extension on the eve of the regular season, promised to rise to the challenge. &“In the most thorough telling yet of an all-time-great Yankees performance&” (Jeff Passan, New York Times bestselling author), veteran Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch unravels the remarkable journey of Judge&’s run to shatter Maris&’s beloved sixty-one-year-old record. In-depth, inspiring, and with an expert&’s insight, 62 also investigates the more significant questions raised in a season unlike any other, including how—and where—Judge will deliver his encore.
617: Going to War with Today's Dambusters
by Tim BouquetThe inside story of today's Dambusters, 617 Squadron RAF, at war in Afghanistan.In May 1943, 617 Squadron RAF executed one of the most daring operations in military history as bombers mounted a raid against hydro-electric dams in Germany. 617 Squadron became a Second World War legend. Nearly 70 years later, in April 2011, a new generation of elite flyers, now flying supersonic Tornado GR4 bombers, was deployed to Afghanistan - their mission: to provide close air support to troops on the ground.Tim Bouquet was given unprecedented access to 617's pre-deployment training and blistering tour in Afghanistan. From dramatic air strikes to the life-and-death search for IEDs and low-flying shows of force designed to drive insurgents from civilian cover, he tracked every mission - and the skill, resilience, banter and exceptional airmanship that saw 617 through.
617: Going to War with Today's Dambusters
by Tim BouquetIn May 1943, 617 Squadron RAF executed one of the most daring operations in military history. Flying barely 50 feet above black marble waters, Wing Commander Guy Gibson and his bombers mounted a raid against hydro-electric dams in Germany. Bold, courageous and precise - 617 Squadron became a World War II legend. Nearly seventy years later in April 2011, a new generation of elite flyers followed their Dambuster heroes into the theatre of war. Now flying supersonic Tornado GR4 bombers, 617 Squadron was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan - their mission, to provide close air support to troops engaged in brutal conflict on the ground. Commanding 617 is new boss Keith Taylor. An operational veteran with seven tours over Iraq, he knew that even with the latest cutting-edge weapons and sensors, only rigorous flying standards and watertight tactics would keep his young pilots safe. A full-throttle account of daring feats in modern fast attack jets, this is also a very personal story of a closely-knit band of men and women working under immense pressure, where every decision could affect the lives of NATO troops and an entire country's hopes for a better future. Tim Bouquet was given unprecedented access to 617's pre-deployment training at RAF Lossiemouth and blistering tour in Afghanistan. From dramatic air strikes to the life-and-death search for IEDs and low-flying shows of force designed to spook and drive insurgents from civilian cover, he tracks every mission - and the skill, resilience, banter and exceptional airmanship that see 617 through. 617 is the richest, most insightful and gripping account of the Royal Air Force at war for a generation.
60 Songs That Explain the '90s
by Rob HarvillaNAMED A BEST MUSIC BOOK OF 2023 by PITCHFORK, VARIETY, AND ROLLING STONE A companion to the #1 music podcast on Spotify, this book takes readers through the greatest hits that define a weirdly undefinable decade. The 1990s were a chaotic and gritty and utterly magical time for music, a confounding barrage of genres and lifestyles and superstars, from grunge to hip-hop, from sumptuous R&B to rambunctious ska-punk, from Axl to Kurt to Missy to Santana to Tupac to Britney. In 60 SONGS THAT EXPLAIN THE '90s, Ringer music critic Rob Harvilla reimagines all the earwormy, iconic hits Gen Xers pine for with vivid historical storytelling, sharp critical analysis, rampant loopiness, and wryly personal ruminations on the most bizarre, joyous, and inescapable songs from a decade we both regret entirely and miss desperately.
60 Postcards
by Rachael ChadwickThe heartfelt and uplifting story of how a project to scatter 60 Postcards in memory of her mother helped a young girl come to terms with her loss.On 11 February 2012 Rachael Chadwick lost her Mother to cancer, just sixteen days after first being diagnosed, and her world shattered right in front of her. Utterly fed up of the milestones and reminders, in December of that year she decided she would do something different and created a project based around her Mum's approaching 60th Birthday. Desperate to spread the word about the wonderful person she had lost, Rachael had the brainwave of leaving notes around a city in her memory. Deciding she would take it a step further she wondered what would happen if she could ask people to respond to her? Full of hope and energy she hand-wrote sixty postcards, each with her email address at the bottom asking the finder to get in touch. But one question remained, where should she go? Knowing how much she longed to visit Paris, the last gift that Rachael's mum had given her was Eurostar vouchers, and so it seemed fitting that this would be her chosen city. So off she went with a group of friends to celebrate, discover, and to scatter her memories. Filling their time in Paris with sight-seeing, food and drink, laughter, and of course postcards. When Rachael returned to her London home, she desperately tried to switch off, switch off from the wondering (and hoping) whether she might actually hear from a postcard finder. And then, they started flowing in...
60 años de soledad: La vida de Carlota después del Imperio Mexicano
by Gustavo VázquezCarlota pasó de un cuento de hadas a un infierno. Ésta es la historia de ese infierno. La emperatriz volvió a ser princesa. Después de que su marido fuera fusilado en el Cerro de las Campanas, la consentida, la enamorada, se convirtió en una paria de las monarquías europeas y pasó sesenta años en la locura. Esta obra es la primera que se concentra en las seis décadas que Carlota de Sajonia-Coburgo-Gotha vivió después de que se derrumbara el Segundo Imperio Mexicano, y ofrece un estudio lúcido de uno de los personajes más apasionantes en la historia del país. Aquí hablan los diarios de los médicos de Carlota, los papeles de Adrien Goffinet (administrador de sus bienes), testigos de aquellos años, archivos reales, las cartas de su servidumbre, bitácoras de viajeros y la prensa europea de la época. Paso a paso, se revela cómo la "princesa más triste del mundo" terminó convertida en un peón. Y cómo, de las ruinas del México de Maximiliano, surgió el imperio privado del rey belga Leopoldo II en el Congo.
60 años de soledad: La vida de Carlota después del Imperio Mexicano
by Gustavo VázquezCarlota pasó de un cuento de hadas a un infierno. Ésta es la historia de ese infierno. La emperatriz volvió a ser princesa. Después de que su marido fuera fusilado en el Cerro de las Campanas, la consentida, la enamorada, se convirtió en una paria de las monarquías europeas y pasó sesenta años en la locura. Esta obra es la primera que se concentra en las seis décadas que Carlota de Sajonia-Coburgo-Gotha vivió después de que se derrumbara el Segundo Imperio Mexicano, y ofrece un estudio lúcido de uno de los personajes más apasionantes en la historia del país. Aquí hablan los diarios de los médicos de Carlota, los papeles de Adrien Goffinet (administrador de sus bienes), testigos de aquellos años, archivos reales, las cartas de su servidumbre, bitácoras de viajeros y la prensa europea de la época. Paso a paso, se revela cómo la "princesa más triste del mundo" terminó convertida en un peón. Y cómo, de las ruinas del México de Maximiliano, surgió el imperio privado del rey belga Leopoldo II en el Congo.
The $60,000 Dog: My Life with Animals
by Lauren SlaterA stunning new book about the role of animals in our lives, by a popular and acclaimed writer From the time she is nine years old, biking to the farmland outside her suburban home, where she discovers a disquieting world of sleeping cows and a "Private Way" full of the wondrous and creepy creatures of the wild--spiders, deer, moles, chipmunks, and foxes--Lauren Slater finds in animals a refuge from her troubled life. As she matures, her attraction to animals strengthens and grows more complex and compelling even as her family is falling to pieces around her. Slater spends a summer at horse camp, where she witnesses the alternating horrific and loving behavior of her instructor toward the animals in her charge and comes to question the bond that so often develops between females and their equines. Slater's questions follow her to a foster family, her own parents no longer able to care for her. A pet raccoon, rescued from a hole in the wall, teaches her how to feel at home away from home. The two Shiba Inu puppies Slater adopts years later, against her husband's will, grow increasingly important to her as she ages and her family begins to grow. Slater's husband is a born skeptic and possesses a sternly scientific view of animals as unconscious, primitive creatures, one who insists "that an animal's worth is roughly equivalent to its edibility." As one of her dogs, Lila, goes blind and the medical bills and monthly expenses begin to pour in, he calculates the financial burden of their canine family member and finds that Lila has cost them about $60,000, not to mention the approximately 400 pounds of feces she has deposited in their yard. But when Benjamin begins to suffer from chronic pain, Lauren is convinced it is Lila's resilience and the dog's quick adaptation to her blindness that draws her husband out of his own misery and motivates him to try to adjust to his situation. Ben never becomes a true believer or a die-hard animal lover, but his story and the stories Lauren tells of her own bond with animals convince her that our connections with the furry, the four-legged, the exoskeleton-ed, or the winged may be just as priceless as our human relationships. The $60,000 Dog is Lauren Slater's intimate manifesto on the unique, invaluable, and often essential contributions animals make to our lives. As a psychologist, a reporter, an amateur naturalist, and above all an enormously gifted writer, she draws us into the stories of her passion for animals that are so much more than pets. She describes her intense love for the animals in her life without apology and argues, finally, that the works of Darwin and other evolutionary biologists prove that, when it comes to worth, animals are equal, and in some senses even superior, to human beings.From the Hardcover edition.
6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain
by Davin Seay Eric LemarqueIn this riveting first-person account, former Olympian and professional hockey player Eric LeMarque tells a harrowing tale of survival—of how, with only a lightweight jacket and thin wool hat, he survived eight days stranded in the frozen wilderness after a snowboarding trip gone horribly wrong. Known by his National Guard rescuers as “the Miracle Man,” Eric recounts his rise to success and fame as a hockey player and Olympian, his long and painful fall due to crystal meth addiction, and his unbelievable ordeal in the wilderness. In the end, a man whose life had been based on athleticism would lose both his legs to frostbite and had to learn to walk—and snowboard—again with prosthetics. He realized that he couldn’t come to terms with his drug addiction or learn to walk again by himself. He had to depend on God for his strength. Now an inspirational speaker committed to raising awareness for the dangers of drugs and crystal meth, Eric, in 6 Below, confronts the ultimate test of survival: what it takes to find your way out of darkness, and—after so many lies—to tell the truth and, by the grace and guidance of God, begin to live again.
The 6.5 Practices of Moderately Successful Poets
by Jeffrey SkinnerA private eye turned moderately successful poet leads readers on a satiric, hopeful tour of how to make a life in the arts, while still having a life. Revealing, hilarious, and peppered with sly takes on the ins and outs of contemporary American poetry (chapters include "The Silence of the Iambs," "The Revisionarium, Ask Dr. Frankenpoem," and "The Periodic Table of Poetic Elements"), Jeffrey Skinner offers advice, candor, and wit.Revision is the process a poem endures to become its best self.Or, if you are the poet, you are the process a poem endures to become its best self.Endures because a first draft, like all other objects in the universe, has inertia and would prefer to stay where it is. The poet must not collaborate.Best self because the poem is more like a person than a thing, and does not strenuously object to personification.Yo, poem.But let's not get carried away. It's your poem and you can treat it as you wish; sweet talk it; push it around if that's what it takes. Alfred Hitchcock notoriously said of the actors in his movies, "They are cattle."Jeffrey Skinner is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Salt Water Amnesia (Ausable Press, 2005). His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, The American Poetry Review, Poetry, BOMB, and The Paris Review, and his work has earned awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Howard Foundation.
6,000 Miles of Fence: Life on the XIT Ranch of Texas
by Cordia Sloan DukeThe fabulous XIT Ranch has been celebrated in song, story, and serious history. This book of reminiscences of old XIT cowmen puts on record the everyday life of the individuals who made the ranch run.During her years as a ranch wife, Cordia Sloan Duke wrote a diary; excerpts from her written recordings are here brought together with the reminiscences of the ranch hands. Their forthright, yet picturesque, discussion of ranching hardships and dangers dissipates Hollywood and TV glamorizing, and instead they relate in honest cowboy language what actually happened inside the XIT’s 6,000 miles of fence.“Joe Frantz, one of Texas’ most able writers, has taken the diary of Mrs. Cordia Sloan Duke, widow of XIT’s division manager, plus the terse and pithy reminiscences she collected from former XIT cowboys, and turned them into a unique, readable and realistic account of the cowboy’s way of life.”—New York Times Book Review“This book, with all the merit of being an organized and beautifully presented story, is more than a social history; it is source material, resting on the firm bedrock of first-hand accounts. Hence, while it joins in many libraries and collections several shelves of other cowboy books, it will always be on the top shelf with a select few that have made real contributions to the history of the American West. As a man should be measured by his own standards, and an event in terms of its own time, a book should be evaluated in relation to its purpose. By this standard, as well as by comparison with other books in its library classification, 6,000 Miles of Fence is a success.”—Southwestern Historical Quarterly
The 5th Inning (Busboys and Poets)
by E. Ethelbert MillerThis is a second memoir following Coming after Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer. In this story, Miller is returning to baseball, the game of his youth, in order to find the metaphor that will provide the measurement of his life. Almost 60, he ponders whether his life can now be entered into the official record books as a success or failure; one man's examination of personal relationships, depression, love and loss. This is a story of the individual alone on the pitching mound or in the batters box. It's a box score filled with remembrance, and a combination of baseball and the blues.
57 Short Stories of Saints
by Anne Eileen HeffernanSome of the best-loved saints of the Church are featured in a revised and updated edition of a classic collection. Wonderfully written biographies and illustrations of Saints Lucy, Monica, Augustine, Benedict, Francis Xavier, Edith Stein, Juan Diego, Katharine Drexel, and many others. Perfect for intermediate readers and school or church libraries.
The 57 Club: My Four Decades in Florida Politics (Florida Government and Politics)
by Frederick B. KarlThe 57 Club was the self-assigned name of the thirty-nine legislators first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1956. Karl's fascinating autobiography not only recalls those years, when Florida was in the midst of a transformation away from its rural, racially segregated, Deep South roots, but also offers intimate details into a half century of public service.By sharing his own experiences and reactions, describing what he witnessed or heard along the way, and telling stories about friends and colleagues, Karl gives readers a front row seat to some of the most captivating and turbulent moments in twentieth-century Florida politics. His insights into how the legislature functions--from the politics of committee assignments to the usefulness of lobbyists, from the savvy use of rules on the floor to debating skills, from polite ways of punishing unethical colleagues to the use of humor to calm angry exchanges, and much more--all make for an absorbing tale.
56: Cuarenta años de periodismo y algo de vida personal
by Jorge LanataEl periodista más popular y polémico de la Argentina cuenta la trastienda de su vida en los medios. Contiene una antología con sus mejores artículos y las mejores tapas de El Porteño, Página/12, Veintitrés y Crítica. Jorge Lanata cuenta en primera persona sus memorias en el periodismo, desde sus incursiones iniciales en la adolescencia, la temprana experiencia en la disruptiva revista El Porteño y la fundación del diario Página/12, hasta su presente como columnista de Clarín y conductor de Periodismo Para Todos (PPT). Políticos, escritores, crisis nacionales, investigaciones, intimidades, trastienda y secretos de 40 años de reflexión e investigación. Página/12, Soriano, Crítica, Cristina, Borges, Alfonsín, Militares, Ménem, Grieta, Clarín, Gelman, Kirchner, Drogas, Verbitsky, Censura, El Porteño, Cortázar, Día D, Periodismo militante, Malvinas, Veintiuno, Cuba, Periodismo independiente, Corrupción, Posverdad, PPT.
537 Days of Winter: lessons in leadership and resilience from being stranded in Antarctica
by David KnoffWhat would you do if you were stranded in the coldest place on earth as the world you knew back home changed forever...?As station leader at the Davis Research Station in Antarctica, David Knoff was leading 24 expeditioners in a standard mission when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, international travel came to a standstill and their ride home was cancelled - indefinitely. What was supposed to be a routine mission became a high-pressure cauldron of uncertainty and anxiety where everyone was pushed to their mental limits. They'd have to draw on every ounce of resilience to ensure a safe return. Facing unprecedented challenges, including a complex medical evacuation and a fire on board the ship meant to get them out, David would need all his experience as an infantry platoon commander and diplomat to keep the team safe and get them home, albeit to a world that was changed forever.
533 Days (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)
by Cees NooteboomThe noted Dutch poet and novelist Cees Nooteboom reflects upon the life of the mind through a reexamination of books, music, art, travel, and gardening &“Nooteboom&’s real subject is the one that&’s defined his career—mainly, the persistent strangeness of existence and its refusal to be fully resolved by religion, philosophy, or science. . . . His journal . . . can seem like a medieval bestiary, a nature chronicle with the vividness of a dream.&”—Danny Heitman, Wall Street Journal Though a tireless explorer of distant cultures, for more than forty years Cees Nooteboom has also been returning to Menorca, &“the island of the wind.&” It is in his house there, with a study full of books and a garden taken over by cacti and many insects, that the 533 days of writing take place. The result is not a diary, nor a set of movements of the soul organized by dates, but &“a book of days,&” with observations about what is immediately around him, his love for Menorca, his thoughts on the world, on life and death, on literature and oblivion. Every impression opens windows onto vast horizons: the Divine Comedy and the books it generated, Borges&’ contempt for Gombrowicz, the death of David Bowie, the endless flight of the Voyagers, the repetition of history as a tragedy, but never as farce. 533 Days is a meditative rhapsody that would like to exclude the noise of current events, yet must return to them several times, and skeptically contemplates the threat of a disintegrating Europe. Reading these pages is like having a conversation with an extraordinary mind.
The 52 Seductions
by Betty HerbertIf you loved Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You, you'll adore The 52 Seductions... When Betty and Herbert first fell in love, they were caught in a whirlwind of mutual lust and sexual chemistry - they couldn't keep their hands off one another. Ten years of marriage later, they're still deeply in love... but the memory of all that frenzied passion is growing increasingly hazy. The 52 Seductions charts Betty and Herbert's quest to invite the lust back into their relationship and rediscover their desire for one another. Drastic action is needed, and so Betty sets a challenge: they must spend a whole year seducing each other, taking it in turns to create a steamy new scenario every week. We follow their progress as they explore their erotic fantasies (with varying degrees of success); embark on saucy role play and attempt some sexual gymnastics. Racy, funny and ultimately moving, this is the story of how one couple lost their inhibitions and reignited their desire.
The 52 Seductions
by Betty HerbertIf you loved Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You, you'll adore The 52 Seductions... When Betty and Herbert first fell in love, they were caught in a whirlwind of mutual lust and sexual chemistry - they couldn't keep their hands off one another. Ten years of marriage later, they're still deeply in love... but the memory of all that frenzied passion is growing increasingly hazy. The 52 Seductions charts Betty and Herbert's quest to invite the lust back into their relationship and rediscover their desire for one another. Drastic action is needed, and so Betty sets a challenge: they must spend a whole year seducing each other, taking it in turns to create a steamy new scenario every week. We follow their progress as they explore their erotic fantasies (with varying degrees of success); embark on saucy role play and attempt some sexual gymnastics. Racy, funny and ultimately moving, this is the story of how one couple lost their inhibitions and reignited their desire.
Las 52 seducciones: Una pareja. Un año
by Betty HerbertDivertida, emotiva y ocasionalmente gimnástica, esta es la histórica de cómo una pareja de casados de treinta y tantos pierde sus inhibiciones, reavivar su deseo y consigue cerrar sus grietas. ¿Recuerdas los días en los que no podías separar tus manos de las suyas? ¿Cuando eras incapaz de contener la urgencia de besuquearte en público? Bien, pues Betty y Herbert también recuerdan esos días; es solo que, después de diez años de matrimonio, esa memoria se está haciendo cada vez más difusa. Las 52 seducciones narra la búsqueda de Betty y Herbert de la pasión perdida en su relación. Ellos hacen un pacto para seducirse el uno al otro una vez a la semana durante un año, y descubrir así hasta qué punto han perdido la práctica. ¿Ha cambiado el sexo desde que no están al día? Nosotros seguimos su progresión a través de una increíble, esclarecedora y exhaustiva aventura en la que abordan lo ordinario y lo extraordinario con magnífica naturalidad. Reseñas:«Ver el sexo tan completamente desmitificado es... toda una novedad.»Evening Standard «Para todos aquellos atrapados en la rutina sexual.»Psychologies «Divertido, absorbente y cálido.»The Spectator «Gloriosamente divertido.»Herald «Uno de los libros sobre sexo, amor y relaciones más conmovedores, honestos, ingeniosos y elegantes que he leído en muchísimo tiempo. ¡Bravo!»Barbara Carrellas «Un himno en honor a algo decididamente pasado de moda: trabajarse una relación, dar a las cosas una segunda oportunidad, no tratar simplemente de buscar una alternativa cuando la pasión comienza a enfriarse.»The Erotic Review «Deliciosamente honesto. Esta divertida memoir repasa los intentos de dar a la zozobrante vida sexual el empuje que necesita.»Herald Scotland «Divertida, tierna, pícara, romántica, real. Es un testamento a la vida matrimonial y hace reír a carcajadas cientos de veces.»Tales from the Village «Lo leí compulsivamente en un par de días, totalmente enganchado a la historia de redescubrimiento del sexo, de uno mismo y del marido. No se puede soltar.»Muddling Along Mummy
52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust
by William AlexanderWilliam Alexander is determined to bake the perfect loaf of bread. He tasted it long ago, in a restaurant, and has been trying to reproduce it ever since. Without success. Now, on the theory that practice makes perfect, he sets out to bake peasant bread every week until he gets it right. He bakes his loaf from scratch. And because Alexander is nothing if not thorough, he really means from scratch: growing, harvesting, winnowing, threshing, and milling his own wheat. An original take on the six-thousand-year-old staple of life, 52 Loaves explores the nature of obsession, the meditative quality of ritual, the futility of trying to re-create something perfect, our deep connection to the earth, and the mysterious instinct that makes all of us respond to the aroma of baking bread.
52-Card Pick Up: How COVID Made Magic Disappear
by Dawn MorganThere was nothing magical about the years 2020-2021 for Anthony the Magic -- the team comprising California magician Anthony Hernandez and his lead assistant and partner, Dawn Morgan -- as they struggled to adjust to everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to the arrest of their financial adviser for allegedly concocting a ten-million-dollar Ponzi scheme to working grueling six-days-a-week shifts at Amazon storage facilities as their magic shows were being canceled one by one to finding a way to somehow adapt their highly acclaimed and popular magic show to the virtual world. Despite the challenges, the charismatic Morgan tells the story of their journey through the pandemic years with such verve and infectious optimism and fortitude that it is impossible to walk away from this book feeling anything other than renewed hope and tremendous respect for the ingenuity and determination of this irresistible couple. Do you believe in magic? Read this book and you will -- even in the age of COVID.
51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life
by Kristen Mcguiness51 dates. 50 weeks. That was the social experiment Kristen McGuiness--single, living in LA, and entering her thirties newly sober--embarked upon. McGuiness thought facing her struggle with alcoholism would be the hardest part, with love coming easily afterwards. It didn't. Rethinking her previous dating strategy, she embarks on the ultimate social experiment: 51 dates over the course of 50 weeks, and a chance to claim the life she thought was supposed to be hers.Dodging CHAs (Cheesy Hollywood Actors) and men with self-diagnosed RAD (Relationship Anxiety Disorder), McGuiness is determined to find the "perfect guy" by being the "perfect girl." But McGuiness, like all of us, has her own issues to contend with: a longing for the wrong kind of men, a penchant for swearing, and a difficult relationship with her father in maximum-security prison. But as the year progresses, McGuiness begins to develop a new hope for her future--the dates transform into truth-seeking missions, and point her toward a life with satisfying work, a supportive family and, with the help of a local shaman, a comforting spirituality. Told with wry humor, pathos, and an engaging lack of self-pity, 51/50 is a moving adventure.
The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World
by W. Cleon SkousenThe 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World. For many years in the United States there has been a gradual drifting away from the Founding Fathers original success formula. This has resulted in some of their most unique contributions for a free and prosperous society becoming lost or misunderstood. Therefore, there has been a need to review the history and development of the making of America in order to recapture the brilliant precepts which made Americans the first free people in modern times. In this book, discover the 28 Principles of Freedom our Founding Fathers said must be understood and perpetuated by every people who desire peace, prosperity, and freedom. Learn how adherence to these beliefs during the past 200 years has brought about more progress than was made in the previous 5000 years. Published by National Center for Constitutional Studies, a non-profit organization.
A $500 House in Detroit: Rebuilding an Abandoned Home and an American City
by Drew PhilpDrew Philp, an idealistic college student from a working-class Michigan family, withdraws from the comforts of life on a university campus in search of a place to live where he can make a difference. He sets his sights on Detroit, the failed metropolis of abandoned buildings, widespread poverty, and rampant crime—a complicated source of national fascination, often stereotyped and little understood. Arriving with no job, no friends, and no money, Philp is naïvely determined to fix the huge, broken city with his own hands and on his own terms. A year later, he saves up and buys a ramshackle house for five hundred dollars in the east side neighborhood known as Poletown and moves in. Philp gets what he pays for. The roomy Queen Anne he now owns has been abandoned for a decade and is little more than a clapboard shell on a crumbling brick foundation, filled with heaping piles of trash (including most of a chopped-up minivan), and missing windows, heat, water, electricity, and a functional roof. The landscape of the surrounding neighborhood resembles an urban prairie: overgrown fields dotted with houses that haven’t been demolished or burned to the ground—some of them well-maintained by Detroiters who have chosen to remain in the city, but many, like the Queen Anne, left vacant and in complete disrepair. Based on a BuzzFeed essay that resonated with millions of readers, A $500 House in Detroit is Philp’s raw and earnest account of rebuilding everything but the frame of his house, nail by nail and room by room. It’s also the story of a young man finding his footing in the city, the country, and his own generation. As he assimilates into the community of Detroiters around him, Philp guides readers through the city’s vibrant history and engages in urgent conversations about gentrification, racial tensions, and class warfare. We witness his concept of Detroit shift, expand, and evolve as his plan to save the city gives way to a life forged from political meaning, personal connection, and collective purpose. Part social history, part brash generational statement, part comeback story, A $500 House in Detroit is an intimate account of the tentative revival of an American city—home by home and person by person—and a glimpse at a new way forward for generations to come.