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A Faith Worth Believing: Finding New Life Beyond the Rules of Religion
by Tom StellaHow can we have an authentic faith when we no longer have well-defined, codified beliefs? Where do we turn to better understand our relationship with God when the messages of the Church seem simplistic? This book is for all those who are asking the tough questions and are not satisfied with the answers they are receiving.
Mendocino Fire: Stories
by Elizabeth TallentIn this collection of richly imagined stories, Elizabeth Tallent, the master of short fiction, delivers a diverse suite of stories about men and women confronting their vulnerabilities in times of transition and challenge.Beginning in the 1980s, Elizabeth Tallent’s work appeared in some of our most prestigious literary publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and Harper’s. Marked by its quiet power and emotional nuance, her fiction garnered widespread praise.Now Tallent returns with a new collection of diverse, thematically linked, and deeply powerful stories that confirm her enduring gift for capturing relationships at their moment of transformation: marriages breaking apart, people haunted by memories of old love and reaching haltingly toward new futures. Mendocino Fire explore moments of fracture and fragmentation; it limns the wilderness of our inner psyche and brilliantly evokes the electric tension of deep emotion. In these pages, Tallent explores expectations met and thwarted, and our never-ending quest to avoid being alone.With this breathtaking collection, Elizabeth Tallent cements her rightful place in the literary pantheon beside her contemporaries Lorrie Moore, Ann Beattie, and Louise Erdrich. Visceral and surprising, profound yet elemental, Mendocino Fire is a welcome visit with a wise and familiar friend.
Wanted Women: Faith, Lies, and the War on Terror: The Lives of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Aafia Siddiqui
by Deborah ScrogginsThe author of Emma’s War offers a compelling account of the link between Muslim women’s rights, Islamist opposition to the West, and the Global War on Terror.Wanted Women explores the experiences of two fascinating female champions from opposing sides of the conflict: Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali and neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui. With Emma’s War: An Aid Worker, A Warlord, Radical Islam and the Politics of Oil, journalist Deborah Scroggins achieved major international acclaim; now, in Wanted Women, Scroggins again exposes a crucial untold story from the center of an ongoing ideological war—laying bare the sexual and cultural stereotypes embraced by both sides of a conflict that threatens to engulf the world.
Fifty First Times: A New Adult Anthology
by Julie Cross J. Lynn Molly McAdams Sophie JordanFor New Adult and Young Adult fans, nineteen stories … fifty unforgettable experiences. Nineteen fabulous tales of first kisses, first loves, first … everythings. All compiled by Julie Cross.With stories from Jennifer L. Armentrout writing as J. Lynn, Sophia Bleu, Lisa Desrochers, Cole Gibsen, A. L. Jackson, Sophie Jordan, Melissa Landers, Lauren Layne, Roni Loren, Molly McAdams, Myra McEntire, Hannah Moskowitz, Lyla Payne, Mark Perini, Carrie Ryan, Andrew Shaffer, Alessandra Thomas, and Tracy Wolff.
Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America
by Erin Geiger SmithIn this concise, lively look at the past, present, and future of voting, a journalist examines the long and continuing fight for voting equality, why so few Americans today vote, and innovative ways to educate and motivate them; included are checklists of what to do before election day to prepare to vote and encourage others.Voting is a prized American right and a topic of debate from the earliest days of the country. Yet in the 2016 presidential election, about 40 percent of Americans—and half of the country’s young adults—didn’t vote. Why do so many Americans choose not to vote, and what can we do about it? The problem, Erin Geiger Smith contends, is a lack of understanding about our electoral system and a need to make voting more accessible. Thank You for Voting is her eye-opening look at the voting process, starting with the Framers’ perspective, through the Equal Protection amendment and the Voting Rights Act, to the present and simple actions individuals can take to increase civic participation in local, state, and national elections.Geiger Smith expands our knowledge about our democracy—including women’s long fight to win the vote, attempts to suppress newly enfranchised voters' impact, state prohibitions against felons voting, charges of voter fraud and voter suppression, and other vital issues. In a conversational tone, she explains topics that can confuse even the most informed voters: polling, news literacy, gerrymandering and the Electoral College. She also explores how age, race, and socioeconomic factors influence turnout.Ultimately, Thank You for Voting offers hope. Geiger Smith challenges corporations to promote voting, and offers examples of how companies like Patagonia and Walmart have taken up the task in a non-partisan way. And she reveals how get-out-the-vote movements—such as television star Yara Shahidi’s voting organization, Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote campaign, and on-the-ground young activists—innovatively use technology and grassroots techniques to energize first-time voters.
Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life
by James Blake Andrew FriedmanJames Blake's life was getting better every day. A rising tennis star and People magazine's Sexiest Male Athlete of 2002, he was leading a charmed life and loving every minute of it. But all that ended in May 2004, when Blake fractured his neck in an on-court freak accident. As he recovered, his father—who had been the inspiration for his tennis career—lost his battle with stomach cancer. Shortly after his father's death, Blake was dealt a third blow when he contracted zoster, a rare virus that paralyzed half of his face and threatened to end his already jeopardized career.In Breaking Back, Blake provides a remarkable account of how he came back from this terrible heartbreak and self-doubt to become one of the top tennis players in the world. A story of strength, passion, courage, and the unbreakable bonds between a father and son, Breaking Back is a celebration of one extraordinary athlete's indomitable spirit and his inspiring ability to find hope in the bleakest of times.
HausMagick: Transform Your Home with Witchcraft
by Erica FeldmannHarness the power of magic to create a beautiful, healing living space with this unique illustrated guide from the founder of HausWitch, the popular Salem, Massachusetts, store and online lifestyle brand.Anyone looking to put together their ideal home—full of beauty, comfort, protection, and positive energy—will gravitate to HausMagick, a simple and striking modern handbook for using witchcraft to bring divine wellbeing into every dwelling.Author and HausWitch founder Erica Feldmann teaches you how to transform any space into a sacred sanctuary using the principles of the HausWitch brand, which brings together earth magic, meditation, herbalism, self-awareness, tarot, astrology, feminist spirituality, and interior decoration. Organized by six fundamental elements—Manifestation, Clearing, Protection, Comfort, Harmony, and Balance—HausMagick includes herbal recipes for clearing sprays and bath salts, folklore-inspired decorating tips, an overview of tarot, advice on crystals, ancient home healing spells and meditations, and more.Featuring a sophisticated and inviting layout, filled with more than 100 inspiring colorful photographs, HausMagick is the cool modern guide to a transformed living space.
Women Doing Leadership in Higher Education: Academic and Professional Services Perspectives
by Sarah Barnard John Arnold Fehmidah Munir Sara BosleyThis book outlines in-depth the findings of a five-year longitudinal mixed methods study with academic and professional services women working in higher education in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Key themes in the book include women’s engagement in leadership, careers in higher education, work and stress, women-only leadership programmes, intersectional perspectives that shine a light on differential experiences of women and the gendered culture of higher education. The book outlines several significant implications for women working in higher education, for those managing higher education institutions (HEIs), and for those involved in higher education policy development.
Full Exposure: Opening Up to Sexual Creativity & Erotic Expression
by Susie BrightHailed by Utne Reader as "a visionary" and the San Francisco Chronicle as "the X-rated" intellectual," Susie Bright is indiputably the sexpert of our times.Now, in a frank and intimate look at our own erotic experience, she reveals the ways in which individual sexual expression has the power to inspire, challenge, and transform all of our lives. Bright explores some of the most complex questions about sexuality todaym including: What are the real differences between men's and women's sense of the erotic?Why is it so threatening to conscioulsy address sexual desire?Is there a line to be drawn in erotic creativity-can you go so far?How can articulate erotic expression make us better lovers, more important, better people?
The Little Prisoner: A Memoir
by Jane ElliottWhen Jane Elliott was four years old, the nightmare began. She became the helpless victim of a sociopath—bullied, dominated, and sexually abused by a man only fourteen years her senior: her stepfather. For nearly two decades she was held prisoner, both physically and emotionally. But at the age of twenty-one she escaped . . . and then she fought back.The Little Prisoner is the shocking, astonishing, and ultimately uplifting true story of one woman's shattering twenty-year ordeal—and how she triumphed against an evil and violent human monster when honesty and bravery were her only weapons.
Good House Hunting: 20 Steps to Your Dream Home
by Dennis Wedlick Philip LangdonWithout a doubt, the most important investment of your life will be your home. No other purchase will matter more to your lifestyle, financial future, and personal well-being. It is never too late or too soon to set a course for creating a home that will provide the maximum return and fulfill your dreams.With step-by-step instruction, Good House Hunting will take you on an inspirational and practical journey to finding your dream home -- both within your imagination and out in the real estate world.For home buyers, Good House Hunting will help you navigate the complex process of finding the property with the greatest potential.For home owners, Good House Hunting provides the framework to help you maximize your current property.For dreamers, Good House Hunting sets out the course for dream home planning, so when you are ready you will have a plan.If you long to discover what home would be a worthy investment for improving your fortunes and accomplishing your dreams, Good House Hunting is for you.
Invincible Living: The Power of Yoga, the Energy of Breath, and Other Tools for a Radiant Life
by Guru JagatFrom acclaimed yoga teacher Guru Jagat comes a wildly cool, practical, and beautifully illustrated guide to applying the simple and super-effective technology of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation to everyday life, upgrading your "operating system" inside and out.With Invincible Living, Guru Jagat shares a radical way of understanding yoga—not just as something to do in practice, but as a broader principle for living. Candid, encouraging, and irreverent, Guru Jagat shows how Kundalini Yoga—which forgoes complex poses for energy-boosting, breath-driven exercises, quick meditations, and simple poses most of which you can do at your desk—can reset your life and well-being, regardless of your age or background.Designed explicitly for everyday people, not ashram-going or gym-bodied yogis, fast, effective Kundalini techniques can be done anywhere, from the car to the conference room. There’s no need to have a bendy back or toned arms. You don’t even need a mat: just a quiet space to clear your head, and as little as a minute out of your day. From beauty and self-care to work and relationships, Invincible Living tackles both the mind—from mood elevation and stress reduction to renewed mental clarity—and the body—from anti-aging, and increased metabolism to amped up energy. Packed with tips, exercises, and step-by-step instructions and fully photographed and illustrated in Guru Jagat’s fresh, handmade-meets-hipster style, Invincible Living is fresh take on ancient wisdom: a must-have guide for anyone who wants simple, effective, tools for a supercharged life as taught by a uniquely compelling teacher who upends all preconceptions about yoga.Invincible Living includes 100 color photographs and illustrations.
Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini
by Anistatia R. Miller Jared BrownThis updated edition features recipes from the world's greatest mixologists, including 107 classic gin and vodka Martinis, more than 110 Modern Martinis, and a directory of the world's best Martini loungesShaken Not Stirred® celebrates the Martini—the quintessential cocktail, the crowning jewel of civilized decadence. Historians and mixologists Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown revise their lists of classic Martini recipes and update their roster of modern Martinis— from the Espresso Martini to the Fresh Fruit Martini, from Cosmos to MarTEAnis—to suit current taste. They also provide eye-opening, never-before-published discoveries in their history of the cocktail in both America and Europe.Over the past fifteen years the way people think about and drink cocktails, especially Martinis, has been radically transformed. In this new edition, readers can hone their bar skills with tips from some of the world's finest mixologists. They can learn how to stock a topshelf home bar as well as make infusions and special garnishes. Partyplanning advice, fun bits of trivia, a few jokes and anecdotes, plus a directory of the world's best cocktail bars, are the finishing garnish on this modern cocktail classic!
The Silence: A Gary Goodhew Mystery (The Gary Goodhew Mysteries #4)
by Alison BruceA rash of unexplained suicides. An old woman’s baffling illness. A brutal murder. Detective Gary Goodhew must figure out what's connecting them—or die trying . . .The esteemed Detective Gary Goodhew must solve a disturbing puzzle when he stumbles upon a circle of friends who seem to be afflicted by a plague of teenage suicides. Poor Charlotte Stone . . . her whole life she has been burdened by grief. First her terminally ill mother dies and then, just weeks later two of her childhood friends take their own lives. Detective Goodhew begins to realize that this web of tragedy is not woven by coincidence. In his search for the link between this series of deaths, Goodhew is forced to recall deeply buried memories of a murder investigation that went cold years ago—memories that lead him to Charlotte Stone. Together they must stop the course of events set in motion years ago . . .In this unforgettable novel, Alison Bruce twists a shocking tale that will thrill fans of Deborah Crombie and Tana French.
Born to Fish: How an Obsessed Angler Became the World's Greatest Striped Bass Fisherman
by Tim Gallagher Greg MyersonFrom RattleSinker inventor Grey Myerson, "an extraordinary story of one man's obsession, a tale of passion, brutality, tragedy, and redemption...a book about a love of fishing that tackles the deepest themes of life" (Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk).Born to Fish tells the tale of a man who led a harrowing, sometimes dissolute life until he turned himself around, thanks to his rod and reel. Overcoming learning disabilities, substance abuse, and the violence associated with a father in the mob, Greg Myerson, a lifelong sport-fisherman, caught an 82-pound striped bass in 2011, shattering a world record that had stood for 29 years. Without any training in biological research, he began studying the striped bass like a scientist—examining how it hunts, the food it eats, how its behavior is affected by moon phases and the cycles of the tides—which led to the creation of the RattleSinker, the lure that helped him catch the record-setting bass. During an appearance on the TV show Shark Tank, Mark Cuban bought a 33 percent share of Greg's company, World Record Striper Company. Yet at the very instant he achieved his crowning glory as a striped bass fisherman, he had a staggering epiphany and instantly regretted killing the fish. Greg is now at the forefront of the effort to save the big striped bass, the most prolific breeders, and actively promotes no-kill catch-and-release tournaments.
An Uncertain Inheritance: Writers on Caring for Ill Family Members
by Nell CaseyIn this eloquent collection of essays—from the editor of the national bestseller Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression—contributors reveal their experiences in caring for family through illness and deathToday, thirty million people look after frail family members in their own homes. This number will increase drastically over the next decade—as baby boomers tiptoe toward old age; as soldiers return home from war wounded, mentally and physically; as a growing number of Americans find themselves caught between the needs of elderly parents and young children; as medical advances extend lives and health insurance fails to cover them. This compelling book offers both literary solace and guidance to the people who find themselves witness to—and participants in—the fading lives of their intimates.Some of the country's most accomplished writers offer frank insights and revelations about this complex relationship. Julia Glass describes the tension between giving care—to her two young sons—and needing care after being diagnosed with breast cancer; Ann Harleman explores her decision to place her husband in an institution; Sam Lipsyte alternates between dark humor and profound understanding in telling the story of his mother's battle with cancer; Ann Hood wishes she'd had more time as a caregiver, to prepare herself for the loss of her daughter; Andrew Solomon examines the humbling experience of returning as an adult to be cared for by his father; cartoonist Stan Mack offers an illustrated piece about the humor and hell of making his way through the medical bureaucracy alongside his partner, Janet; Julia Alvarez writes about the competition between her and her three sisters to be the best daughter as they tend to their ailing parents. An Uncertain Inheritance examines the caregiving relationship from every angle—children caring for parents; parents caring for children; sib-lings, spouses, and close friends, all looking after one another—to reveal the pain, intimacy, and grace that take place in this meaningful connection.
Stroke-Free for Life: The Complete Guide to Stroke Prevention and Treatment
by David WiebersNo matter what your age or your family and medicalhistory, you can take steps to prevent debilitatingstrokes. And you can start today.No one plans to have a stroke, but too many people think that avoiding them is impossible. Written by the director of the Stroke Research Center at Mayo Clinic, this book helps you determine your risk for stroke and offers you a personalized prevention program based on your own risk profile.This book is the first of its kind to offer such thorough information about our nation's #1 disabler and #3 killer. Based on decades of research, Dr. Wiebers shares crucial information you need to know, including:The six different types of strokeSimple dietary changes that can help prevent strokeCommon heart conditions that are little-known stroke risk factorsWhere to get the best treatment during a strokeYou and your loved ones don't have to live in fear of suffering strokes. This book gives you specific, positive steps to reduce the risk of stroke and to help you lead a more healthy, balanced, and enjoyable life.
If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You
by Kelly Cutrone Meredith BryanIn the New York Times bestseller If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, media maven Kelly Cutrone spills her secrets for success without selling out. She combines personal and professional stories from her high-profile gigs as Whitney Port and Lauren Conrad’s boss on The Hills, star of Bravo's Kell on Earth, judge on America’s Next Top Model, and CEO/founder of the fashion PR firm People’s Revolution to offer young professional women no-nonsense, brutally honest career advice—and other things their mothers never told them.
A Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America
by Paul CuadrosA Home on the Field is about faith, loyalty, and trust. It is a parable in the tradition of Stand and Deliver and Hoosiers—a story of one team and their accidental coach who became certain heroes to the whole community.For the past ten years, Siler City, North Carolina, has been at the front lines of immigration in the interior portion of the United States. Like a number of small Southern towns, workers come from traditional Latino enclaves across the United States, as well as from Latin American countries, to work in what is considered the home of industrial-scale poultry processing. At enormous risk, these people have come with the hope of a better life and a chance to realize their portion of the American Dream. But it isn't always easy. Assimilation into the South is fraught with struggles, and in no place is this more poignant than in the schools. When Paul Cuadros packed his bags and moved south to study the impact of the burgeoning Latino community, he encountered a culture clash between the long-time residents and the newcomers that eventually boiled over into an anti-immigrant rally featuring former Klansman David Duke. It became Paul's goal to show the growing numbers of Latino youth that their lives could be more than the cutting line at the poultry plants, that finishing high school and heading to college could be a reality. He needed to find something that the boys could commit to passionately, knowing that devotion to something bigger than them would be the key to helping the boys find where they fit in the world. The answer was soccer. But Siler City, like so many other small rural communities, was a football town, and long-time residents saw soccer as a foreign sport and yet another accommodation to the newcomers. After an uphill battle, the Jets soccer team at Jordan-Matthews High School was born. Suffering setbacks and heartbreak, the majority Latino team, in only three seasons and against all odds, emerged poised to win the state championship.
Straight Up and Dirty: A Memoir
by Stephanie Klein"I did have my own friends, my own salary, my health, and TiVo: all the important things we're likely to take for granted. Still, when it hit that I'd now have to date again, I panicked. Dating meant nightclubs, heels, and black. It meant, 'No, thank you. Really, I'm full.' It meant matching bras and underwear. Clothes with the micro used to describe them. Because until you date again, people will hiccup lines about getting back on horses. So you invest in an Agent Provocateur whip and a subscription to an online dating service. . . ."--from Straight Up and DirtyShe had every girl's dream: the perfect marriage to the perfect guy in the perfect apartment on the Upper East Side. Marriage fit Stephanie Klein like a glove . . . but unfortunately it fit her husband like a noose. And then, just like that, Klein found herself "divorced when you're firm, fashionable, and let's face it—fetching."Celebrated bloggist, photographer, and freelance writer Stephanie Klein lets it all hang out in this juicy tell-all tracing her jump back into single life following her divorce. On the dating advice of her therapist, Klein attempts to keep "a pair and a spare" of men always on hand and has lots of bawdy fun along the way. But when the anniversary of the devastating breakup from her "wasband" forces her to revisit what happened, she finds herself wanting more than her therapist's recommended gimmick to keep her emotionally safe.Straight Up and Dirty demonstrates that the true measure of success isn't what's crossed off life's to-do list. It's having the grace and fortitude to move through change, curls intact and smiling
Getting into Guinness: One Man's Longest, Fastest, Highest Journey Inside the World's Most Famous Record Book
by Larry OlmstedA fascinating mix of participatory journalism and history, Getting Into Guinness is the never-before told story of the bestselling copyrighted book of all time. Veteran reporter Larry Olmsted began a personal quest to break an existing world record, then to set another one, and soon he was fully immersed in the crazy and highly competitive world of record breaking. This is his behind-the-scenes report of the characters who created the famous record book and continue to make it wackier and wackier with every passing year.The enthralling 50-year history of the Guinness World Records is a story of phenomenal success, equally compelling failures, and extreme oddities. People all over the world strive to get into the book, often in the most unbelievable ways. Olmsted chronicles some of the funniest and most interesting Guinness record holders from a uniquely insider perspective: he himself is one of them. It all began with a gentleman's wager over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the grouse. The attempt to answer this question has sold more than 100 million books in dozens of languages and every corner of the globe. Today, there is heated competition for the record to hold the most records (currently held by Ashrita Furman, 114 records and counting), as well as classic curiosities that have lasted for decades (the tallest man in history is still Robert Wadlow, at 8' 11"). Interwoven into all of this is Olmsted's account of his own two successful recordsetting attempts, the first involving traveling halfway around the world with his golf shoes—"Greatest Distance Between Two Rounds of Golf on the Same Day"—and the second causing him to nearly lose his mind while playing the world's longest poker session.Why do people devote so much energy to get into the record book, often at great risk? Why do the most extreme fans devote their entire lives to this pursuit? Why is society so obsessed with records and record breaking? Why do Americans alone buy a million and a half copies of the famous book every year, propelling it to the top of the bestseller lists decade after decade? Why do readers of all generations remember the same record holding icons, the fattest twins, the longest fingernails, and the tallest man? After his own journey inside the world of record breaking, these are the questions Olmsted attempts to answer.In the tradition of the bestselling Word Freak—a mélange of travelogue, memoir, investigative journalism, and history—Getting Into Guinness is a must-read for anyone who has ever read Guinness World Records and wondered why someone would grow their fingernails for an entire lifetime.
21 Days to Resilience: How to Transcend the Daily Grind, Deal with the Tough Stuff, and Discover Your Strongest Self
by Zelana MontminyHappiness is not about wishful thinking, good luck, or avoiding negative thoughts. In fact, the only path to true happiness requires seeing challenges as opportunities and discovering emotional strength during times of struggle. In other words, it's about resilience. Resilience is a quality most of us want to possess. The big issue is that no one knows how to access it in their day-to-day life. We understand that it's important, that it's crucial even, but it seems like an ephemeral thing that you either have or you don't. How we actually attain the skills to become resilient has been left out of the conversation. Until now.In 21 Days to Resilience, Dr. Zelana Montminy, a leading expert in positive psychology, offers a practical, science-backed toolkit to develop your capacity to handle whatever life throws your way—and thrive. Each day of her powerful program, Dr. Montminy introduces a key trait necessary to improve resiliency and enhance wellbeing, such as gratitude, focus, playfulness, self-respect, and flexibility, then provides three simple tasks to accomplish that day—one in the morning, one during the day, and one in the evening. In addition, the book offers a "Take Stock" section that will help you gauge your current level of skill and each chapter ends with a "Lifelong" exercise that offers ways to build the skill as needed to keep your resiliency muscles strong.Dr. Montminy writes, "Being resilient does not mean that you won't encounter problems or have difficulties overcoming a challenge in your life. The difference is that resilient people don't let their adversity define them. At its core, resilience is about being capable and strong enough to persevere in adverse or stressful conditions—and to take away positive meaning from that experience. Living with resilience is more than just bouncing back; it is about shifting our perceptions, changing our responses, and growing from them." Combining proven science, unique exercises, and insights from real-life experience, 21 Days to Resilience lays the foundation for happiness and shows you how to build your strength to carry you through the rest of your life.
Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert
by Grant StoddardA twenty-two-year-old perennial virgin, Englishman Grant Stoddard didn't know what to do with his life in America—until he won an X-rated online contest, the prize being intercourse with an infamous married sex columnist. He consequently wound up delivering mail at Nerve.com but accidentally found his calling as a gonzo sex reporter who would try any and every lurid activity his crafty coworkers devised—from offering himself up as man-bait at a hard-core gay bar to attending an elite orgy, to being a hapless participant in a sexual home invasion—all the while wishing he could be safely tucked in bed.Working Stiff is the humble, hilarious, and delightfully salacious fish-into-water story of a young man who followed his heart—and other organs—into places where few would dare to venture.
Off Course: Inside the Mad, Muddy World of Obstacle Course Racing
by Erin Beresini&“Beresini uncovers the growing sport&’s most compelling characters and provides the most authoritative insiders&’ guide to date.&” —Outside &“Obstacle course racing has taken the endurance world by storm, and in Off Course Erin Beresini gives us an insider perspective into the conflict and appeal of these masochistic suffer-fests, culminating in her quest to complete the granddaddy of them all, the Spartan Ultra Beast. A must-read for anyone currently competing in, or considering taking on, one of these newfangled racing events.&” —Dean Karnazes, best-selling author of Ultramarathon Man Everyone has seen the pictures on their social media feeds: friends or family wearing mud-spattered athletic gear, holding a medal to proclaim they&’ve crossed the finish line of an intensely grueling race. Indeed, obstacle course racing is the fastest growing sport in U.S. history. Every week, thousands of athletes shell out money to run through mud and fire, crawl under barbed wire, scramble over ten-foot walls, and dodge baton-wielding gladiators. Erin Beresini&’s Off Course chronicles the author&’s period of training and competition in obstacle course racing. As she investigates the world behind this military-inspired amateur competition and the industry surrounding it, Beresini meets the diverse characters who compete in these races and uncovers the sport&’s biggest scandals, lawsuits, and rivalries. And through her own race training, Erin illuminates the history, science, and psychology of this sport that is taking the endurance world by storm. &“[Beresini&’s] narrative has humor and heart, and a carnival of characters . . . By the end of her riotous narrative, I had to wipe mud from my glasses at least twenty-six times.&”—Gary M. Pomerantz, author of Their Life&’s Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now
Man About Town: A Novel
by Mark MerlisA congressional adviser and habitué of a cozy circuit of bars inside the Beltway, Joel Lingeman never quite felt middle-aged. At least not until he was abandoned by his partner of fifteen years and suddenly thrust into a dating scene with men half his age and no discernible trace of love handles. But this unexpected hole in his life inspires Joel's search for a 1964 edition ofan Esquire-like magazine that contained a swimsuit ad that obsessed and haunted him throughout his youth. Determined to find out what happened to the model shown in the ad, Joel slowly begins to understand what has happened to his own life. Sexy, smart, and deftly observed, Man About Town is a new twist on the idea that the personal is political and a must read for anyone who's ever wondered what happened to that first crush.