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John Lennon: The Life
by Philip NormanFor more than a quarter century, biographer Philip Norman's internationally bestselling Shout! has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom being a Beatle was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, Norman presents the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon ever published.This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folklore—his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennon—whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never seen before—and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.“[A] haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work.” -New York Times Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictions—tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecure—and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days.
Mick Jagger
by Philip NormanAuthor Phillip Norman, whose previous bestseller, John Lennon: The Life, was praised as a “haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work” (New York Times Book Review) and whose classic Shout! is widely considered to be the definitive biography of the Beatles, now turns his attention to the iconic front man of the Rolling Stones, “the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world.” Norman’s Mick Jagger is an extraordinarily detailed and vibrantly written in-depth account of the life and half-century-long career of one of the most fascinating and complex superstars of rock music—the most comprehensive biography to date of the famously enigmatic musician. Keith Richards had his say in Life. Now it’s time to get to know intimately the other half of the duo responsible for such enduring hits as “Paint It Black,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” Mick Jagger is a must read for Stones fans, and everyone who can’t get enough of the serious memoirs and biographies of popular musicians, like Patti Smith’s Just Kids, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler, and the Warren Zevon story, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.
Treasure of Gor (Gorean Saga #38)
by John NormanA brilliant woman&’s dangerous discovery on Earth leads to her enslavement on the planet Gor in this long-running sci-fi fantasy series. In a remote corner of the American southwest, there is a small, private observatory. To most of the staff, it is just another stargazing facility. But a select few know its true function as a liaison point between two alien worlds: the decimated planet of the warlike Kurii, and the planet Gor, which the Kurii now covet. When the young scientist Agnes Morrison Atherton comes across an unintelligible file containing mysterious coordinates, she decides to decode them—and discovers two large, spherical, seemingly artificial objects in the asteroid belt. But it seems that Atherton&’s remarkable discovery is less than welcome. Abducted and drugged, she awakens to find herself on the planet Gor—being sold as a Gorean slave girl.
Stand Up Straight and Sing!: A Memoir
by Jessye NormanIn this uplifting memoir, the acclaimed singer reflects &“on life, the arts, and spirituality . . . Inspiring&” (Booklist). Jessye Norman is one of the world&’s most admired and beloved singers—and her life story is as moving and dramatic as the great operatic roles she has performed on stage. Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, she studied the piano and sang the songs of her childhood, never dreaming that this passion for music might lead to her life&’s profession. Here she presents &“a rich portrait of a childhood firmly grounded by family, church and community,&” and recalls in rich detail the strong women who were her role models, from her ancestors to family friends, relatives, and teachers (The Wall Street Journal). She also discusses her relationship with the pioneering African American singer Marian Anderson—revealing the lifelong support she provided through her example of dignity and grace at all times. Norman also describes coming face-to-face with racism, both as a child living in the segregated South and as an adult out and about in the world. Filled with inspiration and wisdom, Stand Up Straight and Sing! is not just for lovers of music, but for everyone.
The Ghost Clause: A Novel
by Howard NormanNational Book Award finalist Howard Norman delivers another &“provocative . . . haunting&”* novel, this time set in a Vermont village and featuring a missing child, a newly married private detective, and a highly relatable ghost. *Janet Maslin, New York Times Simon Inescort is no longer bodily present in his marriage. It&’s been several months since he keeled over the rail of a Nova Scotia–bound ferry, a massive heart attack to blame. Simon's widow, Lorca Pell, has sold their farmhouse to newlyweds Zachary and Muriel—after revealing that the deed contains a &“ghost clause,&” an actual legal clause, not unheard of in Vermont, allowing for reimbursement if a recently purchased home turns out to be haunted. In fact, Simon finds himself still at home: &“Every waking moment, I'm astonished I have any consciousness . . . What am I to call myself now, a revenant?&” He spends time replaying his marriage in his own mind, as if in poignant reel-to-reel, while also engaging in occasionally intimate observation of the new homeowners. But soon the crisis of a missing child, a local eleven-year-old, threatens the tenuous domestic equilibrium, as the weight of the case falls to Zachary, a rookie private detective with the Green Mountain Agency. The Ghost Clause is a heartrending, affirming portrait of two marriages—one in its afterlife, one new and erotically charged—and of the Vermont village life that sustains and remakes them.
What Is Left The Daughter: A Novel
by Howard NormanHoward Norman, widely regarded as one of this country’s finest novelists, returns to the mesmerizing fictional terrain of his major books—The Bird Artist, The Museum Guard, and The Haunting of L—in this erotically charged and morally complex story. Seventeen-year-old Wyatt Hillyer is suddenly orphaned when his parents, within hours of each other, jump off two different bridges—the result of their separate involvements with the same compelling neighbor, a Halifax switchboard operator and aspiring actress. The suicides cause Wyatt to move to small-town Middle Economy to live with his uncle, aunt, and ravishing cousin Tilda. Setting in motion the novel’s chain of life-altering passions and the wartime perfidy at its core is the arrival of the German student Hans Mohring, carrying only a satchel. Actual historical incidents—including a German U-boat’s sinking of the Nova Scotia–Newfoundland ferry Caribou, on which Aunt Constance Hillyer might or might not be traveling—lend intense narrative power to Norman’s uncannily layered story. Wyatt’s account of the astonishing—not least to him— events leading up to his fathering of a beloved daughter spills out twenty-one years later. It’s a confession that speaks profoundly of the mysteries of human character in wartime and is directed, with both despair and hope, to an audience of one. An utterly stirring novel. This is Howard Norman at his celebrated best.
Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think
by Andy NormanWhy do people reject science and believe online conspiracy theories? How are people radicalized online and go on to commit acts of violence? Why is our society so politically polarized?Astonishingly irrational ideas are spreading. Covid denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. Conspiracy thinking hijacks minds and incites mob violence. Toxic partisanship is cleaving nations, and climate denial has pushed our planet to the brink. Meanwhile, American Nazis march openly in the streets, and Flat Earth theory is back. What the heck is going on? Why is all this happening, and why now? More important, what can we do about it? In Mental Immunity, Andy Norman shows that these phenomena share a root cause. We live in a time when the so-called “right to your opinion” is thought to trump our responsibilities. The resulting ethos effectively compromises mental immune systems, allowing “mind parasites” to overrun them. Conspiracy theories, evidence-defying ideologies, garden-variety bad ideas: these are all species of mind parasite, and each of them employs clever strategies to circumvent mental immune systems. In fact, some of them compromise cultural immune systems – the things societies do to prevent bad ideas from spreading. Norman shows why all of this is more than mere analogy: minds and cultures really do have immune systems, and they really can break down. Fortunately, they can also be built up: strengthened against ideological corruption. He calls for a rigorous science of mental immune health – what he calls “cognitive immunology” – and explains how it could revolutionize our capacity for critical thinking.Hailed as “a feast for thought,” Mental Immunity melds cutting-edge work in science and philosophy into an “astonishingly enlightening and productive” solution to the signature problem of our age. A practical guide to spotting and removing bad ideas, a stirring call to transcend our petty tribalisms, and a serious bid to bring humanity to its senses.
Hitler: Dictator or Puppet?
by Andrew NormanWritten by an authority on Adolf Hitler, this book charts new ground and shows how the writings of a deluded ex-monk, Lanz von Liebenfels and the pseudo-science of Liebenfels and other writers, convinced Hitler that Germanys destiny was to save the world from a Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy. It was this perverted sense of destiny that drove the Nazi Party and led to the outbreak of WWII and the deaths of some sixty million people as well as the destruction of much of Europe. Using the writings of Liebenfels from his magazine Ostara, Dr Andrew Norman demonstrates how the mass murders of Jews, Gypsies, mentally-ill people and those regarded as less than human had its roots in articles written by Liebenfels. An index of Ostara articles is included and their very titles indicate the malign influences that shaped Hitlers Germany.
Winston Churchill: Portrait of an Unique Mind
by Andrew NormanSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill is known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War Two. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, writer and artist. To date, he is the only British Prime Minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the second person to be recognized as an Honorary Citizen of the United States. During his army career, Churchill saw military action in India, the Sudan and the Second Boer War. He gained fame and notoriety as a war correspondent and through contemporary books he wrote describing the campaigns. He also served briefly in the British Army on the Western Front in World War One, commanding the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. At the forefront of the political scene for almost fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. After losing the 1945 election, he became Leader of the Opposition. In 1951 he again became Prime Minister, before finally retiring in 1955. Upon his death, the Queen granted him the honor of a state funeral, which saw one of the largest assemblies of statesmen in the world.This unique images title contains many rare and unpublished photographs of Churchill throughout his military and political career.
Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades K-2
by Telannia Norfar Chris FancherProject-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades K–2 explains how to keep inquiry at the heart of mathematics teaching in the elementary grades. Helping teachers integrate other subjects into the math classroom, this book outlines in-depth tasks, projects and routines to support Project-Based Learning (PBL). Featuring helpful tips for creating PBL units, alongside models and strategies that can be implemented immediately, Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades K–2 understands that teaching in a project-based environment means using great teaching practices. The authors impart strategies that assist teachers in planning standards-based lessons, encouraging wonder and curiosity, providing a safe environment where mistakes can occur, and giving students opportunities for revision and reflection.
Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 3-5
by Telannia Norfar Chris FancherProject-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 3–5 explains how to keep inquiry at the heart of mathematics teaching in the upper elementary grades. Helping teachers integrate other subjects into the math classroom, this book outlines in-depth tasks, projects and routines to support Project-Based Learning (PBL). Featuring helpful tips for creating PBL units, alongside models and strategies that can be implemented immediately, Project-Based Learning in the Math Classroom: Grades 3–5 understands that teaching in a project-based environment means using great teaching practices. The authors impart strategies that assist teachers in planning standards-based lessons, encouraging wonder and curiosity, providing a safe environment where mistakes can occur, and giving students opportunities for revision and reflection.
Hidden War: How Special Operations Game Wardens are Reclaiming America's Wildlands from the Drug Cartels
by Jr. John NoresDANGER On Your Public Lands! Death stalks America's wildlands. Indiscriminate destroyers of people, wildlife, and the environment, cartel marijuana growers will do anything to supply the black-market demand for weed. HIDDEN WAR, 2nd Edition, exposes this threat, give you a rare, inside glimpse into the operations of specially trained tactical teams with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to infiltrate and take down these groups. In this updated and revised second edition of his popular 2019 book, Lt. John Nores, Jr., provides a sobering look at crimes against people and the environment on public lands as clandestine crime organizations and special forces game wardens go to war in a struggle that cuts across political ideologies about marijuana legalization.
The Sea Cemetery: Secrets and lies in a bestselling Norwegian family drama (The Falck Saga #1)
by Aslak Nore"A windswept, wave-tossed, altogether irresistible novel of literary suspense - I truly didn't want it to end" A. J. FINN"In its scale, scope and ambition, The Sea Cemetery is truly epic" COLIN WALSH"This saga will delight fans of 'Succession'" Elle"The strength of its storytelling and its romantic energy make it a perfect example of an authentic page turner" Livres HebdoThere is no love lost between the Oslo and Bergen branches of the powerful Falck family. So when its steely matriarch dies with no will to be found, the seeds of an inheritance dispute are sown.Yet her legacy could be more damaging still. A manuscript confiscated by the secret police in the seventies holds devastating secrets about the Falcks' activities during the war. Her granddaughter Sasha is set on uncovering the truth, whatever the cost, bringing her into conflict with her father, whose family loyalty is matched only by his patriotic fervour. And in the wings waits Hans Falck, war doctor and philanderer, head of the impoverished Bergen branch, who has a few secrets of his own.It all leads back to the sinking of the SS Prinsesse Ragnhild, lost to a British mine in 1940. But can the official verdict be trusted? The shocking truth lies 300 metres under the sea.Part literary thriller, part sweeping family saga, The Sea Cemetery is a dark and dramatic tale of secrets, betrayals and doomed love, drawing on the true story of one of Norway's most devastating maritime disasters.Translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin
The Penguin Knitting Book
by James NorburyThe Penguin Knitting Book by James Norbury is a charming how-to-knit classic packed with delightfully vintage advice.Knitting fills a fascinating page in the human story. I know of no home-craft that enjoys the universal popularity of hand-knittingJames Norbury's The Penguin Knitting Book, first published in 1957, is a how-to guide for the experienced knitter as well as the beginner. Full of wit and charm as well as tips and techniques for the contemporary knitter, The Penguin Knitting Book entertainingly illustrates all things vintage in the world of wool.Along with telling you how to knit, The Penguin Knitting Book includes original vintage patterns for every member of the family. Babies' coats, pullovers for father, sweaters for the teenager, dresses, jumpers, coats and cardigans, you will find them all in this charming aid to better knitting.'James Norbury was the strongest single influence in British knitting during the twenty-five years after the Second World War' Sir Bishop Richard Rutt, author of A History of Hand Knitting'[In the late 1960s] there was a chap called James Norbury, who had his own knitting show on the BBC. I sat in on some of the programmes, and good stuff it was, too. I learned lots of racy stuff about 'knit one, purl one'' Sir David Attenborough'Knitting is the saving of a life' Virginia WoolfJames Norbury wrote The Penguin Knitting Book in 1957. He travelled extensively throughout the world, studying every aspect of the knitter's craft. A knitting historian, teacher and designer as well as a television star on his own BBC knitting show, he was Chief Designer for Patons and one of the foremost authorities on the history of knitting.
Tibet: The Road Ahead
by Dawa NorbuTibet: The Road Ahead is the extraordinary account of the potential extinction of a civilisation. Written by a gifted Tibetan of humble origins, this book tells the story of ordinary Tibetans in the twentieth century.Professor Norbu refutes China's claim that Tibet has been part of China since the seventh century AD, showing how the relationship between the two countries was symbolic and ceremonial, rather than one of political suppression. He portrays pre-1950 Tibet as a place of complete and genuine freedom, in stark contrast with recent events in the region.Beautifully written and offering a fresh, incisive look at the road ahead for Tibet in post-Deng China, this book will appeal to all those fascinated by, and concerned for 'the land of the snows'.
Nanocarriers for Controlled Release and Target Delivery of Bioactive Compounds (SpringerBriefs in Food, Health, and Nutrition)
by Shaba Noore Shivani Pathania Pablo Fuciños Colm P. O'Donnell Brijesh K. TiwariThis brief provides a comprehensive overview of nanocarriers used for nanoencapsulation of bioactive compounds. It includes the basis of encapsulation mechanism, encapsulation efficiency, controlled release, target delivery, and its application in food, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals.
House with No Doors: A creepy and atmospheric psychological thriller
by Jeff NoonAt first glance, Leonard Graves’ death was unremarkable. Sleeping pills, a bottle of vodka, a note saying goodbye. But when Detective Henry Hobbes discovers a grave in the basement, he realizes there is something far more sinister at work. Further investigation unearths more disturbing evidence. Scattered around the old house are women’s dresses. All made of the same material. All made in the same colours. And all featuring a rip across the stomach, smeared in blood. As the investigation continues and the body count rises, Hobbes must also deal with the disappearance of his son, the break-up of his family and a growing sense that something horrific happened in the Graves’ household. And he’s running out of time to find out what.
Slow Motion Ghosts
by Jeff Noon'Noon's storytelling is assured and compelling ... it's a belter' Guardian‘Constantly surprising’ SpectatorA viciously occult murder.A curious clue left on the body.The soundtrack to the murder still playing...It is 1981 and Detective Inspector Henry Hobbes is still reeling in the aftermath of the fire and fury of the Brixton riots. The battle lines of society - and the police force - are being redrawn on a daily basis. With the certainties of his life already sorely tested, a brutal murder will shake his beliefs to their very core once more. The manner of the death and its staged circumstances pose many questions to which there are no obvious answers. To track the murderer, Hobbes must cross boundaries into a subculture hidden beneath the everyday world he thought he knew. His investigation takes him into a twisted reality, which is both seductive and devastating, and asks him the one question he has been dreading: How far will he go in pursuit of the truth?Jeff Noon is the author of six acclaimed novels, Vurt, Pollen, Automated Alice, Nymphomation, Needle in the Groove and Falling Out of Cars, as well as two collections of short fictions, and is also the crime fiction reviewer for The Spectator. He lives in Brighton.
Law and Society in Transition: Toward Responsive Law
by Philippe Nonet Philip Selznick Robert A. KaganYear by year, law seems to penetrate ever larger realms of social, political, and economic life, generating both praise and blame. Nonet and Selznick's Law and Society in Transition explains in accessible language the primary forms of law as a social, political, and normative phenomenon. They illustrate with great clarity the fundamental difference between repressive law, riddled with raw conflict and the accommodation of special interests, and responsive law, the reasoned effort to realize an ideal of polity. To make jurisprudence relevant, legal, political, and social theory must be reintegrated. As a step in this direction, Nonet and Selznick attempt to recast jurisprudential issues in a social science perspective. They construct a valuable framework for analyzing and assessing the worth of alternative modes of legal ordering. The volume's most enduring contribution is the authors' typology-repressive, autonomous, and responsive law. This typology of law is original and especially useful because it incorporates both political and jurisprudential aspects of law and speaks directly to contemporary struggles over the proper place of law in democratic governance. In his new introduction, Robert A. Kagan recasts this classic text for the contemporary world. He sees a world of responsive law in which legal institutions-courts, regulatory agencies, alternative dispute resolution bodies, police departments-are periodically studied and redesigned to improve their ability to fulfill public expectations. Schools, business corporations, and governmental bureaucracies are more fully pervaded by legal values. Law and Society in Transition describes ways in which law changes and develops. It is an inspiring vision of a politically responsive form of governance, of special interest to those in sociology, law, philosophy, and politics.
Analysis of Food Spices: Identification and Authentication (ISSN)
by Nollet, Leo M.L. Javed Ahmad Javed AhamadSpices are obtained from natural sources, especially from plants, and are used in cooking food in whole or grounded forms mainly for imparting flavor, aroma, and piquancy. Besides their role in improving food quality, spices also have health benefits that are anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, analgesic, immunostimulant, and more.Spices are generally marketed in powder form, and their supply chain is very long and complicated, which is why they are particularly susceptible to adulteration at many points. The spice supply chain is considered to be moderately vulnerable and has an ineffective quality detection system in its final product, which is the main risk factor. There are many types of fraud nowadays related to spices such as adulteration, falsification, substitution, and inaccurate labeling.Analysis of Food Spices: Identification and Authentication provides an overview of spices of different categories, such as terpenes and terpenoids, oleoresins, alkaloids, and polyphenolics and flavonoids, as well as qualitative and quantitative guidelines for ensuring their quality and safety using modern analytical tools and techniques. The first section of the book discusses the overview, sources, and health benefits of important categories of spices such as terpenes and terpenoids (cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, fennel), oleoresins (capsicum, ginger, nutmeg), alkaloids (black pepper, fenugreek), and polyphenolics and flavonoids (basil, turmeric, olive, saffron). In the second section, qualitative diagnostic features of spices are covered. In the third section, the roles of quantitative analytical techniques, such as HPLC, LC-MS, HPTLC, GC, and GC-MS, capillary electrophoresis (CE), and other recent techniques in the analysis of food spices, are also discussed. Each chapter concludes with a general reference section, which is a bibliographic guide to more advanced texts.Key Features Provides a detailed overview of different food spices of plant origin, and discusses their health benefits and uses of different analytical techniques in its quality control Explains how qualitative diagnostic features of food spices are utilized as quality control tools Describes applicability of analytical techniques like HPLC, LC-MS, GC-MS, HPTLC, and CE for quality control of food spices Emphasizes use of recent techniques such as proteomics, biosensors, and more in the analysis/quality control of food spices This book will provide important guidelines for controlling quality, safety, and efficacy issues related to food spices.
Beautiful Inside & Out: Conquering Thyroid Disease with a Healthy, Happy, "Thyroid Sexy" Life
by Gena Lee Nolin Mary ShomonBaywatch star Gena Lee Nolin shares her story of undergoing and overcoming two decades of misdiagnosed thyroid disease and shows how the estimated sixty million Americans suffering from thyroid disease can learn to live healthy, happy, and beautiful lives.The most comprehensive, user-friendly handbook available for anyone suffering from thyroid disease: everything you need to know to reclaim the happy, healthy, wonderful life you deserve!Gena Lee Nolin, a star of the hit TV series Baywatch, was the picture of perfect health. Then suddenly she was plagued by a baffling array of symptoms: exhaustion, brain fog, bloating, depression, hair loss, and debilitating changes in energy, weight, and mood, culminating in lifethreatening symptoms during her pregnancy. Like millions of American women, Nolin was struggling with undiagnosed thyroid disease. Thyroid problems leave women feeling anything but beautiful, and often they find themselves stigmatized by friends, family, the media—even doctors. But it doesn’t have to be that way!Collaborating with New York Times bestselling author and internationally recognized thyroid patient advocate Mary Shomon, Nolin uses her own story to deliver practical information vital for anyone struggling with thyroid issues. Readers will learn how to get diagnosed accurately and treated effectively, how to lose weight, balance hormones, solve beauty challenges, and regain their self-confidence. Full of practical checklists, questionnaires, and advice from America’s leading experts in thyroid and hormonal health, here is a heartfelt, helpful guide for women who are ready to feel strong, sexy, and beautiful again.
Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala
by Catherine Nolin Grahame RussellWhat is land? A resource to be exploited? A commodity to be traded? A home to cherish? In Guatemala, a country still reeling from thirty-six years of US-backed state repression and genocides, dominant Canadian mining interests cash in on the transformation of land into “property,” while those responsible act with near-total impunity. Editors Catherine Nolin and Grahame Russell draw on over thirty years of community-based research and direct community support work in Guatemala to expose the ruthless state machinery that benefits the Canadian mining industry—a staggeringly profitable juggernaut of exploitation, sanctioned and supported every step of the way by the Canadian government. This edited collection calls on Canadians to hold our government and companies fully to account for their role in enabling and profiting from violence in Guatemala. The text stands apart in featuring a series of unflinching testimonios (testimonies) authored by Indigenous community leaders in Guatemala, as well as wide-ranging contributions from investigative journalists, scholars, lawyers, activists, and documentarians on the ground. As resources are ripped from the earth and communities and environments ripped apart, the act of standing in solidarity and bearing witness—rather than extracting knowledge—becomes more radical than ever.
Ross MacDonald: A Biography (Library Of America Ross Macdonald Edition Ser. #2)
by Tom NolanWhen he died in 1983, Ross Macdonald was the best-known and most highly regarded crime-fiction writer in America. Long considered the rightful successor to the mantles of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald and his Lew Archer-novels were hailed by The New York Times as "the finest series of detective novels ever written by an American."Now, in the first full-length biography of this extraordinary and influential writer, a much fuller picture emerges of a man to whom hiding things came as second nature. While it was no secret that Ross Macdonald was the pseudonym of Kenneth Millar -- a Santa Barbara man married to another good mystery writer, Margaret Millar -- his official biography was spare. Drawing on unrestricted access to the Kenneth and Margaret Millar Archives, on more than forty years of correspondence, and on hundreds of interviews with those who knew Millar well, author Tom Nolan has done a masterful job of filling in the blanks between the psychologically complex novels and the author's life -- both secret and overt.Ross Macdonald came to crime-writing honestly. Born in northern California to Canadian parents, Kenneth Millar grew up in Ontario virtually fatherless, poor, and with a mother whose mental stability was very much in question. From the age of twelve, young Millar was fighting, stealing, and breaking social and moral laws; by his own admission, he barely escaped being a criminal. Years later, Millar would come to see himself in his tales' wrongdoers. "I don't have to be violent," he said, "My books are."How this troubled young man came to be one of the most brilliant graduate students in the history of the University of Michigan and how this writer, who excelled in a genre all too often looked down upon by literary critics, came to have a lifelong friendship with Eudora Welty are all examined in the pages of Tom Nolan's meticulous biography. We come to a sympathetic understanding of the Millars' long, and sometimes rancorous, marriage and of their life in Santa Barbara, California, with their only daughter, Linda, whose legal and emotional traumas lie at the very heart of the story. But we also follow the trajectory of a literary career that began in the pages of Manhunt and ended with the great respect of such fellow writers as Marshall McLuhan, Hugh Kenner, Nelson Algren, and Reynolds Price, and the longtime distinguished publisher Alfred A. Knopf.As Ross Macdonald: A Biography makes abundantly clear, Ross Macdonald's greatest character -- above and beyond his famous Lew Archer -- was none other than his creator, Kenneth Millar.