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A Place Called Home: A Memoir
Par David Ambroz. 2022
PORCHLIGHT BESTSELLER Zibby Owens 2022 Book of the Year A galvanizing, stirring memoir about growing up homeless and in foster care…
and rising to become a leading advocate for child welfare, recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. &“You will fall in love with David Ambroz, his beautifully-told, gut-wrenching story, and his great big heart.&” (Jeanette Walls, author of The Glass Castle) &“It's impossible to read A Place Called Home and not want to redouble your efforts to fight the systems of poverty that have plagued America for far too long. In this book, David shares his deeply personal story and issues a rousing call to make this a more humane and compassionate nation.&”—HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON There are millions of homeless children in America today and in A Place Called Home, award-winning child welfare advocate David Ambroz writes about growing up homeless in New York for eleven years and his subsequent years in foster care, offering a window into what so many kids living in poverty experience every day. When David and his siblings should be in elementary school, they are instead walking the streets seeking shelter while their mother is battling mental illness. They rest in train stations, 24-hour diners, anywhere that&’s warm and dry; they bathe in public restrooms and steal food to quell their hunger. When David is placed in foster care, at first it feels like salvation but soon proves to be just as unsafe. He&’s moved from home to home and, in all but one placement, he&’s abused. His burgeoning homosexuality makes him an easy target for other&’s cruelty. David finds hope and opportunities in libraries, schools, and the occasional kind-hearted adult; he harnesses an inner grit to escape the all-too-familiar outcome for a kid like him. Through hard work and unwavering resolve, he is able to get a scholarship to Vassar College, his first significant step out of poverty. He later graduates from UCLA Law with a vision of using his degree to change the laws that affect children in poverty. Told with lyricism and sparkling with warmth, A Place Called Home depicts childhood poverty and homelessness as it is experienced by so many young people who have been systematically overlooked and unprotected. It&’s at once a gripping personal account of deprivation—how one boy survived it, and ultimately thrived—and a resounding call for readers to move from empathy to action.Normal Family: On Truth, Love, and How I Met My 35 Siblings
Par Chrysta Bilton. 2022
This riveting, nuanced memoir about unforgettable individuals thrown together by chance and DNA tells a story of nature, nurture, and…
coming to terms with one's true inheritance. What is a &“normal family,&” and how do you go about making one? Chrysta Bilton&’s magnetic, larger-than-life mother, Debra, yearned to have a child, but as a single gay woman in 1980s California, she had few options. Until one day, while getting her hair done in a Beverly Hills salon, she met a man and instantly knew he was the one she&’d been looking for. Beautiful, athletic, artistic, and from a well-to-do family, Jeffrey Harrison appeared to be Debra&’s ideal sperm donor. A verbal agreement, a couple of thousand in cash, and a few squirts of a turkey baster later, and Chrysta was conceived. Over the years, Jeffrey would make regular appearances at the family home, which grew to include Chrysta&’s baby sister. But how much did Debra really know about the man she&’d chosen to father her daughters? And as a single mother torn between ferocious independence and abject dependence—on other women, alcohol, drugs, and the adrenaline of get-rich-quick schemes—what secrets of her own was she keeping? It wasn&’t until Chrysta was a young adult that she discovered just how much her parents had hidden from their daughters—and each other—including a shocking revelation with far-reaching consequences not only for Debra, Chrysta, and her sister, but for dozens and possibly hundreds of unsuspecting families across the country. After a lifetime of longing for a &“normal family,&” can Chrysta face the reality of her own, in all its complexity? Bringing us into the fold of a deeply dysfunctional yet fiercely loving clan that is anything but &“normal,&” this emotional roller coaster of a memoir will make you cry, laugh, and rethink the meaning of family. Named a 'Best Book of the Summer' by LA Times, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon, Apple, Cup of Jo, Kirkus, Parade, & TodayKim Kardashian
Par Sean Smith. 2015
Kim Kardashian is a phenomenon.Despite her privileged upbringing in Beverly Hills, ten years ago Kim was just a modest stylist…
to stars like Paris Hilton and Brandy, making extra money selling her clothes on eBay. But a combination of hard work, an astute business brain, a hit TV series and a body to die for turned her life around.In this revealing unauthorized biography of Kim, bestselling author Sean Smith discovers a sweet, kind, and smart young woman whose life story reads like an X-rated version of Dynasty . . . an infamous murder case, elopement, a notorious sex tape, a seventy-two-day marriage, gender transition—and impossibly glamorous designer dresses.Finding love with one of the biggest stars on the planet, Kanye West, she has begun her own dynasty with her daughter, North, and the approaching birth of her son. Now, as Kim Kardashian West, she is the most photographed and talked-about celebrity of the past decade. Her following on Instagram alone exceeds 42 million, over 4 million more than the population of her home state of California.Kim Kardashian follows her extraordinary journey—from her childhood and amazing family to her turbulent love life and multi-million-dollar lifestyle. It is the ultimate insight into an icon of our times.White Hot Light: Twenty-Five Years in Emergency Medicine
Par Frank Huyler. 2020
“High stakes lyricism infuses White Hot Light.... At times his style owes something to the rapturous economy of Denis Johnson,…
and the people drifting in and out could well find a home in a Johnson story.... Huyler's work is implicitly political -- he lays bare the cruelties of poverty, and of for-profit health care in particular -- but maintains an elemental tone." — Harper's Magazine“Huyler depicts the crises he treats with vivid and cinematic detail, but the book is less about the salacious depiction of trauma than it is an investigation into the vulnerabilities and resiliencies of human nature.” — Santa Fe Reporter"Frank Huyler's two collections of short personal pieces documenting his life in the ER—The Blood of Strangers and White Hot Light—are both masterpieces in my opinion, at once so powerful and so beautiful that I rank him as one of the finest writer-doctors since Chekov." — Paul Auster"Huyler, an ER doctor who began as a poet, is a writer who makes every word count…. In terse, riveting vignettes, Huyler confronts us with enigmas, images and ironies often memorably welded together. The work of a now veteran ER physician, White Hot Light offers added authority (“The Gun Show” should be required reading for every American) – and also wisdom, as Huyler turns his cool gaze not only outward but also inward." — Rachel Hadas, TLS Books of the Year“Haunting…instantly grabs readers’ attention….Huyler’s compassionate perspective and gripping stories result in a memorable account of the life he leads and the patients he sees, and sometimes saves.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review“Tales from the emergency room, told with no-nonsense brevity, clarity, and compassion. In this long-awaited follow-up to The Blood of Strangers, Huyler returns with more interesting, largely stand-alone stories from his work in an ER in Albuquerque…. The title aptly describes the illumination Huyler brings to patient care—and to writing about it.” — Kirkus“[Huyler] tells it like it is, but also manages to craft these windows into various lives that will haunt you long after you’re done…. Captures life, death, the decisions that change our lives, violence, and grace—all at once.” — Book Riot“Huyler brings a beauty and thoughtfulness to crucial issues affecting medicine and society at large. Within the visceral brutality, the writing is thoughtful and self-reflective, the collection a study of caring.” — Shelf AwarenessTrue Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness: A Feminist Coming of Age
Par Christine Lahti. 2018
“This collection captures, in writing, the same array of emotions that Christine brings to the stage and screen with her…
acting. Funny with heart. Tears with a hint of hope. A fantastic mosaic that, when cobbled together, offers a stirring range of humanity.” — Alan Zweibel, original SNL writer and Thurber Prize winning author of The Other Shulman“Christine Lahti’s autobiographical essays are a beautiful, painful, funny, fiercely honest walk through the streets of her life. Gorgeous landscape, dangerous potholes and all. The whole unedited she-bang. It’s Oz with the curtain pulled back. At once soul-baring, hilarious, moving and smart. I’m a fan.” — Kathy Najimy, actress and comedienne“Lahti launches into the literary world with the same dynamism that has enlivened her acting roles. With brazen honesty, she recounts the many surprising, heartbreaking, and identity-building events that have punctuated her life. True Stories of an Unreliable Eyewitness oozes modesty, humor, and complete levelheadedness.” — Kirkus Reviews“Christine Lahti has lived a full, ferocious life and her stories will break, beat and blister your heart.” — Amber Tamblyn, author, actress, and director “Engrossing, hilarious, tragic—this amazing book of essays by a wonderful actor whom we now know is also a great American storyteller, takes us from the Midwest to Hollywood to the moment of women’s rebellion we are currently in. Couldn’t put it down!” — Michael Moore, Academy Award winning filmmaker and bestselling author“An intimate, conversational collection. Lahti writes with ease and authenticity... her timely chronicle of aging wisely, gracefully, and with self-respect will resonate with many readers” — Publishers Weekly“Lahti’s style is irreverent, bawdy, and laugh-out-loud funny, but she doesn’t shirk from painful subjects, including family mental illness. Lahti is one of those rare celebrities who not only has a fascinating life but who can also tell a relatable story with humility and humor.” — BooklistDad, How Do I?: Practical "Dadvice" for Everyday Tasks and Successful Living
Par Rob Kenney. 2021
Lies My Mother Never Told Me: A Memoir
Par Kaylie Jones. 2009
Her mother was a brainy knockout with the sultry beauty of Marilyn Monroe, a raconteur whose fierce wit could shock…
an audience into hilarity or silence. Her father was a distinguished figure in American letters, the National Book Award–winning author of four of the greatest novels of World War II ever written. A daughter of privilege with a seemingly fairy-tale-like life, Kaylie Jones was raised in the Hamptons via France in the 1960s and '70s, surrounded by the glitterati who orbited her famous father, James Jones. Legendary for their hospitality, her handsome, celebrated parents held court in their home around an antique bar—an eighteenth-century wooden pulpit taken from a French village church—playing host to writers, actors, movie stars, film directors, socialites, diplomats, an emperor, and even the occasional spy. Kaylie grew up amid such family friends as William Styron, Irwin Shaw, James Baldwin, and Willie Morris, and socialized with the likes of Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, and Kurt Vonnegut.Her beloved father showed young Kaylie the value of humility, hard work, and education, with its power to overcome ignorance, intolerance, and narrow-mindedness, and instilled in her a love of books and knowledge. From her mother, Gloria, she learned perfect posture, the twist, the fear of abandonment, and soul-shattering cruelty. Two constants defined Kaylie's childhood: literature and alcohol. "Only one word was whispered in the house, as if it were the worst insult you could call someone," she writes, "alcoholic was a word my parents reserved for the most appalling and shameful cases—drunks who made public scenes or tried to kill themselves or ended up in the street or in an institution. If you could hold your liquor and go to work, you were definitely not an alcoholic." When her father died from heart failure complicated by years of drinking, sixteen-year-old Kaylie was broken and lost. For solace she turned to his work, looking beyond the man she worshipped to discover the artist and his craft, determined that she too would write. Her loss also left her powerless to withstand her mother's withering barbs and shattering criticism, or halt Gloria's further descent into a bottle—one of the few things mother and daughter shared. From adolescence, Kaylie too used drink as a refuge, a way to anesthetize her sadness, anger, and terror. For years after her father's death, she denied the blackouts, the hangovers, the lost days, the rage, the depression. Broken and bereft, she began reading her father's novels and those writers who came before and after him—and also pursued her own writing. With this, she found the courage to open the door on the truth of her own addiction.Lies My Mother Never Told Me is the mesmerizing and luminously told story of Kaylie's battle with alcoholism and her struggle to flourish despite the looming shadow of a famous father and an emotionally abusive and damaged mother. Deeply intimate, brutally honest, yet limned by humor and grace, it is a beautifully written tale of personal evolution, family secrets, second chances, and one determined woman's journey to find her own voice—and the courage to embrace a life filled with possibility, strength, and love.Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music
Par Angelique Kidjo, Rachel Wenrick. 2014
“Spinning a dramatic soulful mix of text, photos, song lyrics, and even family recipes, Grammy-winning West African-born Angelique Kidjo ……
takes us from her first vocal performance … to her current life as a world-pop-chart-topping singer-songwriter, humanitarian activist, and UNICEF goodwill ambassador.” — Elle“This inspiring memoir is as much about the author’s love for family and homeland as it is about music … readers will be enamored of this beautifully told tale of courage and determination, revealing an expansive life that proves ‘music has no color, no language, no boundaries.’ — Publishers WeeklyThe Happiness of Pursuit: A Father's Courage, a Son's Love and Life's Steepest Climb
Par Davis Phinney, Austin Murphy. 2011
"I am one of countless people inspired by the remarkable courage and optimism that have characterized Davis Phinney’s career in…
cycling and his approach to living with Parkinson’s disease. The Happiness of Pursuit introduces us to those who have inspired him — from passionate spectators on a mountain roadside in France to his son, a second-generation champion racer. This book will resonate with anyone who has ever dug deep for strength to reach the top of their own mountain, wherever and whatever it may be." — Michael J. Fox, actor, Parkinson's disease activist, and author of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future"The test of a true champion is not when things are going well, but when they are not. How they meet and overcome the challenge, and never give up. Davis Phinney’s book lets us see and feel this. A true champion. A remarkable life. Thank you for this gift." — Patrick Dempsey, actor and cycling aficionado"He won more bicycle races than any other American. Then Davis Phinney faced the onset of Parkinson’s disease, which again called on all of his courage as a winner to fight his newfound enemy. The Happiness of Pursuit is a true story of a famous family who has experienced every emotion. A great read." — Phil Liggett, "the Voice of Cycling""In this touching personal account, Davis provides inspiration to the millions of families worldwide—mine included—who join the Phinneys in never giving up hope that we’ll find a cure for this disease." — U.S. Senator Mark Udall"Davis Phinney always brought great intensity to his racing, which propelled him to the pinnacle of the sport and which now drives him as he confronts his disease. The Happiness of Pursuit is a fabulous story of courage—a must-read." — Jim Ochowicz, general manager, BMC Racing Team "The Happiness of Pursuit tells the incredible story of Davis Phinney, one of the most talented riders of his generation, with a career marked by many successes. When he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease he faced the challenge with the same determination, courage, and willpower he demonstrated as a world-class bicycle racer. For Phinney, every step in his son Taylor’s cycling journey has been a great joy, a victory, and perhaps a fulfillment of destiny." — Eddy Merckx, former professional cyclist and five-time Tour de France winner"What happens when you take an amazing family of athletes and bring in one of America’s best writers to capture their stories of achievement, perseverance, and hope? You get an instant classic." — Bob Babbitt, cofounder and editor in chief, Competitor"Davis Phinney and Taylor Phinney. Father and son. They have in common an incredible drive to succeed. The Happiness of Pursuit shows how a father and son can become an unbeatable combination, building a strong relationship by conquering challenges both on and off the bike." — Axel Merckx, former professional cyclist and current team director of Trek-Livestrong U-23 "The cycling talent scouts’ salivary glands went into hyperdrive when they saw Davis Phinney for the first time. But what they slowly came to understand was that the era of the pedestaled despot was over. The untouchable tyrants like Hinault, Saronni, Moser, and Roche would have to yield to more democratic leaders. Davis Phinney heralded a more open, clean, and passionate sport that we now see having worldwide appeal. It was my great fortune to have been a teammate of Davis, who is one of the cornerstones of my personal passion and enjoyment of our sport." — Bob Roll, cycling commentator"Davis Phinney is one of my heroes. This book explains why." — Rick Reilly, author of Sports from Hell —Growing Old: Notes on Aging with Something like Grace
Par Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. 2019
"Growing Old is unlike anything you've read before about old age. It's not a chirpy guidebook to successful aging (often written…
by people in their forties and fifties—who haven't gotten there yet!) but something far deeper and revelatory. By turns hilarious, poignant, fascinating, and disturbing, every page is brutally honest. If you ever plan to grow old or know anyone else who's already there, you'll find insights here you'll see nowhere else." — Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus “Written by one of our most distinguished observers of human and animal behavior who has now decided to observe herself, this book is a witty, wise, frank, and ultimately comforting look--from the inside out--at the universal experience of growing old.” — Dale Peterson, author of Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man and The Ghosts of Gombe“This is a true gift. Elizabeth has trekked the Arctic Circle and lived with the Bushmen—not your typical human. Yet, she shares how time catches up with us all. Her unexpectedly delightful book made me realize the good decisions my grandparents made, and think about how I should should approach my own future. A unique look at a universal process that we need not fear—and might come to relish.” — Dr. Mark W. Moffett, anthropologist-explorer and author of The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall"Octogenarian Thomas tackles old age in this clever and astute memoir…Thomas is an inspiring example of a life well lived, and her sense of humor, honesty, and curiosity will resonate.” — Publisher’s Weekly, STARRED review"With wit and humor, Thomas thoughtfully conveys the realities of aging. This fully absorbing memoir will especially resonate with readers over 65 and those who work with geriatric populations, yet all readers should find much wisdom to be gained from this warm offering." — Library Journal"Thomas turns her curiosity about all things natural toward a subject that many choose to ignore, willfully or not....With each age-related topic, Thomas writes candidly and with occasional dark humor, sharing both the good and the bad...." — Kirkus ReviewsA Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist reveals the little-known story of the Union soldiers from Alabama who played a decisive role in…
the Civil War, and how they were scrubbed from the history books.&“It is my sincere hope that this compelling and submerged history is integrated into our understanding of our nation, and allows us to embrace new heroes of the past.&”—Imani Perry, professor, Harvard University, and National Book Award–winning author of South to AmericaWe all know how the Civil War was won: Courageous Yankees triumphed over the South. But is there more to the story?As Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Howell Raines shows, it was not only soldiers from northern states who helped General William Tecumseh Sherman burn Atlanta to the ground but also an unsung regiment of 2,066 Alabamian yeoman farmers—including at least one member of Raines&’s own family.Called the First Alabama Cavalry, U.S.A., this regiment of mountain Unionists, which included sixteen formerly enslaved Black men, was the point of the spear that Sherman drove through the heart of the Confederacy. The famed general hailed their skills and courage. So why don&’t we know anything about them?Silent Cavalry is part epic American history, part family saga, and part scholarly detective story. Drawing on the lore of his native Alabama and investigative skills honed by six decades in journalism, Raines brings to light a conspiracy that sought to undermine the accomplishments of these renegade southerners—a key component of the Lost Cause effort to restore glory to white southerners after the war, even at the cost of the truth.In this important new contribution to our understanding of the Civil War and its legacy, Raines tells the thrilling tale of the formation of the First Alabama while exposing the tangled web of how its wartime accomplishments were silenced, implicating everyone from a former Confederate general to a gaggle of Lost Cause historians in the Ivy League and a sanctimonious former keeper of the Alabama state archives. By reversing the erasure of the First Alabama, Silent Cavalry is a testament to the immense power of historians to destroy as well as to redeem.Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger's Journey Out of the Military and Across America
Par Rory Fanning. 2014
&“Fanning combines memoir, travelogue, political tract, and history lesson in this engaging account of his 3,000-mile solo walk from Virginia…
to California&” (Publishers Weekly). Just days after the US military covered up the death by friendly fire of Pat Tillman, Rory Fanning—who served in the same unit as Tillman—left the Army Rangers as a conscientious objector. Disquieted by his tours in Afghanistan, Fanning sets out to honor Tillman&’s legacy by crossing the United States on foot. The generous, colorful people he meets and the history he discovers help him learn to live again. &“Fanning&’s descriptions of the hardships and highlights of the trip comprise the bulk of the book, and he infuses his left-wing politics into a narrative peppered with historical tidbits, most of which describe less-than-honorable moments in American history, such as the terrorist actions of the Ku Klux Klan and the nation&’s Indian removal policies. What stands out most, though, is the selflessness and generosity―which come in the form of stories, hospitality, and donations for the foundation―of the people Fanning encountered during his journey.&” ―Publishers Weekly &“Rory Fanning&’s odyssey is more than a walk across America. It is a gripping story of one young man&’s intellectual journey from eager soldier to skeptical radical, a look at not only the physical immenseness of the country, its small towns, and highways, but into the enormity of its past, the hidden sins and unredeemed failings of the United States. The reader is there along with Rory, walking every step, as challenging and rewarding experience for us as it was for him.&” —Chicago Sun-TimesThis Will Only Hurt a Little: The New York Times Bestseller
Par Busy Philipps. 2018
A hilarious, heartfelt, and refreshingly honest memoir and New York Times bestseller by the beloved comedic actress known for her…
roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson&’s Creek, and Cougar Town who has become &“the breakout star of Instagram stories...Imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru&” (The New Yorker).There&’s no stopping Busy Philipps. From the time she was two and &“aced out in her nudes&” to explore the neighborhood (as her mom famously described her toddler jailbreak), Busy has always been headstrong, defiant, and determined not to miss out on all the fun. These qualities led her to leave Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of nineteen to pursue her passion for acting in Hollywood. But much like her painful and painfully funny teenage years, chasing her dreams wasn&’t always easy and sometimes hurt more than a little. In a memoir &“that often reads like a Real World confessional or an open diary&” (Kirkus Reviews), Busy opens up about chafing against a sexist system rife with on-set bullying and body shaming, being there when friends face shattering loss, enduring devastating personal and professional betrayals from those she loved best, and struggling with postpartum anxiety and the challenges of motherhood. But Busy also brings to the page her sly sense of humor and the unshakeable sense that disappointment shouldn&’t stand in her way—even when she&’s knocked down both figuratively and literally (from a knee injury at her seventh-grade dance to a violent encounter on the set of Freaks and Geeks). The rough patches in her life are tempered by times of hilarity and joy: leveraging a flawless impression of Cher from Clueless into her first paid acting gig, helping reinvent a genre with cult classic Freaks and Geeks, becoming fast friends with Dawson&’s Creek castmate Michelle Williams, staging her own surprise wedding, conquering natural childbirth with the help of a Mad Men–themed hallucination, and of course, how her Instagram stories became &“the most addictive thing on the internet right now&” (Cosmopolitan). Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood—&“if you think you know Busy from her Instagram stories, you don&’t know the half of it&” (Jenni Konner). Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From &“candid tales of celebrity life, mom life, and general Busy-ness&” (W Magazine), This Will Only Hurt a Little &“is everything we&’ve been dying to hear about&” (Bustle).Harvests of Joy: How the Good Life Became Great Business
Par Robert Mondavi. 1998
A true story of midlife transformation by the Napa Valley entrepreneur who put California&’s wine industry on the map. …
In 1965, after a notorious family feud, Robert Mondavi—then fifty-two years old—was thrown out of his family&’s winery. Far from defeated, Mondavi was dedicated to a vision of creating a superior wine. What has happened since that fateful day is one of the greatest success stories of American business. Today, the Robert Mondavi Winery is one of the most respected in the world, and Mondavi is the man who is most responsible for the worldwide recognition of American wine making, as well as changing America&’s palate for fine wine and food. In Harvests of Joy, Mondavi shares how his passion for excellence helped him to achieve this extraordinary position, one he reached not without pain and sacrifice. With invaluable insider tips on his approach to both wine making and running a business, Mondavi&’s inspirational story is &“a grand example of the fact that in America you can pretty much be, do, or accomplish, whatever you set out to&” (Ventura County Star).Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For
Par Susan Rice. 2019
Recalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Susan E. Rice—National…
Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and US Ambassador to the United Nations—reveals her surprising story with unflinching candor in this New York Times bestseller.Mother, wife, scholar, diplomat, and fierce champion of American interests and values, Susan Rice powerfully connects the personal and the professional. Taught early, with tough love, how to compete and excel as an African American woman in settings where people of color are few, Susan now shares the wisdom she learned along the way. Laying bare the family struggles that shaped her early life in Washington, DC, she also examines the ancestral legacies that influenced her. Rice&’s elders—immigrants on one side and descendants of slaves on the other—had high expectations that each generation would rise. And rise they did, but not without paying it forward—in uniform and in the pulpit, as educators, community leaders, and public servants. Susan too rose rapidly. She served throughout the Clinton administration, becoming one of the nation&’s youngest assistant secretaries of state and, later, one of President Obama&’s most trusted advisors. Rice provides an insider&’s account of some of the most complex issues confronting the United States over three decades, ranging from &“Black Hawk Down&” in Somalia to the genocide in Rwanda and the East Africa embassy bombings in the late 1990s, and from conflicts in Libya and Syria to the Ebola epidemic, a secret channel to Iran, and the opening to Cuba during the Obama years. With unmatched insight and characteristic bluntness, she reveals previously untold stories behind recent national security challenges, including confrontations with Russia and China, the war against ISIS, the struggle to contain the fallout from Edward Snowden&’s NSA leaks, the U.S. response to Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the surreal transition to the Trump administration. Although you might think you know Susan Rice—whose name became synonymous with Benghazi following her Sunday news show appearances after the deadly 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya—now, through these pages, you truly will know her for the first time. Often mischaracterized by both political opponents and champions, Rice emerges as neither a villain nor a victim, but a strong, resilient, compassionate leader. Intimate, sometimes humorous, but always candid, Tough Love makes an urgent appeal to the American public to bridge our dangerous domestic divides in order to preserve our democracy and sustain our global leadership.On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood
Par Irmgard A. Hunt. 2005
A German woman recounts her youth during World War II under Hitler’s regime in this “richly texture memoir” (Publishers Weekly).Growing…
up in the beautiful mountains of Berchtesgaden—just steps from Adolf Hitler’s alpine retreat—Irmgard Hunt had a seemingly happy, simple childhood. In her powerful, illuminating, and sometimes frightening memoir, Hunt recounts a youth lived under an evil but persuasive leader. As she grew older, the harsh reality of war—and a few brave adults who opposed the Nazi regime—aroused in her skepticism of National Socialist ideology and the Nazi propaganda she was taught to believe in.In May 1945, an eleven-year-old Hunt watched American troops occupy Hitler’s mountain retreat, signaling the end of the Nazi dictatorship and World War II. As the Nazi crimes began to be accounted for, many Germans tried to deny the truth of what had occurred; Hunt, in contrast, was determined to know and face the facts of her country’s criminal past.On Hitler’s Mountain is more than a memoir—it is a portrait of a nation that lost its moral compass. It is a provocative story of a family and a community in a period and location in history that, though it is fast becoming remote to us, has important resonance for our own time.How to Fall in Love with Anyone: A Memoir in Essays
Par Mandy Len Catron. 2017
&“A beautifully written and well-researched cultural criticism as well as an honest memoir&” (Los Angeles Review of Books) from the…
author of the popular New York Times essay, &“To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This,&” explores the romantic myths we create and explains how they limit our ability to achieve and sustain intimacy.What really makes love last? Does love ever work the way we say it does in movies and books and Facebook posts? Or does obsessing over those love stories hurt our real-life relationships? When her parents divorced after a twenty-eight year marriage and her own ten-year relationship ended, those were the questions that Mandy Len Catron wanted to answer. In a series of candid, vulnerable, and wise essays that takes a closer look at what it means to love someone, be loved, and how we present our love to the world, &“Catron melds science and emotion beautifully into a thoughtful and thought-provoking meditation&” (Bookpage). She delves back to 1944, when her grandparents met in a coal mining town in Appalachia, to her own dating life as a professor in Vancouver. She uses biologists&’ research into dopamine triggers to ask whether the need to love is an innate human drive. She uses literary theory to show why we prefer certain kinds of love stories. She urges us to question the unwritten scripts we follow in relationships and looks into where those scripts come from. And she tells the story of how she decided to test an experiment that she&’d read about—where the goal was to create intimacy between strangers using a list of thirty-six questions—and ended up in the surreal situation of having millions of people following her brand-new relationship. &“Perfect fodder for the romantic and the cynic in all of us&” (Booklist), How to Fall in Love with Anyone flips the script on love. &“Clear-eyed and full of heart, it is mandatory reading for anyone coping with—or curious about—the challenges of contemporary courtship&” (The Toronto Star).The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found
Par Frank Bruni. 2022
From New York Times columnist and bestselling author Frank Bruni comes &“a book about vision loss that becomes testimony to…
human courage, a moving memoir that offers perspective, comfort, and hope&” (Booklist, starred review).One morning in late 2017, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni woke up with strangely blurred vision. He wondered at first if some goo or gunk had worked its way into his right eye. But this was no fleeting annoyance, no fixable inconvenience. Overnight, a rare stroke had cut off blood to one of his optic nerves, rendering him functionally blind in that eye—forever. And he soon learned from doctors that the same disorder could ravage his left eye, too. He could lose his sight altogether. In this &“moving and inspiring&” (The Washington Post) memoir, Bruni beautifully recounts his adjustment to this daunting reality, a medical and spiritual odyssey that involved not only reappraising his own priorities but also reaching out to, and gathering wisdom from, longtime friends and new acquaintances who had navigated their own traumas and afflictions. The result is a poignant, probing, and ultimately &“a positive message, a powerful reminder that with great vulnerability also comes great reward&” (Oprah Winfrey). Bruni&’s world blurred in one sense, as he experienced his first real inklings that the day isn&’t forever and that light inexorably fades, but sharpened in another. Confronting unexpected hardship, he felt more blessed than ever before. The Beauty of Dusk is &“a wonderful book. Honest. Poetic. Uplifting.&” (Lesley Stahl).Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider's View from Inside the Fashion Industry
Par Amy Odell. 2016
A keenly observed collection of personal essays about what it’s like to be a young woman working in the fashion…
industry, Amy Odell’s Tales from the Back Row offers “a backstage pass to the intimidating, backbiting industry” (US Weekly).In the “funny, insightful” (Harper’s Bazaar) Tales from the Back Row, Cosmopolitan.com editor Amy Odell takes readers behind the stage of New York’s hottest fashion shows to meet the world’s most influential models, designers, celebrities, editors, and photographers. But first, she has to push her way through the crowds outside and weave her way through the packed venue, from the very back row to the front. And as Amy climbs the ladder (with tips about how you can, too), she introduces an industry powered by larger-than-life characters: she meets the intimidating Anna Wintour and the surprisingly gracious Rachel Zoe, not to mention the hilarious Chelsea Handler, and more. As she describes the allure of Alexander Wang’s ripped tights and Marchesa’s Oscar-worthy dresses, Amy layers in something else: how the fashion industry is an exaggerated mirror of human fallibility—reflecting our desperate desire to belong, to make a mark. In her “light-hearted, cocktail-hour confession from someone who is…sober enough to recognize insanity for what it is” (The Washington Post), Amy is the first to admit that as much as she is embarrassed by the thrill she gets when she receives an invitation to an exclusive after-party, she can’t help but RSVP “yes.” Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of high fashion: “Whether you’re interested in pursuing a career in publishing, public relations, or design, or you’re just fascinated with what really goes on behind-the-scenes without the usual sugarcoating, we’d say this is required reading” (Fashionista.com).One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
Par Nathaniel Fick. 2005
The New York Times bestseller that &“provides a close-up and often harrowing look at Fick&’s service both in Iraq and…
Afghanistan&” (U.S. News & World Report). If the Marines are &“the few, the proud,&” Recon Marines are the fewest and the proudest. Nathaniel Fick&’s career begins with a hellish summer at Quantico, after his junior year at Dartmouth. He leads a platoon in Afghanistan just after 9/11 and advances to the pinnacle—Recon— two years later, on the eve of war with Iraq. His vast skill set puts him in front of the front lines, leading twenty-two Marines into the deadliest conflict since Vietnam. He vows to bring all his men home safely, and to do so he&’ll need more than his top-flight education. Fick unveils the process that makes Marine officers such legendary leaders and shares his hard-won insights into the differences between military ideals and military practice, which can mock those ideals. In this deeply thoughtful account of what it&’s like to fight on today&’s front lines, Fick reveals the crushing pressure on young leaders in combat. Split-second decisions might have national consequences or horrible immediate repercussions, but hesitation isn&’t an option. One Bullet Away never shrinks from blunt truths, but ultimately it is an inspiring account of mastering the art of war. &“Fick&’s writing style sets this book apart from other accounts of recent conflicts and guarantees One Bullet Away a place in the war memorial hall of fame.&”—USA Today &“What One Bullet Away accomplishes, in a way all the blather on cable TV never will, is to give readers real insights into the modern war and its warriors.&”—Rocky Mountain News