-Titulo Original : One River-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: The story of two generations of scientific explorers in South America-Richard Evans Schultes and his protege Wade Davis-an epic tale of adventure and a compelling work of natural history.In 1941, Professor Richard Evan Schultes took a leave from Harvard and disappeared into the Amazon, where he spent the next twelve years mapping uncharted rivers and living among dozens of Indian tribes. In the 1970s, he sent two prize students, Tim Plowman and Wade Davis, to follow in his footsteps and unveil the botanical secrets of coca, the notorious source of cocaine, a sacred plant known to the Inca as the Divine Leaf of Immortality.A stunning account of adventure and discovery, betrayal and destruction, One River is a story of two generations of explorers drawn together by the transcendent knowledge of Indian peoples, the visionary realms of the shaman, and the extraordinary plants that sustain all life in a forest that once stood immense and inviolable. Review Best known for The Serpent and the Rainbow, Wade Davis is an ethnobotanist interested in the native uses of plants, especially psychotropics. He finds many such plants in the travels he recounts in One River, especially coca and curare. (The first, famously, is a curse in the First World but is a necessity in the Andes, where it promotes the digestion of many kinds of food plants.) Framing Daviss narrative is an account of the dangerous World War II-era Amazonian expeditions undertaken by his mentor, Harvard biologist Richard Evans Schultes. Davis describes a few hair-raising encounters of his own, making this a fine book of scientific adventure...

-Titulo Original : Anne Frank Remembered: The Story Of The Woman Who Helped To Hide The Frank Family-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: For the millions moved by Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, here at last is Miep Geis’s own astonishing story.For more than two years, Miep Gies and her husband helped hide the Franks from the Nazis. Like thousands of unsung heroes of the Holocaust, they risked their lives each day to bring food, news, and emotional support to the victims. She found the diary and brought the world a message of love and hope. It seems as if we are never far from Miep’s thoughts...Yours, Anne. From her own remarkable childhood as a World War I refugee to the moment she places a small, red-orange, checkered diary-Anne’ s legacy-in Otto Frank’s hands, Miep Gies remembers her days with simple honesty and shattering clarity. Each page rings with courage and heartbreaking beauty. Review Elie Wiesel A poignant account, vibrating with humanity.The New York Times Book Review A book of immaculate witness.Rabbi Harold S. Kushner A moving tribute to the extraordinary courage of which ordinary people are capable.The Washington Post Book World A valuable document of humanity and remarkable courage. About the Author Hermine Santruschitz Gies, better known as Miep Gies, helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis, and saved her diaries. Alison Leslie Gold’s wide-ranging body of fictional and nonfictional work spans the Holocaust and World War II, alcoholism and other forms of addiction, mental illness, the art of being a painter’s muse, and loss and love. Miep and Jan Gies, icons of goodness who sheltered Anne Frank, were never willing to have their entire story written until they met Alison. Gold has received the Best of the Best Award given by the American Library Association, the Anti-Defamation League’s Merit of Educational Distinction Award and a Christopher Award for affirming the highest values of the human spirit, among other awards and prizes. Her books have been adapted for stage and screen and have been translated into twenty-three languages. Her blog and more information about her work are available at AlisonLeslieGold . Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1In 1933, I Lived with my adoptive parents, the Nieuwenhuises, at Gaaspstraat 25, sharing a small, cozy attic room with my adoptive sister, Catherina. Our quarter was a quiet area of South Amsterdam known as the River Quarter because the streets were named after Dutch and other European rivers whose lower courses flowed through the Netherlands to the sea, like the Rhine, the Maas, the Jeker. In fact, the Amstel flowed practically into our own backyards.This section had been built up during the 1920s and early 30s when large, progressive corporations had built great blocks of apartments for their members with the help of government loans. We were all quite proud of this forward-looking treatment of ordinary working people: comfortable housing, indoor plumbing, tree-filled gardens in the rear of each block. Other big blocks were built entirely by private firms.Actually, our quarter wasnt altogether quiet. Almost always, lively children filled the air with shouts and laughter; if they werent playing games, they were whistling upward to call their friends out to play. A friendship included a one-of-a-kind tune whistled loudly to call the friend and identify who was downstairs. Children were always in each others company, charging off in little packs to the Amstelpark swimming pool, or perhaps speaking in singsong as they walked to and from school in bunches. Dutch children, like their parents, learned faithfulness in friendship very young, and would just as quickly turn implacable if any wrong was done to a friend.Gaaspstraat was much like all the other streets, filled with a great five-story block of apartments. There were doorways up and down the street leading to steep stairways. The buildings were constructed of dark brown brick with sloping orange roofs. There were windows both front and bac...

-Titulo Original : The Luckiest Man Life With John Mccain-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: A deeply personal and candid remembrance of the late Senator John McCain from one of his closest and most trusted confidants, friends, and political advisors. More so than almost anyone outside of McCain’s immediate family, Mark Salter had unparalleled access to and served to influence the Senator’s thoughts and actions, cowriting seven books with him and acting as a valued confidant. Now, in The Luckiest Man, Salter draws on the storied facets of McCain’s early biography as well as the later-in-life political philosophy for which the nation knew and loved him, delivering an intimate and comprehensive account of McCain’s life and philosophy. Salter covers all the major events of McCain’s life-his peripatetic childhood, his naval service-but introduces, too, aspects of the man that the public rarely saw and hardly knew. Woven throughout this narrative is also the story of Salter and McCain’s close relationship, including how they met, and why their friendship stood the test of time in a political world known for its fickle personalities and frail bonds. Through Salter’s revealing portrayal of one of our country’s finest public servants, McCain emerges as both the man we knew him to be and also someone entirely new. Glimpses of his restlessness, his curiosity, his courage, and sentimentality are rendered with sensitivity and care-as only Mark Salter could provide. The capstone to Salter’s intimate and decades-spanning time with the Senator, The Luckiest Man is the authoritative last word on the stories McCain was too modest to tell himself and an influential life not soon to be forgotten. Review “One of John McCain’s key staffers turns in an affecting memoir....Salter gives a highly readable, blow-by-blow account.... One of the best fly-on-the-wall political memoirs in recent memory. Highly recommended.”-Kirkus Starred Review“Franklin Roosevelt had Louis Howe and Harry Hopkins, JFK had Ted Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and John McCain had Mark Salter. In this compelling, honest, and much-needed book, Salter, McCain’s longtime coauthor and adviser, captures the raucous, resilient, and invigorating spirit of the late war hero and legendary senator. McCain wasn’t always right, but he was always decent, and Salter’s terrific account reminds us of what public service-and public servants-ought to be like.”-Jon Meacham“A moving and lucidly written memoir....Mr. Salter’s admiration for his old boss is profound, but he is aware, too, of McCain’s complexity....reading Mr. Salter’s fine memoir, I am confirmed in an old opinion: that it is one of the great tragedies of our politics that John McCain was never elected president. America was just unlucky, I guess.-Wall Street JournalSalter’s psychological portrait of McCain is informed and convincing....McCain may have considered himself the luckiest man on earth, but we too are lucky to have counted him among our leaders and to have this intimate biography that will keep his memory bright.-The Washington Post About the Author Mark Salter has collaborated with John McCain on all seven of their books, including The Restless Wave, Faith of My Fathers, Worth the Fighting For, Why Courage Matters, Character Is Destiny, Hard Call, and Thirteen Soldiers. He served on Senator McCain’s staff for eighteen years...

-Titulo Original : Rickles Book A Memoir-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Rickles Book will make you love one of the great Americans of our time, Don Rickles.Why you need to buy Rickles Book immediately: Rickles Book will help you win friends and influence people. Rickles Book will introduce you to all of his famous friends, from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Carson. Rickles Book will help you lose weight. Rickles Book will help you gain weight. Rickles Book will improve your love life. Rickles Book will make you cry (If your love life doesnt improve). Rickles Book will make you laugh (If your love life does improve). Rickles Book will make you love one of the great Americans of our time, Don Rickles. Rickles Book will give you something to talk about at parties (If youre ever invited to parties). Rickles Book, along with the Bible and War and Peace, will grace your bookshelf and upgrade your literary status. Rickles Book will keep you up at night. Rickles Book will put you to sleep at night. Rickles Book will make you rich (If you treasure great humor). Review What a terrific book. Honest, funny, down-to-earth. A helluva read. -- Larry King About the Author Don Rickles is looking for his first big break in show business. If you have a gig for him, contact his agent (as soon as he gets one).David Ritz is a songwriter who has collaborated with stars like Janet Jackson and Marvin Gaye, as well as a renowned ghostwriter who has authored more than fifty books for some of the biggest stars in music: Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Perry, Smokey Robinson, Don Rickles, and Willie Nelson, to name a few. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Essence, People, Art Connoisseur, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles with Roberta, his wife of nearly fifty years. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Rickles BookA MemoirBy Don RicklesSimon & SchusterCopyright © 2008 Don RicklesAll right reserved.ISBN: 9780743293068All HeartJackson Heights, Queens, was no special place, but my dad, Max, was a special guy. Heres the kind of guy he was: If he was your friend and came over to your house and your wife was in a housecoat, he could hug her and you wouldnt think twice. There was nothing distasteful about Max S. Rickles. (I never knew what the S. stood for, and neither did he.) Everyone loved my dad. The man was all heart.Best of all, he laughed at my humor.He was an insurance salesman who provided for my mother and me, the only child. We werent rich, but we werent poor. We just were. We lived in a plain apartment like a million other apartments you see in New York Citys five boroughs.Dad had a lighthearted attitude about life. He took it the way it came. He was the guy who taught me all I know about car repairs: Pay someone to do it for you.Wed be sitting in our tired old Ford, the engine dead as a doornail. Dad would see someone he knew from our building.Charlie, hed say, heres a couple of bucks. Make the car start.He also taught me all I know about home repairs.Heres how that worked:Mom wants to hang a picture.Max offers the janitor, the mailman -- anyone whos around -- a couple of bucks to bang a nail in the wall. No one ever takes the money -- they like Max too much -- except the janitor, whos mad because he has to live in the basement.Max Rickles was a giving sort of man, but sometimes giving isnt as simple as it seems. Ill give examples:We belonged to a little Orthodox synagogue in Jackson Heights, where Dad was an important member. Once he was even president of the congregation. He loved the congregation and fussed over its finances. It was not a wealthy group and the building required maintenance. On the High Holy Days, Dad would escort me and my cousin Allen, who later became a fine doctor, to prime seats near the altar. It turned out to be a land-lease deal. Ten minutes before the start of services, Dad would move us ten rows back. Five minutes la...

-Titulo Original : My Fathers Daughter A Memoir-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Sinatra’s birth, a startling, compelling, yet affectionate portrait of an American entertainment legend by his youngest daughter, who writes about the man, his life, the accusations, and about the many people who surrounded him-wives, friends, lovers, users, and sycophants-from his Hoboken childhood through the notorious “Rat Pack,” and beyond.Frank Sinatra seemed to have it all: genius, wealth, the love of beautiful women, glamorous friends from Las Vegas to the White House. But in this startling and remarkably outspoken memoir, his youngest daughter reveals an acutely restless, lonely and conflicted man. Through his marriages and front-page romances and the melancholy gaps between, Frank Sinatra searched for a contentment that eluded him. Tina writes candidly about the wedge his manipulative fourth wife, Barbara Marx, drove between father and daughter. My Father’s Daughter, with its unflinching account of Sinatra’s flaws and foibles, will shock many of his fans. At the same time, it is a deeply affectionate portrait written with love and warmth, a celebration of a daughter’s fond esteem for her father and a respect for his great legacy. Even now, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth, the world remembers Frank Sinatra as one of the giants of the show business. In this book from someone inside the legend, Tina Sinatra remembers him as something more: a father, and a man. About the Author Tina Sinatra is the youngest child of the American singer and actor Frank Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy Barbato Sinatra. My Father’s Daughter is her first book.Jeff Coplon’s writing has appeared in The New Yorker, New York magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and Rolling Stone, among other publications. He is the coauthor a dozen memoirs, notably with Tina Sinatra, Sarah Ferguson (the Duchess of York), and Cher. He is the author of Gold Buckle, the definitive treatment of rodeo bull riding (HarperOne, 1995). He resides in Brooklyn...

-Titulo Original : More, Now, Again A Memoir Of Addiction-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Elizabeth Wurtzel published her memoir of depression, Prozac Nation, to astonishing literary acclaim. A cultural phenomenon by age twenty-six, she had fame, money, respect-everything she had always wanted except that one, true thing: happiness.For all of her professional success, Wurtzel felt like a failure. She had lost friends and lovers, every magazine job shed held, and way too much weight. She couldnt write, and her second book was past due. But when her doctor prescribed Ritalin to help her focus-and boost the effects of her antidepressants-Wurtzel was spared. The Ritalin worked. And worked. The pills became her sugar...the sweetness in the days that have none. Soon she began grinding up the Ritalin and snorting it. Then came the cocaine, then more Ritalin, then more cocaine. Then I need more. I always need more. For all of my life I have needed more... More, Now, Again is the brutally honest, often painful account of Wurtzels descent into drug addiction. It is also a survival story: How Wurtzel managed to break free of her relationship with Ritalin and learned to love life, and herself, is at the heart of this ultimately uplifting memoir that no reader will soon forget. Review USA Today Funny, honest, her terror is palpable.Will Blythe Elle More, Now, Again (has) the frothy pleasures of a Jacqueline Susann novel as written by a spiky Harvard girl.Kera Bolonik Book More, Now, Again, a visceral and at times mordantly funny book...is (Wurtzels) finest work to date -- a breathtaking read from beginning to end.Kirkus Reviews Generational spokesperson Wurtzel pens a...moving account of her battle with drug addiction...a wake-up call about the abusive potential of Ritalin -- and a searing account of a long, deadly dalliance with destruction.Jeff Guin Fort Worth Star-Telegram Wurtzel is...an amazing writer. About the Author Elizabeth Wurtzel is the author of the bestselling books Prozac Nation, Bitch, and More, Now, Again. She graduated from Harvard and her work has appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, New York, The Guardian, and The Oxford American. Wurtzel died in 2020 at the age of fifty-two...

-Titulo Original : Lame Deer, Seeker Of Visions (enriched Classics)-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work.Storyteller, rebel, medicine man, Lame Deer was born almost a century ago on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. A full-blooded Sioux, he was many things in the white man’s world-rodeo clown, painter, prisoner. But, above all, he was a holy man. Lame Deer’s story is one of a harsh youth and reckless manhood, a shotgun marriage and divorce, a history and folklore as rich today as when first published-and of his fierce struggle to keep his pride intact, living as a stranger in his own ancestral land. Review Rober Brunett author of The Tortured Americans A masterpiece.Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., author of Indian Heritage of America A wonderful book...destined to become a classic.Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., author of Indian Heritage of America Lame Deer is a magnificent American....He has demolished so much misinformation and so many stereotypes about Indians and their values and ways of life that we should be ashamed of how little we have actually known of all that he has to tell us. As an individual and as a representative of his people, he is someone whom all readers should get to know -- not just those who are interested in Indians, but every American. The book is destined to become a classic. It will be read, and reread, and quoted from through the years. Personally, I am enormously enriched by it. About the Author Richard Erdoes is the author of more than twenty books, including Lame Deer: Seeker of Visions, and American Indian Myths and Legends. An Austrian-born historian, ethnographer, and artist, he has contributed to many publications, including the New York Times, Time, Life, Fortune, Smithsonian, and the Saturday Evening Post. He lives in New Mexico...

-Titulo Original : Ten Caesars Roman Emperors From Augustus To Constantine-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Bestselling classical historian Barry Strauss delivers “an exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire…much of Ten Caesars reads like a script for Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)-a summation of three and a half centuries of the Roman Empire as seen through the lives of ten of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.In this essential and “enlightening” (The New York Times Book Review) work, Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to Augustus. Rome’s legacy remains today in so many ways, from language, law, and architecture to the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who shaped it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. Over the ages, they learned to maintain the family business-the government of an empire-by adapting when necessary and always persevering no matter the cost. Ten Caesars is a “captivating narrative that breathes new life into a host of transformative figures” (Publishers Weekly). This “superb summation of four centuries of Roman history, a masterpiece of compression, confirms Barry Strauss as the foremost academic classicist writing for the general reader today” (The Wall Street Journal). Review “An exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire. . . . Much of TEN CAESARS reads like a script for Game of Thrones. . . .This superb summation of four centuries of Roman history, a masterpiece of compression, confirms Barry Strauss as the foremost academic classicist writing for the general reader today.” -- Andrew Roberts The Wall Street Journal“To cover 360-odd years in a similar number of pages means going at quite a lick. . . .The strength of this approach is that it offers perspective. All too often books on Rome, like literary grand tourists, revisit the familiar sites, lingering over the naughty Neros, the effective armies and the efficient bureaucracy. But, as Strauss shows, Rome was far more complex and far more interesting than that. . . . Enlightening.” -- Catherine Nixey The New York Times Book Review“No one knows the secrets, the curses, the power and the glory of the Imperial families of Rome better than Barry Strauss. His Ten Caesars is captivating-essential reading for Romanophiles and for everyone who seeks to understand the most formidable personalities of the Roman Empire.” -- Adrienne Mayor, author of The Amazons and The Poison KingIn a single volume, Barry Strauss delivers the near-impossible: a straightforward, factual, insightful survey of the vast and turbulent history of Rome’s emperors from Augustus to Constantine. Any reader, from novice to expert, will arrive at the final page with a clearer understanding of the men (and sometimes women) who oversaw the shifting fortunes of Rome for over three hundred years. -- Steven Saylor, author of The Throne of Caesar and the New York Times bestseller Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome“Strauss has mastered a vivid narrative line, a practiced skill at demystifying the past. . . . Readers will learn a lot from his book and the fables will make the lessons a bit sweeter along the way.” -- Steve Donoghue Christian Science Monitor About the Author Barry Strauss is a professor of history and classics at Cornell University, The Corliss Page Dean Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a leading expert on ancient military history. He has written or edited several books, including The Battle of Salamis, The ...

-Titulo Original : Simple Dreams A Musical Memoir-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: In this memoir, iconic singer Linda Ronstadt weaves together a captivating story of her origins in Tucson, Arizona, and her rise to stardom in the Southern California music scene of the 1960s and ‘70s.Tracing the timeline of her remarkable life, Linda Ronstadt, whose forty-five year career has encompassed a wide array of musical styles, weaves together a captivating story of her origins in Tucson, Arizona, and her rise to stardom in the Southern California music scene of the 1960s and ‘70s.Linda Ronstadt was born into a musical family, and her childhood was filled with everything from Gilbert and Sullivan to Mexican folk music to jazz and opera. Her artistic curiosity blossomed early, and she and her siblings began performing their own music for anyone who would listen. Now, in this beautifully crafted memoir, Ronstadt tells the story of her wide-ranging and utterly unique musical journey. Ronstadt arrived in Los Angeles just as the folkrock movement was beginning to bloom, setting the stage for the development of country-rock. As part of the coterie of like-minded artists who played at the famed Troubadour club in West Hollywood, she helped define the musical style that dominated American music in the 1970s. One of her early backup bands went on to become the Eagles, and Linda went on to become the most successful female artist of the decade. In Simple Dreams, Ronstadt reveals the eclectic and fascinating journey that led to her long-lasting success, including stories behind many of her beloved songs. And she describes it all in a voice as beautiful as the one that sang “Heart Like a Wheel”-longing, graceful, and authentic. Review “Engaging and interesting. . . . entirely winning.” -- Jonathan Yardley Washington Post“True to her subtitle, Ms. Ronstadt delivers a life story stitched to the sails of her eclectic musical voyaging. . . . She has found another way to tell a story: through this winning and informative book, in which her intelligence, passion, humor and commitment shine forth from every page.” -- Tom Nolan Wall Street Journal“For anyone fascinated by the cross-pollination of musical talent in Los Angeles buzzing pre-corporate rock scene, Ronstadts front-row seat offers a prime view. . . . While this bird can no longer sing, on the page she can still fly.” USA TodayRonstadt revisits, with a mixture of fine-grained insight and personal modesty, one of the most remarkable and wide-ranging singing careers in the last century of American popular music. San Francisco ChronicleMusical memories galore. Boston Globe“A personable and engagingly written memoir… consistently interesting.” Kirkus“A well-written glimpse into musical history as it was being made by Ronstadt and her peers.” Publishers Weekly About the Author Linda Ronstadt has received twelve Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and one Emmy Award, as well as several Tony and Golden Globe nominations. She lives in San Francisco with her family...

-Titulo Original : Winter King Henry Vii And The Dawn Of Tudor England-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: A fresh look at the endlessly fascinating Tudors-the dramatic and overlooked story of Henry VII and his founding of the Tudor Dynasty-filled with spies, plots, counterplots, and an uneasy royal succession to Henry VIII.In 1501, England had been ravaged for decades by conspiracy, coups, and violence. Through luck, guile, and ruthlessness, Henry VII, the first of the Tudor kings, emerged as ruler-but as a fugitive with a flimsy claim to England’s throne, he remained a usurper and false king to many, and his hold on power was precarious. But Henry had a crucial asset: his queen and their children, the living embodiment of his hoped-for dynasty. His marriage to Queen Elizabeth united the houses of Lancaster and York, the warring parties that had fought the bloody century-long Wars of the Roses. Now their older son, Arthur, was about to marry a Spanish princess. On a cold November day sixteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon arrived in London for a wedding that would mark a triumphal moment in Henry’s reign. But Henry’s plans for his son would not happen-and waiting in the wings was the impetuous younger brother, the future Henry VIII. Rich with drama and insight, Winter King is an astonishing story of pageantry, treachery, intrigue, and incident-and the fraught, dangerous birth of Tudor England. Review “I feel I’ve been waiting to read this book a long time. It’s a fluent and compelling account of the cost of founding the Tudor dynasty: of a clever, ruthless, enigmatic monarch, a refugee all his early life, king by right of conquest, prepared to harass and frighten his subjects into submission: a man content to be feared and not loved. The level of detail is fascinating and beautifully judged. The book shows what a mistake it is to regard these closing years of the reign simply as a curtain raiser for Henry VIII. I think that, for the first time, a writer has made me feel what contemporaries felt as Henry VII’s reign drew to an end; the relief, the hope, the sudden buoyancy.” -- Hilary Mantel, Author of Bring Up the Bodies and Wolf Hall“A wonderful read, as rich in character and drama as Wolf Hall, only shorter and true.” -John Carey, author of William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies“A definitive and accessible account of the reign of Henry VII that will alter our view not just of Henry, but of the country he dominated and corrupted, and of the dynasty he founded.” -Philippa Gregory, The Guardian (UK)As Thomas Penn shows us so vividly in Winter King, the first Tudor monarch is as fascinating as his son and his life story nearly as full of drama and incident. -Martin Rubin, The Wall Street Journal Penns book presents readers with the world of realpolitik as it was played out in the earliest years of the Tudor dynasty. . . . Here is a skillful reclamation project, an absorbing picture of the oft-overlooked architect behind one of the greatest, most controversial dynasties in English history. . . . Penns story offers a rich pageant of players - agents and adversaries, courtiers and scholars, thugs and young aristocrats. -Nick Owchar, Los Angeles Times “A masterful account of a pivotal moment in English history. In this remarkable debut, Thomas Penn brings to life the reign of Henry VII, a fascinating ruler too long eclipsed by the tyrant he defeated and the famous son who succeeded him.” -James Shapiro, Professor of English, Columbia University, and author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?“This is an exceptionally stylish literary debut. Henry VII may be the most unlikely person ever to have occupied the throne of England, and his biographers have rarely conveyed just what a weird man he was. Tom Penn does this triumphantly, and in the process manages to place his subject in a vividly-realised landscape. His book should be the first port of call for anyone trying to understand England’s most flagrant usurper since William the Conqueror.” -Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of Chr...

-Titulo Original : Vengeance The True Story Of An Israeli Counter-terrorist Team-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Vengeance is a true story that reads like a novel. It is the account of five ordinary Israelis, selected to vanish into the cold of espionage secrecy -- their mission to hunt down and kill the PLO terrorists responsible for the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. This is the account of that secret mission, as related by the leader of the group -- the first Mossad agent to come out of deep cover and tell the story of a heroic endeavor that was shrouded in silence and speculation for years. He reveals the long and dangerous operation whose success was bought at a terrible cost to the idealistic volunteer agents themselves. Avner was the leader of that team, handpicked by Golda Meir to avenge the monstrous crime of Munich. He and his young companions, cut off from any direct contact with Israel, set out systematically to find and kill the central figures of the PLOs Munich operation, tracking them down wherever they lived. The mechanics, the horror, the day-by-day suspense of what they did surpass by far anything John le Carre or Robert Ludlum could imagine, as they themselves were tracked in turn (and some killed) by PLO assassins, changing identities constantly, moving from country to country, devoting their young lives to the brutal task of vengeance. Vengeance is a profoundly human document, a real-life espionage classic that plunges the reader into the shadow world of terrorism and political murder. But it goes far beyond that, to explore firsthand the feelings of disgust and doubt that gradually came to torment each member of the Israeli team, and that in the end inexorably changed their view of the mission -- and themselves. Vengeance opens a window onto a secret world, a book that at the same time inspires and horrifies. For its subject is an act of revenge that goes to the very heart of the ancient biblical questions of good and evil. About the Author George Jonas was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1935. Following the Hungarian uprising of 1956, he emigrated to Canada. In addition to fourteen books, three of which have become national and international bestsellers, Jonas has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Sun-Times, and other publications. In 1978, he won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best True Crime...

-Titulo Original : Party Monster A Fabulous But True Tale Of Murder In Clubland-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Now a motion picture starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, Party Monster is a vastly entertaining, scarily well-written and horrifically funny book (The Baltimore Sun) that depicts a dazzling, dizzying descent into hell-New Yorks downtown club scene, where dancing, sex, drugs, and murder were just part of the everyday experience. True crime has never been more fun.When Party Monster was first published, it created a storm of controversy for its startlingly vivid, strikingly fresh, and outrageous depiction of the hedonistic world of the 90s New York City club kids, for whom nothing was too outre-including murder. Nominated for the Edgar Award for best true crime book of the year, it also marked the debut of an audaciously talented writer, James St. James, who himself had been a club kid and close friend and confidant of Michael Alig, the young man convicted of killing the drug dealer known as Angel. This is the inside story of life in clubs like The Tunnel and The Limelight and hanging with leading lights like Keith Haring and RuPaul and the drugs, sex, music, and mayhem that existed during the heyday of New York City club culture. Review A vastly entertaining, scarily well-written, and horrifically funny book...even at its most gruesome. -- The Baltimore SunIt is the best book I have ever read....Its Our Lady of the Flowers with thigh-slapping humor. Its Liberaces Last Exit to Brooklyn...a lovely and horrible discourse on death. -- Simon Doonan The New York ObserverA surprisingly funny and touching memoir. -- The New York Post About the Author James St. James who was once dubbed a celebutante by Newsweek magazine, is now a radio personality, an editor and contributor to The World of Wonder Report, and author of Party Monster and Freak Show. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. March 31, 1996There are times, when the drugs are flowing and the emotions are running high, the lights and music can make you dizzy -- and the world slips out of control.Its like a car accident that happens too quickly...you cant stop it, you cant think about it, you just have to lean back, and watch as everything changes forever.Youve lost control, you say to yourself, as the wheel of the world slips from your hands -- Its happening too fast -- and all you can do is wait for the ride to end, the car to crash, the world to stop.Its like chasing after time, chasing after the things that have already happened, because the drugs have made you too slow. Youre thick and awkward, but if you can just catch up, then maybe you can grab it, maybe you can grab at time and stop it -- But no.Its already happened.You have no choice. Play it out.Thats how Michael described to me the moments leading up to the murder. Thats the way he described killing Angel.I didnt realize when I came over to his house to warm my feet that we would be having such a serious conversation. I must confess, I was rather unprepared for it.You see, my night had started off very typically...*When I surfaced from my K-hole, I didnt know where I was, exactly, but thats not unusual. I didnt recognize anybody, either, but that, too, is not unusual. Often on Special K, everybody looks like Mrs. Butterworth -- all clear and brown and syrupy slow. Its usually quite comical to watch them pour over each other and on to each other, then ooze across a dance floor.I panicked, though, this time, and bolted from whatever club I was just in -- too quickly perhaps.I was barefoot and without a coat. I was wearing...hmmm, what was I wearing? Goodness! I guess I was wearing a peignoir -- not at all suitable for a blizzard in Times Square.But yes, by the looks of it, I was in Times Square, nearly naked, in half-drag, and those spots in my eyes were snowflakes.I didnt have any money and, for the life of me, I couldnt remember where I lived. And the club I had just left? It had already disappeared.A sti...

-Titulo Original : A Mind At Play How Claude Shannon Invented The Information Age-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Winner of the Neumann Prize for the History of Mathematics We owe Claude Shannon a lot, and Soni & Goodman’s book takes a big first step in paying that debt. -San Francisco Review of Books Soni and Goodman are at their best when they invoke the wonder an idea can instill. They summon the right level of awe while stopping short of hyperbole. -Financial Times Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman make a convincing case for their subtitle while reminding us that Shannon never made this claim himself. -The Wall Street Journal “A charming account of one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished scientists…Readers will enjoy this portrait of a modern-day Da Vinci.” -FortuneIn their second collaboration, biographers Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman present the story of Claude Shannon-one of the foremost intellects of the twentieth century and the architect of the Information Age, whose insights stand behind every computer built, email sent, video streamed, and webpage loaded. Claude Shannon was a groundbreaking polymath, a brilliant tinkerer, and a digital pioneer. He constructed the first wearable computer, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots. He also wrote the seminal text of the digital revolution, which has been called “the Magna Carta of the Information Age.” In this elegantly written, exhaustively researched biography, Soni and Goodman reveal Claude Shannon’s full story for the first time. With unique access to Shannon’s family and friends, A Mind at Play brings this singular innovator and always playful genius to life. About the Author Jimmy Soni is an award-winning author. His previous book, A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, won the 2017 Neumann Prize, awarded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics for the best book on the history of mathematics for a general audience, and the 2019 Middleton Prize by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His newest book is The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, and recently he completed with the late Jane Walentas, Jane’s Carousel, which captured one woman’s remarkable twenty-five-year journey to restore a beloved carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his daughter, Venice.Rob Goodman is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University and a former congressional speechwriter. He has written for Slate, The Atlantic, Politico, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. His scholarly work has appeared in History of Political Thought, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, and The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. With Jimmy Soni, he is the coauthor of Rome’s Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar, and A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. A Mind at Pla...

-Titulo Original : The Man Who Caught The Storm The Life Of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: The saga of the greatest tornado chaser who ever lived: a tale of obsession and daring and an extraordinary account of humanity’s high-stakes race to understand nature’s fiercest phenomenon from Brantley Hargrove, “one of today’s great science writers” (The Washington Post).At the turn of the twenty-first century, the tornado was one of the last true mysteries of the modern world. It was a monster that ravaged the American heartland a thousand times each year, yet science’s every effort to divine its inner workings had ended in failure. Researchers all but gave up, until the arrival of an outsider. In a field of PhDs, Tim Samaras didn’t attend a day of college in his life. He chased storms with brilliant tools of his own invention and pushed closer to the tornado than anyone else ever dared. When he achieved what meteorologists had deemed impossible, it was as if he had snatched the fire of the gods. Yet even as he transformed the field, Samaras kept on pushing. As his ambitions grew, so did the risks. And when he finally met his match-in a faceoff against the largest tornado ever recorded-it upended everything he thought he knew. Brantley Hargrove delivers a “cinematically thrilling and scientifically wonky” (Outside) tale, chronicling the life of Tim Samaras in all its triumph and tragedy. Hargrove takes readers inside the thrill of the chase, the captivating science of tornadoes, and the remarkable character of a man who walked the line between life and death in pursuit of knowledge. The Man Who Caught the Storm is an “adrenaline rush of a tornado chase…Readers from all across the spectrum will enjoy this” (Library Journal, starred review) unforgettable exploration of obsession and the extremes of the natural world. Review “In the best biographies of the obsessive dead, like those written by Jon Krakauer, the writer begins to chase whatever his subject, now passed on, has spent his life pursuing. Hargrove is no different. … Hargrove’s shared passion allows him incredible access to Tim’s world. … The Man Who Caught the Storm manages to be both cinematically thrilling and scientifically wonky.” -Outside“Hargrove puts you there and you can’t get out. Many a novel is not written this memorably. … He invents a kind of writing as tempestuous, fearful, poetic, and concrete as his subject … a tempestuous, true tale of a legendary storm-chaser. … In Brantley Hargrove, a writer to watch, the life of Tim Samaras has gotten a storyteller worthy of all its curious, brilliant, devastating grandeur.” -Philadelphia Inquirer“With The Man Who Caught the Storm, Brantley Hargrove has given us a thrilling tale of Promethean defiance, one that in our age of superstorms and climate change has much currency today. Pairing rich reporting with an exquisite sense of pacing, Hargrove has chased down the king of the chasers. Here is an instant classic of Americana-a story of tragedy, invention, lore, science, and a most original kind of genius who was irresistibly drawn to one of natures most awesome and violent mysteries.” -Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers and In the Kingdom of Ice“Hargrove is one today’s great science writers. His book delivers … He takes the reader not only on a journey through the remarkable life of engineer-explorer Samaras, but also through the beautifully desolate roads of the Plains while on the chase. … The book will surely enthrall … So, sit back and take a journey through America’s heartland with one of chasing’s legends.” -Washington Post“Hargrove weaves a tale with just enough background, just enough science and just enough adventure … a narrative that often reads like a thriller.” -Wall Street Journal“This is what man versus nature is all about. A powerful, vivid, and ultimately heartbreaking investigation into the life of one very brave storm chaser. Brantley Hargrove has given us a masterful biography with all the best attributes of a novel.” -Skip Hollandsworth, author of T...

-Titulo Original : Drop Dead Healthy One Mans Humble Quest For Bodily Perfection-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: A New York Times bestseller in hardcover, a chronicle of A.J. Jacob’s mission to radically improve every element of his body and mind-from his brain to his fingertips to his abs.From the bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All comes the truly hilarious story of one person’s quest to become the healthiest man in the world. Hospitalized with a freak case of tropical pneumonia and ashamed of a middle-aged body best described as “a python that swallowed a goat,” A.J. Jacobs felt compelled to change his ways and get healthy. To accomplish this epic task, he consulted an army of experts and subjected himself to dozens of different workouts, diets, and devices-from Finger Fitness to Strollercize sessions, veganism to extreme chewing. The story of his transformation is not only brilliantly entertaining, but it just may be the healthiest book ever written. It will make you laugh until your sides split and endorphins flood your bloodstream. It will move you emotionally and get you moving physically in surprising ways. It will serve you up today’s best health advice. And it will give you occasion to reflect on the body’s many mysteries and the ultimate pursuit of health: a well-lived life. Review A.J. Jacobs is very, very bad for your health. He will keep you up reading til 2 a.m., disturbing your circadian rhythms, making you sleep through breakfast and overeat at lunch. He is delicious. Hes habit-forming. He will give you infectious titters and terminal glee. Dont let that stop you. Indulge.--Mary Roach, author of Bonk and Packing for MarsCan one man go from a python that ate a goat physique to perfect specimen? From Roman soldier workouts to Areca palm plants, from the sublime to the absurd, A.J. has tried it all. I laughed my ass off the wholeway and learned a ton ... including about my ass.--Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour WorkweekI couldnt wait to get my hands on this book, and once again, the brilliant A.J. Jacobs had me laughing out loud--and also deciding to change the way I live. Drop Dead Healthy is a rare mixture of the hilarious, the absurd, and the scientifically sound. Who knew it could be so entertaining to read about broccoli puree and shoeless jogging?--Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness ProjectJacobs light touch camouflages the impressive amount of research that goes into each chapter. He reads books and medical reports, interviews experts and scientists as well as enthusiasts on the fringe, then tries everything himself. He brings a skeptics eye to each point of view, but he remains respectful of even the wackiest ideas... Yes, the results are funny, but this is, at heart, a serious book, with an underlying poignancy: As Jacobs works to get healthier, his beloved grandfather begins his slow decline, reminding us that no matter how healthy we are, its all going to end the same way.--Laurie Hertzl, The Minneapolis Star TribuneWe can become healthier by learning from AJs discomfort in this very funny book. He moves us from theory to practice by dragging his body through all the longevity practices.--Dr. Mehmet Oz, host, The Dr. Oz ShowWhile Jacobss attempts at health enlightenment can be hilarious, visits with his grandfather, famed labor lawyer Theodore Kheel, provide the most revealing glimpse into the secrets of aging well.--MoreWho wouldnt want to be fitter, happier, more productive? In this riotous, madcap book, A.J. Jacobs sets himself an ambitious goal: to become the person we all wish we could be. Its vintage A.J. Do your future self a favor and read this book. --Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with EinsteinWhy go to the gym when you can sit and read a funny book about it instead?--USA TodayYoull burn calories laughing out loud.--ShapeYoull exercise your abdominals laughing over his adventures.--Entertainment Weekly About the Author A.J. Jacobs is the author of Than...

-Titulo Original : His Very Best Jimmy Carter, A Life-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: From one of America’s most respected journalists and modern historians comes the highly acclaimed, “splendid” (The Washington Post)biography of Jimmy Carter, the thirty-ninth president of the United States and Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian.Jonathan Alter tells the epic story of an enigmatic man of faith and his improbable journey from barefoot boy to global icon. Alter paints an intimate and surprising portrait of the only president since Thomas Jefferson who can fairly be called a Renaissance Man, a complex figure-ridiculed and later revered-with a piercing intelligence, prickly intensity, and biting wit beneath the patented smile. Here is a moral exemplar for our times, a flawed but underrated president of decency and vision who was committed to telling the truth to the American people. Growing up in one of the meanest counties in the Jim Crow South, Carter is the only American president who essentially lived in three centuries: his early life on the farm in the 1920s without electricity or running water might as well have been in the nineteenth; his presidency put him at the center of major events in the twentieth; and his efforts on conflict resolution and global health set him on the cutting edge of the challenges of the twenty-first. “One of the best in a celebrated genre of presidential biography,” (The Washington Post), His Very Best traces how Carter evolved from a timid, bookish child-raised mostly by a Black woman farmhand-into an ambitious naval nuclear engineer writing passionate, never-before-published love letters from sea to his wife and full partner, Rosalynn; a peanut farmer and civic leader whose guilt over staying silent during the civil rights movement and not confronting the white terrorism around him helped power his quest for racial justice at home and abroad; an obscure, born-again governor whose brilliant 1976 campaign demolished the racist wing of the Democratic Party and took him from zero percent to the presidency; a stubborn outsider who failed politically amid the bad economy of the 1970s and the seizure of American hostages in Iran but succeeded in engineering peace between Israel and Egypt, amassing a historic environmental record, moving the government from tokenism to diversity, setting a new global standard for human rights and normalizing relations with China among other unheralded and far-sighted achievements. After leaving office, Carter eradicated diseases, built houses for the poor, and taught Sunday school into his mid-nineties. This “important, fair-minded, highly readable contribution” (The New York Times Book Review) will change our understanding of perhaps the most misunderstood president in American history. Review Jonathan Alters important, fair-minded, highly readable contribution to this literature provides not just an authoritative introduction to Carters feats and failures but also insight into why a man of such intelligence, drive and noble intentions floundered in the White House as haplessly as he did... [Alters] assessment of Carter the man- disciplined, driven, stubborn, detail-oriented, technocratic, pious- doesnt break radically from that of other historians. But Alter keeps Carters myriad facets in view throughout, rendering his subject with a depth rarely achieved by political journalism. - New York Times Book Review “Splendid... Alter’s account is ably sourced and fluidly written, one of the best in a celebrated genre of presidential biography.” -The Washington Post “In this definitive biography, Jonathan Alter provides a wonderfully readable assessment of the character and achievements of our most underrated modern president. It is a deeply personal account, filled with fascinating new information. Carters story is a needed inspiration in this dark time.” -Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci“This deeply researched and fluidly written biography is the first truly comprehensive look ...

-Titulo Original : Bolivar American Liberator-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: A brilliant biography that “reads like a wonderful novel but is researched like a masterwork of history” (Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs), this is the epic story of the famous South American general and statesman Simon Bolivar.SIMÓN BOLÍ VAR -El Libertador-freed six countries from Spanish rule and is still the most revered figure in South America today. He traveled from Amazon jungles to the Andes mountains, engaged in endless battles and forged fragile coalitions of competing forces and races. He lived an epic life filled with heroism, tragedy (his only wife died young), and legend (he was saved from an assassination attempt by one of his mistresses). In Bolivar, Marie Arana has written a sweeping biography that is as bold and as passionate as its subject. Drawing on a wealth of primary documents, Arana vividly captures the early nineteenth-century South America that made Bolivar the man he became: fearless general, brilliant strategist, consummate diplomat, dedicated abolitionist, gifted writer, and flawed politician. A major work of history, Bolivar not only portrays a dramatic life in all its glory, but is also a stirring declaration of what it means to be South American. Review “Finally, Bolivar gets the sweeping biography he deserves. He was the greatest leader in Latin American history, and his tale is filled with lessons about leadership and passion. This book reads like a wonderful novel but is researched like a masterwork of history.” -- Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs“This is a magnificent story. Deeply researched and written with clarity, honesty, and verve, Marie Arana’s book tells the life of one of the greatest heroes and founders in world history.’” -- Gordon S. Wood, author of Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815, Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University“With the eye and ear of a novelist, Marie Arana chants the epic of Bolivar with love, zest, and compelling authority.” -- Walter A. McDougall, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations, University of Pennsylvania“Simon Bolivar has found the perfect biographer in Marie Arana, a literary journalist, brilliant novelist of South America, and wise historian as well. Her portrait of Bolivar is human and moving; she has written a powerful and epic life and times. -- Evan Thomas, author of Ikes Bluff: President Eisenhowers Secret Struggle to Save the World“Most North American historians have mentioned [Bolivar] only in passing, usually making the George Washington of Latin America reference. . . . That conception obviously needed correction in the form of a comprehensive biography that makes Bolivar’s life accessible to a large readership in the United States. Bolivar is unquestionably that book. . . . Bolivar is magisterial in scope, written with flair and an almost cinematic sense of history happening. . . . A monumental achievement destined to win some major literary prizes.” -- Joseph J. Ellis Washington Post Book WorldWonderful. . . . In Aranas energetic and highly readable telling, Bolivar comes alive as having willed himself an epic life. . . . She brings great verve and literary flair to her biography of Bolivar. -- Hector Tobar The Los Angeles TimesArana offers a clear-eyed assessment of the ideals, alliances, and human frailties that drove Bolivar’s choices and shaped the Americas. The New Yorker“Inspired. . . . Arana ably captures the brash brilliance of this revered and vilified leader.” Kirkus Reviews“Arana is an indefatigable researcher, a perceptive historian, and a luminous writer, as shown in her defining, exhilarating biography of the great South American liberator Simon Bolivar.” Booklist (starred review, Top 10 Biographies of the Year)“This well-rounded work reveals not just an accomplished military tactician but also an able statesman. . . . An important contribution...

-Titulo Original : Secret Commandos Behind Enemy Lines With The Elite Warriors Of Sog-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Major John L. Plaster recalls his remarkable covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War in a “comprehensive, informative, and often exciting…account of an important part of the overall Vietnam tragedy” (The New York Times).Before there were Navy SEALs, there was SOG. Short for “Studies and Operations Group,” it was a secret operations force in Vietnam, the most highly decorated unit in the war. Although their chief mission was disrupting the main North Vietnamese supply route into South Vietnam, SOG commandos also rescued downed helicopter pilots and fellow soldiers, and infiltrated deep into Laos and Cambodia to identify bombing targets, conduct ambushes, mine roads, and capture North Vietnamese soldiers for intelligence purposes. Always outnumbered, they matched wits in the most dangerous environments with an unrelenting foe that hunted them with trackers and dogs. Ten entire teams disappeared and another fourteen were annihilated. This is the dramatic, page-turning true story of that team’s dedication, sacrifice, and constant fight for survival. In the “gripping” (Publishers Weekly) Secret Commandos, John Plaster vividly describes these unique warriors who gave everything fighting for their country-and for each other. About the Author Major John L. Plaster was a retired US Army Special Forces soldier, regarded as one of the leading sniper experts in the world. A decorated Vietnam War veteran who served in the covert Studies and Observations Group (SOG), Plaster cofounded a renowned sniper school that trains military and law enforcement personnel in highly specialized sniper tactics. He is the author of SOG; The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers; The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting; and Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG, a memoir of his three years of service with SOG...

-Titulo Original : The Soul Of A Butterfly Reflections On Lifes Journey-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Former boxing legend Muhammad Ali, one of the best-known and best-loved celebrities and an international good-will ambassador, offers inspiration and hope as he describes the spiritual philosophy that sustains him. During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing. You saw only a part of me. After I retired from boxing my true work began. I have embarked on a journey of love. So Muhammad Ali begins this spiritual memoir, his description of the values that have shaped and sustained him and that continue to guide his life. In The Soul of a Butterfly the great champion takes readers on a spiritual journey through the seasons of life, from childhood to the present, and shares the beliefs that have served him well. After fighting some of the fiercest bouts in boxing history against Joe Frazier and George Foreman, today Muhammad Ali faces his most powerful foe-outside the boxing ring. Like many people, he battles an illness that limits his physical abilities, but as he says, I have gained more than I have lost....I have never had a more powerful voice than I have now. Ali reflects on his faith in God and the strength it gave him during his greatest challenge, when he lost the prime years of his boxing career because he would not compromise his beliefs. He describes how his study of true Islam has helped him accept the changes in his life and has brought him to a greater awareness of lifes true purpose. As a United Nations Messenger of Peace, he has traveled widely, and he describes his 2002 mission to Afghanistan to heighten public awareness of that countrys desperate situation, as well as his more recent meeting with the Dalai Lama. Alis reflections on topics ranging from moral courage to belief in God to respect for those who differ from us will inspire and enlighten all who read them. Written with the assistance of his daughter Hana, The Soul of a Butterfly is a compassionate and heartfelt book that will provide comfort for our troubled times. About the Author Muhammad Alis core principles of confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect, and spirituality guided him and made him one of the most beloved symbols of peace and well-being in America and the world. First known for boxing, and later for his conscientious stance on the Vietnam War draft, Ali focused his awareness of the needs of his fellow citizens and those in the developing world to direct his good work. In addition to challenging racial and religious preconceptions at home, he served as a symbol of hope and a catalyst for constructive international dialogue, delivered sorely-needed medical supplies to an embargoed Cuba, provided more than 22 million meals to the world’s hungry, and helped secure the release of fifteen U.S. hostages from Iraq during the first Gulf War. The United Nations named him a Messenger of Peace, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as Amnesty International’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In September 2012, he was the recipient of the prestigious National Constitution Center Liberty Medal. Among his many projects, Muhammad cofounded the Muhammad Ali Center with his wife Lonnie, and contributed substantially to the awareness and research efforts regarding Parkinson’s disease. Visit the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, or online at AliCenter.org.Hana Ali is former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Muhammad Alis daughter and lives near her father and stepmother in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Foundation of LifeI can remember, when I was just a kid in Louisville, Kentucky, my mother would wake my brother and me early every Sunday morning. She would come into our room, kiss us on the forehead, and say in a gentle whisper, Wake up, tinky baby, wake up, Rudy, were going to thank the Lord!My mother would sometimes call me GG, too, because those w...

-Titulo Original : The Brothers York A Royal Tragedy-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Vicious battles, powerful monarchs, and royal intrigue abound in this “gripping, complex, and sensational” (Hilary Mantel) true story of the War of the Roses-a struggle among three brothers, two of whom became kings, and the inspiration for Shakespeare’s renowned play, Richard III.In 15th-century England, two royal families, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, fought a bitter, decades-long civil war for the English throne. As their symbols were a red rose for Lancaster and a white rose for York, the conflict became known as the Wars of the Roses. During this time, the house of York came to dominate England. At its heart were three charismatic brothers-King Edward IV, and his two younger siblings George and Richard-who became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty. Together, they looked invincible. But with Edward’s ascendancy the brothers began to turn on one another, unleashing a catastrophic chain of rebellion, vendetta, fratricide, usurpation, and regicide. The brutal end came at Bosworth Field in 1485, with the death of the youngest, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor, later Henry VII, progenitor of the Tudor line of monarchs. Fascinating, dramatic, and filled with vivid historical detail, The Brothers York is a brilliant account of a conflict that fractured England for a generation. Riven by internal rivalries, jealousy, and infighting, the three York brothers failed to sustain their power and instead self-destructed. It is a rich and bloody tale as gripping as any historical fiction. Review “A gripping, complex and sensational story, told with calm narrative command. Its a story we think we know-but most accounts leave the personnel as frozen as portraits in stained glass. Here, the three York brothers spring to ferocious life, and you need strong nerves to meet them. With insight and skill, Penn cuts through the thickets of history to find the heart of these heartless decades.” -- Hilary MantelMr. Penn’s narrative is rich in detail, and he leads the reader through a dense and dark forest with masterly skill. . . . A gripping account of the brothers York and of the England they briefly governed. -- Allan Massie The Wall Street Journal“Superb. . . . The tragedy and brutality of the Wars of the Roses jumps out from every page.” The Financial TimesAn epic orgy of colour and character. -- Leanda de Lisle The Times (London)This thrilling biography of the three sons of the Duke of York-who fought won and lost the War of Roses-proves that Thomas Penn is among the most gifted historians at work in England today. . . . This is juicy, impeccably researched work that ought to earn Penn a massive audience. -- John Freeman Lit HubA panoramic chronicle of the rise and fall of the House of York in 15th-century England. . . . This rigorous and richly detailed account breathes new life into the Wars of the Roses. Publishers WeeklyThrilling. . . . [Penn] brings a novelist’s verve to his telling of events. . . . Penns history of betrayal, backstabbing and paranoia strikes notes that still resonate today. -- John Gallagher The GuardianA dramatic portrait of 15th-century England, which was besieged by political upheaval, betrayals, and ruthless violence. Penn . . . brings keen understanding and a sharp eye for detail to his prodigiously researched, engrossing history of the decades-long conflict between the houses of Lancaster and York. . . . Rebellious decades come to life vividly in a taut, spirited history. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)A gripping history . . . brings characters to life as real people. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, BBC History Magazine, Books of the YearThe Brothers York is not just a magisterial work of sublime scholarship, its a pure page-turner. . . . The wonderful thing about Thomas Penn is that he makes some of the most familiar stories in English history feel fresh and exciting. -- Amanda Foreman, au...

-Titulo Original : Daughter Of Empire My Life As A Mountbatten-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: “Lady Pamela Hicks’s joyously entertaining new memoir, arguably the poshest book that ever has or will be written” (Newsweek), is a privileged glimpse into the lives and loves of some of the twentieth century’s leading figures.Pamela Mountbatten entered a remarkable family when she was born in Madrid at the very end of the “Roaring Twenties.” Daughter of the glamorous heiress Edwina Ashley and Lord Louis Mountbatten, Pamela spent much of her early life with her sister, nannies, and servants-not to mention a menagerie of animals that included, at different times, a honey bear, chameleons, a bush baby, and a mongoose. Her parents’ vast social circle included royalty, film stars, celebrities, and politicians. Noel Coward invited Pamela to watch him film, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. dropped in for tea. However when war broke out Pamela and her sister were sent to New York to live with Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, while the prime minister appointed her father to be the last Viceroy of India. Amid the turmoil, Pamela came of age, meeting the student leaders who had been released from jail, working in the canteen for Allied forces and in a clinic outside Delhi. She also developed a close bond with Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. “If you are addicted to Downton Abbey, chances are that you will relish Daughter of Empire, a British aristocrat’s memoir of her childhood and coming of age…She is also a keen observer of a way of life now vanished, except on PBS” (The Wall Street Journal). “Not many people remain who can tell stories like Lady Pamela Hicks” (Vanity Fair). Review Joyously entertaining...In what is arguably the poshest book that ever has or will be written, Hicks remembers it all with immense charm, wit, and brio, capturing a bygone world of country estates, glass cigarette holders kept in a petticoat pocket, sapphire-studded powder compacts, dials on bedroom dorrs turned to indicate when youd like to be woken with tea and biscuits, and enough pets to populate an exotic zoo....entrancing. The Daily BeastLady Pamelas page-turner of a life...an account of a childhood and adolescence spent amid grandeur and grandees.. pelling. The Wall Street JournalFascinating, fizzy. Harpers BazaarNot many people remain who can tell stories like Lady Pamela Hicks.... Vanity FairThe story of Lady Hicks, who lived the kind of life we think of as only existing in books and movies, with nannies, governesses and all the trappings of the English elite....Many fans of Downton Abbey will certainly enjoy it. Kirkus Reviews“Lady Pamela’s memoir will appeal to those who like to take a peek into the lifestyles of the royal and famous. Underneath the glamour and glitz, this brief autobiography has a bit more substance, since Hicks was the daughter of Lady and Lord Mountbatten, cousin-in-law to Queen Elizabeth II, and an eyewitness to and a participant in some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century (especially from a British perspective). Of special note is her description of life in India during the transition to independence and her role as lady-in-waiting to the Queen during the royal world tour of 1954. Rather than exercising the poor little rich girl approach popular with many emotionally neglected daughters of fortune, Hicks adopts a more sanguine tone, reveling in the rich texture of her life and experiences.” BooklistPamela Mountbatten has had a front row seat at many extraordinary historical events and, as this wonderfully entertaining memoir shows, the privilege has not been wasted on her. Her wry, intimate portraits of royals, politicians, and Hollywood stars are a joy to read. -- Zoe HellerThis is a book which will give pleasure to everyone who reads it. -- Antonia Fraser“Imagine Downton Abbey meets Oscar Wilde. Now read Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten by Pamela Hicks, one of the most intimate accounts of turbulent domestic life in the shadow of world-alterin...

-Titulo Original : The Deepest South Of All True Stories From Natchez, Mississippi-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: Bestselling travel writer Richard Grant offers an entertaining and profound look at a city like no other. Natchez, Mississippi, once had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in America, and its wealth was built on slavery and cotton. Today it has the greatest concentration of antebellum mansions in the South, and a culture full of unexpected contradictions. Prominent white families dress up in hoopskirts and Confederate uniforms for ritual celebrations of the Old South, yet Natchez is also progressive enough to elect a gay black man for mayor with 91% of the vote. Much as John Berendt did for Savannah in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and the hit podcast S-Town did for Woodstock, Alabama, so Richard Grant does for Natchez in The Deepest South of All. With humor and insight, he depicts a strange, eccentric town with an unforgettable cast of characters. There’s Buzz Harper, a six-foot-five gay antique dealer famous for swanning around in a mink coat with a uniformed manservant and a very short German bodybuilder. There’s Ginger Hyland, “The Lioness,” who owns 500 antique eyewash cups and decorates 168 Christmas trees with her jewelry collection. And there’s Nellie Jackson, a Cadillac-driving brothel madam who became an FBI informant about the KKK before being burned alive by one of her customers. Interwoven through these stories is the more somber and largely forgotten account of Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, a West African prince who was enslaved in Natchez and became a cause celebre in the 1820s, eventually gaining his freedom and returning to Africa. Part history and part travelogue, The Deepest South of All offers a gripping portrait of a complex American place, as it struggles to break free from the past and confront the legacy of slavery. Review [An] entertaining and informative travelogue...Readers will be enthralled by Grant’s lively prose and the colorful contradictions of this unique and haunted place.-Publishers Weekly (starred review) This richly layered book offers a multifaceted view of the culture and history of an American city that, in its history, reveals the roots of the racial conflicts that continue to haunt the American psyche. An entertaining and thought-provoking memoir and sociological portrait.-Kirkus Reviews Grant deftly and pointedly juxtaposes anecdotes of garden club turf wars among the city’s wealthy, white elite with appalling accounts of slave auctions, life under Jim Crow rule, and the continuing inequality still facing the city’s Black residents. At a time when our country once again attempts to confront its systemic racism, Grant’s potent examination of the confluence of white and African American cultures presents a timely overview of the source of many deep-seated misperceptions and struggles. -Booklist (starred review) “Grant plops himself in the town of Natchez, Mississippi, during its annual Tableaux. He chronicles the antebellum-themed pageant’s organizers’ struggles to keep it relevant-and their deeper conflicts about what it represents-with empathy, skepticism, and exquisitely dry wit. One local’s quip to Grant sums it up perfectly: ‘This whole town is like a Southern Twin Peaks.’”-Jonathan Miles, Garden & Gun “Use a random number generator and you’ll always land on a page that will leave you chuckling, lifting your jaw off the floor or shaking your head in dismay…Though filled with wild and woolly tales, Grant’s travelogue also posits Natchez as a stand-in for the nation and a guidepost pointing the way forward.” -Stuart Miller, The Los Angeles Times “Travel writer Grant sensitively probes the complex and troubled history of the oldest city on the Mississippi River through the eyes of a cast of eccentric and unexpected characters.”-Juliana Rose Pignataro, Newsweek (“25 Must-Read Fall Books to Escape the Chaos of 2020”) With the easygoing manner-social and literary-displayed in Dispatches from Pluto, Richard Grant has slipped i...

-Titulo Original : Kissinger A Biography-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: The definitive biography of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and how his ideas still resonate in the world today from the bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs.By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to the Gallup Poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the worlds imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists. Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man’s personality and the foreign policy he pursued. Drawing on extensive interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, including US presidents and his business clients, this first full-length biography makes use of many of Kissinger’s private papers and classified memos to tell his uniquely American story. The result is an intimate narrative, filled with surprising revelations, that takes this grandly colorful statesman from his childhood as a persecuted Jew in Nazi Germany, through his tortured relationship with Richard Nixon, to his later years as a globe-trotting business consultant. Review Endlessly fascinating...A brilliant and disturbing study of power. -- The New York TimesConfirms Kissingers place as one of the great international players, and takes him down a peg as well....Kissinger will rave about the parts he likes and rage about the rest....This makes for compulsive reading. -- Peter Jennings, ABC NewsWonderful, entertaining, definitive biography. -- Los Angeles Times Book ReviewMeticulously researched, intelligent and fair...a book full of insights. -- The Washington PostA solidly researched, richly textured, and extremely readable account of a man in dramatic times who seemed bigger than life. -- The Boston Sunday Globe From the Back Cover Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex mans personality and the foreign policy he pursued. Drawing on extensive interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, this first-length biography makes use of many of Kissingers private papers and classified memos to tell his uniquely American story. The result is an intimate narrative, filled with surprising revelations, one that takes this centurys most colorful statesman from his childhood as a persecuted Jew in Nazi Germany, through his tortured relationship with Richard Nixon, to his later years as a globe-trotting business consultant. About the Author Walter Isaacson, a professor of history at Tulane, has been CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He is the author of Leonardo da Vinci; The Innovators; Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography, and the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. Visit him at Isaacson.Tulane.edu. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. KissingerA BiographyBy Walter IsaacsonSimon & SchusterCopyright © 2005 Walter IsaacsonAll right reserved.ISBN: 0743286979Introduction: Kissingers Realism and Todays Crusading IdealismThree decades after he left office, Henry Kissinger continues to exert a fascinating hold on the public imagination as well as intellectual sway over the nations foreign policy conversation. The longevity of his influence -- and of his celebrity -- is greater than that of any other statesman in modern times. He remains the most prominent foreign policy intellectual in the world, his advice sought by corporate and political leaders, his rumbling voice a regular on the airwaves, his byline stamping frequent analytic essays. Partly this prolonged prominence is due, as even his detractors concede, to the power of his intellect. Nowadays, policy discussion too often tends to be polarized, partisan, and propelled by the type of talking points that work well on cabl...

-Titulo Original : Saban The Making Of A Coach-Fabricante : Simon & Schuster-Descripcion Original: An instant New York Times bestseller-the “insidery, detailed, and absorbing” (Sports Illustrated) biography of Nick Saban, the polarizing University of Alabama football coach who not only transformed the college game, but might also be the best ever at winning.As the head coach of the University of Alabama’s football team, Nick Saban is perhaps the most influential-and polarizing-man in the sport. His program-building vision has delivered packed stadiums, rabid fans, legions of detractors, countless NFL draft picks, and a total of four national championships, including three in the last five years. He is the only coach in the college football’s modern era (since 1936) to win national championships at two different schools. Monte Burke’s Saban-the first major biography of the man who has come to epitomize the game-presents this towering figure with a never-before-seen human depth. Though a great deal is known about Nick Saban the coach, not much is known about Nick Saban the man. Little is written about his early climb through the coaching ranks as an assistant in college and in the NFL, or his head-coaching stints at Michigan State and Louisiana State and his struggles as a pro coach with the Miami Dolphins. Through unprecedented interviews with more than 250 friends, coworkers, rivals, former players, and others, Burke reveals the defining moments of the coach’s life, including the beginning of his recruiting career at age ten; his dramatic departures from three different high-profile football teams; and the building of championship programs at Louisiana State and Alabama. In Saban, “Burke has written a winning, definitive portrait of a fascinating character…. A no-holds-barred glimpse into the quest for perfection” (Publishers Weekly). Review “Insidery, detailed, and absorbing. Come for the chapter titled ‘Why Can’t He Be Happy’ and stay for the one called ‘Miami Vice.’” -Sports Illustrated “In this well-reported, engrossing tale, Monte Burke has captured the imperfect brilliance of Nick Saban. Read it, and you will emerge with a deeper understanding of the man, his zeal, his achievement, and the costs that have come with it all.” -Gay Talese“An eye-opening book. Monte Burke has finally taken us behind the great big curtain and, for the first time, shown us who Nick Saban really is and what makes him tick. I couldn’t put this book down. For all college football fans, this is a must-read.” -Paul Finebaum, ESPN college football analyst“Monte Burke has written the most comprehensive portrait yet of football’s most enigmatic coach. Saban is as close as the average fan will ever get to watching film or riding in a golf cart with the man himself.” -Warren St. John, author of Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer“If you are a fan of college football-or sports in general-you must read this book. Monte Burke does a deep dive into the life and career of Nick Saban and surfaces with an honest and compelling portrait of one of the most complex, driven and successful coaches on the planet.” -Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump and The Crimson Tide: The Official Illustrated History of Alabama Football“Smart and passionate, Saban combines the ardor of a fan with the eye of a journalist. Monte Burke has his finger on the pulse of the number one coach and the number one program in college football.” -Allen Barra, author of The Last Coach: A Life of Paul “Bear” Bryant“A comprehensive biography . . . Through interviews with more than 250 people in Saban’s inner circle, including players, athletic directors, even golf buddies, Burke reveals the underpinnings of Saban’s success-from his perfectionist father to his obsession with strategy to his West Virginia coal-mining hometown.” -Garden & Gun“A no-holds-barred glimpse into the quest for perfection that has driven Saban to win four national titles in his nineteen years as a college head coach. . . . Burke has written a winning, definitive portrait of a fascina...