-Titulo Original : A Man For All Seasons A Play In Two Acts-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: The classic dramatization of Sir Thomas Mores historic conflict with Henry VIII-a compelling portrait of a courageous man who died for his convictions.Sir Thomas More-the brilliant nobleman, lawyer, humanist, author of such works as Utopia-was a long-time friend and favorite of Henry VIII, ascending to the position of Lord Chancellor in 1529. Yet he was also a staunch Catholic, and when Henry broke with the Church in 1531 after the Pope had refused to grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, More resigned the Chancellorship. In 1534, Parliament passed a bill requiring all subjects to take an oath acknowledging the supremacy of Englands king over all foreign sovereigns-including the Pope. More refused, was imprisoned, and finally was executed in 1535. An enduring modern classic, A Man for All Seasons challenges the mind, and, in the end, touches the heart (New York Times). From the Inside Flap play about Sir Thomas More, the Lord chancellor who refused to compromise and was executed by Henry VIII. About the Author Robert Bolt (1924-1995) was distinguished as one of the most successful British writers of his generation. Bolt was an English playwright who earned a degree in history from Manchester University in 1949 and intended to be a school teacher after serving in the Royal Air Force. The incredible success of his first play, Flowering Cherry (staged in 1957/1958), drove Bolt into becoming a full-time playwright. Robert Bolt is best known for his most successful play, A Man for All Seasons (staged in 1960), which won five Tony Awards, starring Paul Scofield on Broadway. Bolt himself wrote the film version, adapted in 1966 for director Fred Zinnemann. The motion picture received six Oscars, including an award for Best Screenplay...

-Titulo Original : Exercise Of Power American Failures, Successes, And A New Path Forward In The Post-cold War World-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: From the former secretary of defense and author of the acclaimed #1 bestselling memoir, Duty, a candid, sweeping examination of power, and how it has been exercised, for good and bad, by American presidents in the post-Cold War world. Since the end of the Cold War, the global perception of the United States has progressively morphed from dominant international leader to disorganized entity. Robert Gates argues that this transformation is the result of the failure of political leaders to understand the complexity of American power, its expansiveness and its limitations. He makes clear that the successful exercise of power is not limited to the ability to coerce or demand submission, but must also encompass diplomacy, strategic communications, development assistance, intelligence, technology, and ideology. With forthright judgments of the performance of past presidents and their senior-most advisers, insightful ­firsthand knowledge, and compelling insider stories, Gates’s candid, sweeping examination of power in all its manifestations argues that U.S. national security in the future will require abiding by the lessons of the past, reimagining our approach, and revitalizing nonmilitary instruments of power essential to success and security. Review [Gatess] tone is judicious and nonpartisan, and he grades all the administrations fairly according to his standards of professional competence. . . The familiar stories gain new life and interest when told by somebody who’s been in the room where it happens. Gates says what he thinks and refuses to pull his punches and, as a result, the book offers in one volume the most accurate record available of recent American security policy, the most incisive critique of that policy and the most sensible guide to what should come next.-Gideon Rose, The New York Times Book Review Few Americans have the depth and breadth of hands-on national security experience that Gates has. . . He skillfully blends the knowledge and discipline of a scholar with the hard-earned experience of a practitioner to produce a well-organized and superbly written book to lead America forward into a very different and challenging new world, and it is here that Gates’s admonitions are most compelling.-Richard Moe, The Washington Post While the book certainly offers the former defense chief’s insights from being in the room, I was most impressed by his thoughtfulness and clarity when it comes to the imperative for strengthening America’s civilian toolkit. It’s an impressive message for a former defense secretary of both Republican and Democratic administrations to make the first chapter of his book a clarion call on the failure to invest in our nation’s civilian national security tools.-Liz Schrayer, President & CEO, U.S. Global Leadership CoalitionAccessible. . . This important work dives deep into the past three decades of American foreign policy to provide a realistic picture of how key policy decisions were crafted. Highly recommended for those wanting an examination of America’s role within the global community.-Jacob Sherman, Library Journal, starred reviewAn incisive treatise. . . [Gates is] both a sharp critic of Washington D.C.s policy-making bureaucracies and a shrewd analyst of the dilemmas they wrestle with. The result is a judicious yet bracingly contrarian take on military and foreign policy from the ultimate insider.-Publishers WeeklyRecent political leaders, Gates holds, have failed to understand and project American power properly. . . Its refreshing to see a secretary of defense call for the use of the military as a choice of last resort.-Kirkus Powerful . . . timely. . . Everything [Gates has] consistently advocated - moderation of ambition; realistic expectations; recognition of the limitation of our military power; a desire for sensible long-term engagement - is on display in this volume as a cautionary tale. . . We are far from becoming a defeated o...

-Titulo Original : George, Nicholas And Wilhelm Three Royal Cousins And The Road To World War I-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: About the Author Miranda Carter is the author of Anthony Blunt: His Lives, which won the Orwell Prize for political writing and the Royal Society of Literature W. H. Heinemann Award, and was chosen as one of The New York Times Book Review’s seven Best Books of 2002. She lives in London with her husband and two sons. In the years before the First World War, the great European powers were ruled by three first cousins: King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Together, they presided over the last years of dynastic Europe and the outbreak of the most destructive war the world had ever seen, a war that set twentieth-century Europe on course to be the most violent continent in the history of the world. Through brilliant and often darkly comic portraits of these men and their lives, their foibles and obsessions, Miranda Carter delivers the tragicomic story of Europe’s early twentieth-century aristocracy, a solipsistic world preposterously out of kilter with its times. Review “History on a large canvas. . . . Carter writes incisively about the overlapping events that led to the Great War and changed the world. . . . Impressive. . . . Carter has clearly not bitten off more than she can chew for she-as John Updike once wrote of Gunter Grass-’chews it enthusiastically before our eyes.’”-The New York Times“Splendid. . . . This is history on a vast scale written on an intimate level, and it is immensely rewarding. . . . [Carter’s] portraits of the men are razor-sharp. She places each monarch in his unique context, providing a tapestry of the age and the maneuvering that led to the outbreak of war. . . . The reader is swept up in the pageantry, pathos and glory of an era that makes our own seem remorselessly venial and vulgar.”-Minneapolis Star Tribune“Engrossing and important. . . . While keeping her focus on the three cousins and their extended families, [Carter] skillfully interweaves and summarizes all important elements of how the war came about. . . . An original book, highly recommended.”-The Dallas Morning News“A fascinating biographical saga. . . . The personal, hidden history of King George V, Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II’s relationship [is] incomparable, haunting and unforgettable.”-Providence Journal“The parallel, interrelated lives of Kaiser Wilhelm II, George V, and Nicholas II are . . . a prism though which to tell the march to the first World War, the creation of the modern industrial world and the follies of hereditary courts and the eccentricities of their royal trans-European cousinhood. . . . An entertaining and accessible study of power and personality.”-Simon Sebag Montefiore, Financial Times“Some wars are inevitable. Others, such as World War I, could have been avoided. . . . Relying on apt quotations and instructive anecdotes, Carter, in this always readable history, persuasively relates [the royal cousins’] role in beginning a war that was supposed to end all wars.”-Richmond Times Dispatch “Entertaining and well-researched, with acute pen portraits of the major players.”-The Wall Street Journal “I couldn’t put this book down. The whole thing really lives and breathes-and it’s very funny. That these three absurd men could ever have held the fate of Europe in their hands is a fact as hilarious as it is terrifying.”-Zadie Smith“History at its most entertaining, full of scathing and often witty descriptions of the follies and tragedies of royalty, and the way in which the three royal cousins’ lives, despite the deep social divide between the royals and ordinary people, became intertwined with the changes and the dangers confronting the major European powers in the early years of the 20th century. It is a splendid picture, splendidly narrated.”-Michael Korda, The Daily Beast “Fresh and enjoyable. . . . Carter’s thoughtful reintroduction of the vividly human to late 19th-century international politics is timely and welco...

-Titulo Original : Eat Like A Fish My Adventures Farming The Ocean To Fight Climate Change-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER IACP Cookbook Award finalistIn the face of apocalyptic climate change, a former fisherman shares a bold and hopeful new vision for saving the planet: farming the ocean. Here Bren Smith-pioneer of regenerative ocean agriculture-introduces the world to a groundbreaking solution to the global climate crisis. A genre-defining “climate memoir,” Eat Like a Fish interweaves Smith’s own life-from sailing the high seas aboard commercial fishing trawlers to developing new forms of ocean farming to surfing the frontiers of the food movement-with actionable food policy and practical advice on ocean farming. Written with the humor and swagger of a fisherman telling a late-night tale, it is a powerful story of environmental renewal, and a must-read guide to saving our oceans, feeding the world, and-by creating new jobs up and down the coasts-putting working class Americans back to work. Review “A mindbending look into an extraordinary world by a stunning and gifted story teller.” -Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming“Bren Smith’s book on seaweed farming is something I’ve been looking forward to for years.” -Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything“A perfect balance between personal storytelling and blueprint for a new way to harvest our seas that can create meaningful jobs while simultaneously combatting climate change.” -Forbes“This is a voice we haven’t heard before, a celebration of the daring life of fishermen-and a passionate argument that we must do things differently. Reading this book is a wild ride that will change the way you think of the sea-and ultimately change the way you eat. It should be required reading for everyone.” -Ruth Reichl“Bren Smith is a hero of ours-not just for his ingenious vertical farming of kelp and shellfish in the Thimble Islands, but for facing squarely the root causes of one crisis with many symptoms: climate change, desertification, obesity and hunger. This book shows us new ways to grow food and make a living that can both heal the planet and make life more satisfying.” -Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia “What a remarkable book! Bren Smith has a (wild) life story to recount, a novel food-growing technique to describe, and a planet to help save. He’s a deft enough writer to pull it all off, with a wry joy that left me (more than usually) hopeful about our future.” -Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet and Radio Free Vermont“Seaweed is the food of the future; it’s a powerhouse of nutrition and holds a world of untapped flavor and deliciousness. Bren’s underwater kelp farms can feed us for years to come and the more we eat, the more we also give back to the ocean. This book leads the way.” -Rene Redzepi, Head Chef & Co-owner Restaurant nomaBrens arc from fishing the ocean to death to farming it back to life is the story of personal and potential planetary redemption we need. I am enamored with regenerative ocean farming-such an elegant way to address climate change, restore ecosystems, create jobs, and nourish ourselves-and I hope this book will inspire a whole generation of ocean farmers. -Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist and founder of Ocean Collectiv“Part memoir, part treatise on the life of a professional fisherman, part manual for the future of eating worldwide, this unique book cannot help but make readers think long and hard about the fate of the earth as it faces the challenges of global warming and the outlook for feeding the planet. . . . Smith has now become a visionary leader in cultivating what may turn out to be a primary source of the world’s food. This is a book about a man as well as a book about an idea. . . . Readers will learn more about ocean farming here than they learned about whaling from Moby Dick, and will walk away with a handful of practical, tasty seaweed recipes to boot...

-Titulo Original : Mountains Of The Mind Adventures In Reaching The Summit-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: The basis for the new documentary film, Mountain: A Breathtaking Voyage into the Extreme. Combining accounts of legendary mountain ascents with vivid descriptions of his own forays into wild, high landscapes, Robert McFarlane reveals how the mystery of the world’s highest places has came to grip the Western imagination-and perennially draws legions of adventurers up the most perilous slopes. His story begins three centuries ago, when mountains were feared as the forbidding abodes of dragons and other mysterious beasts. In the mid-1700s the attentions of both science and poetry sparked a passion for mountains; Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Lord Byron extolled the sublime experiences to be had on high; and by 1924 the death on Mt Everest of an Englishman named George Mallory came to symbolize the heroic ideals of his day. Macfarlane also reflects on fear, risk, and the shattering beauty of ice and snow, the competition and contemplation of the climb, and the strange alternate reality of high altitude, magically enveloping us in the allure of mountains at every level. Review Wonderfully illuminating. . . . An exhilarating blend of scholarship and adventure, displaying dazzling erudition, acute powers of analysis, a finely honed sense of cultural history and a passionate sense of the authors engagement with his subject. --Los Angeles Times “Fascinating stuff. . . a clever premise. . . . Goes back three centuries, showing how a few brainy opinion makers created the outdoor image.” -The New York Times Book ReviewA convincing book of historical evidence alongside his own oxygen-deprived experiences in an attempt to answer the age old question, Why climb the mountain? --San Francisco Chronicle“Early mountaineers were lost for words to describe the splendor of the mountains, but Robert Macfarlane is not; in particular, he has a gift for arresting similes.” -The Times Literary Supplement“Of all the books published to mark the 50th anniversary of climbing Mount Everest Robert Macfarlane’s Mountains of the Mind stands out as by far one of the most intelligent and interesting. . . in a style that shows he can be as poetic as he is plucky.”-The Economist“At once a fascinating work of history and a beautifully written mediation on how memory, imagination, and the landscape of mountains are joined together in our minds and under our feet.” -Forbes “A compelling meditation. . . Macfarlane is. . . the perfect mountain guide through blue crevasse fields, ice walls, prayer flags, Sherpas and Shangri Las. He’s been up there, and come back down through the foothills to offer us his thoughtful and gracious elegy, telling us eloquently the secret of it all, which is that no one can ever truly conquer a mountain.”-Benedict Allen, author of The Faber Book of Exploration“Macfarlane, a mountain lover and climber, has a visceral appreciation of mountains. . . . He is an engaging writer, his commentary, always crisp and relevant, leavened by personal experience beautifully related.”-The Observer (UK)“Macfarlane writes with tremendous maturity, elegance and control. . . . A powerful debut, a remarkable blend of passion and scholarship.” -Evening Standard (UK)“Part history, part personal observation, this is a fascinating study of our (sometimes fatal) obsession with height. A brilliant book, beautifully written.” -Fergus Fleming, author of Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole“A new kind of exploration writing, perhaps even the birth of a new genre, which doesn’t just defy classification-it demands a whole new category of its own.”-The Telegraph (UK)“There are many books on climbing and climbers, and this is one of the best and most unusual I have read.”-The Times (UK)“An imaginative, original essay in cultural history-a book that evokes as well as investigates the fear and wonder of high places.” -William Fiennes, author of The Snow Geese“A crisp historical study of the sensations and emotions people have...

-Titulo Original : The Man Who Ate Everything-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Winner of the Julia Child Book Award A James Beard Book Award FinalistWhen Jeffrey Steingarten was appointed food critic for Vogue, he systematically set out to overcome his distaste for such things as kimchi, lard, Greek cuisine, and blue food. He succeeded at all but the last: Steingarten is fairly sure that God meant the color blue mainly for food that has gone bad. In this impassioned, mouth-watering, and outrageously funny book, Steingarten devotes the same Zen-like discipline and gluttonous curiosity to practically everything that anyone anywhere has ever called dinner. Follow Steingarten as he jets off to sample choucroute in Alsace, hand-massaged beef in Japan, and the mother of all ice creams in Sicily. Sweat with him as he tries to re-create the perfect sourdough, bottle his own mineral water, and drop excess poundage at a luxury spa. Join him as he mounts a heroic--and hilarious--defense of salt, sugar, and fat (though he has some nice things to say about Olestra). Stuffed with offbeat erudition and recipes so good they ought to be illegal, The Man Who Ate Everything is a gift for anyone who loves food. From the Inside Flap Winner of the Julia Child Book Award A James Beard Book Award FinalistWhen Jeffrey Steingarten was appointed food critic for Vogue, he systematically set out to overcome his distaste for such things as kimchi, lard, Greek cuisine, and blue food. He succeeded at all but the last: Steingarten is fairly sure that God meant the color blue mainly for food that has gone bad. In this impassioned, mouth-watering, and outrageously funny book, Steingarten devotes the same Zen-like discipline and gluttonous curiosity to practically everything that anyone anywhere has ever called dinner. Follow Steingarten as he jets off to sample choucroute in Alsace, hand-massaged beef in Japan, and the mother of all ice creams in Sicily. Sweat with him as he tries to re-create the perfect sourdough, bottle his own mineral water, and drop excess poundage at a luxury spa. Join him as he mounts a heroic--and hilarious--defense of salt, sugar, and fat (though he has some nice things to say about Olestra). Stuffed with offbeat erudition and recipes so good they ought to be illegal, The Man Who Ate Everything is a gift for anyone who loves food. From the Back Cover of the Julia Child Book Award A James Beard Book Award FinalistWhen Jeffrey Steingarten was appointed food critic for Vogue, he systematically set out to overcome his distaste for such things as kimchi, lard, Greek cuisine, and blue food. He succeeded at all but the last: Steingarten is fairly sure that God meant the color blue mainly for food that has gone bad. In this impassioned, mouth-watering, and outrageously funny book, Steingarten devotes the same Zen-like discipline and gluttonous curiosity to practically everything that anyone anywhere has ever called dinner. Follow Steingarten as he jets off to sample choucroute in Alsace, hand-massaged beef in Japan, and the mother of all ice creams in Sicily. Sweat with him as he tries to re-create the perfect sourdough, bottle his own mineral water, and drop excess poundage at a luxury spa. Join him as he mounts a heroic--and hilarious--defense of salt, s About the Author Jeffrey Steingarten trained to become a food writer at Harvard College, Harvard Law School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Harvard Lampoon. For the past eight years he has been the internationally feared and acclaimed food critic of Vogue magazine. He has been the food correspondent for the online magazine Slate. For essays in this collection, Mr. Steingarten has won countless awards from the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. On Bastille Day, 1994, the French Republic made him a Chevalier in the Order of Merit for his writing on French gastronomy. As a man who ate everything, Chevalier Steingarten has no favorite...

-Titulo Original : The Devil And Sherlock Holmes Tales Of Murder, Madness, And Obsession-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: From the bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon comes this “gripping” (The Miami Herald) and “hilarious” (EW) collection of true crime mysteries about people whose obsessions propel them into unfathomable and often deadly circumstances. Whether David Grann is investigating a mysterious murder, tracking a chameleon-like con artist, or hunting an elusive giant squid, he has proven to be one of the most gifted reporters and storytellers of his generation. In The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, Grann takes the reader around the world, revealing a gallery of rogues and heroes with their own particular fixations who show that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Review Praise for David Grann’s The Devil and Sherlock Holmes“Horrifying, hilarious, and outlandish. . . . These straightforward tales grip you as unrelentingly as the suckered appendages of the giant squid Grann attempts to track down in ‘The Squid Hunter.’”-Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)“A gripping read. . . . Obsessives get themselves into some interesting places. Grann is the perfect guide to take you there.”-The Miami Herald“A dozen intricately crafted accounts. . . . Like the best of stories, each carries the spice of intrigue and the momentum of a search. . . . [They] will make your heart race and, at times, ache. They’re stories to share with friends, even if Grann can’t be there himself.”-Cleveland Plain Dealer “Grann’s obsession with how narratives are told is complex and compelling. . . . But it’s the basic stories themselves-bizarre and fascinating, bolstered by exhaustive research-that make the book so gripping.”-Time Out New York“Titillating. . . . Evidence of Grann’s abundant talent as a writer.”-Providence Journal “The most powerful essay I read this year was David Grann’s ‘Trial by Fire.’”-David Brooks, The New York Times “The truth is always stranger than fiction, even when it comes to murder mysteries. That’s the take-home lesson of Grann’s latest collection, which brings together 12 stories of real-life mysteries, each one stranger and more gripping than the last.”-The Daily Beast “A gifted storyteller, Grann has a Sherlock Holmesian gift for unearthing facts that are hidden in plain sight, presenting a crystal-clear narrative and letting his compelling cast of characters speak for themselves. . . . Easily worth the price of admission, a visit to Grann’s rogue’s gallery is likely to leave you with a sense, at once awful and awesome, of the profound desire we all have for recognition.”-The OregonianBeautifully constructed, highly improbably real life reports.-GQ (UK)“Eclectic. . . . Haunting. . . . Skilfully crafted. . . . [Grann] does not just tell these bizarre tales, he meets, interviews, gets to know and seems to understand many of his strange subjects.”-The Irish Times “There is humanity in the writing, and it’s all the more impressive that Grann manages to evoke it without drawing any attention to himself; his tales are first-person ones, but they don’t foreground the writer in that manner so popular among magazine editors today. Indeed, his selflessness as a writer, along with his gentle rectitude, cause him to bear a resemblance to another hero who never hogs the spotlight: Holmes’s assistant, Watson. Rarely does modesty produce such stunning results.”-Bookforum “Thoroughly documented, well written and full of surprises.”-Toronto Star “Grann’s in-depth reporting and vivid writing make this worthwhile reading for lovers of good journalism.”-BooklistChilling. . . . Poignant. . . . Haunting and gripping. . . . Gets into worlds that are otherwise invisible to us.-Daily Mail (London)Grann is a worthy heir to Truman Capote.-Le Monde (Paris) About the Author David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the bestselling author of The Lost City of Z, which has been translated into more than twenty languages. His stories have appeared in many anthologies of the best American writing, and he ha...

-Titulo Original : Nobody Knows My Name-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Told with Baldwins characteristically unflinching honesty, this collection of illuminating, deeply felt essays -- passionate, probing, controversial (The Atlantic) -- examines topics ranging from race relations in the United States to the role of the writer in society, and offers personal accounts of Richard Wright, Norman Mailer and other writers. Review A passionate, probing, controversial book which is outstandingly well written.--The Atlantic From the Publisher A passionate, probing, controversial book which is outstandingly well written.--The Atlantic From the Inside Flap ldwins characteristically unflinching honesty, this collection of illuminating, deeply felt essays examines topics ranging from race relations in the United States to the role of the writer in society, and offers personal accounts of Richard Wright, Norman Mailer and other writers. From the Back Cover Told with Baldwins characteristically unflinching honesty, this collection of illuminating, deeply felt essays examines topics ranging from race relations in the United States to the role of the writer in society, and offers personal accounts of Richard Wright, Norman Mailer and other writers. About the Author James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time were bestsellers that made him an influential figure in the growing civil rights movement. Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in France in 1987, a year after being made a Commander of the French Legion of Honor...

-Titulo Original : The Passage Of Power The Years Of Lyndon Johnson, Vol. Iv-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1The PredictionWhen he was young-seventeen and eighteen years old-Lyndon Johnson worked on a road gang that was building a highway (an unpaved highway: roads in the isolated, impoverished Texas Hill Country weren’t paved in the 1920s) between Johnson City and Austin.With little mechanical equipment available, the road was being built almost entirely by hand, and his job, when he wasn’t half of a pick-and-shovel team with Ben Crider, a burly friend-six years older-from Johnson City, was “driving” a “fresno,” a heavy two-handled metal scoop with a sharpened front edge, that was pulled by four mules. Standing behind the scoop, between its handles, as the mules strained forward to force the scoop through the hard Hill Country caliche soil, he would push as they pulled. Since he needed a hand for each handle, the reins were tied together and wrapped around his back, so for this work-hard even for older men; for a tall, skinny, awkward teenager, it was, the other men recall, “backbreaking labor,” “too heavy” for Lyndon-Lyndon Johnson was, really, in harness with the mules. But at lunch hour each day, as the gang sat eating-in summer in whatever shade they could find as protection from the blazing Hill Country sun, in winter huddled around a fire (it would get so cold, Crider recalls, that “you had to build a fire to thaw your hands before you could handle a pick and shovel . . . build us a fire and thaw and work all day”)-Lyndon would, in the words of another member of the gang, “talk big” to the older men. “He had big ideas. . . . He wanted to do something big with his life.” And he was quite specific about what he wanted to do: “I’m going to be President of the United States one day,” he predicted.Poverty and backbreaking work-clearing cedar on other men’s farms for two dollars a day, or chopping and picking cotton: on your hands and knees all day beneath that searing sun-were woven deep in the fabric of Lyndon Johnson’s youth, as were humiliation and fear: he was coming home at night to a house to which other Johnson City families brought charity in the form of cooked dishes because there was no money in that house to buy food; to a house on which, moreover, his family was having such difficulty paying the taxes and mortgage that they were afraid it might not be theirs much longer. But woven into it also was that prediction.In many ways, his whole life would be built around that prediction: around a climb toward that single, far-off goal. As a young congressman in Washington, he was careful not to mention that ambition to the rising young New Dealers with whom he was allying himself, but they were aware of it anyway. James H. Rowe Jr., Franklin Roosevelt’s aide, who spent more time with Johnson than the others, says, “From the day he got here, he wanted to be President.” When old friends from Texas visited him, sometimes his determination burst out of him despite himself, as if he could not contain it. “By God, I’ll be President someday!” he exclaimed one evening when he was alone with Welly Hopkins. And an incident in 1940 showed the Texans how much he wanted the prize he sought, how much he was willing to sacrifice to attain it.Lack of money had been the cause of so many of the insecurities of his youth, and his election to Congress, far from soothing those fears, had seemed only to intensify them: he talked incessantly about how his father, who had been an elected official himself-a six-term member of the Texas House of Representatives-had ended up as a state bus inspector, and had died penniless; he didn’t want to end up like his father, he said. He talked about how he kept seeing around Washington former congressmen who had lost their seats-as, he said, he would inevitably one day lose his-and were working in low-paying, demeaning jobs; over and over again he related how once, while he was riding in an elevator in the Capitol, the elevator operator had to...

-Titulo Original : Word By Word The Secret Life Of Dictionaries-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: “We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.” With wit and irreverence, lexicographer Kory Stamper cracks open the obsessive world of dictionary writing, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it to the knotty questions of ever-changing word usage. Filled with fun facts-for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill-and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language. Review “[An] eloquent love letter to letters themselves. . . . A cheerful and thoughtful rebuke of the cult of the grammar scolds.” -The Atlantic“Both memoir and expose, an insider’s tour of the inner circles of the mysterious fortress that is Merriam-Webster. Stamper leads us through her own lexicographical bildungsroman, exploring how she fell in love with words and showing us how the dictionary works, and how it interacts with the world that it strives to reflect.” -Adrienne Raphel, The New Yorker“As a writer, Stamper can do anything with words. . . . You will never take a dictionary entry for granted again.” -Mary Norris, best-selling author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen “A fascinating, even enthralling, examination of the way words actually work in our language, warts and all.” -The A.V. Club“An unlikely page-turner. . . . Stamper displays a contagious enthusiasm for words and a considerable talent for putting them together.” -The New Yorker “Word by Word cherishes the dexterity involved in making dictionaries, and . . . proves refreshingly attentive to its human stories. Part of its quirky charm is a delight in the idiosyncrasies of others-not least Merriam-Webster’s many correspondents.” -The Wall Street Journal “Packed with the kind of word-lore that keeps readers and writers up late at night: Where do our words come from? How and why do their meanings change year to year, century to century?” -The Dallas Morning News “Great fun. . . . [Stamper] brings both zest and style. . . . An exuberant mash note to language.” -The Times Literary Supplement “[Word by Word] mixes memoiristic meditations on the lexicographic life along with a detailed description of the brain-twisting work of writing dictionaries.” -The New York Times “Anyone who loves words or has opinions about them will have fun in this sandbox of a book.” -The Washington Times “A delectable feast. . . . [Stamper] declaims elegantly on the beauty and necessity of dialect, how to evaluate emerging words, and many other topics. [She] is at her best when entertaining the reader with amusing etymologies, celebrating the contentiousness of grammar, and quoting annoying emails from an opinionated public,” -Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Fascinating. . . . Part memoir, part workplace chronicle and part history lesson.” -The New York Post “A lexicographical bildungsroman. . . . [Stamper] presents passionate, precise, good-humored (and bad-humored) descriptions of every stage of the process that goes into making an entry.” -The Chronicle of Higher Education “[Word by Word] entertains as much as it instructs.” -Baltimore Sun “A captivating book.” -Lincoln Journal Star “Idiosyncratic and engaging.” -The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA) “A smart, sparkling and often hilarious valentine to the content and keepers of dictionaries. . . . A paean to the craft of lexicography.’” -Shelf Awareness “A funny inside look at how new words make their way into dictionaries, an irreverent take on the history of Engli...

-Titulo Original : Avas Man-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: NATIONAL BESTSELLER * With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin’ a beloved bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he’s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family’s table through the worst of the Great Depression; a moonshiner who drank exactly one pint for every gallon he sold; an unregenerate brawler, who could sit for hours with a baby in the crook of his arm. In telling Charlie’s story, Bragg conjures up the backwoods hamlets of Georgia and Alabama in the years when the roads were still dirt and real men never cussed in front of ladies. A masterly family chronicle and a human portrait so vivid you can smell the cornbread and whiskey, Ava’s Man is unforgettable. Review “Grab[s] you from the first sentence....[and] stays with you long after you put it down....It is hard to think of a writer who reminds us more forcefully and wonderfully of what people and families are all about.” -The New York Times Book Review “Earthy, mischievous, yet gorgeous. . . . [Bragg’s] tales . . . would not be out of place if they were told around a campfire.” -San Francisco Chronicle “As toothsome as a catfish supper. [Bragg] is every bit the equal of . . . Harper Lee and Truman Capote.” -People “[Bragg has] a true gift for great storytelling (the kind...that makes you think it’s just a plain old story, until he gets to the end and you’re either weeping or covered with goosebumps).” -New Orleans Times-Picayune From the Inside Flap With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin? a national bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time he?s writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his family?s table through the worst of the Great Depression; a moonshiner who drank exactly one pint for every gallon he sold; an unregenerate brawler, who could sit for hours with a baby in the crook of his arm. In telling Charlie?s story, Bragg conjures up the backwoods hamlets of Georgia and Alabama in the years when the roads were still dirt and real men never cussed in front of ladies. A masterly family chronicle and a human portrait so vivid you can smell the cornbread and whiskey, Ava?s Man is unforgettable. From the Back Cover With the same emotional generosity and effortlessly compelling storytelling that made All Over But the Shoutin a national bestseller, Rick Bragg continues his personal history of the Deep South. This time hes writing about his grandfather Charlie Bundrum, a man who died before Bragg was born but left an indelible imprint on the people who loved him. Drawing on their memories, Bragg reconstructs the life of an unlettered roofer who kept food on his familys table through the worst of the Great Depression; a moonshiner who drank exactly one pint for every gallon he sold; an unregenerate brawler, who could sit for hours with a baby in the crook of his arm. In telling Charlies story, Bragg conjures up the backwoods hamlets of Georgia and Alabama in the years when the roads were still dirt and real men never cussed in front of ladies. A masterly family chronicle and a human portrait so vivid you can smell the cornbread and whiskey, Avas Man is unforgettable. About the Author Rick Bragg is the best-selling author of All Over but the Shoutin’ and Somebody Told Me. A national correspondent for the The New York Times, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing...

-Titulo Original : Hoover An Extraordinary Life In Extraordinary Times-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: An exemplary biography-exhaustively researched, fair-minded and easy to read. It can nestle on the same shelf as David McCullough’s Truman, a high compliment indeed. -The Wall Street JournalThe definitive biography of Herbert Hoover, one of the most remarkable Americans of the twentieth century-a wholly original account that will forever change the way Americans understand the man, his presidency, his battle against the Great Depression, and their own history.An impoverished orphan who built a fortune. A great humanitarian. A president elected in a landslide and then resoundingly defeated four years later. Arguably the father of both New Deal liberalism and modern conservatism, Herbert Hoover lived one of the most extraordinary American lives of the twentieth century. Yet however astonishing, his accomplishments are often eclipsed by the perception that Hoover was inept and heartless in the face of the Great Depression.Now, Kenneth Whyte vividly recreates Hoover’s rich and dramatic life in all its complex glory. He follows Hoover through his Iowa boyhood, his cutthroat business career, his brilliant rescue of millions of lives during World War I and the 1927 Mississippi floods, his misconstrued presidency, his defeat at the hands of a ruthless Franklin Roosevelt, his devastating years in the political wilderness, his return to grace as Trumans emissary to help European refugees after World War II, and his final vindication in the days of Kennedys New Frontier. Ultimately, Whyte brings to light Hoover’s complexities and contradictions-his modesty and ambition, his ruthlessness and extreme generosity-as well as his profound political legacy.Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times is the epic, poignant story of the deprived boy who, through force of will, made himself the most accomplished figure in the land, and who experienced a range of achievements and failures unmatched by any American of his, or perhaps any, era. Here, for the first time, is the definitive biography that fully captures the colossal scale of Hoover’s momentous life and volatile times. Review “An exemplary biography-exhaustively researched, fair-minded and easy to read. It can nestle on the same shelf as David McCullough’s Truman, a high compliment indeed.”-Edward Kosner, The Wall Street Journal “Outstanding…. Whyte makes a convincing case for the reassessment of our 31st president…. This well organized, thoroughly researched, and smoothly written biography persuasively demonstrates that its subject’s place in history should be elevated far beyond its current status.” -Talmage Boston, Washington Independent Review of Books “Whyte’s account is the most full-fleshed and three-dimensional Hoover readers have yet encountered” -Steve Donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor “Whyte details how Hoover was up against worldwide economic forces that he had no way of controlling and points out that the hard times continued long into Roosevelt’s presidency. Just as interesting, however, are Whyte’s accounts of Hoover’s early life, from his rise from orphanhood to world-traveling problem solver, and his post-presidency attempt to restore his image and regain his place among the 20th century’s most admired people.” -Keith Herrell, BookPageSummons us to see Hoover as a human personality, more than just a walking embodiment of Great Depression studies.... In the unceasing ideological quarrying of the American past, this great man and execrated president has proven himself useful again. To understand Hoover’s life, career, and his legacy in full, this rich new biography will certainly prove indispensable.” -David Frum, The AtlanticMonumental.... Important, and irresistibly interesting.... Whyte serves as a learned but inviting tour guide to this extraordinary life, bringing a fresh eye and fresh perspective.... [He] shows us a man of impatience, insensitivity and impolitic behaviour, though balanced with great confi...

-Titulo Original : Dearie The Remarkable Life Of Julia Child-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Arollicking biography (People Magazine) and extraordinarily entertaining account of how Julia Child transformed herself into the cult figure who touched off a food revolution that has gripped the country for decades.Spanning Pasadena to Paris, acclaimed author Bob Spitz reveals the history behind the woman who taught America how to cook. A genuine rebel who took the pretensions that embellished French cuisine and fricasseed them to a fare-thee-well, paving the way for a new era of American food-not to mention blazing a new trail in television-Child redefined herself in middle age, fought for women’s rights, and forever altered how we think about what we eat. Chronicling Julias struggles, her heartwarming romance with Paul, and, of course, the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her triumphant TV career, Dearie is a stunning story of a truly remarkable life. Review BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, Washington Post, NPR“By far the most substantial new book on Child. . . . A lively, affectionately detailed portrait.” -The Wall Street Journal“An unabashed celebration of the mistress of haute cuisine.” -San Francisco Chronicle“A rollicking biography that captures the vision, pluck and contagious exuberance that were the essence of Julia Child.” -People Magazine “A much-appreciated, well timed gift to us all. . . . Julia has never been more alive in the hearts and minds of those who grew up with her and ate and drank her dreams.” -The Huffington Post “Those with a hunger for all things Julia have a substantial new biography by Bob Spitz to sink their teeth into. . . . Author and subject almost become one, as Spitz channels the spirit of Child in his own words.” -The Washington Post “[Spitz] reveals how [Child] helped redefine domesticity in the media age, transforming the way we cook, eat and think about food. . . . The book makes a strong case for Child as a cultural guerrilla on par with Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan and Helen Gurley Brown.” -Newsday “[An] enthusiastic, heroically researched biography. . . . Spitz goes beyond mere history and provides a full, human portrait of Julia.” -The Economist “[A] mammoth, inspiring biography.” -The Washington Times “A comprehensive and compelling biography . . . that also functions effectively as a history of 20th-century American culture on topics ranging from the evolution of the O.S.S. to the quirks of public television.” -The Christian Science Monitor “A revelation.” -Lev Grossman, Time Magazine “The most engaging celebrity biography we’ve read in years. . . . Spitz manages to convey the vigor, curiosity, confidence and booming voice of a truly remarkable woman as if she is sitting at the kitchen table with you. . . . [He] is a fantastic writer.” -LA Weekly “This thick, fat, almost sinfully good read should definitely be put high up on the gift list for the food lover in your life. Julia would love you for this.” -Toronto Sun “[Dearie] takes readers beyond the image of this tall, eccentric woman with a funny voice and establishes her as one of the most distinctive cultural individuals of the 20th century.” -The Canadian Press “Juicy, masterfully written.” -The Star-Ledger “A detailed, nuanced biography of televisions beloved ‘French Chef.’” -Chicago Tribune “A biography perfectly suited to its subject-as lively, fascinating, and singular as Julia Child herself.” -Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition About the Author Bob Spitz is the award-winning author of The Beatles, a New York Times best seller, Reagan, as well as seven other nonfictionbooks and a screenplay. He has representedBruce Springsteen and Elton John in several capacities.His articles appear regularly in magazines and newspapers,including The New York Times Magazine; The Washington Post; Rolling Stone; and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others. He can be reached atdearie@bobspitz . Excerpt. © Reprinted ...

-Titulo Original : The Outlaw Ocean Journeys Across The Last Untamed Frontier-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A riveting, adrenaline-fueled tour of a vast, lawless, and rampantly criminal world that few have ever seen: the high seas.There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. But perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the worlds oceans: too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these immense regions of treacherous water play host to rampant criminality and exploitation.Traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, wreck thieves and repo men, vigilante conservationists and elusive poachers, seabound abortion providers, clandestine oil-dumpers, shackled slaves and cast-adrift stowaways-drawing on five years of perilous and intrepid reporting, often hundreds of miles from shore, Ian Urbina introduces us to the inhabitants of this hidden world. Through their stories of astonishing courage and brutality, survival and tragedy, he uncovers a globe-spanning network of crime and exploitation that emanates from the fishing, oil, and shipping industries, and on which the worlds economies rely. Both a gripping adventure story and a stunning expose, this unique work of reportage brings fully into view for the first time the disturbing reality of a floating world that connects us all, a place where anyone can do anything because no one is watching. Review The Outlaw Ocean brings the reader up close to an overwhelming truth... An impressive feat of reporting... Urbina deftly reveals complicated ideas through his stories.-The Washington PostThis body of work is a devastating look at the corruption, exploitation, and trafficking that thrive on the open ocean... The writing is straightforward but clever... Eerie and beautiful.-OutsideThe Outlaw Ocean is enriched by Urbina’s gifted storytelling about the destruction of marine life and the murder, crime, and piracy that make the seas so dangerous for those who make their living on them.-The National Book ReviewWhat we learn from Urbina’s journeys is nothing less than the deepest aspects of humanity itself. Dropped into a world without terra firma’s systems and foibles, our darkest impulses emerge. But our most noble intentions-to save, to protect, to establish fair rule of law-appear as well.-Paste“In The Outlaw Ocean, Urbina focuses that eye on understanding his characters and their context to show why these crimes get committed and why the culprits rarely get prosecuted. Urbina goes further than most to do this. He shows you a problem from the front lines, by talking to the people there.”-ViceNew York Times journalist Ian Urbina explores a parallel world, spanning two thirds of the Earth’s surface but almost entirely hidden from public scrutiny... With the world’s seafood stocks in crisis, Urbina lifts the thick veil on a global criminal culture, at just the moment when the damage inflicted on the oceans is becoming terminal.-The GuardianThe most valuable contribution of The Outlaw Ocean may be to the literature, unfortunately quite extensive by now, of pessimism about human nature…in aggregate his stories reveal that something like a Hobbesian state of nature still exists and is available to anyone willing to float a few dozen miles offshore.”-The Wall Street Journal“The Outlaw Ocean is an outstanding example of investigative journalism, illuminating some of the darkest corners of a world we often dont think about… what he found ranges from horrible to shocking and from unfair to unbelievable… a magnificent read… proof that outstanding writing is still one of the best tools we have to get to know the world we live in.”-Gabino Iglesias, NPR“These chapters are vibrant as individual stories, but as a collection they’re transcendent, rendering a complex portrait of an unseen and disturbing world. Urbina pursues a depth of reportage that’s rare because of the guts and diligence it requires… The result is not just a fascinating read, but a truly important document… It is a master class in journali...

-Titulo Original : Meaty Essays-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Smart, edgy, hilarious, and unabashedly raunchy New York Times bestselling author Samantha Irby explodes onto the printed page in her uproarious first collection of essays. Irby laughs her way through tragicomic mishaps, neuroses, and taboos as she struggles through adulthood: chin hairs, depression, bad sex, failed relationships, masturbation, taco feasts, inflammatory bowel disease and more. Updated with her favorite able, couch-friendly recipes, this much-beloved romp is treat for anyone in dire need of Irbys infamous, scathing wit and poignant candor. Review A Barnes & Noble Holiday 2013 Discover Great New Writers SelectionAn Emily Books Book Club SelectionA Publishers Weekly Fall 2013 Big Books by Small PressesA COSMO Best 22 Books of the Year For Women, By WomenAsk me who my favorite author is and I wont hesitate to reply with, Samantha Irby. I love Irbys books so much that I would, without a shadow of a doubt, flip to a random page in any one of them, close my eyes, point to a sentence, and tattoo said sentence across my clavicle. Thats how much I love this woman.- Greg Mania, Paper MagazineChicago favorite well-loved around The A.V. Club offices, Samantha Irby is getting some long-due national attention after her 2017 collection....Irby’s first book, Meaty, has been re-relased, and anyone who picked up We Are Never Meeting In Real Life or has enjoyed her blog, Bitches Gotta Eat, should once more immerse themselves in her startling humor and wit.- A. V. Club“Raunchy, funny and vivid…Those faint of heart beware...strap in and get ready for a roller-coaster ride to remember.- Kirkus Reviews“Amazingly crass, defiant, witty, terrifying, and wondrous...[Irby] cuts the bawdy, wickedly funny pieces with some truly poignant palate cleansers...Irby’s voice is raw, gripping, and ...Delicious.- Booklist“Her candor in style and subject matter-mostly sex, dating, and the general lousiness of men-has earned Samantha Irby a cult following... Honesty mixed with self-deprecating humor is what propels reader.- Time Out ChicagoSamantha Irby is as bad as she wants to be.- Chicago TribuneWhether she’s writing about her latest inflammatory bowel disease attack or documenting a sexual escapade gone awry (sometimes simultaneously), you’ll most likely be able to relate to Irby’s tell-all book. Her raw honesty and scathing sense of humor will make you laugh out loud…- JETThere is no summing up Sam-no writerly preface, no small-talk tidbits, no rundown of vital stats that can suffice. She is irreducible, like a prime number, or a quark [...] Irbys writing has a powerfully intimacy, a direct connection between her and her readers. On the page, shes more an essayist than a storyteller per se, with the essayists intellectual habits-exploring ideas, contradicting herself, poking thoughts to see if they burst, and then reveling in the mess.- Chicago ReaderIrby has the rare ability to divulge her personal problems to an expansive, invisible Internet audience and still dazzle a crowded room of literati.- Chicago Magazine About the Author Samantha Irby writes a blog called bitches gotta eat. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 9780525436164|excerptIrby / MEATYPart 1brunchan instagram frittataBack in the olden days when everyone was shouting into Nokia flip phones and scratched-­up Razrs and you didn’t have to worry about whether your breakfast would look cute in someone’s newsfeed, when people would come over to my crib (i.e., wake up in my apartment to find themselves disappointed by my lack of a coffeemaker or anything resembling a wholesome breakfast food), I would do that thing where I throw a bunch of leftover garbage into however many eggs I could salvage from the dented carton of them chilling in the back of the fridge and bake it in a superhot oven until it sort of resembled a brown egg flatbread, then emerge from the kitchen like “Ta-­da...

-Titulo Original : His Excellency George Washington-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: From the Back Cover The author of seven highly acclaimed books, Joseph J. Ellis has crafted a landmark biography that brings to life in all his complexity the most important and perhaps least understood figure in American history, George Washington. With his careful attention to detail and his lyrical prose, Ellis has set a new standard for biography. Drawing from the newly catalogued Washington papers at the University of Virginia, Joseph Ellis paints a full portrait of George Washingtons life and career-from his military years through his two terms as president. Ellis illuminates the difficulties the first executive confronted as he worked to keep the emerging country united in the face of adversarial factions. He richly details Washingtons private life and illustrates the ways in which it influenced his public persona. Through Elliss artful narration, we look inside Washingtons marriage and his subsequent entrance into the upper echelons of Virginias plantation society. We come to understand that it was by managing his own large debts to British merchants that he experienced firsthand the imperiousness of the British Empire. And we watch the evolution of his attitude toward slavery, which led to his emancipating his own slaves in his will. Throughout, Ellis peels back the layers of myth and uncovers for us Washington in the context of eighteenth-century America, allowing us to comprehend the magnitude of his accomplishments and the character of his spirit and mind. When Washington died in 1799, Ellis tells us, he was eulogized as first in the hearts of his countrymen. Since then, however, his image has been chisled onto Mount Rushmore and printed on the dollar bill. He is on ourlandscape and in our wallets but not, Ellis argues, in our hearts. Ellis strips away the ivy and legend that have grown up over the Washington statue and recovers the flesh-and-blood man in all his passionate and fully human prowess. In the pantheon of our republics founders, there were many outstanding individuals. And yet each of them-Franklin, Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison- acknowledged Washington to be his superior, the only indispensable figure, the one and only His Excellency. Both physically and politically, Washington towered over his peers for reasons this book elucidates. His Excellency is a full, glorious, and multifaceted portrait of the man behind our countrys genesis, sure to become the authoritative biography of George Washington for many decades. From the Hardcover edition. National BestsellerTo this landmark biography of our first president, Joseph J. Ellis brings the exacting scholarship, shrewd analysis, and lyric prose that have made him one of the premier historians of the Revolutionary era. Training his lens on a figure who sometimes seems as remote as his effigy on Mount Rushmore, Ellis assesses George Washington as a military and political leader and a man whose “statue-like solidity” concealed volcanic energies and emotions. Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to English merchants instilled him with a prickly resentment of imperial power. We see the general who lost more battles than he won and the reluctant president who tried to float above the partisan feuding of his cabinet. His Excellency is a magnificent work, indispensable to an understanding not only of its subject but also of the nation he brought into being. Review [Ellis has done it again. This is an important and challenging work: beautifully written, lively, serious and engaging.” -The Boston Globe “Absorbing. . . . An incisive portrait [that] eloquently conveys the magnitude of Washington’s accomplishments.” -The New York Times “Absolutely fascinating. . . . Underscores how extraordinary Washington’s accomplishments really were.” -The Christian Science Monit...

-Titulo Original : Tecumseh And The Prophet The Heroic Struggle For Americas Heartland-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: An insightful, unflinching portrayal of the remarkable siblings who came closer to altering the course of American history than any other Indian leaders. -H.W. Brands, author of The Zealot and the EmancipatorThe first biography of the great Shawnee leader to make clear that his misunderstood younger brother, Tenskwatawa, was an equal partner in the last great pan-Indian alliance against the United States. Until the Americans killed Tecumseh in 1813, he and his brother Tenskwatawa were the co-architects of the broadest pan-Indian confederation in United States history. In previous accounts of Tecumsehs life, Tenskwatawa has been dismissed as a talentless charlatan and a drunk. But award-winning historian Peter Cozzens now shows us that while Tecumseh was a brilliant diplomat and war leader--admired by the same white Americans he opposed--it was Tenskwatawa, called the Shawnee Prophet, who created a vital doctrine of religious and cultural revitalization that unified the disparate tribes of the Old Northwest. Detailed research of Native American society and customs provides a window into a world often erased from history books and reveals how both men came to power in different but no less important ways.Cozzens brings us to the forefront of the chaos and violence that characterized the young American Republic, when settlers spilled across the Appalachians to bloody effect in their haste to exploit lands won from the British in the War of Independence, disregarding their rightful Indian owners. Tecumseh and the Prophet presents the untold story of the Shawnee brothers who retaliated against this threat--the two most significant siblings in Native American history, who, Cozzens helps us understand, should be writ large in the annals of America. Review Winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best BiographyA Washington Independent Review Favorite BookA Cowboys and Indians Editors PickCozzens expertly mines the surprisingly varied array of sources for the brothers’ early lives; he presents the fullest picture yet of who these men were before they achieved national fame. His book balances them more than any previous retelling of the story ever has. Tecumseh and the Prophet is as close to a fully realized popular biography of Tenkswatawa as is ever likely to be written … Tecumseh and the Prophet paints in vivid colors the grandest effort of Native Americans to retain their independence - and the political and spiritual leaders who tried to make it happen.” -Steve Donoghue, Christian Science MonitorThis... is no sentimental paean to an innocent martyr, no simplistic homage to a “noble savage”... Cozzens is a master storyteller; his books weave a wealth of intricate detail into gripping historical narrative... In this book descriptions of battles are especially enthralling; one can almost smell the gunpowder, the blood and the loamy forest floor. -Gerard DeGroot, The Times (UK)Tecumseh and the Prophet is a thorough profile of the notable Tecumseh and his Brother. Author Peter Cozzens sculpts his narrative deftly and compellingly. In relating the barbarity of the frontier wars, the author remains objective yet empathetic. Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa are fascinating figures, capable of greatness and leadership, yet destined for tragedy. A work. -Philip Zozzaro, San Francisco Book ReviewThe strength of Cozzens’ book is his ability to bring to life the thrilling adventures of Tecumseh and his people. Many a war yarn gets bogged down in minutiae, but the author animates these battles by sharing the human stories behind the fighting. By ably piecing together a history that is equal parts engaging and amply sourced, Cozzens has crafted a satisfying work that leads us to sympathize with his subjects without putting his finger on the scale to prove his point. -Chris Rutledge, Washington Independent Review of BooksCozzens has a gift for depicting the intricacies of combat with both ...

-Titulo Original : Master Of The Senate The Years Of Lyndon Johnson-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Master of the Senate, Book Three of The Years of Lyndon Johnson, carries Johnson’s story through one of its most remarkable periods: his twelve years, from 1949 to 1960, in the United States Senate. At the heart of the book is its unprecedented revelation of how legislative power works in America, how the Senate works, and how Johnson, in his ascent to the presidency, mastered the Senate as no political leader before him had ever done. It was during these years that all Johnson’s experience-from his Texas Hill Country boyhood to his passionate representation in Congress of his hardscrabble constituents to his tireless construction of a political machine-came to fruition. Caro introduces the story with a dramatic account of the Senate itself: how Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun had made it the center of governmental energy, the forum in which the great issues of the country were thrashed out. And how, by the time Johnson arrived, it had dwindled into a body that merely responded to executive initiatives, all but impervious to the forces of change. Caro anatomizes the genius for political strategy and tactics by which, in an institution that had made the seniority system all-powerful for a century and more, Johnson became Majority Leader after only a single term-the youngest and greatest Senate Leader in our history; how he manipulated the Senate’s hallowed rules and customs and the weaknesses and strengths of his colleagues to change the “unchangeable” Senate from a loose confederation of sovereign senators to a whirring legislative machine under his own iron-fisted control. Caro demonstrates how Johnson’s political genius enabled him to reconcile the unreconcilable: to retain the support of the southerners who controlled the Senate while earning the trust-or at least the cooperation-of the liberals, led by Paul Douglas and Hubert Humphrey, without whom he could not achieve his goal of winning the presidency. He shows the dark side of Johnson’s ambition: how he proved his loyalty to the great oil barons who had financed his rise to power by ruthlessly destroying the career of the New Dealer who was in charge of regulating them, Federal Power Commission Chairman Leland Olds. And we watch him achieve the impossible: convincing southerners that although he was firmly in their camp as the anointed successor to their leader, Richard Russell, it was essential that they allow him to make some progress toward civil rights. In a breathtaking tour de force, Caro details Johnson’s amazing triumph in maneuvering to passage the first civil rights legislation since 1875. Master of the Senate, told with an abundance of rich detail that could only have come from Caro’s peerless research, is both a galvanizing portrait of the man himself-the titan of Capital Hill, volcanic, mesmerizing-and a definitive and revelatory study of the workings and personal and legislative power. Review “A wonderful, a glorious tale. . . . It will be hard to equal this amazing book. It reads like a Trollope novel, but not even Trollope explored the ambitions and the gullibilities of men as deliciously as Robert Caro does. Even though I knew what the outcome of a particular episode would be, I followed Caro’s account of it with excitement. I went back over chapters to make sure I had not missed a word . . . Caro’s description of how [Johnson passed the civil rights legislation] is masterly; I was there and followed the course of the legislation closely, but I did not know the half of it.” -Anthony Lewis, The New York Times Book Review “A masterpiece . . . Robert Caro has written one of the truly great political biographies of the modern age.” -Daniel Finkelstein, The Times (London) “Mesmerizing. . . . [It] brings LBJ blazing into the Senate. . . . A tale rife with drama and hypnotic in the telling. The historian’s equivalent of a Mahler symphony.” -Malcolm Jones, Newsweek “Caro’s immersion in the man and pe...

-Titulo Original : Isaac Newton-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Isaac Newton was born in a stone farmhouse in 1642, fatherless and unwanted by his mother. When he died in London in 1727 he was so renowned he was given a state funeral-an unheard-of honor for a subject whose achievements were in the realm of the intellect. During the years he was an irascible presence at Trinity College, Cambridge, Newton imagined properties of nature and gave them names-mass, gravity, velocity-things our science now takes for granted. Inspired by Aristotle, spurred on by Galileo’s discoveries and the philosophy of Descartes, Newton grasped the intangible and dared to take its measure, a leap of the mind unparalleled in his generation.James Gleick, the author of Chaos and Genius, and one of the most acclaimed science writers of his generation, brings the reader into Newton’s reclusive life and provides startlingly clear explanations of the concepts that changed forever our perception of bodies, rest, and motion-ideas so basic to the twenty-first century, it can truly be said: We are all Newtonians. Review The biography of choice. . . . Newton the man emerges from the shadows.--The New York Times Book Review“Succinct, elegant. . . . A sharp, beautifully written introduction to the man. --The Wall Street Journal “A masterpiece of brevity and concentration. Isaac Newton sees its angular subject in the round, presenting him as scientist and magician, believer and heretic, monster and man. . . . It will surely stand as the definitive study for a very long time to come. Fortunate Newton!” --John Banville, The Guardian“Gleick [is] a clever tour guide to the minds of great geniuses. . . .Isaac Newtonsheds new light on the difficult personality of a deeply enigmatic figure.” --Seattle Post-Intellignceer“Elegant, jewel-like…he does not waste a word… Gleick has given us the man and his mind in their full crazyness.” --The New York Times“A compelling page-turner. . . . Gleick [is] a clever tour guide to the minds of great geniuses. Isaac Newton sheds new light on the difficult personality of a deeply enigmatic figure.” --Seattle Post-Intelligencer“Beautifully flesh[es] out the alchemical dialectic, its balancing act between the spiritual and the gross.” -The Boston Globe“An elegantly written, insightful work that brings Newton to life and does him justice. . . . Gleick proves to be not only a sound explicator of Newtons science but also a capable literary stylist, whose understated empathy with his subject lets us almost see through Newtons eyes.” -Los Angeles Times “The biography of choice for the interested layman. . . . [Gleick] makes this multifaceted life remarkably accessible.” --The New York Times Book Review“For the casual reader with a serious interest in Newton’s life and work, I recommend Gleick’s biography as an excellent place to start. It has three important virtues. It is accurate, it is readable, and it is short…. Gleick has gone back to the original notebooks and brought [Newton] to life.” -Freeman Dyson, The New York Review of Books“The best short life of science’s most perplexing figure.” -New Scientist“Written with enormous enthusiasm and verve and in a style that is often closer to poetry than prose. [Gleick] explains the fundamentals with clarity and grace. His ease with the science is the key to the book’s delight.” -The Economist “[Gleick is] one of the best science writers of our time. . . . He has exhumed from mountains of historical documents and letters a compelling portrait of a man who held the cards of his genius and near madness close to his chest. Gleick’s book [is] hard to put down.” -Toronto Globe and Mail“Brilliant. . . . The great scientist is brought into sharp focus and made more accessible. Highly recommended.” -The Tucson Citizen“Marvellously rich, elegant and poetic. . . . [Gleick’s] great talent is the ability to unravel complex ideas without talking down. Books on Newton abound, but Gleick’s fresh, intimate and beautifully composed acco...

-Titulo Original : Newjack Guarding Sing Sing-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION * An acclaimed journalist sets a new standard for bold, in-depth reporting in this first-hand account of life inside the penal system at Sing Sing.“Newjack is about as good as it gets-by turns gripping, funny, frightening, and sad.” -The Washington Post Book World When Ted Conover’s request to shadow a recruit at the New York State Corrections Officer Academy was denied, he decided to apply for a job as a prison officer himself. The result is an unprecedented work of eyewitness journalism: the account of Conovers year-long passage into storied Sing Sing prison as a rookie guard, or newjack.As he struggles to become a good officer, Conover angers inmates, dodges blows, and attempts, in the face of overwhelming odds, to balance decency with toughness. Through his insights into the harsh culture of prison, the grueling and demeaning working conditions of the officers, and the unexpected ways the job encroaches on his own family life, we begin to see how our burgeoning prison system brutalizes everyone connected with it. An intimate portrait of a world few readers have ever experienced, Newjack is a haunting journey into a dark undercurrent of American life. Review “An amazing book…. The stories are spellbinding and the telling is clear and cold.” -The Washington Post Book World “[Conover] has made us fully part of his experience…. It is hard to imagine any journalist doing this more daringly or effectively.” -The New York Times “A timely, troubling, important book.” -The Baltimore Sun “Newjack is a graphic and troubling window into society’s scrapheap. Conover is to be commended for having the chops to venture where few others would dare go.... An important cautionary tale.” -Los Angeles Times Book Review “Newjack tells the straight skinny on a guard’ s life inside prison without being overly judgmental or cloyingly sentimental. It’ s experimental journalism at its best.” -The Denver Post “A devastating chronicle of the toll prison takes on the prisoners and the keepers of the keys.”-Minneapolis Star Tribune “An incisive and indelible look at the life of a corrections officer and the dark life of the penal system.”-The Dallas Morning News “A fascinating story.... Prison books crowd the shelves, but few tell the story from the point of view of the officers who spend eight hours a day doing time, hoping and praying that they make it home that night, hoping and praying that the job allows them to remain human.” -The San Diego Union-Tribune From the Inside Flap Acclaimed journalist Ted Conover sets a new standard for bold, in-depth reporting in this first-hand account of life inside the penal system.When Conover?s request to shadow a recruit at the New York State Corrections Officer Academy was denied, he decided to apply for a job as a prison officer. So begins his odyssey at Sing Sing, once a model prison but now the state?s most troubled maximum-security facility. The result of his year there is this remarkable look at one of America?s most dangerous prisons, where drugs, gang wars, and sex are rampant, and where the line between violator and violated is often unclear. As sobering as it is suspenseful, Newjack is an indispensable contribution to the urgent debate about our country?s criminal justice system, and a consistently fascinating read. From the Back Cover Acclaimed journalist Ted Conover sets a new standard for bold, in-depth reporting in this first-hand account of life inside the penal system. When Conovers request to shadow a recruit at the New York State Corrections Officer Academy was denied, he decided to apply for a job as a prison officer. So begins his odyssey at Sing Sing, once a model prison but now the states most troubled maximum-security facility. The result of his year there is this remarkable look at one of Americas most dangerous prisons, where drugs, gang wars, and sex are r...

-Titulo Original : The Warburgs The Twentieth-century Odyssey Of A Remarkable Jewish Family-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: From the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestselling author of Alexander Hamilton, the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical, comes this definitive biography of the Warburgs, one of the great German-Jewish banking families of the twentieth century.Bankers, philanthropists, scholars, socialites, artists, and politicians, the Warburgs stood at the pinnacle of German (and, later, of German-American) Jewry. They forged economic dynasties, built mansions and estates, assembled libraries, endowed charities, and advised a German kaiser and two American presidents. But their very success made the Warburgs lightning rods for anti-Semitism, and their sense of patriotism became increasingly dangerous in a Germany that had declared Jews the enemy.Ron Chernows hugely fascinating history is a group portrait of a clan whose members were renowned for their brilliance, culture, and personal energy yet tragically vulnerable to the dark and irrational currents of the twentieth century. Review “A twentieth-century epic [told] with authority, sympathy, and panache. . . . Important, fascinating, and moving.” -The Washington Post Book World“Excellent. . . . An enthralling story, told with a novelist’s zest.” -The New York Times Book Review“Splendid. . . . Chernow does a wonderful job fleshing out the lives of the major characters in this family drama.” -The Wall Street Journal “[Ron Chernow] has surpassed himself in this absorbing chronicle.” -The New Yorker “This is grand-scale scholarship. . . . It is all here, along with so much of the painful, tumultuous history of our time, all in one splendid book.” -David McCullough, author of The Wright Brothers“Ron Chernow’s blockbuster history traces the heart-rending saga of this German-Jewish banking family. . . . Despite his scrupulous documentation of sources, Chernow is never less than readable. A graceful and lucid writer, he offers old-fashioned narrative in the grand style.” -Newsday “The history of a fascinating family. . . . What we learn about in this book is people. . . . Chernow is very good at bringing them to life. He has a sharp eye for detail. . . . One can open the book anywhere and enjoy it.” -The New Republic “Ron Chernow . . . has made the stories of these four brothers the cornerstones of a dark, though not quite tragic, family saga. [He is] a graceful writer with an eye for the telling anecdote. . . . The result is a book of considerable pathos and immediacy. . . . Through his portrait of this complex dynastic organism, he sheds interesting light on various larger historical themes.” -The Boston Globe “Excellent family history. . . . This chronicle of one of the most important banking families in history tells us much about the people. . . . A great, and lengthy, saga.” -The Times (London) “The Warburgs stand revealed as a family more fortune-kissed, fated and fascinating even than the Kennedys, and . . . just as important . . . and now their story has been ably told.” -The New York Daily News About the Author Ron Chernow’s bestselling books include The House of Morgan, winner of the National Book Award; The Warburgs, which won the George S. Eccles Prize; The Death of the Banker; Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Washington: A Life, which received the Pulitzer Prize for Biography; and Alexander Hamilton, nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and adapted into the award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton. Chernow has served as president of PEN American Center and has received seven honorary doctoral degrees. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Jews settled as far north as the Rhineland after the Romans destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70. Far from feeling alien, these winegrowers and craftsmen felt rooted in Germanic soil. But their pastoral idyll was shattered by the religious zealotry of the eleventh century....

-Titulo Original : A Midwifes Tale The Life Of Martha Ballard, Based On Her Diary, 1785-1812-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * Drawing on the diaries of one woman in eighteenth-century Maine, A truly talented historian unravels the fascinating life of a community that is so foreign, and yet so similar to our own (The New York Times Book Review).Between 1785 and 1812 a midwife and healer named Martha Ballard kept a diary that recorded her arduous work (in 27 years she attended 816 births) as well as her domestic life in Hallowell, Maine. On the basis of that diary, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich gives us an intimate and densely imagined portrait, not only of the industrious and reticent Martha Ballard but of her society. At once lively and impeccably scholarly, A Midwifes Tale is a triumph of history on a human scale. From Publishers Weekly The diary of a midwife and herbalist reveals the prevalence of violence, crime and premarital sex in rural 18th-century New England. Fleshing out this midwifes bare entries with interpretive essays . . . Ulrich marvelously illuminates womens status, the history of medicine and daily life in the early Republic, said PW . Illustrated. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review A truly talented historian unravels the fascinating life of a community that is so foreign, and yet so similar to our own. -The New York Times Book ReviewExpertly executed and endlessly interesting. An offbeat gem of scholarship. -Washington Post Book WorldA marvelously nuanced, subtle, and unillusioned portrayal of one womans life in early America. It has the makings of a classic. -Stephen Innes, University of VirginiaIt takes a historian of extraordinary persistence, skill, and empathy to recognized [Martha Ballards] diary as something of a buried treasure and to painstakingly unearth its gems.... Ulrich has recognized Ballards great spirit, and has given to us the gift of a life worth knowing. -Philadelphia Inquirer From the Publisher A major source through which we can vicariously experience the rural life of early New England. --Carl N. Degler, The New York Times Book Review From the Inside Flap Drawing on the diaries of a midwife and healer in eighteenth-century Maine, this intimate history illuminates the medical practices, household economies, religious rivalries, and sexual mores of the New England frontier. From the Back Cover Drawing on the diaries of a midwife and healer in eighteenth-century Maine, this intimate history illuminates the medical practices, household economies, religious rivalries, and sexual mores of the New England frontier. About the Author LAUREL THATCHER ULRICH was born in Sugar City, Idaho. She holds degrees from the University of New Hampshire, University of Utah, and Simmons College. She is 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard University and past president of the American Historical Association. As a MacArthur Fellow, Ulrich worked on the PBS documentary based on her Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Midwifes Tale. Her work is also featured on an award-winning website called dohistory.org. She is immediate past president of the Mormon History Association. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

-Titulo Original : An Odyssey A Father, A Son, And An Epic-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: A New York Times/PBS NewsHour Book Club PickFrom award-winning memoirist and critic, and bestselling author of The Lost: a deeply moving tale of a father and sons transformative journey in reading--and reliving--Homers epic masterpiece.When eighty-one-year-old Jay Mendelsohn decides to enroll in the undergraduate Odyssey seminar his son teaches at Bard College, the two find themselves on an adventure as profoundly emotional as it is intellectual. For Jay, a retired research scientist who sees the world through a mathematicians unforgiving eyes, this return to the classroom is his one last chance to learn the great literature hed neglected in his youth--and, even more, a final opportunity to more fully understand his son, a writer and classicist. But through the sometimes uncomfortable months that the two men explore Homers great work together--first in the classroom, where Jay persistently challenges his sons interpretations, and then during a surprise-filled Mediterranean journey retracing Odysseuss famous voyages--it becomes clear that Daniel has much to learn, too: Jays responses to both the text and the travels gradually uncover long-buried secrets that allow the son to understand his difficult father at last. As this intricately woven memoir builds to its wrenching climax, Mendelsohns narrative comes to echo the Odyssey itself, with its timeless themes of deception and recognition, marriage and children, the pleasures of travel and the meaning of home. Rich with literary and emotional insight, An Odyssey is a renowned author-scholars most triumphant entwining yet of personal narrative and literary exploration.Named a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, Library Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, and NewsdayA Kirkus Best Memoir of 2017Shortlisted for the 2017 Baillie Gifford Prize Review “Subtle, profoundly moving . . . an intricately constructed, multidimensional journey of a father and son and their travails through life and love. Mendelsohn weaves his basket with many wands; the complexity seems natural, an account of the quality of life itself, a route to revelation. Mendelsohn explicates the Odyssey with exemplary and generous clarity. A book of shimmering, beautiful, dapple-skilled intelligence.” -Adam Nicolson, The New York Times Book Review “Rich, vivid, a blood-warm book . . . a deeply moving tale of a father and son’s transformative journey in reading-and reliving-the Odyssey. Mendelsohn wears his learning lightly yet superbly. What catches you off guard about this memoir is how moving it is: it has many things to say not only about Homer’s epic poem, but about fathers and sons. Mendelsohn has written a book that’s accessible to nearly any curious reader. The book partakes of at least four genres: classroom drama; travel writing; biographical memoir; literary criticism. Revealing and funny . . . Mendelsohn makes Homer’s epic shine in your mind.” -Dwight Garner, The New York Times “My favorite classicist once again combines meticulous literary investigation with warm and wrenching human emotion-books like these are why I love reading.” -Lee Child “Poignant, tender, affecting. . . . Mendelsohn is one of the finest critics writing today; he’s also an elegant and moving memoirist. One of the pleasures of reading him in any genre is being in expert hands. Mendelsohn’s new book draws on all his talents as he braids critical exegeses into intimate reminiscences, to illuminate them both. In An Odyssey, a seminar at Bard College becomes a voyage of discovery, not just for his students but also for Mendelsohn. He is alert to ambiguities, aware that the path to any truth is a winding one; his defining skill is his ability to trace those paths in rich detail and intricate layers of revelations that build to a deeper understanding-of art, of life-that is humanly and artistically satisfying. Mendelsohn’s use of the classical Greek technique of ring composition perfectly captures the...

-Titulo Original : Who Killed These Girls? The Unsolved Murders That Rocked A Texas Town-Fabricante : Vintage-Descripcion Original: Review Gripping, moving, and as good as any depiction of a murder case since In Cold Blood. . . . This transcends the genre. Brilliant. -Ann Patchett“A true-crime page-turner. . . . Lowry exhausts every possible scenario behind the shocking, unsolved quadruple murder . . . and offers a theory on what really happened.” -New York Post“Deeply compassionate . . . An agonizing portrait. . . . We’re fortunate to have [Lowry] as our investigator, our cultural historian, our mourner.” -Austin Chronicle“Heartfelt. . . . Chillingly concise. . . . Lowry works the case from a human rather than a forensic angle.”-The New York Times Book Review“A page turner. . . . A very real reminder that horror isn’t just a fictional genre. . . . Lowry lets no detail escape her literary light. . . .These murders shook a city and are sure to haunt you long after you set the book aside.” -Bust “A story of pain and loss, and how one heinous act that takes four lives … destroys so many others. . . . In its swift pacing, intimate peeks into the characters’ lives, and deep research and reportage, Who Killed These Girls? features everything we wish for in a book about an event we wish had never happened.” -Los Angeles Review of Books “Gripping . . . well-researched and thought provoking. . . . A terror-filled thrill ride which is captivating from start to finish.” -New York Journal of Books “Beverly Lowry is rapidly becoming the Zola of Central Texas. Her character studies only get better.” -Larry McMurtry “A true-crime page-turner.... Lowry exhausts every possible scenario behind the shocking, unsolved quadruple murder ... and offers a theory on what really happened.” -New York PostGripping, moving, and as good as any depiction of a murder case since In Cold Blood.... Brilliant. -Ann Patchett, award-winning, bestselling author The facts are brutally straightforward. On December 6, 1991, the naked, bound-and-gagged, burned bodies of four girls-each one shot in the head-were found in a frozen yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. Grief, shock, and horror overtook the city. But after eight years of misdirected investigations, only two suspects (teenagers at the time of the crime) were tried; their convictions were later overturned and detectives are still working on what is now a very cold case. The story has grown to include DNA technology, coerced false confessions, and other developments in crime and punishment. But this story belongs to the scores of people involved, and from them Beverly Lowry has fashioned a riveting saga that reads like a novel, heart-stopping and thoroughly engrossing. About the Author BEVERLY LOWRY is the author of six novels and three previous works of nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in the The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Mississippi Review, Granta, and many other publications. She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Texas Institute of Letters, and the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. She lives in Austin, Texas. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. December 6, 1991When the call came in, Austin Police Department’s Sgt. John Winston Jones was the only homicide cop on the street. That’s how small and safe a city Austin was back then. Close to midnight on a Friday night and Jones was it. When his mobile rang the first time, he was on the other side of town, at Airport and Martin Luther King boulevards, following up an earlier call, a guy who’d barricaded himself inside a building and was threatening to kill himself.Jones punched in.“Two fatalities,” the dispatcher told him, “suspected arson, suspected homicide, looks like gunshot wounds.” And he gave him the address: I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!, 2949 West Anderson Lane. Everything about that night was unusual, including the fact that two people had ridden out with Jones, a reporter and photographer ...