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Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season
by Robert LusetichThe definitive chronicle of the most stunning year in the legendary career of Tiger Woods, when the world's greatest golfer returned to competitive play following major knee surgery--only to have his personal life unravel in the public spotlight at year's end. Who is the real Tiger Woods? The unbeatable, indomitable, and ultimate competitor? The husband and father who cares more about his family than anything else? Or the supremely confident controller who thought fierce management of his image and those around him would allow him to lead a double life? In Unplayable, veteran journalist Robert Lusetich offers an in-depth look at the world's most recognizable yet least known athlete, Tiger Woods. Lusetich, who first interviewed Woods in the late 1990s and has written about him since 1996, was the only writer to cover every PGA Tour event the world's number one golfer played in 2009. Unplayable tells of the unfolding of Tiger's most pivotal season on the golf course-- with his first ever hiatuses from professional play--and provides extensive reporting and the backstory to show who the most elusive man in all of sports really is. Lusetich peels away the layers of the Woods persona to create a portrait that is neither unsympathetic nor hesitant to shed light on Tiger's shortcomings. This rich, insightful account reveals: what actually makes Woods the game's dominant player; how his upbringing influenced who he is today and how he has changed over time; and the nature of his relationships with his family, former and current friends, celebrity athletes, peers, coaches, sports agents, sponsors, and the media and public itself. Based on one-of-a-kind access, Unplayable is a gripping look at the man who changed golf and inspired more fans around the world than anyone else in the history of the sport.
Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season
by Robert LusetichSince his professional debut in 1996, Tiger Woods has reigned as the world's greatest living golfer, having single-handedly increased the popularity of the game and become one of the most recognized faces in the world. His major knee surgery in 2008 and his subsequent extended absence from professional play have raised questions about whether he will be able to return to the same level of play and fulfil his destiny that had before appeared all but assured. However, more than just Tiger's legacy hangs in the balance - his continued winning is crucial for the entire sport, so the stakes are huge for fans, the pro tour, the networks, sponsors, not to mention all the individuals and businesses that make a living off golf. Journalist Robert Lusetich will follow Woods throughout the year at the tournaments he plays and interview tournament directors, agents, caddies, PGA Tour officials, sponsors, rival players and those inside Woods' camp to present a behind-the-scenes insider look at how the season unfolds. In addition to providing what is sure to be a compelling narrative of the tournament highlights, Lusetich will portray the tensions and atmosphere that happen off the course. Woods has been compared to Secretariat because of his awesome capacity to win, no matter the odds, but if his comeback succeeds, perhaps the better equine analogy would be to Seabiscuit; the people's champion of the 1930s who inspired a nation down on its luck. Woods has rarely disappointed, and there is good reason to believe that 2009 will end as a remarkable year for Woods and his many fans.
Unplugged: My Journey into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction
by Dr. Ryan G. Van CleaveWARNING: This video game may impair your judgment. It may cause sleep deprivation, alienation of friends and family, weight loss or gain, neglect of one's basic needs as well as the needs of loved ones and/or dependents, and decreased performance on the job. The distinction between fantasy and reality may become blurred. Play at your own risk. Not responsible for suicide attempts, whether failed or successful. No such warning was included on the latest and greatest release from the Warcraft series of massive multiplayer on-line role-playing games (MMORPGs)—World of Warcraft (WoW). So when Ryan Van Cleave—a college professor, husband, father, and one of the 11.5 million Warcraft subscribers worldwide—found himself teetering on the edge of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, he had no one to blame but himself. He had neglected his wife and children and had jeopardized his livelihood, all for the rush of living a life of high adventure in a virtual world. Ultimately, Ryan decided to live, but not for the sake of his family or for a newly found love of life: he had to get back home for his evening session of Warcraft. A fabulously written and gripping tale, Unplugged takes us on a journey through Ryan's semi-reclusive life with video games at the center of his experiences. Even when he was sexually molested by a young school teacher at age eleven, it was the promise of a new video game that lured him to her house. As Ryan's life progresses, we witness the evolution of videogames—from simple two-button consoles to today's complicated multi-key technology, brilliantly designed to keep the user actively participating. As is the case with most recovering addicts, Ryan eventually hits rock bottom and shares with the reader his ongoing battle to control his impulses to play, providing prescriptive advice and resources for those caught in the grip of this very real addiction.
The Unsociable Sociability of Women’s Lifewriting
by Anne Collett Louise D’arcensWhen Christine de Pizan described herself in 1405 as 'femme a part', she expressed a divided sense of identity that has echoed throughout women's life-writing up to the present day. In these three words Christine captures the uneasy relationship between the female self that is a part of communities and the self that stands apart from them. Christine anticipates Kant's concept of unsociable sociability in which 'an inclination to associate with others' weighs against 'a strong propensity to isolate one]self from others'. It is this complex sense of self seeking to belong yet yearning for solitude and distinction that is at the heart of this volume's exploration of women's life writing. Offering a cross-cultural and cross-historical emphasis, it makes a distinctive contribution to current debates on women's life-writing. Its emphasis on unsociable sociability offers a timely, provocative response to the established notion of the female self as a 'relational subject'. "
Unsung Ordinary Men: A Generation Like No Other
by Sally DingoAfter spending over three years in the horrific prisoner-of-war camps, including those along the Thai-Burma Railway, Sally Dingo's father Max was one of the fortunate ones: he came home. And yet, like most of the 22,000 Australian POWs of the Japanese, he would not, or could not, talk about what happened with those closest to him. It is also the story of Max's father Mort, who had served in World War I, the story of Max's cobbers - the perhaps unique community of ex-POWs who kept each other going - and the story of the mothers, wives and children who tried to understand what their men were still going through, decades later. This is the story of men, unsung and ordinary, who defended their country and were reluctant to tell the tale.
Up from Slavery: An Autobiography
by Booker T. Washington Ishmael Reed"Up From Slavery" is the classic autobiography of one of the most controversial figures in American history, Booker T. Washington. It recounts Washington's rise from a Virginia tobacco farm slave to his long standing tenure as President of the famed Tuskegee Institute of Alabama. Washington's message is one of the advancement of African Americans through economic empowerment for as he put it, "the individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of his race." His message of self-empowerment has been a dramatic force in the fight for racial equality and shall forever be remembered in the annals of American history.
Up from the Projects: An Autobiography
by Walter E. WilliamsNationally syndicated columnist and prolific author Walter E. Williams recalls some of the highlights and turning points of his life. From his lower middle class beginnings in a mixed but predominantly black neighborhood in West Philadelphia to his department chair at George Mason University, Williams tells an "only in America" story of a life of achievement.
Up Tunket Road
by Philip Ackerman-LeistEver since Thoreau's Walden, the image of the American homesteader has been of someone getting away from civilization, of forging an independent life in the country. Yet if this were ever true, what is the nature and reality of homesteading in the media-saturated, hyper-connected 21st century? For seven years Philip Ackerman-Leist and his wife, Erin, lived without electricity or running water in an old cabin in the beautiful but remote hills of western New England. Slowly forging their own farm and homestead, they took inspiration from their experiences among the mountain farmers of the Tirolean Alps and were guided by their Vermont neighbors, who taught them about what it truly means to live sustainably in the postmodern homestead-not only to survive, but to thrive in a fragmented landscape and a fractured economy. Up Tunket Roadis the inspiring true story of a young couple who embraced the joys of simple living while also acknowledging its frustrations and complexities. Ackerman-Leist writes with humor about the inevitable foibles of setting up life off the grid-from hauling frozen laundry uphill to getting locked in the henhouse by their ox. But he also weaves an instructive narrative that contemplates the future of simple living. His is not a how-to guide, but something much richer and more important-a tale of discovery that will resonate with readers who yearn for a better, more meaningful life, whether they live in the city, country, or somewhere in between.
The Upgrade: A Cautionary Tale of a Life Without Reservations
by Paul CarrThe incredible true story of living as a modern-day nomad.Bored, broke and struggling to survive in one of the most expensive cities on earth, Paul Carr realises that it would actually be cheaper to live in a hotel in Manhattan than in his one-bedroom London flat. Inspired by that possibility, he decides to sell most of his possessions, abandon his old life and spend a year living entirely without commitments.Thanks to Paul's highly developed blagging skills, what begins as a one-year experiment soon becomes a permanent lifestyle - a life lived in luxury hotels and mountain-top villas. A life of fast cars, Hollywood actresses and Icelandic rock stars. And, most bizarrely of all, a life that still costs less than surviving on cold pizza in London. Yet, as word of Paul's exploits starts to spread - first online, then through a newspaper column and a book deal - he finds himself forced to up the stakes in order to keep things interesting. With his behaviour spiralling to dangerous levels, he is forced to ask the question: is there such a thing as too much freedom?
Uptown/Downtown in Old Charleston: Sketches and Stories
by Louis D. Rubin Jr.A series of semi-autobiographical sketches and stories detailing life in Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1930s and ‘40s.Growing up in Charleston in the 1930s and 1940s, accomplished storyteller Louis Rubin witnessed the subtle gradations of caste and class among neighborhoods, from south of Broad Street where established families and traditional mores held sway, to the various enclaves of Uptown, in which middle-class and blue-collar families went about their own diverse lives and routines. In Uptown/Downtown in Old Charleston, Rubin draws on autobiography and imagination in briskly paced renderings of his native Charleston that capture the atmosphere of the Holy City during an era when the population had not yet swelled above sixty-five thousand. Rubin’s wide-eyed narrator takes readers on excursions to Adger’s Wharf, the Battery, Union Terminal, the shops of King Street, the Majestic Theater, the College of Charleston, and other recognizable landmarks. With youthful glee he watches the barges and shrimp trawlers along the waterfront, rides streetcars down Rutledge Avenue and trains to Savannah and Richmond, paddles the Ashley River in a leaky homemade boat, pitches left-handed for the youngest team in the Twilight Baseball League, ponders the curious chanting coming from the Jewish Community Center, and catches magical glimpses of the Morris Island lighthouse from atop the Folly Beach Ferris wheel. His fascination with the gas-electric Boll Weevil train epitomizes his appreciation for the freedom of movement between the worlds of Uptown and Downtown that defines his youth in Charleston.This collection ends with a homecoming to Charleston by our narrator, then a young man in his early twenties, as his inbound train is greeted by familiar vistas of the city as well as by views he had never encountered before. This is the city Rubin called home, where there were always surprising discoveries to be found both in the burgeoning newness of Uptown and the storied legacies of Downtown.“Uptown/Downtown in Old Charleston is about a city in some ways larger that the state in which it resides. The book is also about memory and boyhood and baseball and boats and trains and family—and it packs a great wallop because it’s written by one of the country’s finest writers. These nine stories are among the best nine innings of history you’ll ever read.” —Clyde Edgerton“Louis Rubin brings the city to life with his insider guide to a secret Charleston too often overlooked in the carriage tours and guidebooks of today. Rubin allows you to enter the soul of the real Charleston, revealing its essence and depth. A wonderful, necessary book.” —Pat Conroy, author of South of Broad
Valley Forge: A Novel (George Washington Series #2)
by Newt Gingrich William R. ForstchenA riveting, personal look at one of our country's first heroes in the second captivating novel of the George Washington series by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, the New York Times bestselling authors of To Try Men's SoulsIt's the winter of 1777, a year after Washington's triumphant surprise attack on Trenton, and the battered, demoralized Continental Army retreats from Philadelphia. At Valley Forge, they discover that their requests for supplies have been ignored by Congress. With no other options, for weeks the army freezes under tents in the bitter cold. The men are on the point of collapse, while in Philadelphia the British live in luxury. In spite of the suffering, Washington endures, joined by a volunteer from Germany, Baron Friederich von Steuben. With precious little time, von Steuben begins recasting the army as a professional corps capable of facing the British head-on—something it has never accomplished before—in the process changing the course of history. Valley Forge is a compelling, painstakingly researched tour-de-force novel about survival, transformation, and rebirth. It chronicles the unique crucible of time and place where Washington and his army, against all odds, were forged into the force that would win a revolution and found the United States of America.
A Very Famous Social Worker
by Greg JohnsonWhen Greg Johnson was interviewing for a job at a mental health center his interview was interrupted by a police officer with a naked woman in tow. "I was looking for an adventure," he says, "and this looked like it." In A Very Famous Social Worker, the author recounts with insight and humor his experiences as a rookie social worker in West Virginia's Greenbrier Valley. His unlikely parade of clients include a preacher whose wildly rebellious children are threatening to bring down his ministry, a teenage underwear fetishist, a man obsessed with Dolly Parton, and a schizophrenic poet. He goes the extra mile, often literally, teaching a client to drive, transporting an inebriated musician to rehab, and navigating a winding country road with a three-tiered wedding cake. Engaging and entertaining, A Very Famous Social Worker sheds light on a profession practiced by 600,000 Americans that remains little known to the general public.
A Very Fine Commander': The Memories of General Sir Horatius Murray GCB KBE DSO
by John DonovanThe contrast between soldiering in peace and war is well illustrated by Nap Murrays experiences. It took him 16 years to reach the substantive rank of Major in 1938 but by 1944 he was an acting Lieutenant General.His fascinating memoirs, skillfully edited by his nephew, cover an extraordinary career from young officer service in India, China and Egypt, his experiences with the German Army in 1937 before the dramas of WW2. His accounts of action and injury in the early war years in France, North Africa, Sicily and Normandy, prepare the reader for Murrays long and distinguished record as a Divisional commander in Italy, Palestine, Catterick and finally the Commonwealth Division in Korea. It was Monty himself who described Murray as A Very Fine Commander praise indeed, a memoir can be very revealing about the character of its author. Entirely free of self-aggrandisement or pride this book leaves the reader unsurprised at the success and popularity of its author.
A Very Irregular Head: The Life of Syd Barrett
by Rob ChapmanSyd Barrett was the lead guitarist, vocalist, and principle songwriter in the original line up of Pink Floyd. During his brief time with the band (1966-68) he was the driving force behind the unit. After he left the band he made just two further solo albums which were both released in 1970, before withdrawing from public view to lead a quiet, and occasionally troubled life in Cambridge, the town of his birth. Rob Chapman's book will be the first authoritative and exhaustively researched biography of Syd Barrett that fully celebrates his life and legacy as a musician, lyricist and artist, and which highlights the influence that he continues to have over contemporary bands and music fans alike.
Victor Feldbrill: Canadian Conductor Extraordinaire
by Walter PitmanVictor Feldbrill is an account of the life and cultural contribution of one of Canada’s most talented conductors. Born in 1924, he made his Toronto Symphony conducting debut at 18. He went on to become the artistic director of the Winnipeg Symphony, a conductor with the Toronto Symphony, and a guest conductor of virtually every major symphony orchestra in Canada. Feldbrill was also the first conductor-in-residence at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music from 1968 to 1982. However, what really set Feldbrill apart was his limitless enthusiasm and support of Canadian music and young musicians, as well as his insistence on playing the music of Canadian composers despite the reluctance of some orchestral managers and the initial opposition of audiences at the time. In doing so he reached out to young people and trained many to take their places as members of Canadian orchestras from coast to coast.
Victoria And Her Court
by Virginia SchompThis series of books explores what is perhaps the most dynamic era in the history of England.
Victory Road
by Roger Penske Helio CastronevesThe Indianapolis 500 champion and winner of season five's Dancing with the Stars shares his heartfelt story about determination, family, justice, and beating all odds to win. With his signature victory celebration of climbing the fence after taking the checkered flag and his radiant performances that earned him the coveted crystal ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars, Helio's infectious enthusiasm garnered the admiration of millions of fans-both on and off the track. Therefore no one, including him, could have predicted that one day he would sit in a federal court along with his sister/manager facing 10 years in jail. After his grueling trial-where justice prevailed and charges were dropped-Helio learned more than ever before about his family, true friends, faith, and the road to victory. In this book, Helio Castroneves tells his resilient story about his greatest accomplishments, most devastating experiences, becoming a father, and valuing what is truly important in life.
Vietnamerica: A Family's Journey
by GB TranA superb new graphic memoir in which an inspired artist/storyteller reveals the road that brought his family to where they are today: Vietnamerica GB Tran is a young Vietnamese American artist who grew up distant from (and largely indifferent to) his family&’s history. Born and raised in South Carolina as a son of immigrants, he knew that his parents had fled Vietnam during the fall of Saigon. But even as they struggled to adapt to life in America, they preferred to forget the past—and to focus on their children&’s future. It was only in his late twenties that GB began to learn their extraordinary story. When his last surviving grandparents die within months of each other, GB visits Vietnam for the first time and begins to learn the tragic history of his family, and of the homeland they left behind. In this family saga played out in the shadow of history, GB uncovers the root of his father&’s remoteness and why his mother had remained in an often fractious marriage; why his grandfather had abandoned his own family to fight for the Viet Cong; why his grandmother had had an affair with a French soldier. GB learns that his parents had taken harrowing flight from Saigon during the final hours of the war not because they thought America was better but because they were afraid of what would happen if they stayed. They entered America—a foreign land they couldn&’t even imagine—where family connections dissolved and shared history was lost within a span of a single generation.In telling his family&’s story, GB finds his own place in this saga of hardship and heroism. Vietnamerica is a visually stunning portrait of survival, escape, and reinvention—and of the gift of the American immigrants&’ dream, passed on to their children. Vietnamerica is an unforgettable story of family revelation and reconnection—and a new graphic-memoir classic.
A Voice from Old New York: A Memoir of My Youth
by Louis AuchinclossAn &“entertaining and occasionally even moving&” personal recollection by the lawyer, historian, and renowned chronicler of old-money WASP society (The Boston Globe). At the time of his death, Louis Auchincloss—enemy of bores, self-pity, and stale gossip—had just finished taking on a subject he had long avoided: himself. His memoir confirms that, despite the spark of his fiction, Auchincloss himself was the most entertaining character he ever created. No traitor to his class, but occasionally its critic, Auchincloss returns to his insular society, which he maintains was less interesting than its members admitted—and unfurls his life with dignity, summoning family (particularly his father, who suffered from depression and forgave him for hating sports) and intimates. Brooke Astor and her circle are here, along with glimpses of Jacqueline Onassis. Most memorable, though, is Auchincloss&’s way with those outside the salon: the cranky maid; the maiden aunt, perpetually out of place; the less-than-well-born boy who threw himself from a window over a woman and a man. Above all, here is what it was like to be Auchincloss, an American master, a New York Times–bestselling novelist, and a rare, generous, lively spirit to the end. &“[Auchincloss] concentrates on bringing back to life—literary alchemy, after all—the people who loved him: his mother, father, aunts, uncles, school friends and colleagues. He understands how lucky he was to have them, and &‘A Voice From Old New York&’ is his thank-you note.&” —The New York Times
The Voice of Conscience: The Church in the Mind of Martin Luther King, Jr
by Lewis V. BaldwinIn this book, Lewis V. Baldwin contends that King was fundamentally a man of the church. Beginning with King's roots in Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, Baldwin traces the evolution of King's attitude toward the church through his college, seminary, graduate school, and civil rights years. The emphasis is on King's concept of the church as "the voice of conscience. " Baldwin persuasively claims that King challenged the church over the need for a higher spiritual and ethical ideal, and that King's moral leadership and eventual martyrdom did much to reestablish the credibility of the church at a time when some theologians were declaring the death of God. Baldwin critiques the contemporary church on the basis of King's prophetic model, and concludes by insisting that this model, not the entrepreneurial spirituality of the contemporary megachurches, embodies the best potential for much-needed church renewal.
The Voices of War: Australians Tell Their Stories From World War I to the Present
by Michael CaulfieldDrawn from engagements ranging from World War I through to operations in East Timor and Iraq, these stories are taken from the Australians at War Film Archive, a collection of the memories of more than 2000 Australians who have served, both on the front line and at home. Some are unbelievably, unbearably tragic, even after sixty or seventy years; others are the golden memories of happy, albeit unusual, times. And, more often than not, they are stories that have never been shared with others, even family members. There are stories from winners of the Victoria Cross; from the POW camps of Asia and Europe; from the patrols of Vietnam, through to those who served as peacekeepers in Rwanda and Somalia. There are stories from nurses, from those who have volunteered to serve with aid agencies and stories of ordinary Australians caught up by circumstances and by duty, in wartime. These are their words.
Voltaire
by Ian DavidsonThe definitive biography of Voltaire's life--from his scandalous love affairs and political maneuverings to his inspired philosophy We think of Voltaire as the archetypal figure of the enlightenment; in his own time he was also the most famous and controversial figure in Europe. This dazzling new biography celebrates his extraordinary life. Davidson tells the whole, rich story of Voltaire's life (1694-1778): his early imprisonment in the Bastille; exile in England and his mastery of English; an obsession with money, of which he made a huge amount; a scandalous love life; a long exile on the borders of Switzerland; his human rights campaigns and his triumphant return to Paris to die there as celebrity extraordinaire. Throughout all of this, Voltaire's life was always informed by two things: a belief in the essential value of toleration in the face of fanaticism; and in the right of every man to think and say what he liked. It is rare to have such a vivid portrait of a great man.
Voltaire: A Life
by Ian DavidsonThe definitive biography of Voltaire's life -- from his scandalous love affairs and political maneuverings to his inspired philosophy. We think of Voltaire as the archetypal figure of the enlightenment; in his own time he was also the most famous and controversial figure in Europe. This dazzling new biography celebrates his extraordinary life. Davidson tells the whole, rich story of Voltaire's life (1694-1778): his early imprisonment in the Bastille; exile in England and his mastery of English; an obsession with money, of which he made a huge amount; a scandalous love life; a long exile on the borders of Switzerland; his human-rights campaigns and his triumphant return to Paris to die there as celebrity extraordinaire. Throughout all of this, Voltaire's life was always informed by two things: a belief in the essential value of toleration in the face of fanaticism; and in the right of every man to think and say what he liked. It is rare to have such a vivid portrait of a great man.
Von Neumann, Morgenstern, and the Creation of Game Theory
by Robert LeonardDrawing on a wealth of new archival material, including personal correspondence and diaries, Robert Leonard tells the fascinating story of the creation of game theory by Hungarian Jewish mathematician John von Neumann and Austrian economist Oskar Morgenstern. Game theory first emerged amid discussions of the psychology and mathematics of chess in Germany and fin-de-sicle Austro-Hungary. In the 1930s, on the cusp of anti-Semitism and political upheaval, it was developed by von Neumann into an ambitious theory of social organization. It was shaped still further by its use in combat analysis in World War II and during the Cold War. Interweaving accounts of the period's economics, science, and mathematics, and drawing sensitively on the private lives of von Neumann and Morgenstern, Robert Leonard provides a detailed reconstruction of a complex historical drama.
W.E.B. Du Bois: Civil Rights Activist, Author, Historian
by Jim WhitingW..E.B. Du Bois's mother came from a long line of free blacks living in the North. His great-grandfather was a white plantation owner whose ancestors came from France. Long before the start of the Civil Rights movement, W.E.B. Du Bois worked tirelessly for black people in this country. He was a brilliant student and became the first black man to receive a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University, and later taught at several black colleges. He realized that teaching wasn't enough. For decades, he wrote, gave speeches, formed organizations, and worked hard toward the cause of social justice. W.E.B. became controversial in the last years of his life. He took political positions that many Americans--both black and white--didn't approve of. But he wouldn't back down or change what he believed in. He felt so strongly about his beliefs that in his old age he moved to the African nation of Ghana, whose people loved and admired him.