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Surf Like A Woman: Becoming World Champ when women weren't welcome on the waves
by Pauline MenczerIn the 80s and 90s, surf culture was toxic, especially towards women. But Pauline Menczer - a dirt-poor, chronically ill, freckle-faced teen from Bondi - defied insults and intimidation to ride the waves. The reason: she simply loved to surf.But when Pauline's determination propelled her onto the pro circuit, her battle for acceptance and equality didn't end there. The endemic sexism of the industry meant prize money for women was a pittance, while sponsors ignored her because she was gay and didn't have the beach babe look. Despite these challenges, Pauline became the 1993 World Champion and played a key role in bringing greater equality to the sport.This is the inspirational story of a true underdog battler, whose fearlessness and grit broke down the door of surfing's boys' club for the next generation of women.
Surviving Alex: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction
by Patricia A. RoosIn 2015, Patricia Roos’s twenty-five-year-old son Alex died of a heroin overdose. Turning her grief into action, Roos, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University, began to research the social factors and institutional failures that contributed to his death. Surviving Alex tells her moving story—and outlines the possibilities of a more compassionate and effective approach to addiction treatment. Weaving together a personal narrative and a sociological perspective, Surviving Alex movingly describes how even children from “good families” fall prey to addiction, and recounts the hellish toll it takes on families. Drawing from interviews with Alex’s friends, family members, therapists, teachers, and police officers—as well as files from his stays in hospitals, rehab facilities, and jails—Roos paints a compelling portrait of a young man whose life veered between happiness, anxiety, success, and despair. And as she explores how a punitive system failed her son, she calls for a community of action that would improve care for substance users and reduce addiction, realigning public health policy to address the overdose crisis.
The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade
by Hannah DurkinJoining the ranks of Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Zora Neale Hurston’s rediscovered classic Barracoon, an immersive and revelatory history of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to land on US soil, told through the stories of its survivors—the last documented survivors of any slave ship—whose lives diverged and intersected in profound ways.The Clotilda, the last slave ship to land on American soil, docked in Mobile Bay, Alabama, in July 1860—more than half a century after the passage of a federal law banning the importation of captive Africans, and nine months before the beginning of the Civil War. The last of its survivors lived well into the twentieth century. They were the last witnesses to the final act of a terrible and significant period in world history.In this epic work, Dr. Hannah Durkin tells the stories of the Clotilda’s 110 captives, drawing on her intensive archival, historical, and sociological research. The Survivors of the Clotilda follows their lives from their kidnappings in what is modern-day Nigeria through a terrifying 45-day journey across the Middle Passage; from the subsequent sale of the ship’s 103 surviving children and young people into slavery across Alabama to the dawn of the Civil Rights movement in Selma; from the foundation of an all-Black African Town (later Africatown) in Northern Mobile—an inspiration for writers of the Harlem Renaissance, including Zora Neale Hurston—to the foundation of the quilting community of Gee’s Bend—a Black artistic circle whose cultural influence remains enormous.An astonishing, deeply compelling tapestry of history, biography, and social commentary, The Survivors of the Clotilda is a tour de force that deepens our knowledge and understanding of the Black experience and of America and its tragic past. The Survivors of the Clotilda includes 30 artworks and photographs.
Sustainability in Creative Industries: Innovations in Fashion and Visual Media—Volume 3 (Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation)
by Muhammad Nawaz Tunio Jorge Miguel Chica Garcia Ayman M. Zakaria Yasmin Moanis Latif HatemIn this volume, sustainable creative industries become a beacon for innovative change, forging a path towards a conscious, harmonious world. This volume offers a panoramic view of the future, where innovations in fashion and visual media blend seamlessly with a commitment to a more sustainable and impactful world. More specifically, this volume explores the compelling interplay of sustainability, creativity, and advocacy, casting a spotlight on the transformative potential within fashion and visual media. It embarks on a journey through the innovative landscapes of fashion, where sustainability takes center stage, through an exploration of genderless mode development, contemporary patterns, and reimagined design strategies that breathe new life into tradition. As readers explore the chapters within, the symbiotic relationship between visual media and sustainability emerges, further delve into the evolution of visual communication design and the potency of Instagram microblogs in shaping perceptions and awareness. Furthermore, the role of design in disseminating critical information during disasters is unveiled and the ways in which narrative methods can ignite meaningful change explored.
Sustainability in Creative Industries: Integrating Design, Culture, and Urban Solutions—Volume 2 (Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation)
by Muhammad Nawaz Tunio Jorge Chica-Olmo Rafael Cano-Guervos Juan Gabriel González Morales Fabio Humberto Sepúlveda Murillo Marina Checa Olivas Ayman M. Zakaria EraqiThis book discusses the dynamic interplay of creativity and sustainability in the realm of design, offering a captivating exploration of innovative practices and their environmental impact. From biomimetic inspirations to biophilic designs, it unveils a spectrum of ideas in sustainable architecture. It further dives into inclusive and creative designs, social sustainability for the elderly amid the pandemic. This book casts a spotlight on the intricate synergy between preserving cultural heritage and fostering creative industries. It explores the profound significance of architectural lighting, the innovative reinterpretation of traditional motifs, and the enduring allure of heritage design within its chapters, creating an engaging and thought-provoking journey. Moreover, it ventures into the Integration of Creative Design in Urban Planning, presenting a futuristic outlook that seamlessly blends technology, sustainability, and human-centric solutions. Designed for a wide audience, including professionals, educators, and students, this book is a compelling resource for those passionate about the intersection of creativity and sustainability. It offers thought-provoking ideas, informative case studies, and a glimpse into the future of design that transcends boundaries.
Sustainable Tourism, Culture and Heritage Promotion: Development, Management and Connectivity (Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation)
by Uglješa Stankov Rui Alexandre Castanho Jorge Chica-Olmo Miroslav Vujičić Eliana MartinelliThis proceedings book explores future prospects of cultural, heritage, and religious tourism and how it can impact the socioeconomic complexity of a community and future developments. It includes chapters on contemporary digital age pilgrimage, digital interpretation as a management strategy, tourism in the era of digital communication, and the role of social media in conserving intangible cultural heritage. This book focuses on policies and mechanisms for heritage preservation. It includes cultural heritage tourism management, how the digitalization of data has impacted and further developed tourism, World Heritage classification in urban tourism destinations, cultural tourism products, and experiences. Moreover, it discusses the sustainable environment and geography in tourism. It covers topics such as ecotourism and rural sustainable development, heritage in socioeconomic sustainable development, and tourists' perceptions of tourism. Anotherpart of the book explores the social and economic impacts of tourism. It includes chapters on cycling tourism along the Elbe, residents' perceptions of the socioeconomic benefits of restaurants, architecture of historical mosques, tourism as a driver of soft power, tourists' perceptions of service quality, tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic, gastronomic narratives in tourism, and residents' perceptions of festivals. Also, it pinpoints the focus on user interaction-based development. It includes chapters on the role of community-led initiatives in heritage revitalization and addressing connectivity issues between historical and natural touristic heritage sites. These research papers provide valuable insights into the multidimensional nature of cultural sustainable tourism, covering a wide range of topics and offering diverse perspectives on its development, management, and impact.
The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
by Karen ValbyA MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until now.&“This is the kind of history I wish I learned as a child dreaming of the stage!&” —Misty Copeland, author of Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy &“Utterly absorbing, flawlessly-researched…Vibrant, propulsive, and inspiring, The Swans of Harlem is a richly drawn portrait of five courageous women whose contributions have been silenced for too long!&” —Tia Williams, author of A Love Song for Ricki WildeAt the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company—the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other&’s chosen family. She was the first Black company ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star; she was cast in The Wiz and in a Bob Fosse production on Broadway. She performed in some of ballet&’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends—founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells.These Swans of Harlem performed for the Queen of England, Mick Jagger, and Stevie Wonder, on the same bill as Josephine Baker, at the White House, and beyond. But decades later there was almost no record of their groundbreaking history to be found. Out of a sisterhood that had grown even deeper with the years, these Swans joined forces again—to share their story with the world.Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of both their historic careers and the sustaining, grounding power of female friendship, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long.
Swing Hard in Case You Hit It: My Escape from Addiction and Shot at Redemption on the Trump Campaign
by Tim MurtaughFrom waking up in jail to flying on Air Force One less than four years later, this is the story of Tim Murtaugh&’s journey from desperate alcoholism to the top of the political world on the 2020 Trump campaign.When he woke up in jail in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 2015, Tim Murtaugh had no way of knowing he&’d be a senior leader on the reelection campaign for the president of the United States less than four years later.What began as a form of high-school amusement quickly became an addiction, which over decades would lead Murtaugh to the edge of ruin. Able to beat the disease of alcoholism only under the threat of losing everything, and with the support of a loving wife and family, Murtaugh managed to recover, revive his career, and make it to the top of the political world.Travel along on the 2020 Trump campaign as Murtaugh shares stories—never published before—from his two years as communications director, navigating a hostile media, the COVID-19 pandemic, highly anticipated debates, Election Day 2020, January 6, and life on the most-watched political campaign in world history.Swing Hard in Case You Hit It is a redemption story unlike any other—from being on the verge of complete self-destruction to flying on Air Force One with President Donald J. Trump—that doesn&’t come with a happy Hollywood ending
T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People
by Ian Karmel Alisa KarmelComedian Ian Karmel, with help from his sister, Dr. Alisa Karmel, opens up about the daily humiliations of being fat and why it&’s so hard to talk about something so visible.&“As charming and funny as it is poignant and thoughtful.&”—Roxane Gay, author of Hunger: A Memoir of (My) BodyIan Karmel has weighed eight pounds and he has weighed 420 pounds and right now he&’s almost exactly in between the two, but this book is not a weight-loss book. It&’s about being a fat person in a skinny world. It&’s about gym class and football practice, about chicken wings and juice cleanses, about airplane seats and roller coasters, about fat jokes and Jabba the Hutt, about crying in the Big and Tall section and the joys of being a sneakerhead, about prediabetes and gout, and about realizing that you actually don&’t want to eat yourself to death and hoping it&’s not too late.This book also includes a &“What Now?&” section from Ian&’s sister, Alisa, who herself cycled through so many fad diets that she eventually pursued a master&’s in nutrition and a doctorate in psychology with the goal of changing the contemporary narrative around fatness.Ian and Alisa Karmel grew up fat. As kids, they never talked about it. They were too busy fighting over the last SnackWell&’s Devil&’s Food cookie. Now, decades later, having both turned into fat adults who eventually figured out how to get their health under control, they are finally ready to unpack the impact that their weight has had on them.For them, the T-Shirt Swim Club is meant to be a place of support for anyone who struggles with weight issues. A place of care and candor, free of shame. A place to not deny or avoid the emotions you feel, the experiences you go through, the embarrassment, the anger, the resentment. T-Shirt Swim Club is about being a fat person and how the world treats fat people—but also an acknowledgment that maybe it doesn&’t always have to feel quite so lonely.
Take Less. Do More.: Surprising Life Lessons in Generosity, Gratitude, and Curiosity from an Ultralight Backpacker
by Glen Van PeskiIn this personal journey, ultra-light backpacker and sought-after speaker Glen Van Peski shares the life lessons he has learned through years of lightening his pack and helping others.Adventures provide the richness and texture to a life well lived. So remain open. Keep saying yes to life's opportunities. Glen Van Peski helped revolutionize backpacking by creating ultralight equipment, which allows people to take less so they can do more in the wilderness. During decades of championing ultralight backpacking, Glen became aware that &“take less, do more&” is more than just a hiking slogan. As he reduced his pack weight, he realized that the lessons learned applied to all areas of life. Now he wants to share the lessons he learned to help others live full and vibrant lives—lives characterized by purpose, meaning, and joy. In this book, you will discover transformative life lessons, which may go against the grain of popular thought but have been proven to change lives for the better. You'll learn that: Often the best strategy for achieving goals comes from subtracting rather than adding. When your first instinct is generosity, the long-term dividends will be greater than if you strive to gain your own advantage. Revising the stories you tell yourself about situations will reframe your life and increase gratitude. By investing creatively in relationships, you will generate more joy in your life. Making friends with failure will cause you to grow and improve. take less. do more. It's a revolutionary idea that will transform your life and free your soul to find your purpose—and maybe a little bit of adventure too.
Tell
by Jonathan BuckleyCo-winner of the 2022 Novel Prize, Tell is an exuberant, intensely fluid, and probing examination of the ways in which we make stories of our own and of other people’s lives A novel of intense, flickering intelligence, Tell is structured as a series of interviews with a woman who worked as a gardener for a wealthy businessman and art collector who has mysteriously disappeared, and may or may not have committed suicide. What might be a gloomy subject is instead alluring, lit from within by a lively deep knowledge of human nature: Buckley's eye for motivations brings to mind a Thomas Hardy for our atomized 21st-century. A thrilling novel of strange, intoxicating immediacy, Tell carries the pleasures of exciting new gossip enjoyed with a rare old cognac by a crackling fire. Calling his work “captivating,” John Banville has asked: “Why isn’t Jonathan Buckley better known?”
Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse
by Brontez Purnell"This book is brutal and brutally honest, but still perversely addictive because Brontez Purnell is a performer in the truest sense. Reading Ten Bridges I've Burnt, I felt tucked-in with him, along for the intimate ride, and paused only once to write down a part I’d been looking for my whole life." —Miranda JulyFrom the beloved author of 100 Boyfriends, a wrenching, sexy, and exhilaratingly energetic memoir in verse.In Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt, Brontez Purnell—the bard of the underloved and overlooked—turns his gaze inward. A storyteller with a musical eye for the absurdity of his own existence, he is peerless in his ability to find the levity within the stormiest of crises. Here, in his first collection of genre-defying verse, Purnell reflects on his peripatetic life, whose ups and downs have nothing on the turmoil within. “The most high-risk homosexual behavior I engage in,” Purnell writes, “is simply existing.”The thirty-eight autobiographical pieces pulsing in Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt find Purnell at his no-holds-barred best. He remembers a vicious brawl he participated in at a poetry conference and reckons with packaging his trauma for TV writers’ rooms; wrestles with the curses, and gifts, passed down from generations of family members; and chronicles, with breathless verve, a list of hell-raising misadventures and sexcapades. Through it all, he muses on everything from love and loneliness to capitalism and Blackness to jogging and the ethics of art, always with unpredictable clarity and movement. With the same balance of wit and wisdom that made 100 Boyfriends a sensation, Purnell unleashes another collection of boundary-pushing writing with Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt, a book as original and thrilling as the author himself.
Terrible Humans: The World's Most Corrupt Super-Villains And The Fight to Bring Them Down
by Patrick Alley'Few people have shown more commitment to investigative journalism than Patrick Alley. His latest book is a vivid, compelling testament to the importance of revealing corruption and wrong-doing and shining a light into dark places, wherever in the world they are.' -Peter Geoghegan, author of Democracy for SaleA small number of people, motivated by an insatiable greed for power and wealth, and backed by a pinstripe army of enablers (and sometimes real armies too), have driven the world to the brink of destruction. They are the super-villains of corruption and war, some with a power greater than nation state and the capacity to derail the world order. Propping up their opulent lifestyles is a mess of crime, violence and deception on a monumental scale. But there is a fightback: small but fearless groups of brilliant undercover sleuths closing in on them, one step at a time.In Terrible Humans, Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and the author of Very Bad People, introduces us to some of the world's worst warlords, grifters and kleptocrats who can be found everywhere from presidential palaces to the board rooms of some of the world's best known companies. Pitted against them, the book also follows the people unravelling the deals, tracking the money and going undercover at great risk. From the oligarch charged with ordering the killing of an investigative journalist to the mercenary army seizing the natural resources of an entire African country, this is a whirlwind tour of the dark underbelly of the world's super powerful and wickedly wealthy, and the daring investigators dragging them into the light.***PRAISE FOR Very Bad People:'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' -The Big Issue'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' -Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase' -David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'Simply riveting. Don't miss it.' -Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'A clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible.' -Irish Times
Terrible Humans: The World's Most Corrupt Super-Villains And The Fight to Bring Them Down
by Patrick Alley'Few people have shown more commitment to investigative journalism than Patrick Alley. His latest book is a vivid, compelling testament to the importance of revealing corruption and wrong-doing and shining a light into dark places, wherever in the world they are.' -Peter Geoghegan, author of Democracy for SaleA small number of people, motivated by an insatiable greed for power and wealth, and backed by a pinstripe army of enablers (and sometimes real armies too), have driven the world to the brink of destruction. They are the super-villains of corruption and war, some with a power greater than nation state and the capacity to derail the world order. Propping up their opulent lifestyles is a mess of crime, violence and deception on a monumental scale. But there is a fightback: small but fearless groups of brilliant undercover sleuths closing in on them, one step at a time.In Terrible Humans, Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and the author of Very Bad People, introduces us to some of the world's worst warlords, grifters and kleptocrats who can be found everywhere from presidential palaces to the board rooms of some of the world's best known companies. Pitted against them, the book also follows the people unravelling the deals, tracking the money and going undercover at great risk. From the oligarch charged with ordering the killing of an investigative journalist to the mercenary army seizing the natural resources of an entire African country, this is a whirlwind tour of the dark underbelly of the world's super powerful and wickedly wealthy, and the daring investigators dragging them into the light.***PRAISE FOR Very Bad People:'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' -The Big Issue'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' -Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase' -David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'Simply riveting. Don't miss it.' -Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'A clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible.' -Irish Times
Terrible Humans: The World's Most Corrupt Super-Villains And The Fight to Bring Them Down
by Patrick Alley'Few people have shown more commitment to investigative journalism than Patrick Alley. His latest book is a vivid, compelling testament to the importance of revealing corruption and wrong-doing and shining a light into dark places, wherever in the world they are.' -Peter Geoghegan, author of Democracy for SaleA small number of people, motivated by an insatiable greed for power and wealth, and backed by a pinstripe army of enablers (and sometimes real armies too), have driven the world to the brink of destruction. They are the super-villains of corruption and war, some with a power greater than nation state and the capacity to derail the world order. Propping up their opulent lifestyles is a mess of crime, violence and deception on a monumental scale. But there is a fightback: small but fearless groups of brilliant undercover sleuths closing in on them, one step at a time.In Terrible Humans, Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and the author of Very Bad People, introduces us to some of the world's worst warlords, grifters and kleptocrats who can be found everywhere from presidential palaces to the board rooms of some of the world's best known companies. Pitted against them, the book also follows the people unravelling the deals, tracking the money and going undercover at great risk. From the oligarch charged with ordering the killing of an investigative journalist to the mercenary army seizing the natural resources of an entire African country, this is a whirlwind tour of the dark underbelly of the world's super powerful and wickedly wealthy, and the daring investigators dragging them into the light.***PRAISE FOR Very Bad People:'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' -The Big Issue'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' -Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase' -David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'Simply riveting. Don't miss it.' -Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'A clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible.' -Irish Times
The Terrifying Realm of the Possible: Nearly True Stories
by Brett GelmanA daring, hilariously neurotic literary debut from the acclaimed actor and comedian Brett Gelman (Stranger Things, Fleabag).Enter the wonderfully weird, always uncomfortable, side-splittingly funny world of The Terrifying Realm of the Possible, where your worst fears of who you are or might become are always just around the corner. In these masterful short stories from the singular mind of the actor and comedian Brett Gelman, you’ll meet five individuals, each navigating a uniquely strange stage of life: - ABRAHAM AMSTERDAM (the child)- MENDEL FREUDENBERGER (the teenager)- JACKIE COHEN (the adult)- IRIS BELOW (the senior)- Z (the dead)Our characters face the big issues; the ones we all face. As they traverse the prickly terrain of morality, family, sex, fame, religion, and death they search for answers to life's unanswerable questions. In the futility of that search comes the absurdity, along with the comedy. The composite portrait is an existential (mis)adventure of Rothian proportions. Gelman's remarkable first book is a bold, unforgettable debut that challenges our assumptions about what it means to be human.
A Texas Pioneer: Early Staging And Overland Freighting Days On The Frontiers Of Texas And Mexico
by August SantlebenStep into the rugged and adventurous world of the American frontier with August Santleben's A Texas Pioneer. This compelling autobiography offers an intimate and vivid account of life in 19th-century Texas, as experienced by one of its most colorful and resilient pioneers.August Santleben, a true frontiersman, recounts his journey from his early days as an immigrant to his ventures across the vast and untamed landscapes of Texas. A Texas Pioneer is rich with personal anecdotes and historical insights, capturing the challenges, dangers, and triumphs of pioneer life. Santleben's engaging narrative brings to life the spirit of exploration and determination that defined the era.Throughout the book, readers will encounter a wide array of experiences, from encounters with Native American tribes and battles with bandits to the daily struggles of ranching and farming. Santleben's detailed descriptions and heartfelt storytelling provide a genuine portrayal of the hardships and rewards of frontier life.A Texas Pioneer, also delves into significant historical events and figures that shaped Texas during the 19th century. Santleben offers a unique perspective on the social, political, and economic developments of the time, making this autobiography not only a personal memoir but also a valuable historical document.This book is an essential read for history enthusiasts, students of American history, and anyone fascinated by the pioneer spirit. August Santleben's A Texas Pioneer is a testament to the courage, ingenuity, and resilience of the individuals who helped shape the American West.Join August Santleben on his incredible journey through the wilds of Texas, and experience the adventures and challenges of a true Texas pioneer. A Texas Pioneer is a timeless and inspiring account that brings the rich history of the Lone Star State to life.
There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish
by Anna AkbariPart memoir, part explosive window into the mind of a catfisher, a thrilling personal account of three women coming face-to-face with an internet predator and teaming up to expose them. In 2011, three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie? Ethan wasn't after money — he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy. After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame's stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could've ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish&’s web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for &“Ethan&” to ever stop. THERE IS NO ETHAN catalogues Akbari's experience as both victim and observer. By looking at the bigger picture of where these stories unfold — a world where technology mediates our relationships; where words and images are easily manipulated; and where truth, reality, and identity have become slippery terms — Akbari gives a page-turning and riveting examination of why stories like Ethan's matter for us all.
There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland
by Steven HydenA thought-provoking exploration of Bruce Springsteen&’s iconic album, Born in the U.S.A.—a record that both chronicled and foreshadowed the changing tides of modern America On June 4, 1984, Columbia Records issued what would become one of the best-selling and most impactful rock albums of all time. An instant classic, Bruce Springsteen&’s Born in the U.S.A. would prove itself to be a landmark not only for the man who made it, but rock music in general and even the larger American culture over the next 40 years. In There Was Nothing You Could Do, veteran rock critic Steven Hyden shows exactly how this record became such a pivotal part of the American tapestry. Alternating between insightful criticism, meticulous journalism, and personal anecdotes, Hyden delves into the songs that made—and didn&’t make—the final cut, including the tracks that wound up on its sister album, 1982&’s Nebraska. He also investigates the myriad reasons why Springsteen ran from and then embraced the success of his most popular (and most misunderstood) LP, as he carefully toed the line between balancing his commercial ambitions and being co-opted by the machine. But the book doesn&’t stop there. Beyond Springsteen&’s own career, Hyden explores the role the album played in a greater historical context, documenting not just where the country was in the tumultuous aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, but offering a dream of what it might become—and a perceptive forecast of what it turned into decades later. As Springsteen himself reluctantly conceded, many of the working-class middle American progressives Springsteen wrote about in 1984 had turned into resentful and scorned Trump voters by the 2010s. And though it wasn&’t the future he dreamed of, the cautionary warnings tucked within Springsteen&’s heartfelt lyrics prove that the chaotic turmoil of our current moment has been a long time coming. How did we lose Springsteen&’s heartland? And what can listening to this prescient album teach us about the decline of our country? In There Was Nothing You Could Do, Hyden takes readers on a journey to find out.
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
by Hanif AbdurraqibA poignant, personal reflection on basketball, life, and home—from the author of the National Book Award finalist A Little Devil in America. <p><P> Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged and countless others weren’t. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of what it means to make it, who we think deserves success, the tension between excellence and expectation, and the very notion of role models, all of which he expertly weaves together with intimate, personal storytelling. “Here is where I would like to tell you about the form on my father’s jump shot,” Abdurraqib writes. “The truth, though, is that I saw my father shoot a basketball only one time.” <p><P> There’s Always This Year is a triumph, brimming with joy, pain, solidarity, comfort, outrage, and hope. No matter the subject of his keen focus—whether it’s basketball, or music, or performance—Hanif Abdurraqib’s exquisite writing is always poetry, always profound, and always a clarion call to radically reimagine how we think about our culture, our country, and ourselves. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
These Foolish Things: A Memoir
by Dylan JonesFew people can say they have shaped the cultural landscape of the last four decades while crossing paths with some of the most extraordinary personalities on the planet. But then, of course, Dylan Jones isn't just anyone.These Foolish Things captivatingly charts Dylan's life: from his peripatetic childhood and late adolescence in 1970s London - a city then alive with possibility - to his award-winning tenure at what would become one of the most dynamic magazines of its era, GQ. It details how he came to be in that hot seat: a journey through the Swinging London slipstreams of punk and new romanticism, and through i-D, The Face and Arena, which created the platform on which GQ was based, with Dylan as a common denominator.Littered with a gold-star cast of characters - including a who's who of celebrity from David Bowie and Bryan Ferry to Alastair Campbell and Prince Charles, via Samuel L. Jackson, Piers Morgan and Rihanna - this memoir reflects on how GQ became an established style and how Dylan sought to stir up music, politics and fashion.Witty, perceptive and deliciously entertaining, but by turns bravely vulnerable, These Foolish Things is a memoir like no other: a dazzling retelling of the start of the twenty-first century from one of the world's most fascinating media giants.
These Foolish Things: A Memoir
by Dylan JonesFew people can say they have shaped the cultural landscape of the last four decades while crossing paths with some of the most extraordinary personalities on the planet. But then, of course, Dylan Jones isn't just anyone.These Foolish Things captivatingly charts Dylan's life: from his peripatetic childhood and late adolescence in 1970s London - a city then alive with possibility - to his award-winning tenure at what would become one of the most dynamic magazines of its era, GQ. It details how he came to be in that hot seat: a journey through the Swinging London slipstreams of punk and new romanticism, and through i-D, The Face and Arena, which created the platform on which GQ was based, with Dylan as a common denominator.Littered with a gold-star cast of characters - including a who's who of celebrity from David Bowie and Bryan Ferry to Alastair Campbell and Prince Charles, via Samuel L. Jackson, Piers Morgan and Rihanna - this memoir reflects on how GQ became an established style and how Dylan sought to stir up music, politics and fashion.Witty, perceptive and deliciously entertaining, but by turns bravely vulnerable, These Foolish Things is a memoir like no other: a dazzling retelling of the start of the twenty-first century from one of the world's most fascinating media giants.
They Were Good Germans Once: My Jewish Émigré Family
by Evelyn Toynton&“This priceless recapturing of darkened history . . . [is] stunningly intelligent and elegantly written . . . Utterly engrossing.&” —Phillip Lopate, author of To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction In this moving collection of essays, Evelyn Toynton, &“a wordsmith of the highest order&” traces her family history, from her mother who left Germany as Hitler came to power to her relatives who escaped after suffering persecution and internment at the hands of the Nazis (Library Journal, starred review). Toynton only fully understood her harrowing genealogy as an adult living in New York, where she first came to terms with her connection to other Jews in America. Growing up, her family was German first, retaining the attitudes and the characteristics of the homeland they still loved and longed for, even as they built new lives in America, Israel, and England. Some, like her father, appeared to assimilate easily, while others never lost the feeling that they were living in exile. Powerfully rendered by an acclaimed author, They Were Good Germans Once is a remarkable account of survival, starting over, and the search for meaning and hope in a world forever altered. &“A poignant memoir . . . The author&’s tone is often elegiac. . . . A thoughtful, notable addition to the literature of the Holocaust.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“With Toynton&’s signature intelligence, subtlety and wit, she describes members of her family—deracinated through no fault of their own—in portraits that are by turns surprising, hilarious and heartbreaking.&” —Lynn Freed, author of The Romance of Elsewhere &“[A] tragic, comic, sharply observed memoir.&” —Carole Angier, author of Speak, Silence: In Search of W.G. Sebald
This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life
by Lyz LenzA deeply validating manifesto on the gender politics of marriage (bad) and divorce (actually pretty good!) in America today, and an argument that the former needs a reboot—from journalist and proud divorcée Lyz Lenz <p><p> Studies show that nearly 70 percent of divorces are initiated by women—women who are tired, fed up, exhausted, and unhappy. We’ve all seen how the media portrays divorcées: sad, lonely, drowning their sorrows in a bottle of wine. Lyz Lenz is one such woman whose life fell apart after she reached a breaking point in her twelve-year marriage. But she refused to take part in that tired narrative and decided to flip the script on divorce. <p><p> In this exuberant and unapologetic book, Lenz makes an argument for the advantages of getting divorced, framing it as a practical and effective solution for women to take back the power they are owed. Weaving reportage with sociological research and literature with popular culture along with personal stories of coming together and breaking up, Lenz creates a kaleidoscopic and poignant portrait of American marriage today. She argues that the mechanisms of American power, justice, love, and gender equality remain deeply flawed, and that marriage, like any other cultural institution, is due for a reckoning. A raucous argument for acceptance, solidarity, and collective female refusal, This American Ex-Wife takes readers on a riveting ride—while pointing us all toward a life that is a little more free. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World
by Andrea Di RobilantFrom the author of the best-selling A Venetian Affair (&“A narrative of novelistic resonance . . . Astonishing&” —The Washington Post), the story of an Italian Renaissance book editor who introduced European minds to the wider world through his passion for geographyIn the autumn of 1550, a thick volume containing a wealth of geographical information new to Europeans, with startling wood-cut maps of Africa, India and Indonesia, was published in Venice under the title Navigationi et Viaggi (Journeys and Navigations). The editor of this remarkable collection of travelogues, journals and classified government reports remained anonymous. Two additional volumes delivered the most accurate information on Asia and the &“New World&” available at the time. The three volumes together constituted an unparalleled release of geographical data into the public domain. It was, Andrea di Robilant writes, the biggest Wikileak of the Renaissance.In This Earthly Globe, di Robilant brings to life the palace intrigues, editorial wheedling, delicate alliances and vibrant curiosity that resulted in this coup by the editor Giovambattista Ramusio. Learned and self-effacing, he gathered a vast array of both popular and closely guarded narratives, from the journals of Marco Polo (he fact-checked them!) to detailed reports on Northern African cultures from the Muslim scholar and diplomat al-Hasan ibn Mohammad al-Wazzan (later known as Leo Africanus). Diverse voices spill out from these chapters as di Robilant recounts how Ramusio pursued the sources, and how he understood both the darker episodes of &“exploration&” involving colonial violence and the voyage stories which included accounts of people from African and Asian lands, who had a great deal to share about their cultures. The result is a far-flung and delightful homage to one of the founding fathers of modern geography.