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A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
by Kevin FedarkoTwo friends, zero preparation, one dream. From the author of the beloved bestseller The Emerald Mile, a rollicking and poignant account of the epic misadventure of a 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America&’s most magnificent national park and the grandest wilderness on earth.A few years after quitting his job to follow an ill-advised dream of becoming a guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, the National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision as bold as it was harebrained. Together, they would embark on an end-to-end traverse of the Grand Canyon, a journey that, McBride promised, would be &“a walk in the park.&” Against his better judgment, Fedarko agreed to the scheme, unaware that the small cluster of experts who had completed the crossing billed it as &“the toughest hike in the world.&” The ensuing ordeal, which lasted more than a year, revealed a place that was deeper, richer, and far more complex than anything the two men had imagined—and came within a hair&’s breadth of killing them both. They struggled to make their way through the all but impenetrable reaches of its truest wilderness, a vertical labyrinth of thousand-foot cliffs and crumbling ledges where water is measured out by the teaspoon and every step is fraught with peril—and where, even today, there is still no trail along the length of the country&’s best-known and most iconic park. Along the way, veteran long-distance hikers ushered them into secret pockets, invisible to the millions of tourists gathered on the rim, where only a handful of humans have ever laid eyes. Members of the canyon&’s eleven Native American tribes brought them face-to-face with layers of history that forced them to reconsider myths at the center of our national parks—and exposed them to the impinging threats of commercial tourism. Even Fedarko&’s dying father, who had first pointed him toward the canyon more than forty years earlier but had never set foot there himself, opened him to a new way of seeing the landscape. And always, there was the great gorge itself: austere and unforgiving but suffused with magic, drenched in wonder, and redeemed by its own transcendent beauty. A Walk in the Park is a singular portrait of a sublime place, and a deeply moving plea for the preservation of America&’s greatest natural treasure.
Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside
by Thomas NelsonA compelling account of one man&’s journey across hundreds of miles of Virginia wilderness and a moving testament to the optimistic spirit of America, Walk Ride Paddle provides an unseen glimpse into a life outside. In 2019, Tim Kaine—Virginia senator and former Democratic vice presidential candidate—commemorated both his sixtieth birthday and his twenty-fifth year in public office by undertaking a three-part journey across the Virginia landscape as he hiked, cycled, and canoed across the state. His chronicle became an organic reflection of the extraordinary events occurring across America during that time, including two impeachment trials, a global pandemic, growing racial protests, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and more.During weekends and in Senate recess weeks, Kaine—over a period of several years—hiked the 559 miles of the Appalachian Trail that cross Virginia from Harpers Ferry to the Tennessee border; biked 321 miles along the crest of the Virginia Blue Ridge on the beautiful parkways built during the Great Depression to create jobs and give everyday people on the East Coast an accessible place to vacation; and canoed the entire James River—348 miles from its headwaters in the Allegheny Mountains to its entrance into the Chesapeake Bay. Along the way, Kaine reflected on the events that have shaped both his life and the world around him, sharing his deep love for the natural world and the importance of preserving it for future generations in a fascinating memoir that blends adventure, reflection, and political insight.With immediacy and honesty, Kaine pulls back the curtain to reveal his inner thoughts during such monumental times. Kaine&’s storytelling gift and wise observations offer a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a seasoned politician and outdoor enthusiast.Walk Ride Paddle is a captivating memoir of one man&’s physical journey through the Virginia wilderness—but it is also a unique and ultimately optimistic perspective on these pivotal moments in history, offering inspiration, wisdom, and hope.
The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free
by Pete HegsethReal men fought for our freedoms. It’s time we fought for theirs. <P><P> Pete Hegseth joined the Army to fight extremists. Then that same Army called him one. The military Pete joined twenty years ago was fiercely focused on lethality, competency, and color blindness. Today our brass are following the rest of our country off the cliff of cultural chaos and weakness. <P><P> Americans with common sense are fighting this on many fronts, but if we can’t save the meritocracy of our military, we’re definitely going to lose everywhere else. <P><P> The War on Warriors uncovers the deep roots of our dysfunction—a society that has forgotten the men who take risks, cut through red tape, and get their hands dirty. The only kind of men prepared to face the dangers that the Left pretends don’t exist. Unlike issues of education or taxes or crime, this problem doesn’t have a zip code solution. We can’t move away from it. We can’t avoid it. We have only one Pentagon. Either we take it back or surrender it altogether. <P><P> Combining his own war experiences, tales of outrage, and an incisive look at how the chain of command got so kinked, this book is the key to saving our warriors—and winning future wars. The War on Warriors must be won by the good guys, because when the shooting really starts, they’re the only ones who can save us. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
The War We Won Apart: The Untold Story of Two Elite Agents Who Became One of the Most Decorated Couples of WWII
by Nahlah AyedLove, betrayal, and a secret war: the untold story of two elite agents, one Canadian, one British, who became one of the most decorated couples of WWII.On opposite sides of the pond, Sonia Butt, an adventurous young British woman, and Guy d&’Artois, a French-Canadian soldier and thunderstorm of a man, are preparing for war.From different worlds, their lives first intersect during clandestine training to become agents with Winston Churchill&’s secret army, the Special Operations Executive. As the world&’s deadliest conflict to date unfolds, Sonia and Guy learn how to parachute into enemy territory, how to kill, blow up rail lines, and eventually . . . how to love each other. But not long after their hasty marriage, their love is tested by separation, by a titanic invasion—and by indiscretion.Writing in vivid, heart-stopping prose, Ayed follows Sonia as she plunges into Nazi-occupied France and slinks into black market restaurants to throw off occupying Nazi forces, while at the same time participating in sabotage operations against them; and as Guy, in another corner of France, trains hundreds into a resistance army.Reconstructed from hours of unpublished interviews and hundreds of archival and personal documents, the story Ayed tells is about the ravaging costs of war paid for disproportionately by the young. But more than anything, The War We Won Apart is a story about love: two secret agents who were supposed to land in enemy territory together, but were fated to fight the war apart.
Warren and Bill: Gates, Buffett, and the Friendship That Changed the World
by Anthony McCartenFrom the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, and The Two Popes comes the fascinating account of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s friendship—one of the most impactful relationships in history, and the basis of an upcoming play and film.Few friendships have had such far-reaching implications for the world—from finance to technology to philanthropy—than that between Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. After meeting at a party in 1991, the two played cards and golf, shared jokes, swapped trade secrets, ate junk food, talked and listened. Their growing friendship would impact each man and lead to change on a grander scale, culminating in the development of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which holds nearly $50 billion in assets.How did such an unusual union blossom? In what ways specifically did each man begin to influence the other? How did these two avid wealth accumulators jointly decide to address some of the world’s most critical problems—poverty, disease, inequality—by giving their wealth away? And what, finally, does their giga-wealthy partnership mean for the rest of us in an age of great wealth—and great inequality? This book gives the fullest account yet of this extraordinary relationship and explores how it has transformed these two men—and is changing the world for the better for all of us.
Wat Takes His Shot: The Life & Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka
by Cheryl KimThe stirring biography of Japanese American basketball star Wataru Misaka--the first person of color to play in the NBA!As a kid, Wataru Misaka channeled his endless energy into playing sports. Every Sunday, he raced to the park where his Japanese American community came together to play basketball. Wat wasn't the tallest on the team, but he was fast and loved the game! Encouraged by his father to always do his best, Wat applied this mentality to every aspect and challenge in his life. Wat was a college student when the US government forced more than 122,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast into incarceration camps during WWII. He overcame racism and segregation to join his college's basketball team but despite Wat's impressive skills, he was treated as an outsider because he was Japanese American. Wat kept his eye on the ball, and his team-player mentality made him shine on and off the court. He became an inspiration to his Japanese American community. After helping Utah University's basketball team win the national championship in 1947, Wat was drafted by the New York Knicks, making him the first person of color to play in the NBA. Wat's motivational story of rising to any challenge and bringing your best to everything you do is a reminder of the power we each have to inspire others--if we just take our shot!
Watershed: Herman Murrah and the Pascagoula River Swamp
by Davy MurrahThe Pascagoula River is the largest unobstructed river in the contiguous United States. Because of this lack of restraint, the river has been left to rise and fall naturally with the seasons, overflowing annually into the adjoining bottomland forest. This phenomenon makes the Pascagoula River one of the wildest rivers, surrounded by some of the most ecologically diverse woodlands, in North America.Herman Murrah (1935–2002) lived his entire life on the banks and in the swamp surrounding this river in southeast Mississippi. Watershed: Herman Murrah and the Pascagoula River Swamp recounts pivotal moments in Herman’s life and in Mississippi’s conservation history more broadly. In this book, Herman’s eldest son, Davy, details the adventures that continue to inspire young conservationists in the fight to protect our remaining natural ecosystems.As a young adult, Herman worked as a game warden in the Pascagoula River Swamp. When the Pascagoula Hardwood Company, then owners of the swamp, decided to sell the vast tract of forest for clearcutting, Herman was incensed. Determined to protect this natural wonder, Herman teamed up with other visionaries to persuade the State of Mississippi to purchase the land and preserve it in perpetuity to the benefit of future generations of humans and wildlife alike. Eventually, the state agreed and finalized the purchase. Herman was appointed area manager for the upper portion of the newly designated Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area. He dedicated the remainder of his life to preserving, protecting, and improving the swamp for the good of south Mississippi.
The Way of Ronin: Defying the Odds on Battlefields, in Business and in Life
by Tu LamFrom Special Forces veteran and internationally respected teacher of Ronin Tactics to streaming and videogame fan favorite, Tu Lam&’s memoir will captivate, astonish, exhilarate, and even profoundly resonate.Tu Lam has become known not just for his accomplishments as a decorated Green Beret, but also for his work outside the military, including: Training citizens and law enforcement professionals all over the country Providing aid to both active and retired soldiers with physical and mental health issues Co-hosting the History Channel&’s Forged in Fire: Knife or Death Appearing in and contributing to the world&’s bestselling video game, Call of Duty: Modern WarfareIn The Way of Ronin, he reveals his against-all-odds story. Tu Lam&’s resilience, dedication, and relentless pursuit of freedom saw him achieving Full Spectrum US Special Operations across twenty-seven countries worldwide for more than twenty years, only to pay the price of his own physical and mental trauma as well as addiction.That decision led him to more than two decades of grueling instruction in every facet of the special forces, then deployment to war and conflict zones—all while channeling his inner anger in secret underground no-holds-barred fighting matches. When he finally retired from the military after more than two decades, his demons caught up with him, leading to years of addiction. But even that didn&’t defeat him. Confronting his demons, he emerged triumphant. Now he shares the gripping details and riveting intricacies of this awe-inspiring journey.Tu Lam&’s life is, at times, all too real, and at many others times, almost unbelievable. For fans of Jocko Willink and David Goggins, The Way of Ronin is an ultimately triumphant autobiography of what one man can accomplish against seemingly insurmountable odds.
The Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness
by Ken SmithSubconsciously, I pressed myself into the loch's banks as that summer inched forward. We'd got off to a rocky beginning, but I started to see Treig in a different way. There was something about this land that told me just to hold on a while longer. It might've been just a whisper at the time, but I knew it was definitely worth heeding. I just knew that was it. This was the place.Seventy-four-year-old Ken Smith has spent the past four decades in the Scottish Highlands. His home is a log cabin nestled near Loch Treig, known as "the lonely loch," where he lives off the land. He fishes for his supper, chops his own wood and even brews his own tipple. He is, in the truest sense of the word, a hermit.From his working-class origins in Derbyshire, Ken always sensed that there was more ot life than an empty nine to five. Then one day in 1974, an attack from a group of drunken men left him for dead. Determined to change his prospects, Ken quit his job and spent his formative years traveling in the Yukon. It was here, in the vast wilderness of northwestern Canada, that he honed his survival skills and grew closer to nature. Returning to Britain, he continued his nomadic lifestyle, wandering north and living in huts until he finally reached Loch Treig. Ken decided to lay his roots amongst the dense woodland and Highland air, and has lived there ever since.In The Way of the Hermit, Ken shares the remarkable story of his lfe for the very first time. Told with humor and compassion, his unique insights allow us to glimpse the awe and wonder of a life lived in nature and offer wisdom on how each of us can escape the pressures and stresses of modern life.
The Way You Make Me Feel: Love in Black and Brown
by Nina Sharma&“Remarkable . . . The Way You Make Me Feel affirms that Black and Brown existence in America comes with no guarantee of collective solidarity, no innate promise of racial equality. The path to justice is uncertain, Sharma reminds us, and we must each work hard—and be bold enough to sacrifice our own comfort—to actualize it.&” —Washington PostA hilarious and moving memoir in essays about love and allyship, told through one Asian and Black interracial relationshipWhen Nina Sharma meets Quincy while hitching a ride to a friend&’s Fourth of July barbecue, she spots a favorite book, Maxine Hong Kingston&’s The Woman Warrior, in the back seat of his cramped car, and senses a sadness from him that&’s all too familiar to her. She is immediately intrigued—who is this man? In The Way You Make Me Feel, Sharma chronicles her and Quincy&’s love story, and in doing so, examines how their Black and Asian relationship becomes the lens through which she moves through and understands the world.In a series of sensual and sparkling essays, Sharma reckons with caste, race, colorism, and mental health, moving from her seemingly idyllic suburban childhood through her and Quincy&’s early sweeping romance in the so-called postracial Obama years and onward to their marriage. Growing up, she hears her parents talk about the racism they experienced at the hands of white America—and as an adult, she confronts the complexities of American racism and the paradox of her family&’s disappointment when she starts dating a Black man. While watching The Walking Dead, Sharma dives into the eerie parallels between the brutal death of Steven Yeun&’s character and the murder of Vincent Chin. She examines the trailblazing Mira Nair film Mississippi Masala, revolutionary in its time for depicting a love story between an Indian woman and a Black man on screen, and considers why interracial relationships are so often assumed to include white people. And as she and Quincy decide whether to start a family, they imagine a universe in which Vice President Kamala Harris could possibly be their time-traveling daughter.Written with a keen critical eye and seamlessly weaving in history, pop culture, and politics, The Way You Make Me Feel reaffirms the idea that allyship is an act of true love.
We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt's Lessons in Love and Disobedience
by Lyndsey StonebridgeA timely guide on how to live—and think—through the challenges of our century drawn from the life and thought of political theorist Hannah Arendt, one of the twentieth century&’s foremost opponents of totalitarianism&“We are free to change the world and to start something new in it.&”—Hannah ArendtThe violent unease of today&’s world would have been familiar to Hannah Arendt. Tyranny, occupation, disenchantment, post-truth politics, conspiracy theories, racism, mass migration: She lived through them all.Born in the first decade of the last century, she escaped fascist Europe to make a new life for herself in America, where she became one of its most influential—and controversial—public intellectuals. She wrote about power and terror, exile and love, and above all, about freedom. Questioning—thinking—was her first defense against tyranny. She advocated a politics of action and plurality, courage and, when necessary, disobedience.We Are Free to Change the World is a book about the Arendt we need for the twenty-first century. It tells us how and why Arendt came to think the way she did, and how to think when our own politics goes off the rails. Both a guide to Arendt&’s life and work, and its dialogue with our troubled present, We Are Free to Change the World is an urgent call for us to think, as Hannah Arendt did—unflinchingly, lovingly, and defiantly—through our own unpredictable times.
We Are Golden: 27 Groundbreakers Who Changed the World
by Eva ChenThroughout history and to this day, people of Asian descent have been at the forefront of artistic brilliance, scientific advancement, and athletic excellence.From Sandra Oh to Patsy Mink, Bruce Lee to Michelle Kwan, We Are Golden—written by Eva Chen and illustrated by Sophie Diao, the New York Times bestselling team behind I Am Golden—offers a fresh collection of groundbreakers perfect for every young reader's library.Let our voices be heard.Let our stories be told.We are golden.
We Loved It All: A Memory of Life
by Lydia MilletNamed a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by the Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and Literary Hub This lucent anti-memoir from celebrated novelist Lydia Millet explores the pain and joy of being a parent, child, and human at a moment when the richness of the planet’s life is deeply threatened. Across more than a dozen acclaimed works of fiction, readers have become intimate with Lydia Millet’s distinctive voice and sly wit. We Loved It All, her first nonfiction book, combines the precision of fact with the power of narrative to evoke our enmeshment with the more-than-human world. Emerging from Millet’s quarter century of wildlife and climate advocacy, We Loved it All marries scenes from her life with moments of nearness to “the others”— the animals and plants with whom we share the earth. Accounts of fears and failures, jobs and friendships, childhood and motherhood are interspersed with exquisite accounts of nonhumans and arresting meditations on the power of story to shape the future. Seeking to understand why we immerse ourselves in the domestic and immediate, turning away from more sweeping views, she examines how grand cultural myths can deny our longing for the company of nature and deprive us of its charisma and inspiration. In a thrilling distillation of experience and emotion, she evinces the familiar sense of feeling both well-meaning and powerless—a creature subject to forces that are baffling in their immensity. The fear and grief of extinction and climate change, Millet suggests, are forms of love that might be turned to resistance. We Loved It All shimmers with curiosity and laconic humor yet addresses with reverence the most urgent crises of our day. An incantatory, bewitching devotional to the vast and precious bestiary of the earth, it asks that we extend to other living beings the protection they deserve—the simple grace of continued existence.
We Need To Talk About Xi: What we need to know about the world’s most powerful leader
by Michael DillonMeet the most powerful leader in the world. Chinese premier Xi Jinping graces our television screens and news headlines on a regular basis. But even after a decade in power, he remains shrouded in mystery.From growing up with a father purged in Mao's Cultural Revolution and his mission to eradicate poverty, to his persecution of Uyghur Muslims and paranoia about being likened to Winnie-the-Pooh, Xi Jinping is a man obscured by caricatures. In this short, essential primer, historian and writer Michael Dillon unveils the character of Xi Jinping - arguably the world's most powerful man - to truly understand his grip on China, what he wants and how the West gets him wrong.But this is not just the story of Xi; this is the story of today's largest economic powerhouse, which dives into the crux of the issue - what does Xi's leadership of China mean for the rest of the world, and what will he do next?
We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration
by Jessica GoudeauAn award-winning author's deep exploration of pivotal moments in Texas history through multiple generations of her own family, and a ruthless reexamination of our national and personal mythsSeven generations of Jessica Goudeau&’s family have lived in Texas, and her family&’s legacy—a word she heard often growing up—was rooted in faith, right-living, and the hard work that built their great state. It wasn&’t until her aunt mentioned a stowaway ancestor and she began to dig more deeply into the story of the land she lives on today in suburban Austin, that Goudeau discovered her family&’s far more complicated role in Texas history: from a swindling land grant agent in the earliest days of Anglo settlement that brought slavery to Mexican land, up through her Texas Ranger great-uncle, who helped a sociopathic sheriff cover up mass murder. Tracking her ancestors&’ involvement in pivotal moments from before the Texas Revolution through today, We Were Illegal is at once an intimate and character-driven narrative and an insider&’s look at a state that prides itself on its history. It is an act of reckoning and recovery on a personal scale, as well as a reflection of the work we all must do to dismantle the whitewashed narratives that are passed down through families, communities, and textbooks. And it is a story filled with hope—by facing these hypocrisies and long-buried histories, Goudeau explores with us how to move past this fractured time, take accountability for our legacy, and learn to be better, more honest ancestors.
We Were the Bullfighters
by Marianne K. Miller“A window into Canada's role in the making of Ernest Hemingway in clear, clean prose.” — Lee Gowan, author of The Beautiful PlaceSent to cover bank robber Red Ryan’s daring prison break, a young Ernest Hemingway becomes fascinated with the convict.In 1923, Ernest Hemingway, struggling with the responsibilities of marriage and unexpected fatherhood, has just made a big mistake. He decided that for the baby’s first year he would interrupt his fledgling writing career in Paris and move his family to North America. No longer a freelancer, he now has a gruelling job with a difficult boss, as a staff reporter for the Toronto Daily Star. On his first day, already feeling hemmed in by circumstances, he’s sent to cover a prison break at Kingston Pen. The escaped convicts, led by notorious bank robber Norman “Red” Ryan, are on the run, making their way from the bush north of Kingston, to the streets of Toronto, and then through towns and cities across the United States. Their crimes become more brazen, their lifestyle increasingly glamorous. Growing more and more preoccupied with Ryan and his willingness to risk everything to be free, Hemingway ponders duty, freedom, and what stops a man from pursuing his dreams.
We Will Not Be Saved: A memoir of hope and resistance in the Amazon rainforest
by Nemonte Nenquimo'Nemonte's writing is as provocative as it is inspiring' EMMA THOMPSON'One of the most effective leaders for indigenous rights and environmental justice' LAURENE POWELL JOBS'I'm here to tell you my story, which is also the story of my people and the story of this forest.'Born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, Nemonte Nenquimo was taught about plant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling, and shamanism by her elders. Age 14, she left the forest for the first time to study with an evangelical missionary group in the city. Eventually, her ancestors began appearing in her dreams, pleading with her to return and embrace her own culture.She listened. Two decades later, Nemonte has emerged as one of the most forceful voices in climate-change activism. She has spearheaded the alliance of indigenous nations across the Upper Amazon and led her people to a landmark victory against Big Oil, protecting over a half million acres of primary rainforest. Her message is as sharp as the spears that her ancestors wielded - honed by her experiences battling loggers, miners, oil companies and missionaries.In this astonishing memoir, she partners with her husband Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines, digging into generations of oral history, uprooting centuries of conquest, hacking away at racist notions of Indigenous peoples, and ultimately revealing a life story as rich, harsh and vital as the Amazon rainforest herself.More praise for We Will Not Be Saved: 'A radical manifesto for our times' VANESSA KIRBY'An act of storytelling generosity' NATHALIE KELLY'Inspiring, moving and unforgettable' ROWAN HOOPER'Truly Inspiring and humbling' CAROLINE SANDERSON** Publishing in the US as WE WILL BE JAGUARS**
We Will Not Be Saved: A memoir of hope and resistance in the Amazon rainforest
by Nemonte Nenquimo** Publishing in the US as WE WILL BE JAGUARS**'I'm here to tell you my story, which is also the story of my people and the story of this forest.'Born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, Nemonte Nenquimo was taught about plant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling, and shamanism by her elders. Age 14, she left the forest for the first time to study with an evangelical missionary group in the city. Eventually, her ancestors began appearing in her dreams, pleading with her to return and embrace her own culture.She listened. Two decades later, Nemonte has emerged as one of the most forceful voices in climate-change activism. She has spearheaded the alliance of indigenous nations across the Upper Amazon and led her people to a landmark victory against Big Oil, protecting over a half million acres of primary rainforest. Her message is as sharp as the spears that her ancestors wielded - honed by her experiences battling loggers, miners, oil companies and missionaries.In this astonishing memoir, she partners with her husband Mitch Anderson, founder of Amazon Frontlines, digging into generations of oral history, uprooting centuries of conquest, hacking away at racist notions of Indigenous peoples, and ultimately revealing a life story as rich, harsh and vital as the Amazon rainforest herself.The Waorani language (referred to as Wao Tededo in the audiobook) is one of the world's most endangered languages and is only spoken by around 2,000 people. The Publishers would like to thank Oswando Nenquimo (Opi) and Connie Dickinson as well as the Endangered Languages Archive https://www.elararchive.org/ and the Endangered Languages Documentation Program https://www.eldp.net/ for their valuable support in ensuring accurate pronunciation of Waorani names and terms.
What Have We Here: Portraits of a Life
by Billy Dee WilliamsWHAT HAVE WE HERE? follows Billy Dee Williams from his childhood growing up in Harlem to his days on Broadway and in Hollywood before landing the role in George Lucas' space opera that would win him everlasting fame.Over a 60-year career spanning Broadway, music, movies, and television, Billy's tales and travels include Lawrence Olivier, Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, Henry Fonda, Duke Ellington, Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, Sylvester Stallone, Diahann Carroll, and a world of less famous but no less colourful characters.And that's just his life on this planet. As hundreds of millions of Star Wars fans worldwide know, Williams is and always will be Lando Calrissian, the double-dealing, outlandishly handsome rogue from George Lucas' classic Star Wars adventures The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, a role he reprised in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
What Have We Here: Portraits of a Life
by Billy Dee WilliamsWHAT HAVE WE HERE? follows Billy Dee Williams from his childhood growing up in Harlem to his days on Broadway and in Hollywood before landing the role in George Lucas' space opera that would win him everlasting fame.Over a 60-year career spanning Broadway, music, movies, and television, Billy's tales and travels include Lawrence Olivier, Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, Henry Fonda, Duke Ellington, Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, Sylvester Stallone, Diahann Carroll, and a world of less famous but no less colourful characters.And that's just his life on this planet. As hundreds of millions of Star Wars fans worldwide know, Williams is and always will be Lando Calrissian, the double-dealing, outlandishly handsome rogue from George Lucas' classic Star Wars adventures The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, a role he reprised in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life
by Billy Dee WilliamsA film legend recalls his remarkable life of nearly eight decades—a heralded actor who's played the roles he wanted, from Brian’s Song to Lando in the Star Wars universe—unchecked by the racism and typecasting so rife in the mostly all-white industry in which he triumphed. <p><p> Billy Dee Williams was born in Harlem in 1937 and grew up in a household of love and sophistication. As a young boy, he made his stage debut working with Lotte Lenya in an Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill production where Williams ended up feeding Lenya her lines. He studied painting, first at the High School of Music and Art, with fellow student Diahann Carroll, and then at the National Academy of Fine Art, before setting out to pursue acting with Herbert Berghoff, Stella Adler, and Sidney Poitier. <p><p> His first film role was in The Last Angry Man, the great Paul Muni’s final film. It was Muni who gave Billy the advice that sent him soaring as an actor, “You can play any character you want to play no matter who you are, no matter the way you look or the color of your skin.” And Williams writes, “I wanted to be anyone I wanted to be.” <p><p> He writes of landing the role of a lifetime: co-starring alongside James Caan in Brian’s Song, the made-for-television movie that was watched by an audience of more than fifty million people. Williams says it was “the kind of interracial love story America needed.” <p><p> And when, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, he became a true pop culture icon, playing Lando Calrissian in George Lucas’s The Empire Strikes Back (“What I presented on the screen people didn’t expect to see”). It was a role he reprised in the final film of the original trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, and in the recent sequel The Rise of Skywalker. <p><p> A legendary actor, in his own words, on all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
What Is the Story of Godzilla? (What Is the Story Of?)
by Sheila Keenan Who HQWho HQ brings you the stories behind the most well-known characters of our time. In this addition to the What Is the Story Of? series, young readers will discover the exciting story of one of the world's favorite monsters...Godzilla!In 1954, Godzilla appeared on screen for the first time in a Japanese film directed by Ishirō Honda. Awakened by nuclear radiation, the enormous sea monster has appeared in over thirty other films, making Godzilla the longest-running film franchise in history. Known as the "King of the Monsters," Godzilla has earned a huge fanbase worldwide. The dinosaur-like amphibian has been featured alongside friends and foes such as Mothra and Mechagodzilla, in TV shows, books, video games, and more. There is even a Godzilla star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Learn about the lasting legacy of this iconic character in this nonfiction book for young readers.
What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World
by Prentis HemphillNATIONAL BESTBELLER • From one of the most prominent voices in the trauma conversation comes a groundbreaking new way to heal on a personal and a collective level.&“I love this book.&”—Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score &“In a time when so many of us are being trained in cynicism, this book stands in necessary defiance.&”—Cole Arthur Riley, author of Black Liturgies and This Here FleshAs we emerge from the past few years of collective upheaval, are we ready to face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Now more than ever, we must learn to heal ourselves, connect with one another, and embody our values. In this revolutionary book, Prentis Hemphill shows us how.What It Takes to Heal asserts that the principles of embodiment—the recognition of our body&’s sensations and habits, and the beliefs that inform them—are critical to lasting healing and change. Hemphill, an expert embodiment practitioner, therapist, and activist who has partnered with Brené Brown, Tarana Burke, and Esther Perel, among others, shows us that we don't have to carry our emotional burdens alone. Hemphill demonstrates a future in which healing is done in community, weaving together stories from their own experience as a trauma survivor with clinical accounts and lessons learned from their time as a social movement architect. They ask, &“What would it do to movements, to our society and culture, to have the principles of healing at the very center? And what does it do to have healing at the center of every structure and everything we create?&”In this life-affirming framework for the way forward, Hemphill shows us how to heal our bodies, minds, and souls—to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to break down the doors of disconnection and take the necessary risks to reshape our world toward justice.
What Kind of Bird Can't Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection
by Dorsey NunnA decade behind bars spurs fifty powerful years of political and legal battles for freedom and human rights."Whoever wants to assuage their doubts that radical change is possible—from the level of the individual to that of law, culture, and society—should make time to read Dorsey Nunn's extraordinary memoir." —Angela Y. Davis, political activist and author of Are Prisons Obsolete?, Abolition Democracy, and Freedom Is a Constant Struggle"Dorsey Nunn is one of the grand love warriors and freedom fighters of his generation! Don't miss his powerful and poignant story of tragedy and triumph!" —Cornel West"So much of what I've come to know and understand over the years about the second-class status imposed upon people labeled 'criminals' or 'felons' I've learned from Dorsey and the people who comprise All of Us or None, an organization he cofounded. Although I have fancy degrees and Dorsey does not, there’s never been a time in our friendship in which he hasn't been schooling me—not so much in theory, but in practice." —From the foreword by Michelle AlexanderWhen Dorsey Nunn shuffled, shackled like a slave, into the California State carceral system at age nineteen, he could barely read. While caged he received an education he never could have anticipated. His first lesson: Prison had a color scheme, and it didn’t match the larger society. On the inside, guards stoked racial warfare among prisoners while on the outside the machinery of the criminal legal system increasingly targeted poor Black and Brown communities with offenses, real or contrived. Nunn emerged from San Quentin after ten years behind bars, radicalized by his experience and emboldened by the militant wisdom of the men he met there. He poured his heart and mind into liberating all those he left behind, building a nationwide movement to restore justice to millions of system-impacted Americans.In this poignant, wry, and powerful memoir, Nunn links the politics of Black Power to the movements for Black lives and dignified reentry today. His story underscores the power of coalition building, persistence in the face of backlash, and the importance of centering the voices of experience in the fight for freedom—and proves, once and for all, that jailbirds can fly.
What Made California the Golden State?: A Who HQ Graphic Novel (Who HQ Graphic Novels)
by Shing Yin Khor Who HQDiscover what life was really like during the California Gold Rush in this powerful graphic novel written by National Book Award finalist and Eisner Award-winning creator Shing Yin Khor and illustrated by Kass Gray.Presenting Who HQ Graphic Novels: an exciting addition to the #1 New York Times best-selling Who Was? series!Explore the Gold Rush from the perspective of William Miller and Henry Garrison, two miners in the Sierra Nevada region, and uncover the often unrelenting conditions of the California gold mines. A story of community, determination, and the search for the American Dream, this graphic novel invites readers to immerse themselves into what life was really like during this pivotal period in American history--brought to life by gripping narrative and vivid full-color illustrations that jump off the page.