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By the Ghost Light: Wars, Memory, and Families
by R.H. ThomsonFrom one of Canada&’s most beloved performing artists comes an audacious work of non-fiction that explores the stories that shape us and the reach that the past can have across generations.Growing up north of Toronto, R.H. Thomson&’s imagination was captured by romantic notions of war. He spent his days playing with toy soldiers on the carpet of his grandmother&’s house, recreating the Battle of Britain with model planes in his bedroom, or sitting at the local theatre watching World War II B movies—ones that offered a very clear perspective on who were the heroes and who the villains; which side were the victors and which the vanquished. Yet Thomson&’s childhood was also shaped by the spirits of real-life warriors in his family, their fates a brutal and more complicated reminder of the true human cost of war. Eight of Robert&’s great uncles—George, Joe, Jack, Harold, Arthur, Warren, Wildy, and Fred—fought in the First World War, while his great Aunt Margaret served as a wartime surgical nurse in Europe. Five of the great uncles—George, Joe, Fred, Wildy, and Warren—were killed in battle while two others—Jack and Harold—would return home greatly diminished, spending the rest of their lives in and out of sanitariums, their lungs scarred by disease and poison gas. Throughout their lives, the great uncles, as well as great aunts and cousins, were faithful letter writers, their correspondence offering profound insights into their experiences on the front lines to their loved ones back home, a somber record of the sacrifice the family paid. In By the Ghost Light, R.H. Thomson offers an extraordinary look at his family&’s history while providing a powerful examination of how we understand war and its aftermath. Using his family letters as a starting point, Thomson roams through a century of folly, touching on areas of military history, art, literature, and science, to express the tragic human cost of war behind the order and calm of ceremonial parades, memorials, and monuments. In an urgent call for new ways to acknowledge the dead, R.H. has created &“The World Remembers,&” an ambitious international project to individually name each of the millions killed in the First World War. Epic in its scope and incredibly intimate in its exploration of lives touched by the tragedy of war, By the Ghost Light is a truly original book that will challenge the way we approach our history.
By the Ghost Light: Wars, Memory, and Families
by R.H. ThomsonNATIONAL BESTSELLER • From one of Canada&’s most beloved performing artists comes an audacious work of non-fiction that explores the stories that shape us and the reach that the past can have across generations • "Thomson makes visible the ghosts of the Great War, untangling themes of loss and longing, service, and grief." —Tim CookGrowing up north of Toronto, R.H. Thomson&’s imagination was captured by romantic notions of war. He spent his days playing with toy soldiers on the carpet of his grandmother&’s house, recreating the Battle of Britain with model planes in his bedroom, or sitting at the local theatre watching World War II B movies—ones that offered a very clear perspective on who were the heroes and who the villains; which side were the victors and which the vanquished. Yet Thomson&’s childhood was also shaped by the spirits of real-life warriors in his family, their fates a brutal and more complicated reminder of the true human cost of war. Eight of Robert&’s great uncles—George, Joe, Jack, Harold, Arthur, Warren, Wildy, and Fred—fought in the First World War, while his great Aunt Margaret served as a wartime surgical nurse in Europe. Five of the great uncles—George, Joe, Fred, Wildy, and Warren—were killed in battle while two others—Jack and Harold—would return home greatly diminished, spending the rest of their lives in and out of sanitariums, their lungs scarred by disease and poison gas. Throughout their lives, the great uncles, as well as great aunts and cousins, were faithful letter writers, their correspondence offering profound insights into their experiences on the front lines to their loved ones back home, a somber record of the sacrifice the family paid. In By the Ghost Light, R.H. Thomson offers an extraordinary look at his family&’s history while providing a powerful examination of how we understand war and its aftermath. Using his family letters as a starting point, Thomson roams through a century of folly, touching on areas of military history, art, literature, and science, to express the tragic human cost of war behind the order and calm of ceremonial parades, memorials, and monuments. In an urgent call for new ways to acknowledge the dead, R.H. has created &“The World Remembers,&” an ambitious international project to individually name each of the millions killed in the First World War. Epic in its scope and incredibly intimate in its exploration of lives touched by the tragedy of war, By the Ghost Light is a truly original book that will challenge the way we approach our history.
By the Goodness of God: An Autobiography of John G. Innis
by Abingdon John G. InnisThis is the life story of John G. Innis, bishop of the Liberia Area of The United Methodist Church. John Innis recounts his life from humble beginnings to the apex of spiritual leadership in The United Methodist Church in a vivid, dynamic style and with great spiritual fervor. Throughout the story, the reader finds clear evidence of the way God leads people when they listen to the still, small voice. Bishop Innis is committed to suffering servant leadership, and his vivid accounts--of injustice and righteousness, of violence and peace, of heartache and healing, of fellowship and leadership, of fear and faith--are capped by the experience of the Good News; of faith, hope and love.
By the Iowa Sea
by Joe BlairThe anticipated debut of an original American voice, By the Iowa Sea is a wrenching, unsentimental account of the heartbreaks and ecstasies of marriage, fatherhood, and small-town life in the Midwest.After his first cross-country motorcycle trip, Joe Blair believed he had discovered his true calling. He would travel. He would never cave in to convention. He would never settle down. Fifteen years later, Joe finds himself living in Iowa, working as an air-conditioning repairman and spending his free time cleaning gutters, taxiing his children, and contemplating marital infidelity. "Our history," he writes, "gains more weight day by day. And the future seems more and more unlikely to be anything cool at all." Joe believes it would take an act of great faith or courage to revive in him the passion and promise that once seemed so easy to come by. What it takes, he discovers, is a disaster. When the Iowa River floods, transforming the familiar streets and manicured lawns of his neighborhood into a terrible and beautiful sea, he begins to question the path that led him to this place. Exquisitely observed and lyrically recounted, this is a compelling and often humorous account of an ordinary man's struggle to live an extraordinary life. Joe Blair lays bare the moving, hopeful story of a river that becomes an ocean and a love that is lost and found again, by the Iowa Sea.
By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution
by David Talbot Margaret TalbotRadical leaders of the 1960s and ’70s come to vivid life in this volume of revealing profiles from two veteran journalists.The political landscape of the 1960s and 1970s was one of the most tumultuous in this country's history, shaped by the struggle for civil rights, women’s liberation, Black power, and ending the Vietnam War. In many ways, this second American revolution sought to fulfill the betrayed promises of the first—extending the full protections of the Bill of Rights to America’s marginalized populations.Based on exclusive interviews, original documents, and archival research, By the Light of Burning Dreams explores critical moments in the lives of iconoclastic leaders of the twentieth century radical movement: Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers; Heather Booth and the Jane Collective, the first underground feminist abortion clinic; Vietnam War peace activists Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda; Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers; Craig Rodwell and the Gay Pride movement; Dennis Banks, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Russell Means and the warriors of Wounded Knee; and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s politics of stardom. New York Times bestselling author David Talbot and New Yorker journalist Margaret Talbot reveal the epiphanies that galvanized these modern revolutionaries. Examining what they got right, as well as what they got wrong, this book celebrates their lasting impact on the country. By the Light of Burning Dreams includes a sixteen-page black-and-white photo insert.Winner of the Northern California Book Award for General Nonfiction
By the Rivers of Water: A Nineteenth-Century Atlantic Odyssey
by Erskine ClarkeIn late 1832, a young missionary couple sailed from the Chesapeake Bay, headed for western Africa. John Leighton Wilson and his wife, Jane, were traveling to the colony of Liberia, where they--and their fellow passengers, mostly liberated slaves and freeborn African Americans--hoped to find an alternative to the inequality of the American South. Soon after their arrival, though, conflict erupted between the settlers and their Grebo and Mpongwe neighbors, shattering the Wilsons’ utopian dreams. The true nightmare, however, came when they returned to the United States. Confronting an onrushing war, the Wilsons were forced to make a terrible choice, revealing with tragic finality where--and with whom--they felt they truly belonged. A sweeping transatlantic story of good intentions and cruel consequences, By the Rivers of Water offers a humane portrait of two very different worlds, both riven by war and racial hatred and sustained by deep--and, occasionally, shared--faiths.
By the Skin of My Teeth: Flying RAF Spitfires and Mustangs in World War II and USAF Sabre Jets in the Korean War
by Colin DownesA career pilot&’s memoir of flying fighter jets through two wars and through the evolution of aviation technology. This is Colin Downes&’s firsthand account of flying with the Royal Air Force in war and peace during a career in military and civil aviation covering a half century. The text is filled with his personal experiences, reminiscences and impressions and is written in four parts. Part One covers the years leading to Downes&’s graduation and the winning of his RAF Wings. This is followed by action-packed stories of flying propeller-driven fighters, Spitfires and Mustangs, during and just after the Second World War. Downes then tells of his unique experiences of front-line fighter operations when he flew jets with the United States Air Force during the Korean War. The final chapter covers the remainder of his RAF Service flying until retirement. By the Skin of My Teeth offers a cockpit view of some of the most pivotal battles of the 20th century and covers decades of technological advancements in aircraft development.
By the Time You Read This: The Space between Cheslie's Smile and Mental Illness—Her Story in Her Own Words
by April Simpkins Cheslie KrystBy the Time You Read This is the story former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst was about to publish before her tragic suicide. Her mother, April, wraps up the narrative by exploring the mental illness and depression that took her daughter&’s life.The text read, &“By the time you get this . . .&” This is the story of Cheslie Kryst, a former Miss USA, in her own words. When the world awoke on the morning of January 30, 2022, many were shocked to learn of the tragic death of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst. For most people, the news was unfathomable. How could a young woman in the prime of her life—a pageant queen, accomplished attorney, Extra correspondent, and tireless advocate for charity organizations—have been lost to the world so suddenly? By the Time You Read This shares the manuscript Cheslie wrote before her passing, her story in her own words—from the highest highs of passing two bar exams, winning Miss USA, and beginning an exciting career as an entertainment journalist to the lowest lows of heartbreak, betrayal, and persistent depression. When Cheslie&’s mother, April Simpkins, picks up the narrative, she shares for the first time what she experienced in the aftermath of Cheslie&’s suicide. When faced with such a devastating loss, how does a mother find a way to carry on? Whether you are someone who struggles to maintain your mental health, or you love someone who does, this book will share insight into a reality that impacts thousands of families every year—as well as provide hope for those who are left behind. Net proceeds from the book will be used to support the Cheslie C. Kryst Foundation, which is being founded in Cheslie&’s honor.
By-Ways On Active Service; Notes From An Australian Journal
by Captain Hector William DinningIt seems strange that any book should be composed in a war-zone as difficult and dangerous as the Somme area in 1917, but that is exactly what Hector Dinning did. Having published a few of his pen-portraits and sketches of incidents in various journals, friends and colleagues pressed Dinning to collect them together and publish them as a book. This he did even in the mud of the battlefield and under the shell-fire of the Germans!Hector Dinning was among the first Australians to volunteer for overseas service. As he and his comrades sailed toward Egypt, military discipline chafed at the individualism of the Australians. Thankfully, once in Cairo, the troops were allowed leave before further transit to the hellish Gallipoli peninsula. Dinning details the difficulties and carnage that he witnessed at Gallipoli and Pathos, but also with some restraint, given the awfulness of the battles there. After only a brief rest in Egypt, the author was sent to France for further action on the Somme in Picardy; however, as a relief and in stark contrast, he tells of encounters with the French civilians behind the lines and the time that he spent out of the lines. This volume takes his story up to 1917, whereupon he was transferred to the famed Australian Light Horse, who were engaged in Palestine under Allenby, which he recounted in his second volume of memoirs, "Nile to Aleppo, with the Light-horse in the Middle-East."An excellent Anzac memoir.Some contemporary reviews of 'By-Ways On Active Service'"He has a notable literary gift."--Morning Post."He has seen strange things with intensely keen eyes."--Daily Express."He is a vivid writer, with a keen eye for detail, and a direct way of setting it down which grips the attention." Times."He sees things with fresh and observing eyes, and he has a most receptive mind."--Punch."He can write." Sydney Bulletin."He has a striking literary gift."-- Archibald Strong in Melbourne Herald.
Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World
by Mackenzi Lee“You’ll meet suffragettes who did jujitsu, women warriors who wore lipstick into battle and queens who put women in their rightful places—positions of power.” —Ms.Based on Mackenzi Lee’s popular weekly Twitter series of the same name, Bygone Badass Broads features fifty-two remarkable and forgotten trailblazing women from all over the world. With tales of heroism and cunning, in-depth bios and witty storytelling, Bygone Badass Broads gives new life to these historic female pioneers. Starting in the fifth century BC and continuing to the present, the book takes a closer look at bold and inspiring women who dared to step outside the traditional gender roles of their time. Coupled with riveting illustrations and Lee’s humorous and conversational storytelling style, this book is an outright celebration of the badass women who paved the way for the rest of us.“The author of the first novel, warriors and rulers, scientists and war heroes. History abounds with tales of trailblazing women long forgotten—especially those who were nonwhite, non-Western, or not straight. Take a look at a dozen of the women in Bygone Badass Broads so you can begin to see what you missed in history class.” —The Boston Globe “Shar[es] the stories of fifty-two women in history who changed the game forever—even though you’ve probably never heard of them . . . If you’re looking for some inspiration this , you Women’s History Month just got it—fifty-two times over.” —Bustle“Lee admirably fulfills her stated goal of promoting lesser-known subjects who are awesome, accompanied by brightly colored, full-page artwork.” —School Library Journal
Byrd & Igloo: A Polar Adventure
by Samantha SeipleFrom the author of GHOSTS IN THE FOG comes a story that will appeal to lovers of history, adventure, and dogs.BYRD & IGLOO will be the first narrative nonfiction book to tell the daring adventures of legendary polar explorer and aviator Richard Byrd and his lovable dog explorer, Igloo. Byrd is known for being the first to fly a plane over the North and South Poles, while Igloo is famous for being the only dog to explore both the North and South Poles. The adventures of Byrd and Igloo opened the door for science and research in the Antarctic. Featuring direct quotes from letters, diaries and interviews, newspaper clippings, expedition records, maps, charts, as well as never-before-seen photos, it will give the complete story of the explorers' journey. Though rooted in history with evidence from many museums and research centers, Byrd & Igloo will be exciting in tone, making it accessible and interesting for young readers.
Byron In Love
by Edna O'Brien'Edna O'Brien has always had a gift for writing about affairs of the heart' Guardian'Her boldly coloured portrait rewrites his life with all the brio and elan for which her novels are renowned' The Herald 'Hugely enjoyable' Daily TelegraphBYRON IN LOVE - the nobility, arrogance and sheer theatre of Byron's life.Byron, more than any other poet, has come to personify the poet as rebel, imaginative and lawless, reaching beyond race, creed or frontier, his gigantic flaws redeemed by a magnetism and ultimately a heroism that by ending in tragedy raised it and him from the particular to the universal.Everything about Lord George Gordon Byron was a paradox - insider and outsider, beautiful and deformed, serious and facetious, profligate but on occasion miserly, and possessed of a fierce intelligence trapped forever in a child's magic and malices. He was also a great poet, but as he reminded us, poetry is a distinct faculty and has little to do with the individual life of its creator. Edna O'Brien's exemplary biography focuses upon the diverse and colourful women in Byron's life.'O'Brien charts the many loves of the notorious 19th-century poet's reckless life in immediate and candid prose' Sunday Telegraph'A beguiling blend of sympathy, humour and, of course, her signature lilting style . . . a delightful, though poignant, account' Main on Sunday 'There is much to enjoy in this idiosyncratic and highly readable account of the poet whose writing enthralled and whose actions appalled in equal measure' Independent
Byron in Love: A Short Daring Life
by Edna O'Brien"How long it's taken for these two mad, bad and dangerous writers to get together!"--Alan Cheuse, San Francisco Chronicle Acclaimed biographer of James Joyce, Edna O'Brien has written a "jaunty" (The New Yorker) biography that suits her fiery and charismatic subject. She follows Byron from the dissipations of Regency London to the wilds of Albania and the Socratic pleasures of Greece and Turkey, culminating in his meteoric rise to fame at the age of twenty-four. With "a novelist's understanding of tempo and characterization" (Miami Herald), O'Brien captures the spirit of the man and creates an indelible portrait that explodes the Romantic myth. Byron, as brilliantly rendered by O'Brien, is the poet as rebel, imaginative and lawless, and defiantly immortal.
Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame
by Benita EislerBenita Eisler'sByronis a masterful portrait of the poet who dazzled an era and pre-figured the modern age of celebrity--an absorbing, illuminating, and wonderfully entertaining account of Lord Byron's spectacular life, monumental work, and lasting heroic legacy. Drawing on previously unavailable material--including family papers only recently brought to light--Eisler offers us a more complex vision of Byron than any we've had before: a man who rose from the depths of poverty and the humiliation of childhood lameness to a pinnacle of success and fame unlike anything the world had ever seen, and whose bravura identity as renegade aristocrat, political revolutionary, mythic lover, and Romanticism's galvanizing hero and antihero was surpassed in brilliance only by his poetic genius. With grace, erudition, and insight, Eisler captures the passions and obsessions that consumed Byron, the fierce devotions and the outsized ego that fired his work, and the despair and self-loathing that plagued his short life. Eisler gives us a richly detailed drama of a childhood of abandonment and shame; of Byron's early days at Harrow and Cambridge; of his humiliating entry into the House of Lords at eighteen; of his adventures in the East, where he consorted with pashas and prostitutes; of his relationships with his contemporaries, among them the twenty-four-year-old Shelley and his wife, Mary; of the instant celebrity that attended the publication of the first cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage; and of the almost vengeful determination with which Byron recast himself as the elegant figure that glided through Regency drawing rooms, plotted with Italian Carbonari, loved men and women, and drew sensation to him like a cloak until his death, alone and in exile, at the age of thirty-six. Here also are the first in-depth portraits of the women--and men--Byron loved: his guilty relations with John Edleston, a young Cambridge chorister; his tempestuous affair with Lady Caroline Lamb, who was driven to madness by her love for him; his catastrophic marriage to the lovely Annabella Milbanke; his passionate incestuous relationship with his half sister, Augusta, and the tormented menage a trois they shared with his young wife; and the gentler love of his later life, Teresa Guiccioli, whom he abandoned for his life's last adventure in Missolonghi. Throughout, Eisler offers incisive analysis of Byron's poetry in the context of his extraordinary life--as hero and martyr, aristocratic aesthete and dandy, transgressive rebel fueled by forbidden substances and exiled for forbidden passions--examining in detail the stanzas that inspired his own and succeeding generations as no other writer has since Shakespeare. A magnificent record of a towering figure, sure to stand as the definitive biography for years to come.
Byron: Great Thinkers on Modern Life
by Matthew BevisLord Byron is one of the most provocative and seductive voices of world literature, and Matthew Bevis provides insights from his work that resonate even today. Born in 1788, Lord Byron was an English poet and a leading figure of the Romantic movement. A prodigious poetic gift and a scandalous private life made him famous throughout Europe, and his masterpiece, Don Juan, became the bestselling work of the period. He remains one of the most storied and fascinating figures in world literature, and Matthew Bevis takes this great thinker and highlights the ideas most relevant to us today. The Great Thinkers on Modern Life Series, part of The School of Life, shows how thse wise voices from the past have urgently important and inspiring things to tell us.
Byron: Life and Legend
by Fiona MacCarthyFiona MacCarthy makes a breakthrough in interpreting Byron's life and poetry drawing on John Murray's world-famous archive.She brings a fresh eye to his early years: his childhood in Scotland, embattled relations with his mother, the effect of his deformed foot on his development. She traces his early travels in the Mediterranean and the East, throwing light on his relationships with adolescent boys - a hidden subject in earlier biographies.While paying due attention to the compelling tragicomedy of Byron's marriage, his incestuous love for his half-sister Augusta and the clamorous attention of his female fans, she gives a new importance to his close male friendships, in particular that with his publisher John Murray. She tells the full story of their famous disagreement, ending as a rift between them as Byron's poetry became more recklessly controversial.Byron was a celebrity in his own lifetime, becoming a 'superstar' in 1812, after the publication of Childe Harold. The Byron legend grew to unprecedented proportions after his death in the Greek War of Independence at the age of thirty-six. The problem for a biographer is sifting the truth from the sentimental, the self-serving and the spurious. Fiona MacCarthy has overcome this to produce an immaculately researched biography, which is also her refreshing personal view.
Byron: Life and Legend
by Fiona MacCarthyFiona MacCarthy makes a breakthrough in interpreting Byron's life and poetry drawing on John Murray's world-famous archive.She brings a fresh eye to his early years: his childhood in Scotland, embattled relations with his mother, the effect of his deformed foot on his development. She traces his early travels in the Mediterranean and the East, throwing light on his relationships with adolescent boys - a hidden subject in earlier biographies.While paying due attention to the compelling tragicomedy of Byron's marriage, his incestuous love for his half-sister Augusta and the clamorous attention of his female fans, she gives a new importance to his close male friendships, in particular that with his publisher John Murray. She tells the full story of their famous disagreement, ending as a rift between them as Byron's poetry became more recklessly controversial.Byron was a celebrity in his own lifetime, becoming a 'superstar' in 1812, after the publication of Childe Harold. The Byron legend grew to unprecedented proportions after his death in the Greek War of Independence at the age of thirty-six. The problem for a biographer is sifting the truth from the sentimental, the self-serving and the spurious. Fiona MacCarthy has overcome this to produce an immaculately researched biography, which is also her refreshing personal view.
Béla Bartók
by Prof. David Cooper"This deeply researched biography of Bela Bartok (1881-1945) provides a more comprehensive view of the innovative Hungarian musician than ever before. David Cooper traces Bartok's international career as an ardent ethno-musicologist and composer, teacher, and pianist, while also providing a detailed discussion of most of his works. Further, the author explores how Europe's political and cultural tumult affected Bartok's work, travel, and reluctant emigration to the safety of America in his final years. Cooper illuminates Bartok's personal life and relationships, while also expanding what is known about the influence of other musicians-Richard Strauss, Zoltan Kodaly, and Yehudi Menuhin, among many others. The author also looks closely at some of the composer's actions and behaviors which may have been manifestations of Asperger syndrome. The book, in short, is a consummate biography of an internationally admired musician. ""
C'est La Vie
by Suzy GershmanBestselling writer Suzy Gershman (dubbed "Super Shopper Suzy" by Oprah) is our answer to Peter Mayle in this heartfelt, breezy, and funny story of starting over in Paris. Suzy had always fantasized about moving to Paris with her husband, but when he dies unexpectedly, she decides to fulfill their dream alone. Here she gives a deliciously conversational chronicle of her first year in Paris and of the dizzying delights and maddening frustrations of learning to be a Parisian. Filled with Gershman's insider's tips on everything from cooking the perfect clafoutis to-naturally- shopping, C'est la Vie is delightfully entertaining and captures the exhilarating experience of beginning a new adventure. "Anyone who has dreamed of going to live in Paris, or who has faced a devastating loss, or wonders about sex with a Frenchman, will love Suzy Gershman's inspiring story. "-Diane Johnson, author of Le Divorce
C'est Modnifique!: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France
by Ian MooreAfter six years in the idyllic Loire Valley, comedian Ian Moore, his family and his growing menagerie feel like they’re on the cusp of the peace they hoped for. Their grand project, a writing school, is complete – only, nobody’s signed up. The Moores have their work cut out – but they’re determined to give it their best shot!
C'est Modnifique!: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France
by Ian MooreAfter six years in the idyllic Loire Valley, comedian Ian Moore, his family and his growing menagerie feel like they’re on the cusp of the peace they hoped for. Their grand project, a writing school, is complete – only, nobody’s signed up. The Moores have their work cut out – but they’re determined to give it their best shot!
C'est la Vie: Adventures of an English Grump in Rural France
by Ian MooreFollow the misadventures of Ian Moore as he chronicles the charming and chaotic escapades of his family and their eccentric assembly of animals, on their continued search for serenity in rural France. With stresses, strains and animal poo mounting up, la famille Moore have their work cut out - but they're determined to give it their best shot!
C'mon Papa: Dispatches from a Dad in the Dark
by Ryan Knighton<P>Ryan Knighton's humorous and perceptive tales of fatherhood take us inside an unusual new family, one bound by its father's particular darkness and light. <P>C'mon Papa is Ryan Knighton's heartbreaking and hilarious voyage through the first year of fatherhood. Becoming a father is a stressful, daunting rite of passage to be sure, but for a blind father, the fears are unimaginably heightened. Ryan will have to find novel ways to adapt to nearly every aspect of parenting: the most basic skills are nearly impossible to contemplate, let alone master. And how will Ryan get to know this pre-verbal bundle of coos and burps when he can't see her smile, or look into her eyes for hints of the person to come? But this is no pity party, and Ryan has no time for sentimentality. <P>Tackling these hurdles with grace and humour, Ryan is determined to do his part -- and this is where the fun starts. From holding his daughter as she wails into the night to their first nerve-wracking walk to the cafe, no activity between father and daughter is without its pitfalls. In his struggle to "see" Tess, Ryan reimagines the relationship between father and child during that first chaotic year.
C'mon, Get Happy . . .: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus
by David Cassidy Chip DeffaaThis memoir by David Cassidy tells the real story behind his phenomenal ’70s stardom—and the sadness that shadowed it. Includes photos and a new afterword. Barely out of his teens, David Cassidy landed a role on a new sitcom about a musical family that toured in a psychedelic bus. The critics blasted it—but TV viewers loved it! And the young female audience especially loved Keith Partridge. Not only did they tune in each week, they bought The Partridge Family’s hit single, “I Think I Love You,” in the millions, and plastered David’s image on their bedroom walls. Throughout the early seventies, David Cassidy was a phenomenon. In this wry, witty memoir, he recounts not only those wild youthful years and Hollywood relationships—with, among others, stepmom Shirley Jones, costar Susan Dey, actress Meredith Baxter, and two guest stars who soon found greater fame on Charlie’s Angels—but also the darker parts of his life as well. David delves into his painful family history and his childhood in West Orange, New Jersey, and the groupies and drugs he indulged in as his success began to overwhelm him. He also shares his encounters with the icons of the era—Lennon and McCartney, Elvis, the Beach Boys, and more. Most of all, he takes us back to a time when the world seemed more innocent—at least until the camera stopped rolling. Includes a new afterword about David’s final years by friend and coauthor Chip Deffaa. “A chatty read about becoming an overnight success and all the trappings that came with it: Tiger Beat magazine, sold-out stadium shows, hit records, willing girls in every hotel lobby.” —Star Tribune