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Coach's Challenge
by Mike Gottfried Ron BensonCoach Mike Gottfried's professional life took him from college football coach to TV sports analyst. As you read stories of great moments in football, you'll feel like you're in the press box with Coach. Coach's desires to also score big in his personal life led him to found an organization to help fatherless boys. He encourages you to leave a legacy worthy of scoring those extra points in life.
A Coach's Life: My Forty Years in College Basketball
by Sally Jenkins John Kilgo Dean SmithLegendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith tells the full story of his fabled career, and shares the life lessons taught and learned over forty years of unparalleled success as a coach and mentor.For almost forty years, Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina men's basketball program with unsurpassed success- on the court and in shaping young men's lives. In his long-awaited memoir, he reflects on the great games, teams, players, strategies, and rivalries that defined his career, and explains the philosophy that guided him. There's a lot more to life than basketball- though some may beg to differ- but there's a lot more to basketball than basketball, and this is a book about basketball filled with wisdom about life. Dean Smith insisted that the fundamentals of good basketball were the fundamentals of character- passion, discipline, focus, selflessness, and responsibility- and he strove to unite his teams in pursuit of those values.To read this book is to understand why Dean Smith changed the lives of the players he coached, from Michael Jordan, who calls him his second father and who never played a single NBA game without wearing a pair of UNC basketball shorts under his uniform, to the last man on the bench of his least talented team. We all wish we had a coach like Dean Smith in our lives, and now we will have that chance.
Coal Country Killing: A Culture, A Union, and the Murders That Changed It All
by Robert K. Tanenbaum Steve JacksonA triumphant, uplifting true justice story led by jury trial expert, Richard A. Sprague—the indomitable, nationally renowned prosecutor who engaged in the most intense manhunt investigation in police history.Coal Country Killing: A Culture, A Union, And The Murders That Changed It All, revolves around the cold-blooded 1969 assassination of United Mineworkers of America &“reform candidate&” Jock Yablonski, and murder of his wife and daughter in their Pennsylvania farmhouse. But driving the story are the extraordinary efforts of a tenacious special prosecutor and his &“army&” of investigators to bring the gunmen, the union boss who ordered the murders, and his henchmen who saw them carried out, to justice. Initially, three bumbling small-time criminals, dubbed &“The Hillbilly Hitmen,&” were arrested and charged. But they were the tip of the iceberg as the murders were directed by then-UMWA President &“Tough Tony&” Boyle as revenge for Yablonski running against him in the bitterly contested 1968 union election and to prevent his corruption from being exposed. Up against the tight-lipped culture of Appalachia coal country, legendary Philadelphia homicide prosecutor Richard A. Sprague, and his investigators, spent nearly nine years doggedly working their way up the ladder of those responsible to the final showdown with Boyle. Written by New York Times bestselling authors—former New York County Assistant District Attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum, a lifelong friend of Sprague&’s, and Steve Jackson—Coal Country Killing is a tour de force for those who love justice.
Coal Dust in My Blood: The Autobiography of a Coal Miner
by Bill JohnstoneThe men who worked British Columbia's mines have passed into history. Coal Dust In My Blood is a moving account of one coal miner's life, in plain, evocative language. But this book is much more than a personal memoir. Bill Johnstone's mining career spanned several decades and he worked in a wide variety of positions. His broad insights reveal important aspects of the history of coal mining in BC.
Coal Miner's Daughter: Coal Miner's Daughter
by Loretta LynnNew York Times bestselling author and Nashville legend Loretta Lynn tells the story of her rise from deep poverty in Butcher Holler, Kentucky, to the top of the male-dominated country music industry. Reissued for the 40th Anniversary of the Oscar-winning, Sissy Spacek-starring film of the same name, Coal Miner's Daughter recounts Loretta Lynn's astonishing journey to become one of the original queens of country music. Loretta grew up dirt poor in the mountains of Kentucky, she was married at thirteen years old, and became a mother soon after. At the age of twenty-four, her husband, Doo, gave her a guitar as an anniversary present. Soon, she began penning songs and singing in front of honky-tonk audiences, and, through years of hard work, talent, and true grit, eventually made her way to Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry, eventually securing her place in country music history. Loretta's prolific and influential songwriting made her the first woman to receive a gold record in country music, and got her named the first female Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association. This riveting memoir introduces readers to all the highs and lows on her road to success and the tough, smart, funny, and fascinating woman behind the legend.
Coal to Diamonds: A Memoir
by Michelle Tea Beth DittoA raw and surprisingly beautiful coming-of-age memoir, Coal to Diamonds tells the story of Mary Beth Ditto, a girl from rural Arkansas who found her voice. Born and raised in Judsonia, Arkansas--a place where indoor plumbing was a luxury, squirrel was a meal, and sex ed was taught during senior year in high school (long after many girls had gotten pregnant and dropped out) Beth Ditto stood out. Beth was a fat, pro-choice, sexually confused choir nerd with a great voice, an eighties perm, and a Kool Aid dye job. Her single mother worked overtime, which meant Beth and her five siblings were often left to fend for themselves. Beth spent much of her childhood as a transient, shuttling between relatives, caring for a sickly, volatile aunt she nonetheless loved, looking after sisters, brothers, and cousins, and trying to steer clear of her mother's bad boyfriends. Her punk education began in high school under the tutelage of a group of teens--her second family--who embraced their outsider status and introduced her to safety-pinned clothing, mail-order tapes, queer and fat-positive zines, and any shred of counterculture they could smuggle into Arkansas. With their help, Beth survived high school, a tragic family scandal, and a mental breakdown, and then she got the hell out of Judsonia. She decamped to Olympia, Washington, a late-1990s paradise for Riot Grrrls and punks, and began to cultivate her glamorous, queer, fat, femme image. On a whim--with longtime friends Nathan, a guitarist and musical savant in a polyester suit, and Kathy, a quiet intellectual turned drummer--she formed the band Gossip. She gave up trying to remake her singing voice into the ethereal wisp she thought it should be and instead embraced its full, soulful potential. Gossip gave her that chance, and the raw power of her voice won her and Gossip the attention they deserved. Marked with the frankness, humor, and defiance that have made her an international icon, Beth Ditto's unapologetic, startlingly direct, and poetic memoir is a hypnotic and inspiring account of a woman coming into her own.
The Coalwood Way: A Memoir (Coalwood #2)
by Homer HickamIt's fall, 1959, and Homer "Sonny" Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boys are in their senior year at Big Creek High, launching handbuilt rockets that soar thousands of feet into the West Virginia sky. But in a season traditionally marked by celebrations of the spirit, Coalwood finds itself at a painful crossroads. The strains can be felt within the Hickam home, where a beleaguered HomerSr. is resorting to a daring but risky plan to keep the mine alive, and his wife Elsie is feeling increasingly isolated from both her family and the townspeople. And Sonny, despite a blossoming relationship with a local girl whose dreams are as big as his, finds his own mood repeatedly darkened by an unexplainable sadness. Eager to rally the town's spirits and make her son's final holiday season at home a memorable one, Elsie enlists Sonny and the Rocket Boys' aid in making the Coalwood Christmas Pageant the best ever. But trouble at the mine and the arrival of a beautiful young outsider threaten to tear the community apart when it most needs to come together. And when disaster strikes at home, and Elsie's beloved pet squirrel escapes under his watch, Sonny realizes that helping his town and redeeming himself in his mother's eyes may be a bigger-and more rewarding-challenge than he has ever faced. The result is pure storytelling magic- a tale of small-town parades and big-hearted preachers, the timeless love of families and unforgettable adventures of boyhood friends-that could only come from the man who brought the worldRocket Boys
Coast To Coast: A Family Romance
by Ellen R. Sasahara Nora JohnsonNora Johnson was a young child when her parents' marriage collapsed. Her father, Nunnally Johnson, the writer, producer, or director of many acclaimed movies, such as The Grapes of Wrath and The Dirty Dozen, remained in California, where he would continue to be a major Hollywood presence for more than three decades. Nora's mother, Marion, a beautiful but unsettled woman, took her to New York to start a new life -- one surrounded by her mother's lovers and eccentric literary friends instead of movie stars ...
Coasting: Running Around the Coast of Britain – Life, Love and (Very) Loose Plans
by Elise DowningElise had a new job, flat and relationship – and they were all making her utterly miserable. Then the obvious solution hit her: run 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain. Over the next 301 days, she saw Britain at its most wild and wonderful, and discovered that running away doesn’t solve your problems – but it's more fun than dealing with them.
Coasting: A Year By the Bay
by Susan KurosawaTired of soy milk lattes and eternal traffic snarls, journalist Susan Kurosawa and husband Graeme Blundell bought a 1920s fishing shack at Hardys Bay on the NSW Central Coast and set about transforming it into `Peacock Cottage? (named for resident bird Alfredo). This introduced them to the local coastal fraternity of builders, plumbers, painters and other amiable ferals?from Mother Mary the real estate matriarch to Adam the Gardener, who only works when the planets are properly aligned and there?s no surf. In the course of a year, Susan and Graeme go native: he buys a ute, she becomes foster mother to the local bird population and threatens to take up watercolours and pottery. Featuring black and white illustrations, snippets of local history, special recipes for local seafood and produce, as well as information on local plants and animals, COASTING is sure to appeal to everyone who dreams of acting out their own `Sea Change?.
Coasting: A Private Voyage (Vintage Departures)
by Jonathan RabanFrom the national bestselling, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Bad Land comes &“a lively, intensely personal recounting of a voyage into a gifted writer's country and self&” (The New York Times Book Review).Put Jonathan Raban on a boat and the results will be fascinating, and never more so than when he&’s sailing around the serpentine, 2,000-mile coast of his native England. In this acutely perceived and beautifully written book, the bestselling author of Bad Land turns that voyage–which coincided with the Falklands war of 1982-into an occasion for meditations on his country, his childhood, and the elusive notion of home.Whether he&’s chatting with bored tax exiles on the Isle of Man, wrestling down a mainsail during a titanic gale, or crashing a Scottish house party where the kilted guests turn out to be Americans, Raban is alert to the slightest nuance of meaning. One can read Coasting for his precise naturalistic descriptions or his mordant comments on the new England, where the principal industry seems to be the marketing of Englishness. But one always reads it with pleasure.
A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents
by Mary-Alice DanielA poetic coming-of-age memoir that probes the legacies and myths of family, race, and religion—from Nigeria to England to AmericaMary-Alice Daniel’s family moved from West Africa to England when she was a very young girl, leaving behind the vivid culture of her native land in the Nigerian savanna. They arrived to a blanched, cold world of prim suburbs and unfamiliar customs. So began her family’s series of travels across three continents in search of places of belonging.A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing ventures through the physical and mythical landscapes of Daniel’s upbringing. Against the backdrop of a migratory adolescence, she reckons with race, religious conflict, culture clash, and a multiplicity of possible identities. Daniel lays bare the lives and legends of her parents and past generations, unearthing the tribal mythologies that shaped her kin and her own way of being in the world. The impossible question of which tribe to claim as her own is one she has long struggled with: the Nigerian government recognizes her as Longuda, her father’s tribe; according to matrilineal tradition, Daniel belongs to her mother’s tribe, the nomadic Fulani; and the language she grew up speaking is that of the Hausa tribe. But her strongest emotional connection is to her adopted home: California, the final place she reveals to readers through its spellbinding history.Daniel’s approach is deeply personal: in order to reclaim her legacies, she revisits her unsettled childhood and navigates the traditions of her ancestors. Her layered narratives invoke the contrasting spiritualities of her tribes: Islam, Christianity, and magic. A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing is a powerful cultural distillation of mythos and ethos, mapping the far-flung corners of the Black diaspora that Daniel inherits and inhabits. Through lyrical observation and deep introspection, she probes the bonds and boundaries of Blackness, from bygone colonial empires to her present home in America.
A Coat of Yellow Paint: Moving Through the Noise to Love the Life You Live
by Naomi DavisLife doesn&’t come with an instruction book for the role of perfect wife and mother. However, as Naomi Davis discovered on her journey from newlywed Juilliard dancer to mother of five, a joyful life is a work of art that only you can create for yourself.***When Naomi launched the popular blog Love Taza over a decade ago, she had no way of knowing where that first blog post would lead or the millions of lives she&’d impact.In A Coat of Yellow Paint, Naomi shares all-new stories, time-stamped as intimate and vulnerable essays, exploring her faith, personal heartaches, challenges balancing a home life with career, motherhood, and her struggles with infertility. Along the way, Naomi illustrates the urgency of celebrating life&’s most important things––family, faith, friendship, and an upright piano painted bright yellow––ignoring the critics.Naomi shares life lessons she&’s learned, including how tocommunicate openly and honestly in your marriage and friendshipsbe confident in the choices you make as a mother--and why you&’re more than &“just a mom&”overcome criticism--including from yourself--on body image, infertility, and doing &“enough&”make childhood feel magical, and seek out adventures with your little onesnavigate spiritual upheaval and reclaim your faithfind more soulfulness in your social media and online experienceIf you dream of a life celebrating family, self, and work in a way that feels right for you, A Coat of Yellow Paint will inspire you to drown out the noise of others&’ opinions and expectations--so you can be empowered to love your life.
Cobain on Cobain: Interviews and Encounters
by Nick SoulsbyThe most extensive and complete portrait of Kurt Cobain's life as it unfolded Cobain on Cobain places the reader at the key moments of Kurt Cobain's rollercoaster life, telling the tale of Nirvana entirely through his words and those of his bandmates as they unleashed the whirlwind that would consume them for the last half of their five-year career. This is the most comprehensive compendium of interviews with the band ever released and each interview is another knot in a thread running from just after the recording of their first album Bleach to the band's collapse in 1994 followed shortly by Cobain's suicide. Interviews have been selected to provide definitive coverage of the events of those five years from as close to the key moments as possible, so that the reader can experience Cobain reacting to the circumstances of each tour, each new release, each public incident, all the way to the end. Including a huge number of interviews that have never before seen print, Cobain on Cobain will long remain the definitive source for anyone searching for Kurt Cobain's version of his own story.
Cobb: A Biography
by Al StumpA New York Times Notable Book; Spitball Award for Best Baseball Book of 1994; Basis for a major Hollywood motion picture. Now in paperback, the biography that baseball fans all across the country have been talking about. Al Stump redefined America's perception of one of its most famous sports heroes with this gripping look at a man who walked the line between greatness and psychosis. Based on Stump's interviews with Ty Cobb while ghostwriting the Hall-of-Famer's 1961 autobiography, this award-winning new account of Cobb's life and times reveals both the darkness and the brilliance of the "Georgia Peach." "The most powerful baseball biography I have read."--Roger Kahn, author of THE BOYS OF SUMMER
The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell from Grace, and Came Back Stronger Than Ever
by Steve Madden Jodi LipperThe man behind the iconic shoe brand recounts his rise to the top, struggle with addiction, time in prison, and ultimate recovery in this candid memoir. Everyone knows Steve Madden&’s shoes, but few are familiar with the man behind the brand. Over the past thirty years, Madden has taken his eponymous shoe company from a fledgling startup he founded with a mere $1,100 to a global, multibillion-dollar enterprise. But Madden&’s mistakes, from his battle with addiction to the financial shortcuts that landed him in prison, are as important to his story as his most iconic designs. In this raw, intimate, and ultimately inspiring book, Madden holds nothing back as he shares how he got where he is and the lessons he&’s learned along the way. From his unconventional hiring strategies to his slavish devotion to product, Madden offers a business perspective that is as unique as his style. In The Cobbler, readers are treated to the wild ride though Madden&’s meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and stunning comeback. But they will also walk away uplifted by a man who owns up to his mistakes, determined to give back and use his hard-won platform to create positive change.
Cobblestones, Conversations, and Corks: A Son's Discovery of His Italian Heritage
by Giovanni Ruscitti“Giovanni Ruscitti has written a wonderful book of special relevance for all North and South Americans whose ancestors have migrated from Asia, Europe, and Africa. His journey to the land of his forefathers is so meaningful not only because of the discovery of what connects us ‘Americanos’ to the rest of the world but also the journey within. A trip in which we all feel recognized. Bravo maestro!” —Hernando de Soto, finalist for Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and author of Mystery of Capital Amazon #1 Bestseller Cobblestones, Conversations, and Corks is a passionate and deeply moving story about a father-son relationship; a culture rooted in family, food and wine; and an ancestral small town in Central Italy that was left behind after World War II. On November 11, 1943, the Nazis invaded Cansano, forcing its two thousand inhabitants to make a tough decision—fight and be killed or sent to a POW camp, stay behind as servants to the Nazis, or move into the unforgiving mountains of Abruzzo while the Nazis used their village as a home base. Giovanni Ruscitti’s family chose the latter and spent the next few months living in horrendous winter conditions in the rugged mountains. When the war ended, they returned to a village so ravaged by the Nazis that, today, the town has less than two hundred citizens and remains in a dilapidated state. In this memoir, Ruscitti visits Cansano for the first time with his family, including parents Emiliano and Maria. As he walks Cansano’s cobblestones, his father’s stories and life are illuminated by the town piazza, the steep valley, and the surrounding mountains. He relives the tales of his parents’ struggles during World War II, their extreme post-war misery and poverty, their budding romance after, and their decision to immigrate to the US in search of the American Dream. Ruscitti’s adventure is not just an exploration of his homeland but reveals what family, culture, wisdom, and love really means. And what our heritage really tells us about who we are.
The Cobra: My Story
by Carl FrochCarl Froch grew up on a tough Nottingham housing estate. His dad took him to the local boxing gym at just nine years old, hoping boxing would keep him out of trouble. Carl’s incredible natural ability soon became clear and he rapidly ascended the heights of professional boxing, becoming three-time Super Middleweight champion and Britain’s most exciting boxer.In 29 professional fights has suffered defeat only twice. His greatest fights have already gone down in boxing history. In 2009 he was knocked down for the first time in his career by Jermain Taylor. Behind on everyone's scorecard but his own, until, with just 14 seconds of the fight to go, he came back in spectacular fashion with a stunning knock out. In 2012 he emphatically beat Lucian Bute to reclaim his belt in front of record audiences. The press described the fight as ‘one of the best nights in British boxing’. The Cobra follows Britain's most respected boxer every step of the way as he prepares for, and fights, the most important bouts of his life. Honest, outspoken, and every inch the boy from Nottingham, Carl pulls no punches in his revealing story from inside the high-stakes world of boxing, from his first discovery of his talent to his ascent to World Champion.**Fully updated from the hardback; this edition includes two brand new chapters covering Carl's astonishing fifth-round destruction of previously unbeaten Lucian Bute, to reclaim his IBF world super middleweight title**
Cobra: A Life of Baseball and Brotherhood
by Dave Parker Dave Jordan&“For that period of time, he was the greatest player of my generation.&”—Keith Hernandez Dave Parker was one of the biggest and most badass baseball players of the late twentieth century. He stood at six foot five and weighed 235 pounds. He was a seven-time All-Star, a two-time batting champion, a frequent Gold Glove winner, the 1978 National League MVP, and a World Series champion with both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland A&’s. Here the great Dave Parker delivers his wild and long-awaited autobiography—an authoritative account of Black baseball during its heyday as seen through the eyes of none other than the Cobra. From his earliest professional days learning the game from such baseball legends as Pie Traynor and Roberto Clemente to his later years mentoring younger talents like Eric Davis and Barry Larkin, Cobra is the story of a Black athlete making his way through the game during a time of major social and cultural transformation. From the racially integrated playing fields of his high school days to the cookie-cutter cathedrals of his prime alongside all the midseason and late-night theatrics that accompany an athlete&’s life on the road–Parker offers readers a glimpse of all that and everything in between. Everything. Parker recounts the triumphant victories and the heart-breaking defeats, both on and off the field. He shares the lessons and experiences of reaching the absolute pinnacle of professional athletics, the celebrations with his sports siblings who also got a taste of the thrills, as well as his beloved baseball brothers whom the game left behind. Parker recalls the complicated politics of spring training, recounts the early stages of the free agency era, revisits the notorious 1985 drug trials, and pays tribute to the enduring power of relationships between players at the deepest and highest levels of the sport. With comments at the start of each chapter by other baseball legends such as Pete Rose, Dave Winfield, Willie Randolph, and many more, Parker tells an epic tale of friendship, success, indulgence, and redemption, but most of all, family. Cobra is the unforgettable story of a million-dollar athlete just before baseball became a billion-dollar game.
Cobwebs and Cream Teas
by Mary MackieA warm and funny account of what it is like to live in and run a National Trust house: Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk.When Mary Mackie's husband became Houseman at Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk she suddenly found herself running one of the most elegant 17th-century houses in East Anglia. During their first year living in the National Trust house she was endlessly running up and down corridors, making visitors welcome, keeping unwelcome visitors at bay, arranging concerts, dinners and vast cleaning programmes. But leavening all the hard work were the exciting discoveries - hidden staircases, treasures in the attic and an ice house in the woods. COBWEBS AND CREAM TEAS reveals the tribulations and excitement that occur in any house open to the public, and it assures us that living in a National Trust house provides only the certainty that life will never be dull, or idle, again.
Cobwebs and Cream Teas
by Mary MackieA warm and funny account of what it is like to live in and run a National Trust house: Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk.When Mary Mackie's husband became Houseman at Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk she suddenly found herself running one of the most elegant 17th-century houses in East Anglia. During their first year living in the National Trust house she was endlessly running up and down corridors, making visitors welcome, keeping unwelcome visitors at bay, arranging concerts, dinners and vast cleaning programmes. But leavening all the hard work were the exciting discoveries - hidden staircases, treasures in the attic and an ice house in the woods. COBWEBS AND CREAM TEAS reveals the tribulations and excitement that occur in any house open to the public, and it assures us that living in a National Trust house provides only the certainty that life will never be dull, or idle, again.
Cocaine and Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette
by Tyler Mahan CoeFrom the creator of the acclaimed country music history podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones, comes the epic American saga of country music&’s legendary royal couple—George Jones and Tammy Wynette.By the early 1960s nearly everybody paying attention to country music agreed that George Jones was the greatest country singer of all time. After taking honky-tonk rockers like &“White Lightning&” all the way up the country charts, he revealed himself to be an unmatched virtuoso on &“She Thinks I Still Care,&” thus cementing his status as a living legend. That&’s where the trouble started. Only at this new level of fame did Jones realize he suffered from extreme stage fright. His method of dealing with that involved great quantities of alcohol, which his audience soon discovered as Jones more often than not showed up to concerts falling-down drunk or failed to show up at all. But the fans always forgave him because he just kept singing so damn good. Then he got married to Tammy Wynette right around the time she became one of the most famous women alive with the release of &“Stand by Your Man.&” Tammy Wynette grew up believing George Jones was the greatest country singer of all time. After deciding to become a country singer herself, she went to Nashville, got a record deal, then met and married her hero. With the pop crossover success of &“Stand by Your Man&” (and the international political drama surrounding the song&’s lyrics) came a gigantic audience, who were sold a fairy tale image of a couple soon being called The King and Queen of Country Music. Many fans still believe that fairy tale today. The behind-the-scenes truth is very different from the images shown on album covers. Illustrated throughout by singular artist Wayne White, Cocaine & Rhinestones is an unprecedented look at the lives of two indelible country icons, reframing their careers within country music as well as modern history itself.
Cocaine Confidential
by Wensley ClarksonFrom those who grow the coca to the end dealers-the inside stories of the people involved in the world of cocaine smuggling Cocaine is the world's most notorious narcotic. It underpins a vast, multi-billion dollar underworld with a dark and deadly side. But who really are the shadowy people behind this chilling network? The cocoa farmers, the jungle sweatshop workers, the smugglers, the suppliers, and, ultimately, the dealers who provide for the world's hundreds of millions of users. This book goes inside the lives of all these characters to reveal their stories for the first time. Along the way you'll go inside a cocaine jail, meet hitmen, terror suspects, crooked politicians, bankers, coke barons, mules, hardened traffickers, and corrupt cops as the truth is unraveled in a roller coaster ride through the secret world of cocaine.
The Cocaine Diaries: A Venezuelan Prison Nightmare
by Jeff Farrell Paul Keany‘It won’t happen to me. That’s what I thought when I got on the plane to Venezuela. But it did – I got caught.’Caught smuggling half a million euros’ worth of cocaine, Paul Keany was sexually assaulted by Venezuelan anti-drugs officers before being sentenced to eight years in the notorious Los Teques prison outside Caracas. There he was plunged into a nightmarish world of coke-fuelled killings, gun battles, stabbings, extortion and forced hunger strikes until finally, just over two years into his sentence, he gained early parole and embarked on a daring escape from South America . . .Aided by his extensive prison diaries, Keany reveals the true horror of life inside Los Teques: a shocking underworld behind bars where inmates pay protection money to stay alive, prostitutes do the rounds and vast amounts of cocaine are smuggled in for cell-block bosses to sell on to prisoners for huge profits. The Cocaine Diaries is a remarkable story, told by Keany with honesty, courage and even humour, despite knowing that every day behind bars might have been his last.
Cocaine's Son: A Memoir
by Dave ItzkoffWith sharp wit, self-deprecating humor, and penetrating honesty, New York Times journalist Dave Itzkoff turns a keen eye on his life with the mysterious, maddening, much-loved man of whom he writes. For the first eight years of my life I seem to have believed he was the product of my imagination. Itzkoff's father was the man who lumbered home at night and spent hours murmuring to his small son about his dreams and hopes for the boy's future, and the fears and failures of his own past. He was the hard-nosed New York fur merchant with an unexpectedly emotional soul; a purveyor of well-worn anecdotes and bittersweet life lessons; a trusted ally in childhood revolts against motherly discipline and Hebrew school drudgery; a friend, advisor, and confidant. He was also a junkie. In Cocaine's Son, Itzkoff chronicles his coming of age in the disjointed shadow of his father's double life--struggling to reconcile his love for the garrulous protector and provider, and his loathing for the pitiful addict. Through his adolescent and teen years Itzkoff is haunted by the spectacle of his father's drug-fueled depressions and disappearances. In college, Itzkoff plunges into his own seemingly fated bout with substance abuse. And later, an emotional therapy session ends in the intense certainty that he will never overcome the same demons that have driven the older man. But when his father finally gets clean, a long "morning after" begins for them both. And on a road trip across the country and back into memory, in search of clues and revelations, together they discover that there may be more binding them than ever separated them. Unsparing and heartbreaking, mordantly funny and powerfully felt,Cocaine's Son clears a place for Dave Itzkoff in the forefront of contemporary memoirists.