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Never Give Up!
by Ron Heagy Jr. Donita DyerSo begins Ron Heagy's amazing story. The surfing accident that left him a quadriplegic the day before his eighteenth birthday became the basis for a ministry that today touches thousands of people. Ron's intensely personal, often humorous, recounting of his path from pain, discouragement, and angry rebellion to a mature faith and peaceful heart is a testimony to God's power to change attitudes and to change lives. But more than one man's story, it is also the story of family, friends, and total strangers who, used by God, helped make Ron's life whole again. Ron writes, "I asked God to heal my body and let me walk again. He didn't answer my prayers in the way I had hoped he would. . . But I'm learning, with every day that I live and every life that touches mine, that this is where I'm supposed to be -- here, in this wheelchair, doing God's work. "With this updated edition of Life Is an Attitude, readers of all ages will be drawn to Ron's frank, fresh narrative and be moved to examine their own faith and what it means to truly trust the Lord.
Never Give Up: A Prairie Family's Story
by Tom BrokawIn this moving story, the New York Times bestselling author of The Greatest Generation chronicles the values and lessons he absorbed from his parents and other people who worked hard to build lives on the prairie during the first half of the twentieth century. &“In our fractured times, this inspiring book reminds us how we can rise to meet our current challenges by honoring the fortitude of the generations before us.&”—Walter IsaacsonTom&’s father, Red, left school in the second grade to work in the family hotel—the Brokaw House, established in Bristol, South Dakota, by R. P. Brokaw in 1883. Eventually, through work on construction jobs, Red developed an exceptional talent for machines. Tom&’s mother, Jean, was the daughter of a farmer who lost everything during the Great Depression. They met after a high school play, when Jean played the lead and Red fell in love with her from the audience. Although they didn&’t have much money early in their marriage, especially once they had three boys at home, Red&’s philosophy of &“Never give up&” served them well. His big break came after World War II, when he went to work for the Army Corps of Engineers building great dams across the Missouri River, magnificent structures like the Fort Randall and the Gavins Point dams. Late in life, Red surprised his family by recording his memories of the hard times of his early life, reflections that inspired this book.Tom Brokaw is known as one of the most successful people in broadcast journalism. Throughout his legendary career, Brokaw has always asked what we can learn from world events and from our history. Within Never Give Up is one answer, a portrait of the resilience and respect for others at the heart of one American family&’s story.
Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL
by Michael Holley Tedy Bruschi"Tedy gives you something to believe in. Whether we're winning or losing, he holds his head high, and he knows himself and handles himself so well, others can't help but follow him. The way he practices and plays forces you to become a better teammate; the way he demands hustle and toughness forces you to become a better leader; and the way he carries himself inspires you to become a better person. This made his return to playing on October 30 against Buffalo all the more electrifying. The stadium was louder that night than the nights we had raised our Super Bowl banners. Our captain, our leader, our inspiration was back on the field doing what he loved to do. Tedy had spent months rehabbing, had countless doctor visits, and had undergone hundreds of tests trying to play again. Just eight months after our victory in Super Bowl XXXIX, here we were celebrating a much bigger victory on our home field. Sure it was great to win the game, but that night we were celebrating Tedy's return as he showed us teammates, fans, family, and friends what it takes to become victorious in life. "You might be coming to this book as a fan of Tedy's football skills and, don't get me wrong, gaining the insights of one of the best defenders in Patriots history is worth the price of admission, but that's just part of the story. There are a lot of reasons to look up to him, and I promise you will finish this book with an admiration for him on a much deeper level. " -Tom Brady (from the Foreword)
Never Give up on Your Dream: My journey
by Don Yaeger Warren MoonThe inspiring life story of Warren Moon, the "only" player inducted into both the Pro Football and Canadian Football Halls of Fame
Never Goin' Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle For Good
by Al RokerWhat's holding you back? What excuses are you making up that are stopping you from living your best life? I used them all, and look where that got me! Are you ready to stop living insane and get real with yourself? Al Roker's aha! moment came a decade ago. Closing in on 350 pounds, he promised his dying father that he wasn't going to keep living as he was. That led to his decision for a stomach bypass--and his life-changing drop to 190. But fifty of those pounds crept back until he finally devised a plan and stuck to it. Never Goin' Back is Roker's inspiring, candid, and often hilarious story of self-discovery, revealing a (slimmer) side of his life that no one knows. With illuminating and sometimes painfully honest stories about his childhood, his struggle against the odds to make something of himself, and his family life today, Roker reveals the effects that a lifelong battle with weight issues can have on a person--and how, regardless of the frustration and setbacks, you must never lose faith in yourself (just inches). Most important, he knows that losing weight is as much--if not more--a state of mind as of body. That's why he's here: to recharge your willpower and see you through it like a friend--with warmth, humor, and a healthy new outlook on life.
Never Grow Up
by Jackie ChanEveryone knows Jackie Chan. Whether it’s from Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, The Karate Kid, or Kung Fu Panda, Jackie is admired by generations of moviegoers for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and mind-bending stunts. In 2016—after fifty-six years in the industry, over 200 films, and many broken bones—he received an honorary Academy Award for his lifetime achievement in film. But at 64 years-old, Jackie is just getting started. Now, in Never Grow Up, the global superstar reflects on his early life, including his childhood years at the China Drama Academy (in which he was enrolled at the age of six), his big breaks (and setbacks) in Hong Kong and Hollywood, his numerous brushes with death (both on and off film sets), and his life as a husband and father (which has been, admittedly and regrettably, imperfect). Jackie has never shied away from his mistakes. Since The Young Master in 1980, Jackie’s films have ended with a bloopers reel in which he stumbles over his lines, misses his mark, or crashes to the ground in a stunt gone south. In Never Grow Up, Jackie applies the same spirit of openness to his life, proving time and time again why he’s beloved the world over: he’s honest, funny, kind, brave beyond reckoning and—after all this time—still young at heart.
Never Grow Up
by Jackie ChanA candid, thrilling memoir from one of the most recognizable, influential, and beloved cinematic personalities in the world.Everyone knows Jackie Chan. Whether it&’s from Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, The Karate Kid, or Kung Fu Panda, Jackie is admired by generations of moviegoers for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and mind-bending stunts. In 2016—after fifty-six years in the industry, over 200 films, and many broken bones—he received an honorary Academy Award for his lifetime achievement in film. But at 64 years-old, Jackie is just getting started. Now, in Never Grow Up, the global superstar reflects on his early life, including his childhood years at the China Drama Academy (in which he was enrolled at the age of six), his big breaks (and setbacks) in Hong Kong and Hollywood, his numerous brushes with death (both on and off film sets), and his life as a husband and father (which has been, admittedly and regrettably, imperfect). Jackie has never shied away from his mistakes. Since The Young Master in 1980, Jackie&’s films have ended with a bloopers reel in which he stumbles over his lines, misses his mark, or crashes to the ground in a stunt gone south. In Never Grow Up, Jackie applies the same spirit of openness to his life, proving time and time again why he&’s beloved the world over: he&’s honest, funny, kind, brave beyond reckoning and—after all this time—still young at heart.
Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date
by Katie Heaney"I've been single for my entire life. Not one boyfriend. Not one short-term dating situation. Not one person with whom I regularly hung out and kissed on the face."So begins Katie Heaney's memoir of her years spent looking for love, but never quite finding it. By age 25, equipped with a college degree, a load of friends, and a happy family life, she still has never had a boyfriend...and she's barely even been on a second date.Throughout this laugh-out-loud funny book, you will meet Katie's loyal group of girlfriends, including flirtatious and outgoing Rylee, the wild child to Katie's shrinking violet, as well as a whole roster of Katie's ill-fated crushes. And you will get to know Katie herself -- a smart, modern heroine relaying truths about everything from the subtleties of a Facebook message exchange to the fact that "Everybody who works in a coffee shop is at least a little bit hot."Funny, relatable, and inspiring, this is a memoir for anyone who has ever struggled to find love, but has also had a lot of fun in the process.
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned
by Alan AldaHe’s one of America’s most recognizable and acclaimed actors–a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his eleven years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.<P><P> “My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six,” begins Alda’s irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession. <P> Yet Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow. <P> It is the story of turning points in Alda’s life, events that would make him what he is–if only he could survive them.<P> From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermist’s shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death can’t be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.<P> Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.
Never Judge a Book by its Cover: The Autobiography
by Lisa RileyThe story behind the nation's new darling - the former EMMERDALE and STRICTLY COME DANCING star, Lisa Riley.Lisa Riley won the hearts of the nation as she danced for her life, now it's time to read her life...NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER is the inspirational and moving story of how a fairytale came true. From her beginnings in Bury, Lisa went on to become the darling of television and stage. But it was on STRICTLY COME DANCING that she wowed the nation with her energy, sparkle and never-ending enthusiasm.This talented lass from Bury has, at last, brought a real woman's figure to our screens and allowed women to say, 'this is me: take it or leave it'.Lisa's message is clear: whatever size you are, and whatever life throws at you, be who you want to be and stay true to yourself!
Never Judge a Book by its Cover: The Autobiography
by Lisa RileyThe story behind the nation's new darling - the former EMMERDALE and STRICTLY COME DANCING star, Lisa Riley.Lisa Riley won the hearts of the nation as she danced for her life, now it's time to read her life...NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER is the inspirational and moving story of how a fairytale came true. From her beginnings in Bury, Lisa went on to become the darling of television and stage. But it was on STRICTLY COME DANCING that she wowed the nation with her energy, sparkle and never-ending enthusiasm.This talented lass from Bury has, at last, brought a real woman's figure to our screens and allowed women to say, 'this is me: take it or leave it'.Lisa's message is clear: whatever size you are, and whatever life throws at you, be who you want to be and stay true to yourself!
Never Leave Your Dead: A True Story of War Trauma, Murder, and Madness
by Diane CameronIn March of 1953, Donald Watkins, a former Marine who served in China during the Japanese invasion of 1937, murdered his wife and mother-in-law. After serving twenty-two years in Farview State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, he was released and eventually married again. A decade later, Donald may or may not have been the cause of his second wife's death, as well.Author Diane Cameron uncovers the true story of her stepfather, Donald Watkins. Was he a traumatized veteran? A victim of abuse in the mental-health system? Was he a criminal? Mentally ill? Or just eccentric?As she unravels this mystery, Cameron finds healing and understanding with her own struggles and history of family abuse. She discovers an unlikely collection of role models in the community of the China Marines, as they were known. Together, they help put the pieces of shared war experience in perspective and resolve the more complex issue of understanding trauma itself.With insights drawn from diverse experts such as Thomas Szasz and Bessel van der Kolk, Cameron unlocks the connection between the experience of veterans of past wars and those who deal with the war trauma today.Diane Cameron is an award-winning columnist. An excerpt from Never Leave Your Dead was first published in the Bellevue Literary Review and was nominated for a 2006 Pushcart Prize.
Never Leave a Man Behind: Around the Falklands and Rowing across the Pacific
by Mick Dawson'Mick Dawson's gripping Never Leave A Man Behind, effectively two adventure stories for the price of one, can be justifiably described as "unputdownable". Dawson is a man you would want on your side, whether in battle or tackling waves as high as houses should you ever consider rowing the Pacific.'Sports Book of the Month'An excellent read, it puts you in the boat, understanding what it's like to be in an extremely challenging environment while maintaining composure, cheerfulness and respect for your fellow men. I cannot recommend it highly enough'Keith M. Breslauer, Trustee of The Royal Marines Charity'Breathtaking - builds tension from the very start with life-and-death challenges throughout. Courage and comradeship at their very best, showing how mental and physical disabilities cannot and are not allowed to define or undermine the human self. Leaves you in awe and respect for one man determined to help his muckers win their battles whatever it takes - at great personal cost'Jonathan Ball, Director, The Royal Marines CharityThe stories of two veterans - one traumatised, one blind - who rediscover themselves with the help of a friend in the course of two epic ocean adventures, kayaking around the Falklands and rowing across the Pacific.Mick Dawson tells the story of kayaking around the Falkland Islands with friend and fellow Royal Marines veteran Steve Grenham, who was struggling to cope with the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the extraordinary tale of his 2,500-mile voyage in a rowing boat with his friend and former Royal Marine Commando Steve 'Sparky' Sparkes, who was not only a rowing novice, but also blind. Sparky and Mick succeeded in rowing across the finish line after a truly epic voyage of over 2,500 miles from Monterey Bay in California to Waikiki, Hawaii. They'd hoped to break the record for a two-man rowboat and finish in less than fifty-five days, but a hurricane interfered with their plans. It took them eighty-two days, sixteen hours and fifty-four minutes to complete the race, but it was an even greater achievement for that, and Sparky became the first visually impaired person to row across the Pacific.The race with Sparky was the second expedition of an organisation Mick had set up a few years earlier, The Cockleshell Endeavour, designed to help another former Royal Marine and friend, Steve Grenham, by kayaking with him around the Falklands, where both former commandos served during the 1982 conflict with Argentina.
Never Leave a Man Behind: Around the Falklands and Rowing across the Pacific
by Mick Dawson'Mick Dawson's gripping Never Leave A Man Behind, effectively two adventure stories for the price of one, can be justifiably described as "unputdownable". Dawson is a man you would want on your side, whether in battle or tackling waves as high as houses should you ever consider rowing the Pacific.'Sports Book of the Month'An excellent read, it puts you in the boat, understanding what it's like to be in an extremely challenging environment while maintaining composure, cheerfulness and respect for your fellow men. I cannot recommend it highly enough'Keith M. Breslauer, Trustee of The Royal Marines Charity'Breathtaking - builds tension from the very start with life-and-death challenges throughout. Courage and comradeship at their very best, showing how mental and physical disabilities cannot and are not allowed to define or undermine the human self. Leaves you in awe and respect for one man determined to help his muckers win their battles whatever it takes - at great personal cost'Jonathan Ball, Director, The Royal Marines CharityThe stories of two veterans - one traumatised, one blind - who rediscover themselves with the help of a friend in the course of two epic ocean adventures, kayaking around the Falklands and rowing across the Pacific.Mick Dawson tells the story of kayaking around the Falkland Islands with friend and fellow Royal Marines veteran Steve Grenham, who was struggling to cope with the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the extraordinary tale of his 2,500-mile voyage in a rowing boat with his friend and former Royal Marine Commando Steve 'Sparky' Sparkes, who was not only a rowing novice, but also blind. Sparky and Mick succeeded in rowing across the finish line after a truly epic voyage of over 2,500 miles from Monterey Bay in California to Waikiki, Hawaii. They'd hoped to break the record for a two-man rowboat and finish in less than fifty-five days, but a hurricane interfered with their plans. It took them eighty-two days, sixteen hours and fifty-four minutes to complete the race, but it was an even greater achievement for that, and Sparky became the first visually impaired person to row across the Pacific.The race with Sparky was the second expedition of an organisation Mick had set up a few years earlier, The Cockleshell Endeavour, designed to help another former Royal Marine and friend, Steve Grenham, by kayaking with him around the Falklands, where both former commandos served during the 1982 conflict with Argentina.
Never Leave the Dogs Behind: A Memoir
by Brianna MadiaA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe author of Nowhere for Very Long continues her story with this deeply honest, moving account of a woman walking the line between independence and isolation when she moves to the Southwest desert with nothing and no one but her four dogs.In her debut memoir, Nowhere for Very Long, Brianna Madia reflected on her life as a nomad, free to roam some of the most beautiful land in America. Now, in Never Leave the Dogs Behind, the van life adherent faces the unfathomable darkness that comes from a life blown apart, her only solace the support of her dogs.In the wake of a painful, public divorce and the ensuing fallout, Brianna moves from a pared-down van into a pared-down trailer. She reckons with her decision to be alone in the desert, living on a nine-acre plot of undeveloped land on the dusty outskirts of a small town in Utah, accompanied only by her four precious dogs: Bucket, Dagwood, Birdie, and Banjo. As she grapples with the anger, despair, and delicious freedom that comes from being wholly on her own, Brianna wonders where, exactly, the road less traveled has led her.A powerful and poignant portrait of rebuilding and surviving, Never Leave the Dogs Behind is about finding the courage to start over when the dream life you thought you were living collapses around your feet.
Never Let Them See You Cry: More From Miami, America's Hottest Beat
by Edna BuchananTrue stories of crime in Miami by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face. Set against the neon backdrop of the South Florida city where Miami Herald reporter Edna Buchanan covered the police beat for nearly two decades, this memoir collects true tales of both heroes and villains—from the heartbreaking to the heartwarming to the outright hilarious. &“A flurry of cases—of criminal Christmases, historic crimes, homicidal love, cop heroes, rescuers, odd occurrences (such as that of the barbiturate-soaked gunman who took 26 direct hits from cops&’ guns and kept shooting until a 27th round took him down) . . . a generous bonanza for crime buffs, presented by one of the sharpest writers in the field.&” —Kirkus Reviews
Never Look an American in the Eye: A Memoir of Flying Turtles, Colonial Ghosts, and the Making of a Nigerian American
by Okey NdibeOkey Ndibe's funny, charming, and penetrating memoir tells of his move from Nigeria to America, where he came to edit the influential--but forever teetering on the verge of insolvency--African Commentary magazine. It recounts stories of Ndibe's relationships with Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and other literary figures; examines the differences between Nigerian and American etiquette and politics; recalls an incident of racial profiling just thirteen days after he arrived in the US, in which he was mistaken for a bank robber; considers American stereotypes about Africa (and vice-versa); and juxtaposes African folk tales with Wall Street trickery. All these stories and more come together in a generous, encompassing book about the making of a writer and a new American.From the Hardcover edition.
Never Look at the Empty Seats: A Memoir
by Charlie DanielsThe Incredible Story of a Country Music LegendFew artists have left a more indelible mark on America&’s musical landscape than Charlie Daniels.Readers will experience a soft, personal side of Charlie Daniels that has never before been documented. In his own words, he presents the path from his post-depression childhood to performing for millions as one of the most successful country acts of all time and what he has learned along the way. The book also includes insights into the many musicians that orbited Charlie&’s world, including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette and many more.Charlie was officially inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016, shortly before his 80th birthday. He now shares the inside stories, reflections, and rare personal photographs from his earliest days in the 1940s to his self-taught guitar and fiddle playing high school days of the fifties through his rise to music stardom in the seventies, eighties and beyond. Charlie Daniels presents a life lesson for all of us regardless of profession:&“Walk on stage with a positive attitude. Your troubles are your own and are not included in the ticket price. Some nights you have more to give than others, but put it all out there every show. You're concerned with the people who showed up, not the ones who didn't. So give them a show and…Never look at the empty seats!&”
Never Lost Again: The Google Mapping Revolution That Sparked New Industries and Augmented Our Reality
by Bill KildayAs enlightening as The Facebook Effect, Elon Musk, and Chaos Monkeys—the compelling, behind-the-scenes story of the creation of one of the most essential applications ever devised, and the rag-tag team that built it and changed how we navigate the worldNever Lost Again chronicles the evolution of mapping technology—the "overnight success twenty years in the making." Bill Kilday takes us behind the scenes of the tech’s development, and introduces to the team that gave us not only Google Maps but Google Earth, and most recently, Pokémon GO.He takes us back to the beginning to Keyhole—a cash-strapped startup mapping company started by a small-town Texas boy named John Hanke, that nearly folded when the tech bubble burst. While a contract with the CIA kept them afloat, the company’s big break came with the first invasion of Iraq; CNN used their technology to cover the war and made it famous. Then Google came on the scene, buying the company and relaunching the software as Google Maps and Google Earth. Eventually, Hanke’s original company was spun back out of Google, and is now responsible for Pokémon GO and the upcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.Kilday, the marketing director for Keyhole and Google Maps, was there from the earliest days, and offers a personal look behind the scenes at the tech and the minds developing it. But this book isn’t only a look back at the past; it is also a glimpse of what’s to come. Kilday reveals how emerging map-based technologies including virtual reality and driverless cars are going to upend our lives once again.Never Lost Again shows us how our worldview changed dramatically as a result of vision, imagination, and implementation. It’s a crazy story. And it all started with a really good map.
Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Lessons on Love and Life Learned the Hard Way
by Nene LeakesOutrageous, captivating, and unafraid to tell it like it is, Nene Leakes shares her wild journey from a scandalous past to the pinnacle of reality television stardom. Lauded by her fans for her refreshing honesty, infectiously genuine style, and clever sense of humor, Nene is an empowered, self-made woman who has not forgotten where she came from and knows exactly where she wants to go. In this straight-talking and provocative memoir Nene charts her journey from family black sheep to single mother to making good and realizing her dreams. With her charm and bold, self-possessed voice, Nene tackles her painful childhood; the abuse she suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend; her struggle to support her firstborn son; and her path to true love, self-acceptance, and pride. In Never Make the Same Mistake Twice, Nene dishes on her cast mates; takes on the rumors about her past; and shares hard-earned and inspiring life lessons in her fierce, no-nonsense, and irreverent style.
Never Mind Shakespeare
by Irma BohmerThis is a memory of the 25 years that I spent at The Globe theatre. They are my memories and may vary according to the people I worked with. All I can say is that I had the most exciting time there. My knowledge of Shakespeare grew and is still growing. The variety of plays, old and new were an eye-opener to me. I could never have had this in an ordinary way. Seeing so many versions of each play was great. Visitors to The Globe often asked, "What is your favourite play?" I could not answer that as it changed according to what was playing.
Never Mind the Bullocks
by Vanessa Able"Terrific and terrifying in equal measure: a life-affirming, death-welcoming journey around the world's most dangerous roads in a wheeled toaster oven."--Tim Moore, author of French Revolutions"Vanessa Able is doggedly intrepid, deliciously acerbic, keenly inquisitive and quite possibly mental."--Time Out IndiaNewly single travel writer Vanessa Able is back home living with her parents when she hatches an idea she hopes will set her life on a new trajectory. She's going to drive the circumference of India in the cheapest car in the world, the Tata Nano, symbol of the aspirations of India's new, rising middle class.What ensues is a hilarious, high-octane adventure. Taking any help she can get--from loopy spiritual gurus to professional driving instructors--she drives her way around an alien road network through India's white-knuckle traffic. Narrowly escaping death by truck, she also comes to appreciate the true kings of the dusty tarmac: the bullocks. En route, she falls hopelessly in love with a mathematician named Thor who might be the worst driver she's ever met. Will they survive unexpected sheep-jams, a car full of elephant slime, and the endless cacophony of horns?Vanessa Able began her travel-writing career as a correspondent for an English-language weekly in post-Saddam Iraq. She then settled in Turkey where she became editor-in-chief of Time Out Istanbul. Able has written for National Geographic Traveler, Esquire, and the New York Times. Her love affair with driving continued as she drove a Yugo through Serbia, a Chevy through the American deserts, and a pimped-out Jeep Grand Cherokee in the abysmal traffic of Mexico City. Vanessa lives between Rome and Jersey with her husband, Thor.
Never Mind the Pollacks: A Rock and Rock Novel
by Neal PollackThe most important document in the history of rock 'n' roll since the liner notes to Killroy Was Here.(This paperback includes a new P.S. section with author interviews, insights, features, suggested readings, and more.)Never Mind the Pollacks, the first novel from acclaimed humorist Neal Pollack, is an epic history of rock-and-roll told through the eyes of two rival rock critics. The novel spans the decades from the 1940s to the present day, and includes such real-life characters as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Bruce Springsteen, Joey Ramone, Patti Smith, Kurt Cobain, and many more. Pollack deploys his trademark roasting of literary pomposity, but his narrative transcends mere parody to become full-fledged social satire. He takes on the icons of popular music and their biographers, true-life rock books and historical fiction. There has never been a book quite like this one, particularly since it contains more than two-dozen original songs written by the author.The life story of the book's main character, "Neal Pollack," is uniquely American. The only son of Jewish immigrant parents, he shows an aptitude early in life for rock criticism. Prodded by the legendary Sam Phillips and haunted by a ghostly, mysterious blues man, deeply disturbed by his mother's illegitimate marriage to Jerry Lee Lewis, he leaves his Memphis boyhood behind to become a folk troubadour in Greenwich Village. Six broken hearts, two liver transplants, and a lot of cocaine orgies later, he meets his ultimate destiny in a surprise ending that will shock anyone who wasn't paying attention to the early chapters. With Never Mind the Pollacks, Neal Pollack establishes himself as one of the most important novelists of his generation who isn't named Jonathan.
Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves: The Inside Story of How a Team of Renegades Broke Rules, Shattered Barriers, and Launched a Drone Warfare Revolution
by Bierbauer Alec Col. Mark Cooter Michael E. Marks&“An extraordinary, riveting, page-turning account—finally cleared for publication by the CIA—of the once highly classified effort by the CIA and special military units to develop a truly game-changing, transformational capability: armed drones."—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and US and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIAThe Inside Story of How a CIA Officer and an Air Force Officer Joined Forces to Develop America&’s Most Powerful Tool in the War on Terror. Never Mind, We&’ll Do It Ourselves is the story behind the origins of the Predator drone program and the dawn of unmanned warfare. A firsthand account told by an Air Force team leader and a CIA team leader, Never Mind, We&’ll Do It Ourselves takes readers into the back offices and secret government hangars where the robotic revolution went from a mad scientist idea to a pivotal part of global airpower. Featuring a foreword by Charlie Allen, an introduction by Lieutenant General John Campbell, USAF (Ret.), and an afterword by Lieutenant Colonel Gabe Brown, the story reveals the often conflicting perspectives between the defense and intelligence communities and puts the reader inside places like the CIA&’s counterterrorism center on the morning of 9/11. Through the eyes of the men and women who lived it, you will experience the hunt for Usama bin Laden and the evolution of a program from passive surveillance to the complex hunter-killers that hang above the battlespace like ghosts.Poised at the junction between The Right Stuff and The Bourne Identity, Never Mind, We&’ll Do It Ourselves documents the way a group of cowboys, rogues, and bandits broke rules and defied convention to change the shape of modern warfare
Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut's Journey
by Fred Haise Bill MooreThe extraordinary autobiography of astronaut Fred Haise, one of only 24 men to fly to the moonIn the gripping Never Panic Early, Fred Haise, Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 13, offers a detailed firsthand account of when disaster struck three days into his mission to the moon. An oxygen tank exploded, a crewmate uttered the now iconic words, &“Houston, we&’ve had a problem here,&” and the world anxiously watched as one of history&’s most incredible rescue missions unfolded. Haise brings readers into the heart of his experience on the challenging mission--considered NASA&’s finest hour--and reflects on his life and career as an Apollo astronaut. In this personal and illuminating memoir, illustrated with black-and-white photographs, Haise takes an introspective look at the thrills and triumphs, regrets and disappointments, and lessons that defined his career, including his years as a military fighter pilot and his successful 20-year NASA career that would have made him the sixth man on the moon had Apollo 13 gone right. Many of his stories navigate fear, hope, and resilience, like when he crashed while ferrying a World War II air show aircraft and suffered second and third-degree burns over 65 percent of his body, putting him in critical condition for ten days before making a heroic recovery. In Never Panic Early, Haise explores what it was like to work for NASA in its glory years and demonstrates a true ability to deal with the unexpected.