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The Mystery of Charles Dickens
by A.N. WilsonWinner of the Plutarch Award for Best BiographyA lively and insightful biographical celebration of the imaginative genius of Charles Dickens, published in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of his death.Charles Dickens was a superb public performer, a great orator and one of the most famous of the Eminent Victorians. Slight of build, with a frenzied, hyper-energetic personality, Dickens looked much older than his fifty-eight years when he died—an occasion marked by a crowded funeral at Westminster Abbey, despite his waking wishes for a small affair. Experiencing the worst and best of life during the Victorian Age, Dickens was not merely the conduit through whom some of the most beloved characters in literature came into the world. He was one of them.Filled with the twists, pathos, and unusual characters that sprang from this novelist’s extraordinary imagination, The Mystery of Charles Dickens looks back from the legendary writer’s death to recall the key events in his life. In doing so, he seeks to understand Dickens’ creative genius and enduring popularity. Following his life from cradle to grave, it becomes clear that Dickens’s fiction drew from his life—a fact he acknowledged. Like Oliver Twist, Dickens suffered a wretched childhood, then grew up to become not only a respectable gentleman but an artist of prodigious popularity. Dickens knew firsthand the poverty and pain his characters endured, including the scandal of a failed marriage. Going beyond standard narrative biography, A. N. Wilson brilliantly revisits the wellspring of Dickens’s vast and wild imagination, to reveal at long last why his novels captured the hearts of nineteenth century readers—and why they continue to resonate today. The Mystery of Charles Dickens is illustrated with 30 black-and-white images.
The Mystery of Everett Ruess
by W. L. RushoThe story of a young artist who walked into the Southwestern desert and vanished, and the legends he left behind—includes his personal correspondence. The story of Everett Ruess, who set out into the desert with two burros in 1934 and disappeared into the wilderness of Southern Utah, has for decades been one of the most intriguing mysteries of western lore. A Californian off on an adventure at the age of twenty, he loved poetry, nature, art, and beauty. His family had tracked his wanderings for four years as he explored Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico—and then Everett disappeared without a trace. Then, in 2008, an old Navajo Indian came forward with information that he had witnessed a murder in 1934, probably that of young Ruess. In addition to extensive letters by Ruess himself providing an insight into his mind and heart, this book tells how the bones were recovered and multiple DNA tests were done amid much suspense and speculation, and how a family was affected by the ultimate results. Includes a new epilogue
The Mystery of Lewis Carroll: Discovering the Whimsical, Thoughtful, and Sometimes Lonely Man Who Created Alice in Wonderland
by Jenny WoolfA new biography of Lewis Carroll, just in time for the release of Tim Burton's all-star Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll was brilliant, secretive and self contradictory. He reveled in double meanings and puzzles, in his fiction and his life. Jenny Woolf's The Mystery of Lewis Carroll shines a new light on the creator of Alice In Wonderland and brings to life this fascinating, but sometimes exasperating human being whom some have tried to hide. Using rarely-seen and recently discovered sources, such as Carroll's accounts ledger and unpublished correspondence with the "real" Alice's family, Woolf sets Lewis Carroll firmly in the context of the English Victorian age and answers many intriguing questions about the man who wrote the Alice books, such as: • Was it Alice or her older sister that caused him to break with the Liddell family? • How true is the gossip about pedophilia and certain adult women that followed him? • How true is the "romantic secret" which many think ruined Carroll's personal life? • Who caused Carroll major financial trouble and why did Carroll successfully conceal that person's identity and actions? Woolf answers these and other questions to bring readers yet another look at one of the most elusive English writers the world has known.
The Mystery of Olga Chekhova
by Antony BeevorAntony Beevor's The Mystery of Olga Chekhova is the true story of a family torn apart by revolution and war. Olga Chekhova was a stunning Russian beauty and a famous Nazi-era film actress who Hitler counted among his friends; she was also the niece of Anton Chekhov. After fleeing Bolshevik Moscow for Berlin in 1920, she was recruited by her composer brother Lev, to work for Soviet intelligence. In return, her family were allowed to join her. The extraordinary story of how the whole family survived the Russian Revolution, the civil war, the rise of Hitler, the Stalinist Terror, and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union becomes, in Antony Beevor's hands, a breathtaking tale of compromise and survival in a merciless age. 'A fascinating spy story, a delicious entertainment, a compelling investigation' Evening Standard'An extraordinary drama of exile and espionage' Independent'Compelling . . . as engaging a read as Stalingrad and Berlin' GuardianAntony Beevor is the renowned author of Stalingrad, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hawthornden Prize for Literature, and Berlin, which received the first Longman-History Today Trustees' Award. His books have sold nearly four million copies.
The Mystery of the Aleph
by Amir D. AczelThe history of infinity emphasizing the people who were interested in the concept. Stresses philosophical and religious importance of mathematical ideas throughout history. Fascinating even if math is not your strong suit.
The Mystery of the Monarchs: How Kids, Teachers, and Butterfly Fans Helped Fred and Norah Urquhart Track the Great Monarch Migration
by Barb RosenstockA gorgeous picture book based on the true story of a scientist who solves the mysteries of monarch butterfly migration—with the help of schoolchildren! A perfect story for nature lovers of all ages from the Caldecott Honor winning author of The Noisy Paint BoxYoung Fred Urquhart was fascinated by insects, especially his favorite, the monarchbutterfly. He wondered where monarchs spent the winter. No one knew. After he became an entomologist (bug scientist),Fred and his wife, Norah,tagged hundreds of butterflies,hoping to solve the mysteryof the monarchs. But they soon discovered that they needed help. They started a &“butterfly family,&” a community of children, teachers, and nature enthusiasts fromthree countries––Canada, the United States,and Mexico––to answer the question: Where do the monarchs go? Detailed materials in the back of the book include maps of monarch migration, the life cycle of the butterfly, and the cultural relevance of monarch butterflies in Mexico, as well as information on environmental efforts towards monarch conservation.
The Mystery: Finding True Love in a World of Broken Lovers
by Lacey SturmLacey Sturm wants to share her journey from heartbreak to wholeness with young women. In The Mystery, Sturm helps readers understand that any loving relationship begins with knowing your own identity in Christ.
The Mystical Backpacker
by Hannah PappPart memoir, part guidebook, The Mystical Backpacker invites you to explore your inner terrain and learn how to create your own unique version of a modern day vision quest or walk-about. Tired of living a life based on other's expectations, Hannah Papp quit her job, bought a EuroRail ticket and a map, notified her landlady, and left town. Embarking on a journey across Europe with no plan and no direction, Hannah stumbled into becoming a modern-day Mystical Backpacker. Along the way her discoveries and the teachers she encountered allowed her to go on a deeper journey into the self and the spirit--revealing the real self she had long been missing. The Mystical Backpacker shows you how to identify the signs along the road that will lead to teachers and experiences that will reorient your own life map. Ultimately, The Mystical Backpacker offers a solution, a way to break free and find your inner self's rhythms and needs, fulfilling your true destiny. It's time you hit the road and become a mystical backpacker.
The Mystics of Spain
by E. Allison PeersDuring the sixteenth century -- the golden age of Spanish mysticism -- Roman Catholicism produced a thoroughly orthodox form of mysticism, a type of meditation that lay at the core of religious beliefs and was practiced to raise spiritual consciousness. In this authoritative book, a leading specialist in the field presents a comprehensive, ground-breaking study of the works and personalities of fifteen mystical authors. A brief exploration of the period serves as a background to extracts from the authors' writings.Included are Juan de Ávila and his "Letter to a religious, urging him to the perfect love of God"; St. Teresa of Jesus and her "An exclamation of the soul to God"; and St. John of the Cross, represented in part by his best-known work, "Dark Night of the Soul." The text also contains "A contemplation to obtain love" by St. Ignatius of Loyola, as well as the meditations of Alonso de Orozco, Luis de Granada, Diego de Estella, Luis de León, and Pedro Malón de Chaide, among others. A list of books is provided for those who wish to make this anthology a starting point for further study.
The Myth of "Bloody Mary": The First Queen of England
by Linda PorterIn this groundbreaking new biography of "Bloody Mary," Linda Porter brings to life a queen best remembered for burning hundreds of Protestant heretics at the stake, but whose passion, will, and sophistication have for centuries been overlooked.Daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, wife of Philip of Spain, and sister of Edward VI, Mary Tudor was a cultured Renaissance princess. A Latin scholar and outstanding musician, her love of fashion was matched only by her zeal for gambling. It is the tragedy of Queen Mary that today, 450 years after her death, she remains the most hated, least understood monarch in English history.Linda Porter's pioneering new biography—based on contemporary documents and drawing from recent scholarship—cuts through the myths to reveal the truth about the first queen to rule England in her own right. Mary learned politics in a hard school, and was cruelly treated by her father and bullied by the strongmen of her brother, Edward VI. An audacious coup brought her to the throne, and she needed all her strong will and courage to keep it. Mary made a grand marriage to Philip of Spain, but her attempts to revitalize England at home and abroad were cut short by her premature death at the age of forty-two. The first popular biography of Mary in thirty years, The First Queen of England offers a fascinating, controversial look at this much-maligned queen.
The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany
by David G. DalinWas Pope Pius XII secretly in league with Adolf Hitler? No, says Rabbi David G. Dalin-but there was a cleric in league with Hitler: the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini. <P><P>As Pope Pius XII worked to save Jews from the Nazis, the grand mufti became Hitler's staunch ally and a promoter of the Holocaust, with a legacy that feeds radical Islam today. In this shocking and thoroughly documented book, Rabbi Dalin explodes the myth of Hitler's pope and condemns the myth-makers for not only rewriting history, but for denying the testimony of Holocaust survivors, hijacking the Holocaust for unseemly political ends, and ignoring the real threat to the Jewish people. <P><P>In The Myth of Hitler's Pope, you'll learn: The true history of Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust-how the Catholic Church did more than any other religious body to save Jewish lives The real history of the Church and the Nazis-including the Nazi plan to kidnap the pope The real agenda of the myth-makers: hijacking the Holocaust to attack the very idea of the papacy-especially the papacy of the late Pope John Paul II-as well as Christianity and traditional religion as a whole Hitler's cleric-Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who advised and assisted the Nazis in carrying out Hitler's Final Solution <P><P>How Pope Pius XII rescued Jews-and deserves to be called a "righteous gentile"-while the grand mufti of Jerusalem called for their extermination Full of shocking and irrefutable detail, The Myth of Hitler's Pope is sure to generate controversy, and more important, to set the record straight. If you want the truth about Pope Pius XII, about the Catholic Church, the Jews, and the Holocaust, and about how the myth of Hitler's pope plays into the culture wars of our own time-and how the fact of Hitler's mufti is a vital source of radical Islam today-you must begin here.
The Myth of Presidential Representation
by B. Dan WoodIn The Myth of Presidential Representation, B. Dan Wood evaluates the nature of American presidential representation, examining the strongly embedded belief - held by the country's founders, as well as current American political culture and social science theory - that presidents should represent the community at large. Citizens expect presidents to reflect prevailing public sentiment and compromise in the national interest. Social scientists express these same ideas through theoretical models depicting presidential behavior as driven by centrism and issue stances adhering to the median voter. Yet partisanship seems to be a dominant theme of modern American politics. Do American presidents adhere to a centrist model of representation as envisioned by the founders? Or, do presidents typically attempt to lead the public toward their own more partisan positions? If so, how successful are they? What are the consequences of centrist versus partisan presidential representation? The Myth of Presidential Representation addresses these questions both theoretically and empirically.
The Myth of Russian Collusion: The Inside Story of How Donald Trump REALLY Won
by Roger StoneFor the first time in paperback, New York Times best-selling author Roger Stone’s insider tell-all about the presidential campaign that shocked the world. This consummate political strategist continues to be front page news and has updated the book to respond to Robert Mueller’s charges.Two years ago, Roger Stone, a New York Times bestselling author, longtime political adviser and friend to Donald Trump, and consummate Republican strategist, gave us Making of the President 2016—the first in-depth examination of how Trump’s campaign delivered the biggest presidential election upset in history. But since then, the Deep State political establishment has worked tirelessly to undo those results. The Myth of Russian Collusion adds to and updates Stone’s initial work to set the record straight. Trump’s election win was a resounding repudiation of the failed leadership of both parties. The American people wanted something new, and President Trump has delivered: his tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks have given us the strongest economy in American history, he is relentless in his efforts to protect American citizens, and he refuses to do business as usual. But America’s ruling elite and liberal media, feeling threatened, have conspired to create the biggest witch hunt in our country’s history. The phony narrative that Trump was in cahoots with Vladimir Putin, Mueller’s charges that Roger Stone knew about the Wikileaks emails before release—all is debunked here. With a new introduction that responds to the Mueller investigation, The Myth of Russian Collusion is the true story of the Trump campaign that the establishment doesn’t want you to believe.
The Myth of the Modern Presidency
by David K. NicholsNichols concludes that it is the authors of the American Constitution, not the English or European philosophers, who provide the most satisfactory reconciliation of executive power and limited popular government. It is the authors of the Constitution who created the modern Presidency.
The Mythology of the Wichita
by George Amos Dorsey"The Mythology of the Wichita" by George Amos Dorsey is a comprehensive and illuminating exploration of the rich mythological traditions of the Wichita people, a Native American tribe originally from the Great Plains. Dorsey, a distinguished anthropologist and ethnographer, presents an extensive collection of Wichita myths, offering readers a profound insight into their spiritual beliefs, cultural values, and historical experiences.In this seminal work, Dorsey meticulously documents a wide array of myths, ranging from creation stories and tales of heroic deeds to legends that explain natural phenomena and cultural practices. Each myth is presented in a clear and engaging narrative style, preserving the authenticity and oral tradition of the Wichita storytellers from whom Dorsey gathered these accounts.Dorsey's detailed commentary and analysis provide valuable context, helping readers understand the deeper meanings and cultural significance of each story. He explores the themes and motifs that recur throughout Wichita mythology, such as the importance of kinship, the interplay between humans and the natural world, and the moral lessons embedded within the tales."The Mythology of the Wichita" is not only a collection of fascinating stories but also a vital record of the Wichita people's heritage. Dorsey's work ensures that the wisdom and traditions of the Wichita are preserved for future generations, offering a window into the worldview and spiritual life of this remarkable tribe.This book is an essential resource for students of anthropology, folklore, and Native American studies, as well as for anyone interested in the diverse tapestry of human mythology. George Amos Dorsey's "The Mythology of the Wichita" stands as a testament to the enduring power of myth and the importance of cultural preservation, inviting readers to discover and appreciate the profound legacy of the Wichita people.With its rich narratives and scholarly insights, "The Mythology of the Wichita" remains a timeless and invaluable contribution to the field of Native American studies and mythology.
The Möbius Book
by Catherine LaceyNamed a Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by The New York Times, Vulture, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, A.V. Club, Chicago Review of Books, OurCulture, and LitHubAdrift after a sudden breakup and its ensuing depression, the novelist Catherine Lacey began cataloguing the wreckage of her life and the beauty of her friendships, a practice that eventually propagated fiction both entirely imagined and strangely true. Betrayed by the mercurial partner she had trusted with a shared mortgage and suddenly catapulted into the unknown, Lacey’s appetite vanished, a visceral reminder of the teenage emaciation that came when she stopped believing in God. Through relationships, travel, reading, and memories of her religious fanaticism, Lacey charts the contours of faith’s absence and reemergence. She and her characters recall gnostic experiences with animals, close encounters with male anger, grief-driven lust, and the redemptive power of platonic love and of narrative itself. The result is a book of uncommon vulnerability and wisdom, and heartbreaking—and heart-mending—exploration of endings and beginnings. A hybrid work with no beginning or ending, readable from either side, The Möbius Book troubles the line between memory and fiction with an openhearted defense of faith’s power, and inherent danger.
The NBA in Black and White: The Memoir of a Trailblazing NBA Player and Coach
by Ray ScottA memoir of hard lessons learned in the racially segregated and sometimes outright racist NBA of the early &‘60s by celebrated NBA player and the first Black Coach of the Year, Ray Scott. Introduced by Earl "the Pearl" Monroe.&“There&’s a basic insecurity with Black guys my size,&” Scott writes. &“We can&’t hide and everybody turns to stare when we walk down the street. … Whites believe that their culture is superior to African-American culture. ... We don&’t accept many of [their] answers, but we have to live with them.&” Ray Scott was part of the early wave of Black NBA players like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who literally changed how the game of professional basketball is played—leading to the tremendously popular financial blockbuster the NBA is today. Scott was a celebrated 6&’9&” forward/center after being chosen by the Detroit Pistons as the #4 pick of the 1961 NBA draft, and then again after he was named head coach of the Pistons in October 1972, winning Coach of the Year in the spring of 1974—the first black man ever to capture that honor. Scott&’s is a story of quiet persistence, hard work, and, most of all, respect. He credits the mentorship of NBA player and coach Earl Lloyd, and talks about fellow Philly native Wilt Chamberlain and friends Muhammad Ali and Aretha Franklin, among many others. Ray has lived through one of the most turbulent times in our nation&’s history, especially the time of assassinations of so many Black leaders at the end of the 1960s. Through it all, his voice remains quiet and measured, transcending all the sorrows with his steadiness and positive attitude. This is his story, told in collaboration with the great basketball writer, former college player and CBA coach Charley Rosen.
The NFL Off-Camera: An A–Z Guide to the League's Most Memorable Players and Personalities
by Bob AngeloDuring his four-decade career at NFL Films, writing and directing segments for weekly highlight shows and national telecasts, Bob Angelo saw and heard things that never made their way into his productions. Now, in The NFL Off-Camera, Angelo mines the thousands of interviews he conducted to compile a revealing collection of short, insightful essays profiling his favorite—and least favorite—pro football players, coaches, team owners, executives, and broadcasters—all of whom he interacted with personally. Angelo effuses about his meeting with the larger-than-life Jim Brown and appreciates the trash talking John Randle. He poignantly reflects on “Bullet” Bob Hayes, the world's fastest man who “could not outrun his demons,” and showcases the mercurial Duane Thomas and the free-wheeling Tony Siragusa. The NFL Off-Camera reveals why Angelo sparred with Hall-of-Fame player turned broadcaster Frank Gifford and demonstrates why Super Bowl champion head coach Sean Payton is his “least favorite person in pro football.” From Jared Allen to Jim Zorn, The NFL Off-Camera explores nearly 100 of the game’s outsized personalities and debunks some of football's most enduring myths. Angelo’s original, unfiltered look at Pro Football is as hard-hitting and exciting as any one of his NFL Films.
The NFL's Top 100
by James Buckley Boomer EsiasonThey are the names that football fans will never forget. They played for the Chicago Bears. The New York Giants. The Pittsburgh Steelers. They were quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs. <P><P>Some played for five or six seasons, others for as many as eighteen or nineteen. Some started their careers back in the early days of the NFL, while others are still active today. They are our heroes. They are the NFL's top 100, the greatest players of all time.In this stunning, full-color companion to the NFL Network's 100 Greatest Players series, readers will relive the physical feats and hard-won triumphs of those who have most memorably dominated the gridiron. An insightful narrative accompanies more than 200 spectacular photos of such inspiring players as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Dick Butkus, Peyton Manning, Joe Namath, and many others. And with the help of an introduction that explains the criteria used and the selection process, readers will not only learn who the best players are, they'll learn why they are as well.A must-have collector's item for every football fan, The NFL's Top 100 is the definitive collection of football's finest.
The Nail That Sticks Out: Reflections on the Postwar Japanese Canadian Community
by Suzanne Elki Hartmann“Honest and insightful, a testament to Japanese Canadian resilience.” — KERRI SAKAMOTO, author of Floating CityWhen the North American dream meets traditional Japanese conformity, two cultures collide.Does the past define who we are, who we become? In April 1942, Suzanne’s mother was an eight-month-old baby when her family was torn from their home in Victoria, British Columbia. Arriving at Vancouver’s Hastings Park, they bunked in horse stalls for months before being removed to an incarceration camp in the Slocan Valley. After the Second World War, forced resettlement scattered Japanese families across Canada, leading to high intermarriage rates and an erosion of ethnicity. Loss of heritage language impeded the sharing of stories, contributing to strained generational relationships and a conflict between Eastern and Western values. This hybrid memoir and fourth-generation narrative of the Japanese Canadian experience celebrates family, places, and traditions. Steeped in history and cultural arts, it includes portraits of family and community members — people who, in rebuilding their lives, made lasting contributions to the Toronto landscape and triumphed over adversity.
The Naked Civil Servant
by Quentin CrispA comical and poignant memoir of a gay man living life as he pleased in the 1930sIn 1931, gay liberation was not a movement—it was simply unthinkable. But in that year, Quentin Crisp made the courageous decision to "come out" as a homosexual. This exhibitionist with the henna-dyed hair was harrassed, ridiculed and beaten. Nevertheless, he claimed his right to be himself—whatever the consequences. The Naked Civil Servant is both a comic masterpiece and a unique testament to the resilience of the human spirit.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Naked God: The Writer and the Communist Party
by Howard FastFast&’s book on his break with the Communist Party, and a riveting tribute to the importance of justice and beauty over dogma and rigidityThe Naked God is Howard Fast&’s public repudiation of the Communist Party, of which he was a devoted member for thirteen years until reading about the full scope of atrocities committed by the Soviet Union under Stalin. The bestselling author of Spartacus and Citizen Tom Paine, Howard Fast lent his writing talents and celebrity to the communist cause as a steadfast advocate and public figure. However, he felt increasingly ill at ease with the superior manner Party leaders took with rank-and-file members and with rumors of Soviet anti-Semitism. In his first book after officially leaving the Party in 1956, Howard Fast explores the reasons he joined and his long inner struggle with a political movement in which he never felt he truly belonged. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author&’s estate.
The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head: A Psychiatrist's Stories of His Most Bizarre Cases
by Gigi Vorgan Gary Small MD“Stories of human behavior at its most extreme….With humor, compassion, empathy, and insight, Small searches for and finds the humanity that lies hidden under even the most bizarre symptoms.”—Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New MindA psychiatrist’s stories of his most bizarre cases, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head by Gary Small, M.D., and Gigi Vorgan—co-authors of The Memory Bible—offers a fascinating and highly entertaining look into the peculiarities of the human mind. In the vein of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Awakenings, and the other bestselling works of Oliver Sacks, The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head surprises, enthralls, and illuminates as it focuses on medical mysteries that would stump and amaze the brilliant brains on House, M.D.
The Naked Mountaineer: Misadventures of an Alpine Traveler
by Stephen C. Sieberson Lou WhittakerThe Naked Mountaineer recounts a series of solo journeys to some of the world’s most exotic peaks in places such as Switzerland, Japan, and Borneo. However, it is far from the typical heroic mountain-expedition book. Although Steve Sieberson did reach many summits, in most cases his travels were more memorable for what he encountered along the way than for the actual climbing. His real adventures involved peculiar people, strange foods, and tropical diseases, rather than pitons, ice axes, and carabiners. On the Matterhorn he met an English alpinist who reveled in naked selfies, he stumbled into a cockfight in a Balinese village, and on a volcano in Italy he was mistaken for a famous singer by an insistent fan.The Naked Mountaineer offers mountain-themed travel stories with a wide-eyed view of the world, while presenting irreverent commentary on climbers and their peculiar sport. These are rollicking tales, filled with the unexpected.
The Naked Truth
by Danielle StaubMeet the Real Danielle...You've seen her on The Real Housewives of New Jersey, turning heads, raising eyebrows, and igniting feuds with her feisty suburban neighbors. Now, the always fascinating Danielle Staub gets real about her scandalous past in the year's most explosive tell-all memoir. . . .When she signed on to appear in a reality TV show, Danielle had no idea what she was getting herself into. Hoping for a new lease on life after her recent divorce, the single mother of two became the target of vicious gossip, heated arguments, and endless controversy. When her housewife costars confronted her with the true crime book written about her ex-husband, the you-know-what hit the fan. Danielle knew she could no longer keep her checkered past a secret--and she had to set the record straight.This is the real Danielle Staub, in her own words, as you've never seen her before. The child of an unmarried Italian teenager, Danielle was born in Pennsylvania (under the name Beverly Merrill) after her mother was pressured by her well-to-do family to leave Italy and not return until after she'd put her baby up for adoption.After years of sexual abuse, she fled to Miami, where she became a model, living the kind of lifestyle she could only dream of as a child. She partied like a rock star and with them as well, but ended up marrying a deceitful man who held dangerous secrets of his own. Soon Danielle was caught up in a tangled web of lies, drugs, and abuse that landed her in the hospital more than once.How she survived--leaving her husband, changing her name, and finally giving birth to two lovely daughters--is one shocking story you have to read to believe. If you thought The Real Housewives of New Jersey gave you the real story of Danielle Staub, you don't know the half of it. Filled with glamour and grit, heartbreak and heroism, this brave, no-holds-barred memoir reveals the naked truth behind reality TV's most talked-about star."You either love me or you hate me, there is no in between ." --Danielle Staub For the first time ever, one of the stars of the hit television show The Real Housewives of New Jersey tells her side of the story, including . . . * The truth behind Cop Without a Badge, the book that shocked the other housewives in the first season's explosive finale. * Her flashy, fast-paced life as a Miami model--and exotic dancer. * Her controversial arrest and time spent in prison. * Her wild hookups with famous celebrities, including an Olympian and a Miami Vice star. * Her abusive childhood, rocky marriages, stormy divorces--and her triumphant rise as one of television's most intriguing personalities. It's all here--and all real--in this straight-from-the-hip memoir from the Real Housewife who has all of New Jersey talking . . . and the whole world watching.