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Chalk: The Art and Erasure of Cy Twombly
by Joshua RivkinThe first book to explore the life and work of painter Cy Twombly, one of the most important and influential artists of the Twentieth CenturyCy Twombly was a man obsessed with myth and history—including his own. Shuttling between stunning homes in Italy and the United States where he perfected his room-size canvases, he managed his public image carefully and rarely gave interviews. Upon first seeing Twombly’s remarkable paintings, writer Joshua Rivkin became obsessed himself with the mysterious artist, and began chasing every lead, big or small—anything that might illuminate those works, or who Twombly really was. Now, after unprecedented archival research and years of interviews, Rivkin has reconstructed Twombly’s life, from his time at the legendary Black Mountain College to his canonization in a 1994 MoMA retrospective; from his heady explorations of Rome in the 1950s with Robert Rauschenberg to the ongoing efforts to shape his legacy after his death.Including previously unpublished photographs, Chalk presents a more personal and searching type of biography than we’ve ever encountered, and brings to life a more complex Twombly than we’ve ever known.
Chalkdust
by Elspeth Campbell MurphyReady for whenever you need a quick pick-me-up, prayer, or moment of peaceful introspection, these timeless meditations tap into the everyday joys and frustrations of teaching, imparting encouragement and hope.
Chalked Up: My Life in Gymnastics
by Jennifer Sey<P>Fanciful dreams of gold-medal glory led Jennifer Sey to the local gymnastics club in 1976. A natural aptitude and a willingness to endure punishing hard work took her to the elite ranks by the time she was eleven years old. Jennifer traveled the country and the world competing for the U.S. National team, but the higher she set her sights--the world championships, the 1988 Olympics--the more she began to ignore her physical and mental well-being. <P>Jennifer suffered devastating injuries, developed an eating disorder, and lived far from family and friends, all for the sake of winning. When her parents and coaches lost sight of her best interests, Jennifer had no choice but to redefine her path into adulthood. She had to save herself. <P>Chalked Up delivers an unforgettable coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt not good enough and has finally come to accept who they were meant to be. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Chalked Up: My Life in Elite Gymnastics
by Jennifer SeyUpdated With a New Introduction“I am grateful to Jennifer Sey for sharing such an honest account of her experiences as an elite gymnast. She has eloquently and fairly exposed a dark side to our sport that parents have long needed to be made aware of.”—Dominique Moceanu, Olympic Gold Medal Winning GymnastFanciful dreams of becoming the next Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. Her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age 11, one of America’s elite. But as she set her sights higher and higher, Jennifer began to change, setting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral.Now, Sey reveals the tarnish beneath her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, Chalked Up is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become subsumed by the adults around her.
The Challenge Culture: Why the Most Successful Organizations Run on Pushback
by Nigel Travis'The Challenge Culture is a must-read for employers and employees alike, and promises to get ideas for long-term success percolating.' - Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group'Nigel's career, vision and humanity are very refreshing' - Claude Littner, former Chief Executive of Tottenham Hotspur and author of Single-Minded: My Life in BusinessChallenge is essential for survival and sustained success in today's volatile world.We live in an era when successful organisations can fail in a flash. But they can cope with change and thrive by creating a culture that supports positive pushback: questioning everything without disrespecting anyone.Nigel Travis has forty years of experience as a leader in large and successful organizations, as well as those facing existential crisis - such as Blockbuster as it dawdled in the face of the Netflix challenge. In his ten years as CEO and Chairman of Dunkin' Brands, Travis fine-tuned his ideas about the challenge culture and perfected the practices required to build it. He argues that the best way for organisations to succeed in today's environment is to embrace challenge and encourage pushback, rather than reject them. Everyone - from the newest recruit to the senior leader - must be given the freedom to speak up and question the status quo, must learn how talk in a civil way about difficult issues, and should be encouraged to debate strategies and tactics - although always in the spirit of shared purpose. How else will new ideas emerge? How else can organisations steadily improve?Through colourful story-telling, with many examples from his own experiences - including his leadership in turning around the fear-ridden culture of Leyton Orient Football Club -Travis shows how to establish a culture that embraces challenge, achieves exceptional results, and ensures a prosperous future.PRAISE FOR THE CHALLENGE CULTURE:'Nigel Travis has hit the nail on the head. Collective brilliance can only come from challenge and he proves this throughout his own leadership journey. Entertaining, edifying and exactly right.' -- Manley Hopkinson FRSA FRGS, author of Compassionate LeadershipWomen, especially young women, in today's world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view. The Challenge Culture brilliantly explains how to do it. (Nicole Lapin, author of Boss Bitch and Rich Bitch)'A must read for all people leading organizations in these turbulent times!' (Larry Bossidy, former chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, coauthor of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done)'This book not only takes you inside [Nigel's] businesses, but inside the mind that challenged them to thrive. If you can use 20% of what he's suggesting, you'll be ahead of the game. Use 40% and you can blow the doors off.' (Mark Goldstein, former chief marketing officer of BBDO Worldwide)'Dissent is not disloyalty but can be the spark for innovation and the safeguard for integrity. ... Conformity kills creativity and subverts justice and The Challenge Culture is the antidote to a contagion of conformity across sectors.' (Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice, Yale School of Management)
The Challenge Culture: Why the Most Successful Organizations Run on Pushback
by Nigel Travis'The Challenge Culture is a must-read for employers and employees alike, and promises to get ideas for long-term success percolating.' - Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group'Nigel's career, vision and humanity are very refreshing' - Claude Littner, former Chief Executive of Tottenham Hotspur and author of Single-Minded: My Life in BusinessChallenge is essential for survival and sustained success in today's volatile world.We live in an era when successful organisations can fail in a flash. But they can cope with change and thrive by creating a culture that supports positive pushback: questioning everything without disrespecting anyone.Nigel Travis has forty years of experience as a leader in large and successful organizations, as well as those facing existential crisis - such as Blockbuster as it dawdled in the face of the Netflix challenge. In his ten years as CEO and Chairman of Dunkin' Brands, Travis fine-tuned his ideas about the challenge culture and perfected the practices required to build it. He argues that the best way for organisations to succeed in today's environment is to embrace challenge and encourage pushback, rather than reject them. Everyone - from the newest recruit to the senior leader - must be given the freedom to speak up and question the status quo, must learn how talk in a civil way about difficult issues, and should be encouraged to debate strategies and tactics - although always in the spirit of shared purpose. How else will new ideas emerge? How else can organisations steadily improve?Through colourful story-telling, with many examples from his own experiences - including his leadership in turning around the fear-ridden culture of Leyton Orient Football Club -Travis shows how to establish a culture that embraces challenge, achieves exceptional results, and ensures a prosperous future.PRAISE FOR THE CHALLENGE CULTURE:'Nigel Travis has hit the nail on the head. Collective brilliance can only come from challenge and he proves this throughout his own leadership journey. Entertaining, edifying and exactly right.' -- Manley Hopkinson FRSA FRGS, author of Compassionate LeadershipWomen, especially young women, in today's world need to understand the importance of challenging authority and speaking up to share their point of view. The Challenge Culture brilliantly explains how to do it. (Nicole Lapin, author of Boss Bitch and Rich Bitch)'A must read for all people leading organizations in these turbulent times!' (Larry Bossidy, former chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, coauthor of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done)'This book not only takes you inside [Nigel's] businesses, but inside the mind that challenged them to thrive. If you can use 20% of what he's suggesting, you'll be ahead of the game. Use 40% and you can blow the doors off.' (Mark Goldstein, former chief marketing officer of BBDO Worldwide)'Dissent is not disloyalty but can be the spark for innovation and the safeguard for integrity. ... Conformity kills creativity and subverts justice and The Challenge Culture is the antidote to a contagion of conformity across sectors.' (Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice, Yale School of Management)
Challenge for the Pacific: Guadalcanal: The Turning Point of the War
by Robert LeckieFrom Robert Leckie, the World War II veteran and New York Times bestselling author of Helmet for My Pillow, whose experiences were featured in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, comes this vivid narrative of the astonishing six-month campaign for Guadalcanal. From the Japanese soldiers’ carefully calculated—and ultimately foiled—attempt to build a series of impregnable island forts on the ground to the tireless efforts of the Americans who struggled against a tenacious adversary and the temperature and terrain of the island itself, Robert Leckie captures the loneliness, the agony, and the heat of twenty-four-hour-a-day fighting on Guadalcanal. Combatants from both sides are brought to life: General Archer Vandegrift, who first assembled an amphibious strike force; Isoroku Yamamoto, the naval general whose innovative strategy was tested; the island-born Allied scout Jacob Vouza, who survived hideous torture to uncover the enemy’s plans; and Saburo Sakai, the ace flier who shot down American planes with astonishing ease. Propelling the Allies to eventual victory, Guadalcanal was truly the turning point of the war. Challenge for the Pacific is an unparalleled, authoritative account of this great fight that forever changed our world.
The Challenge of Congressional Representation
by Richard F. FennoAt a moment when Congress is viewed by a skeptical public as hyper-partisan and dysfunctional, Richard Fenno provides a variegated picture of American representational politics. The Challenge of Congressional Representation offers an up-close-and-personal look at the complex relationship between members of Congress and their constituents back home.
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
by Adam HigginbothamNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • &“Stunning…A heart-pounding thriller…Challenger is a remarkable book.&” —The Atlantic • &“Superb…Compelling and exhaustively researched.&” —The Washington Post • &“Devastating…A universal story that transcends time.&” —The New York Times • &“Gripping history.&” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) From the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Chernobyl comes the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster, based on fascinating in-depth reporting and new archival research—a riveting history that reads like a thriller.On January 28, 1986, just seventy-three seconds into flight, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. Millions of Americans witnessed the tragic deaths of the crew, which included New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Like the assassination of JFK, the Challenger disaster is a defining moment in twentieth-century history—one that forever changed the way America thought of itself and its optimistic view of the future. Yet the full story of what happened, and why, has never been told. Based on extensive archival research and meticulous, original reporting, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space follows a handful of central protagonists—including each of the seven members of the doomed crew—through the years leading up to the accident, and offers a detailed account of the tragedy itself and the investigation afterward. It&’s a compelling tale of ambition and ingenuity undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and later hidden from the public. Higginbotham reveals the history of the shuttle program and the lives of men and women whose stories have been overshadowed by the disaster, as well as the designers, engineers, and test pilots who struggled against the odds to get the first shuttle into space. A masterful blend of riveting human drama and fascinating and absorbing science, Challenger identifies a turning point in history—and brings to life an even more complex and astonishing story than we remember.
The Chalupa Rules: A Latino Guide to Gringolandia
by Mario BosquezThe Host of Martha Stewart's "Living Today" on Martha Stewart Living Radio (Sirius 112/XM 157)brings you this insightful look at how a colorful Mexican game of chance inspired him to succeed in life. "The Chalupa Rules" combines his family's timeless proverbs,traditional Spanish sayings, and powerful imagery to create a blueprint for success. Mario grew up facing tremendous challenges that included poverty and living in a government-sponsored home. With his handcrafted rules-of-life Mario went on to become the first full-time, Mexican-American news anchor in New York City's English television. An award-winning playwright and Emmy-Nominated news anchor/reporter, Mario shares his insights into how your own cultural background can provide the inspiration to reach the American Dream. Part autobiography, part instructional manual, The Chalupa Rules offers readers of diverse cultural backgrounds a universal message of success and fulfillment in the career of your choice. Mario Bosquez, nominated for a James Beard Award for Excellent in Broadcasting, lived the Chalupa Rules and shows us all how we can do the same.
Chamber Music: A Novel
by Doris GrumbachIn her later years, a woman reflects on her marriage, her stifled passions, and her life At age ninety, Caroline Maclaren, widow of the prominent composer Robert Maclaren, finally decides to tell her own story. &“Perhaps the time was not right to do it before,&” she remarks. But now she takes pen to paper, reliving her sheltered girlhood, her chilly marriage to a brilliant man, and—perhaps above all—the melancholy solitude in which she has lived nearly all her life. It was only when her husband fell ill that Caroline found fulfilling companionship with Anna, Robert&’s caretaker. This masterful tale of loneliness and of passion late in life is widely considered to be Grumbach&’s finest work. Bittersweet, touching, and profoundly resonant, Chamber Music is captivating.
Chameleon Days: An American Boyhood in Ethiopia
by Tim BascomIn 1964, at the age of three, Tim Bascom is thrust into a world of eucalyptus trees and stampeding baboons when his family moves from the Midwest to Ethiopia. The unflinchingly observant narrator of this memoir reveals his missionary parents’ struggles in a sometimes hostile country. Sent reluctantly to boarding school in the capital, young Tim finds that beyond the gates enclosing that peculiar, isolated world, conflict roils Ethiopian society. When secret riot drills at school are followed with an attack by rampaging students near his parents' mission station, Tim witnesses the disintegration of his family’s African idyll as Haile Selassie’s empire begins to crumble. Like Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Chameleon Days chronicles social upheaval through the keen yet naive eyes of a child. Bascom offers readers a fascinating glimpse of missionary life, much as Barbara Kingsolver did in The Poisonwood Bible.
The Chameleon Poet: A Life of George Barker
by Robert FraserThe poet George Barker was convinced that his biography could never be written. 'I've stirred the facts around too much,' he told Robert Fraser. 'It simply can't be done.' Eliot wrote of his 'genius'. Yeats thought him the most interesting poet of his generation. Dylan Thomas envied his power over women. War trapped him in Japan. In America he conducted one of the most celebrated love affairs of the century. He fathered fifteen children in several countries, three during one battle-torn summer. By the 1950s he was the toast of Soho. Barker was Catholic and bohemian, frank and elusive, tender and boisterous. In Eliot's phrase, he was 'a most peculiar fellow.' Robert Fraser's biography offers both a portrait of a talented, tormented and irresistibly entertaining man, and a broad cultural landscape. Around the central figure cluster painters like Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Johnny Minton and the 'Roberts' Colquhoun and MacBryde; writers such as Dylan Thomas, Walter de la Mare and Elizabeth Smart, whose By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept hymns their liaison; the lugubrious humorist Jeffrey Bernard. After closing time at the Colony Room, Minton declared, they had to sweep up the jokes.
Chamique
by Chamique Holdsclaw Jennifer FreyShe has been called the best woman basketball player ever, the player with the power to decide the direction of the WNBA. But the popularity of twenty-three-year-old Chamique Holdsclaw is rooted not only in her basketball status but also in her remarkable and inspiring life. Here, Chamique takes us on her journey, revealing her unstable and anxiety-ridden childhood with her parents and the escape she ultimately found by moving to her grandmother's housing project, where she discovered the restorative comforts of structure, focus, and basketball. As she finishes her first full year playing for the Washington Mystics and training for the 2000 Olympics, Chamique describes her ambitions, insecurities, frustrations, drives, and dreams, and credits a good part of her success and well-being to her disciplined, humble youth in Astoria, Queens -- a background that inspires in her fierce loyalty and pride. In these pages, Chamique relates what it felt like the first time she ever held a basketball in her hands, how she practiced dunking at age thirteen on a hidden court overlooking New York's East River, her four seasons playing at Tennessee and her transformative relationship with Coach Pat Summit, and her exhausting and exhilarating first year playing professionally and living on her own. She also looks inside to examine her strengths and weaknesses; what motivates her; why she doesn't drink; and how she thinks, both on and off the court. The unparalleled confidence she drew from discovering and nurturing her talent and her lifelong need for focus and discipline have infused both her adult personality and her basketball playing. She reveals her complicated and turbulent relationship with her parents; her total devotion to her younger brother, Davon; her complete admiration for and gratitude to her grandmother. Along the way, she shows the impact all of this has had on who she is and how she lives and plays. Interspersed with short testimonies from the people who know Chamique best -- her family, friends, coaches, and fellow players -- this book offers inspiration, insight, and a window on her life that speak not only to any child with a basketball and a dream, but also to the adults involved in their lives.
The Champ: My Year with Muhammad Ali
by Michael GaffneyThe legendary boxer&’s personal photographer from 1977–1978 shares fascinating stories and stunning rare photographs. Michael Gaffney traveled the world with Muhammad Ali, covered three fights, took eight thousand photographs, and produced hours of recordings that, pieced together in this book, define and reveal an authentic Ali. Poignant, funny, and brutally honest, this book reveals the struggles of the legendary fighter who fought to stay in the game he loved. This is a dramatic and up-close look at the trilogy of Ali&’s fights from 1977–1978: A tough win against Earnie Shavers, a shocking loss to Leon Spinks, and a glorious redemptive comeback victory to win the World Heavyweight Championship for an unprecedented third time, a feat never accomplished before or since. Filled with dramatic photos, The Champ is also a compelling personal journey inside the good heart and courageous spirit of one of the most extraordinary people of our lifetime. &“The Champ is one helluva achievement and one helluva book.&” —Bert Randolph Sugar, Hall of Fame boxing historian
The Champ & The Chump: A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family
by James McNicholas'Hard-hitting and hilarious' - James Acaster'Funny, moving and compelling' - Mike CostelloA heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family, based on the acclaimed stage show. For fans of books by Dave Gorman, James Acaster and Danny Wallace, along with boxing tales from the likes of Tyson Fury and Ricky Hatton.THE CHAMPTerry Downes - the charismatic cockney known as 'The Paddington Express' - was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and later a film star and businessman. THE CHUMPJames McNicholas' PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23. James has spent his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy. In reality, that has meant stints as a car park caretaker and river cruise salesperson. After Terry's death, James finds himself in reflective mood, comparing his story of underachievement against that of his world champ grandad. What follows is an increasingly colourful journey through post-war Paddington to the blood-soaked canvases of Baltimore and Shoreditch, via Mayfair parties with the Krays. Along the way, James begins to dig into his own story, confronting the dysfunctional elements of his childhood, describing his often hilarious efforts to make it in the world of showbiz, and attempting to recreate Terry's trials by enlisting in a brutal military boot camp and boxing gym. When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two tales of the fighter and the writer suddenly collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far more important significance altogether. 'A wonderfully funny and heartfelt story of what family and lineage means. Even made me like boxing' - Josh Widdicombe'An extraordinary family history, told with warmth and wit. Two remarkable underdog stories - come for the cockney scrapper who conquered the world, stay for the grandson and the fight of his life' - Greg Jenner'If you like comedy and boxing this is the perfect book. James McNicholas is a very funny man and a brilliant writer' - Rob Beckett
The Champ & The Chump: A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family
by James McNicholas'Hard-hitting and hilarious' - James Acaster'Funny, moving and compelling' - Ian CostelloA heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family, based on the acclaimed stage show. For fans of books by Dave Gorman, James Acaster and Danny Wallace, along with boxing tales from the likes of Tyson Fury and Ricky Hatton.THE CHAMPTerry Downes - the charismatic cockney known as 'The Paddington Express' - was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and later a film star and businessman. THE CHUMPJames McNicholas' PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23. James has spent his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy. In reality, that has meant stints as a car park caretaker and river cruise salesperson. After Terry's death, James finds himself in reflective mood, comparing his story of underachievement against that of his world champ grandad. What follows is an increasingly colourful journey through post-war Paddington to the blood-soaked canvases of Baltimore and Shoreditch, via Mayfair parties with the Krays. Along the way, James begins to dig into his own story, confronting the dysfunctional elements of his childhood, describing his often hilarious efforts to make it in the world of showbiz, and attempting to recreate Terry's trials by enlisting in a brutal military boot camp and boxing gym. When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two tales of the fighter and the writer suddenly collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far more important significance altogether. 'A wonderfully funny and heartfelt story of what family and lineage means. Even made me like boxing' - Josh Widdicombe'An extraordinary family history, told with warmth and wit. Two remarkable underdog stories - come for the cockney scrapper who conquered the world, stay for the grandson and the fight of his life' - Greg Jenner'If you like comedy and boxing this is the perfect book. James McNicholas is a very funny man and a brilliant writer' - Rob Beckett
The Champ & The Chump: A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family
by James McNicholasA heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family, based on the acclaimed stage show. For fans of books by Dave Gorman, James Acaster and Danny Wallace, along with boxing tales from the likes of Tyson Fury and Ricky Hatton.The Champ Terry Downes - known as 'The Paddington Express' - was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and latter-day film star and businessman. The Chump James McNicholas's PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23. James has spent his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy. In reality, that has meant spells working as a painter-decorator and river cruise salesperson. After Terry's death, James finds himself in reflective mood, comparing how he's doing in life to how his grandad was at that age. What follows is an increasingly colourful journey that takes James from post-war Paddington to the blood-soaked canvases of Baltimore and Whitechapel, via Mayfair parties with the Krays and betting shop bust-ups, as he discovers the truth about his grandfather's extraordinary life. Along the way he begins to dig into his own story, confronting the family addictions that blighted his early years, describing his often-hilarious efforts to make it in the world of showbiz, and attempts to recreate Terry's trials by enlisting in a brutal army boot camp and boxing gym. When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two stories of the fighter and the writer suddenly collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far more important significance.(P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Limited
The Champ: The Story of Muhammad Ali
by Tonya BoldenAn engaging look at life and legacy of Muhammad Ali for readers of all ages Muhammad Ali was one of the world&’s best-known figures, and this incredible biography delves into precisely why. From his unlikely beginnings as a skinny, young Cassius Clay learning to box at a local gym to becoming the heavyweight champion of the world at the famous &“Rumble in the Jungle,&” where even the skies let loose with rain right after his victory, Ali has captivated the world. Tonya Bolden&’s careful research and elegant telling, paired with R. Gregory Christie&’s incredible paintings, make this a book that will inform and inspire readers of all ages. "Bolden's engaging text has a free-verse structure punctuated with enthusiastic exclamations that is enjoyable to read aloud.... The illustrations are striking." —School Library Journal (Starred review)
Champagne and Meatballs: Adventures of a Canadian Communist
by Bert Whyte Larry HannantActive for over forty years with the Communist Party of Canada, Bert Whyte was a journalist, an underground party organizer and soldier during World War II, and a press correspondent in Beijing and Moscow. But any notion of him as a Communist party hack would be mistaken. Whyte never let leftist ideology get in the way of a great yarn. In Champagne and Meatballs — a memoir written not long before his death in Moscow in 1984 — we meet a cigar-smoking rogue who was at least as happy at a pool hall as at a political meeting. His stories of bumming across Canada in the 1930s, of combat and camaraderie at the front lines in World War II, and of surviving as a dissident in troubled times make for compelling reading. The manuscript of Champagne and Meatballs was brought to light and edited by historian Larry Hannant, who has written a fascinating and thought-provoking introduction to the text. Brash, irreverent, informative, and entertaining, Whyte's tale is history and biography accompanied by a wink of his eye.
Champagne Baby: How One Parisian Learned to Love Wine-and Life-the American Way
by Laure DugasFresh, charming, and wholly irresistible, Champagne Baby turns a familiar tale on its head: Instead of yet another American seeking the French secret to good living, a Frenchwoman finds her purpose--much to her surprise--in America. Laure Dugas is a champagne baby, born into a family of winemakers from two storied regions of France: Champagne and the Rhône Valley. When Laure was an infant, her mother would dip a finger in wine and dab it on Laure's lips to acclimate her to the taste and aroma. But Laure wants little to do with the family business. It is only at age twenty-three, when her uncle offers to send her to New York City to learn English and represent his wines to the American market, that Laure bids adieu to her boyfriend and begins her journey of discovery. The job, it turns out, is both harder and easier than expected. Laure must speak in a new language about a subject in which she has no expertise. But an experienced wine saleswoman shares the secret for faking it: "Always. Be. French." After all, who could claim to know more about wine than a Frenchwoman? With the pedigree of an expert, even as she feels like a fraud, Laure dives into an industry still dominated by men, winning over restaurateurs and sommeliers, diligently developing her palate, and traveling across the vast country that is her new home. For the first time, Laure is able to distinguish among the famous wines of her native land. She learns to greet a wine by the nose and judge a bottle not by its industry rating but by the balance of its flavors. Overcoming homesickness, culture shock, and the trials of a long-distance relationship, Laure manages to settle into her new milieu, her wine-glass-half-full attitude turning an eight-month stint into a three-year adventure. Part coming-of-age memoir, part travelogue, sprinkled throughout with regional maps and wine recommendations, Champagne Baby imparts the critical lessons that pair with both wine and life: You're Better Than the Cheapest Bottle, There's Always Occasion for Champagne, and Trust Your Palate. It encourages readers to view themselves and their surroundings with newfound appreciation, and to raise their glasses with open-mindedness and joy.Advance praise for Champagne Baby "A coming-of-age story of a French girl in love with America, Champagne Baby is a compulsive read filled with keen observations and sharp descriptions of place and culture--a modern, exuberant tale of two cities and discovery."--Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat "It is nearly impossible to read Dugas's charming, heartfelt memoir and not feel a little effervescent. Champagne Baby is a tender coming-of-age story set in an oenophile's playground. Her Franco-American spirit--marked with new traditions like champagne on Thanksgiving--combines the best of the Old and New worlds. Champagne Baby is, like the best bottle of wine, fun and complex, sensual and smart, and totally satisfying."--Hannah Howard, columnist, "Scoop du Jour" "An enticing story that evolves and ventures into unexpected directions and nourishes a result that Dugas had never imagined."--Richard Vine, PhD, author of The Curious World of Wine "[A] delightful memoir . . . [Dugas] entertainingly reflects on what she learned about herself, her family's wine business, and wines in general while living in the U.S."--Kirkus ReviewsFrom the Hardcover edition.
Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the 90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion
by Maureen CallahanThe 1950s had rock 'n' roll and the 60s had the Beats. In the 70s and 80s, it was punk rock and modern art. But for the 1990s, it was all about the fashion-and Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen were the trio of rebel geniuses who made it great. Each had an amazing talent, and had demons that would jeopardize that same talent. Collectively, they represented a "moment" in fashion and pop culture that upended everything that had come before it. In the tradition of pop-cultural histories like Girls Like Us and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Maureen Callahan explores a particular, pivotal time -- the moment when the 1980s gave way to the 1990s, the alternative became the mainstream, and Gen X took over the reins of power in the fashion industry -- through the lives of three people who would become both fashion icons and cautionary tales of the era. Callahan interviews insiders and reveals exclusive insights into the biggest dramas surrounding the most celebrated personalities of the decade: why Kate Moss and Johnny Depp broke up, how Marc Jacobs came through the crucible of the AIDS crisis, and what really drove Alexander McQueen to suicide. Champagne Supernovas is the story of that singular time, as exemplified the lives of the three luminaries who forever changed the way we think about fashion and cult
Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the 90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion
by Maureen CallahanThe 1950s had rock 'n' roll and the 60s had the Beats. In the 70s and 80s, it was punk rock and modern art. But for the 1990s, it was all about fashion and Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen were the trio of rebel geniuses who made it great. Each had an amazing talent and each had demons that would jeopardize that same talent. Collectively, they represented a "moment" in fashion and pop culture that upended everything that had come before it. In the tradition of pop-cultural histories like Girls Like Us and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Maureen Callahan explores a particular, pivotal time - the moment when the 1980s gave way to the 1990s, the alternative became the mainstream, and Gen X took over the reins of power in the fashion industry - through the lives of three people who would become both fashion icons and cautionary tales of the era. Callahan interviews insiders and reveals exclusive insights into the biggest dramas surrounding the most celebrated personalities of the decade: why Kate Moss and Johnny Depp broke up, how Marc Jacobs came through the crucible of the AIDS crisis, and what really drove Alexander McQueen to suicide. Champagne Supernovas is the story of that singular time, as exemplified the lives of the three luminaries who forever changed the way we think about fashion and culture.
Champion: How One Boy's Miraculous Journey Through Autism Is Changing the World
by Craig JohnsonA Celebration of Everyone Who Fulfills Their Purpose Through Unexpected ChallengesUntil two years of age, Craig and Samantha&’s son Connor was just like other kids—playful, verbal, and affectionate. Then everything changed. He stopped talking, displayed behavioral problems, and withdrew into his own world. The official diagnosis—autism. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, Craig and Samantha refused to believe a meaningful life for Connor was impossible. God confirmed their faith by revealing to Craig that Connor would one day touch the lives of thousands of people around the world. Craig and Samantha held that unlikely promise in their hearts during the agonizing years ahead. Champion is a spellbinding chronicle of the twists and turns of Connor&’s journey—guided by his parent&’s steadfast hope in God&’s promises. Through the unexpected breaking of their spirits, the Holy Spirit was poured out, culminating in a miracle that has launched a global ministry to the disabled.
A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis: The Incredible Life of Gino Bartali
by Alberto ToscanoThe true story of the Tour de France winner who cycled all over Mussolini’s Italy in a secret quest to rescue hundreds of Jewish lives.Cyclist Gino Bartali won the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) three times and the Tour de France twice. But these weren’t his only achievements. Deeply religious, Bartali quietly agreed during the dark years of fascist rule to work with the Resistance and pass messages and papers from one end of the country to the other. Despite the dangers, Bartali used his training as a pretext to criss-cross Italy, hiding documents in the handlebars and saddle of his bicycle, hoping each time he was searched that they wouldn’t think to disassemble his machine. As a result of his bravery, eight hundred Jews—including numerous children—were saved from deportation. In this book, Alberto Toscano shares the incredible story of this great sportsman, recognized as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” by Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Memorial after his death in Florence in 2000, and recounts a story of humble heroism, real-life suspense, and twentieth-century European history.“An informative testament to the kinds of risks and sacrifices [of] the anti-Nazis in Mussolini’s Italy during World War II . . . an extraordinary story of an extraordinary man in extraordinary times.” —Midwest Book Review