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By the Time You Read This
by Lola JayeAlready a national bestseller in the U.K., Lola Jaye’s By the Time You Read This is a profoundly beautiful story of a father’s abiding love for the daughter he will never see grow up—and his determination to help guide her through the difficult crossroads and crises of her life even after his own passing. Poignant and unforgettable, evoking in part The Pursuit of Happyness and The Last Lecture, By the Time You Read This celebrates a remarkable bond of love that can never be broken, not even by death.
Hitler's Henchmen: Nazi Executioners and How They Escaped Justice After WWII
by Helmut OrtnerHelmut Ortner reveals a staggering history of perpetrators, victims and bystanders in Hitler’s Germany. He explores the shocking evidence of a merciless era – and of the shameful omissions of post-war German justice. Johann Reichhart was a state-appointed judicial executioner in Bavaria from 1924 until the end of the war in Europe. During the Nazi era, he executed numerous people who were sentenced to death for resisting National Socialism, including many of those involved in the 20 July 1944 bomb plot on Adolf Hitler. As a member of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the SS organisation responsible for administering the concentration and extermination camps, Arnold Strippel served at a number of locations during his rise to the rank of SS-Obersturmführer. These included Natzweiler-Struthof, Buchenwald, Majdanek, Ravensbrück and Neuengamme, where he was responsible for murdering the victims of a series of tuberculosis medical experiments. Like Reichhart, Erich Schwinge was also involved in the legal sphere during the Third Reich. A German military lawyer, in 1931 he became a professor of law and, from 1936, wrote the legal commentary on German military criminal law that was decisive during the Nazi era. Aside from the part they played in Hitler’s regime, these three men all had one further thing in common – they survived the war and restarted their careers in Adenauer’s Federal Republic of Germany. In Hitler’s Henchmen, Helmut Ortner uncovers the full stories of Reichhart, Strippel, Schwinge and others like them, Nazi perpetrators who enjoyed post-war careers as judges, university professors, doctors and politicians. Had they been gutless cogs in the machinery of the Nazi state, or ideologized persecutors? Ortner reveals that it was not only their Nazi pasts that were forgotten, but how the suffering of the victims, including resistance fighters such as Georg Elser and Maurice Becaud, and their relatives was suppressed and ignored.
The Heart Manual: My Scientific Advice for Eating Better, Feeling Better, and Living a Stress-Free Life Now
by Valentín Fuster Josep CorbellaThe director of the Cardiovascular Institute at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Valentín Fuster calls his book The Heart Manual, “My Scientific Advice for Eating Better, Feeling Better, and Living a Stress-Free Life Now.” In this essential, gimmick-free guide, the renowned cardiologist whose clients have ranged from Bill Clinton to Ted Kennedy, from Henry Kissinger to the Bush family, offers easy to read and follow advice to help you achieve TOTAL health, both physical and mental. The Heart Manual belongs in every home health library—right next to You: The Owner’s Manual by Dr. Mehmet C. Oz.
Burn Down the Sky
by James JarosAfter the destruction of nature and the death of the world . . .After the Wicca virus drove billions to madness and suicide, replacing order and reason with violence and terror . . .In the parched ruins of what once was civilization, one commodity is far morevaluable than all others combined: female children.When well-armed marauders roll in at dusk to brutally attack a fiercely defended compound of survivors, Jessie is unable to halt the slaughter—and she can do nothing to prevent the ruthless abduction of innocents, including her youngest child. Now, along with her outraged teenage daughter, Bliss, Jessie must set out on a journey across a blasted landscape—joining up with the desperate, the broken, the half-mad, on an impossible mission: to storm the fortress of a dark and twisted religion and bring the children home.
Sex Lives of the Presidents: From Washington to Clinton
by Nigel CawthorneIt didn't start with Clinton, or even Kennedy. Ever since the Father of our Country was sworn in over 200 years ago, the White House has seen its share of oversexed, adulterous, philandering presidents. From Washington's countless bed partners to Jefferson's illegitimate children, Kennedy's notorious womanizing to Clinton's unstoppable libido, find out the surprising and sometimes bizarre sexual practices of all the men in the Oval Office.
The Ninth Grave: A Fabian Risk Novel (Fabian Risk Series #2)
by Stefan Ahnhem"An atmospheric and complicated saga of crimes that criss-cross the narrow strait between Sweden and Denmark...great cop characters...and some imaginatively grisly perps."— Sunday TimesWould you kill for the one you love?That's the question that international bestseller Stefan Ahnhem's The Ninth Grave: A Fabian Risk Novel seeks to answer in this spine-tingling thriller set six months before the events in Victim Without a Face.On a cold winter evening, the Swedish minister of justice disappears without a trace from the short walk between the house of Parliament and his car. At the same time the wife of a famous Danish TV-star is found brutally murdered in her luxury home north of Copenhagen. Soon more bodies are discovered, all missing different body parts. As criminal investigator Fabian Risk and Danish counterpart Dunja Hougaard race to put the pieces together, they are dragged into a conspiracy worse than anyone could imagine.
Seventeenth-Century Opera and the Sound of the Commedia dell’Arte
by Emily WilbourneIn this book, Emily Wilbourne boldly traces the roots of early opera back to the sounds of the commedia dell’arte. Along the way, she forges a new history of Italian opera, from the court pieces of the early seventeenth century to the public stages of Venice more than fifty years later. Wilbourne considers a series of case studies structured around the most important and widely explored operas of the period: Monteverdi’s lost L’Arianna, as well as his Il Ritorno d’Ulisse and L’incoronazione di Poppea; Mazzochi and Marazzoli’s L’Egisto, ovvero Chi soffre speri; and Cavalli’s L’Ormindo and L’Artemisia. As she demonstrates, the sound-in-performance aspect of commedia dell’arte theater—specifically, the use of dialect and verbal play—produced an audience that was accustomed to listening to sonic content rather than simply the literal meaning of spoken words. This, Wilbourne suggests, shaped the musical vocabularies of early opera and facilitated a musicalization of Italian theater. Highlighting productive ties between the two worlds, from the audiences and venues to the actors and singers, this work brilliantly shows how the sound of commedia performance ultimately underwrote the success of opera as a genre.
It's Not Really About the Hair: The Honest Truth About Life, Love, and the Business of Beauty
by Tabatha Coffey Richard BuskinFans of the hit Bravo show Tabatha's Salon Takeover tune in for the straight-shooting, unvarnished commentary of its ballsy, stylish, and savvy star. Though millions admire Tabatha Coffey's unflinching honesty and never-say-die attitude, some do not and have even taken to name-calling. Refusing to let others define her, she has reclaimed the word "bitch," transforming it to fit the person she is: Brave, Intelligent, Tenacious, Creative, and Honest. In It's Not Really About the Hair, this deeply private woman shares the experiences of her own life to encourage you to get in touch with your own inner bitch. Tabatha reveals how she used her strength and openness to help define her signature look, personal relationships, life choices, and tenacious work ethic—one that in her own words likens her to "a pit bull with a bone." Here are the people and the circumstances that have led her to a place of honesty, self-assurance, satisfaction, and success—from her tough-minded mum to her famous mentors, her peers, and clients.Part memoir, part business manual, and part coaching guide on achieving self-acceptance and love, It's Not Really About the Hair teaches you that it's all right to be who you are, stand up for what you believe in, and do what makes you happy without being defined by others.Tabatha Coffey's raw, funny, shocking, and always inspirational story will encourage you to celebrate the long-lasting and most important beauty of all—the true beauty that is you.
Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White (None Ser.)
by Tim Reid Tom Dreesen Ron RapoportAs the heady promise of the 1960s sagged under the weight of widespread violence, rioting, and racial unrest, two young men--one black and one white--took to stages across the nation to help Americans confront their racial divide: by laughing at it.Tim and Tom tells the story of that pioneering duo, the first interracial comedy team in the history of show business--and the last. Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen polished their act in the nightclubs of Chicago, then took it on the road, not only in the North, but in the still-simmering South as well, developing routines that even today remain surprisingly frank--and remarkably funny--about race. Most nights, the shock of seeing an integrated comedy team quickly dissipated in uproarious laughter, but on some occasions the audience’s confusion and discomfort led to racist heckling, threats, and even violence. Though Tim and Tom perpetually seemed on the verge of making it big throughout their five years together, they grudgingly came to realize that they were ahead of their time: America was not yet ready to laugh at its own failed promise. Eventually, the grind of the road took its toll, as bitter arguments led to an acrimonious breakup. But the underlying bond of friendship Reid and Dreesen had forged with each groundbreaking joke has endured for decades, while their solo careers delivered the success that had eluded them as a team. By turns revealing, shocking, and riotously funny, Tim and Tom unearths a largely forgotten chapter in the history of comedy.
The Slave Trade in Africa: An Ongoing Holocaust
by Simon WebbIs it true that the trans-Atlantic slave trade, about which so much has been heard in recent years, would have been impossible without the willing and enthusiastic cooperation of African leaders? Slavery was a common practice in Africa long before the arrival of Europeans, with the trade in black slaves, who were transported from Africa to America and the islands of the Caribbean, aided by the African traders who benefited from the arrangement. Even when Europe and America outlawed slavery and the slave trade, those living in Africa clung tenaciously to the old ways and refused to relinquish what was, to them, a time-honored custom. Is it for this reason that slavery lingers on in Africa to this day? In this book, Simon Webb explores the history of slavery in Africa and finds that it was not necessarily imposed upon the continent by Europeans, but was rather an integral part of many, perhaps most, cultures. Even when the British deployed their army and navy to try to suppress the trade in slaves during the nineteenth century, their efforts were largely ineffectual because many societies saw no reason to give up such an old, useful and profitable system. At a time when the subject of the trans-Atlantic slave trade is seldom out of the news, this book provides a challenge to the popularly accepted view of the matter. Nobody reading it will ever view slavery and the slave trade in quite the same light again.
An American Death: The True Story of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Greatest Manhunt of Our Time
by Gerold FrankNew York Times–Bestselling Author: &“Frank&’s reconstruction of Dr. [Martin Luther] King&’s murder and its aftermath is remarkably convincing.&” —The New York Times Written by two-time Edgar Award winner Gerold Frank, An American Death examines the infamous 1968 assassination of the legendary civil rights leader in Memphis, Tennessee, in vivid, extensive detail. Frank casts a light on historical truth and builds a coherent narrative of events amid the chaos and conspiracy theories that surround Dr. King&’s murder. The author recounts the details of April 4, and delves into the shocking events leading up to the fateful day, including James Earl Ray&’s background and escape from prison, and the manhunt and quest for justice that followed the killing, in this riveting account of a crime that shook a nation. &“Provide[s] insight into James Earl Ray and the rather squalid world from which he emerged . . . persuasively argued.&” —Worldview &“Frank&’s picture of Ray . . . is remarkable.&” —TimeIncludes photographs
Circling the Drain: Stories
by Amanda DavisEnter into the worlds of fifteen young women who, despite their vastly different circumstances, seem to negotiate an eerily similar and unavoidably dangerous emotional terrain. With a visceral bite or a surreal edge, each electrically charged story in Circling the Drain presents women trying to understand the nature of loss--of leaving or being left--and discovering that in the throes of feverish conflict, things are rarely what they seem. By turns dark and lyrical, ferocious and playful, these stories are precise, startling, and undeniably original. Reading them is a cathartic, mesmerizing literary experience.
The Portland Vase: The Extraordinary Odyssey of a Mysterious Roman Treasure
by Robin BrooksFor thousands of years an enigmatic and astonishingly beautiful piece of Roman art has captivated those who have come in contact with it.Made before the birth of Christ, the Portland Vase, as it is called, is renowned for both its beauty and its mystery.In The Portland Vase, Robin Brooks takes us on a vivid journey across Europe and through the centuries, as this delicate piece of glass, less than ten inches in height, passes through the hands of a stunning cast of characters, including the first Roman emperor, Augustus; a notorious tomb raider; a reckless cardinal; a princess with a nasty gambling habit; the ceramics genius Josiah Wedgwood; the secretive Duchess of Portland; and a host of politicians, dilettantes, and scam artists.Rich with passion, inspiration, jealousy, and endless speculation, the story of The Portland Vase spans more than two thousand years and remains one of the art world's greatest enigmas.
Texas Thunder: A Rebel Moonshine Novel (The Rebel Moonshine Novels #1)
by Kimberly RayeMen, women, and moonshine make a dangerously tempting combination in the USA Today–bestselling author’s sizzling Western romance series debut.The most infamous moonshiners in Lone Star history, the Tuckers and the Sawyers have been feuding for over a hundred years. Sure, the days of buckshot and bloodshed are long gone, but it’s not over yet. To save the family business, Callie Tucker has to find the recipe for the legendary Texas Thunder moonshine. But first she’ll need to make a devil’s bargain—with a red-hot hellraiser named Brett Sawyer.A Sawyer through and through, Brett was raised to never trust a Tucker—especially one as pretty as Callie. But desperate times call for desperate measures. With his ranch going bankrupt, Brett agrees to help Callie find the recipe, sell the rights, and split the profits. Of course, it won’t be easy for these two enemies to work together. But it’s even harder to ignore the sparks of attraction—when just one kiss delivers a kick stronger than any swig of moonshine . . .
Conquering Your Child's Chronic Pain: A Pediatrician's Guide for Reclaiming a Normal Childhood
by Lonnie K. Zeltzer Christina Blackett SchlankFrom a renowned expert in the field, a parent's guide to managing their child's chronic pain—to give back normal life to the 1 in 5 children for whom pain is a serious problem. A child's chronic pain undermines school performance and social and emotional health, erodes finances, and devastates the family. This book reveals what parents can do to alleviate their child's pain on a daily basis. Dr. Zeltzer's clinic is renowned for treatment of pediatric pain stemming from headaches, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome; fibromyalgia, and more, via a multidisciplinary approach including specialists in psychiatry, hypnotherapy, yoga, acupuncture, biofeedback, and others. Based on more than 30 years study, Dr. Zeltzer offers ways to take control of the pain and ultimately become pain-free. She explains how to tell if the pain has become chronic, soothe the nervous system, reactivate the body's natural pain control mechanisms, which medications are most effective, breathing, muscle relaxation and visualization techniques, how to reduce parents' guilt and much more.It is never too late to treat pain in children, no matter how long it has lasted, says Dr. Zeltzer. Her book offers help and hope to families desperately in need.
Something About Sophie: A Novel
by Mary Kay McComasClearfield, Virginia, is a sleepy, idyllic hamlet where residents welcome its comfortable, familiar routines. But when a newcomer arrives in town, long-buried secrets threaten to surface and destroy their haven . . .Answering a call that summons her to a stranger's deathbed, a reluctant Sophie Shepard is too late to hear what he was so anxious to tell her. What was so important that a dying man would think of her in his final moments? With the help of Dr. Drew McCarren, Sophie begins to dig into her past, setting off a chain of events that chills the quiet town of Clearfield, Virginia, to its roots.With part of her wanting nothing more than to put Clearfield behind her and run back home, Sophie knows she won't rest until she discovers the truth. But growing closer to the residents also means uncovering their dark secrets—secrets about the woman who gave Sophie up for adoption, the mysterious part these strangers played, and the life she never knew she nearly had.Something About Sophie is a memorable story about the power of love . . . and the things people will do, both right and wrong, to protect it.
Share No Secrets
by Carlene ThompsonAlong the banks of the Ohio River, the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, has been the home of quiet pleasures and safety for Adrienne Reynolds and her fourteen-year-old daughter Skye since the death of Adrienne's husband four years ago. Their sense of safety is shattered, however, when Adrienne and Skye find the body of one of Adrienne's best friends, Julianna, in a once-elegant, now abandoned hotel named La Belle Riviere. La Belle has a long history of misfortunes, but Julianna's murder is the most gruesome.Evidence indicates Julianna that had a secret lover whom she met regularly in the hotel, and who could have been with her in her final moments. The only person who knows this lover's identity is the hotel caretaker, Claude Duncan. But Claude is quickly silenced-drugged and burned to death in his small cottage on the grounds of La Belle the night after Julianna's death. One by one, people close to Adrienne are brutally murdered, and it looks as though she and Skye are the next targets of a fierce killer with a shocking secret.
Shark Island
by Chris JamesonA shark attack survivor believes she has already lived through her worst nightmare. She's dead wrong. . . Naomi Cardiff is not one to give up without a fight—and now, after learning about a series of shark attacks in Cape Cod, she’s joined a team of scientists to put a stop to the terror. The plan: to lure the sharks to a remote island far from the populated coastline. Meanwhile, a fierce Nor’Easter is underway. . .In the midst of the storm, an alarming number of Great Whites have come to slaughter the seals in a vicious feeding frenzy. When sharks ram and breach the hull, Naomi and her team must jump ship and swim desperately through a sea of circling fins and gaping jaws to the tiny island. But as the swells from the storm begin to swallow their rocky refuge, how will they manage to make it out alive?
Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fight to Save His Presidency
by David CornThe veteran political journalist and New York Times bestselling author goes behind the scenes at the White House to recount the dramatic tale of a pivotal period in the Obama presidency, from the game-changing 2010 midterm elections to the beginning of the critical 2012 campaign season—a tumultuous time that tested the president as never before and set the stage for a titanic clash over the future of the nationAfter Barack Obama's first two years as president—during which he navigated the United States through its severest economic crisis since the Great Depression while managing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—he was faced with a bitterly divided nation and an emboldened political opposition dedicated to impeding his presidency. What followed was a year of political crises and fierce battles that would transform Obama and profoundly shape the terrain for the next election.In Showdown, astute political journalist David Corn chronicles and examines this crucial time in the Obama presidency and its impact on the nation's future. Drawing on interviews with White House officials, Obama's inner circle, members of Congress, and others, Corn takes the reader into the Oval Office and the back rooms on Capitol Hill for a fast-paced and gripping account of the major events as they unfolded: the controversial tax-cut deal with Congress in December 2010; the repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell; the passage of the New START treaty; the near shutdown of the government in early 2011; the revolutionary Arab spring; the killing of Osama bin Laden; the intense, high-wire debt-ceiling negotiations (in which intransigent House Republicans risked the nation's financial standing); House Speaker John Boehner's erratic maneuvers during the rise and fall of the grand bargain; and the face-off between Obama and congressional Republicans over how best to create jobs. Corn captures the dilemmas faced by a president assailed by disappointed progressives and defiantly obstructionist Republicans determined to see his defeat. Here is a chief executive trying to balance the cross-cutting demands of governance and politics while handling unending challenges at home and abroad. The book reveals a thoughtful leader with a cool head who is unafraid to take risks and make tough choices, a steely battler who successfully turned his enemies' obstinacy to his advantage. Obama has often frustrated supporters, but Corn shows how the president, who often puts pragmatism ahead of partisan demands, has craftily operated within a hostile conservative political climate, looking to win the long game, achieve progressive goals, and, ultimately, win reelection.A vivid and powerful account of White House decision-making, Showdown offers a unique and enlightening look at the turbulent American political scene during one of the most consequential moments of the nation's history, and explains the fascinating and complicated leader at the heart of this vortex.
Proof of Angels: A Novel
by Mary Curran HackettFrom the critically acclaimed author of Proof of Heaven comes an unforgettable tale that asks the question "Are there angels among us?"Sean Magee is a firefighter—a hero who risks his own life to save others, running into dangerous situations few have the courage to dare. While fighting a horrific blaze, Sean becomes trapped by flames and is nearly overcome by smoke. Just when it seems that all is lost, he's led to a window, by what he swears is divine intervention. And then he jumps . . .. . . into a new life. For years, Sean has shut down his feelings, existing in a state of emotional numbness. Coming through that fire, he knows he can no longer be that man whose heart is closed to the world. But before he can face his future, he must confront his past and everyone in it: the family, the friends, the woman—and the love—he carelessly left behind.
Naval Eyewitnesses: The Experience of War at Sea, 1939–1945
by James Goulty"Goulty tells the story from the perspective of the ordinary sailor or officer who was there."—The Northern MarinerAlthough many books have been written about naval actions during the Second World War – histories and memoirs in particular – few books have attempted to encompass the extraordinary variety of the experience of the war at sea. That is why James Goulty’s vivid survey is of such value. Sailors in the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy experienced a war fought on a massive scale, on every ocean of the world, in a diverse range of vessels, from battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines to merchant ships and fishing boats. Their recollections are as varied as the ships they served in, and they take the reader through the entire maritime war, as it was perceived at the time by those who had direct, personal knowledge of it. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the experience of individuals – their recruitment and training, their expectations and the reality they encountered on active service in many different offensive and defensive roles including convoy duty and coastal de-fence, amphibious operations, hunting U-boats and surface raiders, mine sweeping and manning landing and rescue craft. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the sailors themselves, what action against the enemy felt like and the impact of casualties – seamen who were wounded or killed on board or were lost when their ships sank. A fascinating inside view of the maritime warfare emerges which may be less heroic than the image created by some post-war accounts, but it gives readers today a much more realistic impression of the whole gamut of wartime life at sea.
A Girl's Guide to Joining the Resistance: A Feminist Handbook on Fighting for Good
by Emma GrayAn illustrated big-sister's guide to activism—the perfect gift for young feminists and long-time observers looking to enter the fray.Have recent events given you pause? Does Trump’s America make you fearful for the future of women? Do you want to become more involved in helping to preserve women’s rights but aren’t sure how? In A Girl’s Guide to Joining the Resistance, Emma Rose Gray, Executive Editor at The Huffington Post, outlines all that young women need to know on pivotal women’s rights issues and offers a blueprint for those who want to take a stand and participate in the cause. This groundbreaking book includes: • Background information on key issues so you can choose where you most want to take a stand.• A guide for learning about the first Amendment and how to choose good news sources and make sure you’re getting quality information.• Practical instructions on how to get involved and stay involved, with examples from the author’s own experience organizing the successful “Watch Us Run” conference. • Instructions for how to talk to your friend who says she’s “just not that political” and your relatives whose beliefs conflict with your own. • Advice for self-care and how to stay involved without exhausting yourself. • Extensive back-matter including numbers to call, organizations to email and donate to, and scripts for reaching out to representatives and organizations. • Interviews with experienced activists including senator Elizabeth Warren, actress Amber Tamblyn, actress Marlo Thomas, Women’s March Co-Chair Carmen Perez, Mother of the Movement Lucy McBath, Black Lives Matter creator Alicia Garza, People for Bernie Founder Winnie Wong, and former assistant to President Obama Tina Tchen. Featuring original 2-color illustrations throughout by New York Magazine’s Eva Hill, A Girl’s Guide to Joining the Resistance illuminates why the time has never been more important than now to get involved in helping to ensure women’s rights are protected for the current and future generations of women.
Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch: Tales from a Bad Neighborhood
by Hollis GillespieDrawing on her peripatetic childhood as the daughter of a travelling salesman, and her adult residence in one of Atlanta's seedier crack neighbourhoods, columnist and NPR commentator Hollis Gillespie has assembled a comic, poignant memoir about her life, starring her unusual family and her crazy friends.NPR commentator Hollis Gillespie's outrageously funny–and equally heartbreaking–collection of autobiographical tales chronicles her journey through self–reckoning and the worst neighbourhoods in Atlanta in search of a home she can call her own. The daughter of a missile scientist and an alcoholic travelling trailer salesman, Gillespie was nine before she realized not everybody's mother made bombs, and thirty before she realized it was possible to live in one place longer than a six–month lease allows. Supporting her are the social outcasts she calls her best friends: Daniel, a talented and eccentric artist; Grant, who makes his living peddling folk art by a denounced nun who paints plywood signs with twisted evangelical sayings; and Lary, who often, out of compassion, offers to shoot her like a lame horse.Hollis's friends help her battle the mess of obstacles that stand in her way–including her warped childhood, in which her parents moved her and her siblings around the country like carnival barkers, chasing missile–building contracts and other whimsies, such as her father's dream to patent and sell door–to–door the world's most wondrous key–chain. A past like this will make you doubt you'll ever have a future, much less roots. Miraculously, though, Gillespie manages to plant exactly that: roots, as wrested and dubious as they are.As Gillespie says, "Life is too damn short to remain trapped in your own Alcatraz." Follow her on this wickedly funny journey as she manages to escape again and again.
How I Broke into Hollywood: Success Stories from the Trenches
by Pablo F. Fenjves Rocky LangHollywood's survivors share their secrets to success -- where, they came from, how they made it, and how you can tooIn a heyday of reality television and overnight stardom, it's easy to forget that most players had to work hard to make it big. How I Broke into Hollywood brings together dozens of Tinseltown's greatest success stories, from legends Sydney Pollack and Lalo Schifrin to rising starlet Erika Christensen to über-producer Gavin Polone. Icons of their industry -- writers, actors, directors, designers, cinematographers, executives and more -- they were once outsiders themselves, and their beginnings have all the grit and glamour of the best Hollywood films. Among the figures profiled:Comedian Bernie Mac, whose earliest stand-up shows were on subway cars and at funeral parties.Actor Charles Dutton, who was convicted of manslaughter at age seventeen, then went on to the Yale School of Drama and a brilliant career on stage, screen, and television.Actor Peter Gallagher, who suffered a crippling bout of stage fright moments before leaping onstage as Snoopy -- but whose jitters moved him to a performance that brought the audience to its feet and launched his career.Superagent Jay Kanter, who started out as a mailroom guy -- before nabbing Marlon Brando as his first star client.Producer Caryn Mandabach, whose first job was making beer runs for the production guys at the Olympic Auditorium -- but who paid attention and soon was developing such hits as The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and That '70s Show.Director John Landis, who hunted down his first job as a production assistant by buying a one-way ticket to London, then hitchhiking and hopping trains all the way to the set . . . in Yugoslavia.How I Broke into Hollywood shares the voices of nearly fifty Hollywood survivors as they revisit the highs and lows of their careers in their own words, dishing dirt and imparting the wisdom they gained along the way. We learn what drew them to the industry and what made them stay, what inspired and appalled them, and what secrets propelled them to professional stardom. (Hint: a good attitude -- and an unflappable ego -- don't hurt.)The road to success is a bumpy, angst-ridden, star-studded thrill ride -- but for these insiders, at least, it was worth every pitfall and lesson learned. Often hilarious, always instructive, How I Broke into Hollywood is an irresistible read for anyone fascinated by those who've made it big . . . and for people everywhere hoping to make it big themselves.
One Hot Summer: A One And Only Texas Novel (The One and Only Texas Novels #1)
by Melissa CutlerWelcome to Dulcet, Texas, home of the legendary Briscoe Ranch Resort, where one woman will discover that even love is bigger in the Lone Star State.Celebrity wedding planner Remedy Lane is Hollywood royalty—until a scandal sends her packing to the wilds of Texas. She has a knack for leaving disaster in her wake, but she’s determined to reboot her career at Briscoe Ranch, a luxury resort known for extravagant weddings. Little does she know that weddings don’t happen at the resort without the approval of the town’s cowboy-swaggering, too-hot-for-his-own-good fire chief, Micah Garrity.ONE HOT SUMMERMicah knows trouble when he sees it, and all it takes is one glimpse of Remedy’s princess airs for him to know he’s met his match. Too bad he can’t stop thinking about her—even when she brings about one disaster after another at the resort. He and Remedy clash at every turn, but they can’t stop the sparks flying between them. They come from such different worlds—does love stand a chance or will this fire burn too hot for either of them to handle?Don't miss the first book in Melissa Cutler's One and Only Texas series!