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100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van DykeOn the eve of his 100th birthday, national treasure Dick Van Dyke brings us this autobiographical collection of stories, reflections, and life advice on how he's maintained a zest for life. Dick Van Dyke danced his way into our hearts with iconic roles in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Now, as he's about to turn 100 years old, Dick is still dancing and approaching life with the twinkle in his eye that we've come to know and love. In 100 Rules for Living to 100, he reveals his secrets for maintaining your joie de vivre and making the most out of the life you've been given.
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Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char AdamsPacked with stories of activism, espionage, violence, community, and perseverance, Char Adams starts Black-Owned with the story of the first Black-owned bookstore, which an abolitionist opened in New York in 1834. After the bookshop's violent demise, Black book-lovers carried on its cause. Malcolm X gave speeches in front of the National Memorial African Book Store in Harlem--a place dubbed Speakers' Corner--and later, Black bookstores became targets of FBI agents, police, and racist vigilantes. Today, a new generation of Black activists is joining the radical bookstore tradition, with rapper Noname opening her Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles and several stores making national headlines when they were overwhelmed with demand in the Black Lives Matter era. As Adams makes clear, in an time of increasing repression, Black bookstores are needed now more than ever. Full of vibrant characters and written with cinematic flair, Black-Owned is an enlightening story of community, resistance, and joy. |
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The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind by Simon WinchesterNew York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style. The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind--a vital source of clean and safe power. Between these two poles--wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet--lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the "natural disasters" that are becoming more frequent and regular. The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force--unseen but not unfelt--that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. |
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Brothers of the Gun: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a Reckoning in Tombstone by Mark Lee GardnerA colorful and groundbreaking account of the most storied friendship of the American West: the bond between Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday: Legendary gunfighters and friends who gained immortality because of a thirty-second shootout near a livery stable called the O.K. Corral. And while there's plenty of gunsmoke in this saga, hero-worshipping won't be found. Wyatt and Doc, just like anyone else then and now, had their flaws and failings, and the unsavory parts of their lives are here, too. In Brothers of the Gun, Old West authority Mark Lee Gardner reveals fresh information about Wyatt's and Doc's early lives, their famous friendship, the O.K. Corral gunfight, and Wyatt's controversial vendetta ride following the assassination of his brother Morgan. Drawing upon new research into diaries, letters, court records, and contemporary newspaper reports, as well as firsthand observation at several historic sites, this is the definitive book on Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and their enduring bond. |
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Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story by Jeffrey KlugerFrom the bestselling author of Apollo 13 comes the thrilling untold story of the pioneering Gemini program that was instrumental in getting Americans on the moon. Without Gemini, there would be no Apollo. It was no easy jump from manned missions in low-Earth orbit to a successful moon landing, and the story of the Gemini program is an extraordinary one. There was unavoidable darkness in the program--the deaths and near-deaths that defined it, and the blood feud with the Soviet Union that animated it. But there were undeniable and previously inconceivable successes. With a war raging in Vietnam and lawmakers calling for cuts to NASA's budget, the success of the Gemini program--or the space program in general--was never guaranteed. Yet against all odds, the remarkable scientists and astronauts behind the project persevered, and their efforts paid off. Later, with the knowledge gained from the Gemini flights, NASA would launch the legendary Apollo program. Gemini is an edge-of-your-seat narrative chronicling the history of the least appreciated--and most groundbreaking--space program in American history. |
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The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter IsaacsonAmerica's bestselling biographer reveals the origins of the most revolutionary sentence in the Declaration of Independence, the one that defines who we are as Americans--and explains how it should shape our politics today. To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, Walter Isaacson takes readers on a fascinating deep dive into the creation of one of history's most powerful sentences: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, this line lays the foundation for the American Dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation. Isaacson unpacks its genius, word by word, illuminating the then-radical concepts behind it. Readers will gain a fresh appreciation for how it was drafted to inspire unity, equality, and the enduring promise of America. With clarity and insight, he reveals not just the power of these words but describes how, in these polarized times, we can use them to restore an appreciation for our common values. |
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In 2021, Smith helped the NBA arrive at a list of the seventy-five greatest players of all time in celebration of its seventy-fifth anniversary. Phil Jackson was asked to participate too, but he's not a big fan of ranking greatness. They've been enjoying the argument ever since. In Masters of the Game, Smith and Jackson chop it up about the basketball life, the sport, and the genius and the shadow side of the all-time greats: Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Bill Russell, Wilt, Jerry West, Bird, LeBron, KD, Steph Curry, Bill Walton, and more. In a conversation full of high-grade analysis and high-grade gossip, we meet the stars of long-ago eras of basketball and see the mark race left on players and the business of the game--and we get a master class on character and the alchemy of a good team. And of course, inevitably, these two old heads get into the GOAT debate. There are so many huge characters here, and Smith and Jackson can hold their own with any of them. Their spirit--sharp, wise, irreverent, honest, respectful of the lore and legacy of the game but never pious--and the clash of their different perspectives combine to make this book a joyous ride, a short course in greatness open to all students. |
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Off the Scales: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity by Aimee DonnellanThe inside story of the creation of Ozempic and its revolutionary impact on public health. As as more potential benefits emerge, one question looms in the minds of investors, healthcare workers, and politicians: Are these drugs too good to be true? In Off the Scales, Reuters journalist Aimee Donnellan illuminates the history of a medical breakthrough that is poised to change the world, while raising difficult social questions about inequality and morality. Through original reporting and rigorous research, she forecasts the future of GLP-1s and examines what their explosive popularity tells us about our ideals of beauty and the lengths to which people will go in order to become thin. Along the way, Donnellan profiles the scientist whose contributions to the discovery of GLP-1 were overlooked, documents her fight for recognition while her colleagues were thrust into the limelight, and offers new insights into the ways that the food and beauty industries made billions while promoting unhealthy and unrealistic body image standards and accelerating the obesity crisis. She also provides firsthand accounts of several early Ozempic users and the transformative effect the drug has had on their weight loss journeys. Off the Scales is an informative and entertaining study of the unexpected consequences of finally getting what we've wanted for so long. |
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Padma's All American: Tales, Travels, and Recipes from Taste the Nation and Beyond: A Cookbook by Padma LakshmiPadma's All American is dedicated to immigrant families and their cuisines in the midst of continuing political dehumanization of the very people who make the United States' culinary culture far richer than it would be without Mexican, Indian, Iranian, and so many other influences. Lakshmi beautifully articulates what it means for her to use food as a lens into other people's lives and cultures, and she gives voices to those whose daily lives are full of spices and specialties that many readers might, at first glance, view as unfamiliar. She draws on her own experiences to demystify practices, noting, for instance, that frying spices can seem intimidating but is a simple skill that she learned as a child. Throughout the book, she shares stories, many from Taste the Nation, and offers recipes that are meticulously written to ensure readers' success when trying new ingredients or cooking methods. . . . A love letter to the diversity of the United States, written through food. -- from Library Journal |
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Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They're Too Much by Cynthia ErivoIn this vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, globally renowned performer Cynthia Erivo draws from her singular experience to show us how to embrace being too much and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves. Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing those same lyrics would change her life. Now she has performed those songs on the world stage, showing us there is always time to keep discovering ourselves. And to illustrate that it's often the parts of ourselves we are told to bury that make us shine. In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she's learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think. We all have hopes and dreams that we want to bring across the finish line. We all falter and take missteps. In this book, Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go. |
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Tigers Between Empires: The Improbable Return of Great Cats to the Forests of Russia and China by Jonathan C. Slaght The forests of northeast Asia are home to a marvelous range of animals--fish owls and brown bears, musk deer and moose, wolves and raccoon dogs, leopards and tigers. But by the final years of the Cold War, only a few hundred tigers stepped quietly through the snow of the Amur River basin. Soon, the Soviet Union fell, bringing catastrophe; without the careful oversight of a central authority, poaching and logging took a fast, astonishing toll on an already vulnerable species. Just as these changes arrived, scientists came together to found the Siberian Tiger Project. Led by Dale Miquelle, a moose researcher, and Zhenya Smirnov, a mouse biologist, the team captured and released more than 114 tigers over three decades. They witnessed mating rituals and fights, hunting and feeding, the ceding and taking of territory, the creation of families. Within these pages, characters--both feline and human--come fully alive as we travel with them through the quiet and changing forests of Amur. We travel across time, too, as the fate of the species has been shaped by the history and politics of empires--such as the Qing dynasty's Willow Palisade, which once slowed human settlement, or the later introduction of roads through Russian reserves. The Siberian Tiger Project became the longest-running tiger research initiative; its work continues to guide conservationists today. Jonathan C. Slaght's Tigers Between Empires is the thrilling saga of the great Amur tiger and the scientists who came together, across the world, to save it.
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Without Consent: A Landmark Trial and the Decades-Long Struggle to Make Spousal Rape a Crime by Sarah WeinmanFrom Sarah Weinman, author of Scoundrel and The Real Lolita, comes an eye-opening story about the first major spousal rape trial in America and urgent questions it raised about women's rights that would reverberate for decades.In 1978, Greta Rideout was the first woman in United States history to accuse her husband of rape, at a time when the idea of marital rape seemed ludicrous to many Americans and was a crime in only four states. After a quick and conservative trial acquitted John Rideout and a defense lawyer lambasted that maybe rape is the risk of being married, Greta was ridiculed and scorned from public life, while John went on to be a repeat offender. Thrust into the national spotlight, Greta and her story would become a national sensation, a symbol of a country's unrelenting and targeted hate toward women and a court system designed to fail them at every turn. A now little-remembered trial deserving of close, wide, and lasting attention, Sarah Weinman turns her signature intelligence and journalistic rigor to the enduring impact of this case. Oregon v. Rideout directly inspired feminist activists, who fought state by state for marital rape laws, a battle that was not won in all fifty until as recently as 1993. Mixing archival research and new reporting involving Greta, those who successfully pressed charges against John in later years, as well as the activists battling the courts in parallel, Without Consent embodies vociferous debates about gender, sexuality, and power, while highlighting the damaging and inherent misogyny of American culture then and still now. |
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