| George Lucas: A life by Brian Jay JonesStar Wars. Indiana Jones. American Graffiti. Howard the Duck. Well, they can't all be winners, but filmmaker George Lucas has had such astounding success that the live-action fowl is barely a blip on the radar. In this exacting and engaging biography, well-known writer Brian Jay Jones (Jim Henson) addresses Lucas' entry into film-making, his many triumphs, his professional and personal relationships, his vision, and his business acumen. Offering insight into Lucas' creative process and his legacy, Jones proves that Lucas' popularity is well deserved. |
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Original Gangstas: The untold story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the birth of West Coast rap
by Ben Westhoff
This wide-ranging history of West Coast rap offers in-depth biographies of its leading artists -- including Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and others -- as well as accounts of the rivalries between them. It also offers insightful examinations of the glamorising of thug life and the popularity of hip hop, the consequences of fame, and the still-unsolved murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls.
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The illustrated history of football
by David Squires
This is football comic-ery, but not as you know it. Welcome to the inimitable work of illustrator David Squires. Football and comics. Once a hearty Saturday combination to match cartoons and cereal, in recent years they’ve drifted apart. Thankfully for us, Squires is here to change all that. In The Illustrated History of Football, his first book, Squires relives some of football’s most glorious moments and meets its greatest figures. In a sport full of handsome paycheques and corporate sponsors, he also casts a critical eye over corrupt backroom workings and helps pierce football’s overblown balloon.
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Timeless style: Dressing well for the rest of your life
by Anna Harvey
For the high-spending, full-living baby boomer generation, dressing well is as important as ever - after all, if 50 is the new 30, then 60 is the new 40. But - much as the baby boomers might wish to avoid the facts - different ages bring different dressing conundrums. No-one wants to be thought of mutton dressed as lamb, but neither do they want to look like mutton dressed as more mutton. The good news is that it IS possible to be well-dressed, stylish - and happy. Timeless Style will show you how, and its author, Vogue's Anna Harvey, who advised Diana, Princess of Wales on styling, will be the perfect guide.
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Blue on blue: An insider's story of good cops catching bad cops
by Charles Campisi
The longest-serving chief of the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau shares real-world insights into how corrupt and lawbreaking police officers are investigated and stopped, reflecting on stories of memorable cases and the contributions of such leaders as Rudy Guliani, Mike Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio.
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| Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me: The pursuit of happiness, one celebrity at a time by Rachel BertschePart memoir, part research and reflection, Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me recounts the author's attempts to reach perfection (and therefore be happier) by doing what celebrities do. That meant: exercising like Jennifer Aniston, cooking like Gwyneth Paltrow, dressing like Sarah Jessica Parker, and being in general more like Beyoncé. (All on a journalist's paycheck.) Her efforts (by turns humorous and embarrassing) also give her a chance to reflect on celebrity culture. For more stories of people emulating celebrities in search of happiness, try Robyn Okrant's Living Oprah or Rebecca Harrington's I'll Have What She's Having. |
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We should hang out sometime: embarrassingly, a true story
by Josh Sundquist
The Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star and motivational speaker documents his coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor and his efforts to investigate past dates gone wrong to discover why he was still single.
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| The gratitude diaries: How a year looking on the bright side can transform your life by Janice KaplanDuring her participation in a study on gratitude, journalist Janice Kaplan learned that fewer than 50% of those surveyed regularly expressed gratitude. Motivated by that sad number, she vowed one New Year's Eve to practice being grateful for one full year, and found that this focus on thankfulness improved not only her own outlook but those of people around her. For The Gratitude Diaries, Kaplan drew on her own journal entries (in addition to interviews with experts, scientific research, and anecdotal data) to offer an account of her practice of thankfulness that very well may inspire others to follow her lead. |
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MWF seeking BFF: My yearlong search for a new best friend
by Rachel Bertsche
A web producer at Oprah.com and former editor at O: The Oprah Magazine documents the year she spent looking for a new best friend after relocating to Chicago, a search marked by weekly girl-dates and her observations on current social research about the friend-making challenges faced by modern adults.
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| Year of no sugar: A memoir by Eve O. SchaubAfter learning the role that sugar can play in one's health (and the near-ubiquity of sugar in processed foods), author Eve Schaub challenged her family (herself, her husband, and two young daughters) to go a year without sugar (with small exceptions). It...did not go smoothly at first, especially as they began to tire of sweetening everything with bananas or dates. But by the end of the year, Schaub had noticed distinct changes in their health and well-being. Their experimental year is outlined with levity. |
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Drop dead healthy: One man's humble quest for bodily perfection
by A. J. Jacobs
Armed with a team of medical advisers and a 53-page task list, Jacobs set to work. He subjected his body to a brutal regime of exercise programmes - extreme chewing, anti-gravity yoga and shoeless jogging to name only a few; sampled every miracle diet going, beginning with the 'coffee, booze and chocolate' plan through the 'Rastafarian diet' to raw foodism; as well as sharpening his eyes and mind, testing every known method, and the patience of his long-suffering wife, in his quest to become as healthy as humanly possible. Drop Dead Healthy is a hilarious account of one man's painful journey from slob to superman, and a fascinating and eye-opening examination of what it really means to be healthy. Revealing the ugly truth about the assumptions and obsessions we have about our bodies, this might just be the healthiest book you'll ever read..
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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