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Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom
by Jet Li
Jet Li's story defies legend. Born into extreme hardship, he fought his way to become the youngest national martial arts champion in Chinese history at twelve years old, dominating opponents twice his size. He then became one of the first internationally renowned movie stars from China with films including Once Upon a Time in China, Hero, and Fearless. These films redefined martial arts for the modern world, making him a household name. But behind the glory lay a deeper battle: a search for meaning beyond fame, fortune, and physical skill. After a near-death encounter in the 2004 tsunami, Li turned inward, deepening his study of Tibetan Buddhism and dedicating his life to philanthropy, though he was at the height of his Hollywood career. For the very first time, Li shares the ten insights that have guided his life, in which anyone can find wisdom, guidance, and power.
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View from the East Wing: A Memoir
by Jill Biden
Jill Biden became First Lady at a complicated moment in US history, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the shadow of the January 6 insurrection. These were the circumstances under which she set up office in the East Wing, where she hit the ground running. Throughout her husband's presidency, Jill remained a tireless advocate for her causes, including women's health, military families, vaccine awareness, cancer initiatives, and education. She made history as the first-ever First Lady to hold an outside job while her husband was in office, continuing to work as a professor at a nearby community college. Yet all the while, she saw herself as an ordinary woman living an extraordinary life. In View from the East Wing, Jill shares her White House experiences for the first time, in her own words. She reflects on the Biden presidency and its impact on her family. She brings you behind the scenes, from Camp David to Air Force One, from grading papers in the Rose Garden to witnessing the abrupt end of her husband's bid for reelection. This is the story of a woman dedicated to her roles as a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher--and First Lady of the United States.
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The Capitol: The Surprising Biography of an American Building
by Brian Jay Jones
The Capitol is a unique biography of a place, encompassing architecture, history, politics, popular culture, and race in a fascinating exploration of our Capitol's secret past, one rife with political intrigue, assassination attempts, thwarted bombings, and gunmen on the run. Never mind ghostly cat prints, mysteriously bloodstained steps, and charming fairy doors that have delighted visitors for hundreds of years. Spanning three centuries of American history, the book focuses on iconic and notable names and personalities from the past--from George Washington to Davy Crockett to Ronald Reagan--as well as countless colorful characters readers may not have heard of before, with a focus on restoring the narratives of enslaved people and recognizing their contributions. The story of the Capitol is the story of America itself, and, for the first time, that story will be told in this sweeping, aspirational biography of the building at the very heart of the American experiment.
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The Land and Its People: Essays
by David Sedaris
In The Land and Its People, Sedaris investigates what it means to be a traveler, a brother, a lifelong friend. Trying on the role of caretaker after his boyfriend Hugh's hip-replacement surgery, he both succeeds and fails. He covers ground with his friend Dawn and challenges her to eat a truck tire. A ambivalent Duolingo bot becomes his unlikely confidante as he attempts to describe his family in a foreign language. Ever adding to his list of Countries I Have Been To, he rides a horse named Tequila in Guatemala, buys a bespoke priest's cassock in Vatican City, and goes on safari in Kenya without taking a single photo. Time takes its toll: scrolling through his address book, he counts those he couldn't bear to outlive, and realizes how many are already gone. He is bitten by a dog and insulted by a wee train passenger. A woman on the street late at night either sexually harasses him or doesn't. It's easy to agree with the lady waving a sign that reads, Enough Is Enough. And yet, life holds much to delight in: the massive testicles of a ram, a trip abroad with his sisters, a really excellent reptile video, a pair of well-made cotton underpants. Throughout these essays--at once acerbic and tender, playful and profound--Sedaris shows how much there is to marvel at when you keep your head up and your eyes open, observing with warmth and curiosity our fascinating human species and the lands we inhabit.
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I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything
by Joanna Stern
The AI future is going to be unlike any other technological revolution. But what does that really mean? And will AI truly make life better?To find out, award-winning journalist Joanna Stern surrendered her life to artificial intelligence for one year. The results are both hilarious and unsettling.I Am Not a Robot is like a time machine trip to the very near future, where AI promises to be your doctor, chauffeur, teacher, masseuse, coworker, therapist, financial planner, chef, housekeeper, and even . . . romantic partner. Your colleague might be using ChatGPT to write emails at work, but Joanna used AI tools and robots to do household chores, to manage her health, and to transport her family on vacation. If there was a decision to make or a task to do, she let AI go first. Along the way, she conducted exclusive interviews with the tech leaders building this future, then reported back from the front lines as your funny, no-nonsense tour guide.Of course, tech's sunny promises never tell the whole story, and that's what Joanna is here to share. Filled with illustrations and photographs, this book offers less hype, more clarity, and as little jargon as humanly (or robotically) possible. It's an AI guide for ordinary people--not the tech bros who tried to sell you a cruise to the metaverse or an NFT of a cartoon monkey.This book is not the definitive story, because we're only a few years into the AI revolution. But after a year of living as a human lab rat, Joanna delivers one of the clearest--and funniest--pictures yet of what's really happening and what it means for you.
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Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience
by Book Author
This New York Times bestseller offers a unique glimpse of the events and people of history--the brightest and best, the most notorious, and the endearingly everyday. All 125 entries include a transcript of the letter; a short introduction; and, in 100 cases, a captivating facsimile of the letter itself. The artfulness of Shaun Usher's eclectic arrangement creates a reading experience rich in discovery. Colorfully illustrated with photographs, portraits, and artwork, Letters of Note is a visual treat.
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Love in the Blitz: The Long-Lost Letters of a Brilliant Young Woman to Her Beloved on the Front
by Eileen Alexander
On July 17th 1939, Eileen Alexander, a bright young woman recently graduated from Girton College, Cambridge, begins a brilliant correspondence with fellow Cambridge student Gershon Ellenbogen that lasts five years and spans many hundreds of letters. But as Eileen and Gershon's relationship flourishes from friendship and admiration into passion and love, the tensions between Germany, Russia, and the rest of Europe reach a crescendo. When war is declared, Gershon heads for Cairo and Eileen forgoes her studies to work in the Air Ministry. As cinematic as Atonement, written with the intimacy of the Neapolitan quartet, Love in the Blitz is an extraordinary glimpse of life in London during World War II and an illuminating portrait of an ordinary young woman trying to carve a place for herself in a time of uncertainty.
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The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss
by Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper's intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS' 60 Minutes affords him little time to spend with his ninety-one year old mother. After she briefly fell ill, he and Gloria began a conversation through e-mail unlike any they had ever had before--a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discussed their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.Both a son's love letter to his mother in her final years and an unconventional mother's life lessons for her grown son, The Rainbow Comes and Goes offers a rare window into their close relationship and fascinating lives. In these often hilarious and touching exchanges, they share their most private thoughts and the hard-earned truths they've learned along the way. Throughout, their distinctive personalities shine through--Anderson's darker outlook on the world is a brilliant contrast to his mother's idealism and unwavering optimism.An appealing blend of memoir and inspirational advice, The Rainbow Comes and Goes is a beautiful and affectionate celebration of the profound and universal bond between a parent and child, and, like Tuesdays with Morrie, a thoughtful reflection on life and love, reminding us of the precious knowledge and insight that remains to be shared, no matter what age we are.
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A Private Spy: The Letters of John Le Carré
by John Le Carré
A Private Spy spans seven decades and chronicles not only le Carrâe's own life but the turbulent times to which he was witness. Beginning with his 1940s childhood, it includes accounts of his National Service and his time at Oxford, and his days teaching the 'chinless, pointy-nosed gooseberry-eyed British lords' at Eton. It describes his entry into MI5 and the rise of the Iron Curtain, and the flowering of his career as a novelist in reaction to the building of the Berlin Wall. Through his letters we travel with him from the Second World War period to the immediate moment in which we live. At the heart of the collection is le Carrâe the writer: researching, creating, and editing, engaging with readers, publishers, filmmakers and actors, with politicians and public figures. We find le Carrâe writing to Sir Alec Guinness to persuade him to take on the role of George Smiley, and later arguing the immorality of the War on Terror with the chief of the German internal security service. What emerges is a portrait not only of the writer, or of the global intellectual, but, in his own words, of the very private, very passionate and very real man behind the name.
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