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New Non-Fiction Arrivals at MPL |
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Welcome to NEXTREADS, the Mobile Public Library's e-mail newsletter service. Are you looking for a few good books to read? Sign up for our e-newsletters and get great book suggestions by email. We'll deliver reading lists right to your inbox along with new gems, bestsellers and related titles. You'll also be able to check immediately whether the items are available at your favorite Mobile Public Library Location or whether they've been checked out.
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Here are our new arrivals, click the title to view in our catalog:
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American Pope: Leo XIV's Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City
by Daniel Burke
For the first time in its 2,000 year history, the Catholic Church would be led by an American. NPR's Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow, who were in St. Peter's Square that day leading the network's coverage, were among those shocked by the selection. Growing up in the faith as kids and reporting on it as adults, they had been told it was an article of faith, a given, that the Catholic Church would never elect an American pope. And yet, there was Prevost--now Leo XIV--smiling, waving, and declaring to the crowd in Italian, Peace be with you. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who grew up just outside Chicago but had spent much of his adult life in Peru, had been a dark horse candidate to say the least-an unassuming Augustinian who had only recently been promoted to the top levels of Church leadership. His elevation to the most prominent religious seat in the world prompted unprecedented enthusiasm--a surge of Da Pope memes and American tourists flocking to Rome with gifts of deep dish pizza and hats from Villanova (his alma mater)--but despite international media coverage and fascination, the scope of Prevost's journey has yet to be told in full, intimate detail. Now, in American Pope, Burke and Detrow present the first comprehensive, impressively sourced biography of the new pontiff. The two journalists spent the year after Leo's election reporting in Peru, Chicago, and Rome. They tracked down Leo's close confidants, childhood friends, family members, classmates, fellow clergy, and Vatican insiders. They gained unprecedented access to archival documents, letters, emails, and other personal correspondence that provide key insights into Prevost's experiences and views. As a result, readers are introduced to a man at varying stages of his destiny: Robert, a quiet young boy from a working-class parish straddling Chicago's southern border, coming into his faith in Kennedy-era America; Bob, a serious student who writes for his high school paper and spends time in the seminary leading family interventions for alcoholics; Padre and Monsignor Roberto, a stabilizing and hopeful presence in impoverished and terrorized communities of Peru, and who would help lead his diocese through the COVID-19 pandemic; Father Bob, the leader of the Augustinian order at a time of crisis for the Catholic Church; Cardinal Prevost, the unassuming ally of Pope Francis; and, finally, Leo, whose ascension will forever change the Church he serves and loves. Enlightening, engrossing, and undeniably human, American Pope is the key to understanding one of the most consequential figures of our time.
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The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the Middle East
by Kim Ghattas
A work of true crime following one American family's search for the truth after a 1984 murder in war-torn Beirut, where the Iranian revolution collided with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, setting off the geopolitical conflagration that burns to this day, from acclaimed and bestselling author Kim Ghattas. On January 18, 1984, Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated by a pair of gunmen outside his office. His murder, in the wake of the bombing of the U.S. Marines' barracks, Palestinian guerrilla warfare, and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, was just one more shocking headline in a city ravaged by chaos. There was no investigation. Four decades later, the question of who killed Malcom and why still haunts Kerr's family, including his son Steve, a now world-famous basketball player and NBA coach. In The Best Kind of American, Kim Ghattas embarks on a quest to solve Kerr's assassination, weaving together the family's story with Lebanon's warlords and peacemakers, Hezbollah hostage-takers and Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and American presidents from Reagan to Trump. Part nonfiction thriller, part illuminating exploration of the moment the conflict between the U.S. and Iran turned violent, this is a gripping story of survival and resilience, set at the intersection of geopolitics, hubris, and impunity. As Ghattas unravels the murder mystery, she makes the case for 1980s Beirut as the point of origin for the policies and people who continue to drive events in the Middle East today, from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading up to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran in 2026. With the nuance, clarity, and storytelling that made Black Wave an era-defining work on the Middle East, Ghattas delivers a riveting, deeply human saga--a must-read for understanding why this conflict continues to shape today's world.
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Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State
by Michael Lewis
An inside look at the early days of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, as told by the public servants it targeted and one of America's best storytellers.
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Bloodlines: A Memoir
by Joe Manganiello
Actor Joe Manganiello's gripping memoir of a previously undisclosed health ordeal--marked by multiple near-death experiences and medical crises--that led him beyond medicine and into a remarkable, globe-spanning quest that revealed answers about his ancestry, inherited trauma, and the deeper histories we carry. Joe Manganiello seemed to have it all: a soaring career, a new marriage, and what many considered, the best physique in Hollywood. Then, without warning, his body began to fail him. A cascade of autoimmune-related illnesses attacked his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system, plunging him into a seven year battle, plagued by chronic pain, a life-saving organ amputation, existential crisis, and a prolonged fight for survival that left doctors with few answers and no clear explanation. As Manganiello struggled to stay alive amidst medicine's inability to fully explain what ailed him, an unorthodox path emerged--shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long lost family records, and the rebirth of his own spirituality. A search that led him deep into his own bloodline: to a survivor of the Armenian genocide, to ancestors shaped by violence and displacement, and the hidden patterns shared by others living with chronic illness. In Bloodlines, Manganiello writes with candor and hard-won clarity about illness, inheritance, masculinity, faith, ambition, and the identities we build to endure. More than a memoir of medical crisis, it is a searching account of what happens when the life you have constructed can no longer contain the truth of what you carry. Deeply personal and emotionally expansive, Bloodlines considers how the past lives on in the body and in the stories we tell about strength, survival, and selfhood. The result is both a page-turning, heart-pounding story for the ages and an essential meditation on inheritance, loss, and the work of living with what remains.
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The Confederacy Myth: How an Insurrection of Slaveholders Tried to Destroy the United States
by Connor Williams
What can Americans learn about our divided country today from the Civil War that divided us in the past? Connor Williams's The Confederacy Myth answers that question with a blistering historical expos that reframes our understanding of the Confederacy towards with what it really was - a relatively small insurrection of uncompromising fanatics that plunged the nation into its deadliest war. In his new book, Williams reveals the truth about the Confederacy by unraveling its myths and uncovering its perilous political tactics, irate ideologies, reckless brand of warfare, impotent governance, and enduring commitment to slavery. Most importantly, Williams reminds us why the United States prevailed in the Civil War: five out of six Americans resisted the Confederate insurgency and instead put everything on the line to fight for democracy so that our Republic would have a new birth of freedom. The Confederacy Myth is at once an eye-opening work of history as well as a timely reminder of our duties as citizens today.
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Cormac McCarthy: A Legacy Revisited
by Tracy Daugherty
A biography of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Cormac McCarthy, from Tracy Daugherty, the New York Times bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist biography Larry McMurtry: A Life. Cormac McCarthy is hailed as one of America's greatest novelists. In his body of work, the nation's story is told in incomparably vivid shades of violence, greed, and love. And yet, most of his personal story has been largely untold--until now. Early in life, McCarthy chose to devote himself almost exclusively to his literary pursuits. Cormac McCarthy: A Legacy Revisited movingly details what this choice cost him in his family relationships, his marriages, and his friendships. Mentally and physically restless, often solitary and yet gregarious and charming, McCarthy lived as wildly, complexly, and close to the bone as any of his characters, journeying often to remote locations, communing deeply with the natural world, and traversing intricate emotional and psychological terrain. In his novels, he reported wisdom hard-learned through harsh experience and intense observation. With precision and grace, Cormac McCarthy: A Legacy Revisited recounts his story from poverty to riches, obscurity to worldwide acclaim, and unveils the man behind the myth in a must-read biography for both lifelong fans and new McCarthy readers alike.
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The East Wing: Power, Intrigue, and the Untold Story of America's First Ladies
by Azadeh Moaveni
An in-depth examination of women and power in Washington through the lens of the complex relationship between First Ladies and their staffs by Pulitzer finalist Azadeh Moaveni. It could be said that every First Lady runs a court--a hub of political power within the White House, a place where enterprising aides vie for influence and patronage, a theatre of intrigue and counsel where great heights are uniquely possible, but so too is ruin. And the First Lady's aides are at the center of it all. Behind the scenes throughout history, East Wing staffers have boldly advanced civil rights legislation, defused tension with America's enemies, brought more women into government, and backed abortion rights. Their relationships and problems, their management and cultivation of the media landscape and the Georgetown social scene, are at the heart of the forces that have shaped the institution of the East Wing. In The East Wing, academic and journalist Azadeh Moaveni blends original reporting, including extensive interviews with key players from past East Wings, with expert research and analysis to take readers deep inside the fascinating and high stakes world of the First Lady's office like never before. Spanning the most defining decades of the twentieth century, from the New Deal era, to the myth-making Kennedys, to the turbulent, MAGA-influenced 2020s, The East Wing is the captivating true story of the First Lady's staffers and their role in the executive branch of governance, as well as the evolution of female leadership in our country.
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Emperor of Nothing: The Making of Larry David
by Blake J. Harris
The first authorized biography of legendary comedian Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld and star and creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm, featuring exclusive interviews with Larry himself as well as his family, friends, and colleaguesFrom Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David has built a comedy empire on candid observations, endless self-deprecation, and an endearing brand of selfishness--now immortalized into a fictionalized on-screen alter-ego. But who's the actual man lurking behind this legendary television persona? And how has he managed to remain a walking, talking enigma for so long?In Emperor of Nothing, author Blake J. Harris moves past the persona to paint an honest, detailed portrait of the real Larry David. Based on more than five years of meticulous research and exclusive interviews with Larry, his family, and his closest collaborators, this book offers never-before-told stories, never-before-published stand-up bits, and unprecedented access to an otherwise elusive figure, exploring all the nuance behind the neurosis. From his quirky Brooklyn upbringing and temperamental stand-up career to his creative partnership with Jerry Seinfeld and starring in his own show, Emperor of Nothing ultimately reveals where one Larry starts and the other stops, untangling the myriad reasons that Larry became the brutally honest--if accidental--voice of a generation in the process.Whether you're an overthinker yourself or just want to marvel at Larry David's colossal cultural footprint, this definitive biography gives you a front-row seat to the man behind the myth, tracking his rise from punchline to prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ayyy good.
also available in audio
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Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy
by Kerry Kennedy
A vivid, intimate biography of American icon Ethel Kennedy by her daughter Kerry Kennedy, told through her firsthand memories and exclusive access to Ethel's personal papers. When her husband Robert F. Kennedy was killed in 1968, Ethel Skakel Kennedy--then pregnant with their eleventh child--drew national attention for her grace, dignity, and resolute commitment to furthering his work in human rights, even in her grief. But as her daughter Kerry witnessed, Ethel was so much more than a dutiful wife and keeper of Robert's legacy of service. She was courageous, curious, compassionate, boisterous, and witty, always guided by faith and an instinct for speaking truth to power. Kerry delves into her own memories, her family's recollections, and her mother's private papers, describing: Ethel's family's journey from a working-class Chicago background to life in tony Greenwich, Connecticut Ethel's fairytale romance with Kerry's father RFK--a courtship that inspired a Taylor Swift song half a century later. How the bold, athletic Ethel quickly became more Kennedy than the Kennedys. The years on the famed family properties in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and the Hickory Hill estate in Virginia, where Kerry and her ten siblings grew up amidst presidents and politicians, Olympians and Hollywood stars, and a rambunctious menagerie of pet animals. Moments of pain and loss--RFK's death just five years after that of his brother; and the tragic deaths of two of Kerry's siblings. Ethel's unflagging commitment to global human rights causes that carried on through the decades. Ethel Kennedy inspires us to reject cynicism and to live bigger and bolder. The book includes 24 pages of color photographs.
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Freedom's Daughters: How a Generation of Black Women Resisted Oppression Through Literacy and Education
by Celeste Headlee
From bestselling author Celeste Headlee, an urgent and eye-opening story of the women who risked everything to ensure a generation of Black Americans had the right to read. In the waning days of the antebellum South, millions of African Americans were suddenly released from enslavement. But they soon realized that freedom was not free; they were subject to hundreds of laws aimed at preventing them from voting and, in many cases, learning. Were it not for the work of an exceptional group of women--activists, educators, mothers, organizers--the foundations for Black education might never have been laid. With Freedom's Daughters, Headlee set out to write into the record book the untold stories of these remarkable women. As a journalist who spent her career in public media, Headlee has long championed unheard voices and sought to tell the stories of those whose contributions have gone unacknowledged. But this project was fueled by an even deeper connection: Carrie Still Shepperson--one of the most important figures in this fight--is Headlee's great grandmother and one of the biggest influences in her life. Now, after a decade of research spanning personal diaries to public records, Freedom's Daughters paints a vivid portrait of figures intentionally erased from history, recognizing the work of a generation of Black women who believed freedom was inextricably linked with learning and free expression, and who worked tirelessly to secure access to literacy and education for a generation of children born into freedom. By turns shocking, inspiring, and deeply moving, Freedom's Daughters is Headlee's impeccably researched journey to better understand her family history and herself, and a timely examination of the influence and power of unfettered access to schools, libraries, and higher education.
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Have You Eaten Yet?: Family Recipes from a Restaurant Daughter (a Cookbook)
by Ming-Na Wen
A heartfelt collection of stories and recipes from beloved actress and Asian American icon Ming-Na Wen, weaving together her childhood in her family's Pittsburgh Chinese restaurant with the dishes she now cooks at home for loved ones and friends. Legendary actress and Asian American icon Ming-Na Wen is best known for dozens of film and television roles including her breakout part in the film adaptation of Amy Tan's bestselling novel The Joy Luck Club, the voice of Disney's acclaimed Mulan, several years on the Emmy Award-winning ER, her part as Agent May on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., her role as Fennec Shand on the Star Wars franchise shows The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and much more. Now Ming-Na invites fans into her kitchen to share a lifetime of recipes and stories that began in her parents' beloved Pittsburgh restaurant--the Chinatown Inn, which is still open today--forever making food the center of her world. In this heartfelt tribute to her heritage, Ming-Na is sharing both traditional Chinese family recipes as well as recipes for her own creations that she cooks in her own home. Have You Eaten Yet? is the ultimate love letter to food and family, offering delicious, accessible recipes for every occasion. In chapters like Restaurant Classics, you'll learn to master iconic dishes like The Best Egg Rolls, Simple Wonton Soup, and Shrimp Fried Rice. Discover family secrets from her father in Feasts from Chef Baba with recipes like his tender Prime Rib and comforting Winter Melon Soup. Straight from Ming-Na's Kitchen, you'll find crowd-pleasers like Shrimp with Garlic Noodles and the show-stopping Dragon Fruit Cheesecake Cups. Ming-Na even gives readers advice on perfecting rice, her guide to condiments, and restaurant-inspired tips for prepping sauces, broths, and dry spices. Filled with personal stories, heartwarming memories, practical tips, and even never-before-seen family photos, Have You Eaten Yet? is an essential guide for anyone looking to explore the rich flavors of Chinese American cuisine.
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One Helluva Ride
by Michael Douglas
A boy lost in the shadow of his father's legacy. A gifted artist dismissed as just a TV actor. A first-time film producer who stunned the world by winning an Oscar at 31. A maverick who changed Hollywood and became a global movie star. Hollywood icon Michael Douglas tells the unfiltered story of his life for the first time. I spent a significant portion of my career playing some version of the modern, flawed, American male. You'll see from these pages that it wasn't exactly a stretch for me. Beginning with his fractured childhood and a complex relationship with his superstar father, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas finally gives the full and uncensored account of a remarkable life. One Helluva Ride reveals incredible behind-the-scenes stories featuring a Who's Who of Hollywood, many of them never revealed before and some outrageously funny, with an unflinching honesty about his sometimes bad-boy life. Initially dismissed as just the handsome son of a legendary movie star, at age thirty-one he shook up Hollywood when he won his first Oscar for producing the five-time Academy Award-winning classic film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Told he would never be more than a TV actor, he quit the hit series The Streets of San Francisco to become an international movie star, with a list of classic films that have grossed billions of dollars, winning a second Oscar for his riveting performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. I can't think about my life without thinking of my movies, Douglas says, and he recounts his career through twelve of his most iconic films, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The China Syndrome, Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, War of the Roses, Basic Instinct, Falling Down, The American President, Traffic and Behind the Candelabra. These movies not only captured the cultural zeitgeist but often defined it. Yet as Douglas's fame grew, so did his personal struggles. He recounts the full, unfiltered story of his turbulent first mar-riage; infidelity and affairs with some of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood; his own serious struggle with alcohol, drugs and rehab; the heartbreaking fight to save his son from an addiction that sent him to prison; and his against-all-odds battle with stage IV cancer. He saw Catherine Zeta Jones on a movie screen and instantly fell for her. Their incredible love story transformed his life and proved all the tabloids wrong, enduring after twenty-five years of marriage. Father, son, husband, actor, producer, brother and friend. This is the real, raw, deeply honest and vulnerable Michael Douglas you didn't know--until now.
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The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill
by Bob Drury
Soldier, spy, scout, saboteur, and French Resistance leader in the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe--the untold story of Marine legend Pete Ortiz.Major Pierre Pete Ortiz was a Manhattan-born and Paris-educated polymath fluent in five languages. An adventuresome French Foreign Legion veteran specifically recruited by Wild Bill Donovan's Office of Strategic Services (the precursor to both the CIA and U.S. Special Forces) upon his enlistment in the Marines, Ortiz was the officer Wild Bill instinctively knew he needed and could rely on to complete a string of clandestine missions.While recuperating from gunshot wounds received during a behind-the-lines excursion into enemy-held North Africa, Ortiz delivered his After-Action Report directly to Donovan in Washington. After reading it, Wild Bill scrawled across the top of the report: Please re-employ this man as soon as possible. Ortiz's handlers heeded Donovan's request. Within a year Ortiz was surreptitiously parachuted into the Haute Savoie region of Occupied France, where he made contact with the resistance fighters who called themselves Maquisards. By the time he retired as a United States Marine Corps colonel, he received two Navy Crosses for extraordinary heroism in World War II. He was one of the very few U.S. Marines to serve in combat in Europe during World War II, and one of the most decorated Marine officers of the war.
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Requiem for Gaza
by Chris Hedges
In a profound and elegiac work of investigative journalism, the writer Chris Hedges and the cartoonist Joe Sacco collaborate to present the testimony of displaced Palestinians who lived through the genocide.
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The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World
by Nathaniel Philbrick
National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower, reveals how California's Gold Rush forged the modern United States--and lit the long fuse to civil war In January 1848, a carpenter spotted flecks of gold in a shallow stream at Sutter's Mill in California, triggering the greatest voluntary migration in U.S. history, as hundreds of thousands raced west in pursuit of sudden wealth, reinvention, and power. From the feverish gold-mining camps of the Sierra Nevada mountains to the wharves and vigilance committees of San Francisco, Nathaniel Philbrick renders a combustible, all-world society: Chilean brothers reinventing themselves to outrun prejudice; Native communities navigating dispossession and violence; the merchant-showman Samuel Brannan, drawn into the center of early vigilantism; and the politicians vying for control of California's future--the ambitious Free-Soil political boss David Broderick, who squared off against William Gwin, the Southern power broker intent on tilting the state toward slavery and the Confederacy. In The Rush, Nathaniel Philbrick transforms the Gold Rush from a tale of sudden riches into the origin story of America's modern contradictions--capital consolidated at dizzying speed, democracy in thrall to private power, xenophobia weaponized in the name of liberty--and a stubborn belief in the American experiment that refuses to die. This is the story of a nation tearing at the seams and a republic tested by its own ideals. Not until ayear after the outbreak of the Civil War, when President Lincoln signed legislation that would unite the nation east to west by building a transcontinental railroad, was California's loyalty secured. Philbrick follows the gold as it moves from riverbed to countinghouse to the halls of power, revealing how vigilantism hardened into law and how debates over slavery in the West tipped the balance in Washington. The result is a clear, human story of how a scramble for wealth reshaped ideas of freedom, labor, and belonging--and how California's rise helped push a fractured nation toward war. The Rush is alive with characters whose choices still reverberate: a searing, panoramic epic that captures both the fury and the promise of America.
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The President and the Oligarch: Roosevelt, Mellon, and the Triumph of Big Government
by Greg Steinmetz
Why did one of our greatest presidents ruthlessly persecute one of the richest men in America? By any measure, Franklin D. Roosevelt is one our most admired presidents. But behind the beaming smile and folksy fireside chats was a ruthless politician willing to use the massive powers of the federal government to crush his enemies. In this thrilling expos , Greg Steinmetz recounts how FDR targeted America's third-richest man to prove his progressive credentials and rally support for his sweeping social agenda. He found his scapegoat in former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. Mellon's name dripped riches. More than any other, it symbolized the Roaring Twenties economic boom and the crack up that followed. FDR publicly blamed Mellon for the Great Depression, using him as a convenient diversion from the New Deal's failure to bring jobs back to a devastated economy. Roosevelt tortured the aging, frail and reclusive Mellon, cooking up a fake criminal charge in a bid to put him behind bars. When that fizzled, Roosevelt kept up the fight by making Mellon miserable in tax court. Mellon died before the verdict but not until, one final, jaw dropping twist occurred in this strange clash of titans. This shocking book reveals the secret sinister side of Roosevelt--and explains how bigovernment won out of over the libertarian economic order that had reigned since the birth of the republic.
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Simply Ina: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
by Ina Garten
A brand-new collection of 85 easy yet impressive recipes for every meal of the day, from make-ahead lunches to effortless appetizers and showstopping dinners, from America's favorite home cook Through her years of experience as a home cook, Ina Garten has learned that the best food is often the simplest. With just a little thought and a few good ingredients, you can make truly impressive dishes without spending hours in the kitchen. Simply Ina celebrates the delicious results of streamlined cooking, sharing Ina's expert tips and tricks for achieving the best flavor with the least amount of effort. Each recipe in this book has a secret that makes preparing it easier than you thought. Some dishes rely on smart store-bought shortcuts--like Mashed Potato & Leek Soup so delicious no one will ever guess it's made with packaged mashed potatoes and Bourbon Baked Beans that dress up canned baked beans with smoked bacon, maple syrup, and good bourbon--because sometimes store-bought really is just fine For seamless gatherings, Ina's deeply flavorful Provencal Chicken with Olives & Capers can be made ahead and reheated in its Dutch oven before dinner, and the crispy oatmeal topping on her Cherry Berry Crumble can be prepped in advance for easy assembly in the moment. Elegant dishes like Endive & Avocado Salad and Irish Coffee Affogato involve little more than assembling ingredients, allowing you to serve something special without really cooking at all. Whether you're feeding unexpected guests, pulling together a Tuesday night dinner after work, or hosting a dinner party and don't want to miss all the fun cooped up in the kitchen, you'll be happy to have these simple, satisfying, and completely doable recipes to turn to. Because simple food shouldn't just save you time; it should let you enjoy the people you love.
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Sitcom: A Memoir
by Chuck Lorre
A memoir from Chuck Lorre--one of the most prolific television writers and showrunners in TV history (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Mom, The Kominsky Method, Young Sheldon), on his life, career, and the deal with all those vanity cards.Ever wonder what it's like to spend decades making millions of strangers laugh -- while trying not to lose your mind in the process?As the creator of The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Young Sheldon, Bookie, Dharma & Greg, Mom, and more, Lorre has racked up almost two thousand half-hours of comedy. But his own story is just as outrageous, awkward, and surprisingly touching as the shows he built.In this memoir on his life and career in comedy, Lorre trades punchlines for real talk: the messy, very human truth behind Hollywood's glossy fa ade, addiction, his own and that of his famous colleagues, his failed marriages, disastrous life choices, and chronic illness--all of which somehow became the ingredients for comedy. One chapter may leave you doubled over, the next might sneak in a lump in your throat -- but that's Chuck. That's sitcoms. That's also real life.If you've ever binged The Big Bang Theory, argued over your favorite Two and a Half Men character, or wondered how TV comedy gets made, this is your all-access pass. Spoiler: it involves failure, low-self-esteem, and an unshakable love for laughter.
also available in audio
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The Six Minute War: Reagan, Russia, and the Race to Automate Armageddon
by Michael Dobbs
The New York Times bestselling author of One Minute to Midnight Michael Dobbs reconstructs the thrilling inside story of the climactic nuclear crisis of the Cold War, revealing the tension between the human in the loop and the algorithms that could trigger World War III. The year is 1983. Ronald Reagan is obsessed by biblical prophecies of Armageddon. A computer revolution is changing everything--from the way we track incoming ballistic missiles to how we share and consume information. And then, over just three months, a series of dramatic events encapsulates the president's worst nightmares. In rapid succession, a South Korean airliner is shot down over the Soviet Union after straying off course because of pilot-computer miscommunication. A glitchy Soviet early warning system mistakenly reports an incoming US missile attack. The Kremlin puts its nuclear forces on high alert in response to a routine NATO nuclear release exercise. Reagan deploys missiles capable of destroying the Kremlin in six minutes from their launch positions in West Germany. Soviet nuclear submarines are stationed off Cape Hatteras, ready to obliterate the White House in the same amount of time. Six minutes to decide how to respond to a blip on a radar scope and decide whether to unleash Armageddon Reagan recalled many years later, in a little-noticed passage in his memoirs. How could anyone apply reason at a time like that? In The Six Minute War, the former Moscow bureau chief for The Washington Post explores the challenge confronting fallible human leaders responding to ever-shrinking warning times of a nuclear attack. A nail-biting narrative of the Cold War crisis that heralded the fall of the Soviet Union, The Six Minute War poses an existential question: can we trust the machines at such life-or-death moments--or will we be destroyed by our own technological hubris?
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Uniting the States: Six Crucial Moments That Forged the American Miracle
by Brian Kilmeade
Brian Kilmeade's page-turning and riveting storytelling transports us to 1770 and the unshakeable John Adams as he does the unthinkable and defends the British soldiers accused at the Boston Massacre--but he is willing to risk his life and reputation to establish the rule of law as an essential American value. Then there is George Washington, who, outnumbered and outgunned against the most powerful military force in the world, innovates a new way of warfare and an improbable road to victory in the Revolutionary War. Captain Daniel Shays follows, a man who loses everything to stand up for the little man while helping to inspire the Constitutional Convention.The visionary Thomas Jefferson remakes the country in 1803, doubling its boundaries by masterminding the Louisiana Purchase from none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. James Madison challenges the British Goliath again, declaring the War of 1812 and rallying the United States in its first foray into making America a respected world power. Finally, John Quincy Adams, the conscience of the country, launches the nation's hardest-ever conversation, attempting to erase America's original sin.When the colonists threw off British rule, they launched a great experiment in democracy. Self-government by the people, with a sworn commitment to equality and liberty for all, had never been tried. In the pages of this book, Brian Kilmeade tells us how the six heroes united the fledgling United States of America in its early decades, setting our nation on a trajectory unlike any other.
also available in audio
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Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World
by Adam Grant
#1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant illuminates the surprising science of chemistry and closeness When we vibe with other people, it fuels our happiness and success. Yet building meaningful ties is one of the most pressing problems of our time. As face-to-face interaction gives way to digital screens, communication gets outsourced to AI, and the world becomes more polarized, our loneliness crisis shows no signs of slowing. To reveal how we can forge faster, stronger, and longer bonds, Adam Grant offers groundbreaking studies, expert insights, and myth-busting stories. Filled with the eye-opening takeaways that have brought millions of readers to his books, Vibe teaches us that similarity is not necessary for solidarity, chemistry doesn't always happen quickly, and closeness doesn't always take time. Along the way, Grant introduces us to a crew of astronauts who learned to trust people they don't like, a comedy troupe that swears by taking time apart as a key to staying together, a band that grew closer by learning to fight more, and a journalist who designed a gathering that led to seventy-eight marriages. He also opens up about his personal struggles to find his place as a shy introvert and the lessons that propelled his transformation into an enthusiastic convener. Through these examples and more, Grant uncovers the keys to creating deeper relationships and tighter communities. Vibe will change how you interact with people. No matter how good you are at connecting, you can always get better--and help others get better too.
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The Widow Van Gogh: Tragedy, Triumph, and the Woman Who Made Vincent Van Gogh a Legend: A Life of Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger
by Joan Martelli
A vivid new biography uncovers the fascinating story of Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, the true steward of Van Gogh's art and legacy after Vincent and Theo's early deaths. On a stormy summer night in 1891, a young Dutch widow left her home and went for a walk outside alone in the rain. It was the anniversary of the death of her brother-in-law, Vincent van Gogh, and she was at the beginning of an improbable decades-long journey that would transform the ridiculed and unappreciated painter into one of the most beloved artists of all time. Johanna Jo van Gogh-Bonger is a critical piece of the puzzle in understanding the life and posthumous fame of Vincent van Gogh, but most have never even heard her name. Jo was the wife of Vincent's younger brother Theo, and when Theo died just six months after Vincent, she found herself with an extraordinary inheritance that included a treasure trove of Vincent's drawings, letters, and some four hundred paintings. Family, friends, and critics considered it largely worthless. Vincent's life's work might well have wound up lost, casually dispersed, or relegated to the family attic. But Jo, who was convinced Vincent was a misunderstood genius, had other ideas. The Widow Van Gogh takes a fresh and illuminating approach to the Van Gogh story by placing Jo at the center. While they had every intention of being good to each other, Vincent, Theo and Jo found themselves in a tragic love and financial triangle. Theo was torn between his love for Jo and his duty to Vincent; Vincent was a threat to the happiness of Theo and Jo; and Jo was a threat to Vincent's relationship with Theo. Joan Martelli offers new insight into the burning questions that have long puzzled art lovers--why Vincent cut off part of his ear, why he shot himself, and how, after selling one painting in his lifetime, he achieved such worldwide fame. With vivid prose and intimate details, Joan Martelli details the last tumultuous years of Vincent's life and the three decades following his death as Jo struggles to be a good mother and a noble person, while also trying to find personal happiness. Jo would take on the role of dealer, publicist, and editor, and remain true to what she saw as her duty to be the Vincent's champion. The Widow van Gogh might be set in another era, but family tensions and issues of loyalty, guilt, financial hardship, misunderstanding, loneliness, mental illness, and ambition resonate today as an all too human story and invite readers to see Vincent's life and work anew, through the loving eyes of the Widow van Gogh.
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The Wiregrass: A Tale of Murder and Retribution in the Deep South
by Matt Kessler
In 1999, in the rural Alabama town of Ozark, the bodies of two white teenage girls, J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, were found shot in the trunk of Beasley's car. The girl were out past curfew and celebrating Beasley's birthday--but from there the story grew tangled, then went dark. As months, then years, passed without answers, an eccentric cast of townspeople took it upon themselves to chase down leads. In this hardscrabble, farming region at the southern tip of the Bible Belt--a place cut off from freeways and wary of outsiders--everyone knew you couldn't trust the cops. Their investigation was shoddy at best; at worst, it looked a lot like a cover-up. Twenty years later, the chief of police called his childhood friend, a devout Black man and long-haul trucker named Coley McCraney, into the station. To the shock of the community, and most of all McCraney, he was arrested for the long-ago murder of two girls he didn't seem to recognize. DNA evidence tied McCraney to the crime scene. But in a region rife with corruption, and haunted by a legacy of racist violence, was there any chance of finding the truth? The Wiregrass is a twisting, deeply reported true-crime narrative, populated by Bible kids, white supremacists, and amateur sleuths. Unraveling the notorious Beasley-Hawlett cold case, it reveals the stunning, Southern gothic story of a region--and a nation--that cannot outrun the traumas of its past.
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