WHAT'S HOT

Nightlight

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Harvard Lampoon

"About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him -- which I assumed was wildly out of his control -- that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me."

And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon's hilarious send-up of "Twilight."

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon, looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strange events -- Edwart leaves his tater tots untouched at lunch, Edwart saves her from a flying snowball -- Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, "Nightlight" is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl looking for love in all the wrong places.

Related Subjects:Books > Humor > Form - Parodies

ISBN-13: 9780307476104
ISBN-10: 0307476103
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date: November 2009
Page Count: 00160
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Zombie Survival Guide

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Brooks, Max

Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
From the Stone Age to the information age, the undead have threatened to engulf the human race. They're coming. They're hungry.
Don't wait for them to come to you
This is the graphic novel the fans demanded: major zombie attacks from the dawn of humanity. On the African savannas, against the legions of ancient Rome, on the high seas with Francis Drake . . . every civilization has faced them. Here are the grisly and heroic stories-complete with eye-popping artwork that pulsates with the hideous faces of the undead.
Organize before they rise
Scripted by the world's leading zombie authority, Max Brooks, "Recorded Attacks" reveals how other eras and cultures have dealt with-and survived-the ancient viral plague. By immersing ourselves in past horror we may yet prevail over the coming outbreak in our time.

Related Subjects:Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Horror

ISBN-13: 9780307405777
ISBN-10: 030740577X
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00144
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Heroes and Villains

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Hajdu, David

"Heroes and Villains" is the first collection of essays by David Hajdu, award-winning author of "The Ten-Cent Plague," "Positively 4th Street," and "Lush Life." Eclectic and controversial, Hajdu's essays take on topics as varied as pop music, jazz, the avant-garde,
comic books, and our downloading culture. The heart of "Heroes and Villains" is an extraordinary new piece of cultural rediscovery, original to this book. It tells the untold story of one of the most important--and, ultimately, one of the most tragic--figures in American popular music, Billy Eckstine. Through exhaustive new research, Hajdu shows how this great, forgotten singer, once more popular than Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, transformed American music by combining sex appeal, sophistication, and black machismo--in the era of segregation. The cost, for Eckstine, was his career--and nearly his life.

Other essays in this expansive book deal with topical and surprising subjects like Beyonce, Bobby Darin, Kanye West, Marjane Satrapi, Woody Guthrie, Will Eisner, the White Stripes, Elmer Fudd, Elvis Costello, Harry Partch, Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell, and more."
"

Related Subjects:Books > Literary Collections > Essays
Books > Social Science > Popular Culture - General

ISBN-13: 9780306818332
ISBN-10: 0306818337
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00352
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Austen, Jane

Click Here for a Free Discussion Guide!

From the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes a new tale of romance, heartbreak, and tentacled mayhem.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austens biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. Its survival of the fittestand only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!

Related Subjects:Books > Humor > Form - Parodies

ISBN-13: 9781594744426
ISBN-10: 1594744424
Publisher: Quirk Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00343
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

American on Purpose

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Ferguson, Craig

In "American on Purpose," Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark--as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.

To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: in 1993, the washed-up Ferguson washed up in the United States. Finally sober, Ferguson landed a breakthrough part on the hit sitcom "The Drew Carey Show," a success that eventually led to his role as the host of CBS's "The Late Late Show." By far Ferguson's greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008, just before his command performance for the president at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In "American on Purpose," Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared.

ISBN-13: 9780061719547
ISBN-10: 0061719544
Publisher: Harper
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00268
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Official Book Club Selection

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Griffin, Kathy

A Conversation with Kathy Griffin:
Q: State your name and profession.
KG: My name is Kathy Griffin, and I am a teller of d**k jokes. And a plumber.
Q: This is your first book. Had you ever considered writing anything before? A novel? Or a work of historical scholarship? Or a children's story?
KG: I had not considered it, because I'd always been told by the nuns at St. Bernadine's that my cursive was poor. A children' s story is an interesting idea. How's this for a title: "Waterboarding Pre-Teens: The Debate is Back On." I have a political side as well.
Q: You seem fairly obsessed with Oprah. Is this something you'll ever outgrow?
KG: I will never outgrow my obsession with Oprah. Just as she will never outgrow her cardigan sweaters. Oops, she already has. Now look, that sounds like a dig, but it's not. It's called a struggle, and I'm on it with her. I support her. (Not as much as she needs those underwire bras to support her, because she's got some serious ropes and pulleys going on there.) The point is, I worship her, and fear her at the same time. And believe me, that' s how she wants it. Don't be fooled.
Q: Did I miss something? Where's Celine Dion in this book?
KG: I didn't write about Celine Dion, only because of my fear of her husband Rene Angelil. I have an unfounded but constant fear that he could be in the French-Canadian mafia. Or have French-Canadian mafia ties, and by ties I don't mean les cravats. And I fear that I may be abducted, whisked away and held prisoner at a charming little brasserie in Montreal, forced to eat multiple Croque Monsieur sandwiches until I confess to knowing the lyrics to every single one of her songs.
Q: What do you think gays should take away from reading this book?
KG: I think the gays should be happy with this book. It talks a lot about being who you are, and I certainly mention a lot of gay people. I would say it definitely has strong gay themes, and the gay community should know that frankly it has been a moral struggle for me to even acknowledge the heterosexual community in this book at all. But I am slowly reaching out an olive branch to the heterosexual community, even though I believe everything they do goes against the teachings of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I'm trying not to judge them.
Q: Describe your ideal, make-a-wish day of personal experiences with bats**t celebrities.
KG: Well, it would start with some sort of a fit in the hair-and-makeup trailer on a set. I heard a story that when Sharon Stone was working on "Casino," she got into such a fight with her hairdresser, that after he spent four hours doing this beautiful bouffant hairdo for her, she got up and walked in the sink and put her head underwater. I have no idea if that's true, but I hope it is, cause that's some awesome s**t I would love to see. Then it would go right to lunch, where I could witness an eating disorder. Maybe a Lohan is purging in a bush somewhere with her finger down her throat. Or perhaps there's an Olsen twin on a scale crying because she finally tipped 100. Any outburst over weight I would cherish. Also, it would be great to see an actress have a workload meltdown. So maybe at 2:00 some A-lister saying, "I can't handle this s**t anymore." Because I love when actors can't deal with a normal workday, and they think two in the afternoon is like midnight, so I would love to see somebody storming to their car, exhausted because they've put in a grueling four-hour workday of saying three lines and texting their nanny. Then it's maybe off to an illicit affair. At the top of my wish list would be following a rapper or a football player over to his baby mama's house where a screaming match ensues to the point where someone, maybe me, has to anonymously dial 911, and then I take a couple pictures, and I become an unannounced star witness later at the trial, entering Joan Collins-style in a smashing hat. And then at the end of the day it's a healthy round of clubbing with Janice Dickinson, and then on the way home we go to the Beverly Glen pharmacy and run into Paula Abdul. All three of us secretly take our small white-paper pharmacy bags and put them behind our backs and make uncomfortable small talk.

Official Book Club Selection is Kathy Griffin unplugged, uncensored, and unafraid to dish about what really happens on the road, away from the cameras, and at the star party after the show. (It's also her big chance to score that coveted book club endorsement she's always wanted. Are you there, Oprah? It's me, Kathy.)
Kathy Griffin has won Emmys for her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, been nominated for a Grammy, worked and walked every red carpet known to man, and rung in the New Year with Anderson Cooper. But the legions of fans who pack Kathy's sold-out comedy shows have heard only part of her remarkable story. Writing with her trademark wit, the feisty comic settles a few old scores, celebrates the friends and mentors who helped her claw her way to the top, and shares insider gossip about celebrity behavior-the good, the bad, and the very ugly. She recounts the crazy ups and downs of her own career and introduces us to some of the supertalented people she encountered before they got famous (or, in some cases, after fame went to their heads). Word to the wise: If you've ever crossed Kathy Griffin at some point in your life, check the index for your name.
Along the way, Kathy reveals intimate details about her life before and after she made the big time. She opens up about everything from growing up with a dysfunctional family in suburban Illinois to bombing as a young comedian in L.A., from her well-publicized plastic surgery disasters to her highly publicized divorce, and more. Only in this book will you learn how the dinner table is the best training ground for a career in stand-up, how speaking your mind can bite you on the ass and buy you a house, and which people in Kathy's life

ISBN-13: 9780345518514
ISBN-10: 0345518519
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00368
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Smith, Kevin

Following on from the New York Times-bestselling My Boring-Ass Life, Kevin Smith is back
In freewheeling conversations with his friend and producer Scott Mosier (as heard on their top-rated podcast, known as SModcast), we discover -- to pick just four random examples of the riches therein -- the genesis of Stalin's Monkey Soldier army, the horrifying tale of Kevin vs. Steak Tartare, how to make bukkake eggs, and how Kevin was once willing to let Alanis Morissette get mugged...
Defiantly lewd, crude and hilariously rude, Shootin' the Sh*t with Kevin Smith is a must for all his fans Adults Only

Related Subjects:Books > Performing Arts > Film & Video - General

ISBN-13: 9781845764159
ISBN-10: 1845764153
Publisher: Titan Books (UK)
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00363
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Barack Like Me

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Grier, David Alan

FROM GROWING UP IN DETROIT, where he marched as a ten-year-old with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to attending the inauguration of President Barack Obama, where he narrowly avoided the Purple Tunnel of Doom but still saw nothing, David Alan Grier examines how he -- and America -- have changed for the better and the funnier.

Within these pages, Grier imagines being called to serve in President Obama's cabinet as the "secretary of mirth"; takes you to a wild and emotional election night party he hosted that didn't go as planned; explains the true meaning of the "magical Negro"; recalls the formative episodes from his life -- including being rejected by the Black Panthers at their headquarters door and turning down the initial offer to work on "In Living Color" -- and for the first time ever sneaks you backstage at "Dancing with the Stars," where he exposes the inner workings of the show -- the camaraderie between dancers and stars, the excruciatingly painful rehearsals, the outrageous preparations, and each hysterical moment of his four-episode appearance and subsequent public meltdown.

Grier unabashedly muses on politics, culture, and race while recounting his own life story in this edgy, timeless, hilarious, and revelatory memoir and look at all things Barack.

"Barack Like Me" is David Alan Grier at his best -- the man, comic, and twenty-first-century thinker -- funny, brilliant, and original.

Related Subjects:Books > Humor > Form - Essays

ISBN-13: 9781439154922
ISBN-10: 1439154929
Publisher: Touchstone Books
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00239
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

I Am America (and So Can You!)

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Colbert, Stephen

I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU ) is Stephen Colbert's attempt to wedge his brain between hardback covers. In plain conversational language, not to mention the occasional grunt and/or whistle, Stephen explains his take on the most pressing concerns of our culture: Faith, Family, Politics...Hygiene.

Related Subjects:Books > Humor > Topic - Political
Books > Humor > Form - Essays

ISBN-13: 9780446582186
ISBN-10: 0446582182
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00240
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Max, Tucker

- TuckerMax.com gets 10.9 million page views per month
- The paid members-only section of TuckerMax.com received 2,000 registrations in its first few weeks, with more subscribing every day at $15 per year
- TuckerMax.com has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Esquire and Playboy
- TuckerMax.com generates over $10,000 a month in ad revenue
- Tucker sold over 5,000 copies each of his two previous, self-published books on Amazon.com alone

Related Subjects:Books > Humor > Topic - Adult
Books > Humor > Form - Anecdotes
Books > Humor > Topic - Relationships

ISBN-13: 9780806532257
ISBN-10: 0806532254
Publisher: Citadel Press
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00326
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Our Front Pages

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Williams, Brian

From The Birth Of A Nation To The Death Of Journalism

Since its founding by a bloodthirsty tyrant in 1756, "The Onion" has not merely changed the way we think about the news -- it has changed whether we think about the news at all. As the first decade of this new millennium draws to a close, "Our Front Pages" shows us the first thing that presidents, kings, prime ministers, and popes saw when they opened their eyes each morning for the last 21 years. Now you, the common reader and citizen, can see what they saw and be as informed as they were with this important retrospective of the past two decades. You, too, will realize what generations before have realized and generations yet unborn will some day realize in turn: "The Onion" is not merely the chronicle of America. "The Onion" is America.

Related Subjects:Books > Humor > Form - Parodies
Books > Humor > Topic - Political

ISBN-13: 9781439156926
ISBN-10: 1439156921
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date: November 2009
Page Count: 00304
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Zombies

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Roff, Don

The year is 2011, and what starts as a pervasive and inexplicable illness ends up as a zombie infestation that devastates the world's population. Taking the form of a biologist's illustrated journal found in the aftermath of the attack, this pulse-pounding, suspenseful tale of zombie apocalypse follows the narrator as he flees from city to countryside and heads north to Canada, where he hopes the undead will be slowed by the colder climate. Encountering scattered humans and scores of the infected along the way, he fills his notebook with graphic drawings of the zombies and careful observations of their behavior, along with terrifying tales of survival. This frightening new contribution to the massively popular zombie resurgence will keep fans on the edge of their seats right up to the very end.

Related Subjects:Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Horror

ISBN-13: 9780811871006
ISBN-10: 0811871002
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Date: October 2009
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

American Rebel

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Eliot, Marc

As an actor, he seduces us with his tough-guy charm. As a director and producer, he amazes us with his artistry and technical savvy. As a Hollywood icon, Clint Eastwood, one of film's greatest living legends, represents some of the finest cinematic achievements in the history of American cinema.
In "American Rebel," bestselling author and acclaimed film historian Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often-tumultuous arc of Clint Eastwood's life and career. Unlike past biographers, Eliot writes with unflinching candor about Eastwood's highs and lows, his artistic successes and failures, and the fascinating, complex relationship between his life and his craft. Eliot's prodigious research reveals how a college dropout and unambitious playboy rose to fame as Hollywood' s "sexy rebel," eventually and against all odds becoming a star in the Academy pantheon as a multiple Oscar winner. Spanning decades, " American Rebel "covers the best of Eastwood' s oeuvre, films that have fast become American classics-"Fistful of Dollars, Dirty Harry, Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby," and "Gran Torino. "
Filled with remarkable insights into Eastwood's personal life and public work, "American Rebel" is highly entertaining and the most complete biography of one of Hollywood's truly respected and beloved stars-an actor who, despite being the "Man with No Name," has left his indelible mark on the world of motion pictures."
"

ISBN-13: 9780307336880
ISBN-10: 0307336883
Publisher: Harmony
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00383
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

True Compass

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Kennedy, Edward M.

In this landmark autobiography, five years in the making, Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story--of his legendary family, politics, and fifty years at the center of national events.
TRUE COMPASS
The youngest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, he came of age among siblings from whom much was expected. As a young man, he played a key role in the presidential campaign of his brother John F. Kennedy, recounted here in loving detail. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he began a fascinating political education and became a legislator.
In this historic memoir, Ted Kennedy takes us inside his family, re-creating life with his parents and brothers and explaining their profound impact on him. For the first time, he describes his heartbreak and years of struggle in the wake of their deaths. Through it all, he describes his work in the Senate on the major issues of our time--civil rights, Vietnam, Watergate, the quest for peace in Northern Ireland--and the cause of his life: improved health care for all Americans, a fight influenced by his own experiences in hospitals.
His life has been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love of family, and an abiding faith. There have been controversies, too, and Kennedy addresses them with unprecedented candor. At midlife, embattled and uncertain if he would ever fall in love again, he met the woman who changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Facing a tough reelection campaign against an aggressive challenger named Mitt Romney, Kennedy found a new voice and began one of the great third acts in American politics, sponsoring major legislation, standing up for liberal principles, and making the pivotal endorsement of Barack Obama for president.
Hundreds of books have been written about the Kennedys. TRUE COMPASS will endure as the definitive account from a member of America's most heralded family, an inspiring legacy to readers and to history, and a deeply moving story of a life like no other.

ISBN-13: 9780446539258
ISBN-10: 0446539252
Publisher: Twelve
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00532
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Time of My Life

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Swayze, Patrick

In a career spanning more than thirty years, Patrick Swayze has made a name for himself on the stage, the screen, and television. Known for his versatility, passion and fearlessness, he's become one of our most beloved actors.

But in February 2008, Patrick announced he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Always a fighter, he refused to let the disease bring him to his knees, and his bravery has inspired both his legion of fans and cancer patients everywhere. Yet this memoir, written with wisdom and heart, recounts much more than his bout with cancer. In vivid detail, Patrick describes his Texas upbringing, his personal struggles, his rise to fame with North and South, his commercial breakthroughs in "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," and the soul mate who's stood by his side through it all: his wife, writer and director Lisa Niemi.

A behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood life and a remarkable love, this memoir is both entertainment and inspiration. Patrick and Lisa's marriage is a journey of two lives intertwined and lived as one--throughout their years in Hollywood and at home on their working ranch outside Los Angeles, and culminating in the hope and wisdom they've imparted to all who know them. This book will open the door for families, individuals, and husbands and wives to grow, bond and discover entirely new levels of love and sharing, proving that life shouldn't be lived as a series of endings, but rather as the beginning of greater strength and love.

ISBN-13: 9781439158586
ISBN-10: 1439158584
Publisher: Atria Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00247
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Taraborrelli, J. Randy

From "New York Times" bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli comes the definitive biography of the most enduring icon in popular American culture.
When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now. In this groundbreaking book, Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress' life, including her mother, her foster mother, and her legal guardian. He also reveals, for the first time, the shocking scope of Marilyn's own mental illness, the identity of Marilyn's father and the half-brother she never knew, and new information about her relationship with the Kennedy's-Bobby, Jack, and Pat Kennedy Lawford. Explosive, revelatory, and surprisingly moving, this is the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the 20th Century.

ISBN-13: 9780446580823
ISBN-10: 0446580821
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date: August 2009
Page Count: 00560
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Michael Jackson Vault

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Lifton, David

Michael Jackson is the greatest musical superstart the world has ever known. He is, and always will be, the King of Pop. His untimely death on June 25, 2009, cannot dim our memory of the man whose breathtaking musical talent changed the airways and whose unique moved changed the way the world danced.

Related Subjects:Books > Music > Genres & Styles - Pop Vocal
Books > Music > History & Criticism - General

ISBN-13: 9780794829292
ISBN-10: 0794829295
Publisher: Whitman Publishing
Date: August 2009
Page Count: 00144
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

My Life Outside the Ring

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Hogan, Hulk

Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea, burst onto the professional wrestling scene in the late seventies and went on to become a world wrestling champion many times over. From humble beginnings, this giant of a man escaped a pre-ordained life of dock and construction work in Port Tampa, Florida, to become one of the most recognizable celebrities on the planet. He did it through sheer will, grit, determination, and a drive to always go over the top and do more than what others thought possible. From the outside, his story was one of a charmed life--he was at the top of his career, had a wonderful and loving family, and a lifelong fan base who worshipped him. Of course he had his up and downs--including hints of steroid abuse and his falling out with WWE and Vince McMahon--but it's been the last two years that have tested Hogan more than any other in his lifetime. In 2007, while riding the massive success of his VH1 reality show, "Hogan Knows Best, "his son Nick was involved in a tragic car accident that left his best friend in critical condition. Then Linda, his wife, left him after 23 years of marriage, his beloved daughter Brooke blamed him for the breakup and his son went to jail. The tabloid media had a field day. When unflattering jailhouse conversations between him and his son were released to the press the tabloids were in a frenzy. The sudden turmoil and tragedy surrounding Hogan took its toll. He fell into a deep depression, seeing no way out, until one fate ful phone call. In "My Life Outside the Ring," Hogan will unabash edly recount these events, revealing how his new found clarity steadied him during the most difficult match of his life--and how he emerged from the battle feeling stronger than ever before.

"I was right there leaning on the side of the car with my hands when I finally saw Nick--my only son--folded up like an accordion with his head down by the gas pedal. "Nick " I yelled. I could see he was alive. He turned his head, he stuck his hand out, and gave me a thumbs-up. For a second I was relieved. Then the chaos set in. The noise of engines. Sirens. A saw. Para - medics pulling John from the passenger seat. So much blood. I can't even describe to you how panicked I was. The police and firefighters surrounding us seemed panicked, too. The firefighters started cutting the side of the car open to try to get Nick out, and I'm still standing right there when I hear my boy screaming, "No, no, no, stop Stop You're gonna cut my legs off. Dad Just unbuckle the seatbelt. I can get out " So I reach in and I push the button on his seat belt, and Nick just crawls right out. His wrist was broken. His ribs were cracked. None of that mattered. He was gonna be okay. But not John. John wasn't moving. ""--from "MY LIFE OUTSIDE THE RING

ISBN-13: 9780312588892
ISBN-10: 0312588895
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00320
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Man of Constant Sorrow

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Stanley, Ralph

A giant of American music opens the book on his wrenching professional and personal journeys, paying tribute to the vanishing Appalachian culture that gave him his voice.
He was there at the beginning of bluegrass. Yet his music, forged in the remote hills and hollows of Southwest Virginia, has even deeper roots. In "Man of Constant Sorrow," Dr. Ralph Stanley gives a surprisingly candid look back on his long and incredible career as the patriarch of old-time mountain music.
Marked by Dr. Ralph Stanleyas banjo picking, his brother Carteras guitar playing, and their haunting and distinctive harmonies, the Stanley Brothers began their career in 1946 and blessed the world of bluegrass with hundreds of classic songs, including aWhite Dove, a aRank Stranger, a and what has become Dr. Ralphas signature song, aMan of Constant Sorrow.a Carter died in 1966 after years of alcohol abuse, but Dr. Ralph Stanley carried on and is still at the top of his game, playing to audiences across the country today at age eighty-one. Rarely giving interviews, he now grants fans the book they have been waiting for, filled with frank recollections, from his boyhood of dire poverty in the Appalachian coalfields to his early musical success with his brother, to years of hard traveling on the road with the Clinch Mountain Boys, to the recent, jubilant revival of a sound he helped create.
The story of how a musical art now popular around the world was crafted by two brothers from a dying mountain culture, "Man of Constant Sorrow" captures a life harmonized with equal measures of tragedy and triumph.

ISBN-13: 9781592404254
ISBN-10: 1592404251
Publisher: Gotham Books
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00452
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Magnificent Desolation

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Aldrin, Buzz

Forty years ago, Buzz Aldrin became the second human, minutes after Neil Armstrong, to set foot on a celestial body other than the Earth. The event remains one of mankind's greatest achievements and was witnessed by the largest worldwide television audience in history. In the years since, millions more have had their Earth-centric perspective unalterably changed by the iconic photograph of Aldrin standing on the surface of the moon, the blackness of space behind him and his fellow explorer and the Eagle reflected in his visor. Describing the alien world he was walking upon, he uttered the words "magnificent desolation." And as the astronauts later sat in the Eagle, waiting to begin their journey back home, knowing that they were doomed unless every system and part on board worked flawlessly, it was Aldrin who responded to Mission Control's clearance to take off with the quip, "Roger. Understand. We're number one on the runway."
The flight of Apollo 11 made Aldrin one of the most famous persons on our planet, yet few people know the rest of this true American hero's story. In "Magnificent Desolation," Aldrin not only gives us a harrowing first-person account of the lunar landing that came within seconds of failure and the ultimate insider's view of life as one of the superstars of America's space program, he also opens up with remarkable candor about his more personal trials-and eventual triumphs-back on Earth. From the glory of being part of the mission that fulfilled President Kennedy's challenge to reach the moon before the decade was out, Aldrin returned home to an Air Force career stripped of purpose or direction, other than as a public relations tool that NASA put to relentless use in a seemingly nonstop world tour. The twin demons of depression and alcoholism emerged-the first of which Aldrin confronted early and publicly, and the second of which he met with denial until it nearly killed him. He burned through two marriages, his Air Force career came to an inglorious end, and he found himself selling cars for a living when he wasn't drunkenly wrecking them. Redemption came when he finally embraced sobriety, gained the love of a woman, Lois, who would become the great joy of his life, and dedicated himself to being a tireless advocate for the future of space exploration-not only as a scientific endeavor but also as a thriving commercial enterprise.
These days Buzz Aldrin is enjoying life with an enthusiasm that reminds us how far it is possible for a person to travel, literally and figuratively. As an adventure story, a searing memoir of self-destruction and self-renewal, and as a visionary rallying cry to once again set our course for Mars and beyond, "Magnificent Desolation" is the thoroughly human story of a genuine hero.

ISBN-13: 9780307463456
ISBN-10: 0307463451
Publisher: Harmony
Date: June 2009
Page Count: 00326
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Anne Frank

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Prose, Francine

In June 1942, Anne Frank received a red-and-white- checked diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in an Amsterdam attic to escape the Nazis. For two years, with ever-increasing maturity, Anne crafted a memoir that has become one of the most compelling documents of modern history. She described life in vivid, unforgettable detail, explored apparently irreconcilable views of human nature--people are good at heart but capable of unimaginable evil--and grappled with the unfolding events of World War II, until the hidden attic was raided in August 1944.

But Anne Frank's diary, argues Francine Prose, is as much a work of art as a historical record. Through close reading, she marvels at the teenage Frank's skillfully natural narrative voice, at her finely tuned dialogue and ability to turn living people into characters. And Prose addresses what few of the diary's millions of readers may know: this book is a "deliberate" work of art. During her last months in hiding, Anne Frank furiously revised and edited her work, crafting a piece of literature that she had hoped would be read by the public after the war.

Read it has been. Few books have been as influential for as long, and Prose thoroughly investigates the diary's unique afterlife: the obstacles and criticism Otto Frank faced in publishing his daughter's words; the controversy surrounding the diary's Broadway and film adaptations; and the claims of conspiracy theorists who have cried fraud, along with the scientific analysis that proved them wrong. Finally, Prose, a teacher herself, considers the rewards and challenges of sharing one of the world's most read, and most banned, books with students.

How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? "Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife" tells the extraordinary story of the book that became a force in the world. Along the way, Francine Prose definitively establishes that Anne Frank was not an accidental author or a casual teenaged chronicler, but a writer of prodigious talent and ambition.

How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? "Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife" tells the extraordinary story of the book that became a force in the world. Along the way, Francine Prose definitively establishes that Anne Frank was not an accidental author or a casual teenage chronicler, but a writer of prodigious talent and ambition.

ISBN-13: 9780061430794
ISBN-10: 006143079X
Publisher: Harper
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00336
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Traveling with Pomegranates

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Kidd, Sue Monk

An introspective and beautiful dual memoir by the #1 "New York Times" bestselling novelist and her daughter
Sue Monk Kidd has touched millions of readers with her novels "The Secret Life of Bees" and "The Mermaid Chair" and with her acclaimed nonfiction. In this intimate dual memoir, she and her daughter, Ann, offer distinct perspectives as a fifty-something and a twenty-something, each on a quest to redefine herself and to rediscover each other.
Between 1998 and 2000, Sue and Ann travel throughout Greece and France. Sue, coming to grips with aging, caught in a creative vacuum, longing to reconnect with her grown daughter, struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a novel. Ann, just graduated from college, heartbroken and benumbed by the classic question about what to do with her life, grapples with a painful depression. As this modern-day Demeter and Persephone chronicle the richly symbolic and personal meaning of an array of inspiring figures and sites, they also each give voice to that most protean of connections: the bond of mother and daughter.
A wise and involving book about feminine thresholds, spiritual growth, and renewal, "Traveling with Pomegranates" is both a revealing self-portrait by a beloved author and her daughter, a writer in the making, and a momentous story that will resonate with women everywhere.

Related Subjects:Books > Biography & Autobiography > Personal Memoirs

ISBN-13: 9780670021208
ISBN-10: 0670021202
Publisher: Viking Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00282
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Barack and Michelle

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Andersen, Christopher

"She is my rock--the one person who keeps it real." --Barack

"I don't want anybody to think that it's easy. . . . We have a strong marriage, but it's not perfect." --Michelle

They exploded onto the world scene and within a matter of a few short years captured the ultimate political prize. In so doing, they became a First Couple like no other: He--the biracial son of a free-spirited Kansas-born woman and a mercurial Kenyan father who abandoned him at an early age--was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia, educated at Columbia and Harvard, and launched his political career in America's heartland. She, by contrast, was the product of a solidly middle-American family with roots planted firmly in Chicago's working-class South Side--paving the way for her to achieve her dreams of an Ivy League education and a position at one of the nation's top law firms.

By the time they claimed the White House in one of the most hotly contested presidential races in modern history, Barack and Michelle Obama were seen by millions around the world as the new Jack and Jackie Kennedy--brilliant, attractive, elegant, youthful, "exciting." Accompanied by their two young daughters, Malia and Sasha, the Obamas would arrive at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the promise of a new Camelot all but assured.

Given the obvious historic significance of what they have accomplished together, the marriage of Barack and Michelle stands as one of the great personal and political partnerships in American history. Yet, incredibly, the true nature of that relationship has remained a mystery. Until now.

In the style of his No. 1 "New York Times" bestsellers "The Day Diana Died" and "The Day John Died," as well as his bestselling books about the Kennedys, the Clintons, and the Bushes, author Christopher Andersen draws on important sources--some speaking here for the first time--to paint the first complete, compelling portrait of America's first black First Family.

Among the many intriguing insights and stunning revelations:

New behind-the-scenes details of the Obamas' courtship and marriage--and the lovers who went before.

The early tragedies that shaped both Barack's and Michelle's personalities, and how those events haunt them to this day. Also, new information about Barack's rootless childhood, at times tortured adolescence, and the true extent of his early drug use.

How Barack's ambition put a strain on their relationship from the very beginning, how close the Obamas really came to breaking up, and how Michelle made the difficult decision that saved their marriage.

The little-known near-tragedy that brought Barack and Michelle closer than they had ever been.

How Michelle may have saved her husband's presidential campaign, and her surprising behind-the-scenes role as the president's chief advisor.

The pressures and delights of raising two young girls in the relentless glare of the media, and how, like Jack and Jackie Kennedy before them, Barack and Michelle strive to make the lives of America's two most famous children as "normal" as possible.

"Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage" is an intimate and ultimately riveting look at their unique partnership, and the humor, faith, fortitude, and grace that defines it. It is, above all, an extraordinary American love story.

ISBN-13: 9780061771965
ISBN-10: 0061771961
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00326
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Abigail Adams

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Holton, Woody

In this vivid new biography of abigail adams, the most illustrious woman of America's founding era, prize-winning historian Woody Holton offers a sweeping reinterpretation of Adams's life story and of women's roles in the creation of the republic.

Using previously overlooked documents from a host of archives, "Abigail Adams" shows that the wife of the second president of the United States was far more charismatic and influential than historians have realized. One of the finest writers of her age, Adams passionately campaigned for women's education, denounced sex discrimination, and matched wits not only with her brilliant husband, John, but with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. When male Patriots ignored her famous appeal to "Remember the Ladies," she accomplished her own personal declaration of independence: Defying centuries of legislation that assigned married women's property to their husbands, she amassed a fortune in her own name.

Adams's life story encapsulates the history of the founding era, for she defined herself in relation to the people she loved or hated (she was never neutral): her mother, whom she considered terribly overprotective; Benjamin Franklin, who schemed to clip her husband's wings; her sisters, whose dependence upon Abigail's charity strained the family bond; James Lovell, her husband's bawdy congressional colleague, who peppered her with innuendo about John's "rigid patriotism"; her financially naive husband (Abigail earned money in ways the president considered unsavory, took risks that he wished to avoid -- and made him a rich man); Phoebe Abdee, her father's former slave, who lived free in an Adams property but defied Abigail's prohibition against sheltering others even more desperate than herself; and her son John Quincy, who worried her with his tendency to "study out of spight" but who fueled her pride by following his father into public service, rising to the presidency after her death.

At once epic and intimate, "Abigail Adams" sheds light on a complicated, fascinating woman, one of the most beloved figures of American history.

ISBN-13: 9781416546801
ISBN-10: 1416546804
Publisher: Free Press
Date: November 2009
Page Count: 00512
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Where Men Win Glory

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Krakauer, Jon

The bestselling author of "Into the Wild," "Into Thin Air," and "Under the Banner of Heaven" delivers a stunning, eloquent account of a remarkable young man's haunting journey.
"
"Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.
Though obvious to most of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman's own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman's wife, other family members, and the American public for five weeks following his death. During this time, President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman's name to promote his administration's foreign policy. Long after Tillman's nationally televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest relatives that he had "probably" been killed by friendly fire while it continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was responsible.
In "Where Men Win Glory," Jon Krakauer draws on Tillman's journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research on the ground in Afghanistan to render an intricate mosaic of this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure as well as the definitive account" "of the events and actions that led to his death. Before he enlisted in the army, Tillman was familiar to sports aficionados as an undersized, overachieving Arizona Cardinals safety whose virtuosity in the defensive backfield was spellbinding. With his shoulder-length hair, outspoken views, and boundless intellectual curiosity, Tillman was considered a maverick. America was fascinated when he traded the bright lights and riches of the NFL for boot camp and a buzz cut. Sent first to Iraq--a war he would openly declare was "illegal as hell" --and eventually to Afghanistan, Tillman was driven by complicated, emotionally charged, sometimes contradictory notions of duty, honor, justice, patriotism, and masculine pride, and he was determined to serve his entire three-year commitment. But on April 22, 2004, his life would end in a barrage of bullets fired by his fellow soldiers.
Krakauer chronicles Tillman's riveting, tragic odyssey in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable character and personality while closely examining the murky, heartbreaking circumstances of his death. Infused with the power and authenticity readers have come to expect from Krakauer's storytelling, "Where Men Win Glory "exposes shattering truths about men and war.

ISBN-13: 9780385522267
ISBN-10: 0385522266
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00383
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Highest Duty

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Sullenberger, Chesley

In this inspirational autobiography, Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, the airline pilot whose emergency landing on the Hudson River earned the world's admiration, tells his life story and talks about the essential qualities that he believes have been so vital to his success.

In January 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in history when Captain Sullenberger brought a crippled US Airways flight onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all of the passengers and crew aboard. The successful outcome was the result of effective teamwork, Sully's dedication to airline safety, his belief that a pilot's judgment must go hand-in-hand with--and can never be replaced by--technology, and forty years of careful practice and training.

From his earliest memories of learning to fly as a teenager in a crop duster's single-engine plane in the skies above rural Texas to his years in the United States Air Force at the controls of a powerful F-4 Phantom, Sully describes the experiences that have helped make him a better leader, particularly the importance of taking responsibility for everyone in his care. And he talks about what he believes is at the heart of America's "can do" spirit: the very human drive to prepare for the unexpected and to meet it with optimism and courage.

His wife, Lorrie, has been a pillar of support through all the highs and lows that life has offered, from the challenges of commercial flying to the birth of their two daughters, from financial struggles to the event of January 15, 2009. Though the world may remember Sully as the hero of Flight 1549, the legacy he desires even more is that of a loving husband and father.

"Highest Duty" is the intimate story of a man who has grown up to embrace what we think of as quintessential American values--leadership, responsibility, commitment to hard work, and service to others. And it is a narrative that reminds us that cultivating seemingly ordinary virtues can prepare us to perform extraordinary acts.

ISBN-13: 9780061924682
ISBN-10: 0061924687
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00340
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Good Soldiers

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Finkel, David

It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it the surge. "Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences," he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.
Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning "Washington Post" reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad, and almost every grueling step of the way.
What was the true story of the surge? And was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. Combining the action of Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" with the literary brio of Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," " The Good Soldiers" is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale--not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.

Related Subjects:Books > History > Military - Iraq War (2003-)
Books > History > Military - United States

ISBN-13: 9780374165734
ISBN-10: 0374165734
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00287
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Healing of America

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Reid, T. R.

Bestselling author T. R. Reid guides a whirlwind tour of successful health care systems worldwide, revealing possible paths toward U.S. reform.
In "The Healing of America, New York Times" bestselling author T. R. Reid shows how all the other industrialized democracies have achieved something the United States can't seem to do: provide health care for everybody at a reasonable cost.
In his global quest to find a possible prescription, Reid visits wealthy, free market, industrialized democracies like our own-including France, Germany, Japan, the U.K., and Canada-where he finds inspiration in example. Reid shares evidence from doctors, government officials, health care experts, and patients the world over, finding that foreign health care systems give everybody quality care at an affordable cost. And that dreaded monster "socialized medicine" turns out to be a myth. Many developed countries provide universal coverage with private doctors, private hospitals, and private insurance.
In addition to long-established systems, Reid also studies countries that have carried out major health care reform. The first question facing these countries-and the United States, for that matter-is an ethical issue: Is health care a human right? Most countries have already answered with a resolute yes, leaving the United States in the murky moral backwater with nations we typically think of as far less just than our own.
"The Healing of America" lays bare the moral question at the heart of our troubled system, dissecting the misleading rhetoric surrounding the health care debate. Reid sees problems elsewhere, too: He finds poorly paid doctors in Japan, endless lines in Canada, mistreated patients in Britain, spartan facilities in France. Still, all the other rich countries operate at a lower cost, produce better health statistics, and cover everybody. In the end, "The Healing of America" is a good news book: It finds models around the world that Americans can borrow to guarantee health care for everybody who needs it.

Related Subjects:Books > Medical > Health Care Delivery
Books > Medical > Health Policy

ISBN-13: 9781594202346
ISBN-10: 1594202346
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date: August 2009
Page Count: 00288
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Arguing with Idiots

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Beck, Glenn

FUNNY.

FRIGHTENING.

TRUE.

It happens to all of us: You're minding your own business, when some idiot informs you that guns are evil, the Prius will save the planet, or the rich have to finally start paying their fair share of taxes.

"Just go away " you think to yourself -- but they only become more obnoxious. Your heart rate quickens. You start to sweat. You can't get away. Your only hope is...

...this book.

Glenn Beck, author of the #1 "New York Times" bestsellers "An Inconvenient Book" and "Glenn Beck's Common Sense," has stumbled upon the secret formula to winning arguments against people with big mouths but small minds: knowing the facts.

And this book is full of them.

The next time your Idiot Friends tell you how gun control prevents gun violence, you'll tell them all about England's handgun ban (see page 53). When they tell you that we should copy the UK's health-care system, you'll recount the horrifying facts you read on page 244. And the next time an idiot tells you that vegetable prices will skyrocket without illegal workers, you'll stop saying "no, they won't" and you'll start saying, "actually, eliminating all illegal labor will cause us to spend just $8 a year more on produce." (See page 139.)

Idiots can't be identified through voting records, they can be found only by looking for people who hide behind stereotypes, embrace partisanship, and believe that bumper sticker slogans are a substitute for common sense. If you know someone who fits the bill, then "Arguing with Idiots" will help you silence them once and for all with the ultimate weapon: the truth.

ISBN-13: 9781416595014
ISBN-10: 1416595015
Publisher: Threshold Editions
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00325
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The 10 Big Lies about America

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Medved, Michael

"It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us into trouble," nineteenth-century humorist Josh Billings remarked. "It's the things we know that just ain't so."

In this bold "New York Times" bestseller, acclaimed author and talk-radio host Michael Medved zeroes in on ten of the biggest fallacies that millions of Americans believe about our country-in spite of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary.
The Big Lies exposed and dissected include:
- America was founded on genocide against Native Americans.
- The United States is uniquely guilty for the crime of slavery and built its wealth on stolen African labor.
- Aggressive governmental programs offer the only remedy for economic downturns and poverty.
- The Founders intended a secular, not Christian, nation.
Each of the ten lies is a grotesque, propagandistic misrepresentation of the historical record. Medved's witty, well-documented rebuttal supplies the ammunition necessary to fire back the next time somebody tries to recycle destructive distortions about our nation."
"

ISBN-13: 9780307394071
ISBN-10: 0307394077
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00280
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

In the President's Secret Service

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Kessler, Ronald

Never before has a journalist penetrated the wall of secrecy that surrounds the U.S. Secret Service, that elite corps of agents who pledge to take a bullet to protect the president and his family. After conducting exclusive interviews with more than one hundred current and former Secret Service agents, bestselling author and award-winning reporter Ronald Kessler reveals their secrets for the first time.
Secret Service agents, acting as human surveillance cameras, observe everything that goes on behind the scenes in the president's inner circle. Kessler reveals what they have seen, providing startling, previously untold stories about the presidents, from John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as about their families, Cabinet officers, and White House aides.
Kessler portrays the dangers that agents face and how they carry out their missions-from how they are trained to how they spot and assess potential threats. With fly-on-the-wall perspective, he captures the drama and tension that characterize agents' lives.
In this headline-grabbing book, Kessler discloses assassination attempts that have never before been revealed. He shares inside accounts of past assaults that have put the Secret Service to the test, including a heroic gun battle that took down the would-be assassins of Harry S. Truman, the devastating day that John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, and the swift actions that saved Ronald Reagan after he was shot.
While Secret Service agents are brave and dedicated, Kessler exposes how Secret Service management in recent years has betrayed its mission by cutting corners, risking the assassination of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their families. Given the lax standards, "It's a miracle we have not had a successful assassination," a current agent says.
Since an assassination jeopardizes democracy itself, few agencies are as important as the Secret Service-nor is any other subject as tantalizing as the inner sanctum of the White House. Only tight-lipped Secret Service agents know the real story, and Ronald Kessler is the only journalist to have won their trust.

ISBN-13: 9780307461353
ISBN-10: 0307461351
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Date: August 2009
Page Count: 00288
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

We Are Doomed

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Derbyshire, John

To his fellow conservatives, John Derbyshire makes a plea: Don't be seduced by this nonsense about "the politics of hope." Skepticism, pessimism, and suspicion of happy talk are the true characteristics of an authentically conservative temperament. And from Hobbes and Burke through Lord Salisbury and Calvin Coolidge, up to Pat Buchanan and Mark Steyn in our own time, these beliefs have kept the human race from blindly chasing its utopian dreams right off a cliff.
Recently, though, various comforting yet fundamentally idiotic notions of political correctness and wishful thinking have taken root beyond the "Kumbaya"-singing, we're-all-one crowd. These ideas have now infected conservatives, the very people who really should know better. The Republican Party has been derailed by legions of fools and poseurs wearing smiley-face masks.
Think rescuing the economy by condemning our descendents to lives of spirit-crushing debt. Think nation-building abroad while we slowly disintegrate at home. Think education and No Child Left Behind. . . . But don't think about it too much, because if you do, you'll quickly come to the logical conclusion: We are doomed.
Need more convincing? Dwell on the cheerful promises of the diversity cult and the undeniable reality of the oncoming demographic disaster. Contemplate the feminization of everything, or take a good look at what passes for art these days. Witness the rise of culturism and the death of religion. Bow down before your new master, the federal apparatchik. Finally, ask yourself: How certain am I that the United States of America will survive, in any recognizable form, until, say, 2022?
A scathing, mordantly funny romp through today's dismal and dismaler political and cultural scene, "We Are Doomed" provides a long-overdue dose of reality, revealing just how the GOP has been led astray in recent years-and showing that had conservatives held on to their fittingly pessimistic outlook, America's future would be far brighter.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to embrace the Audacity of Hopelessness. "
"

ISBN-13: 9780307409584
ISBN-10: 0307409589
Publisher: Crown Forum
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00261
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Culture of Corruption

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Malkin, Michelle

In her shocking new book, Malkin goes where the mainstream media refuse to tread. She digs deep into the records of President Obama's staff, revealing corrupt dealings, questionable pasts, and abuses of power throughout his administration.

ISBN-13: 9781596981096
ISBN-10: 1596981091
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Date: July 2009
Page Count: 00376
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

End the Fed

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Paul, Ron

In the post-meltdown world, it is irresponsible, ineffective, and ultimately useless to have a serious economic debate without considering and challenging the role of the Federal Reserve.
Most people think of the Fed as an indispensable institution without which the country's economy could not properly function. But in END THE FED, Ron Paul draws on American history, economics, and fascinating stories from his own long political life to argue that the Fed is both corrupt and unconstitutional. It is inflating currency today at nearly a Weimar or Zimbabwe level, a practice that threatens to put us into an inflationary depression where $100 bills are worthless. What most people don't realize is that the Fed -- created by the Morgans and Rockefellers at a private club off the coast of Georgia -- is actually working against their own personal interests. Congressman Paul's urgent appeal to all citizens and officials tells us where we went wrong and what we need to do fix America's economic policy for future generations.

Related Subjects:Books > Political Science > Public Policy - Economic Policy

ISBN-13: 9780446549196
ISBN-10: 0446549193
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00224
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

A Heart to Serve

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Frist, William H.

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist shares his unique experience as a heart transplant surgeon and U.S. senator inspiring people to make a difference wherever they are and whatever position they are in by helping others, risking failure, challenging the status quo, and above all, having a heart to serve. One of the brightest and most forward-thinking senators, Frist tackles controversial issues to offer feasible solutions. His simple philosophy for peace, for example, is service. "People don't usually go to war against someone who helped save their children," Frist writes. "While the world often sees America's tougher side ... when people see America's more compassionate, humanitarian side, the barriers come down, and peace becomes a viable possibility." With heartfelt love for family and country, warmhearted humor, and a doctor's comforting tones, Frist writes openly about the values and experiences that shaped his life, and challenges and inspires everyone to find a place where they, too, can make a difference.

ISBN-13: 9781599950167
ISBN-10: 1599950162
Publisher: Center Street
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00361
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Instinct

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Smerconish, Michael A.

September 11, 2001. Almost everything seemed to go as the terrorists intended. Almost. Flight 93--which crashed not on the Capitol or the White House, but in a Pennsylvania field--was one terrorist shy of the other flights. The brave Americans who rose up that day against the hijackers were aided by a man they never met and whose story has never been written. His name is Jose Melendez-Perez. This book tells his story. As Michael Smerconish recounts in riveting detail in "Instinct," more than a month earlier a young Saudi national had arrived at Orlando International Airport on a flight from London. He didn't speak English, and his customs paperwork was blank except for his name: Mohamed al-Kahtani. He had a one-way ticket. Soon, INS agent Melendez-Perez was called to the scene. To others, al-Kahtani seemed like a befuddled tourist eager to see Disney World. At risk to his job for the appearance of racial profiling, Melendez-Perez--drawing on his training "and" his instinct--sent al-Kahtani packing back to Dubai. Melendez-Perez changed history that day. But he is not alone. In addition to telling his story and that of al-Kahtani--who was later captured in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo Bay--"Instinct "examines the quick thinking of other Americans who faced fanatics; for example, the Washington State border inspector whose gut told her something wasn't right about the would-be millennium bomber. Michael Smerconish provides fascinating insight into the post-9/11 world of interrogation. And he poses tough questions about how the CIA and Homeland Security can protect America in a post-9/11 world. Most pointedly: Have we learned from the example of Jose Melendez-Perez?

ISBN-13: 9781599215167
ISBN-10: 1599215160
Publisher: Lyons Press
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00205
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Vampire's Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Shan, Darren

Darren Shan is just an ordinary schoolboy who loves to ride bikes and hang out with his three best friends. Then one day Darren and his friends stumble across an invitation to visit the Cirque Du Freak, a strange and mysterious freak show. Almost as if by destiny, Darren wins a ticket and what follows is his horrifying descent into the dark and bloody world of vampires.
This is Darren's story.
New movie edition features the first three books--Cirque Du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood-- bound up in one volume

ISBN-13: 9780316052405
ISBN-10: 031605240X
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00692
Reading Level: Ages 12 - 22

New Moon

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Meyer, Stephenie

The movie tie-in edition of the #1 bestselling trade paperback includes a collectible full-color, fold-out poster with photos of the movie cast on both sides.

In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

ISBN-13: 9780316075633
ISBN-10: 0316075639
Publisher: Little Brown & Co.
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00576
Reading Level: Ages 12 - 18

Where the Wild Things Are

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Sendak, Maurice

In the forty years since Max first cried "Let the wild rumpus start," Maurice Sendak's classic picture book has become one of the most highly acclaimed and best-loved children's books of all time. Now, in celebration of this special anniversary, introduce a new generation to Max's imaginative journey where a naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things and becomes their king.

Caldecott Medal Winner: Picture Book 1964

Features: Dust Cover, Illustrated
0.43" H x 9.24" L x 10.4" W (1.02 lbs) 48 pages

ISBN-13: 9780060254926
ISBN-10: 0060254920
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date: September 1988
Page Count: 00048
Reading Level: Ages 04 - 08

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Barrett, Judi

In Chewandswallow, meals rain from the sky at appropriate times of the day, but a change in the weather blows in massive problems. "Prediction: Children dreaming up their own weather menus are sure to follow up on the fun".--Booklist. A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year. Three-color illustrations.

Related Subjects:Books > Juvenile Fiction > Humorous Stories

ISBN-13: 9780689707490
ISBN-10: 0689707495
Publisher: Atheneum Books
Date: May 1982
Page Count: 00032
Reading Level: Ages 04 - 08

The Time Traveler's Wife

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Niffenegger, Audrey

A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the novel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant. An enchanting debut and a spellbinding tale of fate and belief in the bonds of love, The Time Traveler's Wife is destined to captivate readers for years to come.

What We're Reading Now
"I hand sell this book because "The Time Traveler's Wife" is still resonating two years after I read it."
Alison Fradkin - Books-A-Million, Laurel, MD

"An enchanting novel, beautifully crafted and as dazzlingly imaginative as it is dizzyingly romantic."--SCOTT TUROW

"A powerfully original love story . . . [An] amazing trip."--PEOPLE

"Niffenegger plays ingeniously in her temporal hall of mirrors."--THE NEW YORKER

"[This] inventive and poignant writing is well worth a trip."--ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Related Subjects:Books > Fiction > Fantasy - General
Books > Fiction > Romance - Time Travel

ISBN-13: 9780156029438
ISBN-10: 015602943X
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date: July 2004
Page Count: 00546
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Julie and Julia

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Powell, Julie

Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir that's "irresistible....A kind of "Bridget Jones" meets "The French Chef"" ("Philadelphia Inquirer"), is now a major motion picture. Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves' livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto. The film version is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.

ISBN-13: 9780316044271
ISBN-10: 031604427X
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Date: July 2009
Page Count: 00307
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Precious (Push Movie Tie-In Edition)

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Sapphire

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
Includes a Reading Group Guide
Precious Jones, an illiterate sixteen-year-old, has up until now been invisible to the father who rapes her and the mother who batters her and to the authorities who dismiss her as just one more of Harlem's casualties. But when Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, meets a determined and radical teacher, we follow her on a journey of education and enlightenment as she learns not only how to write about her life, but how to make it truly her own for the first time.

Related Subjects:Books > Fiction > Media Tie-In - General

ISBN-13: 9780307474841
ISBN-10: 0307474844
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date: October 2009
Page Count: 00192
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Boys Are Back

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Carr, Simon

""So there we are, a father and two sons in a household without role models, males together in a home different from anything I'd known--an idyllic Lost Boys' world with a house full of children and as few rules as possible.""
When Simon Carr's wife Susie lost her battle to cancer, Carr was left to raise his 5-year old son, Alexander, on his own. Soon after, Hugo, his 11-year old son from a previous marriage comes to live with them. Now, this motley crew of boys have to learn how to be a family. Along the way, Carr reveals some illuminating truths about parenting and the differences between mothers and fathers. His messy household bears no similarity to the immaculate home his wife kept; his response to mothers on the playground fretting about his son's safety on the handlebars is, "If he falls, at least he'll know not to do it again." Emotionally honest and sharply witty, Carr's story is at once heartbreaking and wonderfully life-affirming.

ISBN-13: 9780307476272
ISBN-10: 0307476278
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00240
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Taking Woodstock

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Tiber, Elliot

This is the movie tie-in edition. Directed by Ang Lee, starring Emile Hirsch and Demetri Martin, Taking Woodstock celebrates the Woodstock, and author Elliot Tiber's coming of age and his relationships with Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Robert Mapplethorpe. A true look at history in the making.

ISBN-13: 9780757003332
ISBN-10: 0757003338
Publisher: Square One Publishers
Date: June 2009
Page Count: 00215
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Doyle, Arthur Conan

A new collection to coincide with the upcoming major motion picture starring Robert Downey, Jr., and Jude Law, "Sherlock Holmes"
This gripping collection includes many of the famous cases-and great strokes of brilliance-that made the legA-endary Sherlock Holmes one of fiction's most popular creations. With his devoted secretary, Dr. Watson, Holmes emerges from his smoke-filled rooms on Baker Street to grapple with the forces of treachery, intrigue, and evil in such cases as "The Speckled Band," in which a terrified woman begs Holmes and Watson's help in solvA-ing the mystery surrounding her sister's death, and "A Scandal in Bohemia," which portrays a European king blackmailed by his misA-tress. A spine-tingling treat for anyone who loves a classic whodunit, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" shows the inimitable detective at his best.

ISBN-13: 9780143117025
ISBN-10: 0143117025
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date: September 2009
Page Count: 00321
Reading Level: Ages NA - NA

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Rowling, J. K.

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar faces. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparateand lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business, Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help form the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So its the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemortand thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

ISBN-13: 9780439784542
ISBN-10: 0439784549
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Date: July 2005
Page Count: 00652
Reading Level: Ages 09 - 12

Toy Story/Toy Story 2

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:52:01 CDT

By: Disney

Relive the adventures of Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of Andy's toys in this classic read-aloud storybook retelling of "Toy Story "and "Toy Story 2." With glossy pages, full-color art straight from the new 3-D version of the movies, and a pull-out movie poster, this is the perfect gift for tried-and-true "Toy Story "fans or a whole new generation of viewers.

ISBN-13: 9780736425957
ISBN-10: 0736425950
Publisher: Random House Disney
Date: August 2009
Page Count: 00072
Reading Level: Ages 03 - 08