Country music has exploded across the U.S. and undergone a sweeping revolution, transforming the once ridiculed world of Nashville into an unlikely focal point of American pop culture. Bruce Feiler was granted unprecedented access to the private moments of the revolution. Here is the acclaimed report: a chronicle of the genre's biggest stars as they change the face of American music.From the historic stage of the Grand Ole Opry to the dim light of a recording studio, here is a ruggedly authentic behind the scenes tour that takes you places outsiders have never been allowed to go. Part social history, part backstage pass, this penetrating and graceful book presents the most comprehensive portraits yet painted of Garth Brooks and Wynonna Judd-two of the most celebrated artists of our times-as well as a touching picture of Wade Hayes, a young man who hopes to follow them to the exalted heights of one of America's richest traditions: the world of country music.

"Perfection is not the basis of what I'm talking about," says a member of the Cassandra family, which forms the center of Denis Johnson's plays, Hellhound on My Trail and Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames.The character could be speaking for his creator, because human imperfection is one of Denis Johnson's specialties -- in his critically acclaimed novels, short stories, and nonfiction, and, now, in two brilliant new plays. These two works present a dramatized field guide to some of the more dysfunctional and dysphoric inhabitants of the American West: a sexual-misconduct investigator who misconducts herself sexually; a renegade Jehovah's Witness who supports his splinter Jehovean group by dealing drugs; the Cassandra Brothers and their father and their grandmother, thrown together at a family reunion/wedding/melee at their shabby homestead in Ukiah, California.When Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames was performed in San Francisco in 2001, the Chronicle said, There's an enormous appeal in Johnson's bleak-comic vision of a semi-mythic American West. That appeal derives from the author's perfect vision of imperfection, embodied with such energy and courage in these marvelous pieces of theatre.

Who are the women of WindsorWe know them as Elizabeth, the Queen; Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; Princess Margaret; Anne, the Princess Royal. Their images have been with us on film and in print for more than a century, like priceless artifacts that call to mind a grander era. Seen at a distance, they appear unknowable. But each is an individual, a real woman, with an extraordinary story to tell. Now, Catherine Whitney reveals what happens behind the palace doors, giving us an intimate glimpse into the private lives of these public figures. Elizabeth, the Queen: Born to duty, adored by her parents, Elizabeth swore as a teenager to serve her country above all else . . . and she has lived up to her promise, even when her crown has been a burden. This once-lively young woman has sacrificed self-interest and personal joy for her subjects for over sixty years. In public, the queen never puts a step wrong. In private, she herself knows she has made many mistakes. She has sacrificed motherhood for majesty, and seen her four children each make errors with devastating consequences. Yet, no matter what happens, the queen perseveres. Elizabeth, the Queen Mother: Hitler was afraid of her, the English people adored her. Her kind, sparkling blue eyes and cheerful manner belied a backbone of steel, and few dared to cross her. She raised her eldest daughter to serve and her youngest daughter to sparkle. But while her love of the people, and of her family, has never been in question, the Queen Mother was made of much sterner stuff than anyone has ever known -- until now. Princess Margaret: Beautiful, talented, vivacious, and complex . . . Margaret was the Diana of her day. But the promise of her youth was destroyed when she was betrayed by her sister, now the queen, who needlessly forced her to give up the man she loved. Troubled and adrift, with only a slight role to fill, Margaret became the object of public ridicule, yet she was something her sister was not: a wonderful mother. Princess Anne: Her father's favorite, arguably the most intelligent of the queen's four children. Yet Anne is forever forced to take second place to her older brother, Charles. Hardworking, hard-headed, and hot-tempered, Anne has been dismissed as an acerbic frump more at home with horses than people, especially in comparison with her ill-fated sister-in-law, Diana. Yet there is a passionate side to this complex woman, one hidden from view. These four women have shaped the world, each in her own way. Now at last their stories can be told.

The founder of modern feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was the most famous woman of her era. A brilliant, unconventional rebel vilified for her strikingly modern notions of education, family, work, and personal relationships, she nevertheless strongly influenced political philosophy in Europe and a newborn America. Now acclaimed biographer Lyndall Gordon mounts a spirited defense of this courageous woman whose reputation has suffered over the years by painting a full and vibrant portrait of an extraordinary historical figure who was generations ahead of her time.

In The Bush Agenda, Antonia Juhasz exposes a radical corporate globalization agenda that has been refined by leading members and allies of the Bush administration over decades and reached its fullest, most aggressive implementation under George W. Bush and Bush Agenda adherents plan for it to outlast him. Juhasz uncovers the history and key role of U.S. corporations in the creation of this agenda focusing on Bechtel, Lockheed Martin, Chevron, and Halliburton then presents the Iraq War as its most brutal application to date. Expertly revealing the oil timeline driving the war, Juhasz charts exactly how the administration has fundamentally transformed Iraq's economy, locked in sweeping advantages to its corporate allies, and expanded its target to the whole Middle East. The results of these same corporate globalization policies dislocation, extreme poverty, and increased violence and terrorism have been demonstrated in regions from South America to Africa to the Middle East and Asia, and in the United States.Extensively researched and now updated with a new afterword, The Bush Agenda is a brilliant, informative analysis, revealing the hard truths about where the Bush administration and its corporate allies are leading the modern world and what we can do about it.

Have fun, save money, and improve your home with these easy step-by-step projects Are you looking for a way to make your bathroom a little more beautifulOr maybe you'd like to give your tired furniture a face-lift, improve your home's air quality, or fix a toilet. No matter your DIY needs and no matter whether you're a DIY novice or expert, home improvement guru Andrea Ridout, host of the nationally syndicated radio show Ask Andrea, has ideas, expertise, and advice to share with you. If I Had a Hammer offers easy-to-follow instructions and illustrations designed to make home improvement simpler than ever. With a little help from Andrea, you'll be able to tackle repairs, painting and decorating, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, wood care for furniture and floors, and much more with projects that often take as little as an hour. Also, you can try a few of Andrea's energy-conserving projects that can dramatically improve your utility bill Andrea's projects are friendly on the environment and on your wallet! With If I Had a Hammer, you'll have the tools to keep your home functioning and looking as good as or even better than new.

Detective Nate Darling has put up with a lot of weird things since he's moved back to San Francisco healing crystals, free range tofu, the SF Giants. But he's drawing the line at psychic dream interpretations.Tabitha March claims she can see other people's dreams. In fact, she insists she "saw" a murder, and even provides Nate with explicit details of the crime. There's no doubt the curvaceous blue-eyed blonde knows something, but how is she involvedIs she the murdererBecause there's just no way that Tabitha can really "see" the killer's dream. Then another body is discovered, just the way Tabitha described it would be. Now evidence suggests she may be the next victim. And Nate has to reconsider his beliefs or risk losing the woman he has fallen in love with . . . forever.

A new land, a new time . . .To protect his people from a great evil, Merrick Mac Lochlainn, newly crowned high chieftain of his clan, must travel forward in time nearly 1,000 years. But when he awakens in nineteenth-century England, he has no memory of his mission to save his race, nor can he recognize Jenny Keating, the spirited young beauty who calls herself his wife.A new love . . .Orphaned and on the run from a cruel headmaster, vulnerable and alone, Jenny never dreamed of being rescued by any man, much less a chivalrous and handsome warrior like Merrick. Drawn to his powerful physique and mysterious ways, she begins a dangerous deception and poses as his beloved. But her feelings of desire are all too real. Together they will battle a dark threat that jeopardizes their very lives, all the while tempting each other with a passion too powerful to resist.

"When war comes, you look for certain special qualities in the people you'll be working with. General Tom Franks embodies those qualities: strength, experience, a keen mind, energy, honor, good humor, and a deep loyalty to his troops and to his country. "Tom Franks is truly a soldier's soldier."-- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld The Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made history by leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the decisive battles that launched the war on terrorism. In this riveting memoir, General Franks retraces his journey from a small-town boyhood in Oklahoma and Midland, Texas, through a lifetime of military service -- including his heroic tour as an Artillery officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded three times. A reform-minded Cold War commander and a shrewd tactician during Operation Desert Storm, Franks took command of CENTCOM at the dawn of what he calls a "crease in history" -- becoming the senior American military officer in the most dangerous region on earth. Now, drawing on his own recollections and military records declassified for this book, Franks offers the first true insider's account of the war on terrorism that has changed the world since September 11, 2001. He puts you in the Operations Center for the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom just weeks after 9/11, capturing its uncertain early days and the historic victory that followed. He traces his relationship with the demanding Donald Rumsfeld, as early tensions over the pace of the campaign gave way to a strong and friendly collaboration. When President Bush focused world attention on the threat of Iraq, Franks seized the moment to implement a bold new vision of joint warfare in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rejecting Desert Storm style massive troop deployment in favor of flexibility and speed, Franks was questioned by the defense establishment -- including Secretary of State Colin Powell. Yet his vision was proven on the ground: Within three weeks, Baghdad had fallen.American Soldier is filled with revelation. Franks describes the covert diplomacy that helped him secure international cooperation for the war, and reveals the role of foreign leaders -- and a critical double agent code-named "April Fool" -- in the most successful military deception since D-Day in 1944. He speaks frankly of intelligence shortcomings that endangered our troops, and of the credible WMD threats -- including eleventh-hour warnings from Arab leaders -- that influenced every planning decision. He offers an unvarnished portrait of the "disruptive and divisive" Washington bureaucracy, and?a candid assessment?of the war's aftermath. Yet in the end, as American Soldier demonstrates, the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq remain heroic victories -- wars of liberation won by troops whose valor was "unequalled," Franks writes, "by anything in the annals of war." Few individuals have the chance to contribute so much of themselves to the American story as General Tommy Franks. In American Soldier, he captures it all.

Whitman's genius, passions, poetry, and androgynous sensibility entwined to create an exuberant life amid the turbulent American mid-nineteenth century. In vivid detail, Kaplan examines the mysterious selves of the enigmatic man who celebrated the freedom and dignity of the individual and sang the praises of democracy and the brotherhood of man.

Running wild . . .When Cassandra Sheridan agreed to an arranged marriage to the Earl of Hampstead, she never dreamed the cad wouldn't even bother to appear for their betrothal ball. It seems her intended cares more for gallivanting than meeting his bride-to-be! So Cassie decides to enjoy an adventure of her own and sets out across Scotland and meets a dashing stranger who has elevated dueling and deception to an art form.A dedicated spy on a mission, the Earl of Hampstead has more on his mind than a silly party. Now fate has thrown him together with a vivacious lady whom he must protect from harm, and whose sensuous beauty is proving most distracting. Worse still, Devlyn is horrified to discover she's the very woman he's engaged to marry!With their lives and reputations in equal peril, do they dare surrender to their irresistible desires?

The WomanFor the sake of her unborn child, Callie Sloane is willing to endure the hardships of this wild Western land but not her attraction to an untamed half-Cherokee renegade. She lost everything to love once before, and she's not making that mistake twice. While outlaw Nick Smith may be the most handsome man she's ever seen, he's also the most dangerous.The RenegadeNick watches in shock as a determined woman rides out of the dust clouds to plant her flag on his ancestral lands in the Great Oklahoma Land Run. The hardened loner vows not to help this stubborn female survive, but finds himself drawn time and again to protect her. And soon Nick has to protect himself from his own desire . . . for the innocent enchantress tempts him beyond anything he's ever known.

Carolyn Turner, Viscountess Wingate, is absolutely shocked by the Ladies Literary Society of London's latest selection. Memoirs of a Mistress is scandalously explicit and downright wicked . . . and it's stirring feelings within Carolyn that she hasn't felt . . . well, ever! She's sure that this steamy read is the only reason she's succumbing to the charms of notorious rogue Daniel Sutton, Lord Surbrooke. She couldn't possibly be falling for the rascal and his illicit caresses . . . or could she?The last thing Daniel wanted was to be shackled by marriage vows. He lusted after Carolyn, sure, but he never imagined that once he lured her to his bed he'd never want to let her go. Yet only when a murderer targets his beloved will he be spurred to confess his true love . . . and claim Carolyn as his bride.

A powerful classic repackaged love story featuring a Native American hero, touches of mysticism and suspense, and heartrending romance.Morgan Tallchief lives for the art he creates, but even that is haunted by the loss of the only woman he will ever love. When Kathleen Ryder mysteriously re-enters his life, the achingly sweet hunger that bound them together in the past returns as well.

Jasmine White is tired of people questioning her ability to do her job. She knows she's the best bodyguard in the business, and she'll tell anyone who asks. And now she's got to take sass from her new client Spencer Powell, the late-night radio jock who calls himself "the Sandman." Someone's threatening the Sandman -- and if Jasmine messes up this high-profile assignment, he'll tell everyone about it!But sexy-cool Spencer's not so sure he wants a woman protecting him -- even one as fine as Jasmine. Part of him wants to drive her away -- and another part wants to hold her delectable body as close to him as possible. And when their body chemistry heats up, the fire it generates could prove a lot more dangerous than any anonymous death threat!

Spunky English girl overcomes impossible odds and outsmarts heathen villains.That's the headline when Zoe Lexham returns to England. After twelve years in the exotic east, she's shockingly adept in the sensual arts. She knows everything a young lady shouldn't and nothing she ought to know. She's a walking scandal, with no hope of a future . . . unless someone can civilize her.Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont, is no knight in shining armor. He's cynical, easily bored, and dangerous to women. He charms, seduces, and leaves them with parting gifts of expensive jewelry to dry their tears. But good looks, combined with money and rank, makes him welcome everywhere. The most popular bachelor in the Beau Monde can easily save Zoe's risqué reputation . . . if the wayward beauty doesn't lead him into temptation, and a passion that could ruin them both.

The first installment of a sexy series about a modern-day heroine writing historical novels based on her romantic misadventures with the Bad Boy Billionaire. Jane Sparks has accidentally announced her engagement on Facebook to the infamous Bad Boy Billionaire, Duke Austen. As soon as it's discovered that Jane and Duke barely know each other (one hot kiss at a party does not a relationship make), she'll be completely humiliated. And then Duke does something Jane never expected: He plays along with her charade. With his hard-partying playboy reputation jeopardizing a 150-million-dollar investment deal, Duke realizes an engagement with the sexy but oh-so-proper librarian could be just the thing to repair his reputation. This good girl tempts him to be very wicked but only with her. It's unprecedented. Inconceivable. Totally alluring. As the unlikely match of librarian and tech entrepreneur set out to convince the world and the internet that their love is real, something unexpected happens: They start falling for each other. But Jane is secretly writing a historical romance novel that could expose their carefully constructed romance unless two perfect strangers are content to be perfectly scandalous together.

Julie Brannagh's delightful Love and Football series returns in time for Christmas ...Holly Reynolds has a secret. Make that two. The first involves upholding her grandmother's hobby of answering Dear Santa letters from dozens of local schoolchildren. The second ... well, he just came strolling in the door.For the last two years, Holly has not been able to stop thinking about gorgeous Seattle Shark Derrick Collins. His on-field exploits induce nightmares in quarterbacks across the NFL, but she knows he has a heart of gold.Derrick has never known a woman he wanted to bring home to meet his family, mostly because he keeps picking the wrong ones until he runs into sweet, shy Holly Reynolds. Different from anyone he's ever known, Derrick realizes she might just be everything he needs.When he discovers her holiday letter writing, he is determined to play Santa too. And as the pair team up to bring joy to one little boy very much in need, they discover the most precious Christmas gift of all: love.

There's a new sheriff in Fallbrook … Meet Dylan McBride. Jessie Thompson had one hell of a week. Dylan McBride, the boy she loved, skipped town without a word. Then her drunk of a father tried to kill her, and she fled Fallbrook, vowing never to return. Eight years later, her father is dead, and Jessie reluctantly goes home—only to come face-to-face with the man who shattered her heart. A man who, for nearly a decade, believed she was dead. Dylan accepted the position as sheriff of Fallbrook looking for a fresh start and a chance to uncover the truth about Jessie's disappearance. He knew he'd have to face a few ghosts … he just never thought one would be Jessie, all grown up, stunning … and alive. The pull between them is instant, but Dylan's heart has already mourned Jessie, and she has secrets she can never share. Can they escape the darkness of their past for a chance at a bright future together?

Archer Le Veq owes his life to the woman who rescued him from certain death at the height of the Civil War...a woman known only as "the Butterfly." Now, in the dark, waning days of Reconstruction, he needs the courageous and beautiful former spy...in more ways than before!Zahra Lafayette thinks her days of intrigue are far behind her, until she is asked to go on one more mission. Posing as an infamous madam in New Orleans, Zahra must gather information to ensure the safety of the South's freedmen. The last thing she expected was to see Archer Le Veq again. He is as arrogant as he is handsome, but there is something about this dusky and debonair hotelier that sends her senses singing. Zahra knows she will need to guard her secrets, but no peril awaiting her compares with the treachery of Zahra's own heart for, Lord help her, she burns to taste the man and to lose herself in his powerful embrace.

Enter the Regency world of the Writing Girls series in Maya Rodale's charming tale of a scheming lady, a handsome second son, and the trouble they get into when the perfect scandal becomes an even more perfect match. Scheme: A folly, a swan, a little lie . . . a compromising positionLady Charlotte Brandon is always up to something . . . but somehow her best schemes for matchmaking often end in disaster.Scheme: A family feud, outrageously false rumors, a shattered priceless vase . . . an even more compromising positionIt's no wonder she's considered by at least one devastatingly handsome man to be devious, destructive, and dangerously appealing.Scheme: A fox, a rabbit, a childhood foe, and a dashing rogue . . . the proposal to end all proposalsIt's high time someone turned the tables on the lovely Lady Charlotte, and James Beauchamp is just the man to do it. Even if it means beating Charlotte at her devious game with a scandalous scheme of his own.