万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

How to Lose the Civil War
How to Lose the Civil War
Fawcett, Bill
¥77.49
A fascinating and fact–filled collection of the greatest and dumbest missteps of America's bloodiest conflict For four years in the middle of the nineteenth century, brother fought brother on American soil. No American war ever had higher stakes than, or changed a nation as profoundly as, the terrible conflict between the Union and the Confederacy. A dark historical panorama populated by a remarkable cast of colorful characters, the War Between the States was indelibly marked by both brilliant military maneuvers and mind-boggling battlefield blunders that gravely threatened the continuation of the American Experiment. With suitable irreverence, Bill Fawcett chronicles the unbelievably disastrous decisions made by both sides in this monumental clash, including: ?The Second Battle of Bull Run, where Robert E. Lee looks smart beating a remarkably stupid general ?How the Union's shortsighted Colonel James Ripley's bad decision arms the Confederate Army better than his own ?Lincoln's roller-coaster search for competent commanders, a long-running dark comedy of tragic errors ?A golden opportunity squandered: General Lee fails to exploit a vulnerable Union and capture Washington, D.C. ?Pickett's disastrous charge and the many, many Confederate command failures at Gettysburg ?Lincoln's contentious draft policy that nearly burns New York City to the ground
The Rock Star in Seat 3A
The Rock Star in Seat 3A
Kargman, Jill
¥77.49
It's Hazel's thirtieth birthday and she has everything she's ever wanted: a kickass job, a dream apartment in New York City, and the perfect boyfriend who's just days away from proposing. Hazel thinks she's happy but isn't quite ready to settle down. So when her most far-fetched fantasy enters the realm of the possible, shouldn't she drop everything to see it through?The morning after her birthday, Hazel boards a flight to L.A. only to get the surprise of her life. When she's bumped up to first class, extra legroom and free drinks are absolutely the last things on her mind when she catches sight of her seatmate: her all-time biggest celebrity crush, rock star Finn Schiller! Only the night before she'd confessed her infatuation with the gorgeous musician, and her boyfriend joked that she had a free pass if she ever met him. Hazel can't believe fate has actually thrown them together. Even more unbelievable is that during the flight they genuinely connect. Finn likes her uncensored cursing and wicked sense of humor, and that she's unlike all of his groupies; Hazel likes his killer looks, ripped physique, and soulful music. But what started as a fantasy quickly becomes a real attraction, and after a dream date and taste of the rock-star life with Finn in L.A., Hazel is forced to examine the track her life is on. Indulging in a passionate affair with a rock star seems crazy but could she ever forgive herself if she walked away from her wildest dream coming trueAnd is her wildest dream the stuff that happiness is made of?A lively novel about a down-to-earth New York City girl who suddenly finds herself in a rock 'n' roll Cinderella fantasy, The Rock Star in Seat 3A is seasoned with Jill Kargman's signature wit and hilarious dialogue. This is a fairy-tale romance with a twist.
Women's Reality
Women's Reality
Schaef, Anne Wilson
¥77.49
Defines the Female System as an emerging reality--a system in which women are valued, first-class citizens. Now with a new foreword by Carol S. Pearson.
My Cousin the Saint
My Cousin the Saint
Catanoso, Justin
¥84.16
An inspiring story of faith and family across two continents Like millions of other Italians in the early twentieth century, Justin Catanoso's grandfather immigrated to America to escape poverty and hardship. Nearly a hundred years later, Justin, born and raised in New Jersey, knows little of his family beyond the Garden State. That changes in 2001 when he discovers that his grandfather's cousin, Padre Gaetano Catanoso, is a Vatican-certified miracle worker. After a life of serving the poor and founding an order of nuns, Gaetano had been approved by Pope John Paul II to become a saint, the first priest from Calabria ever to be canonized. A typically lapsed American Catholic, Justin embarks on a quest to connect with his extended family in southern Italy and, ultimately, to awaken his slumbering faith. My Cousin the Saint charts the parallel history of two relatives Justin's grandfather, Carmelo, and his sainted cousin, Gaetano. While Carmelo leaves his homeland to pursue New World prosperity, Gaetano stays behind to relieve Old World misery. Justin reunites the two halves of a sundered family by both exploring the life of the saint in Calabria and uncovering the untold story of his grandfather's family, raised in New Jersey between two world wars. Justin confronts his own tenuous spiritual moorings in the process. After meeting with Vatican officials in Rome, he is astonished by the complexity of saint-making. After hearing one miracle story after another, he struggles with the line between the mystical and the divine. After seeing his brother fall ill with terminal cancer, he questions the value of prayer. And after reveling in the charm and generosity of his newfound Italian relatives, he comes to learn what it means to have a saint in the family.A compelling narrative written with grace and honesty, My Cousin the Saint is a testament to the challenge of being Catholic in twenty-first-century America. More than a biography, more than an immigrant memoir, more than a chronicle of renewed faith, it is a love letter to a family now reunited across oceans and years.
How Soccer Explains the World
How Soccer Explains the World
Foer, Franklin
¥88.56
Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It is a perfect window into the cross currents of today's world, with all its joys and its sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.
All My Life
All My Life
Lucci, Susan
¥90.77
"See that moon up thereYou can reach that high. Never be afraid because you can be anything you want to be." Susan Lucci was only five years old when her father shared these encouraging words with her. They inspired the highly imaginative child who loved make-believe to craft one of the most enduring characters in television history, an achievement that would earn her a record twenty-one Emmy nominations the most for an actor in the award's history and the crown as "Leading Lady of Daytime." When Lucci and All My Children were introduced to the world in 1971, American television changed forever. Susan's character, the beautiful, spirited, and mercurial Erica Kane, was an original the first vixen viewers loved to hate. But while millions have enjoyed getting to know Erica's many sides and have been awed at how this character has continually remade herself the woman who plays her has remained a mystery. In her long-awaited memoir, this very private actress, wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, friend, and entrepreneur pulls back the curtain to reveal her story. Susan, like Erica Kane, has undergone a metamorphosis many times. All My Life shares the stories of those transformations: starring in roles on television and stage, where she took Broadway not just by storm but "by tsunami" as one critic raved about her performance in Annie Get Your Gun; mounting successful cabaret acts (solo and with Regis Philbin); bringing art and joy back to New York in the wake of 9/11; conquering the tango with Tony Dovolani on ABC's hit show Dancing with the Stars; and building a successful career as an entrepreneur with a signature line of products. Susan goes beyond her success to talk about the darker moments, too, including the childhood guilt she harbored over the death of her dear grandmother, the car accident that nearly took away her career and her eyesight, her newborn son's life-threatening illness, coping with her husband's cancer, and the pain of miscarriage one of the many parallels between her Erica Kane.As charming, down-to-earth, and compelling as the woman whose story it tells, All My Life shines a spotlight on one of our most popular stars and reminds us of the power of dreams and how we can find the courage and tenacity to make them come true.
How to Survive the Titanic
How to Survive the Titanic
Wilson, Frances
¥88.56
A brilliantly original and gripping new look at the sinking of the Titanic through the prism of the life and lost honor of J. Bruce Ismay, the ship's owner Books have been written and films have been made, we have raised the Titanic and watched her go down again on numerous occasions, but out of the wreckage Frances Wilson spins a new epic: when the ship hit the iceberg on April 14, 1912, and one thousand men, lighting their last cigarettes, prepared to die, J. Bruce Ismay, the ship's owner and inheritor of the White Star fortune, jumped into a lifeboat filled with women and children and rowed away to safety. Accused of cowardice and of dictating the Titanic's excessive speed, Ismay became, according to one headline, The Most Talked-of Man in the World.The first victim of a press hate campaign, he never recovered from the damage to his reputation, and while the other survivors pieced together their accounts of the night, Ismay never spoke of his beloved ship again. In the Titanic's mail room was a manu* by that great narrator of the sea, Joseph Conrad, the story of a man who impulsively betrays a code of honor and lives on under the strain of intolerable guilt. But it was Conrad's great novel Lord Jim, in which a sailor abandons a sinking ship, leaving behind hundreds of passengers in his charge, that uncannily predicted Ismay's fate. Conrad, the only major novelist to write about the Titanic, knew more than anyone what ships do to men, and it is with the help of his wisdom that Wilson unravels the reasons behind Ismay's jump and the afterlives of his actions.Using never-before-seen letters written by Ismay to the beautiful Marion Thayer, a first-class passenger with whom he had fallen in love during the voyage, Frances Wilson explores Ismay's desperate need to tell his story, to make sense of the horror of it all, and to find a way of living with the consciousness of lost honor. For those who survived the Titanic, the world was never the same. But as Wilson superbly demonstrates, we all have our own Titanics, and we all need to find ways of surviving them.
Pinheads and Patriots
Pinheads and Patriots
O'Reilly, Bill
¥83.03
When Bill O'Reilly interviewed then-Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential elections, the two had a lively debate about the nation's future. Since that time, America has changed rapidly some would even say seismically. And many believe these shifts are doing more than just rocking the political and social climate; they're rocking the American core.What are these changesWho, in addition to President Obama, have been the biggest forces behind themWhat exactly do they mean for you, the everyday American citizenHow are they affecting your money, health, safety, freedom, and standing in this nationWhich are Pinheaded moves and which are truly PatrioticIn his latest spirited book, O'Reilly prompts further debate with the President and the American people on the current state of the union. After five consecutive, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is megabestsellers, you can count on Bill to offer blunt and constructive political commentary. And as he did in his popular memoir, he offers some introspection too, looking back at his own actions and those of past Pinheads and Patriots who have inspired a code of conduct for such taxing times.As always, O'Reilly is fair, balanced, and uncompromisingly tough when guarding the American way. Only Pinheads would fail to fight for what they love most about this country or to embrace some measure of change to make it better. The rest of us Patriots will read this book to discover the difference between the two.
The Immortalists
The Immortalists
Friedman, David M.
¥95.39
His historic career as an aviator made Charles Lindbergh one of the most famous men of the twentieth century, the subject of best-selling biographies and a hit movie, as well as the inspiration for a dance step the Lindy Hop that he himself was too shy to try. But for all the attention lavished on Lindbergh, one story has remained untold until now: his macabre scientific collaboration with Dr. Alexis Carrel. This oddest of couples one a brilliant Nobel Prize-winning surgeon turned social engineer, the other a failed dirt farmer turned hero of the skies joined forces in 1930 driven by a shared and secret dream: to conquer death and attain immortality. Part Frankenstein, part The Professor and the Madman, and all true, The Immortalists is the remarkable story of how two men of prodigious achievement and equally large character flaws challenged nature's oldest rule, with consequences personal, professional, and political that neither man anticipated.
HarperCollins e-books
HarperCollins e-books
Potts, Phoebe
¥136.12
In the tradition of the acclaimed graphic memoirs Fun Home and Persepolis comes a funny, insightful, and deeply moving book about learning to appreciate what we have when we can't seem to get what we want. For Phoebe Potts, the path to maternal fulfillment has not been easy. All her friends seem to get pregnant, but she can't conceive for all her trying. As Phoebe and her husband, Jeff, navigate the emotionally and physically fraught world of fertility experts, she takes stock of what matters in the rest of her life and reflects on the winding journey to her true calling as an artist. From her days as an amateur union organizer in Texas to her spiral into paralyzing depression in Mexico; from her soul-shrinking, all-for-the-benefits stint as an administrative assistant at a fancy university in Cambridge to her flirtation with rabbinical school, Phoebe illuminates the bumpy road to vocational and personal contentment. Her wonderful, hilarious, and utterly original drawings capture the truly good eggs an unforgettably nutty mother; a devoted husband; a team of therapists, hairdressers, and landladies; friends; and a sidekick housecat that together expand the definition of what really makes a family.
Son of a Grifter
Son of a Grifter
Walker, Kent
¥55.31
In 1988 a troubled young man and his flamboyant mother were arrested for murdering a wealthy widow in her New York City mansion. Suddenly, America was transfixed by a pair of real-life film noir characters. The media couldn't get enough of the twisted relationship between Sante Kimes and her twenty-three-year-old son Kenny. But the most chilling story of all was never told until now. Kent Walker, Sante's elder son, reveals how he survived forty years of "the Dragon Lady's" very special brand of motherly love and still managed to get away. As a child Kent watched his mother destroy his hardworking father, Ed Walker, and then with Kent's painful collusion snare what Sante called "my millionaire." When she married seemingly respectable real-estate developer Ken Kimes, it was a match made in hell. For the next two decades Kent's mother and stepfather indulged in a globetrotting orgy of criminal behaviour.Kent, their would-be recruit, was privy to the family business torching houses, defrauding friends, crashing White When Kent's half-brother, Kenny was born, Kent was twelve years old old enough to know that he was his younger sibling's only protector. Kent tried desperately to save Kenny from his mother's sinister bidding. His failure haunts him to this day.
Read My Pins
Read My Pins
Albright, Madeleine
¥249.23
Before long, and without intending it, I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal. Former president George H. W. Bush had been known for saying "Read my lips." I began urging colleagues and reporters to "Read my pins." It would never have happened if not for Saddam Hussein. When U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright criticized the dictator, his poet in residence responded by calling her "an unparalleled serpent." Shortly thereafter, while preparing to meet with Iraqi officials, Albright pondered: What to wearShe decided to make a diplomatic statement by choosing a snake pin. Although her method of communication was new, her message was as old as the American Revolution Don't Tread on Me.From that day forward, pins became part of Albright's diplomatic signature. International leaders were pleased to see her with a shimmering sun on her jacket or a cheerful ladybug; less so with a crab or a menacing wasp. Albright used pins to emphasize the importance of a negotiation, signify high hopes, protest the absence of progress, and show pride in representing America, among other purposes.Part illustrated memoir, part social history, Read My Pins provides an intimate look at Albright's life through the brooches she wore. Her collection is both international and democratic dime-store pins share pride of place with designer creations and family heirlooms. Included are the antique eagle purchased to celebrate Albright's appointment as secretary of state, the zebra pin she wore when meeting Nelson Mandela, and the Valentine's Day heart forged by Albright's five-year-old daughter. Read My Pins features more than 200 photographs, along with compelling and often humorous stories about jewelry, global politics, and the life of one of America's most accomplished and fascinating diplomats.
HarperCollins e-books
HarperCollins e-books
Ferguson, Ben
¥134.46
With It's My America Too, Ben Ferguson, the voice of America's youth and the host of The Ben Ferguson Show, one of the country's fastest-growing syndicated radio shows, delivers his views on all the issues, from politics to current affairs to popular culture. Everyone wants to know what Ferguson will say next and here's your chance.Ben Ferguson is a conservative who is also an independent thinker unafraid to take contrary positions. In It's My America Too, the twenty-two-year-old media star shoots from the hip and the lip on numerous topics. Ferguson tells us why he thinks the voting age should be lowered to sixteen; who the "New Minority" is the twenty-something men and women who are overworked, underpaid, overmarketed, and drastically underrepresented; why politicians talk about and at young adults, but never to them; how he feels about everything from homeschooling to sex, NASCAR, and George W. Bush; and much more.Ferguson's message is clear. He is not on a campaign to reform liberals and turn them into right-wing Republicans. He is presenting his views on American society and challenging those who do not agree with him to an open debate. Some will not agree with his political and religious views. What he hopes to accomplish, with both his radio show and this book, is to energize future generations about politics. The way to do this is through open communication. He is encouraging his generation (and even some in previous generations) to get involved and be heard.Hip and forthright, funny yet never pedantic, Ferguson offers a fresh viewpoint and insights on topics such as "What the Republican Party can learn from Bill Clinton"; "Why anti-Americanism is our problem"; and "Dubya: my favorite redneck." He reveals a positive outlook on the economy, offers his opinions on bias in the media, and also includes chapters on Donald Rumsfeld, affirmative action, and the values instilled in him by his mother and father.Ferguson's pride in his country, in his religious beliefs, and in his choices reflects his vision of the American dream. He is informed and determined to make a difference. Youthful as he is, he has a unique perspective not only on America and its history, but also on current events and issues. You may applaud his opinions or perhaps you will disagree with them. But for those of you who are angered by this book, Ferguson instructs: "Don't just get mad. Do something about it."
Don't Try This at Home
Don't Try This at Home
Navarro, Dave
¥88.56
Step into the booth. Check your judgments at the curtain. Close your eyes. Listen: you can hear the voices of the visitors who sat here before you: some of the most twisted, drug-addled, deviant, lonely, lost, brilliant characters ever to be caught on film. What do you have to offer the booth?
Harper
Harper
Cost, Jay
¥151.53
The Democratic Party has long presented itself as the party of the poor, the working class, the little guy. As Jay Cost's sweeping revisionist history reveals, nothing could be further from the truth.Why have the Democrats gone from being the people's party of reform to the party of special-interest carve-outsIn Spoiled Rotten, political analyst Jay Cost tells the story of the modern Democratic party from the end of the Civil War to the present, tracing the sad decline of a once noble political coalition that is no longer capable of living up to its lofty ideals.When Andrew Jackson formed the Democratic party in 1828, he promised to stand up for the little guy against the rule of privileged elites. What has become of this promiseAccording to Cost, recent history has shown the Democrats to be anything but the party of and for the people. Instead, they have become a collection of special-interest groups feeding off the federal government, exchanging votes for subsidies and benefits. With the creation of a partisan spoils system in the nineteenth century, both parties practiced the politics of patronage. But, starting with the New Deal, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the power of big government to transform whole classes of society into clients of the Democratic party. Urban machines, southern segregationists, and organized labor all benefited from this approach. FDR's successors Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter followed suit, turning African Americans, environmentalists, feminists, government workers, teachers, and a number of other groups into loyal Democratic factions. As a result, the Democratic party has become a kind of national Tammany Hall whose real purpose is to colonize the federal government on behalf of its clients. No longer able to govern for the vast majority of the country, the Democratic party simply taxes Middle America to pay off its clients while hiding its true nature behind a smoke screen of idealistic rhetoric. Thus, the Obama health care, stimulus, and auto bailout health care bill were created not to help all Americans but to secure contributions and votes. Average Americans need to see that whatever the Democratic party claims it is doing for the country, it is in fact governing simply for its base. Hard-hitting and uncompromising, Spoiled Rotten is a timely, powerful polemic from a rising intellectual star.
Ultimate Warrior Workouts (Training for Warriors)
Ultimate Warrior Workouts (Training for Warriors)
Rooney, Martin
¥166.09
Are You Ready to Take The Warrior ChallengeWorld-renowned fitness coach Martin Rooney will take you where no warrior has gone before. On an epic international quest, Rooney traveled to top-fight destinations around the globe to study and train under the last living masters in the eight core disciplines of Mixed Martial Arts. More than 1,000 full-color photos reveal hundreds of the original training secrets he discovered along the way, from the slopes of Japan's Mt. Fuji and the beaches of Brazil to the streets of Russia. With nearly fifty varieties of push-ups, dozens of kettlebell exercises, and hundreds of unique training techniques, Ultimate Warrior Workouts also offers: A complete six-month workout program Cutting-edge nutrition ADVICE and a sample diet plan Warrior Challenges to assess your fitness level The history and philosophy of the arts that comprise mixed martial arts
The Fire Inside
The Fire Inside
Delsohn, Steve
¥49.05
In the tradition of Mark Baker's Cops, more than 100 top firefighters describe the highs and lows of the world's most dangerous profession.Fascinating and packed with emotion,The Fire Inside is a unique look at the unseen world of firefighters who risk their lives for strangers every day In their own words, these male and female heroes vividly describe how they cope with scorching flame, injuries, earthquakes, hazardous waste, and wildfire-and the rewards that keep them climbing back on the fire truck.
Models of Influence
Models of Influence
Barker, Nigel
¥223.92
A Collectible Anthology of the 50 Most Inf luential Models in Fashion HistoryIn Models of Influence, photographer, television host, and fashion authority Nigel Barker profiles fifty of the most noteworthy models from the 1940s to the present, revealing how their look or way of modeling not only made an indelible stamp on the industry but also influenced fashion design, the popular way of dress, and notions of female beauty worldwide.Each of the book's eight chapters focuses on a distinct period, from the postwar modeling boom, which ushered in an era of models who communicated a return to glamour, to the present day, with the emergence of media-savvy models who understand the power of branding themselves to the world at large. Each entry highlights the model's background and career, exploring her unique qualities and the secret to her staying power, whether it's her physical characteristics, daring approach to image making, transformative abilities, or a particular energy that captured or even redefined the zeitgeist of fashion and culture of the time.To complement the text, Barker has personally selected more than one hundred full-color and black-and-white photographs from the archives of the world's top fashion photographers Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, David Bailey, Francesco Scavullo, Herb Ritts, and Mario Testino among them to assemble a collectible anthology of many of the finest fashion images from the last seventy years.With an engaging, informative text and a vivid collection of seminal photographs, Models of Influence is the definitive word on the subject.With 110 full-color and black-and-white photographs
Calder Pride
Calder Pride
Dailey, Janet
¥35.01
The Long-Awaited Addition to the Beloved Calder Series from the Queen of the Western Romance!Cat is a Calder, through and through: proud, headstrong, intelligent, and beautiful. When her fiance is accidentally killed, she vows never to love again. But one reckless night with a handsome, gray-eyed stranger changes everything, giving her a son with striking gray eyes.Deciding to raise the baby on the Triple C Ranch, Cat thinks she's finally got life under control until the new sheriff, Logan Echohawk, arrives in town. He's a ruggedly handsome man with striking gray eyes...The harder Cat tries to ignore Logan the more she finds herself torn between her promise to her first love and powerful, unexpected feelings for her child's father. With the whole Calder clan standing firmly behind her, and her son's future in her hands, Cat must decide: Will she keep her heart safe or take a chance on a new, true love?
Homesick
Homesick
Ward, Sela
¥88.62
The vibrant and beloved star of Once and Again and Sisters offers a story about her journey home to recapture the magic of youth in the deep South for her children and to make peace with the death of her mother.?At a time when much of America is yearning to recapture the spirit and feelings of a more innocent era, comes the paperback edition of this exceptional book, from one of our most beloved actresses: a story of one woman's journey to reconnect with the landscape of her childhood. Though best known today as the star of the television series Once Again and Sisters, Sela Ward considers herself first and foremost a small-town girl. The eldest of four children, she was raised by a father who helped her believe in herself, and by a mother who taught her a sense of the importance of virtues like self-respect, grace, and sacrifice. In her hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, within a tightly-knit community of neighbors and kin, Sela learned ways that would remain with her throughout life humble virtues that were forged in the hearth of a loving home.Long after she had established herself as a successful model and Emmy Award winning actress, Sela started her own family, and found herself pining for the comforts of her small-town childhood. In an effort to balance her children's West Coast upbringing with a taste of a more natural way of life, she and her husband built a second home on a farm in Meridian, Mississippi so that her family could retreat there several times each year.Even as Sela was reconnecting with the rhythms of home, though, her world was rocked by a crisis the family had long anticipated but never quite prepared for the death of her mother. As her family gathered around her mama's bedside, Sela's simple journey home became something far deeper: a turning point in her own life, as she pondered her mother's complicated legacy, and came to terms with just what it was she herself was searching for.Filled with warmth, storytelling, and laughter, Homesick is a book to treasure: an exploration of the lessons we carry away with us from childhood, and a celebration of the bittersweet legacy of home.
HarperCollins e-books
HarperCollins e-books
Daniels, Susanne
¥143.73
In the mid-1990s, two major Hollywood studios, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, each launched their own broadcast television network with the hope of becoming the fifth major player in an industry long dominated by ABC, CBS, NBC, and, more recently, Fox. Despite the odds against them, the WB and UPN went on to alter the landscape of primetime television, only to then merge as the CW network in 2006 each a casualty of conflicting personalities, relentless competition, and a basic failure to anticipate the future of the entertainment business.Unfolding amid this backdrop of high-stakes business ventures, fanatical creative struggles, and corporate power plays, Season Finale traces the parallel stories of the WB and UPN from their prosperous beginnings to their precipitous demise. Following the big money, big egos, and big risks of network television, Susanne Daniels, a television executive with the WB for most of its life, and Cynthia Littleton, a longtime television reporter for Variety, expose the difficult reality of trying to launch not one but two traditional broadcast networks at the moment when cable television and the Internet were ending the dominance of network television.Through in-depth reportage and firsthand accounts, Daniels and Littleton expertly re-create the creative and business climate that gave birth to the WB and UPN, illustrating how the race to find suitable programming spawned a heated rivalry between the two but also created shows that became icons of American youth culture. Offering insider stories and never-before-published details about shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Felicity, Girlfriends, Everybody Hates Chris, and America's Next Top Model, Daniels and Littleton provide an exhaustive account of the two creative teams that ushered these groundbreaking programs into the hearts, minds, and living rooms of Americans across the country.But in spite of these successes, the WB and UPN unraveled, and here the authors elucidate the corporate miscalculations that led to their undoing, examining the management missteps and industry upheaval that brought about their rapid decline and the surprising teamwork that united them as the CW. The result is a cautionary and compelling entertainment saga that skillfully captures a precarious moment in television history, when the dramatic transformation of the broadcast networks signaled an inevitable shift for all pop culture.