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I'm Hosting as Fast as I Can!
I'm Hosting as Fast as I Can!
Bergeron, Tom
¥84.16
He's one of the most ubiquitous men on television. Certainly the most calm, cool, and collected the king of "off the cuff." And no one throws to a commercial better. Yes, Tom Bergeron is a Hollywood staple, and the role for which he is best known is . . . well . . . himself. But while he's a comforting presence to millions of people, cultivating this seemingly unshakeable positive outlook and cool persona took as much motivation, inspiration, perseverance, and experience as it would take one to prepare a classic part for the stage. I'm Hosting as Fast as I Can! is the trying, often laugh-out-loud journey it took to get to himself.Tom got into the world of entertainment by way of local radio at age seventeen, hosting what his first boss told him was and should be a "no-personality station." He said, "Tommy, just play the records and read the commercials." But the sit-down-and-shut-up attitude belied Tom's natural inclination to inject personality and a little pluck into his broadcasts. So, Tom sought other performance opportunities on radio, in improvisational theater, and even as a mime (yes, a mime), which would help him hone the expressiveness that seems to come so naturally to his presentation. His determination would result in a high-profile hosting gig on the iconic game show Hollywood Squares and guest-hosting appearances on ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's Early Show. But as is sometimes the case with enthusiastic dynamos like Tom, he had an explosive temper that he admits had the potential to derail his dreams of being not only a successful broadcaster but also a successful husband, father, and friend. How to cope"I meditated my temper into submission," says Tom with his trademark sense of humor. In I'm Hosting as Fast as I Can!, Tom elaborates on the process by which he is able to sit calmly and patiently, without being distracted, at any time, no matter how hectic, as well as respond quickly (and hilariously) when Marie Osmond faints at his feet on live TV. Haven't seen itCheck it out on YouTube. The man is always in control.
Scout, Atticus, and Boo
Scout, Atticus, and Boo
Murphy, Mary McDonagh
¥84.16
To Kill a Mockingbird may well be our national novel. It is the first adult novel that many of us remember reading, one book that millions of us have in common. It sells nearly a million copies a year, more than any other twentieth-century American classic. Harper Lee's first and only novel, published in July 1960, is a beloved classic and touchstone in American literary and social history. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mary McDonagh Murphy reviews its history and examines how the novel has left its mark on a broad range of novelists, historians, journalists, and artists. In compelling interviews, Anna Quindlen, Tom Brokaw, Oprah Winfrey, James Patterson, James McBride, Scott Turow, Wally Lamb, Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Adriana Trigiani, Rick Bragg, Jon Meacham, Allan Gurganus, Diane McWhorter, Lee Smith, Rosanne Cash, and others reflect on when they first read the novel, what it means to them then and now and how it has affected their lives and careers. Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a lively appreciation of the many ways in which the novel has made and continues to make a difference to generations of readers.Harper Lee has not given an interview since 1964, but Murphy's reporting, research, and rare interviews with the author's sister and friends stitch together a brief history of how the novel, as well as the acclaimed 1962 movie, came to be.
Seeds
Seeds
Horan, Richard
¥84.16
From the wooded road made of golden hemlock running past L. Frank Baum's childhood home to the lonely stump of Scout's oak in Harper Lee's Alabama, author Richard Horan gathers tree seeds and stories from the homes of America's most treasured authors. At once a heartfelt paean to literature and a wise, funny, and uplifting account of one man's reconnection with nature, Seeds celebrates Horan's triumphs and calamities on his quest to link trees with great writers a delightfully original meditation on the nature of inspiration and a one-of-a-kind adventure into literature. Includes an excerpt from Richard Horan's new book Harvest.
The Physics of Baseball
The Physics of Baseball
Adair, Robert K.
¥84.16
Blending scientific fact and sports trivia, Robert Adair examines what a baseball or player in motion does-and why. How fast can a batted ball goWhat effect do stitch patterns have on wind resistanceHow far does a curve ball breakWho reaches first base faster after a bunt, a right- or left-handed batterThe answers are often surprising and always illuminating.This newly revised third edition considers recent developments in the science of sport such as the neurophysiology of batting, bat vibration, and the character of the sweet spot. Faster pitchers, longer hitters, and enclosed stadiums also get a good, hard scientific look to determine their effects on the game.Filled with anecdotes about famous players and incidents, The Physics of Baseball provides fans with fascinating insights into America's favorite pastime.
George Washington
George Washington
Johnson, Paul
¥84.16
By far the most important figure in the history of the United States, George Washington liberated the thirteen colonies from the superior forces of the British Empire against all military odds, and presided over the production and ratification of a constitution that (suitably amended) has lasted for more than two hundred years. Yet today Washington remains a distant figure to many Americans a failing that acclaimed author Paul Johnson sets out to rectify with this brilliantly vivid, sharply etched portrait of the great hero as a young warrior, masterly commander in chief, patient lawmaker, and exceptionally wise president.
Beyond Star Trek
Beyond Star Trek
Krauss, Lawrence M.
¥84.16
In the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek, the renowned theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss took readers on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the Star Trek universe to see how it stacked up against the real universe. Now, responding to requests for more as well as to a number of recent exciting discoveries in physics and astronomy, Krauss takes a provocative look at how the laws of physics relate to notions from our popular culture -- not only Star Trek, but other films, shows, and popular lore -- from Independence Day to Star Wars to The X-Files. What's the difference between a flying saucer and a flying pretzelWhy didn't the aliens in Independence Day have to bother invading Earth to destroy itWhat's new with warp drivesWhat's the most likely scenario for doomsdayAre ESP and telekinesis impossibleWhat do clairvoyance and time travel have in commonHow might quantum mechanics ultimately affect the fate of life in the universe?
Sally's Hair
Sally's Hair
Koethe, John
¥84.16
Let me stay there for a while, while evening Gathers in the sky and daylight lingers on the hills. There's something in the air, something I can't quite see, Hiding behind this stock of images, this language Culled from all the poems I've ever loved. John Koethe's remarkable gift to readers is an elegiac poetry that explores the transitory nature of ordinary human experience. The beautiful poems in this new collection celebrate the creative power of human beings, the only weapon we possess against time's relentless "slow approach to anonymity and death." Of all Koethe's books, SALLY'S HAIR is probably his most human and various. He is well known for his meditative lyrics and this volume begins with a brilliant series of such poems, among them "Eros and the Everyday." This is followed by "The Unlasting," a long poem devoted to time and experience, and a third section comprised of more public poems, some of them political, such as "The Maquiladoras" and "Poetry and the War." This perceptive, luminescent collection concludes with a group of vivid and conversational poems, recollections, including the gems "Proust" and "HAMLET."
Secret Heroes
Secret Heroes
Martin, Paul
¥84.16
Not all American heroes appear in the standard history texts. Their achievements aren't celebrated like the monumental exploits of presidents, generals, and founding fathers. But for as long as this great nation has existed, ordinary citizens have done extraordinary things. In Secret Heroes, author Paul Martin spotlights thirty overlooked Americans, all of whom had an impact on their world and ours, including:Hercules Mulligan, the New York tailor and spy who saved George Washington's life . . . twice!Jimmie Angel, the gold-seeking bush pilot who, in 1933, discovered the world's highest waterfall in Venezuela.Carl Akeley, a pioneering taxidermist who killed a leopard with his bare hands and inspired Africa's first national park.Eliza Scidmore, who convinced the government to plant cherry trees in Washington, D.C. . . . after twenty-four years of lobbying!
Undefeated
Undefeated
Freeman, Mike
¥84.16
Each year, every football team sets out to play a perfect season. Only one has ever succeeded talk about beating the odds.The Miami Dolphins of the late 1960s were a laughingstock, an expansion team, and a franchise where careers went to die. Then came Coach Don Shula. In just a few short years through hard work, long practices, and his no-nonsense attitude toward the game Shula transformed the team into a championship franchise. The Dolphins were by and large unseasoned players or rejects from other teams. Even so, they made it to Super Bowl VI. They suffered a humiliating loss to the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the first team in Super Bowl history not to score a single touchdown. But Shula closed the 1971 season by telling his players to remember this loss and make sure nothing like it ever happened again. And they listened.The Miami team came back for the 1972 season determined to be winners this time, not losers. Through his tough-as-nails coaching, grueling preseason training, and inspiring message of redemption, Shula took the Dolphins, one game at a time, to their legendary Super Bowl victory. Led by such greats as Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Little, Mercury Morris, and Jake Scott as well as players discarded from other franchises who were transformed into key contributors once they were indoctrinated into Shula's system the team was undefeated 17-0 in the regular season and went on to win Super Bowl VII, in one of the greatest stories of toughness, perseverance, and skill the National Football League has ever seen. Along the way, the Dolphins became the team of the 1970s, with Miami as a fascinating backdrop. The city emerged as an anti–Fidel Castro hub and morphed into the city made notorious on the television show Miami Vice. The cocaine began to flow as the Dolphins rose to prominence, and the team struggled with its own drug issues. Yet the Dolphins established themselves as one of the city's most trusted entities. While the city faced racially charged riots, Shula purposely built an integrated locker room in an NFL and a city that were still extremely hostile to blacks.Based on years of research and interviews, Undefeated, by award-winning journalist and author Mike Freeman, examines what is perhaps the single greatest accomplishment in team sports history: the unforgettable NFL season in which the Dolphins didn't lose a single game. There has never been a football team like those Miami Dolphins, and there may never be again.
Deadliest Sea
Deadliest Sea
Thompson, Kalee
¥84.16
Soon after 2:00 A.M. on Easter morning, March 23, 2008, the fishing trawler Alaska Ranger began taking on water in the middle of the frigid Bering Sea. While the first mate broadcast Mayday calls to a remote Coast Guard station more than eight hundred miles away, the men on the ship's icy deck scrambled to inflate life rafts and activate the beacon lights, which would guide rescuers to them in the water. By 4:30 A.M. , the wheelhouse of the Ranger was just barely visible above the sea's surface, and most of the forty-seven crew members were in the water, wearing the red survival suits a number of them torn or inadequately sized that were supposed to keep them from freezing to death. Every minute in the twenty-foot swells was a fight for survival. Many knew that if they weren't rescued soon, they would drown or freeze to death.Two Coast Guard helicopter rescue teams were woken up in the middle of the night to save the crew of the Alaska Ranger. Many of the men thought the mission would be routine. They were wrong. The helicopter teams battled snow squalls, enormous swells, and gale-force winds as they tried to fulfill one guiding principle: save as many as they could. Again and again, the helicopters lowered a rescue swimmer to the ocean's surface to bring the shipwrecked men, some delirious with hypothermia, some almost frozen to death, back to the helicopter and to safety. Before the break of dawn, the Coast Guard had lifted more than twenty men from the freezing waves more than any other cold-water Coast Guard rescue in history.Deadliest Sea is a daring and mesmerizing adventure tale that chronicles the power of nature against man, and explores the essence of the fear each man and woman must face when confronted with catastrophe. It also investigates the shocking negligence that leads to the sinking of dozens of ships each year, which could be prevented and makes commercial fishing one of the most dangerous occupations in the world.With deft writing and technical knowledge, veteran journalist Kalee Thompson recounts the harrowing stories of both the rescuers and the rescued who survived the deadly ordeal in the Bering Sea. Along the way, she pays tribute to the courage, tenacity, and skill of dedicated service people who risk their own lives for the lives of others.
Flatscreen
Flatscreen
Wilson, Adam
¥84.16
Flatscreen tells the story of Eli Schwartz as he endures the loss of his home, the indifference of his parents, the success of his older brother, and the cruel and frequent dismissal of the opposite sex. He is a loser par excellence—pasty, soft, and high—who struggles to become a new person in a world where nothing is new.Into this scene of apathy rolls Seymour J. Kahn. Former star of the small screen and current paraplegic sex addict, Kahn has purchased Eli’s old family home. The two begin a dangerous friendship, one that distracts from their circumstances but speeds their descent into utter debasement and, inevitably, YouTube stardom.By story’s end, through unlikely acts of courage and kindness, roles will be reversed, reputations resurrected, and charges (hopefully) dropped. Adam Wilson writes mischief that moves the heart, and Flatscreen marks the wondrous debut of a truth-telling comic voice.
Quarantine
Quarantine
Mehta, Rahul
¥84.16
With buoyant humor and incisive, cunning prose, Rahul Mehta sets off into uncharted literary territory. The characters in Quarantine—openly gay Indian-American men—are Westernized in some ways, with cosmopolitan views on friendship and sex, while struggling to maintain relationships with their families and cultural traditions. Grappling with the issues that concern all gay men—social acceptance, the right to pursue happiness, and the heavy toll of listening to their hearts and bodies—they confront an elder generation's attachment to old-country ways. Estranged from their cultural in-group and still set apart from larger society, the young men in these lyrical, provocative, emotionally wrenching, yet frequently funny stories find themselves quarantined. Already a runaway success in India, Quarantine marks the debut of a unique literary talent.
The Queen of Patpong
The Queen of Patpong
Hallinan, Timothy
¥84.16
For American travel writer Poke Rafferty, life finally seems to hold some semblance of stability. He and his longtime love, Rose, have gone through with their much-deferred marriage ceremony, their adopted daughter, Miaow, a former street child, has become a loving—if sometimes difficult—part of the family, and the three of them live in relative comfort thanks to Rose's housekeeping business and Rafferty's writing. Then a nightmare figure from Rose's time as a Patpong dancer barges into their world, shattering the peace they've worked so hard to obtain. His appearance threatens everything they cherish: their love, their home . . . their very lives. As a foreigner who's seen some of the worst Bangkok has to offer and survived confrontations with Thailand's most powerful and dangerous elements, Rafferty feels equal to most of the challenges Bangkok can throw at him. But now his only hope is to discover the whole truth of Rose's past—a journey down the dark and twisting road that turned a shy, awkward village teenager into the queen of Asia's most lurid red-light street: Patpong Road. And just when Rafferty thought life was looking good, reality comes crashing in as he learns that the secrets from Rose's former life are almost impossible to accept—and even harder to survive.The Queen of Patpong is a terrifying, heart-breaking, electrifying story of peril, love, and, ultimately, redemption in modern-day Thailand—and the most ambitious, affecting novel yet from thriller master Timothy Hallinan.
Safe Within
Safe Within
Page, Jean Reynolds
¥84.16
A novel of how family happens—whether you like it or notElaine and Carson Forsyth have returned to the tree house—Elaine's childhood home, a cabin nestled high in the branches of two oaks beside a North Carolina lake—where forty-nine-year-old Carson has chosen to spend the waning days of his life. As Elaine prepares for a future without her beloved husband, their solace is interrupted. Carson's mother, Greta, has set loose a neighbor's herd of alpacas and landed herself in police custody. While Carson, remarkably, sees humor in the situation, Elaine can only question what her obligations are—and will be—to a woman who hasn't spoken to her in more than twenty years.In the wake of Carson's death, Elaine and their grown son, Mick, are thrust into the maelstrom of Greta, the mother-in-law and grandmother who never accepted either of them. Just as they are trying to figure out their new roles in the family, Mick uncovers unexpected questions of his own. A long-ago teenage relationship with a local girl may have left him with more than just memories, and he must get to the bottom of Greta's surprising accusations that he's not Carson's son at all.
Practical Jean
Practical Jean
Cole, Trevor
¥84.16
Jean Vale Horemarsh is content, for the most part, with the small-town life she’s built: a semi-successful career as a ceramics artist, a close collection of women friends (aside from that terrible falling-out with Cheryl years ago), a comfortable marriage with a kind if unextraordinary man. But it is only in watching her mother go through the final devastating stages of cancer that Jean realizes her true calling. No one should have to suffer the indignities of aging and illness like her mother did—and she, Jean Horemarsh, will take it upon herself to give each of her friends one final, perfect moment . . . and then, one by one, kill them.Of course, female friendships are quite complicated things, and Jean is soon to discover that her plan isn’t as simple as she initially believed it to be.
Winter in June
Winter in June
Haines, Kathryn Miller
¥84.16
New York, 1943: Aspiring actress Rosie Winter has been marooned in New York throughout the war. Now, faced with the news that her ex-boyfriend Jack might not be coming home again, she's desperate to leave the home front and head for the war front. So when Rosie and her best pal Jayne get an offer to go to the South Pacific to perform with USO Camp Shows, they jump at the chance.But being a greasepaint soldier isn't as easy as they had hoped. Not only are the cast members surly, the schedules inhumane, and the housing conditions primitive but they also have to travel with a major—and majorly difficult—Hollywood star. But none of that is as bad as living in a war zone, and when tragedy strikes, Rosie and Jayne are left wondering if they are being targeted by the enemy or if something far more sinister is afoot.
His Other Lover
His Other Lover
Dawson, Lucy
¥84.16
To Mia, the devastating proof is right there on her boyfriend's cell phone. In the dead of night she discovers Pete—her lover, her soul mate, her future—is having an affair. Instead of waking him with accusations, Mia begins to look for answers. What woman wouldn't want to know everything, after allBut her desperate search only begins a frightening series of lies and deceptions. Everything important to Mia may be on the line, but she's also about to cross it. Desperation, obsession, and heartache can only lead to catastrophe, and if the cold, hard truth is not what Mia imagines, pursuing it could be the worst mistake she has ever made. Just how far is too far?
The Female of the Species
The Female of the Species
Shriver, Lionel
¥84.16
Still unattached and childless at fifty-nine, world-renowned anthropologist Gray Kaiser is seemingly invincible—and untouchable. Returning to make a documentary at the site of her first great triumph in Kenya, she is accompanied by her faithful middle-aged assistant, Errol McEchern, who has loved her for years in silence. When sexy young graduate assistant Raphael Sarasola arrives on the scene, Gray is captivated and falls hopelessly in love—before an amazed and injured Errol's eyes. As he follows the progress of their affair with jealous fascination, Errol watches helplessly from the sidelines as a proud and fierce woman is reduced to miserable dependence through subtle, cruel, and calculating manipulation.
The Grave of God's Daughter
The Grave of God's Daughter
Block, Brett Ellen
¥84.16
A woman is faced with the past she's tried to put behind her only to find that what transpired in her childhood has never been further away than her own shadow.The year is 1941. Rooted in the lonely outreaches of the Allegheny Mountains lies the town of Hyde Bend. Its heart: a steel mill; its bones: the tight community of Polish immigrants who inhabit it; and its blood: their fierce Catholic faith. But buried in the town's soul is a dangerous secret surrounding the death of a revered priest.Upon returning to Hyde Bend, a young woman accidentally uncovers the truth behind this crime, which leads to a second murder. The town quickly erupts in fear and finger pointing. The girl is forced to unravel the now-intertwined mysteries and discovers her own family at the center. Now she must confront all she holds sacred if she is to save her family and herself in this story of lost innocence, transgression, faith, and forgiveness.
Swimming in the Moon
Swimming in the Moon
Schoenewaldt, Pamela
¥84.16
A new historical novel from Pamela Schoenewaldt, the USA Today bestselling author of When We Were Strangers.Italy, 1905. Fourteen-year-old Lucia and her young mother, Teresa, are servants in a magnificent villa on the Bay of Naples, where Teresa soothes their unhappy mistress with song. But volatile tempers force them to flee, exchanging their warm, gilded cage for the cold winds off Lake Erie and Cleveland's restless immigrant quarters.With a voice as soaring and varied as her moods, Teresa transforms herself into the Naples Nightingale on the vaudeville circuit. Clever and hardworking, Lucia blossoms in school until her mother's demons return, fracturing Lucia's dreams.Yet Lucia is not alone in her struggle for a better life. All around her, friends and neighbors, new Americans, are demanding decent wages and working conditions. Lucia joins their battle, confronting risks and opportunities that will transform her and her world in ways she never imagined.
The Skull and the Nightingale
The Skull and the Nightingale
Irwin, Michael
¥84.16
A man eager to make his fortune . . . A godfather who initiates a dangerous psychological game . . . An extraordinary proposition, one of discovery, pleasure–and pain. When Richard Fenwick, a young man without family or means, returns to London from a Grand Tour of Europe in 1761, his godfather, James Gilbert, has an unexpected proposition. Gilbert has led a sedate life in the country, but now, in his advancing years, he feels the urge to experience, if vicariously, the extremes of human feeling—love and passion, in particular—along with something much more sinister. He asks Richard to serve as his proxy and to write to him of his city adventures, and his ward believes he has no option but to accept.It quickly becomes clear that Gilbert desires correspondence of a titillating nature—tales of carousal, seduction, and excess—and so Richard begins to write of London's more salacious side. For here is an invitation to hedonism and Richard, eager to taste all that a privileged life has to offer, rises to the challenge.But Gilbert's elaborate and manipulative "experiments" into the most intimate workings of human behavior soon drag Richard into a vortex of betrayal, where lives may be ruined and tragedy is only a step away. And when Richard does the unthinkable and falls in love, the stakes are raised and he must make a defining choice. But what sort of man has he by now become?A chilling and deliciously dark tale of manipulation, sex, and seduction, The Skull and the Nightingale combines the intoxication of Perfume, the sensuality of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and the exquisite detail of The Crimson Petal and the White. This entrancing novel seduces the senses, bringing vividly to life the heady swirl of eighteenth-century London while exploring the darkest passions and instincts that animate us all.