I love YouTelevision writer Tracy McMillan managed to work her way into a killer Hollywood career a privileged world of pool houses, premieres, and big-time producer deals despite being the daughter of a fur-coat-wearing, El Dorado driving, smooth-talking pimp named Freddie. But success couldn't save her from the pattern of self-destructive choices stemming from her history with her father that would shape all of her romantic relationships. I Love You and I'm Leaving You Anyway is her comic, tragic, and ultimately victorious story, the riveting true tale of how having a father obsessed with women made her a woman obsessed with men.And I'm Leaving YouBlessed with beauty and brains, Tracy had no problem attracting men. Marrying her first husband (a kind, stable MBA) before she was out of her teens, she quickly discovered the romantic contradiction that so many women face: the "right" kind of men feel wrong. And the wrong ones feel so, so right. Alternating between the nice guys she knew she should want, and the unavailable men who were compelling, Tracy found herself repeating the hurt that began when the man who loved her the most, her father, left her for prison when she was just three years old. Freddie's absence meant a childhood filled with foster homes, a temperamental stepmother, and near constant upheaval. It took three marriages, the birth of a son, and, most important, resolving her relationship with her dad for Tracy to discover the truth about herself a truth that finally set her free.AnywayThis provocative, insightful, and humorous memoir isn't a "woe is me" story of what went wrong. I Love You and I'm Leaving You Anyway is a story of what's gone right one woman's journey to creating a fulfilling life and raising a son who taught her everything she needed to know about men, love, and, of course, herself. Heartwarming, funny, and unflinchingly real, it is an inspiring testament to the power of change that proves we can all grow from even our most flawed relationships.

Selected from the range of Cooper's essays and reportage in Artforum, Bookforum, Detour, Interview, LA Weekly, Spin, and the Village Voice, among other publications, Smothered in Hugs presents the best nonfiction of one of America's greatest writers. Cooper has written on grave social issues, producing touchstone pieces for a generation of readers. His obituaries for Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, and William S. Burroughs offer portraits that are both crystallizing and appropriately indefinite. His reckonings of contemporary writers are astute and unsparing. And, of course, he serves as witness to the work and play of an illustrious roster of cultural personalities and does so with an acuity and fairness missing from most pop culture criticism.

Young Americans are returning to the roots of a simpler culture Americana. It's more than mere nostalgia; it's a conscious celebration of community and sustainability. It's a movement born in response to the ever-accelerating pace of modern life and Internet technology overload. All over the country, people are returning to an appreciation for the simpler things in life, which are brilliantly surveyed in United States of Americana the first comprehensive handbook to all things Americana.Music: Renewed interest in the legends of country, blues, gospel, and folk (Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams, and Leadbelly); the rise and evolution of alt-country music and the Americana genre (Fleet Foxes, Wilco, the Decemberists, and T Bone Burnett)Fashion: Wearing American heritage clothing and footwear (Red Wing boots, Filson jackets, Carhartt overalls, and Pendleton wool shirts)Grooming: Returning to straight-razor shaving and old-fashioned barber shops D.I.Y.: Taking up handmade crafts (knitting, needlepoint, and soap making), as well as home canning (pickling and preserving) The speakeasy renaissance: Drinking Prohibition- and pre-Prohibition-era cocktails (old-fashioned, gin fizz, and sidecar) Entertainment: Seeking out burlesque, circuses, and the vinyl LP

Growing interest in reparations for African Americans has prompted a range of responses, from lawsuits against major corporations and a march in Washington to an anti-reparations ad campaign. As a result, the link between slavery and contemporary race relations is more potent and obvious than ever. Grassroots organizers, lawmakers, and distinguished academics have embraced the idea that reparations should be pursued vigorously in the courts and legislature. But others ask, Who should payAnd could reparations help heal the wounds of the past?This comprehensive collection -- the only of its kind -- gathers together the seminal essays and key participants in the debate. Pro-reparations essays, including contributions by Congressman John Conyers Jr., Christopher Hitchens, and Professor Molefi Asante, are countered with arguments by Shelby Steele, Armstrong Williams, and John McWhorter, among others. Also featured are important documents, such as the First Congressional Reparations Bill of 1867 and the Dakar Declaration of 2001, as well as a new chapter on the current status and future direction of the movement.

Magic Can Make Your Dreams Come True!What do you want to do tonight as you close your eyes and enter the magical world of dreamsWalk with the Faery FolkSummon your soul mateAsk the Goddess to grant you one special wishOr experience a prophetic dream that will reveal your futurenow you can access the magical power of your dreams with Dream Magic, a one-of-a-kind collection of night spells and rituals.Popular Wiccan author Sirona Knight guides you carefully and clearly through the exciting world of using magic to make your dreams come true. Understanding that the realm of dreams is where the day-to-day and the magical overlap, this book shows you how to tap into the potent power of the dream world. Dream Magic features: A detailed list of easy-to-find magical ingredients Fun and simple step-by-step instructions An index of helpful Goddesses and Gods With more than a hundred empowering spells, Dream Magic unlocks your dream world's boundless possibilities. With easy-to-reference chapters on magical dreaming for love, money, success, self-empowerment, health, beauty, and more, as well as an introduction to the basics of magic and how to get started, this book can be used by the beginner as well as the seasoned practitioner. Anything you can imagine is possible with Dream Magic.

Revised, and with a New Introduction by the Author "I am an agitator, and an agitator is the center post in a washing machine that gets the dirt out."--Jim Hightower Hightower is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore! He's also funny as hell, and in this book he focuses his sharp Texas wit, populist passion, and native smarts on America's political, economic, scientific, and media establishments. In There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos, Hightower shows not only what's wrong, but also how to fix it, offering specific solutions and calling for a new political movement of working families and the poor to "take America back from the bankers and bosses, the big shots and bastards." "If you don't read another book about what's wrong with this country for the rest of your life, read this one. I think it's the best and most important book about out public life I've read in years." --Molly Ivins, author of Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She"When do we get to vote for Jim Hightower for presidentWill somebody please tell meWhen do we get to vote for Jim Hightower for president?."--Michael Moore, author of Downsize This! "Listen to Jim Hightower. His is a two-fisted, rambunctious voice unafraid to speak truth to power, eloquently and clearly...He's one of the best." --Studs Terkel

Intended as a comprehensive resource for designers, creative professionals, marketers, and retailers, The Big Book of Packaging contains 384 pages of the most innovative packaging designs from around the world. With over 500 featured designs and profiles of twelve of the world's leading designers, the book is a must-have resource for anyone interested in the future of packaging and design. In light of the recent lift in environmental consciousness, this volume of the Big Book Series will devote one third of its content to the increasingly important subject of green packaging-showing designers and retailers how to package their products creatively, responsibly, and at low cost, factors that will be reflected in the books own packaging/binding as well.The Big Book of Packaging will appeal to designers, students, marketers, retailers, and aesthetes alike, providing a thorough look at what goes into building an effective package and how to think "outside the box."

A collection of eighty all new poems, Acolytes is distinctly Nikki Giovanni, but different. Not softened, but more inspired by love, celebration, memories and even nostalgia. She aims her intimate and sparing words at family and friends, the deaths of heroes and friends, favorite meals and candy, nature, libraries, and theatre. But in between, the deep and edgy conscience that has defined her for decades shines through when she writes about Rosa Parks, hurricane Katrina, and Emmett Till's disappearance, leaving no doubt that Nikki has not traded one approach for another, but simply made room for both.

On the morning of April 2, 1865, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, received a telegram from General Robert E. Lee. There is no more time the Yankees are coming, it warned. Shortly before midnight, Davis boarded a train from Richmond and fled the capital, setting off an intense and thrilling chase in which Union cavalry hunted the Confederate president. Two weeks later, President Lincoln was assassinated, and the nation was convinced that Davis was involved in the conspiracy that led to the crime. Lincoln's murder, autopsy, and White House funeral transfixed the nation. His final journey began when soldiers placed his corpse aboard a special train that would carry him home on the 1,600-mile trip to Springfield. Along the way, more than a million Americans looked upon their martyr's face, and several million watched the funeral train roll by. It was the largest and most magnificent funeral pageant in American history.To the Union, Davis was no longer merely a traitor. He became a murderer, a wanted man with a $100,000 bounty on his head. Davis was hunted down and placed in captivity, the beginning of an intense and dramatic odyssey that would transform him into a martyr of the South's Lost Cause. The saga that began with Manhunt continues with the suspenseful and electrifying Bloody Crimes. James Swanson masterfully weaves together the stories of two fallen leaders as they made their last expeditions through the bloody landscape of a wounded nation.

From Roger Rosenblatt, author of the acclaimed memoirs Making Toast, Kayak Morning, and The Boy Detective, comes another lyrical meditation on and celebration of a universal and elusive subjectIn The Book of Love, Roger Rosenblatt looks at love in all its themes and variations romantic love, courtship, marriage, battle, heartbreak, fury, confusion, melancholy, beauty, delirium, ecstasy; love of lovers, family, friends, of country, of work, writing, solitude, of art; love of nature; love of life itself. Using lines from love songs to create a kind of verbal jazz riff, as infectious as it is engaging, Rosenblatt intersperses thoughts about love with fictional vignettes that capture a variety of lovers in different situations with notes addressed to "you," his wife of fifty years. "The story I have to tell is of you. Of others, too. Other people, other things. But mainly of you. It begins and ends with you. It always comes back to you." Pieces follow upon one another in a continuous progression, as if composing one long song that flows through the entire mystery and magic of what it means to love and be in love. What is this thing called loveLively yet profound, poignant yet joyous, The Book of Love is a triumph of intellect and imagination.

From Pulitzer Prize winner and former poet laureate charles simic comes a dazzling collection of poems as original, meditative, and humorous as the poet himselfThis latest volume of poetry from Charles Simic, one of America's most celebrated poets, demonstrates his revered signature style a mix of wry melancholy and sardonic wit. These seventy luminous poems range in subject from mortality to personal ads, from the simple wonders of nature to his childhood in war-torn Yugoslavia.For more than fifty years, Simic has delighted readers with his innovative form, quiet humor, and his rare ability to limn our interior life and concisely capture the depth of human emotion. These stunning, succinct poems validate and reinforce Simic's importance and relevance in modern poetry.

Alana Stewart and Farrah Fawcett went through it all together. Friends for thirty years, they were an essential part of each other's lives since first meeting at a dinner party in the 1970s. During that time, they supported each other through the trials of Hollywood life while also raising their families, keeping in close contact. But in the fall of 2006, a test of their friendship arose unlike any other they'd faced: Farrah was diagnosed with aggressive rectal cancer. She was determined to fight, and Alana was determined to help her. Together, they were relentless in their pursuit of a cure, traveling halfway around the world as they sought every mainstream, alternative, and experimental therapy available. In all, they spent the better part of the next three years together - Alana by her friend's side as they struggled hand in hand with the unknown. Now, in these intimate and personal diaries, Alana shares her thoughts on the events of the last three years, documenting the journey she and Farrah embarked on as they prayed for a miracle. Reflecting back on the three decades they shared, Alana details what she's learned about her friend and herself as they battled through the trials of this illness. From the importance of selflessness, to the undeniable value of faith, to the remarkable resilience of the human spirit, Alana's day-to-day entries reveal a side of these two friends that the world has never seen. Even in the face of this debilitating disease, Farrah's courage and determination continues to teach us about life . . . and love. Writing candidly about aging, marriage, motherhood, and faith--all topics she and Farrah dealt with together over the years - Alana provides a moving tribute to a woman, once Hollywood's golden girl, and an inspiring celebration of life. My Journey with Farrah is the story of two courageous women who stood by each other through good times, bad times, and now the most trying of times. It is a book that will make people laugh, cry, and rejoice in the power of friendship.

"By the time you finish this book, there will be nothing holding you back." from the Introduction Most people have a vision for their lives that they're not pursuing, half-heartedly pursuing, or pursuing with all their might yet somehow falling short. This vision can be modest or grand. It may involve breaking free of a destructive habit or finding a truly healthy relationship. It might have to do with making a real difference in the world or helping to lead a company to extraordinary success. In The One Thing Holding You Back, Raphael Cushnir, a leading voice in the world of personal and professional development, reveals that whenever people aren't living their dreams it's because they're not yet willing and able to feel specific emotions related to those dreams. Once we access and understand these emotions, our dreams can and will come true.Cushnir asserts that mere emotional awareness, commonly referred to as emotional intelligence, is not enough. For maximum benefit we must directly and consistently connect with our emotions. In particular, we need to connect with the emotions we routinely avoid, resist, or attempt to dismiss. It's these emotions that possess the key to our greatest goals. And learning to connect with them is another rarely taught but essential skill.The One Thing Holding You Back provides real solutions that can be implemented immediately and without external support and includes true stories of people who have put Cushnir's process to work and transformed their lives. Delivering a step-by-step program in accessible language, this landmark book will turn the obstacles in front of us into tremendous opportunities for achieving the life we always wanted.

You are a good person. You are one of the 84 million Americans who volunteer with a charity. You are part of a national donor pool that contributes nearly $200 billion to good causes every year. But you wonder: Why don't your efforts seem to make a differenceFifteen years ago, Robert Egger asked himself this same question as he reluctantly climbed aboard a food service truck for a night of volunteering to help serve meals to the homeless. He wondered why there were still people waiting in line for soup in this day and age. Where were the drug counselors, the job trainers, and the support team to help these men and women get off the streetsWhy were volunteers buying supplies from grocery stores when restaurants were throwing away unused fresh food every nightWhy had politicians, citizens, and local businesses allowed charity to become an end in itselfWhy wasn't there an efficient way to solve the problemRobert knew there had to be a better way. In 1989, he started the D.C. Central Kitchen by collecting unused food from local restaurants, caterers, and hotels and bringing it back to a central location where hot, nutritious meals were prepared and distributed to agencies around the city. Since then, the D.C. Central Kitchen has been named one of President Bush Sr.'s Thousand Points of Light and has become one of the most respected and emulated nonprofit agencies in the world, producing and distributing more than 4,000 meals a day. Its highly successful 12-week job-training program equips former homeless transients and drug addicts with culinary and life skills to gain employment in the restaurant business. In Begging for Change, Robert Egger looks back on his experience and exposes the startling lack of logic, waste, and ineffectiveness he has encountered during his years in the nonprofit sector, and calls for reform of this $800 billion industry from the inside out. In his entertaining and inimitable way, he weaves stories from his days in music, when he encountered legends such as Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, and Iggy Pop, together with stories from his experiences in the hunger movement -- and recently as volunteer interim director to help clean up the beleaguered United Way National Capital Area. He asks for nonprofits to be more innovative and results-driven, for corporate and nonprofit leaders to be more focused and responsible, and for citizens who contribute their time and money to be smarter and more demanding of nonprofits and what they provide in return. Robert's appeal to common sense will resonate with readers who are tired of hearing the same nonprofit fund-raising appeals and pity-based messages. Instead of asking the "who" and "what" of giving, he leads the way in asking the "how" and "why" in order to move beyond our 19th-century concept of charity, and usher in a 21st-century model of change and reform for nonprofits. Enlightening and provocative, engaging and moving, this book is essential reading for nonprofit managers, corporate leaders, and, most of all, any citizen who has ever cared enough to give of themselves to a worthy cause.

Thanks to its exquisite pictorial material, this book familiarizes the reader with the logic and golden rules of art. It enables an understanding, on the one hand, of the keys to appreciating the works of the great masters, and on the other, of how to apply these rules to the practice of one's own creative activities.The work begins with a number of basic explanations on how to represent and interrelate the different parts of the human body. The introduction is followed by chapters on the various possibilities for representing male and female nudes, and mythological and biblical figures, dressed and contextualized. Finally it looks at quadruped animals and birds.

Set in a world of luxury and power, this is the story of two remarkable women and a friendship that changed both their lives forever.For more than two decades, Mariana Pasternak and Martha Stewart were nearly inseparable. They first met over a garden gate in Westport, Connecticut, two suburban wives wedded to successful men but with grand aspirations of their own. Their bond only deepened after their marriages ended in divorce. Struggling as a single mother, but drawn into a seductive world of privilege and adventure, Pasternak watched with admiration as her friend built an empire that would make her one of the richest women in America.A European migr with sophisticated tastes, Pasternak helped to smooth Stewart's rough edges, while Stewart drew Pasternak into a rarefied world, where together they navigated the sometimes hilarious and often difficult challenges of being single. The depth of their friendship not only benefited them both but also influenced how they defined themselves, through good times and bad. Friendship between women is never simple and this one was no exception.With Stewart's newfound success and Pasternak's zest for adventure, the two women's friendship was based on their mutual quest for wonder and discovery. They rode horses through the desert dunes of Egypt, hiked the winding Inca Trail to the mysterious Machu Picchu, paddled at night in dugout canoes through the Amazonian jungle. They toasted the good life with thin-stemmed champagne glasses and sipped jade dew" green tea in Martha's Turkey Hill kitchen. This was no ordinary life.As time passed, money, men, and the arrogance of wealth frayed the bonds they had built so carefully over more than twenty years. The final break came when Pasternak was called as a witness in the high-profile trial that brought about Stewart's conviction and prison sentence. Pasternak's deeply personal memoir tells the story of their friendship with honesty and candor, reflecting on the power of such intense relationships to change our lives, and the devastating aftermath when those relationships end.

From Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long the man who coaches all-stars like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano comes this indispensable guide to hitting, full of practical advice, behind-the-scenes baseball action, and an enduring, inspiring love for America's national pastimeThe legendary Ted Williams often said that "hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in sport." If hitting a baseball is that hard to do, imagine trying to teach how to hit. Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long does just that every day to some of the best players in the game.In Cage Rat, Long draws on more than twenty years of experience playing and coaching professional baseball to demonstrate to readers the techniques, practices, and habits of great hitting. From bat angle to grip, and from plate coverage to athletic stance and hitting drills, Long takes us into the Yankees' batting cage, where he shows us how major-league players hone their hitting and refine their skills. Not just a practical guide to hitting, Cage Rat is also a dynamic, engaging, and moving portrait of a man realizing his goals. From his early days in the minor leagues to his major league dreams of playing with the Kansas City Royals, from the dramatic decision to turn to coaching to the fateful call from the New York Yankees, Kevin Long's story is a quintessentially American narrative that celebrates hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude.Chock-full of practical advice, behind-the-scenes action, instructional photographs, and inspirational stories, Cage Rat is a must-read for aspiring players, Yankees fans, and anyone who loves baseball.

In 1859, at age fourteen, Florence Szász stood before a room full of men and waited to be auctioned to the highest bidder. But slavery and submission were not to be her destiny: Sam Baker, a wealthy English gentleman and eminent adventurer, was moved by compassion and an immediate, overpowering empathy for the young woman, and braved extraordinary perils to help her escape. Together, Florence and Sam -- whose love would remain passionate and constant throughout their lives -- forged into literally uncharted territory in a glorious attempt to unravel a mysterious and magnificent enigma called Africa.A stunning achievement, To the Heart of the Nile is an unforgettable portrait of an unforgettable woman: a story of discovery, bravery, determination, and love, meticulously reconstructed through journals, documents, and private papers, and told in the inimitable narrative style that has already won Pat Shipman resounding international acclaim.

Imagine a world without late planes, missed connections, lost luggage, bumped passengers, cramped seating, high fees and higher fares, surly employees, and security lines. . . . Ordinary travel is an extraordinary ordeal. Yet despite the high prices and huge hassles, travel is essential along with the need for tips, tricks, and techniques to improve the journey. The Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel is an entertaining road trip and a helpful guide, drawn from Scott McCartney's popular Middle Seat column, which explains why bad things happen to good travelers and what you can do to improve your lot. Expert advice and tips include: How to get cheap fares, first-class upgrades, and better seats. How to minimize chances of lost luggage and what to do when baggage doesn't show up. How to avoid delays, get around TSA bottlenecks, and minimize the chances you'll get stuck at some distant airport and what to do if you do get stuck. How to complain to an airline and get some attention, right down to what to ask for in compensation and how to get the government's attention.

Drawing on hundreds of specialist sources, contemporary and archival, Patriot Battles is the comprehensive one-volume study of the military aspects of the War of Independence. The first part of the book offers a richly detailed examination of the nuts and bolts of eighteenth-century combat: For example, who fought and what motivated them, whether patriot or redcoat, Hessian or FrenchmanHow were they enlisted and trainedHow were they clothed and fedWhat weapons did they use, and how effective were theyWhen soldiers became casualties or fell ill, how did medical services deal with themWhat roles did loyalists, women, blacks, and Indians play?The second part of the book gives a closer look at the war's greatest battles, with maps provided for each. Which men were involved, and how manyWhat was the state of their morale and equipmentWhat parts did terrain and weather playWhat were the qualities of the respective commanders, and what tactics did they employHow many casualties were inflictedAnd no less important, how did the soldiers fightThroughout, many cherished myths are challenged, reputations are reassessed, and long-held assumptions are tested. For all readers, Patriot Battles becomes not only one of the most satisfying and illuminating works to be added to the literature on the War of Independence in many years but also a refreshing wind blowing through some of its dustier corridors.

Throughout his life, Thomas Jefferson constructed a seemingly impenetrable wall between his public legacy and his private life, a division maintained by his family and the several traditional biographies written about this founding father. Now Virginia Scharff breaks down the barrier between Jefferson's public and private histories to offer an intriguing new portrait of this complicated and influential figure, as seen through the lives of a remarkable group of women.Scharff brings together for the first time in one volume the stories of these diverse women, separated by race but related by blood, including Jefferson's mother, Jane Randolph; his wife, Martha; her half sister, Sally Hemings, his slave mistress; his daughters; and his granddaughters. "Their lives, their Revolutions, their vulnerabilities, shaped the choices Jefferson made, from the selection of words and ideas in his Declaration, to the endless building of his mountaintop mansion, to the vision of a great agrarian nation that powered his Louisiana Purchase," Scharff writes. Based on a wealth of sources, including family letters, and written with empathy and great insight, The Women Jefferson Loved is a welcome new look at this legendary American and one that offers a fresh twist on American history itself.