It's time to take back our country.Now. It's that simple. It's that urgent.So begins Dick Morris and Eileen McGann's latest and most important book. They say that we must act before President Barack Obama fully implements his radical political agenda. Because after Obama has won his war on prosperity and canceled the war on terror, it will be too late to regain our liberty or our security.At a time when we needed a pragmatic centrist to lead us out of recession, we got a doctrinaire socialist who wants to use the crisis to put the government in charge of the economy and enact European socialism here in the United States. Cars, banks what's nextHe will keep at it until Washington governs every major business in America and sets all our salaries.It's a catastrophe.Dick Morris and Eileen McGann saw the meltdown coming. In their book Outrage, they called out the house of cards that was Fannie Mae. In Fleeced, they went after the credit card companies, the subprime mortgage lenders, and the hedge fund billionaires who conspired to wreck the economy and Barack Obama, whose policies, they predicted last summer, would "trigger a stock market crash." Now, in Catastrophe, Morris and McGann take a hard look at America in free fall and at how Obama is transforming a vulnerable America into a socialist state.They tell the truth about Obama and his radical policies: He will destroy our health care system so that no one gets adequate care. He designed his bank rescue plan to pave the way for nation-alization of the banks and socialization of the economy. He firmly believes in government control of our major industries he's already commandeered the banks and the automobile industry. He plans to reshape the political landscape to keep the left in power for decades by cooking the census, enfranchising illegal immigrants, muzzling talk radio, and coercing workers into unions. He is attacking those who fight terrorism while letting the terrorists go free. He gives aid to Hamas while Shariah Law threatens to take over America. He has repealed the Declaration of Independence and put us under a worldwide, European-dominated financial regulatory system. But Obama is not working alone. Morris and McGann spell out how Congress is complicit: How Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Charlie Rangel use special interests and special friends for their own enrichment and glorification. How Ted Kennedy Jr. is exploiting his father's health care power. "This is no time for apathy or alienation or hopelessness," Morris and McGann remind us. "It's a time for action." And that action must begin now before it's too late.

"Never let 'em see you sweat." "Never change diapers in mid-stream." "Never let a crisis go to waste." "Never ruin an apology with an excuse." "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." When we strongly encourage people to do something, it's called an exhortation. But what is the proper term for strongly discouraging peopleOne candidate is admonition. Another is dehortation, the opposite of exhortation. But perhaps the best term for an emphatic piece of dissuasive advice is neverism. You won't find the term in any dictionary (at least not yet) because quotation anthologist Dr. Mardy Grothe coined it himself for this collection of nearly two thousand quotable cautionary warnings. With the whimsical and witty intermixed with the serious and profound, contributors range from Aesop and Marcus Aurelius to John Wayne and Mae West. Grothe also tells the fascinating "back stories" of scores of classic quotations as well as the history of hundreds more that have never before appeared in a quotation anthology. Organized by topics such as Wit & Wordplay, Politics & Government, Sports, Stage & Screen, and The Literary Life, this is a book about quotations as well as a book of them. Neverisms is sure to delight quotation lovers and language aficionados everywhere.

Both a great American adventure and a rare entry into asheltered world, Under the Big Top describes one man's pursuit of every child's fantasy: running away to join the circus. Bruce Feiler's unforgettable year as a clown will forever change your view of one of the world's oldest art forms and remind you of how dreams can go horribly wrong -- and then miraculously come true.

In Feeling Strong, noted psychoanalyst Ethel S. Person redefines the notion of power. Power is often narrowly understood as the force exerted by the politicians and business leaders who seem to be in charge and by the rich and famous who monopolize our headlines. The whiff of evil we often catch when the subject of power is in the air comes from this one conception of power-- the drive for dominance over other people, or, in its most extreme form, an overriding and often ruthless lust for total command. But this is far too limited a definition of power.Pointing to a more fulfilling sense of self-empowerment than is being touted in pop-psychology manuals of our time, Feeling Strong shows us that power is really our ability to produce an effect, to make something we want to happen actually take place. Power is a desire and a drive, and it central in our lives, dictating much of our behavior and consuming much of our interior lives.We all have a need to possess power, use it, understand it and negotiate it. This holds true not just in mediating our sex and love lives, our family lives and friendships, our work relationships but in seeking to realize our dreams, whether in pursuit of our ambitions, expression of our creative impulses, or in our need to identify with something larger than ourselves. These separate kinds of power are best described as interpersonal power and personal power, respectively, and they call on different parts of our psyche. Ideally, we acquire competence in both domains.Drawing from her expertise honed in clinical practice, as well as from examples in literature and true-life vignettes, Person shows how we can achieve authentic power, a fundamental and potentially benevolent part of human nature that allows us to experience ourselves as authentically strong. To find something that matters; to live life at a higher pitch; to feel inner certainty; to find a personality of your own and effectively plot our own life story -- these are the forms of power explored in the book. To achieve and maintain such empowerment always entails struggle and is a life-long journey. Feeling Strong will lead the way.

Annie Dillard has written eleven books, including the memoir of her parents, An American Childhood; the Northwest pioneer epic The Living; and the nonfiction narrative Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. A gregarious recluse, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

All across America, ordinary people are going out of their way to help one another and make our country a better place. Unheralded, unrecognized, and often taken for granted, these citizens continue their good deeds, happy just to make a difference.Hometown Heroes tells the stories of fifty such people from all over America, including Moody, Alabama, Ellisville, Illinois, and Lander, Wyoming. Spanning ages fourteen to ninety-three, the heroes inside this book show that it's never too early or too late to lend a helping hand and make inspiring choices. Capturing the true spirit of America one of generosity, courage, and tireless devotion these heroes warm our hearts and reveal a face of America we rarely hear about.

Military service was once taken for granted as a natural part of good citizenship, and Americans of all classes served during wartime.Not anymore.As Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer assert in this groundbreaking work, there is a glaring disconnect between the "all volunteer military" and the rest of us. And as that gap between the cultural "elite" and military rank-and-file widens, our country faces a dangerous lack of understanding between those in power and those who defend our way of life.In America, it is increasingly the case that the people who make, support, or protest military policy have no military experience. As a result, the privileged miss the benefits of military service -- leadership, experience helpful to their future roles in public life, and exposure to a broader cross section of citizens -- while the military feels under-supported and morally distanced from the rest of the country. And when only a handful of members of Congress have military experience or a personal link to someone in uniform, perhaps it becomes too easy (or too hard) to send the military into combat.Based on research and including the voices of many young military members who understand firsthand the value of service, AWOL is also a very personal book. Frank Schaeffer, father of a former enlisted Marine, knows the anguish and pride that millions of American parents feel every day as their children are off fighting a war in a foreign land. Kathy Roth-Douquet, wife of a career officer, has experienced the struggle of trying to keep the family together with a husband at war as well as the often untold satisfaction of raising children in an ethic of service. To the authors and numerous other families who are intimately acquainted with the glory and the sacrifice of military service, America needs a wake-up call before it's too late.

The First 30 Days reveals the nine principles of change that will revolutionize how you face transition times. With real-life stories, practical exercises, and inspiring action points, this book teaches the skills you need to face or make any change in your life, including how to: Use your Change Muscle Combat fear, doubt, and all your change demons Get in touch with your spiritual side Create a plan that will get you results

Here is a fresh perspective on the last tumultuous years of the Soviet Union and an exquisitely poetic travelogue.With a keen grasp of Russia's history, a deep appreciation for its architecture and iconography, and an inexhaustible enthusiasm for its people and its culture, Colin Thubron is the perfect guide to a country most of us will never get to know firsthand. Here, we can walk down western Russia's country roads, rest in its villages, and explore some of the most engaging cities in the world. Beautifully written and infinitely insightful, Among the Russians is vivid, compelling travel writing that will also appeal to readers of history and current events and to anyone captivated by the shape and texture of one of the world's most enigmatic culture.

The darkly graceful poems in Mark Doty's seventh collection explore the ways in which we are educated by the implacable powers of time and desire. The world constantly renews itself, and the new brings both possibility and erasure. Given the limits of our own bodies, how are we to live within the inevitability of despair?This is the plainest of Doty's books, its language stripped and humbled. But whatever depths are sounded in these poems, their humane and open music sustains. Art itself instructs us. Lucian Freud's startling renditions of human skin, Virginia Woolf's ecstatic depiction of consciousness, Caravaggio's only-too-real people elevated to difficult glory -- all turn the light of human intelligence upon "the night of time."Formally inventive, warm, at once witty and disconsolate, School of the Arts represents a poet reinventing his own voice at midlife, finding a way through a troubled passage. Acutely attentive, insistently alive, this is a book of "fierce vulnerability."

Hot Chick: A confident, passionate, honest woman. . . . You want to be around her to soak up those good vibes. The duo that taught you to embrace your body and indulge without guilt in How to Eat Like a Hot Chick is back to remind you of something that will transform your love life forever you are a Hot Chick! With their feisty humor and uplifting message, Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent will help you figure out what you want, how to get it, and why you shouldn't settle for anything less. Most important, they'll make the entire process a lot more fun with their advice on the hidden joys of being single, how to send out magical Hot Chick vibes and interpret your date's vibes, falling in love without freaking out, tactful dumping procedures, survival techniques for heart-wrenching breakups, and much more.Whether you're single, dating, in a relationship, or so confused you don't know what your status even is, How to Love Like a Hot Chick will have you laughing your way through dating and relationship issues and tackling them like the sexy, fabulous woman you deserve to be.

In the summer of 1940, fewer than three thousand young fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force stood between Hitler and the victory that seemed almost within his grasp.In this superb history of three epic months that saved the world, Michael Korda brilliantly re-creates the intensity of combat in "the long, delirious, burning blue" of the sky above southern England while tracing, perhaps for the first time, the entire complex web of political, diplomatic, scientific, industrial, and human decisions during the 1930s that inexorably led to the world's first, greatest, and most decisive air battle. With Wings Like Eagles brings to vivid life the extraordinary men and women on both sides of the conflict from Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and Reichsmarschall Hermann Gring to the ground crews, the German pilots, the American volunteers, and the courageous airmen and airwomen of the RAF.

Lincoln's Men is the first narrative portrait of the three young men who served as Lincoln's secretaries during the Civil War. John Nicolay and John Hay lived in the White House, across the hall from the president's office, and they and William Stoddard spent more time with Lincoln than anyone else outside his immediate family. Lincoln used these three intelligent, articulate young men as a sounding board; they were the first audience for much of his writing from the period. From their unique vantage point, they had a front-row seat on the drama of war, but they also had a good time. Washington under siege was a city of endless receptions and parties. Daniel Mark Epstein captures the drama in each life. We see Nicolay, balancing his obligations to Lincoln with a long-distance engagement to his childhood sweetheart; Hay, the poet/amanuensis, in love with a famous and married actress; and Stoddard, a little too obsessed with gambling in the gold market. The secretaries left significant diaries, letters, and memoirs about Lincoln. Nicolay and Hay went on to distinguished careers in the Foreign Service after the war and later wrote the classic authorized biography of Lincoln, published in 1890 in ten volumes. An intimate and moving portrait of the Civil War White House, Lincoln's Men gives a vivid sense of what it was like to work for America's most brilliant president at the pivotal moment in the country's history. It is essential reading for fans of American history.

It is perhaps the most memorable event of the twentieth century, a moment that left a family and a nation mourning, one that many Americans recall as their first historical memory the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Within seven weeks of the President's death, Jacqueline Kennedy received more than 800,000 condolence letters. Two years later, the volume of correspondence would exceed 1.5 million letters. For the next forty-six years, the letters would remain essentially untouched.Now historian Ellen Fitzpatrick has selected approximately 250 of these letters for inclusion in Letters to Jackie, a remarkable human record that perfectly preserves the heart-wrenching grief and soul searching of the nation in a time of crisis. Capturing the extraordinary eloquence of so-called ordinary Americans across generations, regions, race, political leanings, and religion in messages written on elegant stationery, scraps of paper, in pencil, type, ink smudged by tears, and in barely legible handwriting the letters capture what John F. Kennedy meant to the country, and how his death for some divided American history into Before and After.In Letters to Jackie, Fitzpatrick allows Americans to write their own history of these tumultuous times. "The coffin was very small," as one sixteen-year-old girl observed, "to contain so much of so many Americans." In reflecting on their sense of loss, their fears, and their striving, the authors of these letters wrote an American elegy as poignant and as compelling as their shattered and cherished dreams.

From the moment Jeff Guidry saw the emaciated baby eagle with broken wings, his life was changed. For weeks he and the staff at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center tended to the grievously injured bird. Miraculously, she recovered, and Jeff, a center volunteer, became her devoted caretaker. Though Freedom would never fly, she had Jeff as her wings. And after Jeff was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2000, Freedom returned his gift. Between sessions of debilitating chemotherapy, Jeff went back to Sarvey and began taking Freedom for walks that soothed his spirit and gave him the strength to fight. When he learned he was cancer free, Jeff's first stop was Sarvey to walk with Freedom. Somehow this special bird seemed to understand the significance of the day. For the very first time she wrapped both her wings around Jeff, enveloping him in an avian hug. In March 2008, Jeff shared his extraordinary experience with his friend Gayle in an e-mail of eight hundred words:When Freedom came in she could not stand. Both wings were broken, her left wing in 4 places. . . . We here at the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center made the decision to give her a chance at life. . . . That e-mail would unexpectedly circle the globe and inspire countless fans eager to know more. In An Eagle Named Freedom, Jeff tells the full story of his bond with Freedom and introduces the other wildlife and volunteers who have been saved by Sarvey. A tender tale of hope, love, trust, and life, this moving true story is an affirmation of the spiritual connection that humans and animals share.

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