The true account of one boy’s lifelong search for his boarding-school bully. Equal parts childhood memoir and literary thriller, Whipping Boy chronicles prize-winning author Allen Kurzweil’s search for his twelve-year-old nemesis, a bully named Cesar Augustus. The obsessive inquiry, which spans some forty years, takes Kurzweil all over the world, from a Swiss boarding school (where he endures horrifying cruelty) to the slums of Manila, from the Park Avenue boardroom of the world’s largest law firm to a federal prison camp in Southern California. While hunting down his tormentor, Kurzweil encounters an improbable cast of characters that includes an elocution teacher with ill-fitting dentures, a gang of faux royal swindlers, a crime investigator “with paper in his blood,” and a onocled grand master of the Knights of Malta. Yet for all its global exoticism and comic exuberance, Kurzweil’s riveting account is, at its core, a heartfelt and suspenseful narrative about the “parallel lives” of a victim and his abuser. A scrupulously researched work of nonfiction that renders a childhood menace into an unlikely muse, Whipping Boy is much more than a tale of karmic retribution; it is a poignant meditation on loss, memory, and mourning, a surreal odyssey born out of suffering, nourished by rancor, tempered by wit, and resolved, unexpectedly, in a breathtaking act of personal courage. Whipping Boy features two 8-page black-and-white photo inserts and 83 images throughout.

Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he’s become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smileHe often seems to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters. In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, readers will finally discover the real Romney. The book explores Romney’s personal life, his bond with his wife and how they handled her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, and his difficult years as a Mormon missionary in France, where a fatal car crash had a profound effect on his path. It also illuminates Romney’s privileged upbringing in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; his rejection of the 1960s protest culture; and his close but complicated relationship with his father. Based on more than five years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The Real Romney includes a probing analysis of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, where staggering profits were won through leveraged buyouts that helped create jobs but also destroyed them. This penetrating portrait offers important new details, too, on Romney’s failed Senate race against Ted Kennedy, his role leading the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics, and his championing of universal health care in Massachusetts. Drawing on previously undisclosed campaign memos, e-mails, and interviews with key players, Kranish and Helman reveal the infighting and disagreement that sunk Romney’s 2008 White House bid—and his conscious decision to switch tactics for his 2012 run. In The Real Romney, Kranish and Helman delve searchingly into the psyche of a complex man now at his most critical juncture—the private Romney whom few people see. They show the remarkable lengths to which Romney has gone in order to succeed in politics and business, shrewdly shifting identities as needed, bringing tough-minded strategy to every decision, and always carefully safeguarding his public image. For the first time, readers will gain a full understanding of the kind of man Romney is—the kind of man who may be running their country.

In Safe at Home, Alyssa Milano actress, blogger, and the mind behind the bestselling Touch sports-clothing line tells the story about her lifelong obsession with baseball, revealing what the game has meant to her and why everyone should take a chance on nine innings. Her baseball story begins in Brooklyn, New York, where her father scorned the Dodgers for abandoning his beloved city. When he and his young daughter later moved out west for a fledgling TV show called Who's the Boss?, Alyssa learned one of the fundamental truths of the game: No matter where you are, no matter how old you are, baseball connects you to your past.From arguing about the importance of baseball history to criticizing Major League Baseball's response to the steroid scandal, Alyssa brings an intelligent, wry, and entertaining female voice to the world of baseball writing. The end result is a unique and unexpected book that is equal parts memoir, manifesto, and love letter to America's game.

Have you ever found yourself looking up at the starry night, wondering and wanting to know more?Congratulations! You're a stargazer. Unlike its more scientific sister astronomy, stargazing requires no equipment except perhaps something comfortable to sit on and a star map. The Stargazer's Guide provides these maps and shows you what there is to see in the sky, why it's interesting, and how previous generations viewed and interpreted it. Organized by month, The Stargazer's Guide takes you through the night sky's stories mythological, historical, and scientific offering simple diagrams that enable you to easily identify the constellations. Let expert stargazer Emily Winterburn enthrall you with true stories of romantic and scientific endeavors, and mythic tales of beasts and battles that led to the naming of the stars. With this enchanting, accessible, and fun guide to the heavens, you'll discover and revel in the beauty and wonder of the night sky.

In this inspiring memoir, internationally beloved actress Jane Seymour shows how she has learned to embrace and learn from the many changes in her life Now fifty, Jane Seymour the eternally beautiful star of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and countless other television shows and films is a living testament to the rewards of embracing midlife and its challenges eagerly and gracefully. In Remarkable Changes, she leads the reader through the challenges of those years from the physical changes that come with the territory to the emotional transformations that accompany this passage of life. From understanding the stages of change, to making every moment significant, she helps us find the true value in our life transitions, from marriage and divorce to career changes to milestones in the lives of our parents and children. Whether we initiate change in our life or it is thrust upon us by circumstances beyond our control, Jane shows that we should stop coping with change and start actively incorporating it into our lives, using the hard won wisdom weall gained through the years. Holding up as an example her own life and the lives of those closest to her, Seymour empowers us to accept life shifts and teaches us how to take even the toughest situations and turn them into strengthening tools. She talks about her own experiences with divorce and remarriage, children and stepchildren, and her new twin boys, and she describes her indomitable mother's difficult years in a World War II prison camp in Indonesia. Her best friend faced her own challenges when learning to understand her son's mental illness, and another friend started a grief recovery organization when his wife and son were murdered. We all need to face the beginnings and endings that make up our constantly changing lives. And this warm, inspiring book shows that we can all learn how to make each change remarkable.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Tate returns with his fifteenth book of poetry, an exciting new collection that offers nearly one hundred fresh and thought-provoking pieces that embody Tate's trademark style and voice: his accessibility, his dark humor, and his exquisite sense of the absurd.Tate's work is stark he writes in clear, everyday language yet his seemingly simple and macabre stories are layered with broad and trenchant meaning. His characters are often lost or confused, his settings bizarre, his scenarios brilliantly surreal. Opaque, inscrutable people float through a dreamlike world where nothing is as it seems. The Ghost Soldiers offers resounding proof, once again, that Tate stands alone in American poetry.

Karl Taro Greenfeld knew from an early age that his little brother, Noah, was not like other children. He couldn't crawl, and he had trouble making eye contact or interacting with his family. As Noah grew older, his differences became even more pronounced he was unable to communicate verbally, use the toilet, or tie his shoes, and despite his angelic demeanor, he often had violent outbursts.No doctor, social worker, or specialist could pinpoint what was wrong with Noah beyond a general diagnosis: autism. The boys' parents, Josh and Foumi, dedicated their lives to caring for their younger son with myriad approaches a challenging, often painful experience that the devoted father detailed in a bestselling trilogy of books.Now, for the first time, acclaimed journalist Karl Taro Greenfeld speaks out about growing up in the shadow of his autistic brother, revealing the complex mix of rage, confusion, and love that defined his childhood. Boy Alone is his brutally honest memoir of the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with a mentally disabled sibling.Seamlessly weaving together the social history of autism and autism research as the Greenfelds lived through it in seeking treatment for Noah with the deeply affecting story of two very different boys growing up side by side, this book raises crucial philosophical questions: Can relationships exist without languageHow should aging parents care for a nonverbal, violent child, and then a grown man who is not self-sufficientIs there anything that can be done to help an extremely autistic child or adult become a member of mainstream society?Haunting, tragic, and unforgettable, this chronicle of autism is a beautiful, wholly original exploration of what it means to be a family, a brother, and a person.

Ingrid Betancourt, a senator and a presidential candidate in Colombia, grew up among diplomats, literati, and artists who congregated at her parents' elegant home in Paris, France. Her father served as Colombia's ambassador to UNESCO and her mother, a political activist, continued her work on behalf of the country's countless children whose lives were being destroyed by extreme poverty and institutional neglect. Intellectually, Ingrid was influenced by Pablo Neruda and other Latin American writers like Gabriel García Márquez, who frequented her parents' social circle. She studied at ?cole de Sciences Politiques de Paris, a prestigious academy in France. From this charmed life, Ingrid Betancourt -- not yet thirty, happily married to a French diplomat, and a mother of two children -- returned to her native country in the late 1980s. On what was initially just a visit, she found her country under internal siege from the drug cartels and the corrupt government that had allowed them to flourish. After seeing what had become of Colombia's democracy, she didn't feel she could leave. Until Death Do Us Part is the deeply personal story of a woman who gave up a life of comfort and safety to become a political leader in a country being slowly demolished by terrorism, violence, fear, and a pervasive sense of hopelessness. It is a country where democracy has been sacrificed for the well-being of the few, where international criminals determine policy, and where political assassinations are a way of life. Now forty, Ingrid Betancourt has been elected and reelected as a representative and as a senator in Colombia's national legislature. She has founded a political party that has openly confronted Colombia's leaders and has earned the respect of a nation. And now she has become a target of the establishment and the drug cartels behind it. Forced to move her children out of Colombia for protection against death threats, Ingrid Betancourt remained and continued to fight the political structure that has crumbled under the destructive power of the paramilitary forces, the financial omnipotence of the drug cartels, and the passivity of governmentfor-sale. Here is a political cocktail that has destroyed countless lives in Colombia and has spread to countries beyond its borders. A memoir of a life in politics that reads like a fastpaced political thriller, Until Death Do Us Part -- already an international bestseller -- is a hair-raising account of one woman's fight against the establishment. It is a story of a woman whose love for her country and faith in democracy gave her the courage to stand up to the power that has subjugated, intimidated, or corrupted all those who opposed it. A chilling account of the dangerous, byzantine machine that runs Colombia, it is also an inspiring story of privilege, sacrifice, and true patriotism.

The 2014 National Poetry Series Selection Chosen by Campbell McGrath

Prozac has side effects, drinking gives you hangovers, therapy's expensive. For quick and effective relief -- or at least some literary comfort -- from everyday and exceptional problems, try a poem. Over the ages, people have turned to poets as ambassadors of the emotions, because they give voice and definition to our troubles, and by so doing, ease them. No matter how bad things get, poets have been there, too, and they can help you get over the rough spots.This is the first poetry anthology designed expressly for the self-help generation. The poems listed include classics by Emily Dickinson, Lord Byron, Ogden Nash, and Lucretius, to name just a few, along with newer works by such current practitioners as Seamus Heaney and Wendy Cope. This book has a cure or consolation for nearly every affliction, ancient or modern. And no side effects-except pleasure.

Despite what you might have heard, diabetes is not a lifelong condition.It does not have to shorten your life span or result in high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, or other life-threatening ailments. In fact, most diabetics can get off medication and become 100 percent healthy in just a few simple steps. In The End of Diabetes, Dr. Joel Fuhrman shows how you can prevent and reverse diabetes and its related symptoms and lose weight in the process.The End of Diabetes is a radical idea wrapped in a simple plan: Eat Better, End Diabetes. While the established medical protocol aims to control diabetes by limiting your carbohydrate intake, monitoring glucose levels, and prescribing bottomless doses of medicine, Dr. Fuhrman believes this long-standing approach to fighting diabetes is wrong—and possibly fatal.Designed for anyone ready to enjoy a healthier and longer life, Dr. Fuhrman's plan is based on a single formula: Your Health Future (H) = Nutrients (N) / Calories (C). Foods with a high nutrient density, according to Dr. Fuhrman, turn our bodies into the miraculous, self-healing machines they can be, which results in significant weight loss, improved health, and, ultimately, the end of diabetes and other diseases.In engaging, direct, and easy-to-follow language, The End of Diabetes supplies the science and clinical evidence to prove that diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are not inevitable consequences of aging. They are reversible and preventable. This simple and effective plan offers great food, starts working right away, and puts you on a direct path to a longer, better, fuller, disease-free life.

In May 2012, bestselling author Neil Gaiman delivered the commencement address at Philadelphia University of the Arts, in which he shared his thoughts about creativity, bravery, and strength. He encouraged the fledgling painters, musicians, writers, and dreamers to break rules and think outside the box. Most of all, he encouraged them to make good art . The book Make Good Art , produced in beautiful full-color and designed by renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd, contains the full text of Gaiman inspiring speech. Please note: For optimal reading experience, this full-color edition is recommended for use on color devices only (and will render some text illegible on e-ink devices).

Combining the intellect of Malcolm Gladwell with the irreverent humor of Mary Roach and the paradigm-shifting analysis of Jared Diamond, a leading social scientist offers an unprecedented look inside our complex and often paradoxical relationships with animals. Does living with a pet really make people happier and healthierWhat can we learn from biomedical research with miceWho enjoyed a better quality of life the chicken on a dinner plate or the rooster who died in a Saturday-night cockfightWhy is it wrong to eat the family dogDrawing on more than two decades of research in the emerging field of anthrozoology, the science of human animal relations, Hal Herzog offers surprising answers to these and other questions related to the moral conundrums we face day in and day out regarding the creatures with whom we share our world. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat is a highly entertaining and illuminating journey through the full spectrum of human animal relations, based on Dr. Herzog groundbreaking research on animal rights activists, cockfighters, professional dog-show handlers, veterinary students, and biomedical researchers. Blending anthropology, behavioral economics, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy, Herzog carefully crafts a seamless narrative enriched with real-life anecdotes, scientific research, and his own sense of moral ambivalence. Alternately poignant, challenging, and laugh-out-loud funny, this enlightening and provocative book will forever change the way we look at our relationships with other creatures and, ultimately, how we see ourselves.

After enduring years of hunger, deprivation, and devastating loss at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, ten-year-old Loung Ung became the "lucky child," the sibling chosen to accompany her eldest brother to America while her one surviving sister and two brothers remained behind. In this poignant and elegiac memoir, Loung recalls her assimilation into an unfamiliar new culture while struggling to overcome dogged memories of violence and the deep scars of war. In alternating chapters, she gives voice to Chou, the beloved older sister whose life in war-torn Cambodia so easily could have been hers. Highlighting the harsh realities of chance and circumstance in times of war as well as in times of peace, Lucky Child is ultimately a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the salvaging strength of family bonds.

A conspiracy within the Vatican to stop an outspoken Pope In 1938, Pope Pius XI was the world most prominent critic of Hitler and his rhetoric of ethnic purity. To make his voice heard, Pius called upon a relatively unknown American Jesuit whose writing about racism in America had caught the Pope attention. Pius enlisted John LaFarge to write a papal encyclical the Vatican strongest decree publicly condemning Hitler, Mussolini, and their murderous Nazi campaign against the Jews. At the same time conservative members of the Vatican innermost circle were working in secret to suppress the document. Chief among them was Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, whose appeasement of the Germans underlay a deep-running web of conspiracy. Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII, was joined by Wlodimir Ledóchowski, leader of the Jesuit order, to keep the finished encyclical from reaching the increasingly ill Pope. Peter Eisner, award-winning reporter and author of the critically acclaimed The Freedom Line , combines shocking new evidence (released only recently from Vatican archives) and eyewitness testimony to create a compelling journey into the heart of the Vatican and a little-known story of an American partnership with the head of the Catholic Church. A truly essential work, it brings staggering new light to one of the most critical junctures in modern history.

One of the most popular and beloved introductions to the concept of faith ever written, Mere Christianity has sold millions of copies worldwide. The book brings together C. S. Lewis legendary radio broadcasts during the war years, in which he set out simply to explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times. Rejecting the boundaries that divide Christianity many denominations, Mere Christianity provides an unequalled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to absorb a powerful, rational case for the Christian faith.

Tis the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to do up her shop right for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she fully intends to win. Her motif is Graceland Blue Christmas, with lots of tinsel, an aluminum tree, and enough tacky retro doodads to fill the Grand Ole Opry. But no sooner is she certain she's one-upped the trendy shop around the corner when Weezie notices things going strangely missing from her display.Despite the petty burglaries of her mysterious midnight visitor, Weezie still has high hopes for the holiday. Perhaps even an engagement ring is in the offing from her chef boyfriend, though Daniel, usually moody around the yuletide, seems even more distant than ever. Throw in some seasonal eccentricities from Weezie's decidedly odd family, a miraculous 1950s Christmas-tree pin, and a little help from the King (Elvis!) himself, and even Scrooge would have to agree there's real magic in the Savannah air this Christmas

The biggest names in adult entertainment lend their erotic experience and knowledge to a comprehensive guide to 'making love like a star'.Who is better qualified to share their sexual secrets than people who spend every day perfecting their lovemaking techniqueDrawing from their extensive experience both on camera and off, the wildly popular and incredibly hot Vivid Girls along with male star Bobby Vitale and the legendary adult filmmakers Paul Thomas, Justin Sterling, and ChiChi LaRue provide hundreds of provocative sex tips for at-home amateurs who want to create exciting new sexual scenarios and incorporate the element of fantasy into their sex life. Whether you want to improve your oral sex skills, bring toys to bed, or simply try out a new position or 20, the Vivid panel of experts is here to help make your erotic productions the award-winning creations they deserve to be. After the basics of seduction and setting the scene, they cover detailed technical lovemaking tips. By the end of the book, you might be ready for 'advanced' techniques, including multiple orgasms, multiple partners, anal sex, and more. Whatever you choose to use, or leave to the realm of fantasy, all of it is designed to help you and your partner have the most satisfying sex ever.Take your sex life to a higher level to a place where inhibitions fall away and creativity and a sense of adventure flourish!

A comprehensive guide to the diagnosis and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia -- vital help for the millions of people suffering from pain, fatigue, and sleep problems An estimated 6 million Americans suffer from fibromyalgia and 800,000 have chronic fatigue syndrome. Both conditions are characterized by severe and widespread pain, debilitating fatigue, and difficulty with concentration and memory. Getting diagnosed can be particularly difficult, and patients must then navigate conflicting information and the latest fads in order to choose from among dozens of treatment options. In her trademark accessible, easy-to-follow style, patient advocate Mary J. Shomon explores these often confusing conditions, highlighting the pros and cons of conventional and alternative approaches, giving you tips for developing a recovery plan, and providing clear direction and solutions for sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

For millions of Americans, Migraine disease, tension headaches, and other headaches are a debilitating part of every day. Teri Robert has been there—in fact, she experienced her first Migraine at age six. Now, in this groundbreaking holistic guide to the diagnosis and treatment of headaches and Migraine disease, she brings a patient-empowering message to all headache sufferers: you don't have to live with daily pain. She provides you with all the information you need to know about getting the help you need, including: ?Understanding side effects ?Treatments for long-term relief ?Risks and symptoms ?Identification of the various types of headaches ?Traditional and alternative therapies ?Information on finding health care practitioners and support ?Numerous case studies and expert advice

Man, was a a distant shore, and the men spread upon it in wave... Each wave different, and each wave stronger. The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury is a storyteller without peer, a poet of the possible, and, indisputably, one of America's most beloved authors. In a much celebrated literary career that has spanned six decades, he has produced an astonishing body of work: unforgettable novels, including Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes; essays, theatrical works, screenplays and teleplays; The Illustrated Mein, Dandelion Wine, The October Country, and numerous other superb short story collections. But of all the dazzling stars in the vast Bradbury universe, none shines more luminous than these masterful chronicles of Earth's settlement of the fourth world from the sun.Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams and metaphor-of crystal pillars and fossil seas-where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn -first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars ... and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race.Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is a classic work of twentieth-century literature whose extraordinary power and imagination remain undimmed by time's passage. In connected, chronological stories, a true grandmaster once again enthralls, delights and challenges us with his vision and his heart-starkly and stunningly exposing in brilliant spacelight our strength, our weakness, our folly, and our poignant humanity on a strange and breathtaking world where humanity does not belong.