With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.

For Tony Hawk, it wasn't enough to skate for two decades, to invent more than eighty tricks, and to win more than twice as many professional contests as any other skater.It wasn't enough to knock himself unconscious more than ten times, fracture several ribs, break his elbow, knock out his teeth twice, compress the vertebrae in his back, pop his bursa sack, get more than fifty stitches laced into his shins, rip apart the cartilage in his knee, bruise his tailbone, sprain his ankles, and tear his ligaments too many times to count.No.He had to land the 900. And after thirteen years of failed attempts, he nailed it. It had never been done before. Growing up in Sierra Mesa, California, Tony was a hyperactive demon child with an I44 IQ. He threw tantrums, terrorized the nanny until she quit, exploded with rage whenever he lost a game; this was a kid who was expelled from preschool. When his brother, Steve, gave him a blue plastic hand-me-down skateboard and his father built a skate ramp in the driveway, Tony finally found his outlet--while skating, he could be as hard on himself as he was on everyone around him. But it wasn't an easy ride to the top of the skating game. Fellow skaters mocked his skating style and dubbed him a circus skater. He was so skinny he had to wear elbow pads on his knees, and so light he had to ollie just to catch air off a ramp. He was so desperate to be accepted by young skating legends like Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, and Christian Hosoi that he ate gum from between Steve's toes. But a few years of determination and hard work paid off in multiple professional wins, and the skaters who once had mocked him were now trying to learn his tricks. Tony had created a new style of skating. In Hawk Tony goes behind the scenes of competitions, demos, and movies and shares the less glamorous demands of being a skateboarder--from skating on Italian TV wearing see-through plastic shorts to doing a demo in Brazil after throwing up for five days straight from food poisoning. He's dealt with teammates who lit themselves and other subjects on fire, driving down a freeway as the dashboard of their van burned. He's gone through the unpredictable ride of the skateboard industry during which, in the span of a few years, his annual income shrank to what he had made in a single month and then rebounded into seven figures. But Tony's greatest difficulty was dealing with the loss of his number one fan and supporter--his dad, Frank Hawk. With brutal honesty, Tony recalls the stories of love, loss, bad hairdos, embarrassing '80s clothes, and his determination that had shaped his life. As he takes a look back at his experiences with the skateboarding legends of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, including Stacy Peralta, Eddie Elguera, Lance Mountain, Mark Gonzalez, Bob Burnquist, and Colin Mckay, he tells the real history of skateboarding--and also what the future has in store for the sport and for him.

Caught up in grief after the death of her sister, Nina Sankovitch decided to stop running and start reading. For once in her life she would put all other obligations on hold and devote herself to reading a book a day: one year of magical reading in which she found joy, healing, and wisdom.With grace and deep insight, Sankovitch weaves together poignant family memories with the unforgettable lives of the characters she reads about. She finds a lesson in each book, ultimately realizing the ability of a good story to console, inspire, and open our lives to new places and experiences. A moving story of recovery, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is also a resonant reminder of the all-encompassing power and delight of reading.

What do Amy Poehler, Bjork, Felicia Day, Martha Stewart, Miranda July, and Zooey Deschanel have in commonThey're just a few of the amazing women proving that geek is no longer a four-letter word.In recent years, male geeks have taken the world by storm. But what about their female counterpartsAfter all, fangirls are just like fanboys they put on their Imperial Stormtrooper Lycra pants one leg at a time. Geek Girls Unite is a call to arms for every girl who has ever obsessed over music, comics, film, comedy, books, crafts, fashion, or anything else under the Death Star. Music geek girl Leslie Simon offers an overview of the geek elite by covering groundbreaking women, hall-of-famers, ultimate love matches, and potential frenemies, along with her top picks for playlists, books, movies, and websites. This smart and hilarious tour through girl geekdom is a must-have for any woman who has ever wondered where her sassy rebel sisters have been hiding.

"For the better part of a week, nearly every man, woman, and child in Gander and the surrounding smaller towns stopped what they were doing so they could help. They placed their lives on hold for a group of strangers and asked for nothing in return. They affirmed the basic goodness of man at a time when it was easy to doubt such humanity still existed."When thirty-eight jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, due to the closing of United States airspace, the citizens of this small community were called upon to come to the aid of more than six thousand displaced travelers.Roxanne and Clarke Loper were excited to be on their way home from a lengthy and exhausting trip to Kazakhstan, where they had adopted a daughter, when their plane suddenly changed course and they found themselves in Newfoundland. Hannah and Dennis O'Rourke, who had been on vacation in Ireland, were forced to receive updates by telephone on the search for their son Kevin, who was among the firefighters missing at the World Trade Center. George Vitale, a New York state trooper and head of the governor's security detail in New York City who was returning from a trip to Dublin, struggled to locate his sister Patty, who worked in the Twin Towers. A family of Russian immigrants, on their way to the Seattle area to begin a new life, dealt with the uncertainty of conditions in their future home.The people of Gander were asked to aid and care for these distraught travelers, as well as for thousands more, and their response was truly extraordinary. Oz Fudge, the town constable, searched all over Gander for a flight-crew member so that he could give her a hug as a favor to her sister, a fellow law enforcement officer who managed to reach him by phone. Eithne Smith, an elementary-school teacher, helped the passengers staying at her school put together letters to family members all over the world, which she then faxed. Bonnie Harris, Vi Tucker, and Linda Humby, members of a local animal protection agency, crawled into the jets' cargo holds to feed and care for all of the animals on the flights. Hundreds of people put their names on a list to take passengers into their homes and give them a chance to get cleaned up and relax.The Day the World Came to Town is a positively heartwarming account of the citizens of Gander and its surrounding communities and the unexpected guests who were welcomed with exemplary kindness.

From the co-author of Lakota Woman, which has sold more than 150,000 paperback copies, comes a compelling account detailing the unique experiences and spiritual knowledge accumulated by four generations of powerful medicine men.

"Integrating the wisdom of ancient mystics and the insights of contemporary thinkers, May examines the spiritual longings that are often hidden and controlled by society's pressures and expectations." Publishers Weekly

Robert Evans's The Kid Stays in the Picture is universally recognized as the greatest, most outrageous, most unforgettable show business memoir ever written. The basis of a groundbreaking, award-winning documentary film, it remains the gold standard of Hollywood storytelling.The only actor ever to run a Hollywood studio, Evans emerged from near-obscurity in the mid-1960s to rescue Paramount, one of the great studios of the Golden Age, from near-bankruptcy. A self-confessed "half-assed actor," Evans proved a genius producer and studio chief, drawing on his irresistible combination of instinct, smarts, showmanship, and bravado to take Paramount from the basement to the penthouse with such films as The Odd Couple, Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. He lived a swashbuckling life, partying with lifetime friends like Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and Dustin Hoffman, consulting with power players like Henry Kissinger, and squiring a host of dazzling women including his wives Ali McGraw, Catherine Oxenberg, and Phyllis George. After a decade of triumph, he lost everything in a spectacular flameout of cocaine and bad business decisions, yet survived it all and lived to tell the tale.An extraordinary raconteur, Evans spares no one, least of all himself. Filled with starring roles for everyone from Ava Gardner to Marlon Brando to Sharon Stone, The Kid Stays in the Picture is sharp, witty, and self-aggrandizing and self-lacerating in equal measure. This new It Books edition, the first in more than a decade, will feature a new foreword by the author. And simultaneous with this edition will come a first-ever ebook rollout including both a regular edition and an enhanced ebook with clips from Evans's celebrated, Grammy-nominated audiobook and the famous 2002 documentary.

"A rich book covering many areas of human experience. . . . For the person looking for an intelligent and clear presentation of the relationship between psychological and spiritual growth, this is the book to read.'--America

Love wounds the heart and soul . . . From the editors of the New York Times bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning comes another collection of terse true tales this time simple sagas exploring the complexities of the human heart. Six-Word Memoirs on Love Heartbreak contains hundreds of personal stories about the pinnacles and pitfalls of romance. Brilliant in their brevity, these insightful slivers of passion, pain, and connection capture every shade of love and loss six words at a time.

Based on over twenty-five years of spirit communication and thousands of professional readings, world-famous medium James Van Praagh shares with readers the personal regrets, misgivings, remorse, and, most important, the advice of the dead who have chosen him as a medium. These spirits have a great deal to say about what they have learned and discovered on the other side and how we, the living, can benefit from their experiences.Unfinished Business is filled with shocking and emotional stories of Van Praagh's communication with loved ones who cross over the barrier between the living and the dead to send messages to those whom they have left behind. Through these pro-found true stories, Van Praagh guides us on an adventure into the spirit world. The lessons for the living that he has learned from these experiences range from the dangers of emotional baggage caused by guilt, fear, and regret to the importance of karma, forgiveness, and taking responsibility for our actions. Van Praagh shares with us now the wisdom that, without him, we would only gain after death.Van Praagh writes: "When people shed their physical bodies at death, their spiritual selves see life from a whole new perspective. It's as if they had Lasik surgery. They can finally take off their glasses and see everything more clearly. "Spirits understand why certain situations had to happen. They are able to recognize the value of others, even their enemies, and what they had to learn from them. They also realize how they could have skipped certain mistakes by not letting their egos get in the way. After crossing into the light, spirits are ever eager to share their newfound knowledge with the living, and I am fortunate to be a beneficiary of spirits' wisdom and guidance, and I am happy to share their insights with you."

New York Times bestselling author Steven V. Roberts follows the stories of thirteen families in this poignant, eye-opening look at immigration in America today. America is a nation of immigrants. But what does it mean to be an immigrant in the United States todayIn some ways, the experience has never changed all newcomers feel the pain of separation. In other ways, it has changed drastically families maintain strong business ties to their home countries and speak daily with their relatives on cell phones. Attitudes about the great melting pot have taken a sharp turn toward insularity in recent years. The 9/11 attacks and recent waves of undocumented workers seem to have eroded America's long-standing belief in the value of immigration. Yet the families in this book conclusively demonstrate that critics are wrong, and that in the age of Barack Obama, the son of an immigrant from Kenya, newcomers "from every end of this earth" continue to renew America's greatness, every day, with their courage and character.Having shared his own family's story in My Fathers' Houses, distinguished journalist Steven V. Roberts now profiles immigrants from China and Afghanistan, Mexico and Sierra Leone, who have journeyed to our shores in pursuit of the same dream that propelled his own grandparents to leave Russia and Poland a century ago. He combines compelling interviews and meticulous research to produce an engaging, wonderfully clear, and accessible narrative that explores each family's original yet deeply resonant story.As the political debate rages on, Roberts offers an essential and timely look at today's immigrant accounts, and sheds light on the enormous contributions these individuals continue to make to the fabric and future of America.

When Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., first asked Nicolette Hahn Niman to head up his environmental organization's "hog campaign," she balked. Investigating hog manure pollution was hardly the glamorous assignment she pictured when leaving everything to work for him in New York. But Kennedy, she discovered, is not a man who takes no for an answer. Thus began Niman's fascinating odyssey into the inner workings of the "factory farm" industry and her transformation into an intrepid environmental lawyer who goes up against the big business farming establishment and unexpectedly finds love along the way. Starting her work for Kennedy's organization in North Carolina, Niman uncovers the shocking practices of hog factory farms, including inhumane animal confinement and devastating water and air pollution. She organizes a national reform movement to fight these practices and shows again and again that livestock farming can be done in a better way not only for hogs, but also for poultry, fish, and dairy cows. Through Niman's work, she also tours the best of farms, where traditional farmers and ranchers treat their animals humanely and have joined with other farmers to successfully market the foods they produce. She profiles the innovative and cost-effective methods these operations have incorporated to make a profit by ethical, sustainable means. Along the way, the story takes a surprising turn when Nicolette is swept off her feet by a high-profile cattle rancher. At first, they seem an unlikely pair: Nicolette, a thirty-something, urban, East Coast, vegetarian attorney, and Bill Niman, an older, West Coast, cowboy type. But they share a passion for raising animals with kindness, and she soon finds herself transitioning to ranching life at the famed Niman Ranch in Northern California. In telling her story, Niman details not only why to choose meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, and fish from traditionally farmed sources (and avoid products tainted by chemicals and antibiotic-resistant bacteria), but also how to do so. She reveals what to look for on labels, why to skip animal products from outside the United States, and what questions to ask when eating out. A searing account of an industry gone awry and one woman's passionate fight to remedy it, Righteous Porkchop is a must-read for anyone who cares about food sources or good eating.

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.

THE PROTECTOR From the moment Heath Masters lays eyes on Meredith Kenyon, he knows there's something mysterious in this pretty woman's past. True, she seems like a good mother to her little daughter, but as local sheriff Heath has seen his share of liars ... and Meredith is certainly hiding something. But though his romantic gestures are met with suspicion, Heath can't help but be drawn to his vulnerable new neighbor. He doesn't entirely trust her, but he sure does want to kiss her THE WOMAN ON THE RUNAbout to lose her child in a devastating childcustody case, Meredith transformed herseIf from urbanwidow to small town mom, escaping the clutches of her abusive late husband'smanipulative father. Fleeing across America, she ran stright into the armsof the lonely lawman. Heath's persistence melts her misgivings, making her wonder if she could overcome her traumatic former life. But could his love protect her from her past--now and foreve?rTHE PROTECTORFrom the moment Heath Masters lays eyes on Meredith Kenyon, he knows theres something mysterious in this pretty womans past. True, she seems like a good mother to her little daughter, but as local sheriff Heath has seen his share of liars. . .and Meredith is certainly hiding something, But through his romantic gestures are met with suspicion, Heath cant help but be drawn to his vulnerable new neighbor. He doesnt entirely trust her, but he sure does want to kiss her.THE WOMAN ON THE RUINAbout to lose her child in a devastating child custody case, Meredith transformed herself from urban widow to small town mom, escaping the clutches of her abusive late husbands manipulative father. Fleeing across America, she ran straight into the arms of the lonely lawman. Heaths persistence melts her misgivings, making her wonder if she could overcome her traumatic former life. But could his love protect her from her past--now and forever?

How do you send a killer to the grave when he's already deadHaving narrowly averted an (under)World War, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans's voodoo queen just keeps on giving leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit. Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity forever. But one wrong step and they'll be digging their own graves.

Six Regency heroes One royal hangoverAn infamous night has been lost to memory. The scandalous Dukes of the Royal Entourage must make amends. The first step is a heroic rescue.One of England's most disreputable peers, Alexander Barclay, Duke of Kress, has stumbled upon a perfect opportunity for redemption. Having been exiled to Cornwall by the Prince Regent himself, Barclay discovers lovely Roxanne Vanderhaven clinging to the edge of a cliff, stranded there by her murderous blackguard of a husband . . . just waiting to be rescued. Back on solid ground, Roxanne is desperate for a new life once she's retaliated for her husband's despicable actions. Surprisingly, she finds herself drawn to her unlikely champion, certainly the last man in England she could count on. Yet, the infamous Duke of Kress isn't quite the scoundrel he seems . . .

One of the most celebrated plays of ancient Athens in a vivid and dynamic new translation by award-winning poet James Scully Fate, free will, and the sacredness of the social bond are all challenged and reassessed in this tale torn from the midst of the Trojan War.The soldier Philoktetes was abandoned with a festering, god-inflicted foot wound on the desolate island of Lemnos by the Greeks under Odysseus, who could no longer stand the stench or the soldier's screams of pain. Now, ten years later, the Greeks realize they will never take Troy without Philoktetes and the bow given to him by Herakles. But Philoktetes refuses to rejoin the Greek army, vowing to kill his enemy Odysseus instead so Neoptolemos, son of the slain hero Achilles, is dispatched to trick Philoktetes into returning. Philoktetes and Neoptolemos, however, are constantly at sea, their minds shifting and re-shifting amid mixed feelings, deceptions, suspicions, and qualms as they struggle with themselves and their strangely evolving relationship.James Scully's remarkable translation of Sophocles' classic Philoktetes achieves an accurate yet accessibly idiomatic rendering of the Greek original, suited for reading, teaching, or performing. This is Sophocles for a new generation, certain to strike a powerful chord with contemporary audiences everywhere.

With its unique combination of depth, clarity, and humor that has enchanted millions, this beloved classic by bestselling author Gary Zukav opens the fascinating world of quantum physics to readers with no mathematical or technical background. "Wu Li" is the Chinese phrase for physics. It means "patterns of organic energy," but it also means "nonsense," "my way," "I clutch my ideas," and "enlightenment." These captivating ideas frame Zukav's evocative exploration of quantum mechanics and relativity theory. Delightfully easy to read, The Dancing Wu Li Masters illuminates the compelling powers at the core of all we know.

In 1975, a new group of Peace Corps volunteers landed on the island nation of Tonga. Among them was Deborah Gardner -- a beautiful twenty-three-year-old who, in the following year, would be stabbed twenty-two times and left for dead inside her hut.Another volunteer turned himself in to the Tongan police, and many of the other Americans were sure he had committed the crime. But with the aid of the State Department, he returned home a free man. Although the story was kept quiet in the United States, Deb Gardner's death and the outlandish aftermath took on legendary proportions in Tonga.Now journalist Philip Weiss "shines daylight on the facts of this ugly case with the fervor of an avenging angel" (Chicago Tribune), exposing a gripping tale of love, violence, and clashing ideals. With bravura reporting and vivid, novelistic prose, Weiss transforms a Polynesian legend into a singular artifact of American history and a profoundly moving human story.