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Private Faces and Public Places: The Autobiographies
by Sian PhillipsSiân Phillips has a long and celebrated career on both stage and screen. For the first time, her two bestselling volumes of memoir Private Faces and Public Places will be available as a single volume with a brand new foreword by the author. With wonderful stories and unflinching candour, Private Faces and Public Places covers her life from its beginnings in the remote Welsh countryside, where life hadn't changed for centuries, to finding herself at the epicentre of the acting world at its most glamorous alongside husband Peter O'Toole, whose career was about to take off with the spellbinding Lawrence of Arabia. Siân describes the mad and wonderfully impulsive times with O'Toole alongside the tempestuous, insecure, and often lonely periods in their marriage. Incredibly, it endures over 20 years. When it ends, surprising even herself, she plunges straight into another marriage, with the much younger actor Robin Sachs. Emerging alone from her second marriage, triumphant and unrepentant, the story Siân tells ranks alongside the very best in show business.
Private Investigations: Mystery Writers on the Secrets, Riddles, and Wonders in Their Lives
by Victoria ZackheimIn this thrilling anthology, bestselling mystery writers abandon the cloak of fiction to investigate the suspenseful secrets in their own lives.For many of us, a good, heart-pounding mystery is the perfect escape from real-world confusion and chaos. But what about the writers who create those stories of suspense and intrigue? How do our favorite novelists cope with our perplexing world, and what mysteries keep them up at night? In Private Investigations, twenty fan-favorite mystery writers share first-person tales of mysteries they've encountered at home and in the world. Caroline Leavitt regales us with a medical mystery, recounting a time when she lost her voice and doctors couldn't find a cure, Martin Limón travels back to his military stint in Korea to grapple with the crimes of war, Anne Perry ponders the magical powers of stories conjured from writers' imaginations, and more.Exploring all the tropes of the genre -- from haunted houses and elusive perpetrators to regrouping after missed signals have derailed them -- these writers' true tales show just how much art imitates life, and how, ultimately, we are all private investigators in our own real-world dramas.
Private Life Of Chairman Mao: The Memoirs of Mao's Personal Physician
by Zhisui LiFor the first time, here is the extraordinary true story of one of the most powerful men, and ruthless dictators, who ever lived. Mao Zedong had control over more people for a longer period than any other leader in history. In this intimate biography we learn not only about the imperial grandeur of his life in a country racked by poverty and the vicious infighting at his court, but also about his extraordinary personal habits that equal those of deceased Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, another infamous and idiosyncratic dictator, equally deified and worshipped by his followers: Mao's teeth turned black because he would only brush them with tea; he hardly ever bathed but then received Krushchev in his swimming pool where he obliged the Soviet President to join him. Li's revealing account also chronicles Mao's voracious sexual appetite that led to the seduction of thousands of peasant women because he believed in the mythical healing power of sex. Zhisui Li spent more time with Mao than perhaps any other person. He witnessed first-hand the catastrophic events that Mao's dotage and paranoia sparked in a country that revered him as a demi-god. The Private Life of Chairman Mao is a landmark biography, as fascinating as it is important to the understanding of modern China, and a must buy for fans of Wild Swans.
The Private Life of Victoria: Queen, Empress, Mother of the Nation
by Alexander MacdonaldNow the second-longest-reigning monarch after Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria ruled at the height of Britain's power on the world stage and was a symbol of stability at home and abroad. Against this background of pomp and power, she was a passionate woman who led an often turbulent private life. Victoria was just eight months old when her father died and his paternal role was taken by her uncle Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Sir John Conroy, an ally of her mother. The two of them sought to control Victoria and isolate her from others. This is the story of the Queen of England who had to fight to forge her own way in the world, and who found true romance with Prince Albert only to have happiness snatched from her when he died of typhoid at the age of 42.
The Private Lives Of The Impressionists
by Sue RoeManet, Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Though they were often ridiculed or ignored by their contemporaries, astonishing sums are paid today for the works of these artists. Their dazzling pictures are familiar - but how well does the world know the Impressionists as people? In a vivid and moving narrative, biographer Sue Roe shows the Impressionists in the studios of Paris, rural lanes of Montmartre and rowdy riverside bars as Paris underwent Baron Haussman's spectacular transformation.For over twenty years they lived and worked together as a group, struggling to rebuild their lives after the Franco-Prussian war and supporting one another through shocked public reactions to unfamiliar canvasses depicting laundresses, dancers, spring blossom and boating scenes. This intimate, colourful, superbly researched account takes us into their homes as well as their studios and describes their unconventional, volatile and precarious lives, as well as the stories behind their paintings.
The Private Lives of Winston Churchill
by John PearsonFrom the author of All the Money in the World, now a major motion picture directed by Ridley Scott, comes an extraordinary biography of Winston Churchill, a lion of a man who helped shape the course of this century with his relentless ambition and fierce political instincts. Few have matched Winston Churchill's cunning or force of will. Few have seen the equal of his audacity on the battlefield or the determination with which he strove toward his own ideal of greatness. At the height of his power, he seemed to embody the ideals of the empire he helped sustain: valor, pride, and above all, tradition. His sense of personal destiny was rooted deeply in the legacy of his birth-right, the heritage of his family, and the awesome responsibility of being born Churchill.In The Private Lives of Winston Churchill, first published in 1991, John Pearson takes us behind the myth of Churchill and deep into the psychology of a dynasty that some have called the most complicated Anglo-American family of this century. In doing so, he reveals, in rich portraits, some of the family's greatest, most charismatic, and most deeply troubled members and shows us the real, private Winston Churchill.
Private Parts: How To Really Live With Endometriosis
by Eleanor ThomWhat the internet can tell you about endometriosis: Endometriosis is a chronic and incurable condition that affects 1 in 10 women with approximately 1.6 million sufferers in the UK alone, but only 20% of the general public have heard of it. It takes an average of seven and a half years to get a diagnosis in the UK and affects sufferers' capacity to work, their fertility and their ability to enjoy sex. What Eleanor Thom can tell you about endometriosis: You are so much more than the sum of your private parts. Part memoir, part guide book and part survival guide, Private Parts retraces Eleanor's own journey with endometriosis, offering readers practical, down-to-earth and friendly advice covering everything from what actually happens in an internal exam, to finding the right specialist for you, the perfect post-op wardrobe and to why you should look to Frida Kahlo for inspiration in your darkest moments. Written for those looking to live well with their endometriosis and for those who are looking for help to understand the disease and how it affects those with it, Private Parts is a call to action for people to speak up about an illness which is still so misunderstood.Will feature exclusive interviews with Hilary Mantel and Lena Dunham.
Private Road
by Forrest ReidIn this, the companion volume to his earlier autobiographical Apostate (1926), Forrest Reid continues his 'chronicle of a prolonged personal adventure'. Private Road (first published in 1940) offers Reid's descriptions of his early writing efforts; a youthful correspondence with Henry James that began with promise yet ended disappointingly ('the Master was not pleased...'); his Cambridge encounters with such luminaries as Ronald Firbank and W.B. Yeats; the production and reception of his first published works; and his valued friendships with E.M. Forster and Walter de la Mare. The closing stages of the book reflect Reid's unique sense of the spiritual: a compelling meditation on our 'second life' in a place Reid calls 'dreamland', wherein a 'shadowy agent' conjures an atmosphere that can hold powerful inspirational properties for the artist.Faber Finds is devoted to restoring to readers a wealth of lost/neglected classics and authors of distinction. The range embraces fiction, non-fiction, the arts and children's books. For a full list of available titles visit faberfinds.co.uk. To join the dialogue with fellow book-lovers please see ourblog faberfindsblog.co.uk. Normal 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */
A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020
by John le CarréJohn le Carré was a defining writer of his time. From The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, which changed our understanding of the secret agent from guns and Martinis to shadows and moral ambiguity, to Agent Running in the Field, in which modern Britain is mired in political corruption, he catalogued our sins and recounted the journey of the Anglosphere into the twenty-first century. In these letters, le Carre´ reveals himself to be a consummate correspondent as well as a master novelist.A Private Spy spans seven decades and chronicles not only le Carre´'s own life but the turbulent times to which he was witness. Beginning with his 1940s childhood, it includes accounts of his National Service and his time at Oxford, and his days teaching the 'chinless, pointy-nosed gooseberry-eyed British lords' at Eton. It describes his entry into MI5 and the rise of the Iron Curtain, and the flowering of his career as a novelist in reaction to the building of the Berlin Wall. Through his letters we travel with him from the Second World War period to the immediate moment in which we live.At the heart of the collection is le Carre´ the writer: researching, creating and editing, engaging with readers, publishers, film-makers and actors, with politicians and public figures. We find le Carré writing to Alec Guinness to persuade him to take on the role of George Smiley, and later arguing the immorality of the War on Terror with the chief of the German internal security service. In A Private Spy what emerges is a portrait not only of the writer, or of the global intellectual, but, in his own words, of the very private, very passionate and very real man behind the name.
A Private View (Vintage Contemporaries Ser.)
by Anita Brookner'Seated at a café table, in the syrupy warmth of out-of-season Nice, he reviewed his life and found it to be alarmingly empty.'George Bland had planned to spend his retirement in leisurely travel and modest entertainment with his friend Putnam. When Putnam dies George is left attempting to impose some purpose on the solitary end of his life. Then Katy Gibb appears as a temporary resident, perhaps even squatter, in a neighbouring apartment. Greedy, selfish, sometimes alluring, often manipulative, Katy exerts a strange influence on George, forcing him to recognize that his own careful, fastidious life has shown a distinct lack of passion and daring. As the realization takes hold, George must decide how much - or how little - he can do to transform the status quo.
Private Worlds: Growing Up Gay in Post-War Britain
by Jeremy Seabrook'All profound relationships have the quality of being a folie a deux; an intimate departure from reality, an imaginative creation of a world apart; perhaps this is a way of calling forth meaning – the merging of senseless subjectivities.' In 1950s suburban England, a friendship bloomed between Jeremy Seabrook and Michael O’Neill - both gay men coming of age during a time when homosexuality was still a crime. Their relationship was inflected by secrecy and fear; the shadows that had distorted their adolescent years were never wholly dispelled, long into their adult life. Lyrical, candid and poignant, this is a tale of sexual identity, working-class history and family drama. A memoir of unparalleled authenticity, Private Worlds is an elegy for a doomed friendship.
The Privilege of Youth: The Inspirational Story of a Teenager's Search for Friendship and Acceptance
by Dave PelzerDave Pelzer's bestselling autobiographical trilogy are an international phenomenon. Distressing, heartbreaking and yet inspirational, the fourth in the series guarantees the same level of success.His next book centres on his experience of bullying at school and the friends he made in his neighbourhood who helped him fight back.He tells the story of his high school years when he met two friends who helped him get through the perils and promises of adolescence. It is a story of hope and heartache, and reveals the many positive influences in Dave's teenage years as well as the agonizing choices he had to make to reclaim his life from the childhood he lost to abuse.
Probably Nothing: A Diary of Not-Your-Average Nine Months
by Matilda TristramProbably Nothing by Matilda Tristram - a moving, funny and inspiring graphic memoir by a woman who discovered she had cancer whilst she was pregnant'This deeply personal memoir, written as a graphic novel is one of the most darkly funny, bittersweet and moving cartoons you will ever come across (and that includes the hunting scene in Bambi). It also has (spoiler alert) one hell of a happy ending. Add it to your basket now' StylistAt 31, Matilda Tristram was 17 weeks pregnant and looking forward to having her first baby. Then she discovered she had bowel cancer. This touching and hilarious graphic memoir, which is never morose or self-pitying, starts at the moment Matilda was diagnosed and ends when her course of chemotherapy finishes in October 2013. Recording the awkward conversations, the highs and lows of treatment, the mixed blessings of receiving 'Get Well' cards, and the reality of still having to queue too long for croissants, Matilda captures her experiences with style and warmth. Along the way she learns to cherish the small details of life. Her beautiful and boisterous son was born without complications and is reliably keeping her up most nights.Charming, witty and uplifting - this unique and beautifully illustrated book will leave you cherishing the good things in life, and ready to face your own challenges.Will be enjoyed by readers of The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and Building Stories by Chris Ware.'A beautiful account ... Apart from how funny Tristram's comic is, it's hard to pinpoint what makes it so magnetic ... the honesty makes you feel, as a reader, like a companion on her journey' Zoe Williams, Guardian Matilda Tristram studied animation at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 2008. Since then she has worked as a children's writer, lecturer and filmmaker. She was co-writer on two animated BBC TV shows for CBeebies with Ragdoll Productions, The Adventures of Abney and Teal and Dipdap. Dipdap won a BAFTA in the short from category. Her short films have screened at over 30 festivals internationally.
A Problem Like Maria: A Woman's Eye View of Life as an MP
by Maria FyfeA Labour Whip once revealed that in their office they sang songs about certain backbenchers. In the case of the Member for Maryhill, their choice was 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? 'A frank account of fourteen years in Westminister from the rebellious Maria Fyfe - the only female Labour MP in Scotland when she was first elected. Fyfe recounts some of the most significant moments of her political career, from the frustrating and infuriating, to the rewarding and worthwhile. A significant aim of writing this book was to set the record straight on that period in our UK Parliament. Another aim was to encourage interest in a political life when widespread cynicism discourages good people from thinking about it. MARIA FYFE Covering some of the most turbulent years of British and Scottish political history, A Problem Like Maria takes the female's perspective of life as an MP in the male-dominated Westminister. This book reaches the parts of politics some people hope you never reach. The intimidating Maria Fyfe sounds like strong Scottish domestic drama. Edward Pearce, LONDON EVENING STANDARD The terrifying Maria Fyfe stamped in … her of the sharpened claws. Matthew Parris, THE TIMES An incorrigible Bevanite. THE OBSERVER
Proceedings of the International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies (Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research #829)
This is an open access book. The Graduate School of Universitas Sebelas Maret organizes the 2nd International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies (ICOMSI) 2023. This conference aims to bring together scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from various disciplines to engage in meaningful discussions on the critical issues surrounding cultural preservation, social equity, and ecological balance and their collective contribution to achieving a sustainable and inclusive future.In today’s rapidly changing world, preserving cultural heritage and fostering social equity is paramount to ensuring a harmonious and sustainable society. We can cultivate a more inclusive and tolerant society by recognizing and appreciating diverse cultural expressions and practices. Simultaneously, addressing environmental challenges and achieving ecological balance is crucial for our planet’s and future generations long-term well-being.This conference is a platform to explore the intricate connections between cultural preservation, social equity, and ecological balance. Participants can share their research findings, experiences, and best practices in various domains, including cultural studies, social sciences, environmental sciences, and related disciplines. The conference encourages interdisciplinary dialogues and collaborations to develop innovative strategies and approaches that foster a sustainable and inclusive future.We invite researchers, academics, practitioners, policymakers, and students interested in cultural preservation, social equity, and ecological balance to attend this conference. Together, we can explore innovative solutions, share insights, and collaborate towards building a sustainable and inclusive future for our global community.
Proconsul to the Middle East: Sir Percy Cox and the End of Empire
by John Townsend'Britain's Moment in the Middle East': was it an imperial triumph or a decisive staging post in the end-of-empire story? Sir Percy Cox (1864-1937) was a vital figure in the history of the British Empire in the Middle East, part of the pantheon with such legends as T.E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell. As High Commissioner in Iraq from 1920 to 1923 he presided over the birth of modern Iraq - the climax of his career - but left an infant state fraught with political, ethnic and religious problems which have bedevilled Iraq and the Middle East to the present day. John Townsend paints a convincing picture of Britain's global empire - an empire outwardly all-powerful, serene and self-confident but beginning to show the underlying fissures which would bring its end later in the 20th century. And the problems with which Cox grappled were never more pronounced than in Britain's empire in the Middle East. Townsend brings Cox to life as an archetypal patrician proconsul - a dry and self-effacing image which concealed formidable diplomatic, administrative and military skills. He came from landed gentry and, after Harrow and Sandhurst, he served in the Indian Army and the Indian Political Service. He spent the bulk of his career in the Middle East, as a political officer in the Gulf, Chief Political Officer and Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia, Acting Minister in Persia, ending his career in Iraq in the Military Government and finally as High Commissioner. But even Cox's inner self-confidence, founded on his belief in Britain's imperial mission, could not conceal his growing anxiety for the future of Iraq and the region. He did not live to see Britain's retreat from the Middle East but on leaving Iraq he seemed to reflect the despairing phrase of his Oriental Secretary, Gertrude Bell, 'the weariness of it all'. This is the first major biography of Cox, based on extensive research in original sources and long experience in the region. It strikingly illustrates the troubled contemporary history of Iraq and the modern Middle East and will become the standard work on Cox.
Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World
by Alexander Bloom"A herd of independent minds," Harold Roseberg once labelled his fellow intellectuals. They were, and are, as this book shows, a special and fascinating group, including literary critics like Lionel Trilling, Alfred Kazin, Irving Howe, Leslie Fiedler, Philip Rahv, and William Phillips; social scientists like Nathan Glazer; art critics and historians Clement Greenberg, Harold Rrosenberg, and Meyer Schapiro; novelist Saul Bellow; and political journalists Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz. Their story winds through nearly all of the crucial intellectual and political events of the last decades, as well as through the major academic institutions of the nation and the editorial boards of such important journals as Partisan Review, Commentary, Dissent, The Public Interest, and The New York Review of Books. So deeply entrenched in our intellectual establishment are these people that it's easy to forget that most grew up onthe edge of American society--poor, Jewish, the children of immigrants. Prodigal Sons retraces their common past, from their New York City ghetto upbringing and education at Columbia and City College through their radicalization in the '30s to their preeminence in the postwar literary and academic world. The book examines their youthful efforts to ignore their Jewish heritage and their later rediscovery of this heritage in the wake of the Holocaust. It shows how they moved toward the liberal center during the Cold War and how the group fragmented in the 1960s, when some turned toward the right, becoming key figures in the Neo-Conservative movement of the 1970s and '80s. As Bloom points out, there is no single typical New York intellectual; nor did they share all their ideas. This book is concerned with how the community came to be formed, and what it thought important, how and why it moved and changed, and why it ultimately came undone. We learn some of the ways in which intellectuals function and justify their own places and a great deal about the political and cultural landscape over which New York intellectuals passed. A fascinating portrait of New York intellectual life over the past half-century ·Based on interviews with many of the leading figures and 10 years of extensive research ·Takes us behind the scenes at Commentary, Partisan Review, The Public Interest and other influential publications
Producer: Lessons Shared from 30 Years in Television
by Wendy WalkerFor the past seventeen years, Wendy Walker has been the "woman behind the man" at Larry King Live. As King's senior executive producer, she has been responsible for landing exclusive interviews with the most important newsmakers and well-known celebrities from around the globe that have been the hallmark of CNN's iconic show.From the shocking death of Michael Jackson to the first television interview with the Watergate scandal's Deep Throat, Wendy Walker has a wealth of never-before-shared stories involving the most relevant events and people of our time.Starting as an ABC secretary over thirty years ago, she has risen through the male-dominated world of television production. Her passion, intellect, and work ethic are undeniable, but it's her heart that has always been her guide. It's with the same zeal and loving spirituality that she shares the insights gained during her long climb to the top. With empowering advice and inspirational thoughts, Wendy Walker has not only gained a lifetime of experience, but the wisdom to know that it needs to be shared.
The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins
by John PearsonThe classic, bestselling account of the infamous Kray twins, now a major film, LEGEND, starring Tom Hardy.Reggie and Ronald Kray ruled London's gangland during the 1960s with a ruthlessness and viciousness that shocks even now. Building an empire of organised crime such as nobody has done before or since, the brothers swindled, intimidated, terrorised, extorted and brutally murdered. John Pearson explores the strange relationship that bound the twins together, and charts their gruesome career to their downfall and imprisonment for life in 1969.Now expanded to include further extraordinary revelations, including the unusual alliance between the Kray twins and Lord Boothby – the Tory peer who won £40,000 in a libel settlement when he denied allegation of his association with the Krays – The Profession of Violence is a truly classic work.John Pearson is also the author of All the Money in the World (previously titled Painfully Rich), now a major motion picture directed by Ridley Scott film and starring Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg and Christopher Plumber (nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor).
Professional Idiot: A Memoir
by Stephen Steve-O Glover"It's mind-blowing to me how utterly far gone Steve-O was, and how he looks back on it in this book with such intelligence, humor, and searing honesty. What a truly unbelievable life."--Johnny KnoxvilleFrom his early days videotaping crazy skateboard stunts to starring in the Jackass movies, there was little that Stephen "Steve-O" Glover wouldn't do. Whether it was stapling his nutsack to his leg or diving into a pool full of elephant crap, almost nothing was out of bounds. As the stunts got crazier, his life kept pace. He developed a crippling addiction to drugs and alcohol, and an obsession with his own celebrity that proved nearly as dangerous. Only an intervention and a visit to a psychiatric ward saved his life. Today he has been clean and sober for more than three years.Professional Idiot recounts the lunacy, the debauchery, the stunts, the drug addiction, and the path to recovery with bravado, humor, and heart."A great book to read before you get on the roller coaster to hell, if you plan on surviving to tell about it like Steve-O did."--Nikki Sixx, author of The Heroin Diaries"This is the perfect book for people who hate reading."--Tommy Lee, author of TommylandThe feedback I've gotten on Facebook and Twitter from those of you who've read this book has been fascinating, heartwarming, and hilarious. I'm happy to keep answering your questions on there, and I encourage more of you to join in the discussion. Hope to hear from you soon, and thank you all so much.Love,Steve-O
The Professor: Arsène Wenger
by Myles PalmerIdealistic, passionate and scientific, Arsène Wenger led the modernisation of English football.A star-maker who identifies and nurtures talent, he also opened the door for foreign coaches like Houllier, Eriksson, Ranieri and Mourinho. He is Arsenal's most successful and longest-serving manager and the only manager in FA Premier League history to go through an entire season without a loss. Now completely revised and updated to include Arsenal's triumphant campaign to the 2006 Champion's League final, Wenger's induction into the English Football Hall of Fame and all the highlights from the 2007/08 season,The Professor tracks the highs and lows of Wenger's decade at Arsenal, his teams, his methods, his successes and failures, and asks what the future holds for the man who reinvented the beautiful game.
Professor Baseball: Searching for Redemption and the Perfect Lineup on the Softball Diamonds of Central Park
by Edwin AmentaIt happens every summer: packs of beer-bellied men with gloves and aluminum bats, putting their middle-aged bodies to the test on the softball diamond. For some, this yearly ritual is driven by a simple desire to enjoy a good ballgame; for others, it’s a way to forge friendships—and rivalries. But for one short, wild-haired, bespectacled professor, playing softball in New York’s Central Park means a whole lot more. It's one last chance to heal the nagging wounds of Little League trauma before the rust of decline and the relentless responsibilities of fatherhood set in. Professor Baseball is the coming-of-middle-age story of New York University professor and Little League benchwarmer Edwin Amenta. As rookie manager of the Performing Arts Softball League’s doormat Sharkeys, he reverses softball’s usual brawn-over-brains formula. He coaxes his skeptical teammates to follow his sabermetric and sociological approach, based equally on Bill James and Max Weber, which in the heady days of early success he dubs “Eddy Ball.” But Amenta soon learns that his teammates’ attachments to favorite positions and time-honored (if ineffective) strategies are hard to break—especially when the team begins losing. And though he rejects the baseball-as-life metaphor, life keeps intruding on his softball season. Amenta here comes to grips with the humiliation of assisted reproduction, suffers mysterious ailments, and finds himself lingering at the sponsor’s bar, while his partner, a beautiful but baseball-challenged professor, second-guesses his book in the making. Can he turn his team—and his life—around? Packed with colorful personalities, dramatic games, and the bustle of New York life, Professor Baseball will charm anyone who has ever root, root, rooted for the underdog.
Professor Baseball: Searching for Redemption and the Perfect Lineup on the Softball Diamonds of Central Park
by Edwin AmentaIt happens every summer: packs of beer-bellied men with gloves and aluminum bats, putting their middle-aged bodies to the test on the softball diamond. For some, this yearly ritual is driven by a simple desire to enjoy a good ballgame; for others, it’s a way to forge friendships—and rivalries. But for one short, wild-haired, bespectacled professor, playing softball in New York’s Central Park means a whole lot more. It's one last chance to heal the nagging wounds of Little League trauma before the rust of decline and the relentless responsibilities of fatherhood set in. Professor Baseball is the coming-of-middle-age story of New York University professor and Little League benchwarmer Edwin Amenta. As rookie manager of the Performing Arts Softball League’s doormat Sharkeys, he reverses softball’s usual brawn-over-brains formula. He coaxes his skeptical teammates to follow his sabermetric and sociological approach, based equally on Bill James and Max Weber, which in the heady days of early success he dubs “Eddy Ball.” But Amenta soon learns that his teammates’ attachments to favorite positions and time-honored (if ineffective) strategies are hard to break—especially when the team begins losing. And though he rejects the baseball-as-life metaphor, life keeps intruding on his softball season. Amenta here comes to grips with the humiliation of assisted reproduction, suffers mysterious ailments, and finds himself lingering at the sponsor’s bar, while his partner, a beautiful but baseball-challenged professor, second-guesses his book in the making. Can he turn his team—and his life—around? Packed with colorful personalities, dramatic games, and the bustle of New York life, Professor Baseball will charm anyone who has ever root, root, rooted for the underdog.
Professor of Apocalypse: The Many Lives of Jacob Taubes
by Jerry Z. MullerThe controversial Jewish thinker whose tortured path led him into the heart of twentieth-century intellectual lifeScion of a distinguished line of Talmudic scholars, Jacob Taubes (1923–1987) was an intellectual impresario whose inner restlessness led him from prewar Vienna to Zurich, Israel, and Cold War Berlin. Regarded by some as a genius, by others as a charlatan, Taubes moved among yeshivas, monasteries, and leading academic institutions on three continents. He wandered between Judaism and Christianity, left and right, piety and transgression. Along the way, he interacted with many of the leading minds of the age, from Leo Strauss and Gershom Scholem to Herbert Marcuse, Susan Sontag, and Carl Schmitt. Professor of Apocalypse is the definitive biography of this enigmatic figure and a vibrant mosaic of twentieth-century intellectual life.Jerry Muller shows how Taubes&’s personal tensions mirrored broader conflicts between religious belief and scholarship, allegiance to Jewish origins and the urge to escape them, tradition and radicalism, and religion and politics. He traces Taubes&’s emergence as a prominent interpreter of the Apostle Paul, influencing generations of scholars, and how his journey led him from crisis theology to the Frankfurt School, and from a radical Hasidic sect in Jerusalem to the center of academic debates over Gnosticism, secularization, and the revolutionary potential of apocalypticism.Professor of Apocalypse offers an unforgettable account of an electrifying world of ideas, focused on a charismatic personality who thrived on controversy and conflict.
The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths
by Pat Brown Bob AndelmanIn 1990, a young woman was strangled on a jogging path near the home of Pat Brown and her family. Brown suspected the young man who was renting a room in her house, and quickly uncovered strong evidence that pointed to him--but the police dismissed her as merely a housewife with an overactive imagination. It would be six years before her former boarder would be brought in for questioning, but the night Brown took action to solve the murder was the beginning of her life's work. Pat Brown is now one of the nation's few female criminal profilers--a sleuth who assists police departments and victims' families by analyzing both physical and behavioral evidence to make the most scientific determination possible about who committed a crime. Brown has analyzed many dozens of seemingly hopeless cases and brought new investigative avenues to light. In The Profiler, Brown opens her case files to take readers behind the scenes of bizarre sex crimes, domestic murders, and mysterious deaths, going face-to-face with killers, rapists, and brutalized victims. It's a rare, up-close, first-person look at the real world of police and profilers as they investigate crimes--the good and bad, the cover-ups and the successes.