Book picks similar to
Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die by Francis M. Nevins Jr.
biography
nonfiction
woolrich
non-fiction
Patrick White: A Life
David Marr - 1991
But I am a monster . . .' Patrick WhitePatrick White, winner of the Nobel Prize and author of more than a dozen novels and plays - including Voss, The Vivisector and The Twyborn Affair - lived an extraordinary life. David Marr's brilliant biography draws not only on a wide range of original research but also on the single most difficult and important source of all: the man himself. In the weeks before his death, White read the final manuscript, which for richness of detail, authority and balance is stunning.Throughout his exciting narrative, Marr explores the roots of White's writing and unearths the raw material of his remarkable art. He makes plain the central fact of White's life as an artist: the homosexuality that formed his view of himself as an outcast and stranger able to penetrate the hearts of both men and women. Gracefully written and exhaustively researched, Patrick White is a biography of classic excellence - sympathetic, objective, penetrating and as blunt, when necessary, as White himself.
Death Sentence
Jerry Bledsoe - 1998
When she “accidentally” shot her husband, popular high school coach, Russ, the police were inclined to believe her—until they learned that ten years earlier, her first husband had died in a strangely similar way. Sgt. Rick Buchanan’s relentless investigation into Stager’s life revealed a stunning vortex of compulsive lying, obsessive spending, and sexual promiscuity. With every new discovery, more of Barbara’s impeccable image unraveled. But the greatest shock—a damning piece of evidence Russ Stager left behind—revealed the nightmare truth about Barbara. With “the fine-toothed-comb reporting of [an] ace crime journalist,” this book takes us deep into a spellbinding case of double life, lethal lust, and almost perfect murder (Kirkus Reviews).“A shocking and well-written portrait of a dangerous woman.” —The New York Times“Mesmerizing.” —Ann Rule, New York Times–bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me “This account of manipulation, compulsive spending, lying, promiscuity, and murder is made even more chilling by the fact that appearances are often deceiving.” —Library Journal“A profile of evil . . . Fascinating.” —The Baltimore Sun“Jerry Bledsoe is the master of true crime, the conclusion to what Truman Capote began. . . . Another stunning success.” —Patricia Cornwell, New York Times–bestselling author of Chaos
Ralph Ellison: A Biography
Arnold Rampersad - 2007
Ellison went on to earn many other honors, including two presidential medals and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, but his failure to publish a second novel, despite years of striving, haunted him for the rest of his life. Now, as the first scholar given complete access to Ellison's papers, Arnold Rampersad has written not only a reliable account of the main events of Ellison's life but also a complex, authoritative portrait of an unusual artist and human being. Born poor and soon fatherless in 1913, Ralph struggled both to belong to and to escape from the world of his childhood. We learn here about his sometimes happy, sometimes harrowing years growing up in Oklahoma City and attending Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Arriving in New York in 1936, he became a political radical before finally embracing the cosmopolitan intellectualism that would characterize his dazzling cultural essays, his eloquent interviews, and his historic novel. The second half of his long life brought both widespread critical acclaim and bitter disputes with many opponents, including black cultural nationalists outraged by what they saw as his elitism and misguided pride in his American citizenship. This biography describes a man of magnetic personality who counted Saul Bellow, Langston Hughes, Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wright, Richard Wilbur, Albert Murray, and John Cheever among his closest friends; a man both admired and reviled, whose life and art were shaped mainly by his unyielding desire to produce magnificent art and by his resilient faith in the moral and cultural strength of America. A magisterial biography of Ralph Waldo Ellison--a revelation of the man, the writer, and his times.
Cursed
Jeremy C. Shipp - 2009
The harder you struggle, the more you suffer. Your words mean nothing, your actions backfire, and one by one everybody you know is sucked down with you. You are: 1) Nick 2) cursed 3) afraid all the time That's because: a) someone or b) something is after you with a vengeance. Even with the help of other cursed people, you don't stand a chance because you're all, you know, cursed. That means you and everyone you know will: 1) suffer 2) die 3) amuse your tormentor That is, unless you figure out how to manipulate the person behind this and turn their power against them. Check your list a second time because they're probably on it. The only thing left to do is scratch them off.
Truth Be Told: Off the Record about Favorite Guests, Memorable Moments, Funniest Jokes, and a Half Century of Asking Questions
Larry King - 2011
After more than a half-century of asking questions, Larry King suddenly found everyone wanted answers from him. Was Larry King Live, CNN's highest rated program, ending after three decades? Was Larry getting divorced again? The paparazzi aimed their cameras at Larry. Jay Leno and other late-night talk-show hosts were having fun at his expense. And a cloud of uncertainty hovered over CNN. All of this forced Larry to look at changes in all aspects of his life, ultimately leading to his decision to leave Larry King Live and devote more time to his marriage and children.Larry reflects on how much the world has changed around him over the course of his fifty-year career, and he has a lot to say about everything and everyone: from marriage, politics, sports, entertainment, to the justice system, broadcasting, and the American future. Truth Be Told is a candid and surprising look inside the monumental career of one of the most powerful and legendary talk-show hosts as he signs off from the nightly television program that has been close to all of our hearts.
Amidst the Shadows of Trees: A Holocaust Child’s Survival in the Partisans
Miriam M. Brysk - 2007
They announce that the logical and important places to begin to examine that history are eye witnesses. Miriam Brysk’s chronicle is among the more exceptional of these works. It reflects her own life: highly accomplished, intelligent, detailed and thoughtful. At age seven, Miriam, her mother Bronka and father, Chaim Miasnik, a renowned surgeon, escaped the Lida ghetto and joined Jewish partisans in the Lipiczany Forest. Before the end of the war, Miriam estimates that her father had saved hundreds of lives and helped build and supervise a partisan hospital in the swamps of the forest. Constantly hunted by German soldiers, she experienced childhood terror that has remained with her. She lost her innocence, her childhood, her youth as she clung to her mother and her prized possession, a pistol. Her head was shaved so she would look like a boy. Her memory of the details of that time—both in the Lida ghetto and in the forest—remains remarkably sharp and distinguishes this memoir from many others. — Sidney Bolkosky, William E. Stirton Professor in the Social Sciences, Professor of History, University of Michigan-Dearborn
But He Doesn't Know The Territory
Meredith Willson - 1959
Hundreds of thousands more have enjoyed the National Company as it played Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Denver, Omaha, Des Moines, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Chicago.Meredith Wilson wrote the music the lyrics and the libretto of 'The Music Man' -all delightful. Now he has written a book about writing the show - equally delightful. He claims he had Trouble (with a capital T)and he documents his case with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and theatrical characters unknown in his native Iowa.
Silent Stars
Jeanine Basinger - 1999
Here are the great divas, Pola Negri and Gloria Swanson; the great flappers, Colleen Moore and Clara Bow; the great cowboys, William S. Hart and Tom Mix; and the great lover, John Gilbert. Basinger also includes the quintessential slapstick comedienne, Mabel Normand, with her Keystone Kops; the quintessential all-American hero, Douglas Fairbanks; and, of course, the quintessential all-American dog, Rin-Tin-Tin.
Hindsight: And All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me
Justin Timberlake - 2018
He talks about his songwriting process, offering the back story to many of his hits. He muses on his collaborations with other artists and directors, sharing the details of performances in concert, TV comedy, and film. He also reflects on who he is, examining what makes him tick, speaking candidly about fatherhood, family, close relationships, struggles, and his search to find an inner calm and strength.
Living a creative life, observing and finding inspiration in the world, taking risks, and listening to an inner voice—this is Justin Timberlake.
J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets
Curt Gentry - 1991
From more than 300 interviews and over 100,000 pages of previously classified documents, Gentry reveals exactly how a paranoid director created the fraudulent myth of an invincible, incorruptible FBI. For almost fifty years, Hoover held virtually unchecked public power, manipulating every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Richard Nixon. He kept extensive blackmail files and used illegal wiretaps and hidden microphones to destroy anyone who opposed him. The book reveals how Hoover helped create McCarthyism, blackmailed the Kennedy brothers, and influenced the Supreme Court; how he retarded the civil rights movement and forged connections with mobsters; as well as insight into the Watergate scandal and what part he played in the investigations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
A Cup of Normal
Devon Monk - 2010
From dark fairytales to alien skies, Monk's stories blend haunting yesterdays, forgotten todays and twisted tomorrows wherein:...A normal little girl in a city made of gears, takes on the world to save a toy.......A normal ancient monster living in Seattle, must decide if love is worth trusting a hero......A normal patchwork woman and her two-headed boyfriend stitch their life and farm together with needle, thread, and time......a normal vampire in a knitting shop must face sun-drenched secrets......a normal snow creature's wish changes a mad man's life......a normal man breaks reality with a hamster......and yes, a normal little robot, defines how extraordinary friendship can be.Poignant, bittersweet, frightening, and funny, these stories pour out worlds that are both lovely and odd, darkly strange and tantalizingly familiar, where no matter how fantastic the setting or situation, love, freedom, and hope find a way to take root and thrive.“Dusi” (Realms of Fantasy, Oct 1999)“Beer with a Hamster Chaser”(Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #14, June 2004)“Probe” (Odyssey #5, 1998)“That Saturday” (Better off Dead, Daw Books, Nov 2008)“The Wishing Time” (First publication in the 1st edition, 2010)“Bearing Life” (Maiden, Matron, Crone, Daw Books, May 2005)“A Cup of Normal” (First publication in 2nd edition, 2015)“Stitchery” (Black Gate #2, 2001; Year’s Best Fantasy 2, Eos, 2002)“Last Tour of Duty” (Realms of Fantasy, Dec 2001)“Oldblade” (Talebones #19, Spring 2000)“Skein of Sunlight” (Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2, 2009)“Stringing Tomorrow” (Talebones #32, Spring 2006)“X-Day” (First publication in the 1st edition, 2010)“Menders” (First publication in the 1st edition, 2010)“Leeward to the Sky” (Realms of Fantasy, June 2002)“Fishing the Edge of the World” (Talebones #28, Summer 2004)“Moonlighting” (Fantasy Gone Wrong, Daw Books, Sept 2006)“Christmas Card” (First publication in the 1st edition, 2010)“Ducks in a Row” (Realms of Fantasy, April 2006)“Singing Down the Sun” (Fantastic Companions, May 2005)“Here After Life” (Realms of Fantasy, Feb 2003)“Falling with Wings” (Realms of Fantasy, Aug 2004)“When the Train Calls Lonely” (Realms of Fantasy, Oct 2007)
The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present
Tim Brooks - 1979
It’s a guide you’ll turn to again and again for information on every series ever telecast. There are entries for all the great shows, from evergreens like The Honeymooners, All in the Family, and Happy Days to modern classics like 24, The Office, and Desperate Housewives; all the gripping sci-fi series, from Captain Video and the new Battle Star Galactica to all versions of Star Trek; the popular serials, from Peyton Place and Dallas to Dawson’s Creek and Ugly Betty; the reality show phenomena American Idol, Survivor, and The Amazing Race; and the hits on cable, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Top Chef, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Project Runway, and SpongeBob SquarePants. This comprehensive guide lists every program alphabetically and includes a complete broadcast history, cast, and engaging plot summary–along with exciting behind-the-scenes stories about the shows and the stars.MORE THAN 500 ALL-NEW LISTINGS from Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy to 30 Rock and Nip/Tuck UPDATES ON CONTINUING SHOWS such as CSI, Gilmore Girls, The Simpsons, and The Real WorldEXTENSIVE CABLE COVERAGE with more than 1,000 entries, including a description of the programming on each major cable networkAND DON’T MISS the exclusive and updated “Ph.D. Trivia Quiz” of 200 questions that will challenge even the most ardent TV fan, plus a streamlined guide to TV-related websites for those who want to be constantly up-to-dateSPECIAL FEATURES!• Annual program schedules at a glance for the past 61 years • Top-rated shows of each season • Emmy Award winners • Longest-running series • Spin-off series • Theme songs • A fascinating history of TV “This is the Guinness Book of World Records . . .the Encyclopedia Britannica of television!”–TV Guide
Chasing the Dream: My Lifelong Journey to the World Series
Joe Torre - 1997
Louis Cardinals in 1995, he thought his career in baseball was over. After more than three decades and4,200 games as a player and manager, one thing had always eluded him--winning a World Series. He had all but given up his dream when the New York Yankees made him an offer to manage their 1996 club. Encouraged by his wife and others, he accepted, and so began one of the greatest seasons in the fabled history of the New York Yankee franchise and one of the most inspiring, heartwarming stories in all ofbaseball. Here is the ultimate insider's record of that unforgettable season by the man whose personal struggles captured the hearts and imaginations of fanseverywhere. Tough, gritty, but always fair and honest, Torre vividly reveals how he turned a potentially volatile mix of talented youngsters such as AndyPettitte and Derek Jeter, seasoned veterans like Wade Boggs and Paul O'Neill, and so-called "problem" players like Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden into a cohesive unit that cared more about winning than personal egos. He explains how he played his hunches and earned his team's confidence and respect as hefocused his players from spring training on toward one goal: the World Series. And he did it all in a pressure-filled sports city that expects nothing lessthan a champion.But how he did it is only part of this remarkable story. For at the same time that Torre was overcoming the odds on the field, his family was facing muchgreater hardships off the field. He speaks candidly and emotionally of the tragedy of his oldest brother Rocco's sudden death, and the agonizing ordeal ofhis other older brother, Frank, who waited for the heart transplant that could save his life. It was his wife, Ali, who gave him the faith to believeanything was possible. Together with his sisters Rae and Sister Marguerite, a nun from Queens, they dared to dream the impossible. In a fairy-tale endingnot even the best Hollywood scriptwriter could imagine, Frank Torre got his new heart the day before the Yankees won their first World Series championshipsince 1978--and Joe Torre won his first ever.Here is Joe Torre's own story--told for the first time in his own words--from his early childhood in Brooklyn, to his celebrated baseball career playing with the likes of Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson, to his stint as the first native New Yorker ever to manage the Yankees. Offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at a season to remember and a man who went through so much to reach the pinnacle of his profession, Chasing the Dream is more than just another sportsstory. It is a poignant reminder of why we love the game--and how, sometimes, nice guys do finish first.From the Hardcover edition.
American Legends: The Life of Sitting Bull
Charles River Editors - 2012
The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them? Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux? Because I was born where my father lived? Because I would die for my people and my country?” – Sitting BullA lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history’s most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors’ American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America’s most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.In 1872, during a fight along the Yellowstone River between U.S. troops protecting railroad workers and Sioux warriors, one of the Sioux did something both unusual and inspiring. At the height of the battle, with bullets whizzing all around him, this warrior sat down, loaded his cannupa (sacred pipe), and began to smoke, partaking in his people’s religious sacrament. For the Sioux, smoking a pipe was akin to praying, and the smoke, wafting up through to the heavens, represented those prayers as they floated up to Wakan Tanka, the “god” of the Native Americans who occupied the North American Plains. Wakan Tanka is not the name of their god but rather a description, for the words literally mean “Great Mystery.” The Sioux warrior continued smoking until done with his pipe, and after carefully reaming and cleaning out the pipe, he rose to his feet, and rejoined the battle.Of course, it was not that battle which made Sitting Bull one of the most famous Native Americans in American history. Like Geronimo in the Southwest during the same era, Sitting Bull was a warrior who fought in several skirmishes against settlers and U.S. forces across the Plains during the 1860s, and while it is still debated whether he was the "Supreme Chief of the whole Sioux Nation" by 1868, it’s clear that he was one of the influential leaders of the Lakota. And when The Great Sioux War of 1876 began, Sitting Bull was recognized as the most important leader among all Native American tribes on the Plains, and the one to turn to for those who intended to keep fighting whites.Sitting Bull ensured he would become a legend at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, during which an estimated 2,000 Lakota and Cheyenne warriors inspired by one of his visions routed and then annihilated the 7th U.S. Cavalry led by George Custer. That disaster led the American government to double down on its efforts to “pacify” the Sioux, and by the end of the decade many of them had surrendered and been moved onto a reservation. Sitting Bull defiantly refused to surrender, instead heading with a smaller band into Canada and remaining exiled.When he finally surrendered to the U.S. in 1881, he was a celebrity of sorts, and Sitting Bull went on to appear in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show during the decade. Not surprisingly, his death was as controversial as his life; in 1890 Sitting Bull was killed on a reservation after plans to arrest him went terribly awry, leading to fighting in the aftermath that left over a dozen dead.American Legends: The Life of Sitting Bull chronicles the amazing life of the Sioux leader who defiantly fought to save his people’s homeland, but it also humanizes the man who became one of the most famous Native Americans in American history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Sitting Bull like you never have before, in no time at all.
Barefoot to Avalon: A Brother's Story
David Payne - 2015
Soon thereafter, David’s life hit a downward spiral. His career came to a standstill, his marriage disintegrated, and his drinking went from a cocktail-hour indulgence to a full-blown addiction. He found himself haunted not only by George A.’s death, but also by his brother’s manic depression, a hereditary illness that overlaid a dark family history whose roots now gripped David.Barefoot to Avalon is Payne’s earnest and unflinching account of George A. and their boyhood footrace that lasted long into their adulthood, defining their relationship and their lives. As universal as it is intimate, this is an exceptional memoir of brotherhood, of sibling rivalries and sibling love, and of the torments a family can hold silent and carry across generations.