Star Man: The Right Hand Man of Rock 'n' Roll


Michael Francis - 2003
    Paul hired Michael as his security guard, beginning a thirty-year music business career in which he worked with such legendary names as Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Osmonds, Sheena Easton, Frank Sinatra, Bon Jovi, Cher, and Kiss. As tour manager, Michael was responsible for every aspect of their safety and their comfort, from making sure they were not mobbed on stage to making sure they got paid. To some of them he became close. He was best man at Jon Bon Jovi's wedding, and provided personal security for Cher at her Malibu home. He shared their wildest excesses, their highs and their lows; he saw their fears, and all too often, their loneliness and paranoia. Sometimes hilarious, frequently shocking, always perceptive, Star Man is the outrageous, uncompromising, and brutally honest story of one man's life with the biggest stars of rock.

Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption


Dan Clark a.k.a. Nitro - 2009
    But a twenty-year affair with steroids led to a life of pissing blood, smuggling drugs, destroying hotel rooms, getting arrested, growing breasts, and lying bloodied in the street after a vicious fight with his best friend.This is Clark's riveting, fiercely candid account of his life, career, and steroid addiction. From an upbringing defined by tragedy and a difficult search for identity to tales of performing center stage at Madison Square Garden and bedding Playboy Bunnies and porn stars, Clark explores the price of fame, the pressure of stardom, and how the whole steroid-fueled fantasy finally imploded.What began in high school as a way to speed up recovery from injury rapidly turned into an all-consuming addiction. With selfdeprecating humor and a trove of incredible stories, Clark provides an eye-opening report on the dangers of steroids both obvious and hidden -- and offers his thoughts on why steroid use remains a persistent problem today. More than just a pulpy expose, "Gladiator" is a triumphant story of self-discovery and redemption.

The Grim Reaper: The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior


Stu Grimson - 2019
    They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL.Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms. He stared down the toughest players on the planet for seventeen years, while working on his first university degree. He retired on his own terms, and went on to practice law, including a stint as in-house counsel for the NHLPA.This has put him in a unique position when it comes to commenting on the game. He's seen it from the trenches, and he's seen it from the courtroom. This puts him in the eye of the storm surrounding fighting and concussions. And he handles that the way he does everything: on his own terms. When Don Cherry called him out on televison, it was the seemingly indominable Cherry who backed down. Hockey fans will be fascinated by his data-driven defence of fighting.But in the end, this is not a book about fighting and locker-room stories. It's the story of a young man who ultimately took on the toughest role in pro sports and came out the other side. Where many others have not.

Six Tires, No Plan: The Impossible Journey of the Most Inspirational Leader That (Almost) Nobody Knows


Michael Rosenbaum - 2012
    Challenged in school and growing up in a struggling family, Halle looked like every other kid who would leave high school in the 1940s and disappear into a factory.Instead, Halle created one of America’s most respected companies, rose to join the Forbes magazine list of the four hundred richest Americans and serve as the role model for the ordinary Joes who seek out success at Discount Tire Company.Six Tires, No Plan maps Halle’s journey out of poverty and failure and reveals the deceptively simple values that drive success for him, his company and thousands of employees. Key among those principles is Halle’s commitment to passing on his good fortune to the thousands of employees who serve his customers every day. This is Halle’s true passion, and paying it forward to the ordinary guy is a cornerstone of Discount Tire’s ongoing success.Avoiding the spotlight, crediting his employees for the success of the company, Halle demonstrates the incredible power of perseverance and fundamental values to create long-term success. His journey offers a roadmap worth following in both career and life.

Days of Terror


Barbara Smucker - 1979
    Set in 1917 and the years following, Days of Terror tells the story of ten-year-old Peter Neufeld and his family. Sickened by the horrors of anarchy, famine and the Russian revolution, the Neufelds decide to join the mass exodus of Mennonites to North America. But will they survive the journey?

Gloomy Gus


Walt Morey - 1970
    Then he finds Gus, an orphaned cub, and from then on their lives change. They're wanted-by the cruel circus master who try to hurt the bear and by Eric's neglectful father who sees only profit in the friendship between Eric and Gloomy Gus. Together, they run away, and the chase begins.

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom


Chris van Wyk - 2009
    Now the youngest readers can discover the remarkable story of Mandela's long walk from ordinary village boy, to his dynamic leadership of the African National Congress, to his many long years in prison-and, at last, his freedom and astonishing rise to become the leader of his country.

Robin Williams: Biography


Brian Morris - 2014
    Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. This book is devoted to America's best actor and best comedian. Robin Williams was a celebrated actor and comedian. Robin McLaughlin Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois, July 21, 1951; he received the prestigious degree at the Juilliard School of Music and Performing Arts in New York. Williams received his first Golden Globe nomination a Soviet Russian circus performer in the comedy Moscow on the Hudson, and eventually was nominated for an Oscar for best actor award three times, and won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. He also won five Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Emmy Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Williams not only be seen in the critically acclaimed film, and at the box office, hook, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Night at the Museum, as well as the animated film Happy Feet and Aladdin. Many in the entertainment industry was impressed with Williams to a variety of roles, such as turning ability, his infectious energy and versatility improvisation inspired many stand-up comedian. At the age of 63, Williams was found dead at his home in Paradise Island, California August 11, 2014. Tags: Robin Williams

Vision of Beauty: The Story of Sarah Breedlove Walker


Kathryn Lasky - 2000
    A vision of dignity and freedom and a powerful role model for girls and women of all races

Till the Clouds Roll By


Ruskin Bond - 2017
    As he reacquaints himself with his mother, now remarried and with a busy social life, his stepfather and new siblings, a pensive Ruskin longs for his father's company, his stamp collection and the old gramophone. Trying to escape this unfamiliar place, he immerses himself in books and explores the forest glades, canals and bazaars of the little town, forming some unlikely friendships on the way. After the much-loved Looking for the Rainbow, the master storyteller lends another backward glance at his boyhood years-a vacation that took place over seventy winters ago-remembering his days with rare humour, remarkable charm and twinges of heartache.

Amelia


Nancy Nahra - 2013
    In fact, the mysteries surrounding her fate often overshadows her accomplishments as a pilot and author. Who was this high-flying woman who lived as if she were invincible but understood she was anything but? Here, from historian Nancy Nahra, is her inspiring story.

Robin Williams: A Biography


Andy Dougan - 1998
    This biography provides a detailed look at the comedian's life and career, from his poor-little-rich-kid childhood to his first big break to his battle with substance abuse to his recent successes.

Charlotte in Giverny


Joan MacPhail Knight - 2000
    In spite of missing her best friend, Charlotte becomes enchanted with France and records her colorful experiences in her journal. She makes new friends, plants a garden, learns to speak French, and even attends the wedding of Monsieur Monet's daughter!Illustrated with beautiful museum reproductions and charming watercolor collages, Charlotte in Giverny includes a French glossary as well as biographical sketches of the featured painters. This delightful journal of a young girl's exciting year will capture readers' imaginations and leave a lasting impression.

Stripped Down: A Naked Memoir


Stacey Keith - 2013
    This chronicle of life in the skin trade follows the meteoric rise of Stacey Keith, a girl scarcely out of her teens whose eye-popping assets launch her from wet T-shirt contests to the catwalks of Houston, strip bar capital of the world. Almost overnight, she is discovered by a famous porn star, who Svengalis her onto the pages of Playboy, Penthouse, and dozens of other men’s magazines. While strutting her stuff onstage and across the country, Stacey makes the fateful decision to head to Hollywood. She’s got everything a girl could want: fame, attention, endless piles of cash...but no idea what awaits her. With Internet porn overtaking men’s magazines, everyone from her Mafia-boss road manager to her smarmy talent agent pressures Stacey to do more than just flash her flesh. Uber-boob filmmaker Russ Meyer verbally abuses her; rocker Don Henley tries to use her. Yet through it all, from the warped misogyny of Playboy to the S&M dungeons of the Pacific Palisades, Stacey’s dark, self-deprecating humor will leave you laughing, crying and rooting for her at every step of the way.

Lou Reed: The Last Interview and Other Conversations


Lou Reed - 2015
    In conversation with legendary rock critics and authors he respected, Reed’s interviews are as pithy and brilliant as the man himself.