My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of A Gun


Lewis Grizzard - 1986
    This is a compelling, often hilarious portrait of a loving man who faced failure but always remained an inspiration to his son. "A sad book, a funny book, a very human book".--The Courier-Times.

Non-Fiction


Chuck Palahniuk - 2004
    The pieces that comprise Non-Fiction prove just how different, in ways both highly entertaining and deeply unsettling. Encounters with alternative culture heroes Marilyn Manson and Juliette Lewis; the peculiar wages of fame attendant on the big budget film production of the movie Fight Club; life as an assembly-line drive train installer by day, hospice volunteer driver by night; the really peculiar lives of submariners; the really violent world of college wrestlers; the underground world of anabolic steroid gobblers; the harrowing circumstances of his father's murder and the trial of his killer - each essay or vignette offers a unique facet of existence as lived in and/or observed by one of America's most flagrantly daring and original literary talents.

Propaganda


Edward L. Bernays - 1928
    Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”—Edward Bernays, PropagandaA seminal and controversial figure in the history of political thought and public relations, Edward Bernays (1891–1995), pioneered the scientific technique of shaping and manipulating public opinion, which he famously dubbed “engineering of consent.” During World War I, he was an integral part of the U.S. Committee on Public Information (CPI), a powerful propaganda apparatus that was mobilized to package, advertise and sell the war to the American people as one that would “Make the World Safe for Democracy.” The CPI would become the blueprint in which marketing strategies for future wars would be based upon.Bernays applied the techniques he had learned in the CPI and, incorporating some of the ideas of Walter Lipmann, became an outspoken proponent of propaganda as a tool for democratic and corporate manipulation of the population. His 1928 bombshell Propaganda lays out his eerily prescient vision for using propaganda to regiment the collective mind in a variety of areas, including government, politics, art, science and education. To read this book today is to frightfully comprehend what our contemporary institutions of government and business have become in regards to organized manipulation of the masses.This is the first reprint of Propaganda in over 30 years and features an introduction by Mark Crispin Miller, author of The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder.

Robert's Rules For Dummies


C. Alan Jennings - 2004
    Unfortunately, when read on its own, it can prove to be unclear and hard to follow for many organizations—and that's where this friendly guide comes in. This new edition of Robert's Rules For Dummies demystifies the often-confusing rules of parliamentary procedure in clear, simple language and shows you how to apply them within your organization in a practical and effective way. From procedures for proper nominations to handling elections and ballots, from conducting meetings online to voting by mail and email—and everything in between—this hands-on, plain-English guide makes it easier to apply the information in the most recent version of the rules handbook so you and your organization can start benefiting from it today. Contains updated content that conforms to changes in business meetings, including special rules for making group decisions in both real-time and non-real-time environments Covers new timesaving tips to make meetings more efficient in a world where everyone is pressed for time Provides sample agendas, minutes, scripts, and more Includes interactive online material for readers on the go If you want to keep meetings organized, efficient, and on track, Robert's Rules For Dummies has you covered.

Only the Paranoid Survive. Lessons from the CEO of INTEL Corporation


Andrew S. Grove - 1988
    Under Andrew Grove's leadership, Intel has become the world's largest computer chipmaker, the 5th most admired company in America, and the 7th most profitable company among the Fortune 500. Few CEOs can claim this level of success. Grove attributes much of it to the philosophy and strategy he has learned the hard way as he steered Intel through a series of potential major disasters. There are moments in any business when massive change occurs, when all the rules of business shift fast, furiously and forever. Grove calls such moments strategic inflection points (SIPs), and he has lived through several. They can be set off by almost anything - by mega competition, an arcane change in regulations, or by a seemingly modest change in technology. They are not always easy to spot - but you can't hide from them. Intel's first SIP was when the Japanese started producing better-quality, lower-cost memory chips. It took Grove three years and huge losses to recognize that he had to rethink and reposition the company to become, once again, leader in its field.Grove extrapolates the lessons he has learned from this and other SIPs - for instance the drama of the Pentium flaw, and the SIP brought on by the Internet - to reveal a unique insight into the management of change. He recounts strategies from other companies and examines his own record of success and failure. Only the Paranoid Survive is a classic lesson in leadership skills that every manager in every industry will benefit from. Every manager must assume that something will change - very soon.

Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar


Kelly Oxford - 2012
    From her beginnings as a wunderkind producer of pirated stage productions for six-year-olds, through her spirited adventures watching self-satisfying monkeys, throwing up on Chinese food deliverymen, and stalking Leo DiCaprio, here are the goofy highs and horrifying lows of life as Kelly Oxford.

Tickling the English


Dara Ó Briain - 2009
    When he's not in London, he's taking his show on tour up and down the country. Although he's been doing this for years, it's clear to him that his adopted home is still a a bit of an enigma. It is high time, he decides, to discover what makes the English so...well, English.

The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller


Carol Baxter - 2017
    Jail attendants said they understood she was held in connection with the shooting of an airline pilot.'Petite, glamorous and beguiling, Jessie 'Chubbie' Miller was one remarkable woman ... flyer, thrill seeker, heartbreaker. No adventure was too wild for her, no danger too extreme. And all over the world men adored her.When the young Jessie left suburban Melbourne and her newspaperman husband in 1927, little did she know that she'd become the first woman to complete an England to Australia flight (with a black silk gown thrown into her small flight bag, just in case), or fly the first air race for women with Amelia Earhart, or that she would disappear over the Florida Straits feared lost forever only to charm her way to a rescue. Nor could she have predicted that five years later she'd find herself at the centre of one of the most notorious and controversial murder trials in United States history. And this all began with something as ridiculously mundane as a pat of butter.The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller is a spellbinding story of an extraordinary woman - an international celebrity during the golden age of aviation - and her passionate and spirited life.

My Dad Wrote a Porno: The fully annotated edition of Rocky Flintstone's Belinda Blinked


Jamie Morton - 2016
    . . So begins Belinda Blinked, Rocky Flintstone's now-legendary porno (sorry, erotic novel), and so began My Dad Wrote a Porno, the outrageously funny podcast begun by Rocky's son and two friends and now adored by legions of fans, having been downloaded over ten million times. Now the steamy book that became a podcast sensation is a book again: the ultimate annotated edition of Belinda Blinked, with all the original text, all the podcast team's baffled, delighted and disgusted commentary, and huge amounts of new material, including - character profiles - analysis of the themes and motifs of the novel - a detailed look at the ins and outs of the pots and pans industry - a quiz - illustrations: how exactly do you grab someone's cervix? - Rocky's own response to his new-found fame. All that, plus of course the pleasure of holding the real text of Belinda Blinked in your hands; relive the initial interview, the tombola, the fundraising party for the Asses and Donkeys Trust, and so much more. My Dad Wrote a Porno: the book is the funniest, naughtiest, strangest book of a podcast of a book you'll ever read. This book contains adult content and is not suitable for those under the age of 18Author BiographyJamie Morton was horrified to discover his dad - known only by the nom de porn Rocky Flintstone - had written a porno. He enlisted his friends, James Cooper and Radio 1 host Alice Levine, to help read it aloud, creating the massively successful My Dad Wrote a Porno podcast. Belinda Blinked 1 is Rocky Flintstone's first novel and the first in the Belinda Blinked series: Belinda Blinked 2 is now available. He likes to write in the sun with a glass of wine in his hand. - My Dad Wrote A Porno (Hardback)

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10


Marcus Luttrell - 2006
    Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive. This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. But it is also, more than anything, the story of his teammates, who fought ferociously beside him until he was the last one left-blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell fought off six al Qaeda assassins who were sent to finish him, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers. A six-foot-five-inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow-by-blow, through the brutal training of America's warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks. In this rich , moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare-and a tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

The Lunch-Box Chronicles: Notes from the Parenting Underground


Marion Winik - 1998
    . . ."   With the candor and often hilarious outlook that have made her a beloved commentator on NPR, Marion Winik takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through modern parenthood, with all of its attendant anxieties and joys.        A single mother with two small boys, Winik knows exactly what she's talking about, from battles over breakfast and bedtime to the virtues of pre-packaged food and weightier issues like sex education and sibling rivalry. Part memoir and part survival guide, The Lunch-Box Chronicles is an engaging philosophy of parenting from a staunch realist, who knows that kids and their parents both will inevitably fall far short of perfection, and that a "good enough mom" really is, in fact, good enough.

Learn Me Good


John Pearson - 2006
    He has forty children, and all of them have different mothers..."Jack Woodson was a thermal design engineer for four years until he was laid off from his job. Now, as a teacher, he faces new challenges. Conference calls have been replaced with parent conferences. Product testing has given way to standardized testing. Instead of business cards, Jack now passes out report cards. The only thing that hasn't changed noticeably is the maturity level of the people surrounding him all day.Learn Me Good is Jack's hilarious retelling of his harrowing rookie year, written as a series of emails to Fred Bommerson, his former engineering coworker. Inspired by real-life experiences of rambunctious and precocious children, lesson plans gone awry, and incredibly outrageous quotes, this laugh a minute page turner will give you a new appreciation for educators. Jack holds a March Mathness tournament, he faces a child's urgent declaration of "My bowels be runnin'!", and he mistakenly asks one girl's mother if she is her brother. With subject lines such as "Irritable Vowel Syndrome," "In math class, no one can hear you scream," and "I love the smell of Lysol in the morning," Jack fills each email with sarcastic (yet loving) humor, insightful observations, and plenty of irreverent wit.If you've ever taught, you will undoubtedly recognize aspects of your own students in Jack's classroom. If you've never set foot in a classroom, you will still appreciate the funny quirks, behaviors, and quotes from the kids and adults alike."I teach, therefore I am...poor!"

I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan


Alan Partridge - 2011
    Star of action blockbuster Alpha Papa; a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future.Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma?Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile at St. Luke’s Hospital in Norwich. After replacing Peter Flint as the presenter of Scout About, he entered the top 8 of BBC sports presenters.But Alan’s big break came with his primetime BBC chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You. Sadly, the show battled against poor scheduling, having been put up against News at Ten, then in its heyday. Due to declining ratings, a single catastrophic hitch (the killing of a guest on air) and the dumbing down of network TV, Alan’s show was cancelled. Not to be dissuaded, he embraced this opportunity to wind up his production company, leave London and fulfil a lifelong ambition to return to his roots in local radio.Now single, Alan is an intensely private man but he opens up, for the second time, in this candid, entertaining, often deeply emotional – and of course compelling – memoir, written entirely in his own words. (Alan quickly dispelled the idea of using a ghost writer. With a grade B English Language O-Level, he knew he was up to the task.)He speaks touchingly about his tragic Toblerone addiction, and the painful moment when unsold copies of his first autobiography, Bouncing Back, were pulped like ‘word porridge’. He reveals all about his relationship with his ex-Ukrainian girlfriend, Sonja, with whom he had sex at least twice a day, and the truth about the thick people who make key decisions at the BBC.A literary tour de force, I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan charts the incredible journey of one of our greatest broadcasters.

Why Mummy Drinks


Gill Sims - 2017
    She is staring down the barrel at a future of people asking if she wants to come to their yoga class, and book clubs, where everyone is wearing statement scarves and they are all ‘tiddly’ after a glass of Pinot Grigio. But Mummy does not want to go quietly into that good night of women with sensible haircuts who ‘live for their children’, boasting about Boy Child and Girl Child’s achievements. Instead, she clutches a large glass of wine, muttering FML over and over, and then remembers the gem of an idea she’s had…

Don't Take the Last Donut: New Rules of Business Etiquette


Judith Bowman - 2007
    Four out of 10 admitted to behaving badly themselves.Do you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?Don't Take the Last Donut gives you the tools you need to be confident and letter-perfect in any business setting--from pitch to presentation, from networking to contact negotiations, and everything in between. With this book, you will easily master the art of small talk, the protocol of the perfect business introduction, and the many nuances of the business lunch. You'll never feel awkward in a business setting again!Don't Take the Last Donut unlocks the mysteries and benefits of business etiquette. More than simple good manners, business protocol is a set of tools that allows you to move with confidence through any business setting and act with ease in any meeting or presentation. You'll learn: - The protocol of the proper business introduction...even if you have forgotten someone's name.- The art of creating a positive first impression.- Tips for fool-proof small talk.- How to manage an awkward moment.- How to gracefully work a room.- The vast differences in rules of etiquette around the world.Secure in the knowledge that you are doing the "right" thing in any business situation, you will be freed to focus on your real goals without worrying about which fork to use or how to greet a international colleague.At a time when organizations and standard hierarchies are in flux, the wise use of business protocol will allow you to stand out and set the right tone in all of your business relationships--correct, secure, flawless.