Book picks similar to
Spirit of America by Peter Lik


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Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana: (Books about Marijuana, Guide to Cannabis, Weed Bible)


Dan Michaels - 2015
    Presented in an eye-popping package and filled with hyperdetailed photography of individual buds, this essential guide to marijuana is smart, practical, and exceedingly beautiful. The "Primer" section explores the culture of this complex flower and explains the botany that makes each strain unique. The "Buds" section describes the variations of lineage, flavor, and mental or physical high that define 170 exceptional strains. Poised to become the go-to marijuana guide for recreational and medicinal users alike, Green is easy to pick up and impossible to put down.

Valley Walls: A Memoir of Climbing and Living in Yosemite


Glen Denny - 2016
    Photographer Glen Denny was a key figure in this golden age of climbing, capturing pioneering feats on camera while tackling challenging ascents himself.In entertaining short pieces enlivened by his iconic black-and-white images of Yosemite's big wall legends, Denny reveals a young man's coming of age and provides a vivid look at Yosemite’s early climbing culture. He relates such precarious achievements as hauling water in glass gallon jugs up the east face of Washington Column, nailing the 750-foot Rostrum in a punishing heat wave, and dangling overnight on El Capitan’s Dihedral Wall in a lightning storm. Each true tale captures the spirit of historic Camp 4, where Denny and others plan the next big climb while living on the cheap and dodging park rangers.

Murder in the Front Row: Shots From the Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter


Brian Lew - 2011
    Featuring hundreds of unseen live and candid color and black-and-white photographs, "Murder in the Front Row" captures the wild-eyed zeal and drive that made Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth into legends, with over 100 million combined records sold.

Jan Saudek


Jan Saudek - 1998
    Internationally famous Czech photographer Jan Saudek is no exception, and equally as uncompromising in pursuit of his own unique vision. For over four decades Saudek has created a parallel photographic universe, a two-dimensional home full of longing, peopled with the most extraordinary characters and colored by desire. The timeless strength of his hand-tinted photographs lies in their poetic compositions and their forceful?at times ribald?pictorial language, with its overtones of medieval genre pictures and Baroque mythology. Rejecting the traditional beauty in his famous nude photographs, Saudek shows the distinctively different: old women, fat women, children; real people in tableaux vivants that remind us of everything from surreal early movies to fin-de-siecle carnival nights. They exist outside time, a uniquely colored and almost mythical theater of dreams. Covering his debut in the 1950s through his lesser-known work to recent images, this dazzling collection offers us the true "velvet revolution," fertile and unsettling images from the dreams we might still have. The author: Daniela Mr?zkov?, critic and editor of the Czech magazines Revue fotografie and Fotografie-Magaz?n, is the author of sixteen books on photography published in the Czech Republic and abroad, and the curator of around fifty photography exhibitions. She has been a member of international juries, and has authored film and television documentaries on photography and photographers. She hasfollowed Jan Saudek's work since his early years and is the author of Saudek's first Czech monograph, The Theatre of Life.

Raising Cole: Developing Life's Greatest Relationship, Embracing Life's Greatest Tragedy: A Father's Story


Marc Pittman - 2004
    But when he had a son, Marc became the father he had always wanted to have. When seven-year-old Cole asked him about beer, Marc Pittman put down his can and never drank again. He told his boys everything, and they were honest with him in return. They unburdened their fears; told him their dreams; and even admitted their sins. Despite the fact that his sons were star football players, they felt no shame in holding their father's hand in public. People told him he was lucky to have the relationship he did with his children, but Marc Pittman knew the truth-it wasn't luck, he worked at it every day. And then his eldest son, Cole, was killed in a traffic accident on the way to football practice at the University of Texas. This book is the story not just of how Marc Pittman dealt with this tragedy, but of the 21 years he lived with Cole and the lessons he learned about being a good father, a good friend, and a good man. "A must read...Marc Pittman crosses the boundary and stigma of the tough guy and shows that while being very tough, you can also be very compassionate. This book will make you appreciate not every hour, but every second you spend with someone you love."

Mummy is a Killer


Nikkia Roberson - 2012
    But how else do you cope when your mentally ill mother has killed your little brother and sister by scalding them with boiling water?This is a harrowing true story of how one little girl endured the most tragic of childhoods. But it's also the ultimate tale of forgiveness.Follow Nikkia on her heartbreaking journey, as she attempts to find answers and rekindle a relationship with her mother behind the gates of a secure psychiatric hospital.Deeply moving, Mummy is a Killer proves that love really is the strongest emotion of all.

Living an Inspired Life: Your Ultimate Calling


Wayne W. Dyer - 2016
    Wayne W. Dyer There’s a voice in the Universe entreating us to remember our purpose, our reason for being here now in this world of impermanence. The voice whispers, shouts, and sings to us that this experience—of being in form in space and time—has meaning. That voice belongs to inspiration, which is within each and every one of us.            The feelings of emptiness; the idea that there must be something more; wondering, Is this all there is?; and trying to determine the meaning of life . . . this is all evidence of a yearning to reconnect with our soul space. We’re aching for our calling to be felt and expressed. In Living an Inspired Life (previously published under the title Inspiration), Dr. Wayne W. Dyer explains how we’ve chosen to enter this world of particles and form. From our place of origin, in ways that we don’t readily comprehend now, we knew what we were coming here to accomplish, and we participated in setting this life process in motion. So why not think along these same lines? Why put the responsibility or blame on any one or any thing that’s not a part of us? On Earth we have the capacity of volition—we can choose—so let’s assume that we had the same capacity when we resided in the spiritual realm. We chose our physical body, and we chose the parents we needed for the trip. It doesn’t seem too great a stretch to move into the idea that we chose this life in concert with our Source. Inspiration can be cultivated and be a driving force throughout life, rather than showing up every now and then and just as mysteriously disappearing, seemingly independent of our desires. Inspiration is for everyone! It isn’t reserved for high-profile creative geniuses in the arts and sciences—it’s inherent in our Divine birthright. The problem is that as children we’re gradually taught to believe exclusively in the world of phenomena where ego is dominant and inspiration diminished. As you read each chapter in this book, you’ll find specific suggestions for living “in-Spirit.” From a very personal viewpoint, Dr. Dyer offers a blueprint through the world of inspiration—your ultimate calling.

Plant Tribe: Living Happily Ever After with Plants


Igor Josifovic - 2020
    Aimed at a wider audience than typical houseplant books, each chapter combines easily digestible plant knowledge, style guidance via real home interiors, and inspiring advice for using plants to increase energy, creativity, and well-being and to attract love and prosperity. Also included: real-world @urbanjungleblog followers’ FAQs; a section on plants and pets; and plant care for the different stages of a houseplant’s life. The focus is on using plants to raise the positive energy of every room in the house and to live happily ever after with plants.

In Pursuit of the Truth


Clive Driscoll - 2015
    For Clive, it was the pinnacle of a 35-year career with the world’s most famous police force, the Metropolitan Police Service.Clive’s prodigious rise through the ranks of the Met saw him front some of the most high-profile units at Scotland Yard. He was put in charge of their policy for sexual offences, domestic violence, child protection and the paedophile unit before heading up the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force tackling their backlist of cold cases. From action-packed moments chasing down criminals to more tender occasions, like gaining the trust of a murder victim’s family, to making crucial legal history, and unearthing huge national scandals, In Pursuit of the Truth is the definitive account of modern day policing, its successes and failings included, seen through the eyes of a man who has dedicated his life to making a difference. This is a book that every part of society can learn from.

Stand For Something: The Battle for America's Soul


John Kasich - 2006
    A former longtime U.S. congressman, a respected author and popular television host, Kasich has been around the neighborhood a few times. In his first book, Courage Is Contagious, he celebrated the under-the-radar accomplishments of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to change America. Now, in Stand for Something, he tackles-head-on-the erosion of long-standing, hard-earned values upon which our nation is built. "Honesty, integrity, personal responsibility, faith, humility, accountability, compassion, forgiveness...These are our American values, our common denominators..." Drawing on his childhood growing up in blue-collar McKees Rocks, PA, his college years, his Washington career, and his most recent turn in the private sector, Kasich reminds us of the fundamental principles that are our American legacy. In blunt, straight-shooting tones, he reveals new ways to hold our government officials accountable for their actions, and how to pressure sports figures to start living up to their role model status. He encourages us to have the gumption to be morally responsible business leaders who look beyond the bottom line, and shows us how courageous people of faith have helped transform their communities. He inspires parents to improve their children's schools, reminding us that our educational institutions need dollars and sense to compete on a global scale. And, saving the "best" for last, he takes on American popular culture, including the media, and asks us to use our wallets, the free press, and our own good judgment to protest all that is offensive in the current American way of life.Leadership starts with you, Kasich tells us. "We all share the power to grow and change and reimagine the world," he writes. "If you see something happening that sets you off, rise up and do something about it."John Kasich's book is a rallying cry for all Americans that will make us think and-most important-make us get out of our easy chairs and Stand for Something.

Find It in Everything


Drew Barrymore - 2014
    "I have always loved hearts," writes acclaimed actress Drew Barrymore in the foreword to this heartwarming gift book. "The way that continuous line accomplishes the most extraordinary thing -- it conveys love." In Finding it in Everything, Barrymore shares the photographs she has taken of heart-shaped objects and patterns she has come across over the past ten years. Some are obvious and others barely discernible. A discarded straw wrapper, a hole in a T-shirt, a scallion in a bowl of miso soup -- seemingly everywhere she turns her lens a heart reveals itself. A very personal collection of images, many of them accompanied by brief captions that reflect on beauty in the everyday, Finding it in Everything is a delightful book from the beloved actress and director, who now adds photographer to her list of credentials.

The Alaska Cruise Handbook: A Mile-by-Mile Guide


Joe Upton - 2005
    With the author's own wonderful Alaska stories and information on wildlife, native culture, landmarks, historical sites, shopping, and more, you won t miss a thing. Upton's Handbook traces the route used by most Alaska cruises, with maps and text keyed to a route numbering/navigational system that is frequently announced onboard, allowing the passenger to easily follow his ship s progress from Mile One. The wonderful illustrated maps and color photography throughout keep you informed throughout your journey, making a wonderful souvenir when it ends.

Selected Poems


Richard Hugo - 1979
    The result easily demonstrated, then as now, the massive achievement of the writer whom Carolyn Kizer called "one of the most passionate, energetic, and honest poets living."

The Art of the Brick: A Life in Lego


Nathan Sawaya - 2014
    Featuring hundreds of photos of his impressive art and behind-the-scenes details about how these creations came to be, The Art of the Brick is an inside look at how Sawaya transformed a toy into an art form.Follow one man's unique obsession and see the amazing places it has taken him.

Full of Grace: Miraculous Stories of Healing and Conversion Through Mary's Intercession


Christine Watkins - 2010
    Each story is accompanied by scripture, prayer, and discussion exercises designed to remind readers of Mary of Medjugorje's intercession on their behalf and God's personal love for them. Watkins gives nationwide talks and workshops and works as a spiritual director in the Bay Area, in addition to maintaining an active website and e-mail newsletter.