Book picks similar to
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Anquetil, Alone


Paul Fournel - 2012
    His womanising and frank admissions of doping appalled 1960s French society, even as his five Tour de France wins enthralled it. Paul Fournel was besotted with him from the start ("Too young to understand, I was nevertheless old enough to admire") and followed Anquetil's career with the passion of a fan and the eye of a poet. In this stunningly original biography of a complex and divisive character, Fournel - author of the seminal Vélo (or Need for the Bike) blends the story of Anquetil's life with scenes from his own, to create a classic of cycling literature.

Touched By Evil


Michele Knight - 2008
    Her mother was a gifted psychic but highly unstable, unable to control the dark forces her powers unleashed or to look after Michele. When she was six her beloved father died and the last shreds of normality were gone forever. From then on Michele was at the mercy of sexual predators and her mother's violent lovers. Evil surrounded her! But Michele wasn't alone. The presence of her twin sister Lucy was constantly at her side, comforting and inspiring her. Lucy had died when the twin girls were babies. But her spirit stayed behind to watch over her little sister. Time and again, when Michele reached her darkest hour, Lucy reached out with a deep sense of love and gently guided her to safety. This is the heartbreaking, but ultimately inspirational story of a little girl, who was beaten, raped, neglected, and despised, but rescued from despair by her faith in the power of love.

Waiting for Robert Capa


Susana Fortes - 2009
    During the Spanish Civil War, Capa and Taro risked everything documenting Francisco Franco’s Fascist uprising—even as they risked everything for love. The two artists’ passion stands out in sharp relief against the terrifying realities of war in this internationally acclaimed novel, a book that will resonate with fans of Possession, Loving Frank, Suite Francaise, and Pan’s Labyrinth. With a film adaptation already underway from producer Michael Mann (Public Enemies, The Insider, Manhunter, Collateral), Fortes’ Waiting for Robert Capa is a tale that will touch millions of hearts, mixing the poignancy of a timeless love story with the immediacy of a vivid snapshot from a bygone era.

Barack Before Obama: Life Before the Presidency


David Katz - 2020
    He spent approximately six days a week alongside the future president as Obama campaigned across downstate Illinois, and the two developed a close, professional, and personal relationship. What began as a long-shot Senate run culminated with the election of America’s first African American president in 2008, which Katz also photographed.During this time, David was never without his camera, capturing quotidian scenes from the life of a man who would soon become known the world over: a dad playing with his small daughters; a young unknown politician walking the streets of New York by himself with no one noticing; a devoted husband lovingly making faces at his wife in an elevator. In 2004, after seeing the unique and touching photographs David had amassed, Annie Leibovitz gave him some advice: “Don’t release these photos of Obama for at least fifteen years. They need time to age.”Now, fifteen years later, Barack Before Obama is the treasury of these photographs. Pulled from an archive of more than ninety thousand images, every photograph in this volume is like nothing that has been seen before: the ease in which David captures the spirit and essence of one of our most beloved first families is unparalleled, and it is in this affectionate familiarity that his photographs sing. Warm, engaging captions tell the stories behind the photos—the surprise meeting with Nelson Mandela, the back room conversation before the rally, the emotion after sending one of the Obamas’ daughters off to school—bringing readers closer than ever to the spirit and motivation behind the extraordinary man who became our forty-fourth president.Barack Before Obama is a unique collection of images illustrating the making of an American icon. A moving document of an historic moment, it’s the perfect gift for all those who want to remember it.

About Face: The Life and Times of Dottie Ponedel, Make-up Artist to the Stars


Dorothy Ponedel - 2018
    Her autobiography, the story of a pioneering woman make-up artist, whose career spanned the entire length of Hollywood’s Golden Era from silent movies to the great films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, puts a new foundation on the stars. Sinners and saints without greasepaint make for memorable close-ups. Enjoy Dottie’s confidential revelations about Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Joan Blondell, Paulette Goddard, Barbara Stanwyck, and others. “No stranger is going to pat this puss,” Mae West once declared. Mae, and Dottie’s other clients, often demanded her services, but tomcats and contracts seldom blended. Dottie constantly fought all-male make-up departments at the studios to get the recognition she deserved. Amazing challenges facing a woman at the top of her craft play poignantly against her straight-talking, heartwarming, hilarious encounters with famous faces. Dottie Ponedel. The designer with eye liner.

King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis


Shawn Levy - 1996
    A portrait of one of America's most influential comedians analyzes the complex, sometimes disturbing world of Jerry Lewis, from his rise to fame and his philanthropic work to the dark side of his career and personal life.

That's My Color: Discover Your 5 Signature Colors And Transform Your Life


Jennifer Thoden - 2018
     Jen Thoden describes the five colors that will become your signature go-to always-know-these-colors-look-amazing-on-me colors, which include: - 2 colors that will bring you immediate confidence in yourself - 1 color that will pull your wardrobe together - 2 colors that will have you digging deep on who you really are Jen Thoden discovered her five signature colors when she was struggling with her own identity. She was depressed, divorced, 40 and seemed to have no purpose. She managed to transform her life into one of success and happiness using the steps she’s outlined in this book. Discovering her five signature colors helped her get to know her true self, gain confidence in owning her strengths and flaws and the creativity to design a life that truly brings her happiness. Jen Thoden believes that you can live a happy fulfilled life when you are being your authentic self. Being yourself is so much easier than trying to be someone else. Join Jen on this personal journey and start transforming your life with your signature colors.

Instant Light: Tarkovsky Polaroids


Andrei Tarkovsky - 2004
    The melancholy of seeing things for the last time is the highly mysterious and poetic essence that these images leave with us. It is as though Andrei wanted to transmit his own enjoyment quickly to others. And they feel like a fond farewell."Tonino Guerra, from the IntroductionThis beautifully produced book comprises sixty Polaroid photographs of Andrei Tarkovsky's friends and family, taken between 1979 and 1984 in his native Russia and in Italy, where he spent time in political exile.The size of the Polaroids is exactly as presented in the book, including the frame. The book may therefore be viewed as a facsimile edition. 60 color illustrations.

The Death of Me


Denise Grover Swank - 2013
    On that afternoon, her husband of ten years crash-landed his malfunctioning single-engine plane in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Dr. Darrell Swank suffered multiple fractures, and third degree burns over sixty percent of his body when the gas tank exploded as he crawled away from the wreckage. Over the next five weeks, she struggled to be a mother to their children while she kept a near round-the-clock vigil at the hospital. Darrell’s survival was questionable from one day to the next, and even if he survived, would he be the same man he was before the crash? Did his fate depend on this test of her faith?The Death of Me is the true story of a wife and mother living day to day through a fog of shock and unimaginable agony. And, alone in the aftermath, fumbling for some way to not only survive, but to thrive. It is a story of pain, of release, of forgiveness. And of healing, resilience, and rebirth. It is a story of a writer finding her voice.

Eli Manning The Making of a Quarterback


Ralph Vacchiano - 2008
    But the drive, which also included a remarkable escape and pass completion to unheralded receiver David Tyree, was the culmination of years of promise and development. After all, champion quarterbacks aren't made overnight.With Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, as its focal point, New York Daily News Giants beat writer Ralph Vacchiano's 'Eli Manning The Making of a Quarterback' is a fascinating insider's look at the National Football League, how stars are made and crushed, and how fortunes are won and lost on the performance of one man: the quarterback. From the bold draft day trade that brought Manning to New York, through his dramatic ups and downs on and off the field, his first training camp to his last-minute heroics in Super Bowl XLII, Vacchiano takes a candid and revealing look at the people and events that made Manning's and his 2007 Giants' success one of the greatest stories in modern sports history. Complete with exclusive interviews with NFL stars, coaches, and executives and a foreword by former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Vacchiano uses his unfettered access to the world champion Giants to present a true, behind-the scenes look at the quarterback and team that defied all of the experts and oddsmakers to pull off one of the most phenomenal upsets in pro football history.

Tales from the Hilltop: A Summer in the other South of France


Tony Lewis - 2013
    Pedalling along curvaceous country lanes or freewheeling through valleys and vineyards – earning your supper in this sleepy corner of France is nothing short of a privilege.Tony and Ludmilla have landed a job with a specialist cycling and walking holiday company in the South of France … but that’s not something we can hold against them for too long!They head off to the mediaeval marvel of Cordes-sur-Ciel in the Tarn – a region so achingly beautiful and laden with history and mystery they have to pinch themselves to be sure such a place really does exist.When their cyclists turn up for a week’s pedal-powered adventure they will need a reliable back-up service when they puncture a tyre or come face to jowl with a ‘devil dog’ intent on devouring their panniers. And when their walkers take the wrong trail and find themselves humming Bonnie Tyler’s ’70s hit ‘Lost in France’, they too will need a timely rescue. Well, that’s the theory …

The Importance Of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney


Justin Lloyd - 2013
    Today, millions of fans still mourn the loss of actor Jim Varney, who portrayed Ernest and who died at age 50 in 2000 of cancer. Ernest fans are finally getting the biography they have been waiting for in this comprehensive work by Jim’s nephew, Justin Lloyd. “The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney” traces Jim’s journey from a child in Lexington, Kentucky, with dreams of being a stage and film actor to becoming an iconic entertainment figure in the tradition of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Little Tramp.”The book is based on numerous interviews with family members and intimates of Jim who have never spoken publicly before about what drove the actor and how he overcame many personal and professional obstacles to attain success. But with that success came a price: Jim longed for stage and film roles beyond Ernest, and they were difficult to come by because of his symbiosis with the character. Yet Jim persevered, ultimately winning major movie roles such as Jed Clampett in “The Beverly Hillbillies” and (the voice of) Slinky Dog in the first two “Toy Story” films. The book also explores the genius of the small Nashville advertising agency that created Ernest and how it spread his popularity decades before “going viral” became associated with achieving global stardom.Even at the height of his career, Jim never forgot he was a descendant of Appalachian coal miners, and he remained true to his values, his friends and his family. Jim always strove for authenticity and humanity inside his hillbilly humor, endearing him to fans from every walk of life. “The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney” documents the life of an unforgettable figure in American comedy whose legacy endures today.

Van Halen: A Visual History, 1978-1984


Neil Zlozower - 2007
    Nobody rockedor partiedharder. Photographer Neil Zlozower first met the band in 1978, worked with them again on Van Halen II, and soon became their friend, hanging out in L.A. and hitting the road on tour with them. Van Halen collects more than 250 backstage, candid, and full rock-out photos of the all-powerful, spandexed, high-kicking, guitar blazing, stadium-shaking, original Van Halen lineup. Accompanying Zlozower's amazing photos are an introduction about his wild ride with VH, a foreword by David Lee Roth, and testimony from the rock pantheon paying homage to the band, including members of Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, KISS, Motley Cre, and more. Turn it up!

The Making of Slap Shot: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Hockey Movie Ever Made


Jonathon Jackson - 2009
    Yet many may be surprised to learn that the true story behind the making of the film is as captivating as the film itself. In The Making of Slap Shot, veteran sports writer Jonathon Jackson lets fans not only relive just how the film was made, but brings to light surprising facts (i.e., Al Pacino was the first choice for the role of Reggie Dunlop; almost every scene-even the absurd and unbelievable ones-depicts a real life event). With access to those involved in the making of the film, he brings to life some of the magic behind the creation of memorable scenes and characters, especially the Charleston Chiefs, one of the most popular fictional sports teams in history. Based on interviews with over 50 cast members, production staff, and anyone of note involved in the film's creation Destined to be a collectible and keepsake (along with the jerseys, bobbleheads, and other paraphernalia associated with the film), The Making of Slapshot is a must for fans eager to learn even more about their favorite film.

David Niven: The Man Behind the Balloon


Michael Munn - 2009
    Despite his on-screen persona, Niven wasn’t always the perfect gentleman. He was insecure both privately and professionally and used people to get ahead. But he did, he said, ‘at least try to be a decent man.’ He knew he often failed, although it isn’t easy to find people who ever had a bad word to say about him. In this fascinating biography of the star, Munn looks at the funny stories and the sad underlying truth, from his outrageous days with Errol Flynn and their irrevocable split –‘You always know where you are with Flynn. He always lets you down’ – and numerous affairs with stars and prostitutes, to an attempted suicide, his horrific experiences in war-torn France and the breakdown and blame of his second marriage. This compelling text includes interviews with his second wife, Hjordis, John Huston, Rex Harrison, Laurence Olivier, Loretta Young (they discussed marriage once), Niven’s long-time friend Michael Trubshawe, Peter Ustinov, Ava Gardner and many more.