Forever Flying
R.A. Hoover - 1996
Now, in Forever Flying, he tells his amazing story, sharing all the thrills and chills, spectacular stunts and death-defying exploits that have made him a living aviation legend.The true story of one man’s flight into history. Barnstormer, World War II fighter, pioneering test pilot, aerobatic genius—Bob Hoover is a true American hero. Now, in FOREVER FLYING, he tells his amazing story, sharing all the thrills and chills, spectacular stunts and death-defying exploits that have made him a living aviation legend. Climb into the cockpit with America’s original top gun for an astonishing inside look at flight in action—and on the edge. Read about: • Hoover’s dramatic dogfights as a decorated World War II fighter pilot...including the encounter that knocked him out of the sky • His daring escape from the Nazis’ infamous Stalag I prison camp—when he stole a German plane and flew it to Holland • The great aviators he has known, such as Orville Wright, Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh, and Neil Armstrong • Hoover’s one-of-a-kind maneuvers that have dazzled air-show crowds the world over.
Overdrive (Orca Soundings)
Eric Walters - 2004
He and his friend Mickey take the car out and cruise the strip. When they challenge another driver to a street race, a disastrous chain reaction causes an accident. Jake and Mickey leave the scene, trying to convince themselves they were not involved. Jake finds he cannot pretend it didn't happen and struggles with deciding on the right thing to do. Should he pretend he was not involved? Or should he go to the police?
Driving Like Crazy: Thirty Years of Vehicular Hellbending, Celebrating America the Way It's Supposed to Be--With an Oil Well in Every Backyard, a Cadillac Escalade in Every Carport, and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Mowing Our Lawn
P.J. O'Rourke - 2009
J. O'Rourke's love affair with the automobile from mid-twentieth century to now—from heyday to sickbay.
Transformational Speaking: If You Want to Change the World, Tell a Better Story
Gail Larsen - 2009
Speaking coach and consultant Gail Larsen presents a proven program that liberates the "speaker within" and transforms even the reluctant orator into an agent of change. While most books on public speaking focus on polishing your presentation and overcoming fear, Larsen's holistic blend of spirit and logic goes far beyond the standard format, making TRANSFORMATIONAL SPEAKING a must-read for even the most seasoned speechmakers. With her uniquely inspirational approach, Larsen reaches out to those who want to make a genuine difference in our world by changing minds through touching hearts. TRANSFORMATIONAL SPEAKING offers insightful advice on everything from defining your message and refining your delivery, to managing the dynamics of a room, handling logistics like a pro, and building a connection with an audience of any size. Larsen has helped business executives and entrepreneurs, community and social change leaders, and healers and life coaches become active movers and shakers through the power of effective communication.
In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything
Michael Waltrip - 2011
Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were running one-two. Junior's legendary dad, the driver race fans called "The Intimidator," was close behind in third, blocking anyone who might try to pass. Waltrip couldn't stop thinking about all the times he'd struggled to stay ahead -- and the 462 NASCAR Cup races he'd lost without a single win. He'd been a race-car driver all his adult life, following in the footsteps of his brother Darrell, a three-time NASCAR champion. And his losing streak was getting more painful every race. But this day, he knew, could be different. He was driving for Dale Earnhardt now, racing as a team with his close friend and mentor. Yet as his car roared toward the finish line, ending that losing streak once and for all, Waltrip had no clue that the greatest triumph of his life could get mired in terrible tragedy. This is the story of that fateful afternoon in Daytona, a day whose echoes are still heard today. But the story begins years earlier in a small town in Kentucky, with a boy who dreamed of racing cars, a boy who was determined to go from go-karts to the highest levels of NASCAR. For the first time ever, Michael Waltrip tells the full, revealing story of how he got to Daytona, what happened there, and the huge impact it had on so many in the racing world. He reveals for the first time how his own life changed as he dealt with guilt, faced his grief, and searched for the fortitude to climb into a race car again. It's an inspiring and powerful story, told with Michael's trademark humor, honesty, and irreverence. It's a story of family, fulfillment, and redemption -- and well-earned victory in the end.
Ford: The Men and the Machine
Robert Lacey - 1986
Now Robert Lacey has captured in one volume the public achievements and the private tragedies, the feuds, affairs, and personalities that make up this epic tale.Ford is above all the story of a handful of powerful individuals whose ambitions have helped shape modern American society:Henry Ford I, the founder, one of history's great figures, whose legendary achievements - the Model T, the moving assembly line, the Five Dollar Day, the Peace Ship - and down-home folk wisdom are recounted in school civics courses. Here for the first time Lacey reveals the extraordinarily complex and contradictory man behind the public icon Henry Ford was at once a dedicated pacifist and a war profiteer; a champion of the rights of minorities and a virulent anti-Semite; a dedicated family man who supported a mistress and an illegitimate son; a loving father who hounded and bullied his only legitimate son intoan early grave.
ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future
Iain Carson - 2007
The authors write: "Oil is the problem. Cars are the solution." We are living in the midst of a Great Awakening in which environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and political leaders are forming new alliances to end our addiction to oil and create new technologies. The days of Big Oil and Big Auto are numbered, according to the authors, who show how we are in the midst of a major transformation from carbon-based energy sources to new fuels and technologies.ZOOM traces the history of the linked industries of oil and automobiles, and how the two have shaped domestic capitalism and the international landscape, creating both progress and peril. They explain how Toyota vanquished American competitors to become the world's largest automobile manufacturer and, more importantly, a leader in hybrid cars using electric power. They take us into the boardrooms of oil executives and show how some are boldly exploring new energy sources while others deny the dangers posed by oil and risk extinction. With wide-ranging analysis and a keen view of the key players in the intersecting worlds of energy and automobiles, authors Iain Carson and Vijay Vaitheeswaran tell the story of what may be the most important challenge facing the industrial world: How to make the transition from the Age of Petroleum to a cleaner and better future.
AIQ: How People and Machines Are Smarter Together
Nick Polson - 2018
AIQ explores the fascinating history of the ideas that drive this technology of the future and demystifies the core concepts behind it; the result is a positive and entertaining look at the great potential unlocked by marrying human creativity with powerful machines.” —Steven D. Levitt, bestselling co-author of Freakonomics
From leading data scientists Nick Polson and James Scott, what everyone needs to know to understand how artificial intelligence is changing the world and how we can use this knowledge to make better decisions in our own lives.
Dozens of times per day, we all interact with intelligent machines that are constantly learning from the wealth of data now available to them. These machines, from smart phones to talking robots to self-driving cars, are remaking the world in the 21st century in the same way that the Industrial Revolution remade the world in the 19th century. AIQ is based on a simple premise: if you want to understand the modern world, then you have to know a little bit of the mathematical language spoken by intelligent machines. AIQ will teach you that language—but in an unconventional way, anchored in stories rather than equations. You will meet a fascinating cast of historical characters who have a lot to teach you about data, probability, and better thinking. Along the way, you'll see how these same ideas are playing out in the modern age of big data and intelligent machines—and how these technologies will soon help you to overcome some of your built-in cognitive weaknesses, giving you a chance to lead a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life.
Cars (Disney/Pixar Cars: Little Golden Book)
Ben Smiley - 2006
But when he gets lost on the way to a big race, he realizes that he still has a lot to learn about what it takes to be a true friend. This exciting retelling of the newest Disney/Pixar film is sure to be a hit with young speedsters!
Not Fade Away
Jim Dodge - 1987
One of the cars he is hired to demolish is a snow-white Cadillac that was supposed to be a present for the Big Bopper, who died in the Iowa plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. Gastin has a change of heart and takes off in the car, heading for Texas where the Bopper is buried. Armed with a thousand hits of Benzedrine and chased by adversaries real and imagined, Gastin navigates a road trip that covers many miles and states of mind. Traveling in time from the Beat era to the dawn of the sixties, from the coffeehouses of North Beach to the open plains of America, Gastin picks up some extraordinary hitchhikers: the self-proclaimed "world's greatest salesman," the Reverend Double-Gone Johnson, and a battered housewife with a box of old 45s. As the miles and sleepless hours roll by, Gastin's trip becomes a blur of fantasy and reality fueled by a soundtrack of classic rock 'n' roll.
The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit
Michael Cannell - 2011
With the pacing and vivid description of a novel, THE LIMIT charts the journey that brought Hill from dusty California lots racing midget cars into the ranks of a singular breed of men, competing with daredevils for glory on Grand Prix tracks across Europe. Facing death at every turn, these men rounded circuits at well over 150 mph in an era before seat belts or roll bars-an era when drivers were "crushed, burned, and beheaded with unnerving regularity." From the stink of grease-smothered pits to the long anxious nights in lonely European hotels, from the tense camaraderie of teammates to the trembling suspense of photo finishes, THE LIMIT captures the 1961 season that would mark the high point of Hill's career. It brings readers up close to the remarkable men who surrounded Hill on the circuit-men like Hill's teammate and rival, the soigné and cool-headed German count Wolfgang Von Trips (nicknamed "Count Von Crash"), and Enzo Ferrari, the reclusive and monomaniacal padrone of the Ferrari racing empire. Race by race, THE LIMIT carries readers to its riveting and startling climax-the final contest that would decide it all, one of the deadliest in Grand Prix history.
Why Do I Say These Things?
Jonathan Ross - 2008
With stories that range from discovering B-movies to fashion, from diets to childhood sweetshops, favorite presents and from sex to pets (and back to sex) he tells his story of his life with all his customary energy, wit, lasciviousness, self-deprecatory humor, and random meandering, revealing that in short trousers he was as cheeky, vain, and frankly ridiculous at times, as he is in those suits.
Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin
David Ritz - 2014
Raised without her mother, she was a gospel prodigy who gave birth to two sons in her teens and left them and her native Detroit for New York, where she struggled to find her true voice. It was not until 1967, when a white Jewish producer insisted she return to her gospel-soul roots, that fame and fortune finally came via "Respect" and a rapidfire string of hits. She continued to evolve for decades, amidst personal tragedy, surprise Grammy performances, and career reinventions. Again and again, Aretha stubbornly found a way to triumph over troubles, even as they continued to build. Her hold on the crown was tenacious, and in Respect, David Ritz gives us the definitive life of one of the greatest talents in all American culture.
Senna Versus Prost
Malcolm Folley - 2009
Two of Formula One's most honoured champions and iconic figures drove together for McLaren for two seasons, and their acrimonious and hostile relationship extended even after one of them had left the team. ALAIN PROST, France's only F1 world champion, the intelligent, smooth driver with the epithet 'Le Professeur'. AYRTON SENNA, the mercurial kid from a privileged background in Sao Paolo who would become the most intense and ruthless racing driver the world has ever seen. It was a story that would have a tragic ending. As the great rivals raced to victory, their relationship deteriorated badly, beginning with the breaking of a gentleman's agreement, and public spats followed, culminating in Prost accusing Senna of deliberately trying to ride him off the circuit, and fearful that the Brazilian would get someone killed with his daring overtaking feats. And the final, sad act of this drama happened at the San Marino Grand prix at Imola in May 1994, when Senna was killed. Featuring a rare interview with Prost, and insight from Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, Sir Frank Williams, Bernie Ecclestone, Derek Warrick, Johnny Herbert, Gerhard Berger, plus McLaren insiders and other F1 figures, Malcolm Folley provides us with a breath-taking account of one of the all-time classic sporting rivalries.
Super Spies (Disney/Pixar Cars 2)
Susan Amerikaner - 2011
This Step 2 film retelling is sure to be a hit with boys ages 4 to 6.