I Love You, Miss Huddleston: And Other Inappropriate Longings of My Indiana Childhood
by Philip Gulley
Published 2009 by HarperOne

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780060736590

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The quintessential American storyteller captures the nostalgia of small-town life and recounts his coming-of-age in Danville, Indiana. With his ear for the small town and his knack for finding the needle of humor in life's haystack, Philip Gulley might well be Indiana's answer to Missouri's Mark Twain. In "I Love You, Miss Huddleston" we are transported to 1970's Danville, Indiana, the everyone-knows-your-business town where Gulley still lives today, to witness the uproarious story of Gulley's young life, including his infatuation with his comely sixth-grade teacher, his dalliance with sin--eating meat on Friday and inappropriate activities with a mannequin named Ginger--and his checkered start with organized religion. Sister Mary John had shown us a flannelgraph of the apostles receiving the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They looked quite happy, except that their hair was on fire. . . . I was suspicious of a religion whose highpoint was the igniting of one's head, and my enthusiasm for church, which had never been great, began to fade. Even as Kennedy was facing down Khrushchev, Danny Millardo and his band of youthful thugs conducted a reign of terror still unmatched in the annals of Indiana history. With Gulley's sharp wit and keen observation, "I Love You, Miss Huddleston" captures these dramas and more, revisiting a childhood of unrelieved and happy chaos. From beginning to end, Gulley recalls the hilarity (and heightened dangers) of those wonder years and the easy charm of midwestern life.

Publishers Weekly 02/09/2009

Some kids were evidently not unhappy growing up, but they can still get pretty good childhood memoirs, especially if they are honest about exaggerating. Quaker pastor-author Gulley (the Harmony series) writes a low-key Hoosier who's who in this memoir set in Danville, Ind., where youthful acting out takes the form of hurling tomatoes and detonating cans of bug spray. Danville includes Quaker widows aplenty, pals named Peanut and Suds, an arthritic and deaf police dog and a mousery that provisions Indiana's homegrown pharmaceutical manufacturer, Eli Lilly. Gulley has no shortage of material, and the teenage years naturally bring an attack of hormones that prompts pathetic, doomed crushes. We even manage to learn a few facts about the humorist, such as that Gulley grew up Catholic. His chief object of fun is his youthful self, which takes the edge off his views of other characters from his youth, many of whom are relatives. Humor beats nostalgia and drama; this stuff is a laugh-out-loud tweaking of a not terribly misspent youth. "(Apr.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her
by Robin Gerber
Published 2009 by HarperBusiness

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780061341311

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The tragic and redeeming story of how one visionary woman built the biggest toy company in the world and created a global icon. "Barbie and Ruth" is the entwined story of two exceptional women. There's Barbie: the diminutive yet arrestingly voluptuous doll unveiled at the 1959 Toy Fair who became the treasure of 90 percent of American girls and their counterparts in 150 countries. She went on to compete as an Olympic athlete, serve as an air force pilot, work as a boutique owner, run as a presidential candidate, and ignite a cultural firestorm. And then there's Ruth Handler, Barbie's creator: the tenth child of Polish Jewish immigrants, a passionately competitive and creative business pioneer, and a mother and wife who wanted it all. After a business scandal that forced Ruth out of Mattel, the company she founded, she drew on her experience as a breast cancer survivor to start a business that changed women's lives. She was ultimately honored as a pioneer, humanitarian, and masterful entrepreneur. Based on original research, extensive interviews, and previously unavailable material, "Barbie and Ruth" tells the fascinating story of how two women forever changed American business and culture.

Publishers Weekly 12/01/2008

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of Barbie is this behind-the-scenes look at her eccentric, determined inventor. Ruth Handler (19162002)was the ambitious and entrepreneurial 10th child of poor Polish immigrants. Disappointed with the unsophisticated dolls of the time, Ruth envisioned a doll that would allow young girls to act out their fantasies of the stylish young women they wanted to become. She modeled her creation on the Swiss doll Bild-Lilli, a curvaceous plastic bombshell originally sold as a sex toy/gag gift and named her after her daughter Barbara. Handler fought indefatigably to establish herself in a male-dominated field, and history was made: 50 years later, Mattel is the biggest toy company in the world, and Barbie is sold at a rate of three dolls per second, worldwide. But Handler's rising star was short-lived; battered by breast cancer and convicted of shady business dealings in 1978, she wrenched her attentions away from Mattel and devoted herself to creating realistic, affordable prosthetic breasts for women who had lost one to a mastectomy. This stirring biography is a fine study of success and resilience. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime
by Bill H, Sr. Gates
Published 2009 by Broadway Business

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780385527019

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In a heartfelt, deeply personal book, Gates shares the values and principles he has instilled in his children, and continues to practice on the world stage today as the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A heartfelt, deeply personal book, "Showing Up for Life" shines a bright light on the values and principles that Bill Gates Sr. has learned over a lifetime of "showing up" -- lessons that he learned growing up in the Great Depression, and which he instilled in his children and continues to practice on the world stage as the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Through the course of several dozen narratives arranged in roughly chronological fashion, Gates introduces the people and experiences that influenced his thinking and guided his moral compass. Among them: the scoutmaster who taught him about teamwork and self reliance; his famous son, Trey, whose curiosity and passion for computers and software led him to ultimately co-found Microsoft. Through revealing stories of his daughters, Kristi and Libby; his late wife Mary, and his current wife Mimi; and his work with Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, among others, he discusses the importance of hard work, getting along, honoring a confidence, speaking out, and much more.

"Showing Up for Life "translates one man's experiences over four score years of living into an inspiring road map for readers everywhere.

As Bill Gates Sr. puts it:

"

I'm 83 years old. Representing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and everyone who is a part of it has given me the opportunity to see more of the world and its rich possibilities than most people ever do. I never imagined that I'd be working this late in life, or enjoying it so much.

"

In the Womb: Animals
by Michael Sims
Published 2009 by National Geographic Society

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781426201752

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"In the Womb: Animals" follows the developmental path of three different mammals utilizing some of the most amazing technology available. This incredible journey was first chronicled for the critically acclaimed National Geographic Channel special of the same name, where 3-D and 4-D ultrasound was used on animals for the first time on television. These and other amazing computer-generated graphics highlight the path of development and in the process reveals of the amazing science with outstanding detail.

Published at the same time as the latest National Geographic Channel special, "In The Womb: Extreme Animals, " this volume highlights the development of the bottlenose dolphin, Asian elephant, and golden retriever, and through comparisons to other animals and humans, emphasizes the differences--and similarities--between them. This resource is perfect for animal-lovers and inquisitive minds alike.

Publisher's Marketing Text:

"In the Womb: Animals" follows the developmental path of three different mammals utilizing some of the most amazing technology available. This incredible journey was first chronicled for the critically acclaimed National Geographic Channel special of the same name, where 3-D and 4-D ultrasound was used on animals for the first time on television. These and other amazing computer-generated graphics highlight the path of development and in the process reveals of the amazing science with outstanding detail.
Published at the same time as the latest National Geographic Channel special, "In The Womb: Extreme Animals, " this volume highlights the development of the bottlenose dolphin, Asian elephant, and golden retriever, and through comparisons to other animals and humans, emphasizes the differences--and similarities--between them. This resource is perfect for animal-lovers and inquisitive minds alike.

When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball
by Seth Davis
Published 2009 by Times Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780805088106

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The dramatic story of how two legendary players burst on the scene in an NCAA championship that gave birth to modern basketballThirty years ago, college basketball was not the sport we know today. Few games were televised nationally and the NCAA tournament had just expanded from thirty-two to forty teams. Into this world came two exceptional players: Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird. Though they played each other only once, in the 1979 NCAA finals, that meeting launched an epic rivalry, transformed the NCAA tournament into the multibillion-dollar event it is today, and laid the groundwork for the resurgence of the NBA. In "When March Went Mad," Seth Davis recounts the dramatic story of the season leading up to that game, as Johnson's Michigan State Spartans and Bird's Indiana State Sycamores overcame long odds and great doubts that their unheralded teams could compete at the highest level. Davis also tells the stories of their remarkable coaches, Jud Heathcote and Bill Hodges--who were new to their schools but who set their own paths to build great teams--and he shows how tensions over race and class heightened the drama of the competition. When Magic and Bird squared off in Salt Lake City on March 26, 1979, the world took notice--to this day it remains the most watched basketball game in the history of television--and the sport we now know was born.

Publishers Weekly 01/26/2009

Davis, a "Sports Illustrated" writer and CBS Sports studio analyst, offers a vivid account of the sensational 1979 NCAA college finalsfeaturing two potential pro basketball stars, Earvin Magic Johnson and Larry Birdthat ushered in the current reign of the NBA worldwide. With the advent of round-the-clock ESPN sports coverage, the media-hyped game for the college national basketball championship between Johnsons Michigan State Spartans and Birds Indiana State Sycamores on March 25, 1979, generated a huge TV audience, much ink and paved the way for a generation of pro basketball all-stars. Davis is adept at pinpointing the personality differences in Bird and Johnson both on and off the court, delving into the shy, withdrawn white Indiana farm boy and the popular black Michigan kid with the ready smile. His insights into the strategies and players of both teams leading up to the game is factual and straightforward, but the dramatic centerpiece of the book is the game itself, with all its ebbs and flows. All in all, this is an outstanding example of sports writing about a American sport, writing that is larger than the personalities or financial considerations. "(Mar.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir
by Christopher Buckley
Published 2009 by Twelve

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780446540940

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Bestselling author Buckley's most personal and transcendent work--the tragicomic true story of the year in which he lost both of his parents. The author offers consolation, wit, and warmth to those coping with the death of a mother or father. In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York's most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. Writes Buckley: "They were not - with respect to every other set of loving, wonderful parents in the world - your typical mom and dad."

As Buckley tells the story of their final year together, he takes readers on a surprisingly entertaining tour through hospitals, funeral homes, and memorial services, capturing the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan. Buckley maintains his sense of humor by recalling the words of Oscar Wilde: "To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness."

Just as Calvin Trillin and Joan Didion gave readers solace and insight into the experience of losing a spouse, Christopher Buckley offers consolation, wit, and warmth to those coping with the death of a parent, while telling a unique personal story of life with legends.

The Body Broken: A Memoir
by Lynne Greenberg
Published 2009 by Random House

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781400067428

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At 19, Greenberg narrowly survived a devastating car crash. When her broken neck healed, she was hailed as a medical miracle. But when an unbearable pain in her neck returned many years later, she and her family were forced to deal with a medical system ill-equipped to handle patients with chronic pain. In the tradition of William Styron's tour de force "Darkness Visible," "The Body Broken "is a gorgeously told and intensely moving account of one woman's extraordinary odyssey into a life of chronic pain-and of the unyielding resilience of the human spirit.

At age nineteen, Lynne Greenberg narrowly survived a devastating car crash. When her broken neck healed-or so everyone thought-her recovery was hailed as a medical miracle and she returned to normal life. Years later, she seemed to have it all: a loving husband, two wonderful children, a peaceful home, and a richly satisfying job as a tenured poetry professor. Then, one morning, this blissful facade shattered-the pain in her neck returned in the most vicious way. A life with physical agony ensued.

Greenberg realized that she had been living for years on borrowed time. As she and her family navigated an increasingly complicated web of doctors and specialists, Greenberg taught herself to fight her own battles-against a medical system ill-equipped to handle patients with chronic pain, and against the emotional pitfalls of a newly restricted life. Drawing on her family's support, her own indomitable spirit, and an intense connection to the poetry she taught, Greenberg found the strength to return to a productive and satisfying-if irrevocably changed-life. This deeply personal saga takes us to the heart of a family's struggle to survive a crisis, and shows us how, at the most profound levels, such an odyssey affects a patient's marriage, the ability to parent, family, work, and friendships.

"The Body Broken" is a powerful, lyrical story of one woman's remarkable determination and breathtaking courage, as she puts mind over matter in the struggle to reclaim her life.

Publishers Weekly 11/24/2008

Twenty-two years after recovering from a devastating car crash when she was 19, Greenberg, a professor at New York City's Hunter College, began experiencing unbearable neck pain. Several hospital visits and X-rays later, it turns out her miraculous recovery after the accident wasn't quite that: one of her vertebrae was still fractured. Greenberg chronicles the two years that follow: the contradicting doctor diagnoses; the descent into drugs and depression; the unraveling of her relationship with her two young children. Harrowing stuff, and when Greenberg keeps her prose spare and direct, as when she describes with cold, gory precision watching her leg being sewn back together, the result is powerful. But Greenberg's account often reads like an extended treatise on pain, overly reliant on metaphor as opposed to anecdote to describe her experience, comparing it, say, to Adam and Eve's fall in Milton's "Paradise Lost" (Greenberg's field is 17th-century British literature). Otherwise engaging, Greenberg's narrative is a revealing, personal journey through physical trauma."(Mar.)" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Red Orchestra: The Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler
by Anne Nelson
Published 2009 by Random House

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781400060009

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The poignant story of a circle of ordinary Germans in Berlin who, through their contacts in film, theater, propaganda, academia, government, and the military, conspired to bring down the Nazis. In this unforgettable book, distinguished author Anne Nelson shares one of the most shocking and inspiring-and least chronicled-stories of domestic resistance to the Nazi regime. The Rote Kapelle, or Red Orchestra, was the Gestapo's name for an intrepid band of German artists, intellectuals, and bureaucrats (almost half of them women) who battled treacherous odds to unveil the brutal secrets of their fascist employers and oppressors.

Based on years of research, featuring new information, and culled from exclusive interviews, Red Orchestra documents this riveting story through the eyes of Greta Kuckhoff, a German working mother. Fighting for an education in 1920s Berlin but frustrated by her country's economic instability and academic sexism, Kuckhoff ventured to America, where she immersed herself in jazz, Walt Disney movies, and the first stirrings of the New Deal. When she returned to her homeland, she watched with anguish as it descended into a totalitarian society that relegated her friends to exile and detention, an environment in which political extremism evoked an extreme response.

Greta and others in her circle were appalled by Nazi anti-Semitism and took action on many fronts to support their Jewish friends and neighbors. As the war raged and Nazi abuses grew in ferocity and reach, resistance was the only possible avenue for Greta and her compatriots. These included Arvid Harnack-the German friend she met in Wisconsin-who collected anti-Nazi intelligence while working for their Economic Ministry; Arvid's wife, Mildred, who emigrated to her husband's native country to become the only American woman executed by Hitler; Harro Schulze-Boysen, the glamorous Luftwaffe intelligence officer who smuggled anti-Nazi information to allies abroad; his wife, Libertas, a social butterfly who coaxed favors from an unsuspecting Goring; John Sieg, a railroad worker from Detroit who publicized Nazi atrocities from a Communist underground printing press; and Greta Kuckhoff's husband, Adam, a theatrical colleague of Brecht's who found employment in Goebbels's propaganda unit in order to undermine the regime.

For many members of the Red Orchestra, these audacious acts of courage resulted in their tragic and untimely end. These unsung individuals are portrayed here with startling and sympathetic power. As suspenseful as a thriller, Red Orchestra is a brilliant account of ordinary yet bold citizens who were willing to sacrifice everything to topple the Third Reich.

Publishers Weekly 02/16/2009

In this inspiring account, noted journalist and playwright Nelson documents the wartime journey of Greta Kuckhoff, a young German, and her valiant colleagues who formed a potent resistance to the Hitler regime in its glory days. When Kuckhoff returned home from America in 1929 after university study, she joined with a band of young Communists, leftist Jews and other German antifascists to thwart the rise of Hitler at the risk of torture and death. Nelson explains in telling detail about the Nazis tight grip on power after the 1933 Reichstag fire, eliminating all political foes, including Jews and other non-Aryan types, yet the Kuckhoffs, Mildred and Avrid Harnack, and other members of the Red Orchestra ("Rote Kapelle") fought fascist censorship, slid their people into Nazi ministries, helped Jews to flee and provided the Allies with vital information to aid the war effort. Nelsons riveting book speaks proudly of Greta, Mildred and all of the nearly three million Germans who resisted Hitlers iron will, and gives the reader a somber view of hell from the inside. "(Apr.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Macy's: The Store. The Star. The Story.
by Robert M Grippo
Published 2009 by Square One Publishers

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780757002120

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The history of Macy's, over one hundred and fifty years.

Publishers Weekly 12/22/2008

This lavishly illustrated history documents the iconic store's evolution over the past 150 yearsfrom founder Rowland Macy's vision to decades of competition, restoration and expansion. Archival materials provide rich servings of Americana, and detailed footnotes contrast each chapter in Macy's development with a time line of concurrent historical events, trends and fashions. Discussions of Macy's move into suburban communities as well as the move of the flagship store to Herald Square in 1902, the animated competition between Macy's and Gimbels, the start of the famous flower show and Thanksgiving parade, and Macy's involvement in "The Miracle on 34th Street" are supplemented with extensively researched notes, anecdotes, rare photographs, advertisements and other enlivening illustrations. Grippo ("Macy's Thanksgiving Parade") depicts how Macy's has remade itself with the times and for the changing needs of its consumerswho will delight in this affectionate tribute. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.This lavishly illustrated history documents the iconic store's evolution over the past 150 yearsfrom founder Rowland Macy's vision to decades of competition, restoration and expansion. Archival materials provide rich servings of Americana, and detailed footnotes contrast each chapter in Macy's development with a time line of concurrent historical events, trends and fashions. Discussions of Macy's move into suburban communities as well as the move of the flagship store to Herald Square in 1902, the animated competition between Macy's and Gimbels, the start of the famous flower show and Thanksgiving parade, and Macy's involvement in "The Miracle on 34th Street" are supplemented with extensively researched notes, anecdotes, rare photographs, advertisements and other enlivening illustrations. Grippo ("Macy's Thanksgiving Parade") depicts how Macy's has remade itself with the times and for the changing needs of its consumerswho will delight in this affectionate tribute. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Publisher's Marketing Text:

The history of Macy's, over one hundred and fifty years.

Paul Newman: A Life
by Shawn Levy
Published 2009 by Harmony

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780307353757

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Film critic and pop-culture historian Levy gives readers the ultimate behind-the-scenes examination of actor Paul Newman's life, offering a fascinating portrait of an extraordinarily gifted man, who gave back as much as he got out of life. Two 8-page b&w photo inserts. Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning actor with the legendary blue eyes, achieved superstar status by playing charismatic renegades, broken heroes, and winsome antiheroes in such revered films as "The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy" and the "Sundance Kid, The Verdict, The Color of Money," and "Nobody's Fool." But Newman was also an oddity in Hollywood: the rare box-office titan who cared about the craft of acting, the sexy leading man known for the staying power of his marriage, and the humble celebrity who made philanthropy his calling card long before it was cool.

The son of a successful entrepreneur, Newman grew up in a prosperous Cleveland suburb. Despite fears that he would fail to live up to his father's expectations, Newman bypassed the family sporting goods business to pursue an acting career. After struggling as a theater and television actor, Newman saw his star rise in a tragic twist of fate, landing the role of boxer Rocky Graziano in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" when James Dean was killed in a car accident. Though he would joke about instances of "Newman's luck" throughout his career, he refused to coast on his stunning boyish looks and impish charm. Part of the original Actors Studio generation, Newman demanded a high level of rigor and clarity from every project. The artistic battles that nearly derailed his early movie career would pay off handsomely at the box office and earn him critical acclaim.

He applied that tenacity to every endeavor both on and off the set. The outspoken Newman used his celebrity to call attention to political causes dear to his heart, including civil rights and nuclear proliferation. Taking up auto racing in midlife, Newman became the oldest driver to ever win a major professional auto race. A food enthusiast who would dress his own salads in restaurants, he launched the Newman's Own brand dedicated to fresh ingredients, a nonprofit juggernaut that has generated more than $250 million for charity.

In "Paul Newman: A Life," film critic and pop culture historian Shawn Levy gives readers the ultimate behind-the-scenes examination of the actor's life, from his merry pranks on the set to his lasting romance with Joanne Woodward to the devastating impact of his son's death from a drug overdose. This definitive biography is a fascinating portrait of an extraordinarily gifted man who gave back as much as he got out of life and just happened to be one of the most celebrated movie stars of the twentieth century.

Publishers Weekly 03/30/2009

Film critic and biographer Levy ("Rat Pack Confidential") embarks on a respectful, thoroughgoing survey of Newman's long life (19252008) and massive film career without lingering on emotional and psychological factors. A kind of accidental hero, Newman recognized that his blue-eyed good looks would open doors for him, but by sheer determination and work ethic he muscled his way to the Olympian heights of America's finest actors. Born to middle-class Jewish parents in Shaker Heights, Ohio, he eventually enlisted in the navy then attended Kenyon College on the GI Bill; his early first marriage and dabbling in theater seemed to be a way to avoid having to return home and take over his father's sporting-goods store. He enrolled in Yale's drama department, then in 1952 gave himself a year in New York to prove himself: he hustled small, paying parts and gradually became a part of the Actors Studio, where he claimed to have learned everything he knew about acting. From then on, using his connections shrewdly, he moved from success on Broadway ("Picnic", where he met Joanne Woodward, whom he married in 1958) to TV ("Our Town") and Hollywood ("Somebody Up There Likes Me"). From there, the professional accolades began piling up, while Levy also chronicles Newman's stunning success as a race-car driver, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Levy doesn't shy from discussing Newman's shortcomings as a father and husband, yet he leaves a glowing assessment of this legend's career." (May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive
by Lisa R Cohen
Published 2009 by Grand Central Publishing

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780446582513

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A former "60 Minutes" producer unravels the full story of Etan Patz--a six-year-old boy who disappeared in 1979. Cohen reveals his family's desperate search, the heroic efforts to bring the kidnapper to justice, and the investigation into a decades-long mystery. On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment to go to his school bus stop. It was the first time he walked the two short blocks on his own.

But he never made it to school that day. He vanished somewhere between his home and the bus stop, and was never seen again.

The search for Etan quickly consumed the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. Soon afterward, "Missing" posters with Etan's smiling face blanketed the city, followed by media coverage that turned Etan's disappearance into a national story-one that would change our cultural landscape forever.

Thirty years later, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children's Day, in Etan's honor. But despite the overwhelming publicity his case received, the public knows only a fraction of what happened. That's because the story of Etan Patz is more than a heartbreaking mystery. It is also the story of the men, women, and children who were touched by his life in the months and years after he vanished. It's the story of the agonies and triumphs of the Patz family. It's the story of the extraordinary twists and turns of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois's relentless pursuit of his prime suspect. From GraBois's creative "outside the box" tactics, to the veteran cop who made his first pedophile bust on a dark Times Square rooftop, to the FBI rookie who cut her teeth chasing the case through the dark recesses of a child molester's mind, this is the story of all the heroic investigators who to this day, thirty years later, continue to seek justice for Etan.

In AFTER ETAN, author Lisa Cohen draws on hundreds of interviews and nearly twenty years of research-including access to the personal files of the Patz family-to reveal for the first time the entire dramatic tale.

Publishers Weekly 03/09/2009

Emmy-winning TV newsmagazine producer Cohen examines one of the most publicized missing child cases in America. On May 25, 1979, Etan Patz left his family's SoHo loft to walk two blocks to catch his school bus, the first time his parents let him make the trip alone. He was never seen again. Early in the investigation, police interviewed Jose Antonio Ramos, whose interest in little blond boys had become known to police, yet they dismissed Ramos as a suspect in the Patz case. But over the years, Ramos repeatedly intimated that he molested and murdered Patz and hid the body. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart GraBois doggedly and shrewdly pursued Ramos, hoping prison informants could coax a confession. Cohen details GraBois's efforts and the pain Stan and Julie Patz endured as years passed and Etan's fate remained a mystery. Perhaps most heart-wrenching is Stan's twice-yearly ritual of mailing Etan's missing poster to Ramos in prison, always with the same message: What did you do to my little boy? As true crime, this tragic tale is a standout, and Cohen, though no prose stylist, does a creditable job telling it. "(May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown
by Edmund L Andrews
Published 2009 by W. W. Norton & Company

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780393067941

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Chronicling the fiasco that sank millions of Americans, including one journalist, who thought he knew better, "Busted" is a darkly humorous exploration of the cynicism and self-destructive judgment that led to America's biggest economic calamity in generations. A veteran New York Times economics reporter, Edmund L. Andrews was intimately aware of the dangers posed by easy mortgages from fast-buck lenders. But, eager to buy a home and start a new life, he gave in to temptation and began a surreal adventure into the mortgage mayhem that nearly wrecked our economy. Busted weaves together the author's own ride to the edge of bankruptcy with the tragicomic stories of his lenders, the Wall Street pros behind them, and the policymakers in Washington who were oblivious until it was too late. The story takes Andrews to the offices of Alan Greenspan, the mansions of subprime-mortgage millionaires in southern California, a despondent deal makers' convention in Las Vegas, and Wall Street. Rich with on-the-ground reporting, Busted is a darkly humorous exploration of the cynicism and self-destructive judgment that led to America's biggest economic calamity in generations.

Publishers Weekly 04/27/2009

As I write in February 2009, I am four months past due on my mortgage and bracing for foreclosure proceedings to begin. Thus begins this cautionary and critical examination of the housing crisis, a story that turned personal when "New York Times" economics reporter Andrews got caught up in the housing bubble after falling in love with a woman and a house. Bringing in $120,000 a year in salarymost of which went to child support and alimony to his ex-wife, Andrews says he was able to get a don't ask, don't tell mortgage with the assumption that his new wife, Patty, would be able to get a job to keep them afloat, an expectation that didn't work out as planned. Because of his economics journalism background, Andrews says he should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe, and he castigates himself as well as fellow borrowers, the financial industry that took advantage of them and a government that didn't put the brakes on the crisis that many economists warned about but that Alan Greenspan, the Bush administration and others ignored. This deeply personal exposé is timely and sobering in its candor. "(June)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals
by Frank Partnoy
Published 2009 by PublicAffairs

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781586487430

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Partnoy writes an all-too prescient parable of how unregulated markets, greed, and unchecked ambition can wreak havoc on an economic system. At the height of the roaring '20s, Swedish emigre Ivar Kreuger made a fortune raising money in America and loaning it to Europe in exchange for matchstick monopolies. His enterprise was a rare success story throughout the Great Depression.Yet after Kreuger's suicide in 1932, the true nature of his empire emerged. Driven by success to adopt ever-more perilous practices, Kreuger had turned to shell companies in tax havens, fudged accounting figures, off-balance-sheet accounting, even forgery. He created a raft of innovative financial products-- many of them precursors to instruments wreaking havoc in today's markets. When his Wall Street empire collapsed, millions went bankrupt.Frank Partnoy, a frequent commentator on financial disaster for the" Financial Times," "New York Times," NPR, and CBS's "60 Minutes," recasts the life story of a remarkable yet forgotten genius in ways that force us to re-think our ideas about the wisdom of crowds, the invisible hand, and the free and unfettered market.

Publishers Weekly 03/09/2009

Partnoy ("F.I.A.S.C.O.") delivers a thrilling account of the grandfather of all Ponzi and Madoff schemesIvar Kreuger (18801932), who made his fortune in the 1920s by raising money from American investors to lend to European governments in exchange for match monopolies. Kreuger was creating more than matches, it turned out; the master of investor psychology created the forerunners of today's derivatives and techniques that are still used by hedge funds and investment banks. Shortly after his suicide in 1932, his schemes finally unraveled. The Kreuger crash bankrupted millions and led to the securities laws of 1933 and 1934a political reaction to a single event and to one man. Partnoy achieves a nuanced portrait of the charismatic and corrupt financial genius whose advice was sought by Herbert Hoover and other heads of state. A fascinating depiction of a man and his era (Greta Garbo makes memorable cameos), this book is a snapshot of a time all too familiar now: a speculative real estate bubble, unbridled consumer spending, investors buying derivatives based on sketchy information and a Wall Street operating by its own rules. "(May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia
by Andrew Lih
Published 2009 by Hyperion Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781401303716

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A Wikipedia expert tells the inside story of the trailblazing--and incrediblypopular--open source encyclopedia.

Publishers Weekly 01/12/2009

Since Wikipedia was launched online in 2001 as the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, it has blossomed to more than a billion words spread over 10 million articles in 250 languages, including 2.5 million articles in English, according to Wikipedia cofounder Wales in the foreword. Lih, a Beijing-based commentator on new media and technology for NPR and CNN, researched Wikipedia and collaborative journalism as a University of Hong Kong academic, and he has been a participating Wikipedian himself for the past five years. He notes the site has invigorated and disrupted the world of encyclopedias... yet only a fraction of the public who use Wikipedia realize it is entirely created by legions of unpaid and often unidentified volunteers. Other books have surfaced ("How Wikipedia Works"; "Wikinomics"), but Lih's authoritative approach covers much more, from the influence of Ayn Rand on Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales and the burnout and stress of highly active volunteer editor-writers to controversies, credibility crises and vandalism. Wales's more traditional earlier encyclopedia, the peer-reviewed Nupedia, began to fade after he saw how Ward Cunningham's software invention, Wiki (Hawaiian for quick), could generate collaborative editing. Tracing Wikipedia's evolution and expansion to international editions, Lih views the encyclopedia as a global community of passionate scribes, attributing its success to a policy of openness which is not so much technical phenomenon as social phenomenon. "(Mar.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

All the News Unfit to Print: How Things Were... and How They Were Reported
by Eric Burns
Published 2009 by John Wiley & Sons

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780470405239

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Well-known media analyst Burns looks at how journalists have misreported history in this follow-up to his critically-acclaimed book "Infamous Scribblers." You really can't believe everything you read . . . A premature newswire report announces the end of World War I, spurring wild celebrations in American streets days before the actual treaty was signed. A St. Louis newspaper prints reviews of theatrical performances that never took place--they had been canceled due to bad weather. New York newspaper reporters plant evidence in the apartment of the man accused of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby and then call him a liar in the courtroom once the trial begins. These are just a few of the many wrongs that have been reported as right over two centuries of American history. All the News Unfit to Print puts the media under the microscope to expose the many types of mistakes, hoaxes, omissions, and lies that have skewed our understanding of the past, and reveals the range of reasons and motivations--from boredom and haste to politics and greed-behind them. Reviewing a host of journalistic slip-ups involving Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, William Randolph Hearst, Theodore H. White, and many others, this book covers the stories behind the stories to refine incorrect "first drafts" of history from the Revolutionary War era to more recent times. ""All the News Unfit to Print" is a rollicking joyride that careens through the ridiculous, the odd, and the serious malfeasances in American journalistic history and reminds us of the difference between news and facts."

--Neal Gabler, author of "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination"

Reckless!: How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (and How We Can Fix It!)
by Byron L Dorgan
Published 2009 by Thomas Dunne Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780312383039

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As one of only eight senators to vote against bank deregulation, Byron Dorgan warned America that a free-market system left unchecked is like a driving a car at ninety miles per hour without brakes. With the recent financial collapse having proven him right, Dorgan exposes this modern-day carnival of greed and calls out the corporate executives who reap millions and even billions as a "reward" for self-interest and mismanagement. More poignantly, he argues that public officials we elect to represent the best interests of the people have sold us out, as government has become a partner to Big Oil, Big Media, and Big Pharma.

In his prairie-populist voice peppered with incisive wit, Dorgan argues that we must rescue the economy from the influence of financial conglomerates and power brokers, and to hold our public officials accountable for regulating the economy.

Publishers Weekly 04/20/2009

In this scathing indictment of the Bush administration and the excesses of big business and corporate gluttony during the past eight years, North Dakota Senator Dorgan (D-N.Dak.) chronicles how Americans faith in government has been undermined by a lack of regulation and untrammeled greed. This former state tax commissioner takes wide aim, lambasting Bush and Cheney, financial institutions, the subprime mortgage mess, the current budget deficit, the Iraq War and war profiteering, big oil and what he regards as a flawed health-care system and grossly inequitable tax system. Dorgans arguments are convincing and credible, but his recounting of such issues as the mismanagement of Wall Street firms, the Bush regimes mishandling of the Iraq War and the Bernard Madoff scandal seem late to the game and add little fresh analysis. Dorgans decidedly Democratic approach to repairing Americans broken trust is to increase regulation, police Wall Street and to tax the wealthy. Readers who can wade through his rehashing of wrongdoing will find his practical solutions persuasive and in alignment with the new administration". (June)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Publisher's Marketing Text:

As one of only eight senators to vote against bank deregulation, Byron Dorgan warned America that a free-market system left unchecked is like a driving a car at ninety miles per hour without brakes. With the recent financial collapse having proven him right, Dorgan exposes this modern-day carnival of greed and calls out the corporate executives who reap millions and even billions as a "reward" for self-interest and mismanagement. More poignantly, he argues that public officials we elect to represent the best interests of the people have sold us out, as government has become a partner to Big Oil, Big Media, and Big Pharma.
In his prairie-populist voice peppered with incisive wit, Dorgan argues that we must rescue the economy from the influence of financial conglomerates and power brokers, and to hold our public officials accountable for regulating the economy.

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa
by R A Scotti
Published 2009 by Knopf Publishing Group

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780307265807

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In Paris at the start of a radically new century, the most famous face in the history of art stepped out of her frame and into a sensational mystery.

On August 21, 1911, the unfathomable happened--Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" vanished from the Louvre. More than twenty-four hours passed before museum officials realized she was gone. The prime suspects were as shocking as the crime: Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, young provocateurs of a new art. As French detectives using the latest methods of criminology, including fingerprinting, tried to trace the thieves, a burgeoning international media hyped news of the heist.

No story captured the imagination of the world quite like this one. Thousands flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung. They mourned as if "Mona Lisa" were a lost loved one, left flowers and notes, and set new attendance records. For more than two years, "Mona Lisa"'s absence haunted the art world, provoking the question: Was she lost forever? A century later, questions still linger.

Part love story, part mystery, "Vanished Smile "reopens the case of the most audacious and perplexing art theft ever committed. R. A. Scotti's riveting, ingeniously realized account is itself a masterly portrait of a world in transition. Combining her skills as a historian and a novelist, Scotti turns the tantalizing clues into a story of the painting's transformation into the most familiar and lasting icon of all time.

Publishers Weekly 02/16/2009

In this charming account of the brazen 1911 theft of the "Mona Lisa" from the Louvre and the two-year quest to bring her home, Scotti ("Basilica") explores not only the puzzling crime but also the source of the paintings universal appeal and its provenance. On the morning of Tuesday, August 22, "La Joconde" was found missing from the Salon Carré. Even with help of renowned French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon, the trail was cold from the start. Rumors abounded about greedy, wealthy American collectors and the Louvres lax security. No one in Paris was above suspicion, not even the young Pablo Picasso. While the portrait was finally recovered in Florence in 1913, its theft apparently the result of a young Italians misguided patriotism (the paintings probable subject is a young Florentine, Lisa del Giocondo), Scotti is eager to remind readers that the mystery is far from over. The true motive for the theftand the possible connection to a larger ring of art thievesremains tantalizingly unknown by the end of this lively recounting. Photos. "(Apr.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms
by Nicolette Hahn Niman
Published 2009 by Collins Living

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780061466496

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Part memoir, part expos, "Righteous Porkchop" offers a searing account of the factory farm industry--and the effects the techniques have on health and well-being--by an engaging crusader who finds love and purpose along the way. When Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., first asked Nicolette Hahn Niman to head up his environmental organization's "hog campaign," she balked. Investigating hog manure pollution was hardly the glamorous assignment she pictured when leaving everything to work for him in New York. But Kennedy, she discovered, is not a man who takes no for an answer. Thus began Niman's fascinating odyssey into the inner workings of the "factory farm" industry and her transformation into an intrepid environmental lawyer who goes up against the big business farming establishment and--unexpectedly--finds love along the way. Starting her work for Kennedy's organization in North Carolina, Niman uncovers the shocking practices of hog factory farms, including inhumane animal confinement and devastating water and air pollution. She organizes a national reform movement to fight these practices and shows again and again that livestock farming can be done in a better way--not only for hogs, but also for poultry, fish, and dairy cows. Through Niman's work, she also tours the best of farms, where traditional farmers and ranchers treat their animals humanely and have joined with other farmers to successfully market the foods they produce. She profiles the innovative and cost-effective methods these operations have incorporated to make a profit by ethical, sustainable means. Along the way, the story takes a surprising turn when Nicolette is swept off her feet by a high-profile cattle rancher. At first, they seem an unlikely pair: Nicolette, a thirty-something, urban, East Coast, vegetarian attorney, and Bill Niman, an older, West Coast, cowboy type. But they share a passion for raising animals with kindness, and she soon finds herself transitioning to ranching life at the famed Niman Ranch in Northern California. In telling her story, Niman details not only "why" to choose meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, and fish from traditionally farmed sources (and avoid products tainted by chemicals and antibiotic-resistant bacteria), but also "how" to do so. She reveals what to look for on labels, why to skip animal products from outside the United States, and what questions to ask when eating out. A searing account of an industry gone awry and one woman's passionate fight to remedy it, "Righteous Porkchop" is a must-read for anyone who cares about food sources or good eating.

Good Book: The Bizarre, Hilarious, Disturbing, Marvelous, and Inspiring Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bib
by David Plotz
Published 2009 by Harper

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780061374241

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Like many Jews and Christians, David Plotz long assumed he knew what was in the Bible. He read parts of it as a child in Hebrew school, then at-tended a Christian high school where he studied the Old and New Testaments. Many of the highlights stuck with him--Adam and Eve, Cain versus Abel, Jacob versus Esau, Jonah versus whale, forty days and nights, ten plagues and commandments, twelve tribes and apostles, Red Sea walked under, Galilee walked on, bush into fire, rock into water, water into wine. And, of course, he absorbed from all around him other bits of the Bible--from stories he heard in churches and synagogues, in movies and on television, from his parents and teachers. But it wasn't until he picked up a Bible at a cousin's bat mitzvah--and became engrossed and horrified by a lesser-known story in Genesis--that he couldn't put it down. At a time when wars are fought over scriptural interpretation, when the influence of religion on American politics has never been greater, when many Americans still believe in the Bible's literal truth, it has never been more important to get to know the Bible. "Good Book" is what happens when a regular guy--an average Job--actually reads the book on which his religion, his culture, and his world are based. Along the way, he grapples with the most profound theological questions: How many commandments do we actually need? Does God prefer obedience or good deeds? And the most unexpected ones: Why are so many women in the Bible prostitutes? Why does God love bald men so much? Is Samson really that stupid? "Good Book" is an irreverent, enthralling journey through the world's most important work of literature.

Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World
by Mary Pipher
Published 2009 by Riverhead Hardcover

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781594488610

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Jacket Notes:

In this thoughtful and inspiring memoir, the author of the "New York Times" bestsellers "Reviving Ophelia, The Shelter of Each Other," and "Another Country" explores her personal search for understanding, tranquility, and respect through her work as a psychologist and seeker.

aThere are three kinds of secrets, a Mary Pipher says in "Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World." aThose we keep from everyone, those we keep from certain people, and those we keep from ourselves. Writing this book forced me to deal with all three.a After decades of exploring the lives of others through her writing and therapy, Mary Pipher turns her attention to herselfaculling insights from her own life to highlight the importance of the journey, not just the destination.

Like most lives, Pipheras is filled with glory and tragedy, chaos and clarity, love and abandonment. She spent her childhood in small Nebraska towns, the daughter of a doctor mother and a restless jack-of-all-trades father. Often both of her parents were away and Pipher and her siblings lived as what she calls aferal children.a Later, as an adult and a therapist, Pipher was able to do what she most enjoyed: learn about the world and help others. After the surprising success of "Reviving Ophelia," she was overwhelmed by the attention and demands on her time. In 2002, after a personal crisis, Pipher realized that success and fame were harming her, and she began working to find a quieter, more meditative life that would carry her toward self-acceptance and joy.

In "Seeking Peace," Mary Pipher tells her own remarkable story, and in the process reveals truths about our search for happiness and love. While her story is unique, athe basic map and milestones of my story are universal, a she writes. aWe strive to make sense of our selves and our environments.a In "Seeking Peace," Pipher reflects on her life in a way that allows readers to reimagine theirs.

Publisher's Marketing Text:

In this thoughtful and inspiring memoir, the author of the "New York Times" bestsellers "Reviving Ophelia, The Shelter of Each Other," and "Another Country" explores her personal search for understanding, tranquility, and respect through her work as a psychologist and seeker.
aThere are three kinds of secrets, a Mary Pipher says in "Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World." aThose we keep from everyone, those we keep from certain people, and those we keep from ourselves. Writing this book forced me to deal with all three.a After decades of exploring the lives of others through her writing and therapy, Mary Pipher turns her attention to herselfaculling insights from her own life to highlight the importance of the journey, not just the destination.
Like most lives, Pipheras is filled with glory and tragedy, chaos and clarity, love and abandonment. She spent her childhood in small Nebraska towns, the daughter of a doctor mother and a restless jack-of-all-trades father. Often both of her parents were away and Pipher and her siblings lived as what she calls aferal children.a Later, as an adult and a therapist, Pipher was able to do what she most enjoyed: learn about the world and help others. After the surprising success of "Reviving Ophelia," she was overwhelmed by the attention and demands on her time. In 2002, after a personal crisis, Pipher realized that success and fame were harming her, and she began working to find a quieter, more meditative life that would carry her toward self-acceptance and joy.
In "Seeking Peace," Mary Pipher tells her own remarkable story, and in the process reveals truths about our search for happiness and love. While her story is unique, athe basic map and milestones of my story are universal, a she writes. aWe strive to make sense of our selves and our environments.a In "Seeking Peace," Pipher reflects on her life in a way that allows readers to reimagine theirs.