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The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued . . .
Par Rick Mercer. 2023
THE INSTANT #1 BESTSELLERRick Mercer is back—again!—with the eagerly awaited sequel to his bestselling memoirAt the end of his memoir…
Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. Having overcome a serious lack of promise as a schoolboy and risen through the showbiz ranks—as an aspiring actor, star of a surprisingly successful one-man show about the Meech Lake Accord, co-founder of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, creator and star of the dark-comedy sitcom Made in Canada—he was about to tackle his biggest opportunity yet. The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants. But Rick and his partner, Gerald Lunz, were also determined to do something that comedy tends to avoid as too challenging: they would emphasize the positive. Rick would travel from coast to coast to coast in search of everything that’s best about Canada, especially its people. He found a lot to celebrate, naturally, and was rewarded with a huge audience and a run of 15 seasons. The Road Years tells the inside story of that stupendous success. A time when Rick was heading to another town—or military base, sports centre, national park—to try dogsledding, chainsaw carving, and bear tagging; hang from a harness (a lot); ride the “Train of Death;” plus countless other joyous and/or reckless assignments. Added to the mix were encounters with the country’s great. Every living prime minister. Rock and roll royalty from Rush to Randy Bachman. Olympians and Paralympians. A skinny-dipping Bob Rae. And Jann Arden, of course, who gets a chapter to herself. Along the way he even found the time to visit several countries in Africa and co-found and champion the charity Spread the Net, which has gone on to protect the lives of millions. Join the celebration, and revive a wealth of happy memories, with what is Rick Mercer’s funniest, most fascinating book yet.Beyoncé (First Names)
Par Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl. 2021
Meet the woman who changed music forever and showed that girls can run the world! Before she was an international…
superstar and feminist icon, Beyoncé was a girl from Texas who loved to sing and dance. As a member of Destiny’s Child, she climbed the charts and became a member of one of the most famous girl groups in history. This launched Beyoncé into her solo career, and since then, she’s become an unstoppable force in music and pop culture. Beyond music, she is a successful businesswoman and activist who helps bring issues of race and gender into the global conversation. Empowering and inspirational, Beyoncé tells the story of the woman who showed that girls can run the world. It includes a timeline, glossary, and index. First Names is a highly illustrated nonfiction series that puts readers on a first-name basis with some of the most incredible people in history and of today!Jack in the Box: or, How to Goddamn Direct
Par Jack O'Brien. 2022
The Tony Award–winning director gathers memories of people, productions, and problems surmounted from his fifty-year career in this one-of-a-kind how-to…
handbook.What do directors do? Jack O’Brien, the winner of Tony and Drama Desk Awards and the former artistic director of San Diego’s historic Old Globe theatre, describes it like this: “You stand before a situation in which something is presented to you. You’re afforded a challenge. Like catching an enormous ball. And you respond. You come up with a vision of some kind. That is, if you respond to the material at all, and one must, or it’s doomed. You sort of feel that since you relate to the material at hand, you might as well try to be helpful.”In Jack in the Box, O’Brien’s follow-up to his memoir Jack Be Nimble, the director collects stories from the many productions he has worked on, the great talents he encountered and collaborated with (including Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, Jerry Lewis, Marsha Mason, and many others), and the choices he made, on the stage and off, that have come to define his career. With humor, warmth, and contagious excitement, O’Brien takes the reader by the shoulder, pulls them in, and tells them how to become a director—or, at the very least, relates an unfailingly honest story of how he did.Plantagenet Princesses: The Daughters of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II
Par Douglas Boyd. 2020
A look at the royal women of twelfth-century England—from the empowered to the imprisoned—and their roles in the ruling dynasty.Eleanor…
of Aquitaine and her second husband, Henry II, are commonly considered medieval figures, but their era was really the violent transition from the Dark Ages, when countries’ borders were defined with fire and sword. Henry grabbed the English throne thanks largely to Eleanor’s dowry, because she owned one third of France. But their less famous daughters also lived extraordinary lives. If princes fought for their succession to crowns, the princesses were traded—usually by their mothers—to strangers to gain political power without the usual accompanying bloodshed. Years before what would today be marriageable age, royal girls were dispatched to countries whose speech was unknown to them, and there became the property of unknown men—their duty the bearing of sons to continue a dynasty and daughters who would be traded in their turn. Some became literal prisoners of their spouses; others outwitted would-be rapists and the Church to seize the reins of power when their husbands died. Eleanor’s daughters Marie and Alix were abandoned in Paris when she divorced Louis VII of France. By Henry II, she bore Matilda, Aliénor, and Joanna. Between them, these extraordinary women and their daughters knew the extremes of power and pain. Joanna was imprisoned by William II of Sicily and treated worse by her brutal second husband in Toulouse. Eleanor may have been libeled as a whore, but Aliénor’s descendants include two saints, Louis of France and Fernando of Spain. And then there were the illegitimate daughters, whose lives read like novels. This fascinating volume tells their stories.The story of the first monarch of the House of Tudor, and his dramatic journey to the throne. The…
story of Henry Tudor&’s march to Bosworth and the throne of England began long before the fateful summer of 1485. Pembroke Castle, the gigantic fortress where he was born in 1457 and spent his childhood years, lay some twelve miles inland from the spot where Henry is believed to have landed in Milford Haven when he came to challenge Richard III in August 1485. Henry&’s landing and progress to Bosworth Field were a gamble, but one that had to be taken if the House of Lancaster was to survive. In Following in the Footsteps of Henry Tudor, we hear of the many fascinating stories from Henry&’s march and the places he visited—a journey that took just over two weeks. It was a time of treachery and double dealing, but it culminated with the establishment of the Tudor dynasty, the end of the Wars of the Roses, and the beginnings of the modern world.Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans
Par Kenneth Womack. 2023
The first full-length biography of Mal Evans, the Beatles’ beloved friend, confidant, and roadie. Malcolm Evans, the Beatles’ long-time roadie, personal…
assistant, and devoted friend, was an invaluable member of the band’s inner circle. A towering figure in horn-rimmed glasses, Evans loomed large in the Beatles’ story, contributing at times as a performer and sometime lyricist, while struggling mightily to protect his beloved “boys.” He was there for the whole of the group’s remarkable, unparalleled story: from the Shea Stadium triumph through the creation of the timeless cover art for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the famous Let It Be rooftop concert. Leaving a stable job as telecommunications engineer to serve as road manager for this fledgling band, Mal was the odd man out from the start—older, married with children, and without any music business experience. And yet he threw himself headlong into their world, traveling across the globe and making himself indispensable. In the years after the Beatles’ disbandment, Big Mal continued in their employ as each embarked upon solo careers. By 1974, he was determined to make his name as a songwriter and record producer, setting off for a new life in Los Angeles, where he penned his memoirs. But in January 1976, on the verge of sharing his book with the world, Evans’s story came to a tragic end during a domestic standoff with the LAPD.For Beatles devotes, Mal’s life and untimely death have always been shrouded in mystery. For decades, his diaries, manuscripts, and vast collection of memorabilia was missing, seemingly lost forever…until now. Working with full access to Mal’s unpublished archives and having conducted hundreds of new interviews, Beatles’ scholar and author Kenneth Womack affords readers with a full telling of Mal’s unknown story at the heart of the Beatles’ legend. Lavishly illustrated with unseen photos and ephemera from Mal’s archives, Living the Beatles’ Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans is the missing puzzle piece in the Fab Four’s incredible story.Marie Antoinette's Confidante: The Rise and Fall of the Princesse de Lamballe
Par Geri Walton. 2016
The true story of the woman who befriended the last queen of France—and the price she paid for her devotion.…
Perhaps no one knew Marie Antoinette better than one of her closest confidantes, Marie Thérèse, the Princess de Lamballe. The princess became superintendent of the queen&’s household in 1774, and through her relationship with Marie Antoinette, she gained a unique perspective of the lavishness and daily intrigue at Versailles. Born into the famous House of Savoy in Turin, Italy, Marie Thérèse was married at the age of seventeen to the Prince de Lamballe, heir to one of the richest fortunes in France. He transported her to the gold-leafed and glittering chandeliered halls of the Château de Versailles, where she soon found herself immersed in the political and sexual scandals that surrounded the royal court. As the plotters and planners of Versailles sought, at all costs, to gain the favor of Louis XVI and his queen, the Princess de Lamballe was there to witness it all. This book reveals the Princess de Lamballe&’s version of these events and is based on a wide variety of historical sources, helping to capture the waning days and grisly demise of the French monarchy. The story immerses you in a world of titillating sexual rumors, bloodthirsty revolutionaries, and hair-raising escape attempts—a must read for anyone interested in Marie Antoinette, the origins of the French Revolution, or life in the late eighteenth century.The Unlikely Duke: Memoirs of an eclectic life - from rock 'n' roll to Badminton House
Par Harry Beaufort. 2023
'Beaufort chronicles his unusual and rarified world with flashes of Wodehousian genius'. --- Jools Holland'So funny ... bristling with glamorous…
but eccentric characters'. --- Jilly Cooper'Very funny and touching, gentle, wise and unpretentious. This is a book I absolutely loved.' --- Anne GlenconnerThe 12th Duke of Beaufort, known to his friends as 'Bunter', inherited his Dukedom and Badminton House in 2017, at the age of sixty-five. But he is also a singer and songwriter with the rock group The Listening Device. Now he combines his responsibilities as Duke with his life as a rock performer. In this lively and anecdote-filled memoir, Harry Beaufort takes us behind the scenes of his varied life: from playing poker with politicians, to partying on Ibiza with film stars to people watching with The Queen from a balcony at Windsor Castle. He offers an intimate portrait of aristocratic privilege and a lifetime filled with rock stars, royalty, eccentrics and jaw-droppingly unbelievable stories. But Harry also offers a sensitive and perceptive insight into the worlds he has inhabited and the friendships and laughter that he has experienced along the way. This is the story of an ordinary man facing up to his extraordinary inheritance-the story of The Unlikely Duke.The Unlikely Duke: Memoirs of an eclectic life - from rock 'n' roll to Badminton House
Par Harry Beaufort. 2023
'Beaufort chronicles his unusual and rarified world with flashes of Wodehousian genius'. --- Jools Holland'So funny ... bristling with glamorous…
but eccentric characters'. --- Jilly Cooper'Very funny and touching, gentle, wise and unpretentious. This is a book I absolutely loved.' --- Anne GlenconnerThe 12th Duke of Beaufort, known to his friends as 'Bunter', inherited his Dukedom and Badminton House in 2017, at the age of sixty-five. But he is also a singer and songwriter with the rock group The Listening Device. Now he combines his responsibilities as Duke with his life as a rock performer. In this lively and anecdote-filled memoir, Harry Beaufort takes us behind the scenes of his varied life: from playing poker with politicians, to partying on Ibiza with film stars to people watching with The Queen from a balcony at Windsor Castle. He offers an intimate portrait of aristocratic privilege and a lifetime filled with rock stars, royalty, eccentrics and jaw-droppingly unbelievable stories. But Harry also offers a sensitive and perceptive insight into the worlds he has inhabited and the friendships and laughter that he has experienced along the way. This is the story of an ordinary man facing up to his extraordinary inheritance-the story of The Unlikely Duke.Still a Bit of Snap in the Celery: or K.B.O. *Keep Buggering On
Par Marcus Berkmann. 2023
From the bestselling author of A Shed of One's Own, a very funny memoir about being 60.Marcus Berkmann's funny, instantly…
recognisable description of middle-age in A Shed of One's Own struck a chord and turned it into a bestseller. Now he realises he has entered a new age category: the Young-Old.Well, the body continues to provide challenges (every group meeting seems to begin the dreaded 'organ recital'), and the bank balance may not be doing too well either - but it's certainly not all doom and gloom. You have come to terms with your deficiencies and eccentricities (although your partner may not); your Fear of Missing Out has become Joy at Staying In; you have embraced the notion of the Power Nap - and though you're not going to embark on a course of 'mindfulness' you nevertheless recognise if living in the moment also includes walking to the local for a pint with an old friend then you'll sign up for it after all...You could call it 'beerfulness'.'Berkmann is a fine observer of decline. He says what other men would rather not think about, let alone discuss. Another ten years pottering around in his shed and he'll have cracked it' Sunday TimesStill a Bit of Snap in the Celery: or K.B.O. *Keep Buggering On
Par Marcus Berkmann. 2023
From the bestselling author of A Shed of One's Own, a very funny memoir about being 60.Marcus Berkmann's funny, instantly…
recognisable description of middle-age in A Shed of One's Own struck a chord and turned it into a bestseller. Now he realises he has entered a new age category: the Young-Old.Well, the body continues to provide challenges (every group meeting seems to begin the dreaded 'organ recital'), and the bank balance may not be doing too well either - but it's certainly not all doom and gloom. You have come to terms with your deficiencies and eccentricities (although your partner may not); your Fear of Missing Out has become Joy at Staying In; you have embraced the notion of the Power Nap - and though you're not going to embark on a course of 'mindfulness' you nevertheless recognise if living in the moment also includes walking to the local for a pint with an old friend then you'll sign up for it after all...You could call it 'beerfulness'.'Berkmann is a fine observer of decline. He says what other men would rather not think about, let alone discuss. Another ten years pottering around in his shed and he'll have cracked it' Sunday TimesAway with Words: An Irreverent Tour Through the World of Pun Competitions
Par Joe Berkowitz. 2017
"[Away with Words] is low wit in its highest form. . . Mr. Berkowitz is sensitive throughout to the evanescence and…
contingency of punning and to the fleeting chemistry of a live pun-on-pun matchup crackling with energy." –Wall Street JournalFast Company reporter Joe Berkowitz investigates the bizarre and hilarious world of pun competitions from the Punderdome 3000 in Brooklyn to the World competition in Austin.When Joe Berkowitz witnessed his first Punderdome competition, it felt wrong in the best way. Something impossible seemed to be happening. The kinds of jokes we learn to repress through social conditioning were not only being aired out in public—they were being applauded. As it turned out, this monthly show was part of a subculture that’s been around in one form or another since at least the late ‘70s. Its pinnacle is the O. Henry Pun Off World Championship, an annual tournament in Austin, Texas. As someone who is terminally self-conscious, Joe was both awed and jealous of these people who confidently killed with the most maligned form of humor. In this immersive ride into the subversive world of pun competitions, we meet punsters weird and wonderful and Berkowitz is our tour guide. Puns may show up in life in subtle ways sometimes, but once you start thinking in puns you discover they’re everywhere. Berkowitz’s search to discover who makes them the most, and why, leads him to the professional comedian competitors on @Midnight, a TV show with a pun competition built into it, the writing staff of Bob’s Burgers, the punniest show on TV, and even a humor research conference. With his new unlikely band of punster brothers, he finally heads to Austin to compete in the World Championship. Of course, in befriending these comic misfits he also ended up learning that when you embrace puns you become a more authentic version of yourself.Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912
Par Donald Keene. 2005
The renowned Japanese scholar &“brings us as close to the inner life of the Meiji emperor as we are ever…
likely to get&” (The New York Times Book Review). When Emperor Meiji began his rule in 1867, Japan was a splintered empire dominated by the shogun and the daimyos, cut off from the outside world, staunchly antiforeign, and committed to the traditions of the past. Before long, the shogun surrendered to the emperor, a new constitution was adopted, and Japan emerged as a modern, industrialized state. Despite the length of his reign, little has been written about the strangely obscured figure of Meiji himself, the first emperor ever to meet a European. But now, Donald Keene sifts the available evidence to present a rich portrait not only of Meiji but also of rapid and sometimes violent change during this pivotal period in Japan&’s history. In this vivid and engrossing biography, we move with the emperor through his early, traditional education; join in the formal processions that acquainted the young emperor with his country and its people; observe his behavior in court, his marriage, and his relationships with various consorts; and follow his maturation into a &“Confucian&” sovereign dedicated to simplicity, frugality, and hard work. Later, during Japan&’s wars with China and Russia, we witness Meiji&’s struggle to reconcile his personal commitment to peace and his nation&’s increasingly militarized experience of modernization. Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest. &“Utterly brilliant . . . the best history in English of the emergence of modern Japan.&”—Los Angeles TimesI'll Be Damned: How My Young and Restless Life Led Me to America's #1 Daytime Drama
Par Eric Braeden. 2017
In this startling candid and poignant memoir, the legendary Emmy Award-winning star of The Young and The Restless, America's #1…
soap opera, chronicles his amazing life, from his birth in World War II Germany to his arrival in America to his rise to humanitarian and daytime superstar for the past thirty-five years.For nearly four decades, fans have welcomed the star of television’s number-one daytime show, The Young and the Restless, into their living rooms. While they’ve come to know and love the suave Victor Newman, few truly know the man behind the character, the supremely talented Eric Braeden. I'll Be Damned is his story—a startling and uplifting true tale of war, deprivation, determination, fame, and social commitment that spans from Nazi Germany to modern Hollywood. Braeden’s journey from a hospital basement in Kiel to the soundstages of Los Angeles has taught him more about joy, heartbreak, fear, dignity, loss, love, loneliness, exhilaration, courage, persecution, and profound responsibility to the global community than he could have hoped to learn in several lifetimes. Growing up in the years after Germany’s defeat, Braeden knew very little about the atrocities of his parents’ generation, until he arrived in America as a teenager—a discovery that horrified and transformed him. Trying to redress the wrongs of his homeland, he has dedicated his life to humanitarian work—even forming the German American Culture Society—working for decades to show the world that what we share as humans is far more important than what separates us from one another. Told with openness, candor, humor, heart, and occasional raw vulnerability, I’ll Be Damned reveals a man committed to making the world a better, more loving place. Filled with sixteen pages of photos from his decorated life and career, I’ll Be Damned will be a treasured keepsake for Y&R fans, and is an inspiring testament to the goodness within us all.Behind the Crown: My Life Photographing the Royal Family
Par Arthur Edwards. 2022
A breathtaking collection of photographs capturing the modern British monarchy as never before seen, taken by the Royal photographer for…
the The Sun (UK) who has covered them for nearly half a century.“For 45 years I’ve chronicled the Royal Family for the Sun newspaper with my camera. I’ve witnessed their triumphs and disasters, their laughter and tears, when they’ve found love and when their relationships splinter. I’m there when they emerge from the maternity wing as wailing newborns and I’m there again when they marry before a joyous nation. And when they’re laid to rest on those solemn occasions that this country marks so well, I’m on hand to capture history being made.”Arthur Edwards has been TheSun’s (UK) Royal Photographer for over 45 years; the longest serving of any newspaper. Originally from the East End of London, he is the man behind the most iconic photographs of the most famous family in the world. With commensurate skill and unprecedented access, he has captured the candid moments when protocol is put aside, revealing the true personalities behind the Crown.This beautiful book is a treasure trove of glorious photography, along with Arthur’s own warm recollections of the stories behind his iconic shots. It is the perfect glimpse behind the scenes of the last 50 years of the British monarchy, from a truly unique perspective.Being a Dad Is Weird: Lessons in Fatherhood from My Family to Yours
Par Ben Falcone. 2017
A funny and intimate look at fatherhood from the actor and writer/director of The Boss and Tammy that combines stories…
about his own larger-than-life dad and how his experiences raising two daughters with his wife, Melissa McCarthy, who also penned the Foreword, are shaped by his own childhood.Though he’s best known for his appearances in the movie Enough Said, as well as his hilarious role as Air Marshall Jon in Bridesmaids, Ben Falcone isn’t a big shot movie star director at home. There, he’s just dad. In this winning collection of stories, Ben shares his funny and poignant adventures as the husband of Melissa McCarthy, and the father of their two young daughters. He also shares tales from his own childhood in Southern Illinois, and life with his father—an outspoken, brilliant, but unconventional man with a big heart and a somewhat casual approach to employment named Steve Falcone.Ben is just an ordinary dad who has his share of fights with other parents blocking his view with their expensive electronic devices at school performances. Navigating the complicated role of being the only male in a house full of women, he finds himself growing more and more concerned as he sounds more and more like his dad. While Steve Falcone may not have been the briefcase and gray flannel suit type, he taught Ben priceless lessons about what matters most in life. A supportive, creative, and downright funny dad, Steve made sure his sons’ lives were never dull—a sense of adventure that carries through this warm, sometimes hilarious, and poignant memoir.Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever
Par Gavin Edwards. 2019
A pop culture celebration of Fred Rogers and the enduring legacy of his beloved, award-winning PBS show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood…
that offers essential wisdom to help us in our troubled times.Won’t you be my neighbor?For more than thirty years, Fred Rogers was a beloved fixture in American homes. Warm and welcoming, he spoke directly to children—and their parents—about the marvels of the world, the things that worried them, and above all, the importance of being themselves. Dressed in his cardigan and sneakers, Fred Rogers offered a wholesome message of generosity and love that changed the landscape of television and shaped a generation of children. Kindness and Wonder pays tribute to this cultural icon: the unique, gentle man who embodied the best of what we could be. Looking back at the history of the show and the creative visionary behind it, pop culture aficionado Gavin Edwards reminds us of the indelible lessons and insights that Mister Rogers conveyed—what it means to be a good person, to be open-hearted, to be thoughtful, to be curious, to be compassionate—and why they matter. Beautifully crafted, infused with Mister Rogers’ gentle spirit, and featuring dozens of interviews with people whose lives were touched by Fred Rogers—ranging from Rita Moreno to NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann—Kindness and Wonder is a love letter to this unforgettable cultural hero and role model, and the beautiful neighborhood he created.The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox
Par Vanda Krefft. 2018
A riveting story of ambition, greed, and genius unfolding at the dawn of modern America. This landmark biography brings into…
focus a fascinating brilliant entrepreneur—like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney, a true American visionary—who risked everything to realize his bold dream of a Hollywood empire.Although a major Hollywood studio still bears William Fox’s name, the man himself has mostly been forgotten by history, even written off as a failure. Now, in this fascinating biography, Vanda Krefft corrects the record, explaining why Fox’s legacy is central to the history of Hollywood.At the heart of William Fox’s life was the myth of the American Dream. His story intertwines the fate of the nineteenth-century immigrants who flooded into New York, the city’s vibrant and ruthless gilded age history, and the birth of America’s movie industry amid the dawn of the modern era. Drawing on a decade of original research, The Man Who Made the Movies offers a rich, compelling look at a complex man emblematic of his time, one of the most fascinating and formative eras in American history.Growing up in Lower East Side tenements, the eldest son of impoverished Hungarian immigrants, Fox began selling candy on the street. That entrepreneurial ambition eventually grew one small Brooklyn theater into a $300 million empire of deluxe studios and theaters that rivaled those of Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, and the Warner brothers, and launched stars such as Theda Bara. Amid the euphoric roaring twenties, the early movie moguls waged a fierce battle for control of their industry. A fearless risk-taker, Fox won and was hailed as a genius—until a confluence of circumstances, culminating with the 1929 stock market crash, led to his ruin.Unsuccessful Thug: One Comedian's Journey from Naptown to Tinseltown
Par Mike Epps. 2018
From Naptown to Tinseltown—legendary stand-up comedian and actor Mike Epps finally tells all in this outrageous, hilarious, no-holds-barred memoir.Before starring…
in Def Comedy Jam and Showtime at the Apollo—before the sold-out comedy shows, Uncle Buck, and becoming his hero Richard Pryor in a biopic—there was Indianapolis. And not the good part. Mike Epps is one of America’s favorite and funniest people, but the path to fame was paved with opportunities to mess it up. And mess it up he did. Growing up in “Naptown”—what people who live there really call rough-around-the-edges Indianapolis—Epps found himself forced to hustle from an early age. Despite his mother’s best efforts, and the love of his well-behaved brother, “Chaney,” and his beloved sister, Julie, Epps was drawn to a life of crime, but as he quickly discovered, stealing and dealing didn’t really fit his sweet sensibilities. Not to mention he wasn’t very good at it—take, for example, the day he had to call the cops on himself when a dog wouldn’t let him leave a house he was burgling. After several arrests and more than a few months in jail, Epps finally realized that he was an unsuccessful thug, and instead turned to the next most obvious career path: stand-up comedy. Heading first to New York, then all over the country, and finally to Hollywood, Mike Epps carved out a unique place in American comedy, combining hysterical tales of his family and friends with a mordant take on life in the Naptowns of America. Comedy saved Mike Epps, and here he reveals exactly how he finally grew up and got out, barely. And when describing how he survived when so many of his friends didn’t, Epps makes clear what he’s thankful for and sorry about. Unsuccessful Thug is about growing up black in America, facing down racism in Hollywood, and ultimately how it feels to fail at thugdom, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, and end up selling out arenas and starring in movies across the country.Mistress of the Elgin Marbles: A Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin
Par Susan Nagel. 2004
The remarkable Mary Nisbet was the Countess of Elgin in Romantic-era Scotland and the wife of the seventh Earl of…
Elgin. When Mary accompanied her husband to diplomatic duty in Turkey, she changed history. She helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, struck a seemingly impossible deal with Napoleon, and arranged the removal of famous marbles from the Parthenon. But all of her accomplishments would be overshadowed, however, by her scandalous divorce. Drawing from Mary's own letters, scholar Susan Nagel tells Mary's enthralling, inspiring, and suspenseful story in vibrant detail.