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Warhol's Muses

Laurence Leamer

"In Warhol's Muses, Laurence Leamer shines a spotlight on the women who helped make Warhol the most famous artist in the world and starred in his legendary underground films. Drawn by the siren call of Manhattan life in the sixties, they each ventured to Warhol's famed Factory. Sex was casual, drugs were ubiquitous, and to Warhol, everyone was transient and replaceable. Warhol's Muses explores the lives of ten intriguing women, transports us to a turbulent era, and uncovers the life and work of one of the most legendary artists of all time"--

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Taste of Home Vintage Recipes Made Easy

Taste of Home

Enjoy 285 all-time favorite retro recipes made quick and easy for the way you cook today.

Rediscover the charm and flavors of yesteryear with Taste of Home Vintage Recipes Made Easy. This beautifully curated cookbook features 285 retro dishes and nostalgic baked goods, perfectly revamped for today’s kitchens. Whether it’s a comforting-roasted chicken, a green bean casserole like mom used to make, or a slice of pecan pie right out of your childhood memories, this book has it all.

Nostalgic Meets Modern 

With simplified recipes for air fryers, slow cookers, and Instant Pots, you’ll enjoy the tastes of classic home-cooked meals without spending hours in the kitchen. Every recipe includes clear instructions with short ingredient lists and tips designed to save time while preserving authentic flavors.

Perfect for Every Occasion 

Host a retro cocktail party, bake an old-fashioned dessert, or prepare an unforgettable Easter brunch. From appetizers to sides, hearty entrées, and timeless sweets, this collection has everything you need for any event.

 

  • 285 Classic Recipes: Discover retro-inspired dishes, snacks, and desserts adapted for modern kitchens.
  • Simplified Cooking: Enjoy short ingredient lists, faster preparation, and the convenience of slow cookers, air fryers, and Instant Pots.
  • Nostalgic Baking: Indulge in cakes, pies, cookies, and treats inspired by classic family recipes.
  • Practical Tips: Includes nutrition facts, helpful shortcuts, and meal prep guidance for today’s cooks.
  • Creative Inspiration: Perfect for hosting retro dinner parties, brunches, or recreating grandma’s culinary magic.
  • A bonus chapter with secret pasta sauces, jams, flavored butters, and more



Bring the warmth of vintage-inspired cooking into your home, and make delightful memories with every recipe. Whether you’re carrying on a family tradition or exploring retro flavors for the first time, Taste of Home Vintage Recipes Made Easy is your go-to guide.

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Videotapes From Hell

Stephen Jones

A jubilant celebration of the greatest VHS cover art in all its gory, glory -- which inspired, scared, and delighted generations of movie-goers.

For anyone who frequented a video store in the ‘80s or ‘90s, the styles are instantly recognizable: surprisingly beautiful paintings of fanged and winged monsters; ridiculously lurid depictions of young men and women in peril; illustrations so incompetently drawn as to qualify as outsider art; absurdly overstuffed photomontages. The home video revolution was accompanied by an explosion of all kinds of cover art, embodying the anything-goes ethos of an era when obscure, cheaply produced movies—usually with supernatural storylines and bottom-drawer special effects—could be distributed throughout the world and watched from the comfort of one’s living room. 

Videotapes from Hell provides a fascinating illustrated history of VHS cover art in all its glory, from direct-to-video oddities to major studio releases. Drawing on the expansive collection of world-renowned horror expert Stephen Jones, it collects nearly 500 pieces of period artwork, accompanied by detailed captions that give the history of the movie and its release dates in video format. In addition to front-cover images and full-sleeve spreads, it includes examples of promotional posters and freestanding original artwork that was incorporated into box designs.

Including a foreword from beloved cult director Joe Dante (Gremlins, The ‘Burbs) and commentary from horror luminaries such as Ramsey Campbell, Mick Garris, Stephen King and many more, Videotapes from Hell is a garish and jubilant celebration of a lost genre ripe for rediscovery.

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The Third Gilmore Girl

Kelly Bishop

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A Goodreads Choice Awards Winner

“Come for the Gilmore Girls anecdotes, stay for the revealing truths about what it takes to build a lifelong career in and out of Hollywood” (The A.V. Club) in this candid and captivating memoir from award-winning and beloved actress Kelly Bishop, spanning her six decades in show business from A Chorus Line, Dirty Dancing, Gilmore Girls, and much more.

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, from winning a Tony Award for her turn in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line to her memorable performance as Jennifer Grey’s mother in Dirty Dancing. But it is probably her iconic role as matriarch Emily in the modern classic Gilmore Girls that cemented her legacy.

Now, Bishop reflects on her remarkable life and looks towards the future with The Third Gilmore Girl. She shares some of her greatest stories and the life lessons she’s learned on her journey. From her early transition from dance to drama, to marrying young to a compulsive gambler, to the losses and achievements she experienced—among them marching for women’s rights and losing her second husband to cancer—Bishop offers a rich, genuine celebration of her life.

Full of witty insights and featuring a special collection of personal and professional photographs, The Third Gilmore Girl is a warm, unapologetic, and spirited memoir from a woman who has left indelible impressions on her audiences for decades and has no plans on slowing down.

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Stupid TV, Be More Funny

Alan Siegel

This comprehensive account of the meteoric rise of The Simpsons combines incisive pop culture criticism and interviews with the show's creative team that take readers inside the making of an American phenomenon during its most influential decade, the 1990s.

"The best Simpsons book ever."―Alan Sepinwall​, Rolling Stone's chief television critic and author of The Soprano Sessions and TV (The Book)

The Simpsons is an American institution. But its status as an occasionally sharp yet ultimately safe sitcom that's still going after 33 years on the air undercuts its revolutionary origins. The early years of the animated series didn't just impact Hollywood, they changed popular culture. It was a show that altered the way we talked around the watercooler, in school hallways, and on the campaign trail, by bridging generations with its comedic sensibility and prescient cultural commentary.

In Stupid TV, Be More Funny, writer Alan Siegel reveals how the first decade of the show laid the groundwork for the series' true influence. He explores how the show's rise from 1990 to 1998 intertwined with the supposedly ascendent post-Cold War America, turning Fox into the juggernaut we know today, simultaneously shaking its head at America's culture wars while finding itself in the middle of them. By packing the book with anecdotes from icons like Conan O'Brien and Yeardley Smith, Siegel alaso provides readers with an unparalleled look inside the making of the show.

Through interviews with the show's legendary staff and whip-smart analysis, Siegel charts how The Simpsons developed its singular sensibility throughout the '90s, one that was at once groundbreakingly subversive for a primetime cartoon and shocking wholesome. The result is a definitive history of The Simpsons' most essential decade.

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On Bette Midler

Kevin Winkler

Bette Midler today is a beloved legacy star, best known for her comic witch in Disney's Hocus Pocus (1993) and its 2022 sequel. She has also gained prominence for sentimental, anthemic ballads like "Wind Beneath My Wings," her initiation of green space projects in New York City, and tussling with Donald Trump on Twitter. Her profile is that of an articulate, civic-minded matriarch enjoying thoroughly mainstream stardom. But more than fifty years earlier she emerged from the steam of the subterranean Continental Baths as the Divine Miss M, the bawdy, campy, fearless alter ego she created in front of an audience of towel-clad gay men who came to the baths seeking not just sex, but a sense of community and safety from an often-harrowing outside world. "I was able to take chances on that stage that I could not have taken anywhere else," she later wrote. "Ironically, I was freed from fear by people who, at the time, were ruled by fear. And for that I will always be grateful." Overnight, Bette Midler became a much-loved icon of the gay community.

The Divine Miss M coalesced gay, Jewish, feminist, and show business sensibilities into an outrageously funny and emotionally compelling persona that travelled with surprising ease from the cultural margins to the entertainment mainstream. Her embrace by mom-and-pop audiences, rock fans and critics, and the guardians of middle-of-the-road show business demonstrates just how deeply the tastes and sensibilities of her original audience have been absorbed into popular culture. On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide traces the early development of Midler's performing ethos from New York's downtown experimental theater scene and examines her impact across media, with chapters on the soaring highs (and occasional cringe-worthy lows) of her stage work, movies, recordings, and television appearances, and considers her influence as an environmental activist and social media presence.

On Bette Midler features performance analysis and deeply researched background information, all of it supporting informed--and divinely opinionated--consideration of Midler the artist. It judges her work by the highest standards: those she established for herself.

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The Muppets Official Crochet Amigurumi

Drew Hill

Welcome to The Muppet Theatre, where you’re just in time for a very special performance. It’s the Amigurumi Muppets, with their very special guest: you! For the first time ever, you can crochet your favorite characters, from Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear to Swedish Chef and Pepé the King Prawn – and yes, even Miss Piggy! 

After 70 years of singing and dancing and making people happy, The Muppets are ready to tackle their next wacky performance: getting hooked on crochet! With The Muppets Official Crochet Amigurumi, you can now crochet your own Muppet amigurumi figures, and the whole gang is here – Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Animal, Gonzo, even Pepé the King Prawn and Rizzo the Rat! Each of these fifteen projects is a fully articulated doll, right down to Animal’s wild hair and Kermit’s pointed collar. With easy-to-follow patterns, and some jokes and fun from The Muppets themselves, The Muppets Official Crochet Amigurumi will have you ready to put on a show with all your favorite characters.

MORE THAN A DOZEN of the most cherished Muppets are featured in The Muppets Official Crochet Amigurumi, including Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Gonzo, and more!

EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL: This is the first officially licensed crochet book featuring the Muppets.

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Moon Route 66 Road Trip

Jessica Dunham

Moon Route 66 Road Trip reveals the ins and outs of this iconic highway, from sweeping prairies and retro roadside pit-stops to the stunning vistas of the Southwest. Inside you'll find:

  • Maps and Driving Tools: 38 easy-to-use maps detail the existing roads that comprise the original Route 66, along with site-to-site mileage, driving times, detailed directions for the entire route, and full-color photos throughout
  • Eat, Sleep, Stop and Explore: With lists of the best hikes, bites, roadside curiosities, and more, you can admire extraordinary landscapes like Acoma Pueblo or Joshua Tree National Park, explore big cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, or wander abandoned ghost towns. Immerse yourself in classic Americana with outsider art and kitsch masterpieces, find the most Instagram-worthy retro motels, and sample the breadth of regional cuisine, from deep dish pizza to carne asada
  • Flexible Itineraries: Moon Route 66 Road Trip covers Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Drive the entire original Mother Road in two weeks, or follow strategic routes for shorter trips to Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Santa Fe, and the Grand Canyon, plus side trips to Taos, Las Vegas, Joshua Tree, and Santa Monica
  • Expert Perspective: Jessica Dunham has driven thousands of miles along the famed highway and provides cultural insight, insider tips, and critical history of the route
  • Planning Your Trip: Know when and where to get gas and how to avoid traffic, plus tips for driving in different road and weather conditions and suggestions for international visitors, LGBTQ travelers, seniors, road-trippers with kids, and accessibility



With Moon Route 66 Road Trip's practical tips, detailed itineraries, and tried-and-true expertise, you're ready to fill up the tank and hit the road.



About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell--and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you.



For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.

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Lucha Libre

Artes de México

An illustrated historic and cultural dive into the world of Mexico's most beloved sport, sure to please fans

In this handsome bilingual book, the best Mexican specialists analyze all facets of the lucha libre phenomenon: the history and roots of the sport, the most important luchadores, the way the world of Mexican wrestling is organized, the history and practice of female wrestling, the meaning of the masks and costumes, and lucha libre's influence in worldwide pop culture.

Over the decades, lucha libre has become a symbol of Mexico, transcending the nation's borders. Halfway between sport and religion, this synthesis of Hispanic, Aztec, European, and American represents the quintessence of Mexican culture. The luchador is a living god, and products in his image are idolized like sacred relics. A symbol of urban working-class culture, the significance of lucha libre is massive.

Artes de México is a magazine with 28 years of experience that promotes and disseminates the cultural diversity of Mexico in all its creative manifestations. Since its inception, it has been linked to the most important writers, researchers, and creators, and has been recognized with more than 150 national and international awards.

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The Great American Retro Road Trip

Rolando Pujol

Celebrate the nostalgic pleasures of America's vintage signs, quirky roadside attractions, and offbeat fast food relics in this irresistible retro road trip across the country.



The Great American Retro Road Trip is a coast-to-coast journey chronicling retro roadside America. Discover classic giant roadside attractions, from The Coffee Pot and The Big Duck to the World's Largest Paint Can and the Haines Shoe House. Or iconic signage, like the dazzling Yoken's neon sign, and the classic Moon Motel sign. Still-standing vintage locations of America's favorite chain restaurants, from Pizza Hut to McDonald's to Taco Bell. Through author Rolando Pujol's anecdotes and clever narrative, readers will come away with a sweeping sense of roadside charm that still exists, as well as a desire to see it all for themselves. 



These lingering traces of America's past are an archive of disappearing roadside signage and architecture, and they tell a story of American ingenuity, creativity, and community. Whether you pick up this book for the nostalgia-inducing photos, the heartwarming stories, or as a reference for planning your own trip, you'll be encouraged to, as Pujol says, "Let your curiosity guide you."

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Giant Robot

Eric Nakamura

Celebrating the pop culture phenomenon that redefined what it meant to be Asian-American with tributes from Margaret Cho, Randall Park, Jia Tolentino, and more.


Los Angeles, 1994. Two Asian-American punk rockers staple together the zine of their dreams featuring Sumo, Hong Kong Cinema and Osamu Tezuka. From the very margins of the DIY press and alternative culture, Giant Robot burst into the mainstream with over 60,000 copies in circulation annually at its peak. Giant Robot even popped right off the page, setting up a restaurant, gallery, and storefronts in LA, as well as galleries and stores in New York and San Francisco. As their influence grew in the 90s and 00s, Giant Robot was eventually invited to the White House by Barack Obama, to speak at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and to curate the GR Biennale at the Japanese American National Museum.


Home to a host of unapologetically authentic perspectives bridging the bicultural gap between Asian and Asian-American pop culture, GR had the audacity to print such topics side-by-side, and become a touchstone for generations of artists, musicians, creators, and collectors of all kinds in a pre-social media era. Nowhere else were pieces on civil rights activists running next to articles on skateboarding and Sriracha. Toy collectors, cartoonists, and street style pioneers got as many column inches as Michelle Yeoh, Karen O, James Jean, and Haruki Murakami.

Giant Robot: Thirty Years of Defining Asian-American Pop Culture features the best of the magazine’s sixty-eight issue run alongside never-before-seen photographs, supplementary writing by long-term contributing journalist Claudine Ko, and tributes from now-famous fans who’ve been around since day one. Margaret Cho, Daniel Wu, and Randall Park celebrate Giant Robot’s enduring legacy alongside pioneering pro-skateboarder Peggy Oki, contemporary art giant Takashi Murakami, culinary darling Natasha Pickowicz, and critically acclaimed essayist Jia Tolentino.

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Disney Adults

AJ Wolfe

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A fascinating and enlightening deep dive into the infamous Disney Adult community from the woman behind the popular website The Disney Food Blog

Disney Adults are grown-ups who derive singular, almost obsessive, joy from all things Disney. They devote countless hours and millions of dollars to Disney offerings, whether or not they have children. They’re avid fans of the films, devotees of the Disney theme parks, collectors of the vast world of Disney merchandise, cosplayers who dress in clothing inspired by Disney characters.

Their ranks are so large and their cultural impact so distinct that they have their own moniker and are an economic force unto themselves. They’re often maligned in the larger culture and put on a particularly high pedestal of cringe. But in truth, their obsessive fandom hints at a universal desire for pleasure and joy, for magic and escape.

There are darker sides to Disney mania that can’t be ignored, but the ranks of the Disney Adult community are broad, deep, and ever-growing. Disney Adults are a telling microcosm of modern America, highlighting the value we place on magic and escapism, and what we deem to be “acceptable” sources of joy.

Disney Adults dives deep into a misunderstood subculture, exploring the lives and experiences of a fascinating community to better understand its devotees’ unwavering passion for all things Disney, why it offends, and why it matters.

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Disco

Frank Decaro

This dazzling volume shines new light on the songs, styles, and enduring pop culture impact of the 1970s musical genre that emerged from Black and Latin queer culture to take the world by storm.

Half a century after the drug-fueled, DJ-driven, glamour-drenched musical phenomenon of disco was born at a New York City loft party, disco’s musical and fashion influences live on in popular culture. 

This is a frolicking, entertaining, yet serious tribute to the overlooked art form of disco, which has never been given its proper due, nor taken its true place in the historic struggle for LGBTQ+, gender, and racial equality. 

Painting a vivid portrait of this provocative era, DeCaro explores the cultural importance of disco and how the music and dance that originated in queer Black and Latin clubs of the day became a mainstream phenomenon, changing our culture along the way. 

With glamorous photos from disco’s heyday up through today, DeCaro examines disco’s pervasive influence on pop culture over the last fifty years—exploring disco in film and television as well as in fashion and interior design. 

Through entertaining texts—as well as interviews with artists and celebrities of the era, such as Donna Summer and Grace Jones, among others—this book champions the diverse origins of disco while celebrating its influence on today’s groundbreaking artists such as Lady Gaga, Duo Lipa, and Miley Cyrus. A must for all lovers of music, style, and pop culture.

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Crochet Cute Amigurumi Animals with Mix-And-Match Outfits

The Halations

Amigurumi crochet dolls have never been so easy--or cute--until now!

Crochet Cute Amigurumi Animals with Mix-and-Match Outfits shows crocheters how to make endearing animal dolls with a fabulous array of fun fashions to dress them in.

One basic ragdoll body shape is used to make a bunny, a bear, a dog, a cat, and many other animal cuties. And here's where the real fun starts--create a mix-and-match wardrobe of outfits and accessories that all your dolls can share!

You can dress your handmade toys in:
 

  • Classy sweaters and frilly skirts
  • Pretty tops and casual pants
  • Adorable sneakers, flats or boots
  • A huge range of accessories from jaunty hats to a backpack with bunny ears and a tail!
  • Plus enchanting costumes for every occasion


These outfits can be used for any ragdoll of a similar body size. An illustrated step-by-step lesson in making the doll body is included. Project instructions are presented in the charts-and-symbols style pioneered by Japanese amigurumi artists.

This book is a great way to expand your crochet skills and join the growing number of crocheters enjoying this clear "visually-oriented" instructional method--and a great way to delight amigurumi doll lovers of all ages!

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Cat-Hair Hats for Cats

rojiman & umatan

Wish you had a real-life cat in a hat? Finally, there’s a headwear solution for fashion-forward felines—and a practical use for all that pesky cat hair. Features dozens of photos!

Cat lovers, rejoice! If you’ve ever wondered what to do with the seemingly endless supply of shed hair that accumulates on your furniture, clothes, even your physical person, Cat-Hair Hats for Cats is here to teach you how to turn excess fur into an expression of your cat’s many moods. 

Is your cat a diva? Maybe it’s time to make her a crown! Or perhaps he’s a bit of a prankster—put on a joker hat! There’s one for every occasion, from birthdays to graduation. And don’t miss the Viking helmet, Santa’s stocking cap, or Wisconsin’s famous cheesehead.

Cat-Hair Hats for Cats contains step-by-step instructions for constructing twenty-five stylish hats, along with advice on grooming and photographing your cats. And with tips from popular Instagrammers rojiman and umatan, you’ll be designing your own custom cat-hair creations in no time.

Your cat will be the belle of the furball as they transform into a spooky witch, a magical unicorn, a snuggly snail, or even Sherlock Holmes!

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Bob Ross Cross Stitch

Haley Pierson-Cox

Bob Ross Cross Stitch honors the beloved artist’s legacy with 12 patterns featuring Bob Ross's famous quotes and the materials needed to make 2 of the designs. 

Bob Ross brought happiness to millions with his oil painting program The Joy of Painting and continues to spread that joy to a new audience through YouTube, Amazon Prime, Tubi, re-runs on public television, and many, many others. His beautiful landscapes, calming presence, and wise quotes—“We don’t make mistakes. We just have happy accidents”—have become the hallmarks of his brand.

This kit includes materials to make 2 designs, along with a 48-page, illustrated instruction book for 12 different patterns inspired by Ross’s quotes.

In each kit, you’ll find:

  • 2 pieces of cross stitch fabric
  • Needle
  • Embroidery floss
  • Embroidery hoop
  • Instruction book

Bob Ross Cross Stitch provides the perfect inspiration for crafters everywhere. After all, as Bob Ross said, “anytime you learn, you gain.”

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Baking Yesteryear

B. Dylan Hollis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A decade-by-decade cookbook that highlights the best (and a few of the worst) baking recipes from the 20th century

Friends of baking, are you sick and tired of making the same recipes again and again? Then look no further than this baking blast from the past, as B. Dylan Hollis highlights the most unique tasty treats of yesteryear.

Travel back in time on a delicious decade-by-decade jaunt as Dylan shows you how to bake vintage forgotten greats. With a big pinch of fun and a full cup of humor, you'll be baking everything from Chocolate Potato Cake from the 1910s to Avocado Pie from the 1960s.

Dylan has baked hundreds of recipes from countless antique cookbooks and selected only the best for this bakebook, sharing the shining stars from each decade. And because some of the recipes Dylan shares on his wildly popular social media channels are spectacular failures, he's thrown in a few of the most disastrously strange recipes for you to try if you dare.

A few of Dylan's favorites that are going to have you licking your lips and begging for more include:

- 1900s Cornflake Macaroons
- 1910s ANZAC Biscuits
- 1930s Peanut Butter Bread
- 1940s Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake
- 1950s Tomato Soup Cake
- 1970s Potato Chip Cookies

Baking Yesteryear contains 101 expertly curated recipes that will take you on a delicious journey through the past. With a larger-than-life personality and comedic puns galore, baking with Dylan never gets old. We'll leave that to the recipes.

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Baking Across America

B. Dylan Hollis

Join B. Dylan Hollis, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Baking Yesteryear, on a cross-country culinary journey with 100 uniquely American recipes.

From the deserts of the Southwest to the shining Atlantic Coast, the USA is as sweet as it gets. In this tour de food, B. Dylan Hollis takes you on a delicious road trip to taste everything from the coffee-crazed creations of the Pacific Northwest to the larger-than-life sheet cakes of Texas.

You'll be hitting the pavement in vintage style as you journey with Dylan through the culture capitals of America to savor the very best bakes the nation has to offer. His retro recipes span the decades from the 1900s to the 2000s and feature famous (and forgotten) desserts from every state.

With his signature wry humor, Dylan explores the US and uncovers the history of nostalgic local favorites, including Boston Cream Pie on the cobbled streets of Beantown, Beignets in the sultry heat of jazzy New Orleans, and Date Cream scooped up poolside in Palm Springs.

Baking Across America is the highly anticipated successor to Baking Yesteryear and delivers 100 wild, wacky, and wonderful recipes from every star-spangled corner of the good ol' US of A.

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The Art of Classic Sci-Fi Movies

Adam Newell

From the dawn of silent cinema to today, sci-fi movies have been a constant presence in pop culture, with mad scientists, terrifying monsters (giant and otherwise), UFOs, and invading aliens all bursting out from some of the most brilliantly designed posters ever printed, featuring art that was sometimes lurid, always eye-catching, and often simply beautiful.

Acknowledging the iconic, but with plenty of room for the rare and unfamiliar, The Art of Classic Sci-Fi Movies presents a stellar selection of imagery, charting the story of the genre from its origins in foundational works like A Trip to the Moon and Metropolis, through Cold War classics like Invasion of the Body-Snatchers and Godzilla, and on to visionary films such as 2001 and Solaris—as well as less celebrated but nonetheless infamous cultural artifacts like Barbarella and Zardoz, and genuine oddities such as Murder by Television and Twonky. The most extensive book of its type ever published, it includes ample selections from American movies as well as a range of films from Japan, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, and Eastern Europe.

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The Animated Universal Classic Monsters

Matthew Hahn

"Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives" - Daffy Duck

 

From the 1930s-1950s, no movie show was complete without a cartoon, and no cartoon was complete without an established character like Bugs Bunny or a caricature of a celebrity, or preferably both. In the same period, Universal Studios dominated the horror genre with its Classic Monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It was inevitable that the monsters would make appearances in contemporaneous animation, and the tradition continues today in television shows like The Simpsons.

 

Matthew Hahn, author of The Animated Marx Brothers and The Animated Peter Lorre, has found over a thousand cartoons featuring the monsters in movies, TV, commercials, music videos, computer games, and fan films, including abandoned projects, coincidences, connections, and apocrypha. The monsters' animated avatars play opposite Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Mighty Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Mr. Magoo, the Pink Panther, Kaibutsu-kun, Beany and Cecil, Inspector Gadget, Spider-Man, the Super Friends, Scooby-Doo, the Transformers, Ghostbusters, Muppet Babies, Garfield, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Rocko, the Fantastic Four, Freakazoid, Catdog, SpongeBob Squarepants, Patrick Star, Billy and Mandy, Squidbillies, Tom and Jerry, Doraemon, Phineas and Ferb, Cleveland Brown, Uncle Grandpa, the Venture Bros., the Incredible Hulk, Teen Titans, Mr. Bean, Rick and Morty, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Abbott and Costello. They have appeared in Mad Monster Party? (1967), the Hotel Transylvania franchise, Minions (2015), the Monster High franchise, the Groovie Goolies franchise, The Munsters franchise, the Castlevania franchise, Family Guy (1999), Futurama (1999), The Fairly OddParents (2001), Robot Chicken (2005), Mary Shelley's Frankenhole (2010). Creators include Walt Disney, Frank Tashlin, Paul Terry, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Dave Fleischer, Walter Lantz, Bob Clampett, Tom Ruegger, and Butch Hartman.

 

Illustrated. Includes index, notes, and bibliography. This book should be on the shelf of all animation aficionados, classic movie fans, gamers, pop culture enthusiasts, history buffs, and lovers of fun facts.

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Why We Love Football

Joe Posnanski

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Book of the Fall

A moving celebration of the history of American football from the New York Times bestselling author of Why We Love Baseball

After his bestselling home run books Why We Love Baseball and The Baseball 100, Joe Posnanski turns from the national pastime to the number one sport in America. Why We Love Football is Posnanski’s newest must-have deep dive into the archives and legends of the sport, and the result is a rousing tale of the 100 greatest moments in football lore.

This is the best kind of sports writing. Entertaining, enlightening, heartbreaking, hilarious, and always fascinating, these stories of the sport offer a panoramic look across its history. From hidden gems and classic tales to famous moments told from previously unheard perspectives, this book is the football book for even its most ardent fans. 

From Patrick Mahomes's magic to the Ice Bowl, from Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to a plethora of football "miracles," Why We Love Football is an unforgettable, conversational masterpiece you won’t ever want to end, and a can't-miss take on football from one of the greatest sportswriters of our time.

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Turf Wars

DeMaurice Smith

An NFL insider’s explosive account of the ruthless power struggles between owners and players over the future of football.

During his fourteen years as the head of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith was a front line advocate for football players through some of the most tumultuous crises in NFL history: Colin Kaepernick’s protests, Deflategate, a lockout, two collective bargaining agreements, and more. But after witnessing the league’s troubling response to discrimination and racial unrest, both within the league and beyond, Smith realized it was time to pull back the curtain and speak truth to power.

Drawing from his years of unprecedented access and unparalleled knowledge of America’s favorite sport, Smith documents his years leading the NFLPA and explains how the NFL distorts the truth, telling partial stories to insulate itself and grow its $20-billion-a-year brand—and the players’ battles to protect themselves.

From contract negotiations to battles over suspensions, Smith shows us how the union fought to protect players from the greed, racism, and dishonesty the league is built on. He also takes readers inside closed-door meetings and unreported conversations and confrontations with the industry’s most powerful figures such as Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, Tom Brady, and Roger Goodell.

Turf Wars puts every NFL crisis—both familiar and lesser known—within a broader cultural and historical context, framing the league’s extraordinary rise as a mirror to America’s own history. Revelatory and profound, Turf Wars is a book about the soul of football: its degradation, and how to save it.

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Shocktober

Jonathan Weeks

Baseball’s October showcase has provided some high drama over the years. Willie Mays’s spectacular catch in 1954, Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homer in 1960, and Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit blast in 1988 are just a few of the memorable moments that have dominated highlight reels. The outcome of the Series has not always been terribly surprising—especially during the late 1940s and early 1950s when the Yankees captured five consecutive championships, breaking their previous record of four straight titles from 1936 to 1939. But in spite of its predictability at times, the Fall Classic has taken many unexpected turns. The 1906 Cubs lost to the weak-hitting White Sox after establishing a new regular season record for wins. The 1955 Dodgers avenged seven prior October failures with an improbable victory over the seemingly invincible Yankees. And in 1969, the Mets finally shed their image as “loveable losers,” dethroning the powerful Orioles. In more than a century of World Series plays, a number of similar scenarios have emerged. Twenty-two of those stories are told in Shocktober. The book also includes an appendix of game statistics as well as a section on World Series trivia.

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Runs in the Family

Sarah Spain

A revelatory examination of the choices we make as parents and children, explored through the true story of an adopted Black man on a journey to find his biological family and discover where and to whom he truly belongs.

Runs in the Family follows the remarkable true story of Deland McCullough, a football coach and father of four whose life was forever changed by the unsealing of his adoption records. His hidden past harbored an astonishing secret.

In 1972, sixteen-year-old Carol Briggs gave birth to Jon Kenneth Briggs during a snowstorm in Pittsburgh and made the difficult decision to put him up for adoption, hoping he would land in a stable, two-parent household. Adopted by a well-known Youngstown, Ohio, radio DJ and his wife, Jon was renamed Deland McCullough. Deland’s childhood was far from idyllic, disrupted by his adoptive parents’ turbulent divorce and his mother’s subsequent abusive relationships.

Amid this uncertainty and instability at home, football became a sanctuary, providing Deland with mentorship and a sense of belonging. He learned to channel his insecurities and feelings of disconnection into an unrelenting drive to prove his doubters wrong and surpass the expectations others had for him.

After making the transition from professional player to respected coach, Deland’s longing to understand his origins intensified, driven by a desire to fill out his family medical history and piece together the fragmented parts of his identity. The search that ensued led to a life-altering discovery, an examination of family in all its forms, and an exploration of all the ways we inherit, learn, and disrupt generational trauma.

Based on Emmy and Peabody Award–winning sports journalist Sarah Spain’s viral ESPN article, Runs in the Family is an emotional examination of the sacrifices, choices, and nurturing that shape us and our loved ones. It offers a heartfelt testament to the profound impact of family and the kind of love and mentorship that can forge enduring bonds that transcend biology.

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Out of the Darkness

Ian O'Connor



 

Instant New York Times Bestseller

"A masterwork. ... O'Connor answers every question, deftly and deeply, that we've had about the most controversial person in America's biggest game." --Peter King

Four-time New York Times bestselling sport biographer Ian O'Connor pulls back the curtain on four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, delivering the definitive portrait of the legendary yet mysterious quarterback who has astonished, befuddled, yet always captivated fans of America's #1 sport.

Aaron Rodgers is among the two or three most talented players to ever hold the most important job in American team sports - quarterback. He also stands as the most mysterious and polarizing figure in the modern-day national pastime that is professional football.

From his controversial Covid stance to his methods of spiritual awakening to his estrangement from his family to his high-profile romances to his devastating Achilles injury a mere four plays into his New York Jets career, Rodgers has long dominated the NFL's news cycle.

At thirty-nine, in search of a challenge that would rejuvenate him, Rodgers divorced the iconic Green Bay Packers of Vince Lombardi fame for the Jets, who have not appeared in a Super Bowl since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. The trade made Rodgers the biggest story in the biggest league in the biggest market. By far.

That story only got bigger when Rodgers shockingly went down on the night of 9/11, in front of a packed house that roared for him when he took the field carrying an American flag, and in front of the biggest Monday Night Football audience in ESPN history, peaking at more than 25 million viewers across all platforms. Rodgers then shocked the world by pulling off the fastest recorded comeback from an Achilles tear, returning to practice eleven weeks after surgery. Remarkably enough, he would have played again in the 2023 season, at age 40, had the Jets remained in playoff contention.

Ian O'Connor uses hundreds of original interviews to pull back the curtain and answer the most penetrating questions about the league's most enigmatic player. Just like he did in his defining bios of Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, Derek Jeter, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer, O'Connor reveals all sides of an all-time great and delivers a portrait of a complex man that will forever shape the way he is viewed.

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The New York Game

Kevin Baker

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • Sports Illustrated #1 Book of 2024 • A hugely entertaining history of baseball and New York City, bursting with larger-than-life figures and fascinating stories from the game’s beginnings to the end of World War II.

"You’re going to beg for extra innings. Without missing a scandal or a sensation, with an eye on how assimilation transforms the picture, Kevin Baker has written a buoyant, double coming-of-age story. "—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Baseball is “the New York game” because New York is where the diamond was first laid out, where the bunt and the curveball were invented, and where the home run was hit. It’s where the game’s first stars were born, and where everyone came to play or watch the game. With nuance and depth, historian Kevin Baker brings this all vividly back to life: the still-controversial, indelible moments—Did the Babe call his shot? Was Merkle out? Did they fix the 1919 World Series? Here are all the legendary players, managers, and owners, in all their vivid, complicated humanity, on and off the field. 

In Baker’s hands the city and the game emerge from the murk of nineteenth-century American life—driven by visionaries and fixers, heroes and gangsters. He details how New York and its favorite sport came to mirror one another, expanding, bumbling through catastrophe and corruption, and rising out of these trials stronger than ever. 

From the first innings played in vacant lots and tavern yards in the 1820s; to the canny innovations that created the very first sports league; to the superb Hispanic and Black players who invented their own version of the game when white baseball sought to exclude them. And all amidst New York’s own, incredible evolution from a raw, riotous town to a new world city. The New York Game is a riveting, rollicking, brilliant ode to America’s beloved pastime and to its indomitable city of origin.

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Moon Baseball Road Trips

Timothy Malcolm

Baseball is called America's pastime for a reason. Experience the best of the MLB cities and stadiums with Moon Baseball Road Trips!

  • Flexible Itineraries: Explore the 30 major league cities with a variety of road trip options, including a Boston to DC route, a loop through the Midwest, a dip into Toronto, a cruise along the West Coast, and more
  • Visit all the Ballparks: From the ivy walls of Wrigley to Fenway's Green Monster and Dodger Stadium's gorgeous mountain views, experience every ballpark in the league and dive into local fan culture
  • Catch a Game: Find valuable tips for snagging tickets and get the inside scoop on the best places to park or catch public transit, where to eat and drink nearby, and events like music festivals, the Hall of Fame Weekend, Fourth of July celebrations, and more
  • Explore the Major League Cities: Get to know the MLB hometowns with full chapters on each city. Pay respects to Babe Ruth in Baltimore, visit Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and stroll through the Boston Common. Find the best local craft breweries and chow down on chili dogs, barbecue, fresh crab, and more foodie specialties. Hold back a tear at the Field of Dreams, grab a seat for a Spring Training game, or rent a kayak on the bay and try to catch a fly ball from San Francisco's Oracle Park
  • Expertise and Know-How: Former baseball writer and avid Phillies fan Timothy Malcolm shares his advice for planning the perfect baseball road trip
  • Maps and Driving Tools: Detailed, easy-to-use maps, along with mileages, driving times, and directions, with full-color photos throughout
  • A Foldout Poster Map and ballpark checklist
  • Planning Tips: Where to stay, when and where to get gas, how to avoid traffic, and tips for driving in different road and weather conditions, plus suggestions for seniors, families with kids, and more

With Moon Baseball Road Trips' practical tips, local expertise, and flexible itineraries, you're ready to step up to the plate and hit the road.



About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell--and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you.



For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.

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Men in White

Chris Raymond

"A rich, rousing sports story, Men in White is an oral history of the college players who defied the doomsayers and rescued Penn State's football program from the horrors of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. On November 5, 2011, the news that Jerry Sandusky had been charged with 40 counts of child molestation rocked Penn State's leafy campus, unseating the university president, the athletic director, and head coach Joe Paterno-devastating the football program he had erected and scrupulously maintained over half a century. Men in White recounts the saga of the student athletes who elected to stay and rebuild the program in the face of crippling NCAA sanctions, blistering heat from the outraged media, and radio silence from the adults in the school's administration. With the once proud program in free fall and their personal fortunes in peril, these young men refused to back down, toiling for five long seasons to rehabilitate the program and its ideals, culminating in the thrilling defeat of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. Their story echoes that of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a cast of young men who boldly accepted the challenge of a lifetime, achieving success while shouldering the weight of a bruising political drama and ferocious media scrutiny"--

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The Last Manager

John W. Miller

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Baseball books don’t get any better than this...Earl Weaver has at last been given his due.” —George F. Will

“Vivid...Most sports books are pop flies to the infield. Miller’s is a screaming triple into the left field corner.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

The first major biography of legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver—who has been described as “the Copernicus of baseball” and “the grandfather of the modern game”—The Last Manager is a wild, thrilling, and hilarious ride with baseball’s most underappreciated genius, and one of its greatest characters.

Long before the Moneyball Era, the Earl of Baltimore reigned over baseball. History’s feistiest and most colorful manager, Earl Weaver transformed the sport by collecting and analyzing data in visionary ways, ultimately winning more games than anybody else during his time running the Orioles from 1968 to 1982.

When Weaver was hired by the Orioles, managers were still seen as coaches and inspirational leaders, more teachers of the game than strategists. Weaver invented new ways of building baseball teams, prioritizing on-base average, elite defense, and strike throwing. Weaver was the first manager to use a modern radar gun, and he pioneered the use of analytical data. By moving six-foot four-inch Cal Ripken Jr. to shortstop, Weaver paved the way for a generation of plus-sized superstar shortstops, such as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. He foreshadowed almost everything that Bill James, Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, and hundreds of other big-brain baseball types would later present as innovations.

Beyond being a great baseball mind, Weaver was a rare baseball character. Major League Baseball is show business, and Weaver understood how much of his job was entertainment. Weaver’s legendary outbursts offered players cathartic relief from their own frustration, signaled his concern for the team, and fired up fans. In his frequent arguments with umpires, he hammed it up for the crowds, faked heart attacks, ripped bases out of the ground, and pretended to toss umpires out of the game. Weaver also fought with his players, especially Jim Palmer, but that creative tension contributed to stunning success and a hilarious clubhouse. During his tenure as major-league manager, the Orioles won the American League pennant in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1979, each time winning more than 100 games.

The Last Manager uncovers the story of Weaver’s St. Louis childhood with a mobster uncle, his years of minor-league heartbreak, and his unlikely road to becoming a big-league manager, while tracing the evolution of the game from the old-time baseball of cross-country trains and “desk contracts” to the modern era of free agency, video analysis, and powerful player agents. Weaver’s career is a critical juncture in baseball history. He was the only manager to hold a job during the five years leading up to and the five years after free agency upended the sport in 1976.

Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. “No manager belongs there more,” wrote Tom Boswell. “Weaver encapsulates the fire, the humor, the brains, the childishness, the wisdom and the goofy fun of baseball.” The Last Manager tells the story of one man—belligerent, genius, infamous—who left his mark on the game for generations.

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Last Comiskey

Ken Smoller

The author presents an illustrated record of the Chicago White Sox baseball team's last season playing in Comiskey Park, intended as a companion to the documentary film, "Last Comiskey", and containing the author's own photographs, content from the documentary as well as new material providing further context.

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Justice Batted Last

Don Zminda

On May 1, 1951, Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso took the field for the Chicago White Sox and broke the color line for Chicago major league baseball. Ernie Banks integrated the Chicago Cubs two years later. The future Hall of Famers began their Chicago baseball careers against the backdrop of a 1951 race riot in suburban Cicero, where a white mob abetted by local police attacked a building that had rented to Black tenants.

Don Zminda's account looks at these interconnected events alongside the little-known chronicle of Chicago's slow track to integrating major league baseball. By the early 1950s, the Cubs and White Sox organizations had become rich in Black and Afro-Latino stars and talented prospects. Unlike Miñoso and Banks, however, most of these minor leaguers never advanced to the majors or, if they did, it was for little more than a cup of coffee. Zminda also profiles these players, from Charles Pope, the Cubs' first Black signee, to larger-than-life fireballer Blood Burns.

Essential and dramatic, Justice Batted Last uses the lives and careers of two Chicago legends to tell a story of integration on and off the diamond.

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Frank Chance's Diamond

Ron Rapoport

"This is a comprehensive volume capturing the Lardner style and offering a considerable insight into America’s favorite sportswriter… Ron Rapoport has done a superb job in his selection"The New York Journal of Books 

"Frank Chance's Diamond is a time machine. . .Lardner's writing reveals its exuberance and innocence, and exposes its prejudices, all while highlighting the joys of the era's baseball."Epoch Times

At one time Ring Lardner’s baseball articles reached millions of readers through more than one hundred newspapers throughout America. Admirers of his writing included F. Scott Fitzgerald, H.L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Virginia Woolf. He was as familiar to Americans in the 1920s as Charles Lindbergh, Calvin Coolidge, Henry Ford, and Babe Ruth. His articles about the players he knew, his World Series coverage, his poems, parodies, and jokes were unlike any other baseball reporting ever written, both in his time and since.

Even a hundred years later, Lardner’s baseball journalism makes for delightful, often wildly funny, reading and offers a glimpse of where his ground-breaking baseball fiction came from. This book contains Lardner’s columns about Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Casey Stengel, and Three-Finger Mordecai Brown and some fabulous lesser-known characters like Frank Schulte, Heine Zimmerman, Jim Schekard, Johnny Kling, Rollie Zeider, and Peaches Graham, as well as examples of Lardner’s coverage of the World Series—including the notorious 1919 Black Sox Series. Ron Rapoport’s introduction puts Lardner in his time and place and explains how his writing about baseball developed over the years.

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The Football Game That Changed America

Dennis Deninger

A fascinating history of the Super Bowl and its massive impact on the sports world and beyond.

The Super Bowl has changed what was just another wintry Sunday into America’s unofficial holiday. It’s the biggest entertainment event of the year. It’s the most important advertising event of the year. It is the biggest gambling event of the year. More Americans watch this game than vote in presidential elections.

How did this all happen? In The Football Game That Changed America, Dennis Deninger reveals how the Super Bowl went from almost being canceled after its first two years to becoming an ingrained part of American life. He tells the story of how this colossal event came to be—including the challenges, stumbles, and amusing surprises along the way—and details the game’s incredible impact well beyond the sports world, touching virtually every facet of life in the United States. 

Featuring colorful characters, bold rivals, and twists of fate, The Football Game That Changed America brings the history, growth, and future of the Super Bowl to life. It’s a captivating deep dive into a sporting event like no other.

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Football Done Right

Michael Lombardi

Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi takes readers on the ultimate journey through the NFL's history to present his calls on the greatest players and coaches the sport has ever seen. 



From Monday Night Football to Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL is a dominating force in the lives of millions of fans who tune in and passionately cheer for their favorite teams. And when the games are over, the conversation is just getting started. Who's the greatest player of all time? Which coaches truly shaped the game we known and love today? What was the most unforgettable game? Why is professional football such an undeniable part of our culture? 



Three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi has done it all--from scout to executive to coach--and now he sets the record straight on these questions and more. With Football Done Right, Lombardi tackles all aspects of the sport, discussing the best of the best. He channels his 35+ years of experience with the NFL into an all-encompassing celebration of the game. More than just ranking the giants of the league, Lombardi shows how and why each affected the game. Mixing first-person, in-the-locker-room experience with little known history and hard stats, Lombardi makes a definitive case for the most influential coaches and the best players, and also offers an insider look to how drafts and trades operate behind the scenes and honoring the sportscasters who played an essential role in popularizing the sport. Both a full history of the sport and a comprehensive re-imagining of the Football Hall of Fame to honor every deserving athlete and coach, Football Done Right will change the way you watch, discuss, and debate the gridiron.

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Elevate and Dominate

Deion Sanders

From “national treasure” (Steve Harvey) Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, the ultimate playbook of inspiring personal stories, winning strategies, and the motivation required to help us “elevate and dominate” in all aspects of our lives. 

A natural-born leader, Deion Sanders demands and expects the best from himself and from those around him, never settling for anything less. Whether it’s dealing with intense pressure, using the competition to his advantage, or navigating personal challenges—both physical and emotional—Sanders has conquered it all by applying the hard-earned principles he’s learned throughout his life and career.

The twenty-one ways to win here are based on the motivational stories and experiences of Sanders’s incredible life, including being raised by a single mother who sacrificed and worked nonstop to support her family, being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, earning his place as a head coach with a Division I football team, and being a dedicated father of five accomplished children.

His inspirational messages reach far beyond the world of sports because they are based on deep faith, respect for himself and others, and an unflagging commitment to that which he believes in. They are designed to help anyone who is looking to improve the quality of their life, whether it be in business and leadership, relationships and partnership, or parenting and family. “Learn here how to win from an absolute and verifiable winner” (Dr. E. Dewey Smith, pastor and author).

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A Damn Near Perfect Game

Joe Kelly

Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat in a book that calls out the hacks, cheats, ridiculous rules, and more that have tarnished the game—from the field of play to the clubhouse, front office, broadcast booth, and beyond—and serves up A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect. Baseball has an image problem, the chorus of nonbelievers gets louder every year, and the Major Leagues have made an art of tuning them out. It wasn’t always this way, and it doesn’t have to be anymore. Enter Joe Kelly: a walking, talking, fastball-throwing embodiment of why baseball matters and why we should love it. He’s got some things to say about what’s gone wrong with baseball, what makes it great, and what needs to happen to make it damn near f*cking perfect. This is the loudest insider’s exposé of the laws and culture of Major League Baseball since Jim Bouton’s classic Ball Four. From his perspective as a two-time World Series Champion, baseball’s most meme-able player according to ESPN, Big League firebrand, and current pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Kelly takes readers on a house-cleaning tour of the clubhouse, the field of play, the bullpen, the front office, the commissioner’s office, and a ballplayer’s restricted life off-the-field. Kelly goes off on rule changes that matter and sticking to them (pitch clocks, no designated hitter, and more); sterilizing baseball hacks (overused analytics, shifts, sign-stealing, and more); the promotion of baseball to a new generation of fans (letting players get edgy on social media, merchandising in truly trend-setting ways, and more); encouraging actual emotion (let the players fight, let them bat-flip, let them talk sh*t); and fixing all that’s wrong with the front office and the Commissioner’s Office. And to show what happens when baseball has some piss and vinegar and flair, he gives the inside scoop on his legendary exploits--starting a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees’ Tyler Austin, his famous “pouty face” scene when calling out the notorious sign-stealing Houston Astros, and wearing a Mariachi jacket to the White House visit with his World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. From the player who lit a fire under baseball’s ass during the insufferable 2022 lockout with his instantly-viral Los Angeles times op-ed “, Joe Kelley--[some superlative title for him]--penned an op ed that appeared in the Los Angeles Times and quickly went viral. It was a plea to fans: don’t give up on baseball. https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-03-03/mlb-joe- kelly-love-of-baseball-lockout-dodgers

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Baseball's Great Expectations

Patrick Montgomery

"[It’s] Montgomery’s journalistic eye for distilling the humanity behind the unfulfilled athletic potential that makes this a real home run." - Booklist, Starred Review • A Booklist Top 10 Book on Sports 2024
Stories of baseball idols and heroes are oft-repeated, but what about those players who everyone thought would be the next “great one” and have since disappeared from the sport? What happened after they failed to meet the weighty expectations placed on them?
In Baseball's Great Expectations: Candid Stories of Ballplayers Who Didn't Live Up to the Hype, Patrick Montgomery brings out from the shadows nine of those players who were once poised for greatness. They include a player who received a then-record-breaking MLB Draft signing bonus, a left-handed pitcher who was ordained to be the next Sandy Koufax, the only catcher to go straight from high school to the major leagues during the MLB Draft Era, and more. Drawing from his extensive interviews with the players, family members, general managers, executives, scouts, and more, Montgomery shines a fresh light on these players and provides a candid perspective on the major leagues. Players reflect on their careers, what went wrong, how they feel about baseball now that their playing days are over, and, for many of them, how they have found new purpose in their lives. 
Baseball’s Great Expectations reveals an often-overlooked side of professional baseball, of the struggles with injury, mental exhaustion, pressure, temptations, and sometimes just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The path to baseball stardom is not as glamorous as it is sometimes made out to be, and this book reveals just how difficult the journey truly is.

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Baseball Heaven

Peter Golenbock

“With its personal feel and near-mystical quality, this highly recommended work will mesmerize baseball lovers and casual fans.” Library Journal, Starred Review
A behind-the-scenes look at baseball history, as told through timeless interviews with major leaguers
For fifty years, bestselling author Peter Golenbock has been interviewing some of the most fascinating figures in baseball. Their conversations are a journey back in time to the days of Ruth and Gehrig, Gehringer and Greenberg, Robinson and Reese, and Howard and Mantle, as they reflect on the sport’s greatest moments and biggest issues. 
In Baseball Heaven, Golenbock brings together for the first time the most historic and captivating of these conversations. The stories range from Elden Auker remembering the day Lou Gehrig told him he was sick to Albert Happy Chandler reflecting on his decision to allow Jackie Robinson into the big leagues, from Ralph Branca discussing the home run he gave up that cost the Dodgers the pennant to Del Webb talking about why he hired Casey Stengel and why he fired him. 
Baseball Heaven is baseball history at its very best. It pulls back the curtain on the major leagues to reveal inside stories, intimate reminiscences, and the friendships and rivalries that make baseball America’s Game.

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Ballistic

Henry Abbott

The biggest victories of medical science--over polio, smallpox, heart attacks, and the like--are stories of prevention. Then there's sports, where we just run around until something breaks, leading to pain, frustration, and sometimes even expensive surgery. Injuries are a major cause of society's growing mobility crisis. What if we could predict and prevent them?

Blending cutting-edge science with gripping storytelling, award-winning data journalist and competitive amateur athlete Henry Abbott reveals that we are on the cusp of a new era in sports medicine, built around the science of ballistic movements--leaping and landing--and the unique fingerprint of your body's physics.

Abbott's inspiring narrative tells the story of sports scientist Dr. Marcus Elliott and the Peak Performance Project (P3), who use technology to study how athletes move and why they get hurt. Applying machine learning and lessons from biomechanics, medicine, and physiology, doctors at P3 can now detect elevated risk of an ACL tear or a pulled hamstring like an echocardiogram can see warning signs of a heart attack.

Their data-driven findings are full of surprises. Your body's most important defense against knee and ankle injuries are the little-known muscles in the lower leg and hip area, which typical workouts rarely target. Similarly, the glutes--not the core--do the most to prevent back pain. Transformative benefits flow from training underappreciated kinds of athleticism like rotation, deceleration, and relaxation. Most of all, science shows that the best athletes don't avoid ballistics--they master them.

Through riveting stories of elite athletes overcoming injuries and pushing themselves to the limit, Abbott presents an evidence-based case for intervening early to protect our bodies. And he suggests that we can all harness the science of ballistic movement not just to run fast or jump high but to move with joy and lead fulfilling athletic lives.

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The Art of Winning

Bill Belichick

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Coach Belichick brought out the best in me. His book will do the same for you.” —Tom Brady • “This book shares the valuable lessons about excellence and leadership that Coach Belichick has learned.” —Michael Jordan • “Powerful, insightful, and remarkably personal, The Art of Winning is a playbook for life.” —Admiral William H. McRaven, US Navy (Retired) • “Invaluable for anyone trying to succeed in any aspect of life. I urge you to read this book.” —Ray Dalio • “A remarkable deep dive into the mind of a champion.” —Nick Saban

Winning isn’t a science. It’s an art. And it can be learned.

No one embodies winning more than Bill Belichick, the greatest football coach of all time. Over the past fifty years, Belichick has been a man of notoriously few words, believing that a coach should keep a low profile. After he left the Patriots in 2024, he briefly became a coach without a team. He spent that year writing down the principles he learned from his father, Navy football, and from his forty-nine-year coaching career.

Belichick’s philosophy goes far beyond football. He presents a whole-year, whole-life, whole-mindset approach to greatness that encompasses preparation, motivation, confidence, and leadership. The principles in this book are adaptable to wherever you work. No matter where you are on the ladder, they will help you think like a leader in anticipation of being one.

Drawing on decades of studying the greats of the game, handling colorful personalities and egos, and playing for the highest stakes in sports, Belichick shares memorable examples and practical takeaways from his lived experience. Winning is not about being perfect—it’s about growth. And you will improve only as much as you recognize where you’re weak. Belichick owns up to mistakes like deciding to go for it on 4th and 13 in the 2008 Super Bowl. Then he breaks down how to learn from your mistakes like a leader does—an approach that sustained him throughout his early career challenges and ultimately brought him to the top of the sport.

Belichick’s principles might surprise you at times. At other times, they might seem strangely obvious. (His rule for how to win football games? Score the most points.) Football is about strategy, human nature, and business. Your vision of success might involve breaking into a new, competitive market in your industry; seeing solid returns on a portfolio that you’ve carefully prepared; inspiring your students to earn the highest scores in the district; or raising up trainees to take over your job someday. Whatever the situation, your performance is up to you.

Practical, authoritative, and bursting with unforgettable inside stories, The Art of Winning is an indispensable guide to success from the greatest coach in NFL history.

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The 1906-1910 Cubs Dynasty

Gary D. Santella

A Cubs dynasty founded on fastballs and fisticuffs.

Unlike today's Chicago Cubs, the Cubs of 1906-1910 were not at all lovable, and certainly did not always display traits customarily linked with a winning team. Their manager would brawl with his own players, and the players brawled with each other. Their second baseman and shortstop hated each other and didn't speak for years. Their best pitcher pitched with a mutilated hand. Their star catcher got into a spat with management and left the team for a year to play professional billiards. Their manager over time grew to despise the team owner. Yet, this group of brawlers, bickerers, and battlers dominated the National League and established a baseball dynasty, winning four National League pennants and two world championships in 5 years. Author Gary D. Santella follows the story of a team whose toughness and tenacity was a fitting reflection of early twentieth-century Chicago.

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A Lovely Girl

Deborah Holt Larkin

The incredible story of a 1958 murder that ended with the last woman to ever be executed in California—a murder so twisted it seems ripped from a Greek tragedy. 

Deborah Larkin was only ten years old when the quiet calm of her California suburb was shattered. Thirty miles north, on a quiet November night in Santa Barbara, a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment. The mystery deepens when it is discovered that Olga’s mother in-law—a deeply manipulative and deceptive woman—had been doing everything in her power to separate Olga and her son, Frank, prior to Olga’s disappearance. 

From a forged annulment to multiple attempts to hire people to “get rid” of Olga, to a faked extortion case, Elizabeth seemed psychopathically attached to her son. Yet she denied having anything to do with Olga’s disappearance with a smile.

But when Olga’s brutally beaten body is found in a shallow grave, apparently buried alive, a young DA makes it his mission to see that Elizabeth Duncan is brought to justice. Adding a wrinkle to his efforts is the fact that Frank—himself a defense attorney—maintained his mother’s innocence to the end. 

How does a young girl process such a crime along with the fear and disbelief that rocked an entire community? Decades later, Larkin is determined to revisit the case and bring the story of Olga herself to light. Long overshadowed by the sensationalism and scandal of Elizabeth and Frank, A Lovely Girl seeks to reveal Olga as a woman in full. Someone who was more than the twisted family that would ultimately ensnare her.

As we follow the heart-pounding drama of the case through Larkin's young eyes—her father was the court reporter—A Lovely Girl is by turns page-turning yet poignant, and makes the reader reexamine how we handle fear, how we regard mental illness, and how we understand family as we carve our own path in a dangerous world.

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Black Dahlia, Red Rose

Piu Eatwell

With startling new evidence, this gripping reexamination of the Black Dahlia murder offers a definitive theory of a quintessential American crime.
 

Los Angeles, 1947. A housewife out for a walk with her baby notices a cloud of black flies buzzing ominously in Leimert Park. An "unsightly object" is identified as the mutilated body of Elizabeth Short, an aspiring starlet from Massachusetts who had been lured west by the siren call of Hollywood. Her killer would never be found, but Short’s death would bring her the fame she had always sought. Her murder investigation transformed into a real-life film noir, featuring corrupt cops, femmes fatales, gun-slinging gangsters, and hungry reporters, replete with an irresistible, legendary moniker adapted from a recent film—The Black Dahlia.

For over half a century this crime has maintained an almost mythic place in American lore as one of our most inscrutable cold cases. With the recently unredacted FBI file, newly released sections of the LAPD file, and exclusive interviews with the suspect’s family, relentless legal sleuth Piu Eatwell has gained unprecedented access to evidence and persuasively identified the culprit. Black Dahlia, Red Rose layers these findings into a gritty, cinematic retelling of the haunting tale.

As Eatwell chronicles, among the first to arrive at the grisly crime scene was Aggie Underwood, the "tough-as-nails" city editor for the Los Angeles Evening Herald & Express; meanwhile, the chain-smoking city editor for the Los Angeles Examiner, Jimmy Richardson, sent out his own reporters. Eatwell reveals how, through a cutthroat race to break news and sell papers, the public image of Elizabeth Short was distorted from a violated beauty to a "man crazy delinquent." As rumors of various boyfriends circulated, the true story of the complex young woman ricocheting between jobs, lovers, and homes was lost. Instead, kitschy headlines tapped into a wider social anxiety about the city’s "girl problem," and Short’s black chiffon and smoldering gaze become a warning for "loose" women coming of age in postwar America.

Applying her own background as a lawyer to the surprising new evidence, Eatwell ultimately exposes many startling clues to the case that have never surfaced in public. From the discovery of Elizabeth’s notebook, inscribed with the name of the city’s most notorious and corrupt businessman, to a valid suspect plucked from the hundreds of "confessing Sams" by a brilliant, well-meaning doctor, Eatwell compellingly captures every "big break" in the police investigation to reveal a truly viable resolution to the case. In rich, atmospheric prose, Eatwell separates fact from fantasy to expose the truth behind the sinewy networks of a noir-tinged Hollywood. Black Dahlia, Red Rose at long last accords the Elizabeth Short case its due resolution, providing a reliable and enduring account of one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American history.

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A Tale of Two Murders

Laura Thompson

A riveting account of the notorious “Ilford murder” by the New York Times bestselling author of The Six

The death penalty is never without its ethical conflicts or moral questions. Never more so than when the person being led to the gallows may very well be innocent of the actual crime, if not innocent according social concepts of femininity.

A Tale of Two Murders is an engrossing examination of the Ilford murder, which became a legal cause ce´le`bre in the 1920s, and led to the hanging of Edith Thompson and her lover, Freddy Bywaters. On the night of October 3, 1922, as Edith and her husband, Percy, were walking home from the theatre, a man sprang out of the darkness and stabbed Percy to death. The assailant was none other than Bywaters.

When the police discovered his relationship with Edith, she—who had denied knowledge of the attack—was arrested as his accomplice. Her passionate love letters to Bywaters, read out at the ensuing trial, sealed her fate, even though Bywaters insisted Edith had no part in planning the murder. They were both hanged. Freddy was demonstrably guilty; but was Edith truly so?

In shattering detail and with masterful emotional insight, Laura Thompson charts the course of a liaison with thrice-fatal consequences, and investigates what a troubling case tells us about perceptions of women, innocence, and guilt.

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Devil's Rooming House

M. William Phelps

The gripping tale of a legendary, century-old murder spree

***

A silent, simmering killer terrorized New England in1911. As a terrible heat wave killed more than 2,000 people, another silent killer began her own murderous spree. That year a reporter for the Hartford Courant noticed a sharp rise in the number of obituaries for residents of a rooming house in Windsor, Connecticut, and began to suspect who was responsible: Amy Archer-Gilligan, who’d opened the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids four years earlier. “Sister Amy” would be accused of murdering both of her husbands and up to sixty-six of her patients with cocktails of lemonade and arsenic; her story inspired the Broadway hit Arsenic and Old Lace

The Devil’s Rooming House is the first book about the life, times, and crimes of America’s most prolific female serial killer. In telling this fascinating story, M. William Phelps also paints a vivid portrait of early-twentieth-century New England.

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The Wicked Boy

Kate Summerscale

Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime Book! 

From the internationally bestselling author, a deeply researched and atmospheric murder mystery of late Victorian-era London

In the summer of 1895, Robert Coombes (age 13) and his brother Nattie (age 12) were seen spending lavishly around the docklands of East London -- for ten days in July, they ate out at coffee houses and took trips to the seaside and the theater. The boys told neighbors they had been left home alone while their mother visited family in Liverpool, but their aunt was suspicious. When she eventually forced the brothers to open the house to her, she found the badly decomposed body of their mother in a bedroom upstairs. Robert and Nattie were arrested for matricide and sent for trial at the Old Bailey. 

Robert confessed to having stabbed his mother, but his lawyers argued that he was insane. Nattie struck a plea and gave evidence against his brother. The court heard testimony about Robert's severe headaches, his fascination with violent criminals and his passion for 'penny dreadfuls', the pulp fiction of the day. He seemed to feel no remorse for what he had done, and neither the prosecution nor the defense could find a motive for the murder. The judge sentenced the thirteen-year-old to detention in Broadmoor, the most infamous criminal lunatic asylum in the land. Yet Broadmoor turned out to be the beginning of a new life for Robert--one that would have profoundly shocked anyone who thought they understood the Wicked Boy.

At a time of great tumult and uncertainty, Robert Coombes's case crystallized contemporary anxieties about the education of the working classes, the dangers of pulp fiction, and evolving theories of criminality, childhood, and insanity. With riveting detail and rich atmosphere, Kate Summerscale recreates this terrible crime and its aftermath, uncovering an extraordinary story of man's capacity to overcome the past.

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The Murder of the Century

Paul Collins

The “enormously entertaining” (The Wall Street Journal) account of a shocking 1897 murder mystery that “artfully re-create[s] the era, the crime, and the newspaper wars it touched off” (The New York Times) 
  
AN EDGAR NOMINEE FOR BEST FACT CRIME • “Fascinating . . . won’t disappoint readers in search of a book like Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City.”—The Washington Post 
  
On Long Island, a farmer finds a duck pond turned red with blood. On the Lower East Side, two boys discover a floating human torso wrapped tightly in oilcloth. Blueberry pickers near Harlem stumble upon neatly severed limbs in an overgrown ditch. The police are baffled: There are no witnesses, no motives, no suspects. 
  
The grisly finds that began on the afternoon of June 26, 1897, plunged detectives headlong into the era’s most perplexing murder mystery. Seized upon by battling media moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, the case became a publicity circus, as their rival newspapers the World and the Journal raced to solve the crime. What emerged was a sensational love triangle and an even more sensational trial. The Murder of the Century is a rollicking tale—a rich evocation of America during the Gilded Age and a colorful re-creation of the tabloid wars that forever changed newspaper journalism.

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The Invention of Murder

Judith Flanders

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 

"Wonderful... [Flanders] shines in her readings of literary novels containing criminal and detective elements, such as Oliver Twist, Mary Barton and Tess of the D'Urbervilles, but can be sharp and very funny about the vagaries of melodramatic and sensational plotting." –Wall Street Journal

In this fascinating exploration of murder in the nineteenth century, Judith Flanders examines some of the most gripping cases that captivated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fiction

Murder in Britain in the nineteenth century was rare. But murder as sensation and entertainment became ubiquitous, transformed into novels, into broadsides and ballads, into theatre and melodrama and opera—even into puppet shows and performing dog-acts. Detective fiction and England's new police force developed in parallel, each imitating the other—the pioneers of Scotland Yard gave rise to Dickens's Inspector Bucket, the first fictional police detective, who in turn influenced Sherlock Holmes and, ultimately, even P.D. James and Patricia Cornwell.

In this fascinating book, Judith Flanders retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder—both famous and obscure—from the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper to the tragedies of the murdered Marr family in London's East End; Burke and Hare and their bodysnatching business in Edinburgh; and Greenacre, who transported his dismembered fiancée around town by omnibus. With an irresistible cast of swindlers, forgers, and poisoners, the mad, the bad and the dangerous to know, The Invention of Murder is both a gripping tale of crime and punishment, and history at its most readable.

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The Girls of Murder City

Douglas Perry

With a thrilling, fast-paced narrative, award-winning journalist Douglas Perry vividly captures the sensationalized circus atmosphere that gave rise to the concept of the celebrity criminal- and gave Chicago its most famous story. The Girls of Murder City recounts two scandalous, sex-fueled murder cases and how an intrepid "girl reporter" named Maurine Watkins turned the beautiful, media-savvy suspects-"Stylish Belva" and "Beautiful Beulah"-into the talk of the town. Fueled by rich period detail and a cast of characters who seemed destined for the stage, The Girls of Murder City is a crackling tale that simultaneously presents the freewheeling spirit of the Jazz Age and its sober repercussions.

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Crimes of the Centuries

Amber Hunt

A fascinating pop-history dive into the stories behind the incredibly impactful crimes--both infamous and little-known--that have shaped the legal system as we know it.

When asked why true crime is so in vogue, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Amber Hunt always has the same answer: it's no hotter than it's always been. Crimes and trials have captured American consciousness since the Salem Witch Trials in the seventeenth century. And these cases over the centuries have fundamentally changed our society and shifted our legal system, resulting in the laws we have today and setting the stage for new rights and protections. From the first recorded murder trial led by the first legal dream team, to one of the earliest uses of DNA, these cases will fascinate.

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The Scandalous Hamiltons

Bill Shaffer

One of the country’s most powerful families embroiled in sex, lies, bigamy, and blackmail…and every new, deliciously humiliating morsel splashed across every newspaper in America

Now in paperback, the believe-it-or-not historical true crime behind one of the greatest scandals of the Gilded Age, and the story that gave rise to the sensational tabloid journalism still driving so much of the news cycle in the 21st century.

An Alexander Hamilton heir, a beautiful female con artist, an abandoned baby, and the shocking courtroom drama that was splashed across front pages from coast to coast…

It’s a historical true crime story almost too tawdry to be true—a con woman met the descendant of a Founding Father in a brothel, duped him into marriage using an infant purchased from a baby farm, then went to prison for stabbing the couple’s baby nurse—all while in a common-law marriage with another man. The scandal surrounding Evangeline and Robert Ray Hamilton was one of the sensations of the Gilded Age, a sordid, gripping tale involving bigamy, bribery, sex, and violence.

Through personal correspondence, court records, and sensational newspaper accounts, The Scandalous Hamiltons explores not only the full, riveting saga of ill-fated Ray and Eva, but the rise of tabloid journalism—including an exclusive interview conducted by world-famous investigative reporter Nellie Bly—in a story that unfurls as a timeless tale of ambition, greed, and obsession.

“Fans of Erik Larson–style histories and anyone who just loves a fun, gossipy read will love The Scandalous Hamiltons.”—Apple Books, Best of the Month Selection


"Adultery? Check. Attempted murder? Check. Baby-trafficking? Check. These are just a few of the missteps of the woman who rained humiliation onto the House of Hamilton." —Marlene Wagman-Geller, author of Women of Means: Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls

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Blood & Ink

Joe Pompeo

New York Times Editor's Pick & Best True Crime of 2022

"Blood & Ink is among 2022's best works of true crime." --Washington Post

Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo investigates the notorious 1922 double murder of a high-society minister and his secret mistress, a Jazz Age mega-crime that propelled tabloid news in the 20th century.

On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy.

The murder of Hall, a prominent clergyman whose wife, Frances Hall, was a proud heiress with illustrious ancestors and ties to the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, would have made headlines on its own. But when authorities identified Eleanor Mills as a choir singer from his church married to the church sexton, the story shocked locals and sent the scandal ricocheting around the country, fueling the nascent tabloid industry. This provincial double murder on a lonely lover's lane would soon become one of the most famous killings in American history--a veritable crime of the century.

The bumbling local authorities failed to secure any indictments, however, and it took a swashbuckling crusade by the editor of a circulation-hungry Hearst tabloid to revive the case and bring it to trial at last.

Blood & Ink freshly chronicles what remains one of the most electrifying but forgotten murder mysteries in U.S. history. It also traces the birth of American tabloid journalism, pandering to the masses with sordid tales of love, sex, money, and murder.

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Trespassers at the Golden Gate

Gary Krist

The sensational, forgotten true story of a woman who murdered her married lover in Gilded Age San Francisco and the trial that epitomized the city's transformation from raucous frontier town into modern metropolis—from the New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Sin

Shortly before dusk on November 3, 1870, just as the ferryboat El Capitan was pulling away from its slip into San Francisco Bay, a woman clad in black emerged from the shadows and strode across the crowded deck. Reaching under her veil, she drew a small pistol and aimed it directly at a well-dressed man sitting quietly with his wife and children. The woman fired a single bullet into his chest. “I did it and I don’t deny it,” she said when arrested shortly thereafter. “He ruined both myself and my daughter.”

Though little remembered today, the trial of Laura D. Fair for the murder of her lover, A. P. Crittenden, made headlines nationwide. As bestselling author Gary Krist reveals, the operatic facts of the case—a woman strung along for years by a two-timing man, killing him in an alleged fit of madness—challenged an American populace still searching for moral consensus after the Civil War. The trial shone an early and uncomfortable spotlight on social issues like the role of women, the sanctity of the family, and the range of acceptable expressions of gender, while jolting the still-adolescent metropolis of 1870s San Francisco, a city eager to shed its rough-and-tumble Gold Rush-era reputation.

Trespassers at the Golden Gate brings readers inside the untamed frontier town, a place where—for a brief period—otherwise marginalized communities found unique opportunities. Readers meet a secretly wealthy Black housekeeper, an enterprising Chinese brothel madam, and a French rabble-rouser who refused to dress in sufficiently “feminine” clothing—as well as familiar figures like Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony, who become swept up in the drama of the Laura Fair affair. 

Krist, who previously brought New Orleans to vivid life in Empire of Sin and Chicago in City of Scoundrels, recounts this astonishing story and its surprisingly modern echoes in a rollicking narrative that probes what it all meant—both for a nation still scarred by war and for a city eager for the world stage.

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The Sewing Girl's Tale

John Wood Sweet

New York Times Editors’ Choice
Winner of the Bancroft Prize
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize 
Winner of the Gotham Book Prize
Winner of the New York Society Library's New York City Book Award
Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year
Winner of the David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Legal History 
Winner of the James Bradford Best Biography Prize

A riveting Revolutionary Era drama of the first published rape trial in American history and its long, shattering aftermath, revealing how much has changed over two centuries—and how much has not

On a moonless night in the summer of 1793 a crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel—the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer did what virtually no one in US history had done before: she charged a gentleman with rape. 

Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah’s and her assailant’s lives. The trial exposed a predatory sexual underworld, sparked riots in the streets, and ignited a vigorous debate about class privilege and sexual double standards. The ongoing conflict attracted the nation’s top lawyers, including Alexander Hamilton, and shaped the development of American law. The crime and its consequences became a kind of parable about the power of seduction and the limits of justice. Eventually, Lanah Sawyer did succeed in holding her assailant accountable—but at a terrible cost to herself.

Based on rigorous historical detective work, this book takes us from a chance encounter in the street into the sanctuaries of the city’s elite, the shadows of its brothels, and the despair of its debtors’ prison. The Sewing Girl's Tale shows that if our laws and our culture were changed by a persistent young woman and the power of words two hundred years ago, they can be changed again.

Includes photographs

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The Trial of Lizzie Borden

Cara Robertson

WINNER OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY BOOK AWARD 

In Cara Robertson’s “enthralling new book,” The Trial of Lizzie Borden, “the reader is to serve as judge and jury” (The New York Times). Based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence, this true crime and legal history is the “definitive account to date of one of America’s most notorious and enduring murder mysteries” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple’s younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her murder trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Everyone—rich and poor, suffragists and social conservatives, legal scholars, and laypeople—had an opinion about Lizzie Borden’s guilt or innocence. Was she a cold-blooded murderess or an unjustly persecuted lady? Did she or didn’t she?

An essential piece of American mythology, the popular fascination with the Borden murders has endured for more than one hundred years. Told and retold in every conceivable genre, the murders have secured a place in the American pantheon of mythic horror. In contrast, “Cara Robertson presents the story with the thoroughness one expects from an attorney…Fans of crime novels will love it” (Kirkus Reviews). Based on transcripts of the Borden legal proceedings, contemporary newspaper accounts, unpublished local accounts, and recently unearthed letters from Lizzie herself, The Trial of Lizzie Borden is “a fast-paced, page-turning read” (Booklist, starred review) that offers a window into America in the Gilded Age. This “remarkable” (Bustle) book “should be at the top of your reading list” (PopSugar).

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Strong Passions

Barbara Weisberg

What could possibly go wrong in a wealthy matriarch's country home when her dilettante son, his restless wife, and his widowed brother live there together? Strong Passions, rooted in the beguiling times of Edith Wharton's "old New York," recounts the true story of a tumultuous marriage. In 1862, Mary Strong stunned her husband, Peter, by confessing to a two-year affair with his brother. Peter sued Mary for divorce for adultery--the only grounds in New York--but not before she accused him of forcing her into an abortion and having his own affair with the abortionist. She then kidnapped their young daughter and disappeared.

The divorce trial Strong v. Strong riveted the nation during the final throes and aftermath of the Civil War, offering a shocking glimpse into the private world of New York's powerful and privileged elite. Barbara Weisberg presents the chaotic courtroom and panoply of witnesses--governess, housekeeper, private detective, sisters-in-law, and many others--who provided contradictory and often salacious testimony. She then asks us to be the jury, deciding each spouse's guilt and the possibility of a just resolution.

Social history at its most intimate, Strong Passions charts a trial's twists and turns to portray a family and country in turmoil as they faced conflicts over women's changing roles, male custody of children, and men's power--financial and otherwise--over wives.

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Your New Life with Adult Children

Gary D. Chapman

Loving Your Adult Children Without Losing Your Mind (Or Your Heart, Or All Your Money, Or Your Soul)

Your kids will always be your kids. The trick is figuring out how to adapt to the new phases in that parent-child relationship. No question, it can be tricky. And if you fail to navigate that transition well, the result will be stress, alienation, and maybe a broken relationship.

But it doesn't have to be that way. In Your New Life with Adult Children, Dr. Gary Chapman--author of the worldwide bestseller The 5 Love Languages®--teams up with clinical psychiatrist Dr. Ross Campbell to provide the insights you need when your child moves into adulthood. You'll find help for those moments when:

  • Your adult child isn't succeeding
  • Your nest isn't emptying
  • Your child moves back home
  • You have conflict over lifestyle issues
  • You become an in-law or grandparent
  • And much more . . .



The book includes brief sidebars from parents of adult children, as well as stories from adult children who relate what works best for them. An online study guide is also available.

Stop wondering how to connect with your adult child. Instead, learn to love them in the ways they so desperately want.

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The Way of Play

Tina Payne Bryson

The simple way to help your kids face their fears, handle big emotions, and bolster their social skills—from the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Whole-Brain Child and a renowned play therapist

“A parenting guide as useful as it is scientifically sound, The Way of Play is a gift for anyone who cares about human development and the growth-promoting importance of having fun in life!”—Daniel J. Siegel, MD
 
Most parents understand that free, unstructured playtime is great for children’s development. What they may not know is that playful interaction with parents is also a powerful way for kids to cultivate healthy emotional development and resilience. Kids often want their parents to play with them, but many parents don’t know how to play or see it only as an (often boring) way to kill time.
 
Playing with your kids doesn’t have to mean enrolling in countless parent-and-me classes or getting on all fours and making toy car sounds; the little daily moments together can make the most impact. In The Way of Play, world-renowned pediatric therapists and play experts Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent break down seven simple, playful techniques that harness this caregiving magic in only a few minutes each day:
 
Leaning in to emotions helps children let go of anxieties, drama, and chaotic behavior.
Tuning in to the body teaches children to practice the art of surfing sensory waves.
Storytelling promotes better problem-solving.
Thinking out loud fosters calmer thinking and stronger communication with parents, siblings, and everyone else.
 
Full of science-backed research, real-life stories, and charming line illustrations to bring this novel advice to life, The Way of Play will help you nurture your kids and encourage them to become calm listeners, cooperative problem solvers, and respectful communicators. Just as important, it will help your whole family have more fun together and build stronger relationships.

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Unfit Parent

Jessica Slice

"Beautiful and razor-sharp…cannot recommend highly enough."
—Ann Helen Petersen, Culture Study

"Cuts boldly and beautifully through that silence, inviting readers to imagine what our world might look like if we met every family where they are."
Vogue

“A beautiful, transformative book about being a parent in a world that rejects frailty and weakness.”—Rachel Aviv, staff writer at the New Yorker

A paradigm shifting look at the landscape of disabled parenting—the joys, stigma, and discrimination—and how disability culture holds the key to transforming the way we all raise our kids

In Unfit Parent, Slice debunks the exclusionary myths that deem disabled people “unfit” to care for their children, instead showing how disabled parents and disability culture provide valuable lessons for rejecting societal rules that encourage perfectionism and lead to isolation.

Combining her personal experiences with interviews, research-backed evidence, and disability studies, Slice shares insight into what the landscape is like for disabled parents—one that is scattered with unpredictable obstacles and inaccessible barriers, including:
 

  • How do you find adaptive baby equipment?
  • How do two disabled parents creatively keep their children safe?
  • How do you get reproductive care when the medical system assumes you aren’t able to have kids?
  • What is it like to be in public knowing that someone might call child protective services simply because a parent is disabled?


In overcoming these challenges, she describes how disabled parents are oftentimes more prepared to adapt to the demanding nature of parenthood, including the uncertainty of losing control over bodily autonomy.

Uplifting and powerful, Unfit Parent illuminates how disabled bodies and minds give us the hopeful perspectives and solutions we need for transforming a societal system that has left parents exhausted, stuck, and alone.

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Special Topics in Being a Parent

S. Bear Bergman

An illustrated guide of practical parenting advice informed by queer experiences for anyone doing the work of parenting, from the author and the illustrator of Special Topics in Being a Human

 

Being a parent is enormously joyful, but it is also an enormous amount of work. Parenting requires you to make dozens of decisions a day, every one of which in some way shapes the person your child will grow into. It can be difficult to know in these moments whether you're on the right track. Progressive parents especially can feel adrift when caregiving in ways that were not modelled for them.

 

From S. Bear Bergman--advice columnist, educator, and queer dad with fifteen years of parenting under his belt--comes Special Topics in Being a Parent, a witty and insightful collection of child-rearing tips for those in search of realistic ideas about screens and lunches that don't come with a side order of judgment. Using his own choices--and errors--by way of example, Bergman offers suggestions for various stages of the parenting journey, from asking "Are we ready to have a kid?" to talking with children about diversity and difference, to questioning gender expectations placed on both kids and parents. With plenty of humor and compassion, and featuring charming illustrations by Saul Freedman-Lawson, this guide helps parents to live their parenting values while enabling their kids to grow their capacities, understand the world, and above all, feel connected and loved.


 

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Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry

Ashley Graber, LMFT

A must-have guide for helping your child conquer worry, fear, and overwhelm

AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER

Kids today are more susceptible than ever to anxiety and stress. As a parent, you want to shield your child from these overwhelming feelings, but it can be daunting in an unpredictable world. Fortunately, there are ways to help, and Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry shows how. 

Psychotherapists and parent coaching team Ashley Graber, LMFT, and Maria Evans, LMFT, introduce SAFER Parenting—a simple yet powerful five-step approach designed to help children ages 6-12 regulate emotions and build lasting self-esteem. Offering real-life examples and drawing on their experience working with thousands of families struggling with anxiety, they outline key practices to reduce worry both in the moment and over time. You’ll learn how to: 

 

  • Recognize often-missed signs of anxiety and uncover their root causes
  • Manage big feelings and guide your child toward useful coping tools
  • Navigate difficult conversations with therapist-approved techniques
  • Nurture your child’s confidence and independence
  • Create psychological safety at home to increase calm and lower anxiety


Meeting parents where they are, Raising Calm Kids In a World of Worry shows how despite having plenty of reasons to worry, you can become a more confident parent and help your child find ease when they need it most.

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Punishment-Free Parenting

Jon Fogel

A no-judgment, simple-to-follow step-by-step parenting guide to help you manage your emotions, meet your child’s needs with empathy, and create a calmer home—without ever resorting to threats or punishment

Every parent has had that painful moment they realize there must be a better way to raise kids than the old-school yelling, threats, bribes, and punishment way.

For Jon Fogel, that realization set him on a path toward wholeness: understanding himself, learning about the brain, and empowering parents to raise kids who live physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy lives. In just a few short years, he became an inspiration to more than a million people around the world who were also striving to do better and become the best parents they can be.

Now, with Punishment-Free Parenting, Fogel—parenting educator, pastor, and father of four—brings to parents the hard-won wisdom from his research and work as a parenting coach. With memorable stories, advice, and compassionate insight, he offers moms and dads a clear path to their own wholeness as parents—from learning to recognize and name their own emotional triggers to responding with a deeper awareness of their children’s developmental processes. What emerges is a collaborative partnership with children—free from the drama and pain of punishment.

In pages packed with the most helpful research findings from child developmental psychology, neurology, and pediatric medicine, readers will meet other parents just like them and children just like their own who have learned to use the tools and tips that Fogel provides. Punishment-Free Parenting is the simple, accessible, no-judgment book for parents who want the support and guidance of a dad just like them.

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Poems of Parenting

Loryn Brantz

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

A must-have book for all parents, this illustrated collection of tender, funny, radically honest poems about parenthood, based on a series of popular Instagram posts, is the perfect baby shower or Mother's Day gift.

Modern parenthood can feel indescribable. This poignant collection of poetry and art chronicles the ups and downs of a rollercoaster ride that every parent will recognize. Capturing the joys and frustrations that come with each fleetingly precious (or interminable) stage of development, Poems of Parenting will be a balm to the soul of weary parents.

From fresh baby snuggles to terrible tantrums, and everything in-between, artist Loryn Brantz has touched on something unique and universal in her debut poetry collection based on her popular Instagram series. Poems of Parenting is the perfect companion on any parent's journey through the uncertain terrain of raising cherished children in extraordinary times.

Loryn Brantz is an author, artist, poet, and director. She is the creator of two bestselling board book series, Feminist Baby and It Had to Be You (Love Poems Your Baby Can See) and is also a two-time Emmy Award winner for her work on Sesame Street. She is currently a consulting creative director for the beloved children's education program Ms. Rachel.

Her greatest desire is to make the world a better place through art, even if just a little--but hopefully, a lot. Loryn lives in New York City with her husband, architect Jake J. Brotter, and children, Dalia and Ronen.

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Parenting Anxious Kids

Regine Galanti

**Learn simple, effective skills to help your child manage their anxiety**

The complete CBT-based guide for parenting kids with anxiety, for readers of The Anxious Generation

Do you suspect your child may have anxiety? While it's normal for children of all ages to experience fears and worries, if your child's anxiety interferes with their daily life, it's time to get some help. Parenting Anxious Kids is an accessible, research-based guide for parents that is filled with actionable steps to help your child conquer their anxiety--and a must-have parenting tool in a world where kids' anxieties and fears are increasing.

Utilizing clinically proven cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, Parenting Anxious Kids provides parents with the tools they need to support their children without asking them to become their kids' therapist. Author and clinical psychologist Regine Galanti guides parents to help their children grow into resilient, independent, and healthy adults. This book includes:

  • A guide to childhood anxiety based on developmental stages
  • Assessments to help parents differentiate unhealthy and problematic anxiety from normal, transitional anxiety
  • CBT skills related to parenting styles that foster brave, well-adapted children
  • Guidance on how parents can support brave behavior as early as toddlerhood, including how to model positive approaches to anxiety
  • And more!

Anxiety in children is manageable--the most important thing is to get started right away so your child doesn't miss out on relationships, activities, and all the things that make being a kid fun! Parenting Anxious Kids is the perfect resource to help your child become their best self and learn how to manage anything life throws their way.

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Parent Yourself First

Bryana Kappadakunnel

A fresh, no-nonsense parenting guide that shows you how to become a great parent (even if you didn’t have one yourself).

Many of us didn’t have a perfect childhood. But it’s never too late (or too early!) to transform into the parent you were always meant to be—grounded, present, intentional, compassionate, and confident. In Parent Yourself First, licensed marriage and family therapist Bryana Kappadakunnel argues that the secret to successful parenting is to UN-learn the wounded patterns you grew up with and create new ways to connect with your child. Parenting from a place of connection may feel unlike anything you experienced as a child or what you thought parenting was meant to be. But the results can be remarkable—and transformative.

As the founder of the popular Conscious Mommy community on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, Kappadakunnel explains that your upbringing is probably impacting your parenting style in ways you don’t even fully recognize, from how you manage your own emotions to how you connect with your kids in their vulnerable moments. In Parent Yourself First, she shares powerful stories from the families she’s counseled and practical tools for managing common parenting woes like tantrums and defiance. Her promise: You can break free of past patterns that no longer serve you and liberate your soul from old traumas and wounds.

Everyone has baggage. But it’s your responsibility to make sure your baggage doesn’t become your child’s problem. Healing yourself allows you to truly connect with your child; understand their needs; and guide them to live the happy, authentic life that they deserve.

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Newborn Handbook for New Dads

Roy Benaroch

The ultimate guide to caring for a newborn, written especially for dads by a pediatrician and father. Makes the perfect Father's Day gift for any new dad!

Congratulations on your new baby, dad! The next few months will come with a lot of joy, a lot of changes, and a lot to learn—and this book for first-time fathers is here to help. Written by a dad and pediatrician, it's filled with supportive and straightforward advice especially for dads. It's your one-stop resource for everything from birth and basic newborn care to baby-proofing your home, discovering your parenting style, and being there for your partner.

Get ready to celebrate your first Father's Day with:

 

  • Your baby's arrival—Start with guidance for creating a birth plan, choosing a pediatrician, arranging for childcare, and other essential steps you'll want to complete before the baby comes.
  • Ways to navigate your feelings—Becoming a dad is a big deal—and this new dad book can help you come to terms with your pride and excitement, as well as your fears, anxieties, and stress.
  • A focus on the newborn stage—Get detailed information on the growth and developmental milestones you should look out for during the first week, and each month until your baby is 3 months old.
  • Essential answers and advice—How exactly do you dress a tiny baby? Change their diaper? Put them to sleep? This all-in-one handbook for the expectant father has you covered!



Grab the Newborn Handbook for New Dads and navigate the first steps of parenthood with confidence!

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The Montessori Child

Simone Davies

From the bestselling authors of The Montessori Toddler and The Montessori Baby, this book guides parents through the principles of Montessori to enhance their children's development and foster respectful relationships with their families and the world.

When children are given independence, the tools to succeed, and the encouragement to build on their abilities, it's amazing what they can achieve. The newest book in the bestselling Montessori series is an everything-you-need-to-know guide to raising your school-aged child (from 3-12 years old, with a bonus chapter for the teen years) in the Montessori way. Educators Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike provide an in-depth, practical guide to incorporating Montessori principles into readers' everyday lives, with advice on everything from setting up your home in ways that encourage curiosity and independence to supporting your child's social and moral development with a balance of limit-setting and age-appropriate freedoms.



The book includes dozens of hands-on activities to help foster your child's love of numbers and literacy, art and science, and ones that encourage community-building, social awareness, and connection with the natural world. The Montessori Child offers a powerful alternative for parents who feel that family life has gotten too complicated by showing parents how to make more intentional choices for your family, how to better understand the needs of your children, and support them as they develop their unique potential.

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Momma Cusses

Gwenna Laithland

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! 

Join the millions of fans who love Momma Cusses, TikTok’s #1 Parenting Unexpert!

There are lots of experts out there who will tell you they have the magic recipe to raising perfect humans. Gwenna Laithland is not one of them. She’s one of us. Frustrated, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Her relatable representation of parenthood validates our experiences. In Momma Cusses, Gwenna uses her signature style of snark and sarcasm to explain her interpretation of responsive parenting vs. reactive parenting and outline the steps she takes to raise her kids. Whether you are a parent or someone who has had a parent, we all need to learn how to handle our emotional spirals responsively.

Now we can all be in it together by tackling some of the hilarious yet all-too-real scenarios Gwenna outlines in her book, including:

YOU WILL LOSE YOUR SH*T:
Mom guilt vs. mom shame

ARE YOU YELLING OR ARE YOU JUST BEING LOUD?:
Get in control of your emotions

THE BIG FEELS LOOP-DE-LOO:
Get in control of their emotions

Accessible, digestible, and rooted in reality, Momma Cusses helps readers with navigating family dynamics and cultivating emotional resilience for everyone.

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The Kids Are All Right

Gabrielle Stanley Blair

From Design Mom blogger Gabrielle Blair and her husband, Ben Blair, a unique guide that subverts the concept of "perfect parenting" by embracing uncertainty.

Parents today are often filled with anxiety, overwhelmed with the feeling that every parenting decision carries paralyzing high stakes. The Kids Are All Right gives parents the tools to set these anxieties to the side and connect more meaningfully with their children and the actual issues they face. The book provides relatable examples and insightful frameworks to help parents approach parenting with confidence rather than reacting to cultural fears about screen time or college admissions.

Gabrielle and Ben Blair are the parents of six and have been raising kids for over two decades. Through the years, they've charted their own unconventional path: working from home before remote work was a thing; uprooting their kids four, five, six times - including a move to France where they enrolled in local schools without knowing the language. It's been a unique parenting journey characterized by experimentation, trial and error, decisions prompted by financial or psychological necessity, varying levels of anxiety and tension, despair, and hope. This unique path turned out to be fertile soil for growing independent, resilient, and creative kids, and a family that is genuinely close and truly enjoys each other's company.

With this book they share how they did it, and show how we can too, and in so doing, offer a heaping serving of relief. They show how to let go of tired expectations of what it means to be a good parent; how to push back against the latest moral panic; and how to come to terms with the reality that the old rules won't necessarily apply in the future. But more than pushing back and letting go, they show what it looks like to build thriving relationships that extend beyond the first 18 years.

 

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I Was Told There'd Be a Village

Melissa Wirt

Melissa Wirt recounts her journey and dozens of others in building a supportive "village" to transform oppressive, solitary motherhood into a connected--even joyful--endeavor.



Melissa Wirt thought she had everything--she'd built her own company and moved to a beautiful farm with her family. Then during a personal crisis, she realized that despite having created an online community reaching thousands of moms, she'd also somehow, become utterly isolated.



In I Was Told There'd Be a Village, Melissa leads us through the small changes she made to seek out connection. She also recounts how she talked to mothers from across the country, and soon saw that the beliefs keeping each of us parenting solo - I don't have time; my life is too messy - were also keeping us from accessing our most powerful resource: each other. The stories she uncovered, combined with her own, became a foundation for slowly building back community.



That journey starts with an intentional shift from an isolation mindset to a village mindset. It might be as simple as smiling at the mom next to you at story-time or sending a quick text to a friend. But it can be much bigger, eventually growing into a thriving, supportive community. Motherhood shouldn't be this hard, and it doesn't have to be. Here, at last, is a roadmap for finding your village. 

 

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Hello, Cruel World!

Melinda Wenner Moyer

From the author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes comes a science-based, hopeful guide on how to raise children who will not just survive, but thrive in this challenging, terrifying world—and who could ultimately help save it.

In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future?

Plagued by this question, award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer interviewed parenting experts and researchers across multiple fields—psychology, education, information literacy, technology, business, and even addiction. What she discovered: even in these uncertain times, we can still teach our kids how to take care of themselves, fight for what they believe in, and bridge divides in ways most adults aren’t equipped to do.

In Hello, Cruel World!, Moyer provides practical, comprehensive, science-backed tools to help our children handle the world they will inherit. Her strategies help children develop three core attributes—coping mechanisms, connection techniques, and cultivation practices—so that kids can learn to set boundaries, take responsibility for their actions, build healthy relationships in turbulent times, and much more. By being activists in our parenting, we can set our kids up to not just survive, but also build a better world for themselves and future generations.

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Everything No One Tells You about Parenting a Disabled Child

Kelley Coleman

The honest, relatable, actionable roadmap to the practicalities of parenting a disabled child, featuring personal stories, expert interviews, and the foundational information parents need to know about topics including diagnosis, school, doctors, insurance, financial planning, disability rights, and what life looks like as a parent caregiver.



For parents of disabled children, navigating the systems, services, and supports is a daunting, and often overwhelming, task. No one explains to parents how to figure out the complex medical, educational, and social service systems essential to their child's success. Over and over, parents are being asked to reinvent the exact same wheels.



According to the CDC, "Every 4 1⁄2 minutes a baby is born with a birth defect in the United States." That's 1 in 33. There's no handbook for how to do this. Until now.



Presented with empathy and humor, Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child: Your Guide to the Essential Systems, Services, and Supports gives parents the tools to conquer the stuff, so that they can spend less time filling out forms, and more time loving their children exactly as they are. With over a decade of experience navigating these systems for her own child, author Kelley Coleman presents key information, templates, and wisdom alongside practical advice from over 40 experts, covering topics such as diagnosis, working with your medical team, insurance, financial planning, disability rights and advocacy, and individualized education plans. Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child gives parents the tools they need to stop wasting unnecessary time, money, and stress. If you need to know how to actually do the things, this book is for you.

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The Danish Secret to Happy Kids

Helen Russell

"Smart, witty and packed with surprising facts about life in the Nordics, The Danish Secret to Happy Kids is a foolproof roadmap to raising kids the Viking way. If you enjoy Helen Russell's signature self-deprecating sense of humor and captivating storytelling, you're in for a real treat." --Linda Åkeson McGurk, author of There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open-Air Life

What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a bit.

After a decade of living in Denmark, and raising her three kids there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic kids (or mini-Vikings) are different from children raised in other parts of the world. They eat differently. They learn differently. They play, dress, and even sleep differently. They run, jump, climb, fall and get up again, out in nature, for hours a day. It's cold and wet and uncomfortable--often. But they cope. Even though the weather's terrible and it's dark October through March. And then they grow up to be some of the happiest adults on the planet. So her question was: how?

In The Danish Secret to Happy Kids, Russell dives deep into the parenting culture of Denmark and the other Nordic nations, from parental leave policies to school structure to screen time, uncovering surprising strategies and customs that lead to largely happy, well-adjusted humans over the long term. This fascinating peek behind the cultural curtain allows readers to marvel over infants comfortably sleeping outside in chilly temperatures, school-age kids wielding axes in the woods, and teenagers spending a year or two at efterskole, a special boarding school designed to prepare adolescents for independent life in the real world--a concept that is beginning to be adopted in other nations.

Refreshingly funny and unfailingly optimistic about the new generation of humans growing up in the world right now, The Danish Secret to Happy Kids is a heart-warming love letter to Russell's adopted homeland, a comforting armchair travel read, and proof that we could all use a bit more Viking in our everyday lives.

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Cry When the Baby Cries

Becky Barnicoat

Born out of a viral “Shouts & Murmurs” piece in The New Yorker, this darkly humorous, charming, and brilliant graphic memoir, in the tradition of Allie Brosh and Roz Chast, brings the first few years of parenthood to life. 

With the wit of a comedian and the observational skills of a sociologist surveying a new subculture, Becky Barnicoat writes about her first few years of parenthood with warmth, sharp insight, and uproarious humor in her debut graphic memoir Cry When the Baby Cries.

Barnicoat’s prose is always relatable, smart, and so funny while discussing everything from how ignoring women’s pain is baked into the practice of obstetrics to the impossibility of putting a child down drowsy but awake while you are permanently drowsy but awake, to the tyranny of gentle parenting, and more.

Barnicoat gives us permission to cry when the baby cries, and also laugh, snort, lie on the floor naked, drool, and revel in a deeply strange new world ruled by a tyrannical tiny leader, growing bigger and more cherished by the day.

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The Crucial Years

Sheryl Gonzalez Ziegler

An essential guide for parents and caregivers, this book offers insights, strategies, and understanding to navigate middle childhood (ages 6-12). Dr. Sheryl Gonzalez Ziegler, a seasoned clinical psychologist and mother, highlights ways to foster resilience, encourage open communication, and build lasting connections during this crucial period.

There is a pivotal sea change happening in children's development. The age of puberty has been trending earlier for decades, and now starts as young as 8 years old in girls and 9 in boys. Bullying doesn't just happen on the playground, but over text and DM. Depression and anxiety are drastically on the rise. Couple earlier puberty with ill-equipped, developing brains and the onslaught of new media and stressors that never existed when we were kids, and it's clear that parents need a new guide to raise this new generation.

The Crucial Years is your essential handbook to navigating the often misunderstood and overlooked years of middle childhood (ages 6-12). As a mom and clinical psychologist, Dr. Sheryl Ziegler knows firsthand how challenging these years can be for some and for others how they are years where a parent thinks they can finally catch their breath in between the gap from preschool and middle school. Dr. Ziegler masterfully unlocks the enigma surrounding modern puberty and offers evidence-based strategies, interventions, and answers to middle childhood's most perplexing questions and concerns. In these pages, she provides:

  • Science-based advice to recognize and navigate puberty.
  • Candid and actionable guidance for getting your kids to talk about their complicated feelings and understanding their moods.
  • Insights into the changing world of gender and sexual identity, body image and disordered eating.
  • A clear explanation of the invisible threads linking mood swings, self-confidence, and social media exposure.
  • Road-tested, real-world guidance to handle social stress and other pressures.

With The Crucial Years, you have all that you need to guide your child through the unexpected ups and downs of puberty and help them emerge as well-rounded, confident teens.

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The Birds, the Bees, and the Elephant in the Room

Rachel Coler Mulholland

Struggling to find the words for "the talk"? Let this parenting book from TikTok sensation Shug CM be your road map for discussing relationships, safe practices, gender identity, and more with kids of all ages.



Known as Shug to her nearly 1 million TikTok followers, Rachel Coler Mulholland has become a favorite voice for parents trying to navigate tricky conversations with their curious and confused children. As a nationally certified counselor with a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling, she is the ideal person to write this book, which will empower parents and caregivers by helping facilitate essential but scary conversations with their kids, from toddlers to teens. The book covers a broad variety of topics including how babies are made, dating, safe sex practices, the differences between gender and sexual orientation, and how to discuss consent. It is perfect for caregivers struggling to find the words, and it aims to help navigate the sometimes murky waters of discussions around bodies and sex. Written in the frank and funny tone of Rachel's videos, this book arms readers with applicable skills and accurate knowledge and keeps the next generation of kids safe in an ever-changing world.



Perfect for fans of the How to Talk series or Lisa Damour books, The Birds, the Bees, and the Elephant in the Room is an essential guide for talking to kids about sex and other sensitive topics. Whether you're parenting teens, toddlers, or anything in between, this book empowers caregivers by providing age-appropriate sex education and advice on navigating difficult conversations around bodies, consent, puberty, and LGBTQ+ issues.

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Am I Doing This Right?

Familius

An interactive gift book adventure to combat mom guilt from therapist Rebecca Fox Starr. Which path will you choose?

Motherhood is a constant barrage of choices. Bottle or breast? Alone time or playtime? And how much is too much screentime? No matter the choice we make, mothers often end up feeling guilty, as if we are never doing enough. But no more! In the style of a decision-making game, therapist Rebecca Fox Starr guides moms through the apocalyptic newborn phase, the jungle of toddlerhood, and the dead ends and booby traps of raising teens with one simple message: You are doing a great job. You are more than enough. Every page leads to a new choice, and every choice you make creates a personalized journey where healing tools and practical advice are your companions. Which path will you choose? The perfect gift for mothers who are doing their best every day, Am I Doing This Right? is the comforting affirmation we need to show ourselves some compassion and appreciate the choices we make each day for the families we love.

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The Psychology of Artificial Intelligence

Tony J. Prescott

What is Artificial Intelligence? How will AI impact society? Is AI more powerful than human intelligence?

The Psychology of AI explores all aspects of the psychology-AI relationship, asking how closely AI can resemble humans, and whether this means they could have some form of self-awareness. It considers how AI systems have been modelled on human intelligence and the similarities between brains and computers, along with the current limitations of AI and how these could be overcome in the future. It also looks at how people interact with AI in their everyday lives, exploring some of the ethical and societal risks, such as bias in AI algorithms, and the consequences for our long-term future if AIs do surpass humans in important ways.

As AI continues to break new milestones, The Psychology of AI answers key questions about what it really means to be human, and how AI will impact our lives in every way, now and into the future.

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The Optimist

Keach Hagey

On November 30, 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a chatbot that captivated the world with its uncanny ability to hold humanlike conversations. Not even a year later, on November 17, 2023, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was summarily fired on a video call by the company's board. The firing made headlines around the globe: OpenAI is the leader in the race to build AGI--artificial general intelligence, or AI that can think like a human being--and Altman is the most prominent figure in the field. Yet it was mere days before Altman was back running the company he had co-founded, with most of the directors who voted to fire him themselves removed from the board.

The episode was a demonstration of how quickly the industry is moving, and of Altman's power to bend reality to his will. In The Optimist, the Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey presents the most detailed account yet of Altman's rise, from his precocious childhood in St. Louis to his first, failed startup experience; his time as legendary entrepreneur Paul Graham's protégé and successor as head of Y Combinator, the start-up accelerator where Altman became the premier power broker in Silicon Valley; the founding of OpenAI and his recruitment of a small yet superior team; and his struggle to keep his company at the cutting edge while fending off determined rivals, including Elon Musk, a former friend and now Altman's bitter opponent.

Hagey conducted more than 250 interviews, with Altman's family, friends, teachers, mentors, co-founders, colleagues, investors, and portfolio companies, in addition to spending hours with Altman himself. The person who emerges in her portrait is a brilliant dealmaker with a love of risk, who believes in technological progress with an almost religious conviction--yet who sometimes moves too fast for the people around him. With both the promise and peril of AI increasing by the day, Hagey delivers a nuanced, balanced, revelatory account of the individual who is leading us into what he himself has called "the intelligence age."

Altman is a figure out of Isaac Asimov or Neal Stephenson. Or he is the author himself: if it feels as though we have all collectively stepped into a science fiction short story, it is Altman who is writing it.

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Nexus

Yuval Noah Harari

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Sapiens comes the groundbreaking story of how information networks have made, and unmade, our world.

“Strikingly original . . . A historian whose arguments operate on the scale of millennia has managed to capture the zeitgeist perfectly.”—The Economist

“This deeply important book comes at a critical time as we all think through the implications of AI and automated content production. . . . Masterful and provocative.”—Mustafa Suleyman, author of The Coming Wave

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite all our discoveries, inventions, and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI—a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. For all that we have accomplished, why are we so self-destructive?

Nexus looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has shaped us, and our world. Taking us from the Stone Age, through the canonization of the Bible, early modern witch-hunts, Stalinism, Nazism, and the resurgence of populism today, Yuval Noah Harari asks us to consider the complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power. He explores how different societies and political systems throughout history have wielded information to achieve their goals, for good and ill. And he addresses the urgent choices we face as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.

Information is not the raw material of truth; neither is it a mere weapon. Nexus explores the hopeful middle ground between these extremes, and in doing so, rediscovers our shared humanity.

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Mindmasters

Sandra Matz

"There are more digital pieces of data than stars in the universe. This data helps us monitor our planet, decipher our genetic code, and take a deep dive into our psychology. As algorithms become increasingly adept at accessing our minds, they also become more and more powerful at controlling it-enticing us to buy a certain product or vote for a certain political candidate. Some of us say this technological trend is no big deal. Others consider it one of the greatest threats to humanity. But what if the truth is more nuanced and mind-bending than that? In Mindmasters, Columbia Business School professor Sandra Matz offers a fascinating insider perspective on the art and data-driven science of psychological targeting. By relating her own personal story of growing up in a small village-where few aspects of life remain truly private-to her groundbreaking research in computational psychology, Matz reveals how Big Data offers insights into the most intimate aspects of our psyche and how these insights empower external influence over the choices we make. Filled with Ted-Talk-like explanations and real-life examples from Matz's research and consulting work, Mindmasters paints a nuanced picture of the power of psychological targeting. Like nosy neighbors, it can be creepy, manipulative, and downright harmful-with scandals like Cambridge Analytica being merely the tip of the iceberg. Yet, like any tight-knit, supportive village community, it also holds enormous potential to help us live healthier and happier lives-for example, by improving our mental health, encouraging better financial decisions, or enabling us to break out of our echo chambers. With passion and clear-eyed precision, Matz shows us how to manage psychological targeting and redesign the data game in a way that empowers us to take back control and ask more of our personal data. Mindmasters is a riveting look at what our digital footprints reveal about us, how they're being used-for good and for ill-and how we can gain more control and power over the data that define us"--

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Mastering AI

Jeremy Kahn

A Fortune magazine journalist draws on his expertise and extensive contacts among the companies and scientists at the forefront of artificial intelligence to offer dramatic predictions of AI’s impact over the next decade, from reshaping our economy and the way we work, learn, and create to unknitting our social fabric, jeopardizing our democracy, and fundamentally altering the way we think.

Within the next five years, Jeremy Kahn predicts, AI will disrupt almost every industry and enterprise, with vastly increased efficiency and productivity. It will restructure the workforce, making AI copilots a must for every knowledge worker. It will revamp education, meaning children around the world can have personal, portable tutors. It will revolutionize health care, making individualized, targeted pharmaceuticals more affordable. It will compel us to reimagine how we make art, compose music, and write and publish books. The potential of generative AI to extend our skills, talents, and creativity as humans is undeniably exciting and promising.

But while this new technology has a bright future, it also casts a dark and fearful shadow. AI will provoke pervasive, disruptive, potentially devastating knock-on effects. Leveraging his unrivaled access to the leaders, scientists, futurists, and others who are making AI a reality, Kahn will argue that if not carefully designed and vigilantly regulated AI will deepen income inequality, depressing wages while imposing winner-take-all markets across much of the economy. AI risks undermining democracy, as truth is overtaken by misinformation, racial bias, and harmful stereotypes. Continuing a process begun by the internet, AI will rewire our brains, likely inhibiting our ability to think critically, to remember, and even to get along with one another—unless we all take decisive action to prevent this from happening.

Much as Michael Lewis’s classic The New New Thing offered a prescient, insightful, and eminently readable account of life inside the dot-com bubble, Mastering AI delivers much-needed guidance for anyone eager to understand the AI boom—and what comes next.

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How to Think about AI

Richard Susskind

Revealing the unfolding story of Artificial Intelligence, Richard Susskind presents a short non-technical guide that challenges us to think differently about AI. Susskind brings AI out of computing laboratories, big tech companies, and start-ups - and into everyday life.

In recent years, and certainly since the launch of ChatGPT, there has been massive public and professional interest in Artificial Intelligence. But people are confused about what AI is, what it can and cannot do, what is yet to come, and whether AI is good or bad for humanity and civilisation - whether it will provide solutions to mankind's major challenges or become our gravest existential threat. There is also confusion about how we should regulate AI and where we should draw moral boundaries on its use.

In How To Think About AI, Richard Susskind draws on his experience of working on AI since the early 1980s. For Susskind, balancing the benefits and threats of artificial intelligence is the defining challenge of our age. He explores the history of AI and possible scenarios for its future. His views on AI are not always conventional. He positions ChatGPT and generative AI as no more than the latest chapter in the ongoing story of AI and claims we are still at the foothills of developments. He argues that to think responsibly about the impact of AI requires us to look well beyond todayâs technologies, suggesting that not-yet-invented technologies will have far greater impact on us in the 2030s than the tools we have today. This leads Susskind to discuss the possibility of conscious machines, magnificent new AI-enabled virtual worlds, and the impact of AI on the evolution of biological humans.

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Genesis

Henry Kissinger

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | USA TODAY BESTSELLER | LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER | J.P. MORGAN NEXTLIST SELECTION



In his final book, the late Henry Kissinger joins forces with two leading technologists to mount "a profound exploration" (Walter Isaacson) of the epochal challenges and opportunities presented by the revolution in Artificial Intelligence: a breakthrough that dramatically empowers people in all walks of life while also raising urgent questions about the future of humanity.



As it absorbs data, gains agency, and intermediates between humans and reality, AI (Artificial Intelligence) will help us to address enormous crises, from climate change to geopolitical conflicts to income inequality. It might well solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe and elevate the human spirit to unimaginable heights. But it will also pose challenges on a scale and of an intensity that we have never seen--usurping our power of independent judgment and action, testing our relationship with the divine, and perhaps even spurring a new phase in human evolution.



The last book of elder statesman Henry Kissinger, written with technologists Craig Mundie and Eric Schmidt, Genesis charts a course between blind faith and unjustified fear as it outlines an effective strategy for navigating the age of AI.

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Generative Artificial Intelligence

Jerry Kaplan

"AI expert Jerry Kaplan explains how generative AI will revolutionize virtually every human activity. Highly recommended." - Francis Fukuyama, Political scientist and author of The End of History and the Last Man Advances in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) have created a new class of computer systems that exhibit astonishing proficiency on a wide variety of tasks with superhuman performance, producing novel text, images, music, and software by analyzing enormous collections of digitized information. Soon, these systems will provide expert medical care; offer legal advice; draft documents; write computer programs; tutor our children; and generate music and art. These advances will accelerate progress in science, art, and human knowledge, but they will also bring new dangers. Have we finally discovered the holy grail of AI - machines that match or exceed human intelligence? Which industries and professions will thrive, and which will wither? What risks and dangers will it pose? How can we ensure that these systems respect our ethical principles? Will the benefits be broadly distributed or accrue to a lucky few? How will GAI alter our political systems and international conflicts? Are we merely a stepping stone to a new form of non-biological life, or are we just getting better at building useful gadgets? Generative Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know ® equips readers with the knowledge to answer these pressing questions.

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Empire of AI

Karen Hao

An Instant New York Times Bestseller

“A bestselling page-turner that has made waves not just in Silicon Valley but around the world . . . With Empire of AI, Hao is fundamentally shaping many people’s perceptions and understanding of the company at the center of the AI revolution.” —TIME Magazine, “TIME100 AI 2025”

“Excellent and deeply reported.” —Tim Wu, The New York Times

“Startling and intensely researched . . . an essential account of how OpenAI and ChatGPT came to be and the catastrophic places they will likely take us.” —Vulture

“Hao’s reporting inside OpenAI is exceptional, and she’s persuasive in her argument that the public should focus less on A.I.’s putative ‘sentience’ and more on its implications for labor and the environment.” —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker

From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman's OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy

When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader Sam Altman told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile, and potentially dangerous, forces. What could go wrong?

Over time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the “compute” power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans “cleaning up” that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all. The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations?

Spoiler alert: it didn’t. Armed with Microsoft’s billions, OpenAI is setting a breakneck pace, chased by a small group of the most valuable companies in human history—toward what end, not even they can define. All this time, Hao has maintained her deep sourcing within the company and the industry, and so she was in intimate contact with the story that shocked the entire tech industry—Altman’s sudden firing and triumphant return. The behind-the-scenes story of what happened, told here in full for the first time, is revelatory of who the people controlling this technology really are. But this isn’t just the story of a single company, however fascinating it is. The g forces pressing down on the people of OpenAI are deforming the judgment of everyone else too—as such forces do. Naked power finds the ideology to cloak itself; no one thinks they’re the bad guy. But in the meantime, as Hao shows through intrepid reporting on the ground around the world, the enormous wheels of extraction grind on. By drawing on the viewpoints of Silicon Valley engineers, Kenyan data laborers, and Chilean water activists, Hao presents the fullest picture of AI and its impact we’ve seen to date, alongside a trenchant analysis of where things are headed. An astonishing eyewitness view from both up in the command capsule of the new economy and down where the real suffering happens, Empire of AI pierces the veil of the industry defining our era.

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ChatGPT, AI, and the Future of Writing

Avery Elizabeth Hurt

Ever since the large language model-based AI chatbot ChatGPT launched in 2022, there has been a significant amount of buzz and concern around the possibility of this technology impacting writing as both a creative and professional pursuit. Proponents of the use of ChatGPT and similar AI argue that it can be useful in helping people improve their writing and be more productive, while opponents fear that it could make writing less creative, discourage people from learning to effectively communicate themselves, and even result in the loss of jobs that involve writing. This volume considers viewpoints on both sides of this debate to explore the role of ChatGPT and other AI today and in the years to come.

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The Algorithm

Hilke Schellmann

ANTHEM AWARD WINNER * NAMED A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024



AI is on the brink of dominating our lives, threating our privacy and human future--if we don't take action now. 



In The Algorithm, Emmy‑award winning Wall Street Journal and Guardian contributor Hilke Schellmann delivers a shocking and illuminating exposé on one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time: how AI has quietly, and mostly out of sight, taken over the world of work. 



Schellmann takes readers on a journalistic detective story, meeting job applicants and employees who have been subjected to these technologies, playing AI-based video games that companies use for hiring, and investigating algorithms that scan our online activity to construct personality profiles-- including if we are prone to self -harm. She convinces whistleblowers to share results of faulty AI -tools, and tests algorithms that analyze job candidates' facial expressions and tools that predict from our voices if we are anxious or depressed. Schellmann finds employees whose every keystrokes were tracked and AI that analyzes group discussions or even predicts when someone may leave a company. Her reporting reveals in detail how much employers already know about us and how little we know about the technologies that are used on us.



The Algorithm tells an even bigger story with Schellmann discovering faulty algorithms and systemic discrimination of women and people of color, which may have already harmed thousands of job seekers and employees. It advocates to go beyond these tools to more thoughtfully consider how we hire, promote, and treat human beings--with or without AI. As Schellmann emphasizes, we need to decide how we build algorithmic tools in any industry and what protections we need to put in place in an AI-driven world.



Hilke Schellmann is an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter and journalism professor at NYU. Her work covering artificial intelligence has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, the MIT Technology Review, and The Wall Street Journal, where she led a team investigating how AI is changing our lives. She has also reported for NPR's Planet Money podcast on fake online reviews and her investigation for VICE on HBO was a finalist for a Peabody Award. Her PBS Frontline documentary Outlawed in Pakistan premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was honored with an Emmy award.

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AI Strategy

Bernard Marr

Is your business truly ready for the AI revolution? Discover how to unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence and future-proof your organization with a winning AI strategy.

AI is transforming every industry - is your business keeping up? In this essential guide, bestselling author and futurist Bernard Marr provides a comprehensive playbook for leaders looking to harness the power of AI. From understanding AI's transformative impact to developing a clear, actionable strategy, this book equips leaders with the tools they need to drive innovation, manage risks, and stay ahead in an AI-driven world.

AI Strategy is the definitive guide for leaders ready to unlock AI's potential at scale. Covering every aspect of AI adoption - from ethical considerations and data management to employee upskilling and tech infrastructure - this book delivers real-world examples across multiple organizations and industries, from energy, healthcare and education to marketing and HR. Whether you're just starting or scaling fast, this must-read guide will help you confidently build and execute a winning AI strategy.

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AI Snake Oil

Arvind Narayanan

From two of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, what you need to know about AI—and how to defend yourself against bogus AI claims and products

Confused about AI and worried about what it means for your future and the future of the world? You’re not alone. AI is everywhere—and few things are surrounded by so much hype, misinformation, and misunderstanding. In AI Snake Oil, computer scientists Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor cut through the confusion to give you an essential understanding of how AI works and why it often doesn’t, where it might be useful or harmful, and when you should suspect that companies are using AI hype to sell AI snake oil—products that don’t work, and probably never will.

While acknowledging the potential of some AI, such as ChatGPT, AI Snake Oil uncovers rampant misleading claims about the capabilities of AI and describes the serious harms AI is already causing in how it’s being built, marketed, and used in areas such as education, medicine, hiring, banking, insurance, and criminal justice. The book explains the crucial differences between types of AI, why organizations are falling for AI snake oil, why AI can’t fix social media, why AI isn’t an existential risk, and why we should be far more worried about what people will do with AI than about anything AI will do on its own. The book also warns of the dangers of a world where AI continues to be controlled by largely unaccountable big tech companies.

By revealing AI’s limits and real risks, AI Snake Oil will help you make better decisions about whether and how to use AI at work and home.

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AI Goes to Church

Todd Korpi

"...his practical approach neither demonizes nor deifies technology, and is buttressed by robust yet accessible theological explorations of existential questions about what it means to be human. This will provide tech-curious Christians plenty of food for thought." - Publishers Weekly Review, June 2025

Thinking Theologically About Artificial Intelligence

AI Goes to Church unpacks one of the most significant technological advancements of our time--artificial intelligence--and what it means for the ministry. More than just another tech fad, AI presents both profound challenges and extraordinary opportunities for the church. This book equips pastors, ministry leaders, and thoughtful laypeople to engage with AI through a biblical and theological lens, fostering human flourishing while remaining grounded in Christ's teachings.

Writing in an accessible, nontechnical style, pastor and missiologist Todd Korpi seamlessly integrates theological reflection with practical application. Whether you're grappling with ethical concerns, curious about leveraging AI for mission, or simply seeking clarity in this rapidly changing landscape, this book provides the guidance you need to steward AI wisely in service of God's kingdom.

With its emphasis on thoughtful, lasting principles over fleeting technical hacks, AI Goes to Church serves as your road map to faithfully navigating the complexities of faith, technology, and human flourishing.

In AI Goes to Church, you'll find:

  • A Theological Foundation: Gain a deep understanding of how AI intersects with Christian theology, exploring implications for human identity, the image of God, and the church's mission.
  • Ethical Discernment: Learn to critically evaluate AI's potential to enhance human flourishing while remaining vigilant to its risks, such as harm to vulnerable populations.
  • Practical Integration: Explore actionable insights for leveraging AI in areas like discipleship and mission, while staying true to the gospel.
  • A Missional Vision: Understand how to see digital spaces as mission fields and use AI creatively to engage those who might not be reached otherwise.
  • Hopeful Engagement: Approach the technological age with confidence, holding on to biblical principles while discerning how to innovate with integrity.

AI represents a profound challenge--but also extraordinary opportunities--for today's church. Whether you're a pastor, ministry leader, or thoughtful believer--discover how faith and technology can intersect in meaningful ways. Get your copy of AI Goes to Church today and navigate this new era with a gospel-centered vision.

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AI for Small Business

Phil Pallen

An essential guide for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to use artificial intelligence to automate tasks, improve customer service, make better decisions, grow their businesses faster, and stay ahead of the AI curve.

ChatGPT, machine learning, automation, natural language processing. Every day, it seems like there is a new AI term to learn and a new promise of how it will improve your work. But with tons of conflicting information, small business owners are left wondering exactly how to leverage AI technology to grow and, more importantly, stay competitive with larger companies.

Cutting through the buzzwords and media frenzy, AI for Small Business is the road map to take you from overwhelmed to empowered. Opening with simple explanations of AI basics and clarification of myths, you are empowered to assess your goals to create a comprehensive AI strategy for your business—including information on selecting tools, a timeline for implementation, and ideas for scaling systems. This essential guide then walks you through practical AI applications for each department, informing you how to use AI to automate tasks, make better decisions, and grow your business in all areas including:
-Sales
-Marketing
-Social media and content creation
-Customer service
-Finance and accounting
-Operations and logistics
-Human resources and talent management
-Data analysis and decision-making
-Security and legal compliance
-R&D and innovation

Author Phil Pallen is a brand strategist who uses his AI expertise to help hundreds of businesses scale and grow profits. In AI for Small Business, case studies from Pallen’s successful clients illustrate how real small business owners are applying AI technology in various ways. Plus, ready-to-try prompt sidebars and specific product recommendations allow you to start employing the power of AI in real time.

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AI for Life

Celia Quillian

Demystify the world of artificial intelligence with this groundbreaking guide featuring over 100 innovative ways to incorporate AI into your daily life.

Every day, it seems like there’s a new AI tool on the market and a new, complicated way to use it. But what if you could use AI to make your life easier without the complications?

In AI for Life, AI expert and creator of @SmartWorkAI offers over 100 ideas and ready-to-use prompts to get AI beginners started using the technology to actually improve their lives. Beginning with a primer on the basics—including an overview of the popular and free AI tools—you will learn expert-tested tips and tricks to get the most out of your AI use, such as layering prompts to dive deeper into an initial response or asking for the output in different formats.

Packed with practical how-to information, AI for Life is the must-have guide for using generative AI to make life easier, more productive, more organized, and more fun!

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AI for Job Seekers

Cyber Cryogen

Stand out. Get noticed. Get hired-with AI.

The job market has changed-and if you're still applying with outdated methods, you're already behind. AI for Job Seekers: Get Hired with GPT is your ultimate guide to using artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT and other AI tools, to master every stage of the modern job search.

Whether you're a recent graduate, a mid-career professional, switching industries, or returning to work after a break, this book gives you the competitive edge you need to thrive in today's fast-paced digital world.

Inside, you'll learn how to: 
✅ Create ATS-optimized resumes in minutes
✅ Write personalized cover letters that stand out
✅ Ace interviews with AI-powered mock Q&As
✅ Build a stunning personal website-no coding required
✅ Supercharge your LinkedIn profile and networking strategy
✅ Automate job tracking and applications with cutting-edge tools
✅ Craft portfolios and success stories that win attention
✅ Tap into freelancing and gig economy opportunities
✅ Navigate the future of AI in recruitment with confidence

Includes:

  • 150+ ready-to-use prompts for resumes, interviews, and outreach
  • Tools, templates, and platforms to accelerate your search
  • Real-life success stories from job seekers who landed their dream roles
  • Bonus chapter: Prompt Vault for every career scenario

Whether you feel stuck, invisible, or overwhelmed-this book will help you take back control of your career with clarity, strategy, and the power of AI.

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The AI Con

Emily M. Bender

A smart, incisive look at the technologies sold as artificial intelligence, the drawbacks and pitfalls of technology sold under this banner, and why it's crucial to recognize the many ways in which AI hype covers for a small set of power-hungry actors at work and in the world.

Is artificial intelligence going to take over the world? Have big tech scientists created an artificial lifeform that can think on its own? Is it going to put authors, artists, and others out of business? Are we about to enter an age where computers are better than humans at everything?

The answer to these questions, linguist Emily M. Bender and sociologist Alex Hanna make clear, is "no," "they wish," "LOL," and "definitely not." This kind of thinking is a symptom of a phenomenon known as "AI hype." Hype looks and smells fishy: It twists words and helps the rich get richer by justifying data theft, motivating surveillance capitalism, and devaluing human creativity in order to replace meaningful work with jobs that treat people like machines. In The AI Con, Bender and Hanna offer a sharp, witty, and wide-ranging take-down of AI hype across its many forms.

Bender and Hanna show you how to spot AI hype, how to deconstruct it, and how to expose the power grabs it aims to hide. Armed with these tools, you will be prepared to push back against AI hype at work, as a consumer in the marketplace, as a skeptical newsreader, and as a citizen holding policymakers to account. Together, Bender and Hanna expose AI hype for what it is: a mask for Big Tech's drive for profit, with little concern for who it affects.

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AI and Genealogy

Thomas MacEntee

Genealogical research has always called for a deep dive into a wide array of historical resources-everything from centuries-old marriage registers and immigration documents to handwritten diaries and newspaper clippings that capture the rhythm of our ancestors' daily lives. And let's be honest: it wasn't that long ago that we, as researchers, had to wade through every line ourselves, painstakingly summarizing, transcribing, and, in some cases, translating these materials with nothing but our own eyes, our own expertise, and a whole lot of patience.

But things have changed-and in a big way. Thanks to cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI), genealogists now have powerful new tools at their fingertips. These advanced language models can take your family documents-no matter how large, how old, or how challenging to read-and deliver concise summaries, transcriptions, and translations with impressive accuracy. From hobbyist family historians to seasoned professionals, this technology can truly turbocharge your workflow and open up new research frontiers.

This book is here to help you cut through the hype and get right to the heart of what AI can do for your genealogy projects. We'll explore how these new tools work, walk you through today's best AI platforms, and lay out clear, practical strategies so you can quickly start applying them to your own research. Bottom line? If you use AI intelligently and ethically, you'll unlock new possibilities in your genealogy work that you might never have dreamed possible.

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You Never Know

Tom Selleck

***THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER***

There are many miles from the business school and basketball court at the University of Southern California to 50 million viewers for the final episode of a TV show called Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck has lived every one of those miles in his own iconoclastic and joyful way.

Frank, funny and open-hearted, You Never Know is an intimate memoir from one of the most beloved actors of our time, the highly personal story of a remarkable life and thoroughly accidental career. In his own voice and uniquely unpretentious style, the famed actor brings readers on his uncharted but serendipitous journey to the top in Hollywood, his temptations and distractions, his misfires and mistakes and, over time, his well-earned success. Along the way, he clears up an armload of misconceptions and shares dozens of never-told stories from all corners of his personal and professional life. His rambunctious California childhood. His clueless arrival as a good-looking college jock in Hollywood (from the Dating Game to the Fox New Talent Program to co-starring with Mae West and escorting her to black-tie social functions). What it was like to emerge as a mega-star in his mid-thirties and remain so for decades to come, an actor whose authenticity and ease in front of the camera connected with audiences worldwide while embodying and also redefining the clichés of onscreen manhood.

In You Never Know, Selleck recounts his personal friendships with a vivid army of A-listers, everyone from Frank Sinatra to Carol Burnett to Sam Elliott, paying special tribute to his mentor James Garner of The Rockford Files, who believed, like Selleck, that TV protagonists are far more interesting when they have rough edges. He also more than tips his hat to the American western and the scruffy band of actors, directors and other ruffians who helped define that classic genre, where Selleck has repeatedly found a happy home. Magnum fans will be fascinated to learn how Selleck put his career on the line to make Thomas Magnum a more imperfect hero and explains why he walked away from a show that could easily have gone on for years longer.

Hollywood is never easy, even for stars who make it look that way. In You Never Know, Selleck explains how he's struggled to balance his personal and professional lives, frequently adjusting his career to protect his family's privacy and normalcy. His journey offers a truly fresh perspective on a changing industry and a changing world. Beneath all the charm and talent and self-deprecating humor, Selleck's memoir reveals an American icon who has reached remarkable heights by always insisting on being himself.

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The Wall of Life

Shirley MacLaine

Academy Award-winning actress and New York Times bestselling author Shirley MacLaine shares a dazzling memoir in photographs, chronicling her extraordinary life with 150+ images from her personal archive

With more than seventy years on the silver screen, Shirley MacLaine has, as she says, seen it all, done it all, been everywhere, and met everyone. Since making her Hollywood debut in 1955, her popularity has only grown as she’s amassed a stunning collection of awards and written multiple bestselling memoirs.

Now, at ninety years old, MacLaine has more stories to tell and the pictures to bring them to life. By introducing readers to her extensive photo collection—which she calls her “wall of life”—MacLaine reveals both intimate family memories and images with some of the most significant figures from entertainment and politics. With wit and charm, she reflects on each photo, exploring ambition, love, friendship, motherhood, art, political activism, curiosity, and more.

Charting the course of her remarkable life and career, MacLaine shares both early memories (her childhood with her brother, Warren Beatty; her decision to leave for New York City at age sixteen; her early work dancing on Broadway) as well as remembrances of her days in the public eye (campaigning for George McGovern, traveling to meet political luminaries, starring in legendary film roles, and developing an interest in spirituality).

Along the way, readers gain greater insight into figures such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Fosse, Jack Nicholson, the Dalai Lama, Fidel Castro, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and many more. Whether she's sharing what advice Elvis Presley asked her for, how she consoled close friend Elizabeth Taylor after the death of her husband, or which head of state she discussed UFOs with, MacLaine offers her most visual and delightful book yet, giving readers an unprecedented glance into a life like no other.

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Tinseltown Gangsters

Jeffrey Sussman

Like sharks to blood in the water, the mob arrived in Hollywood greedy and ready to tear away huge chunks of cash. Opportunistic mobsters saw labor unions as the means for muscling into the movie industry and extorting millions of dollars from studio bosses. Control the unions to which projectionists, art directors, cinematographers, electricians, scene designers, stagehands, extras belong, and you control the whole industry.

Painting colorful portraits of numerous mobsters, producers, actors, and directors, Tinseltown Gangsters tells the gripping, fast-paced, true story of corruption and greed in Hollywood throughout much of the twentieth century.

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TCM Underground

Millie De Chirico

Based on the Turner Classic Movies series, TCM Underground is the movie-lover's guide to 50 of the most campy, kitschy, shocking, and weirdly wonderful cult films you need to see.

In the pages of this book, you'll explore this unique order of films--primarily from the 1960s, '70s, and '80s--with insightful reviews, behind-the-scenes stories, subgenre sidebars, and full-color and black-and-white photography throughout. Go along for the ride with new takes on crime films, including The Honeymoon Killers and The Harder They Come. Witness one-of-a-kind horror in Bill Gunn's landmark vampire film Ganja and Hess and Nobuhiko Obayashi's infamous and indescribable Hausu. Absorb the boundary-pushing documentary-style trilogy The Decline of Western Civilization, which throws you into indelible moments in the punk and metal music scenes. And marvel at pure '80s oddities like Mac and Me and The Garbage Pail Kids.

From Possession to Polyester and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls to Xanadu, no two films are alike in this compendium. Just sit back and prepare to be surprised, amused, and entertained by this celebration of the stars, filmmakers, and stories behind fifty of the most beguiling and unforgettable movies ever to hit the screen.

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