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Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: And all the Brilliant Minds Who Made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2013, May 7th).
Pages: 320
When writer-producers James L. Brooks and Allan Burns dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, the CBS executives they pitched replied: “American audiences won’t tolerate divorce in a series’ lead any more than they will tolerate Jews, people with mustaches, and people who live in New York.” Forty years later, The Mary Tyler Moore Show is one of the most beloved and recognizable television shows of all time. It was an inspiration to a generation of women who wanted to have it all in an era when everything seemed possible. Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted tells the stories behind the making of this popular classic, introducing the groundbreaking female writers who lent real-life stories to their TV scripts; the men who created the indelible characters; the lone woman network executive who cast the legendary ensemble—and advocated for this provocative show—and the colorful cast of actors who made it all work. more
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Here Is Where: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Andrew Carroll
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Crown Archetype (2035, Dec 31st).
Pages: 304
Here Is Where chronicles Andrew Carroll’s eye-opening – and at times hilarious -- journey across America to find and explore unmarked historic sites where extraordinary moments occurred and remarkable individuals once lived. Sparking the idea for this book was Carroll’s visit to the spot where Abraham Lincoln’s son was saved by the brother of Lincoln’s assassin. Carroll wondered, How many other unmarked places are there where intriguing events have unfolded and that we walk past every day, not realizing their significance? To answer that question, Carroll ultimately trekked to every region of the country -- by car, train, plane, helicopter, bus, bike, and kayak and on foot. Among the things he learned: *Where in North America the oldest sample of human DNA was discovered * Where America’s deadliest maritime disaster took place, a calamity worse than the fate of the Titanic *Which virtually unknown American scientist saved hundreds of millions of lives *Which famous Prohibition agent was the brother of a notorious gangster *How a 14-year-old farm boy’s brainstorm led to the creation of television Featured prominently in Here Is Where are an abundance of firsts (from the first use of modern anesthesia to the first cremation to the first murder conviction based on forensic evidence); outrages (from riots to massacres to forced sterilizations); and breakthroughs (from the invention, inside a prison, of a revolutionary weapon; to the recovery, deep in the Alaskan tundra, of a super-virus; to the building of the rocket that made possible space travel). more
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The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (Liberation Trilogy)
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Rick Atkinson
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; Volume Three of The Liberation Trilogy edition (2013, May 14th).
Pages: 896
The magnificent conclusion to Rick Atkinson’s acclaimed Liberation Trilogy about the Allied triumph in Europe during World War IIIt is the twentieth century’s unrivaled epic: at a staggering price, the United States and its allies liberated Europe and vanquished Hitler. In the first two volumes of his bestselling Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson recounted how the American-led coalition fought through North Africa and Italy to the threshold of victory. Now he tells the most dramatic story of all—the titanic battle for Western Europe.D-Day marked the commencement of the final campaign of the European war, and Atkinson’s riveting account of that bold gamble sets the pace for the masterly narrative that follows. The brutal fight in Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the disaster that was Operation Market Garden, the horrific Battle of the Bulge, and finally the thrust to the heart of the Third Reich—all these historic events and more come alive with a wealth of new material and a mesmerizing cast of characters. more
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The Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Dean King
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (2013, May 21st).
Pages: 352
For more than a century, the enduring feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys has been American shorthand for passionate, unyielding, and even violent confrontation. Yet despite numerous articles, books, television shows, and feature films, nobody has ever told the in-depth true story of this legendarily fierce-and far-reaching-clash in the heart of Appalachia. Drawing upon years of original research, including the discovery of previously lost and ignored documents and interviews with relatives of both families, bestselling author Dean King finally gives us the full, unvarnished tale, one vastly more enthralling than the myth.Unlike previous accounts, King's begins in the mid-nineteenth century, when the Hatfields and McCoys lived side-by-side in relative harmony. more
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101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed U.S. History
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Dao X Tran
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Haymarket Books (2012, Nov 6th).
Pages: 210
In the great tradition of Howard Zinn, 101 Changemakers offers a “peoples’ history” version of the individuals who have shaped our country for middle school students. In the place of founding fathers, presidents, and titans of industry, are profiles of those who courageously fought for social justice in America: Tecumseh, Harriet Tubman, Mark Twain, César Chávez, Rachel Carson, Harvey Milk, Henry Wallace, and many more. 101 Changemakers aims to provide young students with new ways of understanding how history is written and made. more
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Act of Congress: How America's Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn't
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Robert G. Kaiser
Format: Deckle Edge]
Publisher: Knopf (2013, May 7th).
Pages:
An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works—and doesn’t—that follows the dramatic journey of the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008.The founding fathers expected Congress to be the most important branch of government and gave it the most power. When Congress is broken—as its justifiably dismal approval ratings suggest—so is our democracy. Here, Robert G. Kaiser, whose long and distinguished career at The Washington Post has made him as keen and knowledgeable an observer of Congress as we have, takes us behind the sound bites to expose the protocols, players, and politics of the House and Senate—revealing both the triumphs of the system and (more often) its fundamental flaws. more
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End of The Good Life: How the Financial Crisis Threatens a Lost Generation--and What We Can Do About It
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Riva Froymovich
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Original edition (2013, Apr 23rd).
Pages: 240
Financial journalist Riva Froymovich has good reason to be anxious about the financial turmoil facing Generation Y. This is her generation.Indeed, Generation Y has suffered the brunt of the financial crisis and great recession. For those in the U.S. born after 1976, the American dream is a is becoming a nightmare. Swamped in student loan debt they’re postponing marriage and buying homes, unable to save money, and delaying having children.The End of the Good Life: How the Financial Crisis Threatens a Lost Generation--and What We Can Do About It examines short-sighted government policies and initiatives that will wreak havoc on our youth. In addition to offering concrete policy suggestions, this book is driven by the touching personal stories of Americans and other young people around the globe affected by the financial crisis. more
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Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Nathaniel Philbrick
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult (2013, May 7th).
Pages: 400
Nathaniel Philbrick, the bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower, brings his prodigious talents to the story of the Boston battle that ignited the American Revolution. Boston in 1775 is an island city occupied by British troops after a series of incendiary incidents by patriots who range from sober citizens to thuggish vigilantes. After the Boston Tea Party, British and American soldiers and Massachusetts residents have warily maneuvered around each other until April 19, when violence finally erupts at Lexington and Concord. In June, however, with the city cut off from supplies by a British blockade and Patriot militia poised in siege, skirmishes give way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It would be the bloodiest battle of the Revolution to come, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists. more
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America the Beautiful: Together We Stand
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: Jon J Muth
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Orchard Books (2013, Jan 1st).
Pages: 32
A moving celebration of "America the Beautiful" featuring artwork from ten distinguished artists and inspiring presidential quotes!AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL: TOGETHER WE STANDEach of our presidents has had a unique vision of America. In AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, these ideas are translated into gorgeous illustrations by such top artists as Bryan Collier, Jon J Muth, Diane Goode, Mary GrandPre, Raul Colon, Sonia Lynn Sadler, Yuyi Morales, John Hendrix, LeUyen Pham, and Chris Soentpiet. Each of these talented illustrators has found a unique way to interpret the values and beliefs that have built our great country.Through moving illustrations, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL integrates the lyrics of the familiar patriotic tune with inspiring presidential quotations. more
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Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42
Author/Actors/Director/etc.: William Dalrymple
Format: Deckle Edge]
Publisher: Knopf (2013, Apr 16th).
Pages:
From William Dalrymple—award-winning historian, journalist and travel writer—a masterly retelling of what was perhaps the West’s greatest imperial disaster in the East, and an important parable of neocolonial ambition, folly and hubris that has striking relevance to our own time. With access to newly discovered primary sources from archives in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia and India—including a series of previously untranslated Afghan epic poems and biographies—the author gives us the most immediate and comprehensive account yet of the spectacular first battle for Afghanistan: the British invasion of the remote kingdom in 1839. Led by lancers in scarlet cloaks and plumed helmets, and facing little resistance, nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the mountain passes from India into Afghanistan in order to reestablish Shah Shuja ul-Mulk on the throne, and as their puppet. more
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