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Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of July 11, 2004

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1
NEW
MY LIFE
Bill Clinton
Cover of MY LIFE

MY LIFE

by Bill Clinton · Knopf

6 wks at #1 · 1 on list

There will only be 1,500 copies available of this edition, and it will be sold by select retailers including most online bookstores. Each book will include: - Bill Clinton's signature - Edition number-1,500 total - Full navy blue cloth case with Bill Clinton gold stamp on spine - Gold Ribbon-marker - Frontispiece photographs - Crimson endpapers - Shrink-wrapping President Bill Clinton's "My Life is the strikingly candid portrait of a global leader who decided early in life to devote his intellectual and political gifts, and his extraordinary capacity for hard work, to serving the public. It shows us the progress of a remarkable American, who, through his own enormous energies and efforts, made the unlikely journey from Hope, Arkansas, to the White House--a journey fueled by an impassioned interest in the political process which manifested itself at every stage of his life: in college, working as an intern for Senator William Fulbright; at Oxford, becoming part of the Vietnam War protest movement; at Yale Law School, campaigning on the grassroots level for Democratic candidates; back in Arkansas, running for Congress, attorney general, and governor. We see his career shaped by his resolute determination to improve the life of his fellow citizens, an unfaltering commitment to civil rights, and an exceptional understanding of the practicalities of political life. We come to understand the emotional pressures of his youth--born after his father's death; caught in the dysfunctional relationship between his feisty, nurturing mother and his abusive stepfather, whom he never ceased to love and whose name he took; drawn to the brilliant, compelling HillaryRodham, whom he was determined to marry; passionately devoted, from her infancy, to their daughter, Chelsea, and to the entire experience of fatherhood; slowly and painfully beginning to comprehend how his early denial of pain led him at times into damaging patterns of behavior. President Clinton's book is also the fullest, most concretely detailed, most nuanced account of a presidency ever written--encompassing not only the high points and crises but the way the presidency actually works: the day-to-day bombardment of problems, personalities, conflicts, setbacks, achievements. It is a testament to the positive impact on America and on the world of his work and his ideals. It is the gripping account of a president under concerted and unrelenting assault orchestrated by his enemies on the Far Right, and how he survived and prevailed. It is a treasury of moments caught alive, among them: - The ten-year-old boy watching the national political conventions on his family's new (and first) television set. - The young candidate looking for votes in the Arkansas hills and the local seer who tells him, "Anybody who would campaign at a beer joint in Joiner at midnight on Saturday night deserves to carry one box. . . . You'll win here. But it'll be the only damn place you win in this county." (He was right on both counts.) - The roller-coaster ride of the 1992 campaign. - The extraordinarily frank exchanges with Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole. - The delicate manipulation needed to convince Rabin and Arafat to shake hands for the camera while keeping Arafat from kissing Rabin. - The cost, both public and private, of the scandal that threatened the presidency. Here is the life of a great national and international figure, revealed with all his talents and contradictions, told openly, directly, in his own completely recognizable voice. A unique book by a unique American.

2
DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM
David Sedaris
Cover of DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM

DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM

by David Sedaris · Little, Brown

4 wks on list

David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it? In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives -- a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.

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BIG RUSS AND ME
Tim Russert
Cover of BIG RUSS AND ME

BIG RUSS AND ME

by Tim Russert · Miramax

7 wks on list

The author offers a memoir of life with his father, a proud World War II veteran, describing growing up in 1950s Buffalo, the influence of his Catholic upbringing, and the importance of hard work, responsibility, and patriotism.

4
1
EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES
Lynne Truss
Cover of EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES

EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES

by Lynne Truss · Gotham

12 wks on list

At front and back of book: Punctuation repair kit [stickers].

5
1
FATHER JOE
Tony Hendra
Cover of FATHER JOE

FATHER JOE

by Tony Hendra · Random House

6 wks on list

A key comic writer of the past three decades has created his most heartfelt and hard-hitting book. Father Joe is Tony Hendra’s inspiring true story of finding faith, friendship, and family through the decades-long influence of a surpassingly wise Benedictine monk named Father Joseph Warrillow. Like everything human, it started with sex. In 1955, fourteen-year-old Tony found himself entangled with a married Catholic woman. In Cold War England, where Catholicism was the subject of news stories and Graham Greene bestsellers, Tony was whisked off by the woman’s husband to see a priest and be saved. Yet what he found was a far cry from the priests he’d known at Catholic school, where boys were beaten with belts or set upon by dogs. Instead, he met Father Joe, a gentle, stammering, ungainly Benedictine who never used the words “wrong” or “guilt,” who believed that God was in everyone and that “the only sin was selfishness.” During the next forty years, as his life and career drastically ebbed and flowed, Tony discovered that his visits to Father Joe remained the one constant in his life—the relationship that, in the most serious sense, saved it. From the fifties and his adolescent desire to join an abbey himself; to the sixties, when attending Cambridge and seeing the satire of Beyond the Fringe convinced him to change the world with laughter, not prayer; to the seventies and successful stints as an original editor of National Lampoon and a writer of Lemmings, the off-Broadway smash that introduced John Belushi and Chevy Chase; to professional disaster after co-creating the legendary English series Spitting Image; from drinking to drugs, from a failed first marriage to a successful second and the miracle of parenthood—the years only deepened Tony’s need for the wisdom of his other and more real father, creating a bond that could not be broken, even by death. A startling departure for this acclaimed satirist, Father Joe is a sincere account of how Tony Hendra learned to love. It’s the story of a whole generation looking for a way back from mockery and irony, looking for its own Father Joe, and a testament to one of the most charismatic mentors in modern literature.

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1
ON THE DOWN LOW
J. L. King with Karen Hunter
Cover of ON THE DOWN LOW

ON THE DOWN LOW

by J. L. King with Karen Hunter · Broadway

10 wks on list

A bold exposé of the controversial secret that has potentially dire consequences in many African American communities. Delivering the first frank and thorough investigation of life “on the down low” (the DL), J. L. King exposes a closeted culture of sex between black men who lead “straight” lives. King explores his own past as a DL man, and the path that led him to let go of the lies and bring forth a message that can promote emotional healing and open discussions about relationships, sex, sexuality, and health in the black community. Providing a long-overdue wake-up call, J. L. King bravely puts the spotlight on a topic that has until now remained dangerously taboo. Drawn from hundreds of interviews, statistics, and the author’s firsthand knowledge of DL behavior, On the Down Low reveals the warning signs African American women need to know. King also discusses the potential health consequences of having unprotected sex, as African American women represent an alarming 64 percent of new HIV infections. Volatile yet vital, On the Down Low is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. “A survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found that nearly a quarter of black HIV-positive men who had sex with men consider themselves heterosexual.” —Essence

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NEW
AGAINST ALL ENEMIES
Richard A. Clarke
Cover of AGAINST ALL ENEMIES

AGAINST ALL ENEMIES

by Richard A. Clarke · Free Press

13 wks on list

The disturbing truth about the war on terror and a withering critique of the Bush Administration's neglect of the threat, by the man who served for eleven years as the White House Counter-terrorism Czar.

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FOUNDING MOTHERS
Cokie Roberts
Cover of FOUNDING MOTHERS

FOUNDING MOTHERS

by Cokie Roberts · Morrow

11 wks on list

Much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution. But their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters have been overlooked by history. In Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts uncovers the inspiring and often surprising stories of the women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families and their country were essential to the founding of the United States. Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin and Eliza Pinckney are just a few of the remarkable women whose everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs are profiled in this book. Drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and even favorite recipes, Roberts reveals a side of eighteenth century history that has often been ignored, but deserves to be celebrated. Cokie Roberts is a political commentator for ABC News and a senior news analyst for NPR. In addition to broadcasting, Roberts, along with her husband, Steven V. Roberts, writes a weekly column syndicated in newspapers across the country by United Media. She is the best-selling author of From This Day Forward, Founding Mothers, and Ladies of Liberty, and she lives with her husband in Bethesda, Maryland. “[Roberts] creates a strong ... case that without the patriotism of women on the home front, the Colonies would have lost the Revolutionary War ... Founding Mothers is a series of entertaining mini-biographies and engaging vignettes.” — New York Times

14
NEW
WORSE THAN WATERGATE
John W. Dean
Cover of WORSE THAN WATERGATE

WORSE THAN WATERGATE

by John W. Dean · Little, Brown

10 wks on list

Nixon's White House counsel discusses the Bush-Cheney administration in this New York Timesbestseller: "Powerful . . . a riveting book." — Los Angeles Times Book Review Former White House counsel John Dean, with the unique viewpoint and expertise born of working for Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, here looks critically at the administration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, arguing that its worldview—and its tendency toward secrecy and deception—set America back decades, and may ultimately do more damage to the nation than Nixon at his worst. "He has become a discerning connoisseur of presidential venality." — The New York Times "Few critics have as effectively put the disparate pieces together." — Publishers Weekly

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7
CADDY FOR LIFE
John Feinstein
Cover of CADDY FOR LIFE

CADDY FOR LIFE

by John Feinstein · Little, Brown

7 wks on list

Provides an inspirational portrait of legendary golf caddy Bruce Edwards, who has been a caddy for Tom Watson since 1973, as he continues the job he loves despite the growing physical limitations of Lou Gehrig's disease.

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9
BATTLE READY
Tom Clancy with Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz

BATTLE READY

by Tom Clancy with Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz · Putnam

5 wks on list

AMarine General Tony Zinni was known as the "Warrior Diplomat" during his nearly forty years of service. As a soldier, his credentials were impeccable, whether leading troops in Vietnam, commanding hair-raising rescue operations in Somalia, or-as Commander-in-Chief of CENTCOM-directing strikes against Iraq and Al Qaeda. But it was as a peacemaker that he made just as great a mark-conducting dangerous troubleshooting missions all over Africa, Asia, and Europe; and then serving as Secretary of State Colin Powell's special envoy to the Middle East, before disagreements over the 2003 Iraq War and its probable aftermath caused him to resign. This is his story-and that of his beloved Marine Corps-from the cauldron of Vietnam to the realities of the post-9/11 military, as told by none other than Tom Clancy.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.