Hardcover Nonfiction

by Malcolm Gladwell · Little, Brown

by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter · Grand Central

Traces the author's discovery of a half-frozen kitten in the drop-box of her small-community Iowa library and the feline's development into an affable library mascot whose intuitive nature prompted hundreds of abiding friendships, in a tale told against a backdrop of the town's struggles with the 1980s farm crisis.

by Jon Meacham · Random House

The definitive biography of a larger-than-life president who defied norms, divided a nation, and changed Washington forever Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers– that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory. One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will– or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House–from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman–have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision. Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe–no matter what it took.

by Bill O’Reilly · Broadway

by Artie Lange with Anthony Bozza · Spiegel & Grau

Outrageous, raw, and painfully funny true stories straight from the life of the actor, comedian, and much-loved cast member of The Howard Stern Show—with a foreword by Howard Stern. When Artie Lange joined the permanent cast of The Howard Stern Show in 2001, it was possibly the greatest thing ever to happen in the Stern universe, second only to the show’s move to the wild, uncensored frontier of satellite radio. Lange provided what Stern had yet to find all in the same place: a wit quick enough to keep pace with his own, a pathetic self-image to dwarf his own, a personal history both heartbreaking and hilarious, and an ingrained sense of self-sabotage that continually keeps things interesting. A natural storyteller with a bottomless pit of material, Lange grew up in a close-knit, working-class Italian family in Union, New Jersey, a maniacal Yankees fan who pursued the two things his father said he was cut out for—sports and comedy. Tragically, Artie Lange Sr. never saw the truth in that prediction: He became a quadriplegic in an accident when Artie was eighteen and died soon after. But as with every trial in his life, from his drug addiction to his obesity to his fights with his mother, Artie mines the humor, pathos, and humanity in these events and turns them into comedy classics. True fans of the Stern Show will find Artie gold in these pages: hilarious tales that couldn’t have happened to anyone else. There are stories from his days driving a Jersey cab, working as a longshoreman in Port Newark, and navigating the dark circuit of stand-up comedy. There are outrageous episodes from the frenzied heights of his coked-up days at MADtv, surprisingly moving stories from his childhood, and an account of his recent U.S.O. tour that is equally stirring and irreverent. But also in this volume are stories Artie’s never told before, including some that he deemed too revealing for radio. Wild, shocking, and drop-dead hilarious, Too Fat to Fish is Artie Lange giving everything he’s got to give. And like a true pro, the man never disappoints.

by Jon Gosselin, Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson · Zondervan

Eight children in three years? Impossible!Kate and Jon Gosselin have learned that, through God, all things are possible—though sometimes slightly improbable.Just three years after giving birth to twin daughters, Kate and Jon learned they were pregnant again—with sextuplets. In Multiple Blessings, Kate candidly chronicles the emotional and exhausting challenges she and Jon faced from the time the babies were conceived through the first two years of their lives.This amazing story of faith provides a heartening lesson in what it means to trust the faithful hand of God to provide the strength and courage to make it through life’s seemingly impossible situations.

by Thomas L. Friedman · Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Friedman proposes that an ambitious national strategy, which he calls 'Code-Green', is not only what we need to save the planet from overheating - it is what we need to make us all healthier, richer, more innovative, more productive, and more secure.

by Denis Leary · Viking Press

The New York Times bestseller One of America’s most original and biting comic satirists, Denis Leary takes on all the poseurs, politicians, and pop culture icons who have sucked in public for far too long. Sparing no one, Leary zeroes in on the ridiculous wherever he finds it—his Irish Catholic upbringing, the folly of celebrity, the pressures of family life, and the great hypocrisy of politics—with the same bright, savage, and profane insight he brought to his critically acclaimed one-man shows No Cure for CancerLock ’n Load. Proudly Irish-American, defiantly working class, with a reserve of compassion for the underdog and the overlooked, Leary delivers blistering diatribes that are both penetrating social commentary with no holds barred and laugh-out-loud funny. As always, Leary’s impassioned comic perspective in Why We Suck is right on target. Leary is the star and co-creator of the Emmy-nominated television show Rescue Me.

by Alice Schroeder · Bantam

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The most authoritative portrait of one of the most important American investors of our time.”—Los Angeles Times “Even people who don’t care a whit about business will be intrigued. . . . A side of the Oracle of Omaha that has rarely been seen.”—Time (Five Best Nonfiction Books of the Year) A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post; People; Financial Times; Businessweek; Janet Maslin, The New York Times; Publishers Weekly Warren Buffett is one of the most respected men in the world. But the legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir or offered a glimpse into his intensely private life. Here, at last, he gives unprecedented access to his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. This complete biography of the man known everywhere as “the Oracle of Omaha” was written by highly respected former financial analyst and business writer Alice Schroeder with the cooperation of Buffett himself, who gave her thousands of hours of his own time as well as complete access to his wife, children, friends, and business associates—and his files. The result is the fullest exploration of his philosophy of life we will ever have. Here are the principles and ideas that made Buffett astoundingly wealthy, enriched the lives (and bank accounts) of those who adopted them, and created the most fascinating American success story of our time.

by Mike Huckabee · Sentinel

When Governor Mike Huckabee entered the Republican presidential race, he was the ultimate dark horse, with almost no money, no consultants, and no name recognition beyond Arkansas. The so-called experts were highly amused by this former small state governor from blue-collar roots who also played bass in a rock band. He wouldn’t have a prayer against the well-connected and financially wired pros like Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson. But Huckabee had one big advantage: a common sense message that connected with millions of people, and not just his fellow evangelical Christians. He spoke about family values, fair taxes, and helping hard-working, middle-class Americans in a tough economy. And to the dismay of some Republicans, he talked about fighting Wall Street greed and K Street corruption. Huckabee shocked the country by winning the all-important Iowa caucuses and seven other states, while spending far less than the other major candidates. He created an army of passionate volunteers and small donors, transforming his campaign into a true movement that will endure long after Election Day. Do The Right Thing is Huckabee’s amazing story, in his own words—from making commercials with Chuck Norris to meeting a Michigan woman who insisted on donating her wedding ring. But this is more than just a campaign memoir. It’s a vision for a smarter, fairer type of politics—“vertical politics”—that focuses on common sense solutions for education, health care, the economy, and many other issues. It’s not about right versus left; it’s about taking America up rather than down. Huckabee also shows how the Republican Party can heal its divisions—between social and fiscal conservatives, the wealthy and the middle class, the religious and the secular—and become a true majority party again.

by Michael Phelps with Alan Abrahamson · Free Press

This inspirational memoir by Olympic medalist Michael Phelps gives readers an up-close view of the swimming champion's record-breaking performance at the Beijing Games.

by David Sedaris · Little, Brown

"David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life-having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds-to the most deeply resonant human truths. Culminating in a brilliant account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris's sixth essay collection is a new masterpiece of comic writing from "a writer worth treasuring" (Seattle Times). Praise for When You Are Engulfed in Flames: "Older, wiser, smarter and meaner, Sedaris...defies the odds once again by delivering an intelligent take on the banalities of an absurd life." --Kirkus Reviews This latest collection proves that not only does Sedaris still have it, but he's also getting better....Sedaris's best stuff will still--after all this time--move, surprise, and entertain." --Booklist Table of Contents: It's Catching Keeping Up The Understudy This Old House Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie? Road Trips What I Learned That's Amore The Monster Mash In the Waiting Room Solutions to Saturday's Puzzle Adult Figures Charging Toward a Concrete Toadstool Memento Mori All the Beauty You Will Ever Need Town and Country Aerial The Man in the Hut Of Mice and Men April in Paris Crybaby Old Faithful The Smoking Section

by Bill Keller · Black Dog & Leventhal

Lire les "unes" du New York Times, c'est découvrir le monde à travers le premier des journaux du monde. Parce qu'il se veut " quotidien de référence " depuis 1896, le New York Times a les moyens de son ambition. La salle de rédaction emploie 1 200 personnes. A son réseau de correspondants aux Etats-Unis s'ajoutent vingt-six bureaux étrangers. Ses rotatives crachent chaque jour un million d'exemplaires et, le dimanche, un million et demi. Son site web attire vingt millions d'internautes par mois. Déterminé dès l'origine à se distinguer de la presse de caniveau, qui était alors la norme, le journal publie, selon sa devise de "une", " Toutes les nouvelles dignes d'être imprimées ". Cette couverture universelle (politique, diplomatie, arts, sciences, sports, mode...) et un style exempt de toute coloration idéologique ont fait du New York Times un modèle pour chacun des pays où la presse est libre. L'aventure commence avec Adoph Ochs, le fils d'un immigré juif de Bavière qui, obligé de travailler dès 14 ans dans une imprimerie du " Sud profond ", monte à New York pour y acheter un journal, le New York Times, qui est en train de mourir. Ochs se démarque de la concurrence en privilégiant d'austères articles factuels qui vaudront au journal le surnom de " Grey Lady " et... le succès. Son gendre, Arthur Hayes Sulzberger, qui lui succède en 1935, poursuit la même stratégie d'excellence. Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, tous les matériaux nécessaires à la fabrication d'un journal sont rationnés : le papier, l'encre, le plomb. En revanche, la publicité est abondante. Les autres journaux réduisent la place accordée à l'information au profit des annonceurs. Sulzberger fait le contraire. Résultat : les Américains assoiffés de nouvelles sur les combats de leurs GI, se précipitent sur le New York Times. Les récompenses pleuvent : 101 prix Pulitzer. Plus que tous les autres organes de presse. Cyrus Sulzberger, le neveu d'Arthur Hayes, reçoit le sien parce qu'il est devenu le confident de tous les grands. Notamment du général de Gaulle auquel il consacre un livre : Le Dernier des géants. David Halberstam est distingué pour avoir expliqué comment " les meilleurs et les plus brillants " des dirigeants américains se sont enlisés au Vietnam. A chaque génération, la famille Sulzberger se montre à la hauteur. Ainsi Punch, le fils d'Arthur Hayes, face à Richard Nixon en 1971 ! Quand, furieux que le New York Times ose publier en feuilleton les " papiers du Pentagone " (l'histoire officielle mais secrète des mensonges de Washington sur la guerre du Vietnam), le président fait interdire par les tribunaux la poursuite de la série, Punch tient tête. Il arrache à la Cour Suprême la levée de " l'injonction " de la Maison Blanche. En 2003, lorsque l'on découvre qu'un reporter a plagié les articles de confrères de province, le New York Times révèle en première page tous les détails de l'affaire. Et il ne se contente pas de la démission du traître. Le directeur de la rédaction et le rédacteur en chef, pas coupables mais responsables, sont également poussés dehors. Aujourd'hui, le New York Times est confronté à une crise économique sans précédent depuis 1929. La publicité est en chute libre tandis que, du fait d'internet, le lectorat stagne. Mais, contrairement à d'autres magnats qui abandonnent leur journal pour sauver leur fortune, la famille Sulzberger choisit la résistance. Quitte à vendre le siège du New York Times, le gratte-ciel achevé en 2007 par le célèbre architecte Renzo Piano ! La formule d'Iphigene Sulzberger, la fille d'Adolph Ochs, reste d'actualité : " La force du New York Times, c'est que nos journalistes ne sont pas de simples tailleurs de pierre. Ils bâtissent une cathédrale ".

by Annie Leibovitz · Random House

The most celebrated photographer of our time discusses portraiture, fashion photography, lighting, and digital cameras. Leibovitz describes how her pictures were made, starting with Richard Nixon's resignation and ending with Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

by Carrie Fisher · Simon & Schuster

The bestselling author of Postcards from the Edge comes clean (well, sort of) in her first-ever memoir, adapted from her one-woman Broadway hit show. Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of “Hollywood in-breeding,” come of age on the set of a little movie called Star Wars, and become a cultural icon and bestselling action figure at the age of nineteen. Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It’s an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty—Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher—homewrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed. Wishful Drinking, the show, has been a runaway success. Entertainment Weekly declared it “drolly hysterical” and the Los Angeles Times called it a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.” This is Carrie Fisher at her best—revealing her worst. She tells her true and outrageous story of her bizarre reality with her inimitable wit, unabashed self-deprecation, and buoyant, infectious humor.

by the editors of Life magazine · Little, Brown

For decades Americans have turned to LIFE to see, understand, and remember the most important events and people of our time. Just as LIFE once opened up the glittering Kennedy White House, LIFE now focuses its lens on Barack Obama. The American Journey of Barack Obama covers the candidate from his childhood and adolescence to his time as editor of The Harvard Law Review and his Chicago activist years, culminating with the excitement and fervor of the historic 2008 Democratic National Convention. The unfolding drama of Obama's life and political career is cinematic in scope, and never has it been presented so compellingly. In addition to a powerful array of photographs that were taken by many of the country's greatest photographers (and some that were snapped, in the quiet moments, by Obama family members themselves), this book also includes a Foreword by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, an incisive narrative biography and original essays by some of our finest writers, including Gay Talese, Charles Johnson, Melissa Fay Greene, Andrei Codrescu, Fay Weldon, Richard Norton Smith, Bob Greene and several others. Many readers will find a new understanding of Obama. All readers will feel that they are bearing witness to a singular, undeniably American story.