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Week of October 9, 2016

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KILLING THE RISING SUN
Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Cover of KILLING THE RISING SUN

KILLING THE RISING SUN

by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard · Holt

10 wks at #1 · 2 on list

The powerful and riveting new book in the multimillion-selling Killing series by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. Killing the Rising Sun takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan. Across the globe in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists are preparing to test the deadliest weapon known to mankind. In Washington, DC, FDR dies in office and Harry Truman ascends to the presidency, only to face the most important political decision in history: whether to use that weapon. And in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito, who is considered a deity by his subjects, refuses to surrender, despite a massive and mounting death toll. Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and Killing Reagan, this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before.

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LOVE WARRIOR
Glennon Doyle Melton
Cover of LOVE WARRIOR

LOVE WARRIOR

by Glennon Doyle Melton · Flatiron

3 wks on list

#1 New York Times Bestseller | Oprah's Book Club Selection "Riveting...a worthy investment...this book has real wisdom."—New York Times Book Review "Provocative....I adore her honesty, her vulnerability, and her no-nonsense wisdom, and I know you will, too."—Oprah Winfrey The highly anticipated memoir by bestselling author Glennon Doyle, Love Warrior tells the story of her journey of self-discovery after the implosion of her marriage. Just when Glennon Doyle Melton was beginning to feel she had it all figured out—three happy children, a doting spouse, and a writing career so successful that her first book catapulted to the top of the New York Times bestseller list—her husband revealed his infidelity and she was forced to realize that nothing was as it seemed. A recovering alcoholic and bulimic, Glennon found that rock bottom was a familiar place. In the midst of crisis, she knew to hold on to what she discovered in recovery: that her deepest pain has always held within it an invitation to a richer life. Love Warrior is the story of one marriage, but it is also the story of the healing that is possible for any of us when we refuse to settle for good enough and begin to face pain and love head-on. This astonishing memoir reveals how our ideals of masculinity and femininity can make it impossible for a man and a woman to truly know one another—and it captures the beauty that unfolds when one couple commits to unlearning everything they’ve been taught so that they can finally, after thirteen years of marriage, commit to living true—true to themselves and to each other. Love Warrior is a gorgeous and inspiring account of how we are born to be warriors: strong, powerful, and brave; able to confront the pain and claim the love that exists for us all. This chronicle of a beautiful, brutal journey speaks to anyone who yearns for deeper, truer relationships and a more abundant, authentic life.

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THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO
Amy Schumer
Cover of THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO

THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO

by Amy Schumer · Gallery

6 wks on list

Amy Schumer, född 1981 i New York, slog igenom 2015 och är idag den hetaste komikern i USA. Tv-serien Inside Amy Schumer (som visats här på TV 3) där sketcher blandas med ståuppnummer och intervjuer är flerfaldigt prisbelönad, och hon rosas för sin roll i filmen Trainwreck som hon också skrivit manus till. 2015 utnämndes hon av Times till en av de 100 mest inflytelserika människorna i världen. Hennes sylvassa feministiska humor rör sig kring sex, kön, relationer, normer, kroppsideal, kvinnoförakt, mansvälde och – inte minst – underliv. Nu kommer hon också med en mångskiftande samling självbiografiska essäer. Ur sitt förflutna fiskar hon upp historier om allt som skapat henne till den hon är – en kvinna som vågar blottlägga både kropp och själ för att stå upp för det hon tror på, och som får oss alla att skratta. Och hon vill inte enbart roa eller provocera, här finns också det mörka: föräldrarnas sviktande ekonomi under hennes barndom, faderns snabba insjuknande i ms, den hårda kritik och rena dödshot hon fått utstå på vägen mot berömmelse, förhållandet med en våldsbenägen man som hon för sent kunde släppa taget om ... Under en visning i Louisiana av filmen Trainwreck sköts två unga kvinnor till döds i biografen och flera skadades. Det chockade Amy som sedan dess arbetar för hårdare vapenlagar. Boken är dedicerad till de två kvinnorna. Amy Schumer sammanfattar sin livsvisdom redan i bokens förord. ”Jag vet vad som är viktigt för mig, och det är min familj ... Och att skratta och njuta av livet med mina vänner. Och, förstås, att ha en orgasm då och då. Jag har kommit fram till att en gång om dagen är det bästa.” Amy Schumer kommer till Stockholm i augusti för att uppträda med en show på Hovet. ”Jag har förändrats så mycket sedan jag var en självsäker, lycklig tjej i high school. Under de år som gått har jag upplevt mycket desperation och dåligt självförtroende, men på sätt och vis har jag gått varvet runt. Jag vet mitt värde. Jag omfamnar min makt. Jag vågar säga att jag är vacker. Att jag är stark. Du bestämmer inte min historia. Det gör jag. Jag ska tala och dela med mig och knulla och älska, och jag kommer aldrig att be om ursäkt för det.” Amy Schumer ”Jag har kämpat mig fram genom hård kritik och dödshot, och jag lever. Jag är orädd. För det mesta.” Amy Schumer ”Patriarkatet har ännu massor av mörka hörn att blottlägga och unkna könsroller behöver ständigt vädras. Vilket Schumer är en mästare på.” Sylvia Balac, Aftonbladet bloggar

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HILLBILLY ELEGY
J. D. Vance
Cover of HILLBILLY ELEGY

HILLBILLY ELEGY

by J. D. Vance · HarperCollins

9 wks on list

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER / OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD THE AMERICAN VICE PRESIDENT'S ORIGIN STORY ‘Essential reading for this moment in history’ New York Times 'You will not read a more important book about America this year' Economist

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HERO OF THE EMPIRE
Candice Millard
Cover of HERO OF THE EMPIRE

HERO OF THE EMPIRE

by Candice Millard · Doubleday

1 wks on list

From New York Times bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic and The River of Doubt, a thrilling narrative of Winston Churchill's extraordinary and little-known exploits during the Boer War At age twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England one day, despite the fact he had just lost his first election campaign for Parliament. He believed that to achieve his goal he must do something spectacular on the battlefield. Despite deliberately putting himself in extreme danger as a British Army officer in colonial wars in India and Sudan, and as a journalist covering the Spanish-American War in Cuba, glory and fame had eluded him. Churchill arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, there to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels. But just two weeks after his arrival, the soldiers he was accompanying on an armored train were ambushed, and Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape--but then had to traverse hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him. The story of his escape is incredible enough, but then Churchill enlisted, returned to South Africa, fought in several battles, and ultimately liberated the men with whom he had been imprisoned. Churchill would later remark that this period, "could I have seen my future, was to lay the foundations of my later life." Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters--including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi--with whom he would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from Boer War would profoundly affect 20th century history.

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SCORCHED EARTH
Michael Savage
Cover of SCORCHED EARTH

SCORCHED EARTH

by Michael Savage · Center Street

2 wks on list

Michael Savage predicted the chaos that is Obama's legacy. Now he tells us whether the destruction can be stopped! The prophetic author of the bestselling Government Zero, Dr. Michael Savage is back with his most urgent and powerful work. Listeners to Dr. Savage's top-rated radio talk show, The Savage Nation, know him to be an articulate and engaged spokesman for traditional American values of borders, language, and culture. Now, after eight divisive years of Barack Obama, Dr. Savage lays out an irrefutable case for how our nation has been undermined by terrorists from without, by anarchists from within, by a president and politicians with contempt for the Constitution and the law, and by a complicit liberal media. With words and topics that are as insightful as they are timely, he makes an ironclad case for the dangers we face from Hillary Clinton and her fellow travelers in the progressive movement. He also explains why Donald Trump may be one of the two best hopes for America's future as we try to regain control of our government, our country, and our national soul. The other hope? As Dr. Savage explains in some of his most heartfelt and passionate words, it is we, the people: the ordinary "Eddies," as he calls them-motivated, roused, and engaged. This book is about much more than an election. It is a veteran commentator and celebrated raconteur providing a blueprint for how to regain our cherished freedoms and our national identity . . . before they are lost forever.

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THE UPSIDE OF INEQUALITY
Edward Conard
Cover of THE UPSIDE OF INEQUALITY

THE UPSIDE OF INEQUALITY

by Edward Conard · Portfolio/Penguin

2 wks on list

The scourge of America’s economy isn't the success of the 1 percent—quite the opposite. The real problem is the government’s well-meaning but misguided attempt to reduce the payoffs for success. Four years ago, Edward Conard wrote a controversial bestseller, Unintended Consequences, which set the record straight on the financial crisis of 2008 and explained why U.S. growth was accelerating relative to other high-wage economies. He warned that loose monetary policy would produce neither growth nor inflation, that expansionary fiscal policy would have no lasting benefit on growth in the aftermath of the crisis, and that ill-advised attempts to rein in banking based on misplaced blame would slow an already weak recovery. Unfortunately, he was right. Now he’s back with another provocative argument: that our current obsession with income inequality is misguided and will only slow growth further. Using fact-based logic, Conard tracks the implications of an economy now constrained by both its capacity for risk-taking and by a shortage of properly trained talent—rather than by labor or capital, as was the case historically. He uses this fresh perspective to challenge the conclusions of liberal economists like Larry Summers and Joseph Stiglitz and the myths of “crony capitalism” more broadly. Instead, he argues that the growing wealth of most successful Americans is not to blame for the stagnating incomes of the middle and working classes. If anything, the success of the 1 percent has put upward pressure on employment and wages. Conard argues that high payoffs for success motivate talent to get the training and take the risks that gradually loosen the constraints to growth. Well-meaning attempts to decrease inequality through redistribution dull these incentives, gradually hurting not just the 1 percent but everyone else as well. Conard outlines a plan for growing middle- and working-class wages in an economy with a near infinite supply of labor that is shifting from capital-intensive manufacturing to knowledge-intensive, innovation-driven fields. He urges us to stop blaming the success of the 1 percent for slow wage growth and embrace the upside of inequality: faster growth and greater prosperity for everyone.

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IN SUCH GOOD COMPANY
Carol Burnett
Cover of IN SUCH GOOD COMPANY

IN SUCH GOOD COMPANY

by Carol Burnett · Crown/Archetype

2 wks on list

In this New York Times bestseller, comedy legend Carol Burnett tells the hilarious behind-the-scenes story of her iconic weekly variety series, The Carol Burnett Show. In In Such Good Company, Carol Burnett pulls back the curtain on the twenty-five-time Emmy-Award winning show that made television history, and she reminisces about the outrageously funny and tender moments that made working on the series as much fun as watching it. Carol delves into little-known stories of the guests, sketches and improvisations that made The Carol Burnett Show legendary, as well as some favorite tales too good not to relive again. While writing this book, Carol rewatched all 276 episodes and screen-grabbed her favorite video stills from the archives to illustrate the chemistry of the actors and the improvisational magic that made the show so successful. Putting the spotlight on everyone from her costars to the impressive list of guest stars, Carol crafts a lively portrait of the talent and creativity that went into every episode. With characteristic wit and incomparable comic timing, she details hiring Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway; shares anecdotes about guest stars and close friends, including Lucille Ball, Roddy Mcdowell, Jim Nabors, Bernadette Peters, Betty Grable, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth, and Betty White; and gives her take on her favorite sketches and the unpredictable moments that took both the cast and viewers by surprise. This book is Carol's love letter to a golden era in television history through the lens of her brilliant show. Get the best seat in the house for "eleven years of laughter, mayhem, and fun in the sandbox."

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WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR
Paul Kalanithi
Cover of WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR

WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR

by Paul Kalanithi · Random House

37 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question, What makes a life worth living? “Unmissable . . . Finishing this book and then forgetting about it is simply not an option.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, People, NPR, The Washington Post, Slate, Harper’s Bazaar, Time Out New York, Publishers Weekly, BookPage At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir. Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything,” he wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both. Finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction and the Books for a Better Life Award in Inspirational Memoir

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BETWEEN BREATHS
Elizabeth Vargas
Cover of BETWEEN BREATHS

BETWEEN BREATHS

by Elizabeth Vargas · Grand Central

2 wks on list

Beloved former ABC 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas share the truth about her alcohol addiction and anxiety disorder in this honest and emotional memoir. From the moment she uttered the brave and honest words, "I am an alcoholic," to interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Elizabeth Vargas began writing her story, as her experiences were still raw. Now, in Between Breaths, Vargas discusses her accounts of growing up with anxiety--which began suddenly at the age of six when her father served in Vietnam--and how she dealt with this anxiety as she came of age, eventually turning to alcohol for a release from her painful reality. The now-A&E Network reporter reveals how she found herself living in denial about the extent of her addiction, and how she kept her dependency a secret for so long. She addresses her time in rehab, her first year of sobriety, and the guilt she felt as a working mother who could never find the right balance between a career and parenting. Honest and hopeful, Between Breaths is an inspiring read. Winner of the Books for a Better Life Award in the First Book category Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

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BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Cover of BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME

BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME

by Ta-Nehisi Coates · Spiegel & Grau

63 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF OPRAH’S “BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH” • NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT Hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading,” a bold and personal literary exploration of America’s racial history by “the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race” (Rolling Stone) NAMED ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY • NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, New York, Newsday, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

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ARMAGEDDON
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
Cover of ARMAGEDDON

ARMAGEDDON

by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann · Humanix

9 wks on list

New York Times Bestseller AT STAKE: THE FUTURE OF AMERICA The 2016 election is truly America's Armageddon—the ultimate and decisive battle to save America, a fight to defeat Hillary Clinton and the forces seeking to flout our constitutional government and replace it with an all-powerful president backed up by an activist judiciary that answers to no one. Already President Obama has moved America far down this path, and a President Clinton will act as his "third term," institutionalizing the excesses of the past eight years. In Armageddon, bestselling author and political strategist Dick Morris provides a winning game plan to take back the White House, and America. Because this is our last chance: • Our last chance to stop socialist uniformity, corruption and executive usurpation • Our last chance to curb welfare programs that are destroying the economic and social fabric of the nation • Our last chance to secure our border and keep our sovereignty • Our last chance to stand up against ISIS and terrorism • Our last chance to protect the Second Amendment We can do it. We must. It's our last chance. Read Armageddon, or risk losing the battle to save America! On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, American voters will make a momentous decision. They will decide whether or not this great country will remain a free market, constitutional democracy. The stakes could not be higher. If Hillary Clinton is elected president, it will mean the end of the America we know and love. Armageddon, by New York Times bestselling authors Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, is a call to arms, a call to join that ultimate battle. Few know Hillary Clinton better than Dick Morris. For almost two decades he served as a special adviser to both her and her husband, Bill Clinton. He knows their strengths, their vulnerabilities, and even their deepest secrets. In Armageddon, Morris offers a manual on how to win this battle and defeat Hillary once and for all. He argues that a typical Republican campaign won’t work—and that Hillary’s opponent must strike her in a very unorthodox and powerful way. Morris says it’s a winning strategy and voters play a critical role. A noted political strategist, Dick Morris has created winning strategies for numerous presidential campaigns in the U.S. and abroad. In this book he lays out a war plan, one the Republican nominee must use to prevent her victory: • Throw a surprising right jab: terrorism and healthcare • Throw the left hook: jobs, immigration, Wall Street • Play her game on class warfare: women, Latinos, and young voters Republicans need to stop playing by the old rules of the game. Those rules don’t work—they elected Barack Obama twice. Obama has changed America in fundamental ways and Morris posits that Hillary’s opponents need to grasp this and implement a strategy that can finally defeat her.

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HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
Cover of HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION

HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION

by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter · Grand Central /Melcher Media

23 wks on list

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Now a major motion picture, available on Disney Plus. Goodreads best non-fiction book of 2016 From Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist-star Lin-Manuel Miranda comes a backstage pass to his groundbreaking, hit musical Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims the origins of the United States for a diverse new generation. HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages - "since before this was even a show," according to Miranda - traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here. Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sondheim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by President Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became an international phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don't throw away their shot.

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THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES
Peter Wohlleben
Cover of THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES

THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES

by Peter Wohlleben · Greystone Press

2 wks on list

A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in the woods will never be the same again. “Breaks entirely new ground ... [Peter Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.”—The New York Review of Books NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BRAINPICKINGS • HONORABLE MENTION: SEJ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award • Shortlisted: Audible International Book of the Year Award • Books For a Better Life Award • Indie Choice Award—Nonfiction Book of the Year Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland. “A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.”—Washington Post “Heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment.”—The New Yorker Includes a Note From a Forest Scientist by Dr.Suzanne Simard Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute

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BASED ON A TRUE STORY
Norm Macdonald
Cover of BASED ON A TRUE STORY

BASED ON A TRUE STORY

by Norm Macdonald · Spiegel & Grau

1 wks on list

Wild, dangerous, and flat-out unbelievable, here is the incredible #1 bestselling memoir of the Canadian actor, gambler, and raconteur, and one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time. A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year As this book’s title suggests, Norm Macdonald tells the story of his life—more or less—from his origins on a farm in the backwoods of Ontario and an epically disastrous appearance on Star Search to his account of auditioning for Lorne Michaels and his memorable run as the anchor of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live—until he was fired because a corporate executive didn’t think he was funny. But Based on a True Story is much more than just a memoir; it’s the hilarious, inspired epic of Norm’s life. In dispatches from a road trip to Las Vegas (part of a plan hatched to regain the fortune he’d lost to sports betting and other vices) with his sidekick and enabler, Adam Eget, Norm recounts the milestone moments, the regrets, the love affairs, the times fortune smiled on his life, and the times it refused to smile. As the clock ticks down, Norm’s debt reaches record heights, and he must find a way to evade the hefty price that’s been placed on his head by one of the most dangerous loan sharks in the country. As a comedy legend should, Norm peppers these pages with classic jokes and long-mythologized Hollywood stories. This wildly adventurous, totally original, and absurdly funny saga turns the conventional “comic’s memoir” on its head and gives the reader an exclusive pass inside the mad, glorious mind of Norm Macdonald.

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