The 30 Great Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Cover-ups and Scandals

In this book, long-time TV sports statistician and self-professed skeptic Elliot Kalb examines the most notorious conspiracies in sports history--in baseball and football, the NBA and the NHL, the racetrack and the prize ring, and beyond. Separating myth from fact, Kalb attempts to determine which of these long-held conspiracy theories hold water, and which ones fall flat under scrutiny. He thoroughly evaluates conspiracies like the possible fixing of Super Bowl III, Sonny Liston throwing his fights with Muhammad Ali, and why Michael Jordan retired from basketball the first time. In this updated addition, he also includes sections on Spygate, questioning whether or not the Patriots had footage of the Rams walk-through before Super Bowl XXXVI; the 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, which Riggs may have thrown; and the controversy surrounding Roger Clemens, who has never failed a drug test, yet seems destined to be hanged with the steroids rope.
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Eternal Life, A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell

A best-selling author and controversial bishop continues to challenge traditional Christian theology with his thoughts on one of the most profound issues of all: God and life after death.
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Pushcart Prize XXXIV 2010: Best of the Small Presses

An annual volume brings together the expertise of more than 200 contributing editors and collects more than 60 top-selected stories, essays and poems from dozens of small magazines and presses.
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The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again

Argues that the current economic model for the support of news gathering and dissemination is no longer viable, but that professional journalism is so important for a democracy that government subsidies are necessary to preserve it. Check Catalog

Germania: In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History

A humorous look at serious issues explores the reemerging German culture that the Nazis buried and almost ruined, in a book full of curiosities, odd food, castles, sausage advertisements, Wagner, mad princes, fairy tales and much more. By the author of The Man Who Saved Britain.
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New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, 2009

As this annual anthology of short stories approaches its quarter-century mark of publication, it becomes increasingly evident that America's South has become a more diverse environment, no longer a society of rigid demarcations where one group dominates all others. Michael Knight tells a grim tale about a husband out to confront violently his straying wife and her lover. In one of the longer selections, Rahul Mehta writes of a young man returning to his West Virginia home with his male partner in tow to visit a dying grandfather, a devout Hindu. A young woman from New Orleans becomes a welder in a selection from Katherine Karlin. Kelly Cherry delves into the mind of a sensitive young man discovering that his beloved grandfather had spent time as a Hitler Youth. Taken together, these stories portray an evolving face for Southern letters.
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The Field Guide to Fields: Hidden Treasures of Meadows, Prairies, and Pastures

An authoritative yet informal guide to the role played by fields in the modern landscape--their history, natural history and folklore--includes 300 color illustrations and practical information on sheep-shearing, drying wild herbs, flora and fauna and much more.
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Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History

An official tie-in to a forthcoming genealogical series features four-color inserts containing celebrity revelations on their ancestral histories, in a fan's companion that also shares comprehensive guidelines to conducting one's own genealogical research.
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Silent Cal's Almanack: The Homespun Wit and Wisdom of Vermont's Calvin Coolidge

A treasury of the wit and
wisdom of Calvin
Coolidge, America's
surprisingly eloquent 30th
President.
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The Case for Rational Optimism

Building up from basic conceptual issues concerning the human condition, reason and morality, free will, and the like, retired administrative law judge Robinson presents the case for "rational optimism" about the future of human society. His rational optimism seems largely to consist of rejecting leftist and liberal concerns about poverty, the power of corporations, the dangers of climate change, and similar matters and (although he is not necessarily explicit in saying so) generally seems to come from the perspective of free market libertarianism.
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The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories

A new, vibrant translation of Tolstoy’s most important short fiction, by the acclaimed translating team whose War and Peace was a triumphant best seller.

These incandescent stories from the mature author—some autobiographical, others moral parables, and all imaginative, transcendent, and evocatively drawn—include “Hadji Murat,” which Harold Bloom called “the best story in the world”; “The Devil,” a tale of sexual obsession based on Tolstoy’s own relationship with a married peasant woman on his estate in the years before his marriage; the celebrated title story, an intense and moving examination of death and the possibilities of redemption; and seven others. Pevear and Volokhonsky’s translation captures the richness, immediacy, and multiplicity of Tolstoy’s language and reveals the author as a passionate moral guide, an unflinching seeker of truth, and a creator of enduring and universal art.
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The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Final Year

As Leo Tolstoy’s life draws to a close, his tempestuous wife and most cunning disciple are locked in a whirlwind battle for the great man’s soul. Torn between his professed doctrine of poverty and chastity and the reality of his enormous wealth and thirteen children, Tolstoy dramatically flees his home, only to fall ill at a tiny nearby rail station. The famous (and famously troubled) writer believes he is dying alone, unaware that over a hundred newspapermen camp outside awaiting hourly reports on his condition.

Jay Parini moves deftly between a colorful cast of characters to create a stunning portrait of one of the world’s most treasured authors.
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Invisible Frontier: Exploring the Tunnels, Ruins, and Rooftops of Hidden New York

An adventure guide to New York City's hidden secrets explores a vast urban wilderness that includes subway tunnels, the sewer system, abandoned aqueducts and buildings, the heights of its bridges, and other unusual landmarks.
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Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World

Mention Jane Austen and you’ll likely incite a slew of fervent opinions from anyone within earshot. Regarded as a brilliant social satirist by scholars, Austen also enjoys the sort of popular affection usually reserved for girl-next-door movie stars, leading to the paradox of an academically revered author who has served as the inspiration for chick lit (The Jane Austen Book Club) and modern blockbusters (Becoming Jane). Almost two hundred years after her death, Austen remains a hot topic, and the current flare in the cultural zeitgeist echoes the continuous revival of her works, from the time of original publication through the twentieth century. In Jane’s Fame, Claire Harman gives us the complete biography—of both the author and her lasting cultural influence—making this essential reading for anyone interested in Austen’s life, works, and remarkably potent fame.
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Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science

Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science. At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage “was no longer Gage,” said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable. His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.
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The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back

Shares the inspirational story of how the author's family, witnessing the disparity between a homeless man and the owner of a luxury car, sold their Atlanta mansion and eventually moved across the world in order to dedicate their lives to charity and helping others.
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It Happened in the Catskills: An Oral History in the Words of Busboys, Bellhops, Guests, Proprietors, Comedians, Agents, and Others Who Lived It

For most West Coasters, the Catskills are something that passes on the Eastern seaboard for a mountain range. Many New Yorkers, however, attach great nostalgia to the vacation haven, which served as training ground for some of America's most beloved entertainers.

In this humorously sentimental oral history, Neil Sedaka, Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason and other stars, along with former busboys and cooks, describe summers spent in the great Catskill resorts (Grossinger's, Tamarack Lodge, the Concord) - where the mostly Jewish clientele ate kosher food, received expert dance instruction (a la "Dirty Dancing") and were royally entertained by top comics (Jack Benny, Milton Berle) and singers (Leslie Uggams, Sammy Davis Jr.).

Filled with snapshots of the famous and un-famous living it up lakeside, this is a kind of fond family scrapbook of a bygone paradise. There are still big hotels in the Catskills, and weary urbanites still patronize them. But it ain't what it used to be - and never will be again.

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I'm Staying With My Boys: The Heroic Life of Sgt. John Basilone, USMC

An authorized profile of the only World War II Marine to win the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart parallels his career with the stories of Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge while tracing his significant achievements at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.
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The Girls' Guide to Rocking: How to Start a Band, Book Gigs, and Get Rolling to Rock Stardom

A guide to making it as a rock musician provides detailed instructions and tips on such topics as starting a band, choosing equipment, practicing, getting gigs, and touring.
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Discover's 20 Things You Didn't Know About Everything: Duct Tape, Airport Security, Lab Accidents, Sex in Space...and More!

This entertaining and highly readable book, assembled by the editors of Discover magazine, offers little-known facts on such subjects such as sleep, birth, death, obesity, human anatomy, weather, the Internet and even duct tape. Much of the information avoids the trivial, however, touching on relevant topics such as the origins of biological warfare and the precariousness of airport security. This book has been written for a general audience, specifically those who are interesting in expanding the base of their knowledge in a useful and novel way.
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Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind

Whitmire, president of the National Educational Writers Association, presents evidence from a federal study released in 2003 showing that boys fall behind in school, not because of video games or female-dominated schools biased toward girls, but because schools demand high-level reading and writing skills before boys are capable of handling them. Case studies describe successful school programs such as intensive phonics instruction, ongoing reading instruction in the middle years, breaking the curriculum into manageable chunks to help organizationally challenged boys, and single-sex classrooms. An appendix explains facts about boys, learning, education, and related socioeconomic and gender factors in plain language. The book is for educators and parents.
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Shocking Cases from Dr. Henry Lee's Forensic Files: The Phil Spector Case / the Priest's Ritual Murder of a Nun / the Brown's Chicken Massacre and More!

A renowned forensic scientist and an acclaimed mystery writer explore five notorious cases, including the Phil Spector murder trial, genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the murder of a nun in Ohio, and the shooting of a Connecticut state trooper.
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Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box

Before long, and without intending it, I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal. Former president George H. W. Bush had been known for saying "Read my lips." I began urging colleagues and reporters to "Read my pins."

It would never have happened if not for Saddam Hussein. When U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright criticized the dictator, his poet in residence responded by calling her "an unparalleled serpent." Shortly thereafter, while preparing to meet with Iraqi officials, Albright pondered: What to wear? She decided to make a diplomatic statement by choosing a snake pin. Although her method of communication was new, her message was as old as the American Revolution—Don't Tread on Me.
From that day forward, pins became part of Albright's diplomatic signature. International leaders were pleased to see her with a shimmering sun on her jacket or a cheerful ladybug; less so with a crab or a menacing wasp. Albright used pins to emphasize the importance of a negotiation, signify high hopes, protest the absence of progress, and show pride in representing America, among other purposes.
Part illustrated memoir, part social history, Read My Pins provides an intimate look at Albright's life through the brooches she wore. Her collection is both international and democratic—dime-store pins share pride of place with designer creations and family heirlooms. Included are the antique eagle purchased to celebrate Albright's appointment as secretary of state, the zebra pin she wore when meeting Nelson Mandela, and the Valentine's Day heart forged by Albright's five-year-old daughter. Read My Pins features more than 200 photographs, along with compelling and often humorous stories about jewelry, global politics, and the life of one of America's most accomplished and fascinating diplomats.
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From Every End of This Earth: 13 Families and the New Lives They Made in America

New York Times bestselling author Steven V. Roberts follows the stories of thirteen families in this poignant, eye-opening look at immigration in America today.
America is a nation of immigrants. But what does it mean to be an immigrant in the United States today? In some ways, the experience has never changed—all newcomers feel the pain of separation. In other ways, it has changed drastically—families maintain strong business ties to their home countries and speak daily with their relatives on cell phones.
Attitudes about the great melting pot have taken a sharp turn toward insularity in recent years. The 9/11 attacks and recent waves of undocumented workers seem to have eroded America's long-standing belief in the value of immigration. Yet the families in this book conclusively demonstrate that critics are wrong, and that in the age of Barack Obama, the son of an immigrant from Kenya, newcomers "from every end of this earth" continue to renew America's greatness, every day, with their courage and character.
Having shared his own family's story in My Fathers' Houses, distinguished journalist Steven V. Roberts now profiles immigrants from China and Afghanistan, Mexico and Sierra Leone, who have journeyed to our shores in pursuit of the same dream that propelled his own grandparents to leave Russia and Poland a century ago. He combines compelling interviews and meticulous research to produce an engaging, wonderfully clear, and accessible narrative that explores each family's original yet deeply resonant story.
As the political debate rages on, Roberts offers an essential and timely look at today's immigrant accounts, and sheds light on the enormous contributions these individuals continue to make to the fabric and future of America.
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Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing

A chronologically arranged anthology of literary excerpts by first-generation newcomers to America reflects the nation's immigrant experience over the course of 400 years, in a collection of poems, stories, and nonfiction writings that describes their passages into the new world and struggles with cultural identity.
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How They See Us: Meditations on America

A superpower without parallel since the British Empire, the United States is a source of incessant fascination to the rest of the world. Absurdly rich, alarmingly volatile, we inspire both fear and envy. Just as our aggressive foreign policy has turned our allies against us, the rise of Barack Obama is now seen as our salvation. 9/11, the world historical event that changed everything, has been superseded by 11/4, the date of his election to the presidency of the United States. Through it all, America remains a phenomenon, a myth, the wonder of the world.

Know thyself is a difficult injunction to follow and often requires the insights of others. To gain some perspective, How They See Us features writers and intellectuals from around the globe. These trenchant essays constitute a primer of international literature, an aid to self-criticism, and an invitation to celebrate our national virtues. 
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The Red Flag: A History of Communism

Communism was one of the most powerful political and intellectual movements the world has ever seen. At the height of their influence, Communists controlled more than a third of the earth’s surface. But perhaps more astonishing than its rapid rise and extraordinary reach was Communism’s sudden, devastating collapse in November of 1989. In The Red Flag, Oxford professor David Priestland tells the epic story of a movement that has taken root in dozens of countries across two hundred years, from its birth after the French Revolution to its ideological maturity in nineteenth-century Germany to its rise to dominance (and subsequent fall) in the twentieth century. Beginning with the first modern Communists in the age of Robespierre, Priestland examines the motives of thinkers and leaders including Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Che Guevara, Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Gorbachev, and many others. He also explores the experience of what it meant to live under Communism for its millions of subjects. At a time when global capitalism is in crisis and powerful new political forces have arisen to confront Western democracy, The Red Flag is essential reading if we are to apply the lessons of the past to navigating the future. Check Catalog

Why Architecture Matters

Why Architecture Matters is not a work of architectural history or a guide to the styles or an architectural dictionary, though it contains elements of all three. The purpose of Why Architecture Matters is to “come to grips with how things feel to us when we stand before them, with how architecture affects us emotionally as well as intellectually”—with its impact on our lives. “Architecture begins to matter,” writes Paul Goldberger, “when it brings delight and sadness and perplexity and awe along with a roof over our heads.” He shows us how that works in examples ranging from a small Cape Cod cottage to the “vast, flowing” Prairie houses of Frank Lloyd Wright, from the Lincoln Memorial to the highly sculptural Guggenheim Bilbao and the Church of Sant’Ivo in Rome, where “simple geometries . . . create a work of architecture that embraces the deepest complexities of human imagination.”

Based on decades of looking at buildings and thinking about how we experience them, the distinguished critic raises our awareness of fundamental things like proportion, scale, space, texture, materials, shapes, light, and memory. Upon completing this remarkable architectural journey, readers will enjoy a wonderfully rewarding new way of seeing and experiencing every aspect of the built world.

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Thank Heaven

One of the best-loved stars of classic American cinema tells all in this wry, funny, and poignant memoir

Leslie Caron is one of the most cherished and admired international film stars of our time. She made her film debut with Gene Kelly in the classic MGM musical An American in Paris, created one of the most enduring roles in American musicals as Gigi, danced with Fred Astaire in Daddy Long Legs, and starred with Cary Grant in Father Goose.

In Thank Heaven (an homage to "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," the song Maurice Chevalier sings about her in Gigi) Caron shares her remarkable life story. From her childhood with her American mother and French father in occupied France to her early success as a young ballerina; to her meeting Gene Kelly and her years in Hollywood; to her love affairs (including a very funny and very public one with Warren Beatty) and motherhood; to her alcoholism and depression; and finally her recovery and continuing success in film and television, Caron offers an illuminating account of her career.

Thank Heaven is filled with reminiscences of MGM at the end of its Golden Era, of the great stars with whom Caron worked, and of her own struggles as an actress. This is a sharp, unsentimental, and moving memoir for everyone who loves classic American movies. 
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The Death of American Virtue: Clinton Vs. Starr

Ten years after one of the most polarizing political scandals in American history, author Ken Gormley offers an insightful, balanced, and revealing analysis of the events leading up to the impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton. From Ken Starr’s initial Whitewater investigation through the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit to the Monica Lewinsky affair, The Death of American Virtue is a gripping chronicle of an ever-escalating political feeding frenzy.

In exclusive interviews, Bill Clinton, Ken Starr, Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, Susan McDougal, and many more key players offer candid reflections on that period. Drawing on never-before-released records and documents—including the Justice Department’s internal investigation into Starr, new details concerning the death of Vince Foster, and evidence from lawyers on both sides—Gormley sheds new light on a dark and divisive chapter, the aftereffects of which are still being felt in today’s political climate.
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