Saddle shoes. Camp shorts. Girdles. Bell-bottoms. Each plays asignificant role as we follow B., the wardrobe's owner, through herbuttoned-up Midwestern childhood to the freedom of miniskirts,sundresses, and New York City. We watch as B. copes with theuntimely death of her mother, makes a go of glamorous magazinework, and, after the inevitable false starts and fashion missteps,finally comes into her own.Part memoir, part fashion and culturalhistory of the last five decades, Autobiography of a Wardrobe is anexploration of the clothes each generation has embraced and thesmallest details in which we are able to seek comfort andmeaning.

In his life and in his music, Cole Porter was "the top"--thepinnacle of wit, sophistication, and success. His songs--"I Get aKick Out of You," "Anything Goes," and hundreds more--were instantpop hits, and their musical and emotional depths have made themlasting standards. William McBrienhas captured the creator of these songs, whose life was not merelyone of wealth and privilege. A prodigal young man, Porter found hisemotional anchor in a long, loving, if sexless marriage, arelationship he repeatedly risked with a string of affairs withmen. His last eighteen years were marked by physical agony but alsounstinting artistic achievement, including the great Hollywoodmusicals High Society, Silk Stockings, and Kiss Me Kate (recentlyand very successfully revived on Broadway). Here, at last is a lifethat informs the great music and lyrics through illuminatingglimpses of the hidden, complicated, private man.

Jack Stewart was a longtime editor at the New York Times.Linda was the U.S. representative of a French publishingconsortium. Theirs was a marriage graced with good luck, a unionfrom which each drew strength and joy in equal measure. In hisearly seventies, Jack opted for retirement but continued to work asa freelance editor and literary agent. The passing years wereenriched by travel, strong family ties, and the delight offriendships. Illness descended abruptly one October afternoon. Jack, awakingconfused and disoriented from a nap, was rushed to the hospital.There the diagnosis was both swift and horrifying: Alzheimer'sdisease. It was a pronouncement that instantly overwhelmed allother considerations. Against her husband's loss of self-awareness,Linda quickly found she had no preparation, no defense. As hismemory vanished, the essence of who he was vanished as well. 25Months documents the struggle of a husband and wife to navigate thetreacherous terrain of illness. Alzheimer's is being diag

Ashley Judd is best known as the acclaimed actress in films suchas De Lovely and Double Jeopardy , but these days sheis more likely to be found wading through an African refugee campor Asian brothel than on a film set. For most of the past decadeJudd has been visiting human rights hotspots around the world tospread the word of hope, health, and gender equality on behalf ofone of the leading public health nonprofits, PSI/YouthAIDS. Herwork has put her in the company of Bono, Bill Clinton, and otherworld leaders in the battle against disease and poverty and inadvocating grassroots programs to improve the lives of women andchildren. Memories of her own painful childhood inspired Judd to reach out tothose in desperate need, especially abused and abandoned girls. Shewrites movingly of friends such as Kausar, an AIDS sufferer in theslums of Mumbai who becomes an activist and peer-educator, andheroes such as Dr. Rene, who lends his heart and soul to keep thesex workers of Madagascar from contracting and spreadi

Originally published in six volumes, Sandburgs Abraham Lincolnwas called the greatest historical biography of our generation.Sandburg distilled this work into one volume that became thedefinitive life of Lincoln. Index; photographs.

Jeanne Marie Laskas had a dream of fleeing her otherwise happyurban life for fresh air and open space — a dream she woulddiscover was about something more than that. But she never expectedher fantasy to come true — until a summer afternoon’s drive in thecountry. That’s when she and her boyfriend, Alex — owner of Marley thepoodle — stumble upon the place she thought existed only in herdreams. This pretty-as-a-picture-postcard farm with an Amish barn,a chestnut grove, and breathtaking vistas is real ... and for sale.And it’s where she knows her future begins. But buying a postcard — fifty acres of scenery — and living onit are two entirely different matters. With wit and wisdom, Laskaschronicles the heartwarming and heartbreaking stories of thecolorful two- and four-legged creatures she encounters onSweetwater Farm. Against a backdrop of brambles, a satellite dish, and sheep,she tells a tender, touching, and hilarious tale about life, love,and the unexpected complic

“Alice writes like he golfs: straight and right down themiddle. Like a lot of us golf addicts, he's spent his fair share ofhis life getting out of the rough and back onto the green. Ifyou're like me and only read like a book a year (OK, like everydecade), this should be the one.” —John Daly “What a blast from the past, and such insight to the future!Alice Cooper, Golf Monster shares Alice's personal life mission,interwoven with great stories and characters from the 60's throughthe present in Rock and Roll. Not to mention some wonderful golftips and experiences, humorously presented. Thank you Alice, for anice ride!” —Michael Douglas, actor and creator of the Michael Douglas Friends Charity Golf Tournament “Few things are more surreal than playing golf with a guy namedAlice. But by the time you reach the second tee, you realize thatNo More Mr. Nice Guy is one of the wittiest and engaging playingpartners you've ever had. Plus, the guy can play! For tho

"A FRESH AND UNVARNISHED PORTRAIT OF A FASCINATING, TALENTED,AND DEEPLY FLAWED FAMILY." —Boston Herald Laurence Leamer was granted unheralded access to private Kennedypapers, and he interviewed family and old friends, many of whom hadnever been interviewed before, for this incredible portrait of thewomen in America’s "royal family." From Bridget Murphy, theforemother who touched shore at East Boston in 1849, to theintelligent, independent Kennedy women of today, Laurence Leamertells their unforgettable stories. Here are the private thoughts of Kathleen, the flirtatiousdebutante in prewar England . . . the truth behind Joe Kennedy’sinsistence that his mildly retarded daughter, Rosemary, belobotomized . . . the real story behind Joan and Ted’s whirlwindromance . . . Jackie’s desire for a divorce from JFK in the 1950s .. . Pat Lawford’s disastrous Hollywood marriage . . . how Carolinediscovered her cousin David’s death by overdose, and more. Tough enough to withstand the un

The only thing the writers in this book have in common is thatthey've exchanged sex for money. They're PhDs and dropouts, soccermoms and jailbirds, $2,500-a-night call girls and $10 crack hos,and everything in between. This anthology lends a voice to anunderrepresented population that is simultaneously reviled andworshipped. Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys is a collection of shortmemoirs, rants, confessions, nightmares, journalism, and poetrycovering life, love, work, family, and yes, sex. The editors gatherpieces from the world of industrial sex, including contributionsfrom art-porn priestess Dr. Annie Sprinkle, best-selling memoiristDavid Henry Sterry (Chicken: Self-Portrait of a Young Man forRent), sex activist and musical diva Candye Kane, women and menright off the streets, girls participating in the first-everNational Summit of Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth, and RuthMorgan Thomas, one of the organizers of the European Sex Work,Human Rights, and Migration Conference. Se

With endearing humor and unabashed compassion, WillieMorris--a self-declared dog man and author of the classic paean tocanine kind, My Dog Skip--reveals the irresistible story of hisunlikely friendship with a cat. Forced to confront a lifetime ofkitty-phobia when he marries a cat woman, Willie discovers thatSpit McGee, a feisty kitten with one blue and one gold eye, isnothing like the foul felines that lurk in his nightmares. For when Spit is just three weeks old he nearly dies, but issaved by Willie with a little help from Clinic Cat, which providesa blood transfusion. Spit is tied to Willie thereafter, and Williegrows devoted to a companion who won't fetch a stick, but whosewily charm and occasional crankiness conceal a fount of affection,loyalty, and a "rare and incredible intelligence." My Cat SpitMcGee is one of the finest books ever written about a cat, and amoving and entertaining tribute to an enduring friendship.

In 1773, the great Samuel Johnson–then 63–and his young friendand future biographer, James Boswell, traveled together around thecoast of Scotland, each writing his own account of the 83-dayjourney. Published in one volume, the very different travelogues ofthis unlikely duo provide a fascinating picture not only of theScottish Highlands but also of the relationship between two menwhose fame would be forever entwined. Johnson's account contains elegant de*ions and analysesof what was then a remote and rugged land. In contrast, theScottish-born Boswell's journal of the trip focuses on thepsychological landscape of his famously gruff and witty companion,and is part of the material he was already collecting for hisfuture Life of Samuel Johnson, the masterly biography that wouldmake his name. Read together, the two accounts form both a unique classic oftravel writing and a revelation of one of the most famous literaryfriendships.

Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-linedboulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking fa?ades around everycorner--in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured theAmerican imagination for as long as there have beenAmericans. In 1995, Adam Gopnik, his wife, and their infant son left thefamiliar comforts and hassles of New York City for the urbaneglamour of the City of Light. Gopnik is a longtime New Yorkerwriter, and the magazine has sent its writers to Paris fordecades--but his was above all a personal pilgrimage to the placethat had for so long been the undisputed capital of everythingcultural and beautiful. It was also the opportunity to raise achild who would know what it was to romp in the Luxembourg Gardens,to enjoy a croque monsieur in a Left Bank café--a child (andperhaps a father, too) who would have a grasp of that Parisiansense of style we Americans find so elusive. So, in the grand tradition of the American abroad, Gopnik walkedthe paths of the Tuileries, enjoy

Charles I waged civil wars that cost one in ten Englishmentheir lives. But in 1649 Parliament was hard put to find a lawyerwith the skill and daring to prosecute a king who claimed to beabove the law. In the end, they chose the radical lawyer JohnCooke, whose Puritan conscience, political vision, and love ofcivil liberties gave him the courage to bring the king to trial. Asa result, Charles I was beheaded, but eleven years later Cookehimself was arrested, tried, and executed at the hands of CharlesII. Geoffrey Robertson, a renowned human rights lawyer, provides avivid new reading of the tumultuous Civil War years, exposinglong-hidden truths: that the king was guilty, that his executionwas necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament, that theregicide trials were rigged and their victims should be seen asnational heroes. Cooke’s trial of Charles I, the first trial of ahead of state for waging war on his own people, became a forerunnerof the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic

“Number One” was a phrase my father—and, for that matter, mymother—repeated time and time again. It was a phrase spoken by myparents’ friends and by their friends’ children. Whenever adultsdiscussed the great Chinese painters and sculptors from the ancientdynasties, there was always a single artist named as Number One.There was the Number One leader of a manufacturing plant, theNumber One worker, the Number One scientist, the Number One carmechanic. In the culture of my childhood, being best waseverything. It was the goal that drove us, the motivation that gavelife meaning. And if, by chance or fate or the blessings of thegenerous universe, you were a child in whom talent was evident,Number One became your mantra. It became mine. I never begged myparents to take off the pressure. I accepted it; I even enjoyed it.It was a game, this contest among aspiring pianists, and although Imay have been shy, I was bold, even at age five, when faced with afield of rivals. Born in China to parents whose mu

Acclaimed British historian Anthony Everitt delivers a compelling account of the former orphan who became Roman emperor in A.D. 117 after the death of his guardian Trajan. Hadrian strengthened Rome by ending territorial expansion and fortifying existing borders. And - except for the uprising he triggered in Judea - his strength-based diplomacy brought peace to the realm after a century of warfare.

Peter Ackroyd's The Life of Thomas More is a masterfulreconstruction of the life and imagination of one of the mostremarkable figures of history. Thomas More (1478-1535) was arenowned statesman; the author of a political fantasy that gave aname to a literary genre and a worldview (Utopia); and, mostfamously, a Catholic martyr and saint. Born into the professional classes, Thomas More applied hisformidable intellect and well-placed connections to become the mostpowerful man in England, second only to the king. As much a work ofhistory as a biography, The Life of Thomas More gives an unmatchedportrait of the everyday, religious, and intellectual life of theearly sixteenth century. In Ackroyd's hands, this renowned "man forall seasons" emerges in the fullness of his complex humanity; wesee the unexpected side of his character--such as his preferencefor bawdy humor--as well as his indisputable moral courage.

Turning away from the privileged world of the "eminentVictorians," Gertrude Bell (1868—1926) explored, mapped, andexcavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligenceduring World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining theloyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and informationprovided the brains to match T. E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war,she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was,at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the BritishEmpire. In this masterful biography, Janet Wallach shows us the womanbehind these achievements a woman whose passion anddefiant independence were at odds wit the confined and custom-boundEngland she left behind. Too long eclipsed by Lawrence, GertrudeBell emerges at last in her own right as a vital player on thestage of modern history, and as a woman whose life was both aheartbreaking story and a grand adventure.