In Listening to Whales, Alexandra Morton shares spellbindingstories about her career in whale and dolphin research and what shehas learned from and about these magnificent mammals. In the late1970s, while working at Marineland in California, Alexandrapioneered the recording of orca sounds by dropping a hydrophoneinto the tank of two killer whales. She recorded the variedlanguage of mating, childbirth, and even grief after the birth of astillborn calf. At the same time she made the startling observationthat the whales were inventing wonderful synchronized movements, abehavior that was soon recognized as a defining characteristic oforca society. In 1984, Alexandra moved to a remote bay in British Columbia tocontinue her research with wild orcas. Her recordings of the whaleshave led her to a deeper understanding of the mystery of whaleecholocation, the vocal communication that enables the mammals tofind their way in the dark sea. A fascinating study of the profoundcommunion between humans and whales

Succeeds more than any previous book in bringing Ali into focus. . . as a starburst of energy, ego and ability whose like willnever be seen again.-- The Wall Street Journal "Best Nonfiction Book of the Year"-- Time "Penetrating . . . reveal[s] details that even close followers of[Ali] might not have known. . . . An amazing story." -- The NewYork Times On the night in 1964 that Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay)stepped into the ring with Sonny Liston, he was widely regarded asan irritating freak who danced and talked way too much. Six roundslater Ali was not only the new world heavyweight boxing champion:He was "a new kind of black man" who would shortly transformAmerica's racial politics, its popular culture, and its notions ofheroism. No one has capturedAli--and the era that he exhilarated and sometimes infuriated--withgreater vibrancy, drama, and astuteness than David Remnick, thePulitzer Prize-winning author of Lenin's Tomb (and editor of The New Yorker ). In charting Ali's rise fro

George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision of "Negative Utopia" is timelier than ever-and its warnings more powerful.

Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and histumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about theman who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Belovedand hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan whofought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to hiswill in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 usheredin a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites,were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made itsstand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and thefears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times athome 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 detailsthe human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle ofadvisers–that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of stormand victory. One of our most significant

An enraged man abducts his estranged wife and child, holes upin a secluded mountain cabin, threatening to kill them both. Aright wing survivalist amasses a cache of weapons and resists callsto surrender. A drug trafficker barricades himself and his familyin a railroad car, and begins shooting. A cult leader in Waco,Texas faces the FBI in an armed stand-off that leaves many dead ina fiery blaze. A sniper, claiming to be God, terrorizes the DCmetropolitan area. For most of us, these are events we hear abouton the news. For Gary Noesner, head of the FBI’s groundbreakingCrisis Negotiation Unit, it was just another day on the job. In Stalling for Time, Noesner takes readers on a heart-poundingtour through many of the most famous hostage crises of the pastthirty years. Specially trained in non-violent confrontation andcommunication techniques, Noesner’s unit successfully defused manypotentially volatile standoffs, but perhaps their most hard-wonvictory was earning the recognition and respect of the

From the author of the best-selling biography Woody Allen—themost informative, revealing, and entertaining conversations fromhis thirty-six years of interviewing the great comedian andfilmmaker. For more than three decades, Woody Allen has been talkingregularly and candidly with Eric Lax, and has given him singularand unfettered access to his film sets, his editing room, and histhoughts and observations. In discussions that begin in 1971 andcontinue into 2007, Allen discusses every facet of moviemakingthrough the prism of his own films and the work of directors headmires. In doing so, he reveals an artist’s development over thecourse of his career to date, from joke writer to standup comedianto world-acclaimed filmmaker. Woody talks about the seeds of his ideas and the writing of hisscreenplays; about casting and acting, shooting and directing,editing and scoring. He tells how he reworks screenplays even whilefilming them. He describes the problems he has had casting Ameri

Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, and important book. THE NEW YORK TIMES If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle,and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man wasMalcolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is the result of a uniquecollaboration between Alex Haley and Malcolm X, whose voice andphilosophy resonate from every page, just as his experience and hisintelligence continue to speak to millions.

The Secretary of Defense for the Kennedy and Johnsonadministrations provides an account of how and why America becameinvolved in Vietnam and discusses the long-term ramifications ofdecisions made during the 1960s. Reprint. 125,000 firstprinting.

A comprehensive, authoritative, in depth andentertaining biography of one of the greatest and most influentialfantasy authors in modern time, J.R.R. Tolkien. In this informed an entertaining account, renowned biographerMichael White delves into the little-known life of one of the mosttreasured and enduring authors of our time, J.R.R. Tolkien. In absorbing and revealing detail, White describes Tolkien'slife -- from his childhood years and the tragic early death of hisparents; his burgeoning romance with Edith Brett; fighting on thefront lines in WWII; his many years as an Oxford academic, wherethe idea of the Hobbit struck him while marking a term paper; tohis friendship with C.S. Lewis and the founding of the group "TheInklings"; and why The Lord of the Rings became the mostinfluential book in the late sixties counter-culture, one of themost respected and most-read trilogies ever written, and the centerof a major film phenomenon. With 16 pages of black and white photos.

The first account—prodigiously researched, richly detailed—ofthe last remarkable twenty-five years of the life and art of one ofAmerica’s greatest and most beloved musical icons. Much has been written about Louis Armstrong, but most of itfocuses on the early and middle stages of his long career. Now,Ricky Riccardi—jazz scholar and musician—takes an in-depth look atthe years in which Armstrong was often dismissed as a buffoon?ish,if popular, entertainer, and shows us instead the inventiveness anddepth of expression that his music evinced during this time. These are the years (from after World War II until his death in1971) when Armstrong entertained crowds around the world andrecorded his highest-charting hits, including “Mack the Knife” and“Hello, Dolly”; years when he collaborated with, among others, EllaFitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck; when he recorded withstrings and big bands, and, of course, with the All-Stars, hisprimary performing ensemble for more than

Now in paperback: the third volume of John Richardson’smagisterial Life of Picasso. Here is Picasso at the height of his powers in Rome and Naples,producing the sets and costumes with Cocteau for Diaghilev’sBallets Russes, and visiting Pompei where the antique statuary fuelhis obsession with classicism; in Paris, creating some of his mostimportant sculpture and painting as part of a group that includedBraque, Apollinaire, Miró, and Breton; spending summers in theSouth of France in the company of Gerald and Sara Murphy,Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. These are the years of his marriage tothe Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova—the mother of his onlylegitimate child, Paulo—and of his passionate affair withMarie-Thérèse Walter, who was, as well, his model and muse. A groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of one of thegreatest artists of the twentieth century.

A gathering ofbrilliant and viciously funny recollections from one of thetwentieth century’s most famous literary enfants terribles. Written in 1980 but published here for the first time, thesetexts tell the story of the various farces that developed aroundthe literary prizes Thomas Bernhard received in his lifetime.Whether it was the Bremen Literature Prize, the Grillparzer Prize,or the Austrian State Prize, his participation in the acceptanceceremony—always less than gracious, it must be said—resulted inscandal (only at the awarding of the prize from Austria’s FederalChamber of Commerce did Bernhard feel at home: he received thatone, he said, in recognition of the great example he set forshopkeeping apprentices). And the remuneration connected with theprizes presented him with opportunities for adventure—of thenew-house and luxury-car variety. Here is a portrait of the writer as a prizewinner: laconic,sardonic, and shaking his head with biting amusement at the w

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

No doubt one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, MarcChagall (1887-1985) created a unique world full of pathos, poetry,humor, and enchantment, drawing on vivid memories of his Jewishupbringing in Russia. His original style and his connection to thepast endured throughout his seven-decade career, despite the greatmovements and schools of 20th century art which he saw developingaround him. All aspects of Chagall's work are covered here, frompaintings to stained glass, tapestries, ceramics, and more.

In The Cubist Rebel, 1907–1916 , the second volume of his Life of Picasso , John Richardson reveals the young Picassoin the Baudelairean role of “the painter of modern life”—a rolethat stipulated the brothel as the noblest subject for a modernartist. Hence his great breakthrough painting, Les Demoisellesd’Avignon , with which this book opens. As well as portrayingPicasso as a revolutionary, Richardson analyzes the morecompassionate side of his genius. The misogynist of posthumouslegend turns out to have been surprisingly vulnerable—more oftensinned against than sinning. Heartbroken at the death of hismistress Eva, Picasso tried desperately to find a wife. Richardsonrecounts the untold story of how his two great loves of 1915–17successively turned him down. These disappointments, as well as hishorror at the outbreak of World War I and the wounds it inflictedon his closest friends, Braque and Apollinaire, shadowed hispainting and drove him off to work for the Ballets Russes in Romeand Naples—

An inspiring story of one doctor’s struggle in a war-tornvillage in the heart of Sudan In 2007, James Maskalyk, newly recruited byDoctors Without Borders, set out for the contested border town ofAbyei, Sudan. An emergency physician drawn to the ravaged parts ofthe world, Maskalyk spent six months treating malnourishedchildren, coping with a measles epidemic, watching for war, andstruggling to meet overwhelming needs with few resources. Six Months in Sudan began as a blog thatMaskalyk wrote from his hut in Sudan in an attempt to bring hisfamily and friends closer to his experiences on the medical frontline of one of the poorest and most fragile places on earth. It isthe story of the doctors, nurses, and countless volunteers wholeave their homes behind to ease the suffering of others, and it isthe story of the people of Abyei, who endure its hardship becauseit is the only home they have. A memoir of volunteerism that recalls Three Cupsof Tea, Six Months in Sudan is written with humanity, convicti

A fascinating exploration of the contents of Agatha Christie's 73 recently discovered notebooks, including illustrations, deleted extracts, and two unpublished Poirot stories. When Agatha Christie died in 1976, aged 85, she had become the world's most popular author. With sales of more than two billion copies worldwide in more than 100 countries, she had achieved the impossible - more than one book every year since the 1920s, every one a bestseller. So prolific was Agatha Christie's output - 66 crime novels, 20 plays, 6 romance books under a pseudonym and over 150 short stories - it was often claimed that she had a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort over those 55 years to more mundane methods of working out her ingenious crimes? Following the death of Agatha's daughter, Rosalind, at the end of 2004, a remarkable secret was revealed. Unearthed among her affairs at the family home of Greenway were Agatha Christie's private notebooks, 73 handwritten volumes of notes, lists and drafts outlining

Not since Abigail Adams has one woman been both the wife and mother of presidents. Barbara Bush's prominent place in American history is matched only by her extraordinary popularity: Republicans and Democrats alike appreciate her wit, her compassion, and her devotion to her family. Dignified, loyal, and unpretentious, the former First Lady defied skeptics to become one of the most admired first ladies in history -- and she remains a beloved public figure today. In this inspiring follow-up to her number-one bestselling memoir, Mrs. Bush covers the momentous eight years between President George H. W. Bush's leaving office and President George W. Bush's 2001 inauguration. Reflections comprises Mrs. Bush's diary entries, travelogues, family photographs, even secret recipes. She discusses her experiences in the White House, on the campaign trail, and in the public eye, as well as her own views about such controversial issues as her husband's resignation from the NRA, the caning of an American student i

A rich evocation of Nabokov's life and times, even as it offersincisive insights into his major works, including LOLITA, PNIN,DESPAIR, THE GIFT and others.

Venture capitalists are the handmaidens of innovation. Operating in the background, they provide the fuel needed to get fledgling companies off the ground--and the advice and guidance that helps growing companies survive their adolescence. In Creative Capital, Spencer Ante tells the compelling story of the enigmatic and quirky man--Georges Doriot--who created the venture capital industry. The author traces the pivotal events in Doriot's life, including his experience as a decorated brigadier general during World War II; as a maverick professor at Harvard Business School; and as the architect and founder of the first venture capital firm, American Research and Development. It artfully chronicles Doriot's business philosophy and his stewardship in startups, such as the important role he played in the formation of Digital Equipment Corporation and many other new companies that later grew to be influential and successful.

No one is better poised to write the biography of JamesHerriot than the son who worked alongside him in the Yorkshireveterinary practice when Herriot became an internationallybestselling author. Now, in this warm and poignant biography, JimWight ventures beyond his father's life as a veterinarian to revealthe man behind the stories--the private individual who refused toallow fame and wealth to interfere with his practice or his family.With access to all of his father's papers, correspondence,manu*s, and photographs--and intimate recollections of thefarmers, locals, and friends who populate the James Herriotbooks--only Jim Wight could write this definitive biography of theman who was not only his father but his best friend.