Fidel Castro is perhaps the most charismatic and controversialhead of state in modern times. A dictatorial pariah to some, he hasbecome a hero and inspiration for many of the world's poor,defiantly charting an independent and revolutionary path for Cubaover nearly half a century. Numerous attempts have been made to get Castro to tell his ownstory. But only now, in the twilight of his years, has he beenprepared to set out the details of his remarkable biography for theworld to read. This book is nothing less than his living testament.As he told reporters, his desire to finish checking its text wasthe one thing that kept him going through his recent illness. Hepresented a copy of the book in its Spanish edition to his compadrePresident Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. In these pages, Castro narrates a compelling chronicle thatspans the harshness of his elementary school teachers; the earlyfailures of the revolution; his intense comradeship with CheGuevara and their astonishing, against-all-odds victory over thedic

Psychologically astute and passionately written, Molly Worthensremarkable debut charts the intricate relationship between studentand teacher, biographer and subject. As a Yale freshman, Worthenfound herself deeply fascinated by worldly-wise professor CharlesHill, a former diplomat who had shaped American foreign policy inhis forty-year career as an adviser to Henry Kissinger, GeorgeShultz, and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, among others. Hill was neverafraid to tell students how to think or what to do, and the GrandStrategy seminar he co-taught had developed a cult following. TheMan on Whom Nothing Was Lost is at once the biography of apolitical insider and the story of how its author evolved as shewrote it. In a moving, highly original work, Worthen conveys thejoy and the heartache of uncovering the human being behind onesidol.

Near the beginning of The Autobiography of an Execution, DavidDow lays his cards on the table. "People think that because I amagainst the death penalty and don't think people should beexecuted, that I forgive those people for what they did. Well, itisn't my place to forgive people, and if it were, I probablywouldn't. I'm a judgmental and not very forgiving guy. Just ask mywife." It this spellbinding true crime narrative, Dow takes us insideof prisons, inside the complicated minds of judges, insideexecution-administration chambers, into the lives of death rowinmates (some shown to be innocent, others not) and even into hisown home--where the toll of working on these gnarled and difficultcases is perhaps inevitably paid. He sheds insight onto unexpectedphenomena-- how even religious lawyer and justices can evince deeprooted support for putting criminals to death-- and makes palpablethe suspense that clings to every word and action when human liveshang in the balance.

In The Winning Horseplayer, Andrew Beyer builds on the strategyof speed handicapping that he detailed brilliantly in PickingWinners by introducing the concept of trip handicapping. Through anunbeatable combination of case studies and lively anecdotes, Beyershows the smart bettor how to combine past performance data with anunderstanding of trips, track bias, and pace. This advanced guideto handicapping, which includes a new preface by the author, offersa generous dose of the wit and wisdom that have made Beyer a legendin the sport.

In a book that is both biography and the most exciting form ofhistory, here are eighteen years in the life of a man, AlbertEinstein, and a city, Berlin, that were in many ways the definingyears of the twentieth century. Einstein in Berlin In the spring of 1913 two of the giants of modern sciencetraveled to Zurich. Their mission: to offer the most prestigiousposition in the very center of European scientific life to a manwho had just six years before been a mere patent clerk. AlbertEinstein accepted, arriving in Berlin in March 1914 to take up hisnew post. In December 1932 he left Berlin forever. “Take a goodlook,” he said to his wife as they walked away from their house.“You will never see it again.” In between, Einstein’s Berlin years capture in microcosm theodyssey of the twentieth century. It is a century that opens withextravagant hopes--and climaxes in unparalleled calamity. These aretumultuous times, seen through the life of one man who is at oncewitness to and architect of his day--and