Other books that might interest you

• 

  The Longest Race - A Lifelong...

  Ed Ayres

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “It soon becomes clear that this book isn’t just about an athletic race. It’s also about the human race” (Bloomberg Businessweek).   Having run in more than six hundred races over the span of fifty-five years, Ed Ayres is a legendary distance runner—and this book is his urgent exploration of the connection between individual endurance and a sustainable society.  The Longest Race begins in 2001 at the starting line of the JFK 50 Mile—the nation’s oldest and largest ultramarathon and, like other such races, it’s an epic test of human limits and aspiration. At age sixty, his sights set on breaking the age-division record, Ayres embarks on a course over the rocky ridge of the Appalachian Trail, along the headwind-buffeted towpath of the Potomac River, and past momentous Civil War sites such as Harpers Ferry and Antietam.   But even as Ayres focuses on an endurance runner’s familiar concerns—starting strong and setting the right pace, controlling his breathing, overcoming fatigue, and staying mindful of the course ahead—he finds himself as preoccupied with the future of our planet as with the finish line.   A veteran journalist and environmental editor, Ayres reveals how the skills and mindset necessary to complete an ultramarathon are also essential for grappling anew with the imperative to endure—not only as individuals, but as a society—and not just for fifty miles, but over the real long haul, in a unique meditation that “ought to be required reading even for people who have never run a step” (The Boston Globe).   “He seamlessly moves between discussing running to exploring larger life issues such as why we run, our impact on the environment, and the effects of the nation’s declining physical fitness . . . Thought provoking.” ―Booklist   “To read this book is to run alongside a seasoned athlete, a deep thinker, and a great storyteller. And Ayres doesn’t disappoint: He is the best kind of running companion, generously doling out hilarious stories and hard-won insights into performance conditioning and the human condition. His lifetime of ultra-running and environmental writing drive his exploration of what keeps us running long distances―and what it might take to keep the planet from being run into the ground.” ―Nature Conservancy magazine  

  Show book

• 

  Rise to Greatness - Abraham...

  David Von Drehle

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  As 1862 dawned, the American republic was at death's door. The federal government appeared overwhelmed, the U.S. Treasury was broke, and the Union's top general was gravely ill. The Confederacy-with its booming economy, expert military leadership, and commanding position on the battlefield-had a clear view to victory. To a remarkable extent, the survival of the country depended on the judgment, cunning, and resilience of the unschooled frontier lawyer who had recently been elected president. 
   
  Twelve months later, the Civil War had become a cataclysm but the tide had turned. The Union generals who would win the war had at last emerged, and the Confederate army had suffered the key losses that would lead to its doom. The blueprint for modern America-an expanding colossus of industrial and financial might-had been indelibly inked. And the man who brought the nation through its darkest hour, Abraham Lincoln, had signed the Emancipation Proclamation and emerged as a singular leader. 
   
  In Rise to Greatness, acclaimed author David Von Drehle has created both a deeply human portrait of America's greatest president and a rich, dramatic narrative about our most fateful year.

  Show book

• 

  Anne Bradstreet and Phillis...

  Charles River Editors

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Anne Bradstreet was born into an unusual family that, in the early years of the 17th century, believed in educating daughters as well as sons. She then moved to the American wilderness as a young bride and proceeded to produce children and poetry at nearly equal speed in the years that followed. Historian Theodore Stanton observed, “The most of her poems were produced between 1630 and 1642, that is, before she was thirty years old; and during these years she had neither leisure, nor elegant surroundings, nor freedom from anxious thoughts, nor even abounding health. Somehow, during her busy lifetime, she contrived to put upon record compositions numerous enough to fill a royal octavo volume of 400 pages, — compositions which entice and reward our reading of them, two hundred years after she lived.” 
  	Phillis Wheatley has always been a difficult figure for people to wrap their minds around, both during her life and centuries after it. Indeed, she fits no easy stereotypes that historians or contemporaries liked to use to classify their subjects. Even her name is complicated, with her first name being spelled at times “Phyllis,” and her surname being given without the extra “e” in the final syllable. Like so much of her life, her name was not the one given to her by her parents but instead by the people who first enslaved her. 
  	Then there was the matter of her “career,” which has always escaped definition. In the 18th century, enslaved people were not supposed to have been educated, certainly not to the level that Wheatley was, nor were they supposed to have creative abilities beyond those taught to them by their masters. In a time and place where slaves were rarely taught to read, they were obviously not expected to write better poetry than the vast majority of their peers. 

  Show book

• 

  Whatever Love Is Love -...

  Maria Bello

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The acclaimed actress questions the labels we wear when it comes to partnership, career, love, and sexuality in this deeply moving memoir. 
   
  Written as a series of provocative questions and thoughtful answers, Whatever . . . Love Is Love is filled with deeply personal, often funny, and even passionate stories, stories in which Maria bares her soul and shares what she’s learned—not only about romantic love, but also about her relationship with her parents, her feelings about spirituality, her sexual identity, the highs and lows of her career, her humanitarian work, and her worth as a mother. 
   
  Using her experiences as a gateway to a larger conversation, Maria encourages you to think about the life you lead, who you love, what you do, what you believe in, and what you call yourself . . . and helps you to realize that the only labels that matter are the ones we place on and accept for ourselves, even if they don’t fit the mold of “typical.” 
   
  “Whatever . . . Love Is Love isn’t your typical celebrity memoir. . . . Instead, each chapter, through charming candor and humor, challenges a series of ‘labels’ that represent impossible standards to which we hold ourselves.” —Marie Claire 
   
  “Never preachy, in this book [Bello] diligently and methodically deconstructs where her values have come from. . . . Personal, provocative, and inspiring.” —Patricia Arquette, Oscar®-nominated actor

  Show book

• 

  Turkey - More than 100 Recipes...

  Leanne Kitchen

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Experience the tastes and the sights of the Middle Eastern nation of Turkey with this blend of cookbook and travelogue. 
   
  Turkey’s culinary customs are as rich and varied as its landscape, and award-winning food writer Leanne Kitchen does justice to them both with more than 170 glorious photographs of the country’s foods and people that make readers want to drop everything and board the next plane. More than one hundred recipes from across seven diverse regions—including the narrow streets of Istanbul, a fishing village on the Aegean, and the sheep-lined roads near Lake Van—showcase the best of Turkish cuisine. Comforts of the countryside and delicacies from the Ottoman Court span every course, from simple meze dishes such as spiced lentil kofta to sophisticated rose and pistachio sweetmeats for dessert. This enduring travelogue makes a perfect gift for ambitious cooks and armchair travelers alike.

  Show book

• 

  Looking Through a Keyhole - A...

  Julia Spencer

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Julia Spencer takes the listener into her dreams, her fears, her hopes, her deepest private thoughts, and her most candid responses to her shrinking visual world.  With humor and a feisty yet surprisingly gentle attitude, she begins to accept vision loss, welcoming her guide dog, Irene, into her life and discovering through that keyhole-sized remnant of vision a deeper understanding of her husband and family and world.  The confines of her vision loss cannot restrain the vibrant energy and independence of this remarkable woman.  Anyone struggling with a life altering condition will find this story inspiring and motivating.

  Show book