Other books that might interest you

• 

  John Banville

  PBS NewsHour

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Irish writer John Banville slips into Raymond Chandler’s voice for a new crime novel starring one of the great characters in American fiction: private detective Philip Marlowe. 1950’s Los Angeles, the femme fatale, Hollywood stars: Chandler’s noir ingredients are back in full swing in The Black-Eyed Blonde. Banville talks to Jeffrey Brown about his novel and using the pseudonym Benjamin Black.

  Show book

• 

  Seniors Hold on to Urban...

  PBS NewsHour

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A new community model lets seniors enjoy all of the security and social amenities of a retirement community without leaving their homes. The alternative is called "aging in place." Ray Suarez reports on how this village concept may help seniors retain their independence into their golden years.

  Show book

• 

  Toymaker - The autobiography of...

  Tom Karen

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Step inside his home and you'll see papier-mâché birds, a life-sized cardboard tiger, model cars; his work bench a vibrant collage of creativity, from hand-drawn maps and postcards to newly devised toys for his beloved grandchildren. Tom Karen is a toymaker, creative genius, award-winning designer and one of the world's most remarkable inventors. From inventing the Marble Run to designing the iconic Raleigh Chopper bike and creating the Bond Bug, Tom's designs are cherished the world over, but behind these fantastical creations lies an equally remarkable life.Born in the 1920s into a wealthy family and raised in Czechoslovakia by nannies, Tom had a lonely upbringing and longed for pencils, paper, paints and brushes. His childhood was short-lived when Tom and his family had to flee for their lives following the rise of Nazi Germany. It was this formative experience that would transform Tom's life. Arriving in the UK, Tom would establish himself as a creator slowly building the career that would see him dubbed 'the man who designed the seventies'.Told through the prism of Tom's incredible designs, Toymaker is a story about life, about imagination, about being in the present and existing in the past; about painting, drawing, chopping and changing; about thinking, discussing, arguing and listening. Tom's life is a tale of a century of creativity and how 'things' come to define who we are - and help us look ahead to where we're going.

  Show book

• 

  Resilient by Nature -...

  Reggie Williams, Jarrett Bell,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  This amazing memoir follows the story of Reggie Williams—ex-NFL linebacker, former Disney executive, renaissance man, and the epitome of determination in the face of extreme challenges."Don't look at their eyes."That was the advice the great Jim Brown gave to Reggie Williams as they prepared for a meeting with members of rival Los Angeles gang members at an ultra-secret location.Williams needed to strike an accord with the "Bloods" and the "Crips" if the youth education center he was establishing in South Central LA would ever stand a chance of succeeding in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots . . . with the NFL on the verge of making it to the Super Bowl.Thanks to an assist from Brown, arguably the greatest player in NFL history, Williams survived the meeting that led to an agreement from the gangs that the community center would be off-limits.In Resilient by Nature, Williams reveals an array of classic episodes from his journey that share a common thread—the ability to adapt to change and extreme challenges . . . including the battle to save his right leg.Look in his eyes and you'll see Williams as a walking inspiration.

  Show book

• 

  Mountain to Mountain - A Journey...

  Shannon Galpin

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Being inspired to act can take many forms. For some, it's taking a weekend to volunteer, but for Shannon Galpin, it meant leaving her career, selling her house, launching a nonprofit, and committing her life to advancing education and opportunity for women and girls. Focusing on the war-torn country of Afghanistan, Galpin and her organization, Mountain2Mountain, have touched the lives of hundreds of men, women, and children.In her lyrical and honest memoir, Galpin describes her first forays into fundraising, her deep desire to help women and girls halfway across the world, and her love for adventure and sports. During her numerous trips to Afghanistan, Shannon reaches out to politicians and journalists, as well as everyday Afghans, to cross a cultural divide and find common ground. She narrates harrowing encounters, exhilarating bike rides, humorous episodes, and the heartbreak inherent in a country that is still recovering from decades of war and occupation.

  Show book

• 

  The Physics Book - From the Big...

  Clifford A. Pickover

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “A thrilling, fast-paced excursion through the history of physical discovery . . . from silly putty to string theory” (Dr. Paul Halpern, author of Collider). 
   
  Following his previous volumes, The Science Book and The Math Book, acclaimed science writer Clifford Pickover returns with a richly illustrated chronology of physics, containing 250 short, entertaining, and thought-provoking entries. In addition to exploring such engaging topics as dark energy, parallel universes, the Doppler effect, the God particle, and Maxwells demon, The Physics Book extends back billions of years to the hypothetical Big Bang and forward trillions of years to a time of “quantum resurrection.” Like the previous titles in this series, The Physics Book offers a lively and accessible account of major concepts without getting bogged down in complex details.

  Show book