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  The Adderall Diaries - A Memoir...

  Stephen Elliott

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  In the spring of 2007, a brilliant computer programmer named Hans Reiser stands accused of murdering his estranged wife, Nina. Despite a mountain of circumstantial evidence against him, he proclaims his innocence. The case takes a twist when Nina’s former lover, and Hans’s former best friend, Sean Sturgeon, confesses to eight unrelated murders that no one has ever heard of. At the time of Sturgeon’s confession, Stephen Elliot is paralyzed by writer’s block, in the thrall of Adderall dependency, and despondent over the state of his romantic life. But he is fascinated by Sturgeon, whose path he has often crossed in San Francisco’s underground S&M scene. What kind of person, he wonders, confesses to a murder he likely did not commit? One answer is, perhaps, a man like Elliott’s own father.

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  Frank Julian Sprague -...

  William D. Middleton

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  “[This] biography of the ‘Father of Electric Traction’ details the life and times of an exceptional engineer, maverick innovator, [and] entrepreneur.” —NMRA Magazine 
   
  Frank Julian Sprague invented a system for distributing electricity to streetcars from overhead wires. Within a year, electric streetcars had begun to replace horsecars, sparking a revolution in urban transportation. Sprague (1857–1934) was an American naval officer turned inventor who worked briefly for Thomas Edison before striking out on his own. Sprague contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His innovations would help transform the urban space of the 20th century, enabling cities to grow larger and skyscrapers taller. The Middletons’ generously illustrated biography is an engrossing study of the life and times of a maverick innovator. 
   
  “The authors weave this biography through time, with technological and political details that make Sprague human, a creative soul pressing his ideas with a sports-like outcome—some wins, some losses, and some ties . . . I recommend this well-written book detailing the life of the ‘Father of Electric Traction’ to explain the development of what we so casually take for granted.” —Trains 
   
  “No one has previously used Sprague’s personal papers in a published biography . . . Recommended.” —Choice 
   
  “Frank Sprague . . . is a major historical figure who for decades lacked a significant biography. This void has been ably and engagingly filled in this book by the dean of electric traction authors, William D. Middleton, and his son, William III.” —Classic Trains

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  The Boy Generals - George Custer...

  Adolfo Ovies

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  First in a trilogy—a study of the strategy, tactics, and rivalry between two leaders of the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry during the American Civil War. George Armstrong Custer’s career has attracted its fair share of coverage, but most Custer-related studies focus on his decision-making and actions to the exclusion of other important factors, including his relationships with his fellow officers. Custer developed his tactical philosophy within the politically ridden atmosphere of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps. His relationship with his immediate superior, Wesley Merritt, was so acrimonious that even Custer’s wife Libbie described him as her husband’s “enemy.”The Boy Generals examines in detail the steadily deteriorating relationship of two cavalrymen with opposing tactical philosophies, and how this relationship affected events in the field. Custer was a hussar—a firm believer in the shock power of the mounted saber charge—while Merritt was a dragoon, his tactics rooted in the belief that the purpose of the horse was to transport the trooper to the battlefield, where he could fight dismounted with his carbine. With these diametrically opposed belief systems, it was inevitable that these officers would clash. What has often been described as a spirited rivalry was in fact something much darker, an association that moved from initial distaste to acrimony, and finally, outright insubordination on Custer’s part. Author Adolfo Ovies mined deeply official reports, regimental histories, and contemporary newspaper accounts, together with unpublished and little used primary sources of men who fought in their commands. This rich and satisfying study exposes the depths of one of the most dysfunctional and influential relationships in the Army of the Potomac and how it affected cavalry operations in the Eastern Theater.The Boy Generals will change the way Civil War readers think of the premier Union army’s mounted arm, as well as George Custer’s legacy.Praise for The Boy Generals “A grand effort . . . a “Must Read.” It will be a standard bearer; a marvelous book that should remain among the very best. . . . It will certainly grace my library.” —Frederic C. Wagner III, author of The Strategy of Defeat at the Little Big Horn “Well-written, thoroughly researched, and entertaining. This is one you cannot miss.” —Eric J. Wittenberg, award–winning author of “The Devil’s to Pay”: John Buford at Gettysburg: A History and Walking Tour

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  The Puppy Diaries - Raising a...

  Jill Abramson

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  An instructive and marvelously entertaining chronicle of a puppy's first year, by the executive editor of The New York Times.  
  One sparkling summer day, Jill Abramson brought home a nine-week-old golden retriever named Scout. Over the following year, as she and her husband raised their adorable new puppy, Abramson wrote a hugely popular column for The New York Times's website about the joys and challenges of training this rambunctious addition to their family. Dog-lovers from across the country inundated her with e-mails and letters, and the photos they sent in of their own dogs became the most visited photo album on the Times's site in 2009.  
  Now Abramson has gone far beyond the material in her column and written a detailed and deeply personal account of Scout's first year. Part memoir, part manual, part investigative report, The Puppy Diaries continues Abramson's intrepid reporting on all things canine. Along the way, she weighs in on such issues as breeders or shelters, adoption or rescue, raw diet or vegan, pack-leader gurus like Cesar Millan or positive-reinforcement advocates like Karen Pryor. 
  What should you expect when a new puppy enters your life? With utterly winning stories and a wealth of practical information, The Puppy Diaries provides an essential road map for navigating the first year of your dog's life.A Macmillan Audio production.

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  The Longest Race - A Lifelong...

  Ed Ayres

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  “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  

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  The In-Between

  Christian Espinosa

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  Some regrets don’t hit you all at once. They seep in at the corners of your life, at night or on a long drive, until they become a refrain. Those are the worst regrets of all.I was living in a bubble that burst on May 9, 2022. It was the middle of the afternoon. As my partner Vanessa and I approached a major intersection, a blue car accelerated, ran the red light, and T-boned a black truck directly in front of us.BOOM! The blue car’s hood crumpled like an accordion to absorb the impact. Within seconds, its front end was completely smashed, and its windows were broken. Then, everything went out of focus, except for what I needed to do—assess the scene for safety, check on the drivers of the blue car and black truck, and call 911. Nothing else mattered—I felt a heightened sense of purpose.I had always focused on one macro moment after another—the next mountain to climb or business to start. I hadn’t spent much time appreciating the micro-moments—life in between the macros. I’d been living in a macro-moment bubble.The accident awakened a desire to paint a complete picture of who I wanted to be and how I wanted to approach my life. This is my story of learning how to value the in-between and prioritize consciously living in the micro.

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