Other books that might interest you

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  Thomas Edison - Inspiration and...

  Janet Benge, Geoff Benge

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  With only three months of formal education, Thomas Edison grew up to be one of the most successful inventors of all time. Applying scientific principles to practical use, he made scores of inventions and held over thirteen hundred patents, from improvements on the telegraph and phonograph to the development of the incandescent lamp and a whole system for distributing electricity. Edison's rise from humble beginnings and his unceasing struggle to overcome obstacles illustrate the spirit of America. His genius and investigative methods shaped the future and continue to influence new generations.

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  Bird Brother - A Falconer's...

  Rodney Stotts, Kate Pipkin

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  Rodney grew up during the crack epidemic, with guns, drugs, and the threat of incarceration an accepted part of daily life for nearly everyone he knew. To rent his own apartment, he needed a paycheck—something the money from dealing drugs didn't provide. For that, he took a position in 1992 with a new nonprofit, the Earth Conservation Corps. Gradually, Rodney fell in love with the work to restore and conserve the polluted Anacostia River that flows through DC. As conditions along the river improved, he helped to reintroduce bald eagles to the region and befriended an injured Eurasian Eagle Owl named Mr. Hoots, the first of many birds whose respect he would work hard to earn. 
   
   
   
  Bird Brother is a story about pursuing dreams against all odds, and the importance of second chances. Rodney's life was nearly upended when he was arrested on drug charges in 2002. The jail sentence sharpened his resolve to get out of the hustling life. With the fierceness of the raptors he had admired for so long, he began to train to become a master falconer and to develop his own raptor education program and sanctuary. Rodney's son Mike, a DC firefighter, has also begun his journey to being a master falconer, with his own kids cheering him along the way.

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  Mirror in the Sky - The Life and...

  Simon Morrison

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  A stunning musical biography of Stevie Nicks that paints a portrait of an artist, not a caricature of a superstar. 
   
   
   
  Reflective and expansive, Mirror in the Sky situates Stevie Nicks as one of the finest songwriters of the twentieth century. 
   
   
   
  This biography from distinguished music historian Simon Morrison examines Nicks as a singer and songwriter before and beyond her career with Fleetwood Mac, from the Arizona landscape of her childhood to the strobe-lit Night of 1000 Stevies celebrations. 
   
   
   
  The book uniquely: 
   
   
   
  ● Analyzes Nicks's craft—the grain of her voice, the poetry of her lyrics, the melodic and harmonic syntax of her songs. 
   
   
   
  ● Identifies the American folk and country influences on her musical imagination that place her within a distinctly American tradition of women songwriters. 
   
   
   
  ● Draws from oral histories and surprising archival discoveries to connect Nicks's story to those of California's above- and underground music industries, innovations in recording technology, and gendered restrictions.

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  The American Film Institute's 5...

  Editors Charles River

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  In 1999, the American Film Institute released its list of the 50 greatest Hollywood stars of the 20th century, and selecting the best actresses out of the bunch was certainly a tall task. The competition was so stacked that women like Ginger Rogers, Grace Kelly and Rita Hayworth were not even among the Top 10. So who were the Top 5 women selected by the AFI? 
  Aside from being one of the most recognized and acclaimed actresses in history, Katharine Hepburn’s career is also of great importance because she forced Americans to reevaluate their expectations for female behavior, both in films themselves and off the movie set as well.  
  Bette Davis presided over Hollywood at a time in which the film industry was at its most influential. Every actress from Katharine Hepburn to Ingrid Bergman and Ginger Rodgers, themselves now considered among Hollywood’s greatest icons, lived in the shadow of Bette Davis. 
  For someone whose career ended over 30 years ago, Audrey Hepburn continues to retain her popularity and exert a strong influence over how people view beauty and sophistication. She remains an American icon, despite the fact that she did not even move to the United States until 1953 (at the age of 24) and spent the majority of her life living in Europe. 
  At times during her career, Bergman was the darling of Hollywood, but at other times she was literally a pariah. It is all too common to remember Bergman for her performance in Casablanca, forgetting the fact that she was effectively exiled from Hollywood for several years during her romance with Roberto Rossellini. 
  Of all the great movie stars, there may be none more enigmatic than Greta Garbo, who remains internationally famous despite the fact her life and career raise more questions than answers. How did a Swedish actress with very little film acting experience in her native land arrive in the United States and achieve instant stardom?

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  Where There's a Hill - One woman...

  Sabrina Verjee

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  'The greater the challenge, the sweeter the reward, but also the greater the risk of failure. And fear of failure is the greatest barrier to success.'
  Sabrina Verjee is an ultrarunning phenomenon. In June 2021, on her fourth attempt, she became the first person to climb the Lake District's 214 Wainwright hills in under six days, running 325 miles with a colossal 36,000 metres of ascent.
  Where There's a Hill tells the story of an outsider who was never picked for a school sports team yet went on to become an accomplished modern pentathlete and adventure racer. After switching her focus to ultrarunning in her thirties, Sabrina moved to the Lake District, where she could hone her mountain-running skills on the local fells. High-profile success in endurance events followed, as she completed the Dragon's Back Race three times and was the outright winner of the 2019 Summer Spine Race, beating her nearest competitor by more than eight hours.
  However, it was the Wainwrights Round which really captured Sabrina's imagination. Having learnt about the challenge from fell-running legend Steve Birkinshaw, Sabrina began to plan an attempt of her own. Despite multiple obstacles – including lockdown regulations, bad weather, injury and controversy – Sabrina's grit and determination shone through. Where There's a Hill is a frank and inspirational account of how one woman ran her way into the record books.

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  From Fail to Grace - My Journey...

  Grace Gan

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  There is light in the sharing of our stories. 
  "I began to realise that maybe things didn’t have to be this way. That maybe something can be done to turn things around. That perhaps miracles are attainable when faith and hope are shaped into crowns on our tiny brains. There were voices in me urging me to step out of my comfort zone to make that change. And I remember having an inclination — to not repeat the mistakes my parents made. For that’s their way of showing me what I should not be doing. But I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t know what I had to do to turn things around. I was clueless. But I gathered small steps would lead me to big ones and I asked myself what was the worst choice I had ever made in my life at that point. To my surprise, it didn’t take me long to figure this one out at all. It came to me like lightning itself. Striking, clear, and loud — it was my thoughts. My very negative thoughts." 
  - FROM THE PREFACE

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