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  In the Temple of Wolves - A...

  Rick Lamplugh

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  When Rick Lamplugh reports for work at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch on New Year's Eve, he has one goal: to learn as much as possible about the ecology of the Lamar Valley and how wolves fit in. He has three frigid months to explore on skis and snowshoes, to observe with all his senses, and to listen to and talk with experts.Lamplugh's story takes you with him as he watches winter-hungry elk and bison migrate to the Lamar Valley to graze. Wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions stalk the grazers while eagles, ravens, and magpies wait to scavenge. The snowy backdrop brings this saga of death and life into sharp focus and makes it unforgettable.A literary blend of facts and feelings, In the Temple of Wolves celebrates nature's stark beauty and the importance of wolves, while revealing Lamplugh's inner battles with his own human nature.

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  Roadblocks to Hell

  Dr. Carrie Wachsmann

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  Roadblocks to Hell is based on a true story.  
   
  By the age of 12, Walther Colt was headed down a dark and dangerous road. Both family circumstances and choices played a role in this young man’s fateful journey. Convicted of trying to kill the police chief at the age of 15, Walt faces years in adult prison, his only friend - a young Mennonite girl from a strict religious background.  
   
  Why would Cali, a simple country girl, befriend and stay connected with this angry, rebellious man, whose tragic life was so antithetical to that of her own? How many roadblocks will it take for Walt to live a life without bars? How many roadblocks will it take before he finds the redemption he so desperately seeks? 
   
  Born into poverty and heading down a dangerous and tragic road, how will this young man's life end?  
   
  The author follows the characters' lives and activities as documented or remembered. Dialogue and thoughts are created to depict each individual character's nature, their belief systems and their reactions to the events depicted in the story.  
   
  Names have been changed but the stories are based on actual events. 
  In some cases, dialogue (quotes sometimes used) is from notes taken during interviews with individuals portrayed in the story. The prison interviews and the funeral service, for example, are mainly verbatim.  
   
  Some scenes are reconstructed from newspaper articles.  
   
  The purpose of this book?  
   
  To give hope to those who have loved ones traveling down a self-destructive road.  
  To offer encouragement to those already on that road; that your life has a purpose, can change and become meaningful. 

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  The Shocking Miss Pilgrim - A...

  Frederica Sagor Maas

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  A memoir of the rise and fall of one female screenwriter’s career during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Freddie Maas’s revealing memoir offers a unique perspective on the film industry and Hollywood culture in their early days and illuminates the plight of Hollywood writers working within the studio system. An ambitious twenty-three-year-old, Maas moved to Hollywood and launched her own writing career by drafting a screenplay of the bestselling novel The Plastic Age for “It” girl Clara Bow. With that script, she landed a staff position at powerhouse MGM studios. In the years to come, she worked with and befriended numerous actors and directors, including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Eric von Stroheim, as well as such writers and producers as Thomas Mann and Louis B. Mayer. As a professional screenwriter, Frederica quickly learned that scripts and story ideas were frequently rewritten, and that screen credit was regularly given to the wrong person. Studio executives wanted well-worn plots, but it was the writer’s job to develop the innovative situations and scintillating dialogue that would bring to picture to life. For over twenty years, Freddie and her friends struggled to survive in this incredibly competitive environment. Through it all, Freddie remained a passionate, outspoken woman in an industry run by powerful men, and her provocative, nonconformist ways brought her success, failure, wisdom, and a wealth of stories, opinions, and insight into a fascinating period in screen history.Praise for The Shocking Miss Pilgrim “In this memorable tell-all, rise-and-fall memoir, Maas brings the gimlet hindsight of Julia Phillips’s You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again to early Hollywood, and the results are thoroughly captivating.” —Publishers Weekly “A bittersweet, extraordinarily detailed recollection of Maas’s 30-year career in the motion picture industry. . . . Chockablock with anecdotes, and a blinding amount of star-wattage to boot.” —Salon.com

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  A Real Boy - How Autism...

  Nicola Stevens, Christopher Stevens

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  We feel like parents in a fairytale turned to stone by a curse and condemned to stand like statues with our hearts thudding in our chests as our son plays wild games, all alone in the palace. He sees us he knows us, he expects us always to be in our right places - but he has no idea that we are human too. 
   David is eleven years old. He is happy, healthy and affectionate. He loves school, climbing trees and Disney songs. But he's also profoundly autistic. Imagine being, like David, unable to speak more than a few words and unable to express your most basic needs. He is oblivious to danger and blind to other people's emotions, including the pleas of his parents. He is unaware of the chaos that he creates and is completely unmoved by the heartbreak that he causes. 
   This extraordinarily moving account describes the heartbreak, and the unexpected joy of autism. With raw honesty, Christopher and Nicola Stevens lay bare their experiences, which are by turns harrowing, hilarious, and inspirational. Autism is often depicted as a lonely affliction but, as David's story unfolds, his parents reveal how the condition has given them an unbreakable togetherness; an insight into prejudice, as well as kindness; an understanding of life without words or language; and an intense appreciation of their children. 
   Caring for David is an all-consuming experience...and through it they have learned, most of all, the meaning of unconditional love.

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  Biggie - Voletta Wallace...

  Voletta Wallace, Tremell McKenzie

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  Voletta Wallace, the mother of Christopher, aka Notorious B.I.G., became a matriarch of hip-hop on March 9, 1997, the night her legendary son was murdered. An intensely private and religious person, she was thrust into the spotlight of the media and charged with managing the legacy of a hip-hop generation immortal.  Biggie reveals the story of how Ms. Wallace came to America and raised a son who -- in a life cut too short -- grew to be one of the most beloved recording artists of his generation. Ms. Wallace, born and raised in Jamaica, West Indies, immigrated to the United States as a young woman, aspiring to her version of the American Dream. Once here, she fell in love. The relationship didn't work out, but it did result in a beautiful son. The bright and precocious Christopher became the center of her world, and she the foundation of his.  Ms. Wallace settled in Brooklyn, New York, pursued a career in early childhood education, and worked hard at not only keeping her own son on the straight and narrow but lovingly and firmly guiding other people's sons and daughters. Biggie is Voletta Wallace's story and her tribute-in-writing to her beloved son. In a no-holds-barred way, she tells the truth about the night her son was senselessly shot, the terrible aftermath, and what she believes led to his untimely death. She shares her misgivings about the treacherous nature of the entertainment industry and condemns the individuals who posed as friends of her late son while treating her and his memory with little respect. She acknowledges those -- the mothers of other slain hip-hop artists, including Tupac Shakur and Jason Mizell -- who gave her moral and material support in the dark moments of mourning her son and attending to the business and legal issues, many of which remain unresolved.  Faith Evans, Christopher's widow, the mother of his child -- and a recording star in her own right -- contributed a heartfelt foreword to this book. Evans remains at Voletta Wallace's side as she continues the struggle to keep open the investigation of her son's murder and see that justice is done. She and so many others, in and out of the hip-hop community, continue to work with Ms. Wallace in support of the Christopher Wallace Foundation, an organization dedicated to the well-being and education of inner-city youth.  For more information, visit www.cwmf.org.

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  The Winchester - The Gun That...

  Laura Trevelyan

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  “Details the extraordinary life of Oliver Winchester, the company, and its rapid rise and slow fall as told by a distant family descendant.”—American Gunsmith   Arguably the world’s most famous firearm, the Winchester Repeating Rifle was sought after by a cast of characters ranging from the settlers of the American West to the Ottoman Empire’s Army. Laura Trevelyan, a descendant of the Winchester family, offers an engrossing personal history of the colorful New England clan responsible for the creation and manufacture of the “Gun that Won the West.”   Trevelyan chronicles the rise and fortunes of a great American arms dynasty, from Oliver Winchester’s involvement with the Volcanic Arms Company in 1855 through the turbulent decades of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She explores the evolution of an iconic, paradigm-changing weapon that has become a part of American culture; a longtime favorite of collectors and gun enthusiasts that has been celebrated in fiction, glorified in Hollywood, and applauded in endorsements from the likes of Annie Oakley, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, and Native American tribesmen who called it “the spirit gun.”    “[A] detailed but accessible look at the life, times and commerce of Oliver Winchester—Trevelyan’s great great great grandfather—and his many descendants of both the human and firearms varieties . . . Whether you’re a fan of firearms or simply of American history, there is much to enjoy and learn in this easy-to-read and well-footnoted volume.”—American Shooting Journal   “The book is beautifully illustrated, with fascinating photos of the Winchester family, and with well-known historical figures—including the Native American leader Geronimo and President Theodore Roosevelt—clutching their repeating rifles.”—Times Literary Supplement 

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