The Times of Their Lives

The Times of Their Lives

Author: James Deetz

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2001-10-16

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0385721536

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The utterly absorbing real story of the lives of the Pilgrims, whose desires and foibles may be more recognizable to us than they first appear. Americans have been schooled to believe that their forefathers, the Pilgrims, were somber, dark-clad, pure-of-heart figures who conceived their country on the foundation of piety, hard work, and the desire to live simply and honestly. But the truth is far from the portrait painted by decades of historians. They wore brightly colored clothing, often drank heavily, believed in witches, had premarital sex and adulterous affairs, and committed petty and serious crimes against their neighbors in surprisingly high numbers. Beginning by debunking the numerous myths that surround the landing of the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving, James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz lead us through court transcripts, wills, probate listings, and rare firsthand accounts, as well as archaeological finds, to reveal the true story of life in colonial America.


Sing for Your Life

Sing for Your Life

Author: Daniel Bergner

Publisher: Hachette+ORM

Published: 2015-01-06

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0316300659

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The New York Times bestseller about a young black man's journey from violence and despair to the threshold of stardom: "A beautiful tribute to the power of good teachers" (Terry Gross, Fresh Air). "One of the most inspiring stories I've come across in a long time."-Pamela Paul, New York Times Book Review Ryan Speedo Green had a tough upbringing in southeastern Virginia: his family lived in a trailer park and later a bullet-riddled house across the street from drug dealers. His father was absent; his mother was volatile and abusive. At the age of twelve, Ryan was sent to Virginia's juvenile facility of last resort. He was placed in solitary confinement. He was uncontrollable, uncontainable, with little hope for the future. In 2011, at the age of twenty-four, Ryan won a nationwide competition hosted by New York's Metropolitan Opera, beating out 1,200 other talented singers. Today, he is a rising star performing major roles at the Met and Europe's most prestigious opera houses. Sing for Your Life chronicles Ryan's suspenseful, racially charged and artistically intricate journey from solitary confinement to stardom. Daniel Bergner takes readers on Ryan's path toward redemption, introducing us to a cast of memorable characters -- including the two teachers from his childhood who redirect his rage into music, and his long-lost father who finally reappears to hear Ryan sing. Bergner illuminates all that it takes -- technically, creatively -- to find and foster the beauty of the human voice. And Sing for Your Life sheds unique light on the enduring and complex realities of race in America.


The Time of My Life

The Time of My Life

Author: Patrick Swayze

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-10-01

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 184737820X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In January 2008, movie star Patrick Swayze was given the worst news of his life. What he hoped was just a stomach ache was actually stage four pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis that is fatal within a year for 79% of the people to whom it is given. Remarkably, Patrick is not just alive a year later but continuing his treatment, and responding well. But this book isn't just the story of Patrick's fight against cancer. In the public eye from the early 1980s, this is the story of a remarkable life and career. Intended as a low budget, straight-to-video production, Dirty Dancingbecame a cult hit and remains one of the most enduring films of the 80s. Ghost cemented Patrick as a hugely bankable star, in a role that has had a considerable cultural impact. Most recently Patrick has returned to the public's adoring arms in TV's The Beast. This book will chronicle Patrick's personal life as well -- including his treatment for alcoholism following the death of his father and sister's sudden death. What has remained a constant in Patrick's life is his marriage and Patrick and Lisa's love story is inspiring, honest, heartfelt and transcends the typical celebrity marriage. This is a book that anyone who has faced cancer or a terminal illness can turn to: Lisa and Patrick have shown the world that cancer isn't just a diagnosis given to one individual, but a disease that can bring a household together or pull a family apart. Bold, honest and inspiring, Patrick Swayze's memoir is the story of a remarkable man's life and career and of his refusal to give in.


The Time of Our Lives

The Time of Our Lives

Author: Peggy Noonan

Publisher: Hachette+ORM

Published: 2016-03-15

Total Pages: 507

ISBN-13: 1455563129

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The 2017 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Commentary and conservative icon Peggy Noonan offers her most insightful work, including her Wall Street Journal columns about the 2016 Election. New York Times bestseller The Time of Our Lives travels the path of Peggy Noonan's remarkable and influential career, beginning with a revealing essay about her motivations as a writer and thinker. It's followed by an address to students at Harvard University on the drafting of President Reagan's speech the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded. Then comes one surprising chapter after the next including: "People I Miss" -- memorable salutes to the likes of Tim Russert, Joan Rivers, Margaret Thatcher, and others. "Making Trouble" -- Peggy's sharpest, funniest and most critical columns about Democrats and Republicans, the idiocracy of government, and Beltway disconnect. "I Just Called to Say I Love You" -- Peggy's most poignant writing capturing the country's grief and recovery in the wake of 9-11, and clear-eyed foresight on what lay ahead in terms of war and sacrifice. "The Loneliest President Since Nixon" -- tracking hope and change as it became disillusionment and disappointment with President Obama. And other sections where Peggy discerns the mood of the country ("State of the Union"), the melodrama of the historic 2008 election ("My Beautiful Election"), her battles with the Catholic Church ("What I Told the Bishops") and lighter meditations on baseball, a snowy afternoon in Brooklyn, and motherhood ("Having Fun"). Annotated throughout, The Time of Our Lives articulates Peggy's conservative vision, demonstrating why she has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, journalism's highest honor.


My Life, Our Times

My Life, Our Times

Author: Gordon Brown

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2017-11-07

Total Pages: 733

ISBN-13: 1473549620

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This revelatory memoir from Britain's former Prime Minister offers vital insights into our extraordinary times. Former Prime Minister and the country's longest-serving Chancellor, Gordon Brown has been a guiding force for Britain and the world over three decades. This is his candid, poignant and deeply relevant story. In describing his upbringing in Scotland as the son of a minister, the near loss of his eyesight as a student and the death of his daughter within days of her birth, he shares the passionately-held principles that have shaped and driven him, reminding us that politics can and should be a calling to serve. Reflecting on the personal and ideological tensions within Labour and its successes and failures in power, he describes how to meet the challenge of pursuing a radical agenda within a credible party of government. From the invasion of Iraq to the tragedy of Afghanistan, from the coalition negotiations of 2010 to the referendums on Scottish independence and Europe, Gordon Brown draws on his unique experiences to explain Britain's current fractured condition. By showing us what progressive politics has achieved in recent decades, he inspires us with a vision of what it might yet achieve. Riveting, expert and highly personal, this historic memoir is an invaluable insight into our times.


The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 9th Edition

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 9th Edition

Author: Joel Whitburn

Publisher: Billboard Books

Published: 2010-10-05

Total Pages: 914

ISBN-13: 0823085546

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Essential Reference Guide to America’s Most Popular Songs and Artists Spanning More than Fifty Years of Music Beginning with Bill Haley & His Comets’ seminal “Rock Around the Clock” all the way up to Lady Gaga and her glammed-out “Poker face,” this updated and unparalleled resource contains the most complete chart information on every artist and song to hit Billboard’s Top 40 pop singles chart all the way back to 1955. Inside, you’ll find all of the biggest-selling, most-played hits for the past six decades. Each alphabetized artist entry includes biographical info, the date their single reached the Top 40, the song’s highest position, and the number of weeks on the charts, as well as the original record label and catalog number. Other sections—such as “Record Holders,” “Top Artists by Decade,” and “#1 Singles 1955-2009”—make The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits the handiest and most indispensable music reference for record collectors, trivia enthusiasts, industry professionals and pop music fans alike. Did you know? • Beyoncé’s 2003 hit “Crazy in Love” spent 24 weeks in the Top 40 and eight of them in the #1 spot. • Billy Idol has had a total of nine Top 40 hits over his career, the last being “Cradle of Love” in 1990. • Of Madonna’s twelve #1 hits, her 1994 single “Take a Bow” held the spot the longest, for seven weeks—one week longer than her 1984 smash “Like a Virgin.” • Marvin Gaye’s song “Sexual Healing” spent 15 weeks at #3 in 1982, while the same song was #1 on the R&B chart for 10 weeks. • Male vocal group Boyz II Men had three of the biggest chart hits of all time during the 1990s. • The Grateful Dead finally enjoyed a Top 10 single in 1987 after 20 years of touring. • Janet Jackson has scored an impressive 39 Top 40 hits—one more than her megastar brother Michael!


The Times of My Life and My Life with The Times

The Times of My Life and My Life with The Times

Author: Max Frankel

Publisher: Delta

Published: 2016-04-20

Total Pages: 593

ISBN-13: 1101969105

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Since 1949, when Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Max Frankel began to write for The New York Times, readers have looked to his work as a lens through which they could witness America's role in a rapidly changing world. In this vivid and unforgettable memoir, Frankel chronicles the times of his extraordinary life as he experienced them...within the context of the news stories that defined an era. A quintessentially American story, The Times of My Life traces Frankel's riveting personal relationship with history...his harrowing escape from Nazi Germany...his life as an immigrant on the streets of New York...and his extraordinary half-century-long career at The Times. In a rich first-person account that moves from Hitler's Berlin to Cold War Moscow, from Castro's Havana to the newsroom of America's most influential newspaper, this powerful, compelling work interweaves Frankel's personal and professional lives with the era's greatest stories, from Sputnik to the Pentagon Papers to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. And it reveals Frankel's fascinating off-the-record encounters with Nikita Khrushchev, Henry Kissinger, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and a host of other history-makers who shaped their times--and ours. Guiding readers through Hitler's Berlin, Khrushchev's Moscow, Castro's Havana, and the Washington of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, THE TIMES OF MY LIFE reevaluates the Cold War, and interweaves Frankel's personal and professional life with the greatest stories of the era. NOTE: This edition does not include photographs.


Halftime

Halftime

Author: Bob Buford

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 1997-04-15

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 0310215323

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Bob Buford's Halftime shows how men can make their middle years a time of transformation toward a more satisfying -- and significant -- life.


Four Thousand Weeks

Four Thousand Weeks

Author: Oliver Burkeman

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 0374715246

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Provocative and appealing . . . well worth your extremely limited time." —Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks. Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks. Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining, humorous, practical, and ultimately profound guide to time and time management. Rejecting the futile modern fixation on “getting everything done,” Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing how many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society—and that we could do things differently.


Our Band Could Be Your Life

Our Band Could Be Your Life

Author: Michael Azerrad

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2012-12-01

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 0316247189

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The definitive chronicle of underground music in the 1980s tells the stories of Black Flag, Sonic Youth, The Replacements, and other seminal bands whose DIY revolution changed American music forever. Our Band Could Be Your Life is the never-before-told story of the musical revolution that happened right under the nose of the Reagan Eighties -- when a small but sprawling network of bands, labels, fanzines, radio stations, and other subversives re-energized American rock with punk's do-it-yourself credo and created music that was deeply personal, often brilliant, always challenging, and immensely influential. This sweeping chronicle of music, politics, drugs, fear, loathing, and faith is an indie rock classic in its own right. The bands profiled include: Sonic Youth Black Flag The Replacements Minutemen Husker Du Minor Threat Mission of Burma Butthole Surfers Big Black Fugazi Mudhoney Beat Happening Dinosaur Jr.