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The Groom Will Keep His Name: And Other Vows I've Made About Race, Resistance, and Romance
by Matt OrtileA riotous collection of "witty and captivating" (Bitch Magazine) essays by a gay Filipino immigrant in America learning that everything is about sex--and sex is about powerWhen Matt Ortile moved from Manila to Las Vegas, the locals couldn't pronounce his name. Harassed as a kid for his brown skin, accent, and femininity, he believed he could belong in America by marrying a white man and shedding his Filipino identity. This was the first myth he told himself. The Groom Will Keep His Name explores the various tales Ortile spun about what it means to be a Vassar Girl, an American Boy, and a Filipino immigrant in New York looking to build a home. As we meet and mate, we tell stories about ourselves, revealing not just who we are, but who we want to be. Ortile recounts the relationships and whateverships that pushed him to confront his notions of sex, power, and the model minority myth. Whether swiping on Grindr, analyzing DMs, or cruising steam rooms, Ortile brings us on his journey toward radical self-love with intelligence, wit, and his heart on his sleeve.
My Sister: How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both
by Selenis Leyva Marizol LeyvaA powerful memoir by two sisters about transitioning, family, and the path to self-realization.When Orange Is the New Black and Diary of a Future President star Selenis Leyva was young, her hardworking parents brought a new foster child into their warm, loving family in the Bronx. Selenis was immediately smitten; she doted on the baby, who in turn looked up to Selenis and followed her everywhere. The little boy became part of the family. But later, the siblings realized that the child was struggling with their identity. As Marizol transitioned and fought to define herself, Selenis and the family wanted to help, but didn't always have the language to describe what Marizol was going through or the knowledge to help her thrive.In My Sister, Selenis and Marizol narrate, in alternating chapters, their shared journey, challenges, and triumphs. They write honestly about the issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination that transgender people and women of color--and especially trans women of color--experience daily. And they are open about the messiness and confusion of fully realizing oneself and being properly affirmed by others, even those who love you.Profoundly moving and instructive, My Sister offers insight into the lives of two siblings learning to be their authentic selves. Ultimately, theirs is a story of hope, one that will resonate with and affirm those in the process of transitioning, watching a loved one transition, and anyone taking control of their gender or sexual identities.
My Sister: How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both
by Selenis Leyva Marizol LeyvaA powerful memoir by two sisters about transitioning, family, and the path to self-realization.When Orange Is the New Black and Diary of a Future President star Selenis Leyva was young, her hardworking parents brought a new foster child into their warm, loving family in the Bronx. Selenis was immediately smitten; she doted on the baby, who in turn looked up to Selenis and followed her everywhere. The little boy became part of the family. But later, the siblings realized that the child was struggling with their identity. As Marizol transitioned and fought to define herself, Selenis and the family wanted to help, but didn't always have the language to describe what Marizol was going through or the knowledge to help her thrive.In My Sister, Selenis and Marizol narrate, in alternating chapters, their shared journey, challenges, and triumphs. They write honestly about the issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination that transgender people and women of color--and especially trans women of color--experience daily. And they are open about the messiness and confusion of fully realizing oneself and being properly affirmed by others, even those who love you.Profoundly moving and instructive, My Sister offers insight into the lives of two siblings learning to be their authentic selves. Ultimately, theirs is a story of hope, one that will resonate with and affirm those in the process of transitioning, watching a loved one transition, and anyone taking control of their gender or sexual identities.
Be Strong and of Good Courage: How Israel's Most Important Leaders Shaped Its Destiny
by Dennis Ross David MakovskyModern Israel's founding fathers provided some of the boldest and most principled leadership of any nation--now Israel needs their example more than ever.Modern Israel's founding fathers provided some of the boldest and most principled leadership of any nation. Now Israel needs their example more than ever.At a time when the political destiny of Israel is more uncertain than at any moment since its modern founding, Be Strong and of Good Courage celebrates the defining generation of leaders who took on the task of safeguarding the country's future.David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon were all present at the creation of the new nation in 1948. Over the next sixty years, each experienced moments when the country's existence was directly imperiled. In those moments, Israel needed extraordinary acts of leadership and strategic judgment to secure its future, and these leaders rose to the occasion. The strength they showed allowed them to prevail.Today, Israel may be on the verge of sacrificing the essential character that its greatest citizens fought to secure. This is the story of that epic struggle.
Be Strong and of Good Courage: How Israel's Most Important Leaders Shaped Its Destiny
by Dennis Ross David MakovskyModern Israel's founding fathers provided some of the boldest and most principled leadership of any nation--now Israel needs their example more than ever.Modern Israel's founding fathers provided some of the boldest and most principled leadership of any nation. Now Israel needs their example more than ever.At a time when the political destiny of Israel is more uncertain than at any moment since its modern founding, Be Strong and of Good Courage celebrates the defining generation of leaders who took on the task of safeguarding the country's future.David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon were all present at the creation of the new nation in 1948. Over the next sixty years, each experienced moments when the country's existence was directly imperiled. In those moments, Israel needed extraordinary acts of leadership and strategic judgment to secure its future, and these leaders rose to the occasion. The strength they showed allowed them to prevail.Today, Israel may be on the verge of sacrificing the essential character that its greatest citizens fought to secure. This is the story of that epic struggle.
Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson's Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism
by Timothy DeneviThe story of Hunter S. Thompson's crusade against Richard Nixon and the threat of fascism in America--and the devastating price he paid for it Hunter S. Thompson is often misremembered as a wise-cracking, drug-addled cartoon character. This book reclaims him for what he truly was: a fearless opponent of corruption and fascism, one who sacrificed his future well-being to fight against it, rewriting the rules of journalism and political satire in the process. This skillfully told and dramatic story shows how Thompson saw through Richard Nixon's treacherous populism and embarked on a life-defining campaign to stop it. In his fevered effort to expose institutional injustice, Thompson pushed himself far beyond his natural limits, sustained by drugs, mania, and little else. For ten years, he cast aside his old ambitions, troubled his family, and likely hastened his own decline, along the way producing some of the best political writing in our history. This timely biography recalls a period of anger and derangement in American politics, and one writer with the guts to tell the truth.
You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
by Elizabeth BeckerThe long-buried story of three extraordinary female journalists who permanently shattered the barriers to women covering war. Kate Webb, an Australian iconoclast, Catherine Leroy, a French daredevil photographer, and Frances FitzGerald, a blue-blood American intellectual, arrived in Vietnam with starkly different life experiences but one shared purpose: to report on the most consequential story of the decade. At a time when women were considered unfit to be foreign reporters, Frankie, Catherine, and Kate challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement of their male peers, and ultimately altered the craft of war reportage for generations. In You Don&’t Belong Here, Elizabeth Becker uses these women&’s work and lives to illuminate the Vietnam War from the 1965 American buildup, the expansion into Cambodia, and the American defeat and its aftermath. Arriving herself in the last years of the war, Becker writes as a historian and a witness of the times. What emerges is an unforgettable story of three journalists forging their place in a land of men, often at great personal sacrifice. Deeply reported and filled with personal letters, interviews, and profound insight, You Don&’t Belong Here fills a void in the history of women and of war.
The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived: Tom Watson Jr. and the Epic Story of How IBM Created the Digital Age
by Ralph Watson McElvenny Marc WortmanThe enduring story of Thomas Watson Jr.—a figure more important to the creation of the modern world than Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Morgan Nearly fifty years into IBM&’s existence, Thomas Watson Jr. undertook the biggest gamble in business history when he &“bet the farm&” on the creation of the IBM System/360, the world&’s first fully integrated and compatible mainframe computer. As CEO, Watson drove a revolution no other company—then or now—would dare, laying the foundation for the digital age that has transformed every society, corporation, and government. The story of Watson being &“present at the creation&” of the digital age is intertwined with near-Shakespearean personal drama. While he put IBM and its employees at risk, Watson also carried out a family-shattering battle over the future of the company with his brother Dick. This titanic struggle between brothers led to Dick&’s death and almost killed Watson Jr. himself. Though he was eventually touted by Fortune magazine as &“the greatest capitalist who ever lived,&” Watson&’s directionless, playboy early years made him an unlikely candidate for corporate titan. How he pulled his life together and, despite personal demons, paved the way for what became a global industry is an epic tale full of drama, inspiration, and valuable lessons in leadership, risk-taking, and social responsibility.
The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals, and Real Estate in the California Redwoods
by Greg KingThe definitive story of the California redwoods, their discovery and their exploitation, as told by an activist who fought to protect their existence against those determined to cut them down. Every year millions of tourists from around the world visit California&’s famous redwoods. Yet few who strain their necks to glimpse the tops of the world&’s tallest trees understand how unlikely it is that these last isolated groves of giant trees still stand at all. In this gripping historical memoir, journalist and famed redwood activist Greg King examines how investors and a growing U.S. economy drove the timber industry to cut down all but 4 percent of the original two-million-acre redwood ecosystem. King first examined redwood logging in the 1980s—as an award-winning reporter. What he found in the woods convinced him to leap the line of neutrality and become an activist dedicated to saving the very last ancient redwood groves remaining in private hands. The land grab began in 1849, when a &“green gold rush&” of migrants came to exploit the legendary redwoods that grew along the Russian River. Several generations later, in 1987, Greg King discovered and named Headwaters Forest—at 3,000 acres the largest ancient redwood habitat remaining outside of parks—and he led the movement to save this grove. After a decade of one of the longest, most dramatic, and violent environmental campaigns in US history, in 1999 the state and federal governments protected Headwaters Forest. The Ghost Forest explores a central question, an overhanging mystery: What was it like, this botanical Elysium that grew only along the Northern California coast, a forest so spectacular—but also uniquely valuable as a cornerstone of American economic growth—that in the end it would inspire life-and-death struggles? Few but loggers and surveyors ever saw such magnificent trees, ancient sentinels that, like ghosts, have informed King&’s understanding of the world. On a lifelong journey, King finds himself through the generations, and through the trees.A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Title
In That Time: Michael O'Donnell and the Tragic Era of Vietnam
by Daniel H. WeissThrough the story of the brief, brave life of a promising poet, the president and CEO of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art evokes the turmoil and tragedy of the Vietnam War era.In That Time tells the story of the American experience in Vietnam through the life of Michael O'Donnell, a bright young musician and poet who served as a soldier and helicopter pilot. O'Donnell wrote with great sensitivity and poetic force, and his best-known poem is among the most beloved of the war. In 1970, during an attempt to rescue fellow soldiers stranded under heavy fire, O'Donnell's helicopter was shot down in the jungles of Cambodia. He remained missing in action for almost three decades.Although he never fired a shot in Vietnam, O'Donnell served in one of the most dangerous roles of the war, all the while using poetry to express his inner feelings and to reflect on the tragedy that was unfolding around him. O'Donnell's life is both a powerful, personal story and a compelling, universal one about how America lost its way in the 1960s, but also how hope can flower in the margins of even the darkest chapters of the American story.
In That Time: Michael O'Donnell and the Tragic Era of Vietnam
by Daniel H. WeissThrough the story of the brief, brave life of a promising poet, the president and CEO of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art evokes the turmoil and tragedy of the Vietnam War era.In That Time tells the story of the American experience in Vietnam through the life of Michael O'Donnell, a bright young musician and poet who served as a soldier and helicopter pilot. O'Donnell wrote with great sensitivity and poetic force, and his best-known poem is among the most beloved of the war. In 1970, during an attempt to rescue fellow soldiers stranded under heavy fire, O'Donnell's helicopter was shot down in the jungles of Cambodia. He remained missing in action for almost three decades.Although he never fired a shot in Vietnam, O'Donnell served in one of the most dangerous roles of the war, all the while using poetry to express his inner feelings and to reflect on the tragedy that was unfolding around him. O'Donnell's life is both a powerful, personal story and a compelling, universal one about how America lost its way in the 1960s, but also how hope can flower in the margins of even the darkest chapters of the American story.
The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America's Best--and Worst--Chief Executives
by Brian Lamb Susan SwainThe complete rankings of our best -- and worst -- presidents, based on C-SPAN's much-cited Historians Surveys of Presidential Leadership.Over a period of decades, C-SPAN has surveyed leading historians on the best and worst of America's presidents across a variety of categories -- their ability to persuade the public, their leadership skills, their moral authority, and more. The crucible of the presidency has forged some of the very best and very worst leaders in our national history, along with everyone in between.Based on interviews conducted over the years with a variety of presidential biographers, this book provides not just a complete ranking of our presidents, but stories and analyses that capture the character of the men who held the office. From Abraham Lincoln's political savvy and rhetorical gifts to James Buchanan's indecisiveness, this book teaches much about what makes a great leader -- and what does not.As America looks ahead to our next election, this book offers perspective and criteria to help us choose our next leader wisely.
The Secret Mind of Bertha Pappenheim: The Woman Who Invented Freud's Talking Cure
by Gabriel BrownsteinThe story of a patient who changed the world, and the mystery of her illness. In 1880, young Bertha Pappenheim got strangely ill—she lost her ability to control her voice and her body. She was treated by Sigmund Freud&’s mentor, Josef Breuer, who diagnosed her with &“hysteria.&” Together, Pappenheim and Breuer developed what she called &“the talking cure&”—talking out memories to eliminate symptoms. Freud renamed her &“Anna O&” and appropriated her ideas to form the theory of psychoanalysis. All his life, he told lies about her. For over a century, writers have argued about her illness and cure. In this unusual work of science, history, and psychology, Brownstein does more than describe the controversies surrounding this extraordinary woman. He brings Pappenheim to life—a brilliant feminist thinker, a crusader against human trafficking, and a pioneer—in the hustling and heady world of nineteenth-century Vienna. At the same time, he tells a parallel story that is playing out in leading medical centers today, about patients who suffer symptoms very much like Pappenheim&’s, and about the doctors who are trying to cure them—the story of the neuroscience of a condition now called FND.The Secret Mind of Bertha Pappenheim argues for the healing art of listening and describes the new &“talking cures&” emerging out of neuroscience today.
Keeping At It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government
by Paul A Volcker Christine HarperThe extraordinary life story of the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, whose absolute integrity provides the inspiration we need as our constitutional system and political tradition are being tested to the breaking point. As chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979-1987), Paul Volcker slayed the inflation dragon that was consuming the American economy and restored the world's faith in central bankers. That extraordinary feat was just one pivotal episode in a decades-long career serving six presidents. Told with wit, humor, and down-to-earth erudition, the narrative of Volcker's career illuminates the changes that have taken place in American life, government, and the economy since World War II. He vibrantly illustrates the crises he managed alongside the world's leading politicians, central bankers, and financiers. Yet he first found his model for competent and ethical governance in his father, the town manager of Teaneck, NJ, who instilled Volcker's dedication to absolute integrity and his "three verities" of stable prices, sound finance, and good government.
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House
by Mark Felt John O'ConnorNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE starring Liam Neeson.The covert Watergate whistleblower tells the story of the dramatic showdown between the FBI and the Nixon White HouseIn the 1970s, Mark Felt was given the code name "Deep Throat" and shared intelligence on the Watergate break-in with a young reporter from the Washington Post named Bob Woodward. Thus began the greatest political scandal in the twentieth century, which would besmirch an entire administration and bring down a presidency.A patriotic man, Felt only revealed his role in our national history as he neared the end of his life. Based on his personal recollections, Mark Felt chronicles his FBI career, from the end of the great American crime wave and World War II to the culture wars of the 1960s and his penetration of the Weather Underground; provides rich historical and personal context for his role in the Watergate scandal; and depicts how he came to feel that the FBI needed a "Lone Ranger" to protect it from White House corruption.
The Presidency And The Political System (PDF)
by Michael NelsonThe Presidency and the Political System showcases the best of presidential studies and research with top-notch presidency scholars writing specifically for an undergraduate audience. Michael Nelson rigorously edits each contribution to present a set of analytical yet accessible chapters and offers contextual headnotes introducing each essay. Chapters represent the full range of topics, institutions, and issues relevant to understanding the American presidency: covering approaches to studying the presidency, elements of presidential power, presidential selection, presidents and politics, and presidents and government. This Twelfth Edition fully incorporates coverage of the Trump administration.
Who Do I Think I Am?: Stories of Chola Wishes and Caviar Dreams
by Anjelah Johnson-ReyesThis hilarious and thoughtful memoir from comedy legend Anjelah Johnson-Reyes explores questions of identity, belonging, and her two dreams as a kid: to be an actress and to be a chola. You may know Anjelah Johnson-Reyes for her viral sketch "Nail Salon" (over 100 million views globally) or her beloved MadTV character Bon Qui Qui, but it's her clean humor and hilarious storytelling that make her one of the most successful stand-up comedians and actresses today. With her razor-sharp wit, Anjelah recounts funny stories from her journey—from growing up caught between two worlds (do chips and salsa go with potato salad?) to unexpectedly embracing faith (&“I love Jesus, but I will punch a &‘ho&”) to her many adventures in dating (she may or may not have accepted dates simply for the food). Through it all, Anjelah transforms from a suburban-adjacent kid with Aquanet-drenched hair into a devoted Christian who abstains from drinking and premarital sex, into a mall-famous Oakland Raiders cheerleader, and then an actually famous comedian traveling the world and meeting people from all-walks of life, including Oprah. No biggie. (Huge biggie.) As she travels the world, Anjelah has eye-opening experiences, and she morphs from square, rigid Anjelah into &“Funjelah,&” and learns that she can still ride with Jesus without squashing the other parts of her personality.Anjelah's stories explore subjects such as navigating your racial identity, finding your place in the world, chasing your crazy dreams, embracing the messiness of an evolving faith, and searching for belonging and meaning. Through her journey, Anjelah gets closer to discovering her true identity and encourages readers to have the audacity to dream big.
God Is a Grunt: And More Good News for GIs
by Logan M IsaacThis eye-opening book invites readers of all political and denominational stripes into a more meaningful conversation and community with soldiers and veterans. If Jesus is God, then God is a grunt—the humble, hardy folk placed at the bottom of the social hierarchy who are relied on to accomplish the dirtiest, most difficult (and most thankless) work. This is good news for millions of Christian soldiers and veterans in the U.S. because they have had to make an impossible choice, with no perceivable middle ground, between patriot and pacifist. In his new book, God Is a Grunt, Logan Isaac offers an opportunity for GIs, veterans, and those close to them to read Christian traditions as a soldier would—by and through the lived experiences of military service. This well-researched, meditative guide for Christians who have served their country delves deep into the Bible, while Isaac shares his own beliefs and thoughts on the life-altering experiences of battle. He attempts to fill the void most Christians in the military feel by providing theological resources to discern a better way of discipleship for GIs, affirming the nuance and complexity of armed service and the gifts GIs extend to Christians around the world.
Things I Should Have Said
by Jamie Lynn SpearsIn this intimate national bestselling memoir, actress and musician Jamie Lynn Spears opens up for the first time, telling her unfiltered story on her own terms. You&’ve read the headlines, but you don&’t know Jamie Lynn Spears. The world first met Jamie Lynn as a child star, when it was her job to perform, both on set and for the press. She spent years escaping into different characters—on All That, Zoey 101, and even in the role as Britney&’s kid sister. But as she grew up, faced a teen pregnancy, raised her daughter on her own, pursued a career, and learned to stand on her own two feet, the real Jamie Lynn started to take center stage - a raw, blemished, and imperfect woman, standing in her own power. Despite growing up in one of America's most tabloid-famous families, Jamie Lynn has never told her story in her own words. In Things I Should Have Said, she talks frankly about the highs and lows, sharing what it was like traveling the world as a kid, how she moved into acting and performing herself, what life as a child star took from her, and the life-changing reality of becoming a teen mom. She talks about how she finally found love and how the mistakes she has made have taught her more than anything else. She also shares vulnerably about how the ATV accident that nearly took her daughter's life brought her back to her faith and caused her to reevaluate and redirect her life. Frank, courageous, and inspiring, Things I Should Have Said is a portrait of a wife, momma, sister, daughter, actress, and musician doing the best she could to show up for herself and teach her daughters to have the courage to love every part of themselves, too.
Dear Hartley: Thoughts on Character, Kindness, and Building a Brighter World
by Jedediah BilaA mother writes honest, reflective letters to guide her son as he navigates through life with a common-sense appeal to the next generation: Drop the worst and take the best of what you're given. In these days of nonstop, round-the-clock division, where confrontation is our most prevalent form of entertainment, we&’ve forgotten the more fundamental things that unite us. We&’ve lost track of the importance of conversations that foster growth, self-reflection, and discovery of one another while cultivating our sense of shared humanity. In her new book, Dear Hartley, Jedediah Bila reignites much-needed conversations about everything from character and empathy to parenting and friendship, from education and family to fitness and food. Through fifty-two heartwarming letters to her son, Bila shares a road map she hopes he will revisit often, one he can turn to for strength and guidance throughout his life. Connecting her love for her child with her hopes and dreams for the next generation, Bila&’s letters reveal an exciting path forward. Jam-packed with quick wit and authentic, unpredictable insights, these letters welcome us into Bila&’s personal journey of mistakes made and lessons learned. Dear Hartley presents a chance for us to find common ground and unite in our wish for a better, brighter world, especially for the children in our lives. An independent thinker, Bila has always been an outspoken proponent of common sense and truth, even when she found herself in situations where it wasn&’t always welcome. Here, in these pages, she has an open platform to tell it like it is, and she does. Readers are invited to travel beside her with an open mind and an open heart as she explores the themes that touch us all.
A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing
by Amanda Held OpeltIn a raw and inspiring reflection on grief--selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year--a mourning sister processes her personal story of loss by exploring the history of bereavement customs. When Amanda Held Opelt suffered a season of loss—including three miscarriages and the unexpected death of her sister, New York Times bestselling writer Rachel Held Evans—she was confronted with sorrow she didn't know to how face. Opelt struggled to process her grief and accept the reality of the pain in the world. She also wrestled with some unexpectedly difficult questions: What does it mean to truly grieve and to grieve well? Why is it so hard to move on? Why didn&’t my faith prepare me for this kind of pain? And what am I supposed to do now? Her search for answers led her to discover that generations past embraced rituals that served as vessels for pain and aided in the process of grieving and healing. Today, many of these traditions have been lost as religious practice declines, cultures amalgamate, death is sanitized, and pain is averted. In this raw and authentic memoir of bereavement, Opelt explores the history of human grief practices and how previous generations have journeyed through periods of suffering. She explores grief rituals and customs from various cultures, including: the Irish tradition of keening, or wailing in grief, which teaches her that healing can only begin when we dive headfirst into our grief the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photographs and how we struggle to recall a loved one as they were the Jewish tradition of sitting shiva, which reminds her to rest in the strength of her community even when God feels absent the tradition of mourning clothing, which set the bereaved apart in society for a time, allowing them space to honor their grief As Opelt explores each bereavement practice, it gives her a framework for processing her own pain. She shares how, in spite of her doubt and anger, God met her in the midst of sorrow and grieved along with her, and shows that when we carefully and honestly attend to our losses, we are able to expand our capacity for love, faith, and healing.
Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America's Most Dangerous Enemies
by Christopher C. MillerPresident Trump's last secretary of defense shares harrowing stories of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, gives an "important" insider look at the tumultuous final days of the administration, and issues a stark warning about the readiness of the military under President Biden (Sean Hannity). If you know one thing about Chris Miller, it's that he was President Donald Trump's final Secretary of Defense, elevated to that position in the days after the 2020 election. If you know a second thing about Chris Miller, it's that he oversaw the U.S. Armed Forces during one of the most controversial and tumultuous periods the military has experienced in decades, culminating in the shocking events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Yet Chris Miller is no political partisan. On the contrary, Miller has spent his adult life in the crosshairs of America's most dangerous enemies--from Middle Eastern deserts to the bowels of U.S. intelligence agencies--and emerged as one of the leading national security minds of his generation. Needless to say, Chris Miller has stories to tell. In Soldier Secretary, he reveals for the first time everything he saw--in a book that is candid, thought-provoking, and like that of no Secretary of Defense before him. This book is not just the inside story of what happened during the Trump administration--it's the inside story of what happened to America, its military, and its institutions during the two decades after September 11, 2001. Part badass, part iconoclast, Miller is an irreverent, heterodox, and always-fascinating thinker whose personal journey through war and the White House has led him to some shocking conclusions about the state of American power in 2021. With a perspective that will surprise and interest both Republicans and Democrats, Miller argues for a radical rethinking of U.S. national security strategy unlike anything since the creation of the joint armed forces in the 1980s. He offers a roadmap for how the United States can win in the era of unrestricted warfare by shedding the bloated defense bureaucracy, bringing American forces home from endless conflicts, renewing our national unity, and beating China at its own game. Miller is a true American warrior whose incredible journey from Iowa to Afghanistan to Iraq to the White House endeared him to the troops, prepared him for the unprecedented crisis of January 6, and left him deeply concerned about the future of our military and the future of our nation.
Born to Shine: Do Good, Find Your Joy, and Build a Life You Love
by Kendra ScottINSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLERThis authentic and dynamic memoir from the CEO of Kendra Scott Jewelry delivers inspiration, leadership lessons, and spellbinding storytelling. For twenty years, Kendra Scott built her eponymous jewelry company from a hobby and an idea into a company worth more than a billion dollars, creating beautiful and affordable pieces with signature-cut natural gemstones packaged in a sunny yellow box. By any measure, she&’s the woman who has it all: a self-made billionaire, a generous philanthropist, and a mother of three with a squad of strong female friendships. Sounds pretty perfect, right? But perfection is a myth that doesn&’t serve any of us. A myth that encourages us to assume that we know what other people are going through, to judge each other on appearances and reputations, to present the best versions of ourselves and pretend like we&’ve got it all together even when everything is falling apart. Perfection isn&’t just a lie, it&’s exhausting, and Kendra is tired of it. In this vulnerable, wise, and laugh-out-loud book, Kendra takes us on a journey of personal stories and hard-earned life lessons, from her humble beginnings as an awkward, bullied young girl in small-town Wisconsin to launching a business in her spare bedroom with $500. With every pitfall, misstep, and failure, Kendra builds a life—and a career—rooted in joy, purpose, and doing good, a life she wants for every reader. With heart and humor, Kendra reminds us that not all that glitters is gold, and that there is no level of success that can insulate you from what it means to be a human being: that life is as messy as it is magical, that bad things happen to good people for no good reason, and that a good life does not mean a perfect one.
Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers
by Tiffani ThiessenStretch your budget and avoid food waste by remixing leftovers into family-favorite weeknight meals with the help of this smart guide to everyday cooking. Leftovers can be so much more than the sum of their parts. Yesterday&’s dinner, last week&’s baking experiment, snack drawer remnants, and cheese drawer bits and bobs are all an opportunity to create something new and delicious. And the holidays—they&’re a leftovers goldmine! Here We Go Again is dedicated to the recipes your leftovers deserve, whether they're the classics in your rotation, the dishes that maybe didn't hit the spot the first time around, or those last-ditch meal efforts you throw at your kids, only to have half the macaroni still left in the pot. They're also perfect for ingredients that would otherwise be trash-bound—those carrots threatening to go soft, the bunches of kale from the overenthusiastic farmers' market haul, that half a loaf of bread getting harder by the day, the nubbins of cheese that don't seem good for anything other than late-night snacking. Or the dreaded 1 cup of sour cream or buttermilk inevitably left in the back of the fridge from when you made something else with it. Or maybe it's the chicken breasts or steaks you stocked up on when they were on sale and are now sitting in your freezer, waiting for an invitation to be used. And of course, it's all the food staring back at you from your fridge after a holiday meal (and worked way too hard on to throw away!) These are the dishes that we need right now—and in so many ways. We need to get food on the table, every meal, every day. We need to use the food that we have because we don't always know when we'll get to the store or how much we need to make our budget stretch. And above all else we need to take care of ourselves and our families with food that tastes good.