We Wanted to be Writers is a rollicking and insightful blend of original interviews, commentary, advice, gossip, anecdotes, analyses, history, and asides with nearly thirty graduates and teachers at the now legendary Iowa Writers' Workshop between 1974 and 1978. Among the talents that emerged in those years-writing, criticizing, drinking, and debating in the classrooms and barrooms of Iowa City-were the younger versions of writers who became John Irving, Jane Smiley, T. C. Boyle, Michelle ...

Author Joris Dekkers takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the history of the Las Vegas Strip. The Mob Funded Hotel Casinos, Frank Sinatra at the Sands, Jay Sarno's Caesars Palace, to the Mega Resort era and Steve Wynn. The Book finishes with a warning, as Las Vegas continues to corporatize.

Now revised, updated, and with new recipes, And a Bottle of Rum tells the raucously entertaining story of this most American of liquorsFrom the grog sailors drank on the high seas in the 1700s to the mojitos of Havana bar hoppers, spirits and cocktail columnist Wayne Curtis offers a history of rum and the Americas alike, revealing that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the booming sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stra...

For so many people, reading isn't just a hobby or a way to pass the time--it's a lifestyle. Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them.I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to re...

Blazing hot meets icy cool in a momentous year in US historyOn New Year’s Day in 1967, the 200 million Americans who lived in the United States were about to experience a fascinating, exciting, and sometimes bewildering twelve months that for many formed an iconic portion of their lives. Despite the fact that the coming year produced no Black Friday, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11 attack, the nation still underwent dramatic changes in everything from support for the Vietnam...

A light-hearted book about books and the people who write them for all lovers of literature.Do you know:Which famous author died of caffeine poisoning?Why Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was banned in China?Who was the first British writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?What superstitions Truman Capote kept whenever he wrote?Who the other Winston Churchill was?A treasure trove of compelling facts, riveting anecd...

From the Bestselling Author and Television Producer of Masters of Sex, a True Story of****the Intrigue and Infighting of Condé Nast, Anna Wintour, S. I. Newhouse Jr., and Tina Brown, and Optioned by Sony Television ProductionsInside the Condé Nast magazine world run by billionaire S. I. Newhouse Jr., Anna Wintour and Tina Brown were bold and talented British women who fought their way to the top of this male-dominated American industry driven by greed and ...

The National Book Award–winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking "capture[s] the mood of America" in this incisive collection of essays.In these eleven essays covering the national scene from Washington, DC; California; and New York, the acclaimed author of Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album confirms her reputation as one of our sharpest and most trustworthy cultural observers.

From Frida Kahlo and Elizabeth Taylor to Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and Lena Dunham, this witty narrative explores what we can learn from the imperfect and extraordinary legacies of 29 iconic women who forged their own unique paths in the world.Smart, sassy, and unapologetically feminine, this elegantly illustrated book is an ode to the bold and charismatic women of modern history. Best-selling author Karen Karbo (The Gospel According to Coco Chanel) spotlights the spirited rule b...

365 quotes, insights, and journaling prompts for the blossoming introvert.The Year of the Introvert is a seasonal daybook and journal that takes introverts on a true adventure in introspection and self-care, 365 days of the year. With each page of daily insight, Michaela Chung provides an interactive roadmap for introverts who wish to embrace who they are and live a fulfilling—and powerful!—life on their own quiet terms.Within these pages, you’ll di...

Andrea Barnet's Visionary Women explores how Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters spearheaded the modern progressive movement.Winner of The Green Prize for Sustainable LiteratureA Finalist for the PEN/Bograd Weld Prize for BiographyThis is the story of four influential women who profoundly shaped the world we live in today. Together, these women—linked not by friendship or field, but by t...

A historian reveals the grittier side of Regency England, far from the country houses and costume balls of high society.Often upheld as a period of elegance with many achievements in the fine arts and architecture, the Regency era also encompassed a time of great social, political, and economic upheaval. In this insightful social history, the emphasis is on the lives of those not born into nobility—what it was like for the poor, and what challenges they faced....