Search results for ""Santa Monica Press""

After living in the United States for over a decade, Kenneth Wong returns to his native Burma - a country fraught with political upheaval and laden with superstition - to face the cultural specters of his own past and the spirit of a land trapped in time. In the tradition of Orwell, Maugham and Theroux, Wong shows Burma as an exotic place that invites, frightens, teases and haunts citizens and visitors alike with its unique mixture of ill-kept Edwardian structures, pockmarked English mansions, and glittering Buddhist temples.

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Famous for leading the Doolittle (or Tokyo) Raid, America's first strike against Japan in World War II, Jimmy Doolittle led a remarkable life as an American pilot. This firsthand account by his granddaughter Jonna Doolittle Hoppes reveals an extraordinary individual: • An aviation pioneer who was the first to fly across the United States in less than 24 hours and the first to fly “blind” (using only his plane’s instruments). • A barnstormer well known for aerobatics and a popular racing pilot who won every major air race at least once. • Recipient of both the Congressional Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom. • A four-star general and commander of both the 8th, 12th, and 15th Air Forces. • A scientist with a doctorate in aeronautical engineering from MIT. Calculated Risk provides insights into the public and private world of Jimmy Doolittle and his family, and sheds light on the drives and motivation of one of America's most influential and ambitious aviators. This updated edition contains a new foreword written by Richard P. Hallion, a new afterword written by Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson, and a new introduction by author Jonna Doolittle Hoppes.

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This memoir chronicles Richard Fuller's endeavours to clean up toxic brown hotspots in the developed and the developing world. While most everyone has heard of going green, few are aware of the more sinister brown pollution-places; those spots where the death toll of man-made pollutants numbers in the million. This title introduces readers to the environmental science behind identifying, understanding and remedying brown sites. Hard science is always parsed in terms of Fuller's own experiences, making this both pertinent and accessible.

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A handy reference guide providing novices and seasoned roadies with quick and easy access to essential information about Route 66, America's most famous highway. Replete with lists of important terms accompanied by descriptive articles and illustrations, the guide details the route's history - including the origin of the slogan Get your kicks on Route 66' - commemorative festivals, useful highway terms, maps, and its most famous and quirkiest attractions.'

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Blending fact with fiction and written in diary form, this unique biography of Shakespeare captures his life as never before, from his views on daily events to vivid impressions of the Elizabethan era and his role within such a world. Delightfully whimsical, Wearing's distinctive life story provides possible answers to such questions as: What was Shakespeare thinking when he wrote Hamlet? What did he and Ben Jonson talk about when they were having a drink together? Incorporates lines and fragments from Shakespeare's plays and poems.

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Ray Elias is a precocious but withdrawn sixteen-year-old growing up in an affluent suburb of New York in the early sixties. Numbed by the assassination of President Kennedy, Ray chances upon a TV documentary about the most recent presidential election and is drawn to the ebullient senator from Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey, who unsuccessfully challenged John Kennedy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960. With the senator as his newfound hero, Ray fashions a mission for himself: make Humphrey Lyndon Johnson’s running mate in 1964. To the amazement of his friends and cynical father, Humphrey learns of Ray’s plan to lobby the delegates and, impressed with his sincerity and ambition, takes Ray under his wing.Ray enters college as the senator is elected vice president, but the relationship unravels when Humphrey becomes an ardent public supporter of the Vietnam War, despite his personal belief in the war’s futility. As the tension between them grows and their bond deteriorates, Ray is devastated by his loss of faith in Humphrey. However, he finds consolation for his disappointment in Ruth, a spirited classmate from the other side of the tracks who teaches him understanding and empathy. As Ray matures to young adulthood he reconnects with Humphrey—who has by now achieved a political revival and is mulling a fresh run at the presidency—and the two reconcile after Humphrey finally acknowledges his breach of Ray’s trust, and Ray forgives his former mentor. Loosely based on the author’s real-life relationship with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Humphrey and Me portrays the often highly emotional journey that comes with embracing our heroes, while set against the backdrop of the tempestuous political eras of the 1960s and ’70s.

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L.A.’s Landmark Restaurants: Celebrating the Legendary Locations Where Angelenos Have Dined for Generations follows in the footsteps of George Geary’s now classic and critically acclaimed book, L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants. L.A.’s Landmark Restaurants is an illustrated history of over 50 famous Los Angeles restaurants from throughout the 20th century that were not featured in Geary’s first book. The focus in L.A.'s Landmark Restaurants is on restaurants where Angelenos—rather than celebrities—have been dining for generations. Along with recipes made famous by each restaurant, L.A.’s Landmark Restaurants contains profiles of such legendary eateries as Cole’s, Philippe the Original, Pacific Dining Car, The Original Pantry Café, The Victor Hugo, Canter’s Delicatessen, Sportsmen's Lodge, Mocambo, Nate ’n Al’s, The Smoke House, Tail o’ the Pup, The Apple Pan, Valentino, and dozens of other beloved establishments in this beautiful tribute to Los Angeles and its historic restaurants. Each location profiled is illustrated with a collection of historic and contemporary photographs and ephemera—such as menus, matchbooks, and advertisements—and every entry features a short history of the restaurant, entertaining anecdotes, and such details as the year of opening, address, phone number (both original and current), type of cuisine, and the name of the restaurant's founder. Recipes made famous by the restaurant, updated for today’s cook and kitchen by Chef Geary, will satisfy anyone seeking to replicate their favorite dish from these legendary restaurants and their chefs.Truly a love letter to Los Angeles and its world famous cuisine, L.A.’s Landmark Restaurants is sure to bring back treasured memories and knowing smiles from anyone who has dined at these fabled establishments.

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Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games takes you inside the video arcade game industry during the pivotal decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Warren Davis, the creator of the groundbreaking Q*bert, worked as a member of the creative teams who developed some of the most popular video games of all time, including Joust 2, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Revolution X. In a witty and entertaining narrative, Davis shares insightful stories that offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work as a designer and programmer at the most influential and dominant video arcade game manufacturers of the era, including Gottlieb, Williams/Bally/Midway, and Premiere. Likewise, the talented artists, designers, creators, and programmers Davis has collaborated with over the years reads like a who’s who of video gaming history: Eugene Jarvis, Tim Skelly, Ed Boon, Jeff Lee, Dave Thiel, John Newcomer, George Petro, Jack Haeger, and Dennis Nordman, among many others. The impact Davis has had on the video arcade game industry is deep and varied. At Williams, Davis created and maintained the revolutionary digitizing system that allowed actors and other photo-realistic imagery to be utilized in such games as Mortal Kombat, T2, and NBA Jam. When Davis worked on the fabled Us vs. Them, it was the first time a video game integrated a live action story with arcade-style graphics. On the one-of-a-kind Exterminator, Davis developed a brand new video game hardware system, and created a unique joystick that sensed both omni-directional movement and rotation, a first at that time. For Revolution X, he created a display system that simulated a pseudo-3D environment on 2D hardware, as well as a tool for artists that facilitated the building of virtual worlds and the seamless integration of the artist’s work into game code. Whether you’re looking for insights into the Golden Age of Arcades, would like to learn how Davis first discovered his design and programming skills as a teenager working with a 1960's computer called a Monrobot XI, or want to get the inside scoop on what it was like to film the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Aerosmith for Revolution X, Davis’ memoir provides a backstage tour of the arcade and video game industry during its most definitive and influential period.

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Damon DiMarco's Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 (20th Anniversary Commemorative Edition), eternally preserves a monumental tragedy in American history through the voices of the people who were in New York City on that fateful day. At the same time, the individuals featured in the book speak to the myriad ways by which Americans rose to meet the challenges presented by 9/11, and celebrates the many heroes that are found within its pages. In the tradition of Studs Terkel, DiMarco's literary time capsule includes a wide variety of viewpoints, including: The small group of people who miraculously made it safely down from the 89th floor of Tower 1, the New York Times reporter who desperately fought her way through the fleeing crowds to get back into Lower Manhattan, the paramedic who set up a triage area 200 yards from the base of the Towers before they collapsed, and the bereaved citizens of New York City who struggled to get on with their lives in the days and months following the tragic event, among dozens of others. The original edition of Tower Stories was one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed books on 9/11 ever published, and for this 20th Anniversary Commemorative Edition, DiMarco has conducted additional interviews that offer a contemporary perspective on the 9/11 tragedy. The individuals DiMarco interviewed for the new edition include: • Alice Greenwald (President and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) • Father Jim Martin (New York Times bestselling author) • Tom Haddad (survivor of the 89th floor, Tower 1) • Stephen Adly Guirgis (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright). The 20th Anniversary Commemorative Edition of DiMarco's moving oral history preserves all of the voices from the original edition for generations to come, while offering new insights that benefit from twenty years of reflection on the world-shattering event. The voices in Tower Stories are in turn haunting and heartbreaking, always emotional, yet ultimately heroic. It’s no wonder that MSNBC called Tower Stories “Arguably the most successful attempt at capturing the enormity of the events of 9/11,” while Publishers Weekly wrote that “DiMarco’s contribution to the memory of that horrific day is enormous; the testimonies collected here form a one-of-a-kind account.”

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Updated and Expanded Second Edition Features Six New Walking Adventures! 10,000 Steps a Day in L.A. is for urban adventurers with a passion for healthy living who are also eager to explore Los Angeles—from its most legendary locations to its more hidden, unsung, and quirky sites. In this first-ever book to explore the 10,000-steps lifestyle in Los Angeles, author Paul Haddad takes readers on a journey through the city’s streets, beaches, mountains, rivers, reservoirs, and parks. He includes 10,000-step walks from throughout the Southland, from Simi Valley to the South Bay, and Pasadena to Pacific Palisades. Tread the grounds of a defunct Disney attraction called Dwarfland. Trace the extinct canals of Venice Beach. Stroll the shortest Main Street in America. Discover hidden streams, secret murals, lost cities, Hollywood haunts, houses made of stone, and parks that time forgot! The second edition of 10,000 Steps a Day in L.A. features: • 57 walks containing 10,000 steps • Detailed maps and directions • Descriptions of the terrain, walking surface, and dog-friendliness of each walk • Ideal picnic spots • Parking suggestions • Sidebars with colorful trivia and anecdotes Most importantly, 10,000 Steps a Day in L.A. offers a sense of fun and discovery about Los Angeles that makes the goal of 10,000 steps easy to attain. Readers need only bring their feet—pedometers are optional!

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A guide to noir films and their California settings, illustrating how the films use LA's diverse cityscape and architecture to convey a unique vision of urban corruption and existential fatalism. Dozens of noir and neo-noir films are featured, including classics such as Crimson Kimono, Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, Sunset Boulevard and Touch of Evil. Recent films like Mulholland Drive and Pulp Fiction have also made the list. More than 150 photographs, many of which appear for the first time, further illustrate the rich and constantly changing City of Angels.

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Comprised of fans' anecdotes, photographs, personal stories and momentos, the contributors' stories reconstruct the entire history of Beatlemania in America, dating from the earliest whispers about the group to the present day. The stories range from hilarious to compelling and poignant, and what emerges from these tales is a richly detailed and entertaining history of the profound impact that The Beatles and their music had on their fans' lives.

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A first-person account of sudden, unexpected tragedy and life-affirming courage, this remarkable tale of regeneration imparts lessons both medical and spiritual.

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From legendary basketball coach John Wooden’s life lessons and “pyramid of success” philosophy to musings on his favorite sport—baseball—this engaging account chronicles the friendship between Wooden and fellow University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) head coach Gary Adams. For nearly a decade, the two celebrated coaches shared an office and developed a close friendship that lasted 35 years until Wooden’s passing. Adams’s heartwarming narrative details discussions they shared about heroes, history, life, and their mutual favorite pastime—baseball. The book also reflects on Wooden’s core philosophies and the guiding principles behind his numerous basketball successes, including his election into two halls of fame as a player and a coach, winning 10 National College Athletic Association (NCAA) National Championships in a 12-year period, and being named NCAA College Basketball Coach of the Year six times. Recollections from Major League Baseball stars Eric Karros, David Roberts, and Chase Utley are also included, along with quotes from other athletes and associates of UCLA.

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An illustrated history of dozens of landmark eateries from throughout the City of Angels L.A.'S LEGENDARY RESTAURANTS celebrates the famous locations where Hollywood ate, drank, and played. Author George Geary leads you into the glamorous restaurants inhabited by the stars through a lively narrative filled with colorful anecdotes and illustrated with vintage photographs, historic menus, and timeless ephemera. Over 100 iconic recipes for entrees, appetizers, desserts, and drinks are included. George Geary leads you into the glamorous restaurants inhabited by the stars.

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Highlighting visions of a bygone age preserved in the background of Harold Lloyd's films, this history explores the landscapes of popular film locations through archival photographs, vintage maps and scores of then-and-now photographs. From Coney Island to Beverley Hills, LLoyd's timeless movies reflect the early 20th century visions on the silver screen, found in classics such as Safety Last, Girl Shy, The Freshman and Speedy. Tracing Lloyd's career from his early work to being a studio owner.

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A humorous and entertaining collection of travel essays which celebrates the distinctive qualities of locales all over the world. Each focuses on a specific place, capturing the flavours and cultures through individual observations and exceptional experiences. Funny, irreverent and insightful, the writings eschew the bland touristy veneers with subjects including: The Best Falafel in the World - Beirut; The Door to Hell - Paris; Kafka's Erotic Dream - Prague; and The Third Tower up from the Road - Beijing.

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Macabre city offerings and variously vile movie locations are explored in hair-raising detail in this entertaining travel guide. The names and addresses of people, places and - of course - things associated with the horror genre - such as the real-life Baltimore haunts of Edgar Allen Poe, the final resting place of Bela Lugosi and Stephen King's Maine - are coupled with trivia, travel tips, photographs and a ghoulishly fun narrative. Includes information on the locations used in cult classics such as Dawn of the Dead, The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

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Spellbinding courtroom illustrations of the most celebrated and talked-about trials of the last 25 years, coupled with insider observations and case summaries. Sketches of OJ Simpson staring passively ahead while a projected image of his battered wife looms behind him and the parade of beautiful call girls present at the Heidi Fleiss trial are brought to life in 200 vividly coloured images. Courtroom commentary from the artist supplements the art from each trial, including highlights and lowlights, verdict summaries and reactions to the verdicts from trial participants.

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Over 250 redneck poems sure to crack even the most bucktoothed of smiles. The redneck lifestyle gets the black tie treatment in the hilariously contrasting filter of formal Japanese haiku, employing the standard three line, thirteen syllable constraint. The whole spectrum of redneck culture comes under the scrutiny of the imperial poem: RVs; Wal-Mart; beer; pop tarts; pickups; monster trucks; NASCAR; boats; trailers; trailer parks; barns; hunting; shotguns; Las Vegas and everything in between.

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Author Chris Epting established a new genre in book publishing when a trio of titles in the early 2000s—James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America’s Pop Culture Landmarks, Elvis Presley Passed Here, and Marilyn Monroe Dyed Here—were released to critical acclaim and introduced readers to a groundbreaking travel concept: The pop culture road trip. Epting promptly followed these hugely popular and influential titles with two more legendary books: Led Zeppelin Crashed Here and Roadside Baseball. A Booksense 76 pick at the time, James Dean Died Here was covered by such major news outlets as NPR’s "All Things Considered," USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly. Everyone from Ken Burns to The Sporting News to the New York Post expressed their love for Roadside Baseball, while Led Zeppelin Crashed Here was recommended for all public libraries by Library Journal and outlets from the Associated Press to Newsday encouraged any fan of rock and roll history to buy the book. Now, in honor of the 20th anniversary of James Dean Died Here, Epting has produced It Happened Right Here: America’s Pop Culture Landmarks, which collects the best of the best from all of Epting’s prior books, and then adds dozens and dozens of new sites, many of them based on the pop culture of the 21st century.It Happened Right Here once again takes you on a journey across North America to the exact locations where the most significant events in American popular culture took place. It’s a road map for pop culture sites, from Patty Hearst’s bank to the garage where Apple Computer was born. Fully updated, the book includes such new entries as: • The locations featured in such television series as Stranger Things, Breaking Bad, and Curb Your Enthusiasm • Locations celebrating the legacy of legendary musician Prince • The dorm room where Facebook was created • The location of the opening freeway sequence from La La Land • The locations featured in the cult film Napoleon Dynamite • The Jay-Z, Beyonce, Solange elevator incident • The Jussie Smollett Subway sandwich shop location • Steve Bartman's seat location at Wrigley Field • and dozens and dozens of other new sites! Featuring hundreds of photographs, this fully illustrated, updated, and revised encyclopedic look at the locations of the most famous and infamous pop culture events includes the fascinating history of over a thousand landmarks—as well as their exact location. With up-to-date information for the sites included in Epting’s five original titles, plus dozens and dozens of new additions, It Happened Right Here is an amazing portrait of the bizarre, shocking, weird and wonderful moments that have come to define American popular culture.

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The Revenge of Joe Wild is a young adult novel about a semi-literate 12-year-old boy growing up in mid-19th-century Southern Illinois, an outsider who can’t fit in with the norms of society. When Joe is accused of murdering his friend Ervan Foster, he flees the authorities and goes on the run, vowing to one day return as an adult, find out who the real killer is, clear his name, and avenge Ervan’s death. While on the run, Joe has many funny, dangerous, and eye-opening adventures which include joining the Union army and fighting in the American Civil War. When the war ends, Joe returns to his hometown, an armed and battle-tested 16-year-old. He confronts his accusers, but when Joe finds out the truth behind Ervan’s murder, he makes peace with the man who falsely accused him, as well as with himself. In the great tradition of such 19th-century American authors as Mark Twain, James Fennimore Cooper, and Stephen Crane, The Revenge of Joe Wild is a humorous, tense, action-filled novel set against the dramatic backdrop of the Civil War, with themes involving racism, sexuality, and misinformation that are just as relevant in the 21st century as they were during the time of Joe Wild.

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Bingo!: Forty Years in the NBA is the memoir of legendary Los Angeles Clippers and sports broadcaster Ralph Lawler. Bingo! covers Lawler’s extraordinary life and career, from his childhood in Peoria, Illinois; through his time at Bradley University; to the beginning of his sports announcing career at the Riverside International Raceway; his years spent in Philadelphia with the Flyers, Phillies, and 76ers; his stint in San Diego with the Sails and the Chargers; and culminating in his 40-year career with the Clippers. Along the way, basketball and the NBA is the focus of the book, with Lawler’s observations and stories about players, coaches, and teams from the 1940s through his retirement at the close of the 2019 season forming the core of the narrative. Included among the myriad stories and reflections are his relationships with NBA legend Bill Walton, infamous Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Clippers GM and NBA great Elgin Baylor, and a variety of famous players, coaches, and fellow broadcasters from throughout the NBA. As Lawler used to memorably say from behind the microphone, “Fasten your seatbelts!” Bingo! is a fun-filled journey through professional basketball, with plenty of “Oh me, oh my!” moments, including the definitive answer to the burning question all NBA fans want to know: What are the origins of Lawler’s Law?

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Beautiful and spirited Daniela dreams of becoming a doctor while growing up in Yedinitz, Romania in 1940, but as a Jew, she is barred from higher education. Her mother, who is the dressmaker to a local countess, hires her a tutor, the rebellious and precocious Mihail. The two soon begin a passionate romance, unable to resist the powerful love and attraction they share. When the Nazis invade Romania, Daniela and Mihail’s lives are forever changed: Mihail escapes and joins the partisans; Daniela is captured and sent on the notorious Transnistrian Death March, where Jews are starved, murdered, and robbed. Daniela is brutally raped by Romanian soldiers, and trapped by their depravity, she watches helplessly as her people are destroyed. Daniela’s life is spared when her beauty catches the eye of a Romanian Iron Guard commander, Major Dragulescu, who forcibly takes her as his concubine and also sends her to nurse Romanian soldiers in the field hospital, where Daniela cannot help feeling pity at the suffering that surrounds her. One night Mihail appears with a troop of partisans on a mission to assassinate two key Nazis visiting the major. What happens next is both heroic and tragic, and results in Daniela’s escape with the partisans, who train her in sabotage and battle tactics. She throws herself into living on the run behind enemy lines, and transforms herself into an effective soldier and partisan leader until the war mercifully comes to an end. The Dressmaker’s Daughter is an unflinching look at the horrors inflicted by the Nazis upon the Romanian Jews during the Holocaust, and one brave young woman’s ability to rise above her suffering and escape to freedom.

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Do You Have a Naughty Mind? Some readers of Mike McCoy's Earplug Erotica will simply see earplugs placed in a variety of domestic and outdoor settings. Others might see earplugs representing people of all genders and orientation engaged in a wide variety of bawdy activities! What do you see? Do you think these earplugs belong in Playboy magazine . . . or Audiology Today? What you see inside Earplug Erotica may say more about how you view the world than you care to admit! One thing is for certain: After browsing through Earplug Erotica, you will never see the humble earplug in quite the same way ever again.

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As adults, we have more responsibilities than we could have ever imagined growing up. Learning the work of marriage. Navigating the bumpy terrain of parenting. Maintaining social relationships. Facing grave hardship. Finding contentment in our career. As the years pass by, we sense how the good things in life are so often eclipsed by stress. We find ourselves doing everything we can just to endure adulthood, all the while wondering whether we are actually enjoying it. This is exactly why Dr. Anthony T. DeBenedet decided to write Playful Intelligence: The Power of Living Lightly in a Serious World, to show readers how playfulness helps us counterbalance the seriousness of adulthood. “Five years ago, my life was becoming more intense and stressful,” DeBenedet says. “My relationships, clinical work as a physician, and basic interactions with the world were blurring into a frazzled mosaic. Going through the motions became my norm, and every day brought busyness and exhaustion. I thought about whether I was depressed. I didn’t think I was. Anxious? Sure, but aren’t we all anxious on some level? I also thought about the lifestyle factors that could be making me feel this way. Was I getting enough sleep? Was I exercising regularly? Was I eating healthy? Was I playing and remembering to be playful?” Today, we live in a taxing world. The endless pressure to keep up with our responsibilities and the daily headlines swarming around us can be overwhelming. DeBenedet’s work comes at a time when stress, uncertainty, and intensity levels are high. Playful Intelligence shows adults that there is a way to live lighter—and smarter—as we navigate the seriousness of adulthood. It’s not about taking life less seriously; it’s about taking ourselves less seriously. The book’s core chapters are devoted to exploring the effects and benefits of five playful qualities: imagination, sociability, humor, spontaneity, and wonder. By examining playfulness as a sum of its parts, readers will gain a working awareness of its power and be able to apply playful principles to their own lives, bringing the magic of childhood back into their day-to-day existence. The book also offers practical suggestions on how to make life more playful in nature.

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Learn the winning secrets of America's Sweepstakes King! Steve Ledoux reveals the secrets that have enabled him to win thousands and thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. He also includes information on how to win on the Internet and how to protect yourself from illegal sweepstakes and contests.

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This is a remarkable biographical poem on the life of the dynamic and controversial American painter. The narrative chronicles the reckless, adventurous and often desperate life of this 20th century genius, from his beginnings in the American northwest, through his pioneering of a revolutionary new painting technique that came to known as Abstract Expressionism, to his death at the wheel of a car on long island at the age of 44. Written entirely in iambic trimeter, Gray's biographical poem bursts with an energy and spontaneity that reflects Pollock's painting.

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Fair Foods is an illustrated cookbook featuring the recipes of the most popular and offbeat food served at state and county fairs across the USA.Packed with 120 original recipes created by award-winning chef, best-selling author, and renowned educator George Geary, Fair Foods includes such state and county fair classics as Texas Maple Bacon Donuts, The World’s Gooiest Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting, Aztec Hot Chocolate, Witch’s Brew, Caramel Kettle Corn, Fried Sweet Potato Sticks, Ten-Pound Cheesebuns, Cheesecake on a Stick, Chocolate-Encased Bacon, Fried Coca-Cola, Fried Guacamole, Fried Oreo Cookies, BBQ Turkey Legs, Bacon-Wrapped Chicken and Waffles, Blue Ribbon Chili, Pork Chop on a Stick, and Spicy Peanut Butter and Jelly Burgers.Each page in Fair Foods is lavishly illustrated with both vintage and contemporary photographs of America’s most beloved fair foods, as well as fun and lively images of rides and attractions and nostalgic ephemera. Fair Foods is not only mouthwateringly addictive, it also captures the joy and spirit of America’s greatest state and county fairs.

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The first biography ever written of Stan Levey - widely considered to be one of the most influential drummers in the history of modern jazz. Levey played alongside a who's who of twentieth century jazz artists: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and so many more. This colourful volume follows Levey from his childhood in North Philadelphia as the son of a boxing promoter with ties to the mob, through his meteoric rise in the international jazz scene right up to his role in forming the genre, 'West Coast Jazz'.

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High Fives, Pennant Drives, and Fernandomania is essential reading for Dodger fans and baseball buffs alike. It is a first-person account of Dodger history when the team was at its peak of success, winning three pennants in five years. The retelling of those seasons includes transcripts of radio and tv calls woven into the author's personal recollections. Each chapter includes lists, trivia boxes, sidebar stories, interesting stats and tie-ins to pop culture that make the sounds and images of the Dodgers' last great dynesty come to life.

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The first survey dedicated to the work of the McKimson brothers, I Say, I Say...Son!' offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the upper echelon of 20th century animation and examines the creative process behind the making of numerous popular characters and classic programs. This collection also explores the careers of three ground-breaking animators whose credits include Looney Tunes, Pink Panther, Mr Magoo. Beginning in the 1920s, this study traces the brothers' work together at Warner Brothers Cartoons in the following decades.'

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From dream research and global belief systems to extraordinary occurrences such as near-death and out-of-body experiences, this fascinating study delves into every aspect of death. Taking a scientific and anthropological approach, the reader is introduced to examples of how different cultures deal with death, how types of deaths are handled differently and how belief systems set the tone for grieving. The combination of factual research, personal accounts and the uncanny creates an intriguing overview into the end of a life.

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The author of Ventura and Zelzah follows up that critically acclaimed debut novel with Ventura and Winnetka, a stand-alone work that furthers the adventures of Douglas and his friends as they come of age in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley in the late 1970s. As seniors in high school, the gang spends their final year before college practicing crazy car stunts, getting high, obsessing about girls, passionately listening to the great rock and roll of the ’60s and ’70s, arguing about the Dodgers and the Lakers, and partying at the prom in powder blue tuxedos. From a West Hollywood porn theater to a punk rock club in Chinatown to the site of the Manson murders, the Valley boys also begin to spread their wings as they explore the city of Los Angeles, located “just over the hill” from where they live. Like Ventura and Zelzah, the stand-alone Ventura and Winnetka is a funny, poignant, and nostalgic coming-of-age tale about the relationships of teenagers on the verge of adulthood. The re-creation of the Valley culture of the late 1970s is palpable and magical.

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Amy Chan Zhou’s searing memoir about growing up in rural Communist China features descriptions of pastoral beauty and tales of the simple joys of raising farm animals or catching fish in a local river. However, her childhood is scarred by the primitive conditions, her family’s everyday struggle to obtain food, and the horror of witnessing relatives being tortured on a stage during “public denouncing” meetings. As the Communists take control of China in 1949, we follow the harrowing experiences of Chan Zhou’s great-grandparents, grandparents, father, and mother during the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s when landlords, business owners, artists, and scholars were branded as “bad elements” and “class enemies.” As a teenager in the 1970s, while selling vegetables on the black market, Chan Zhou is accused of being a “little capitalist trader.” The death of Mao ultimately saves Chan Zhou from being sent to a detention center, and her family’s destiny is forever altered by Deng Xiaoping’s reform that allows her family to reunite in Hong Kong, and subsequently emigrate to the United States. A blend of Wild Swans and The Red Scarf Girl, Flowing with the Pearl River is a vividly accurate portrayal of one family’s painful experiences during Communism and the Cultural Revolution in China, and their eventual escape to freedom.

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Freewaytopia: How Freeways Shaped Los Angeles explores how social, economic, political, and cultural demands created the web of freeways whose very form—futuristic, majestic, and progressive—perfectly exemplifies the City of Angels. From the Arroyo Seco Parkway, which began construction during the Great Depression, to the Century Freeway, completed in 1993, author Paul Haddad provides an entertaining and thought-provoking history of the 527 miles of roadways that comprise the Los Angeles freeway system. Each of Los Angeles’s twelve freeways receives its own chapter, and these are supplemented by “Off-Ramps”—sidebars that dish out pithy factoids about Botts’ Dots, SigAlerts, and all matter of freeway lexicon, such as why Southern Californians are the only people in the country who place the word “the” in front of their interstates, as in “the 5,” or “the 101.” Freewaytopia also explores those routes that never saw the light of day. Imagine superhighways burrowing through Laurel Canyon, tunneling under the Hollywood Sign, or spanning the waters of Santa Monica Bay. With a few more legislative strokes of the pen, you wouldn’t have to imagine them—they’d already exist. Haddad notably gives voice to those individuals whose lives were inextricably connected—for better or worse—to the city’s freeways: The hundreds of thousands of mostly minority and low-income residents who protested against their displacement as a result of eminent domain. Women engineers who excelled in a man’s field. Elected officials who helped further freeways . . . or stop them dead in their tracks. He pays tribute to the corps of civic and state highway employees whose collective vision, expertise, and dedication created not just the most famous freeway network in the world, but feats of engineering that, at their best, achieve architectural poetry. And let’s not forget the beauty queens—no freeway in Los Angeles ever opened without their royal presence. Freewaytopia is part colorful lore, part civic and historical critique, and part homage to the most famous freeways in the world.

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Documenting the renowned swimmer Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals while breaking seven world records at the 1972 Olympics. Every aspect of his roller-coaster career is recorded, from an age-group prodigy and four-medal flop' at the 1968 Olympics to an outstanding collegiate career at Indiana University and a gold-medal haul in 1972 followed by lucrative endorsements and an unsuccessful stint in entertainment. Personal notes about his stormy relationships, his father, and the anti-Semitism he faced throughout his career are also included.'

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More than 500 astonishing lists and oddites fill this unusual compendium of geographical trivia. From a list of countries with the lowest number of international tourists per year, to information about the largest countries in the world without an FM station, this book of wide-ranging curiosities makes minutia from across the world fascinating.

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The lessons that dogs have to teach us about unconditional love and happiness are presented in this compilation of canine-inspired maxims. Infused with wit and humour, the Zen of dogs is captured in such inspirational bits of wisdom as, for a dog there is only do or not do', and 'ask yourself, what would Lassie do?' Masterfully designed with whimsical illustrations throughout, this collection of Taoist insights offers a refreshing perspective on living a happier and fuller life.'

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Capturing such quintessentially American pastimes as baseball and road trips in one fascinating work, the updated and expanded third edition of Chris Epting’s Roadside Baseball chronicles more than 500 important events in baseball history, with detailed descriptions of the event and information on each location. Packed with historical data, trivia, photographs, and baseball lore, entries include the birthplaces of baseball legends, ballparks, museums and halls of fame, final resting places, and many locations that are no longer standing. From out-of-the-way spots to the most popular stadiums in the U.S. and Canada, no site is too small or insignificant to be included in this comprehensive guide. The third edition of Roadside Baseball includes hundreds of newly discovered landmarks, including the former locations of stadiums that have been torn down since the last edition of the book (Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, Tiger Stadium, etc.), information on the Negro Leagues Baseball Marker project which has placed headstones around the country to honor forgotten African American ballplayers, new exhibits at existing MLB parks, and suggested daytrip itineraries located near your favorite stadiums. Other new entries include the actual diamond used for the classic film, The Sandlot; the exact location where Mickey Mantle’s legendary 565-foot blast landed; the baseball field in Orange County, California, where many believe Babe Ruth hit the longest home run of his career against the great Walter Johnson (along with extremely rare photos of Ruth both batting and pitching during that very game); the newly marked location in Kekionga, Indiana where the first major league game was played in 1871; all 29 markers along the new “Hot Springs Baseball Trail” celebrating baseball history in Arkansas; and Heckscher Fields in Central Park, New York, where Larry David’s softball team played in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Entries from the previous edition include the Buckminster Hotel in Boston, where the Black Sox planned their fix of the 1919 World Series; the original Little League field and museum in Williamsport, Pennsylvania; the birthplace of Jackie Robinson; the place where Mickey Mantle was discovered by a scout from the New York Yankees; and the site of the original Wrigley Field, erected in Los Angeles in 1925. The third edition of Roadside Baseball is the most comprehensive book ever written on the locations of baseball landmarks, and the perfect gift for baseball fans of all ages!

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In her extraordinary swimming career, Shirley Babashoff set 39 national records and 11 world records. Heading into the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Babashoff was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and followed closely by the media. All of that changed once Babashoff questioned the shocking masculinity of the swimmers on the East German women's team. Here, Babashoff tells her story in the same unflinching manner that made her both the most dominant female swimmer of her time and one of the most controversial athletes in Olympic history.

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Combining oral and illustrated history with a connective narrative, this fascinating compilation captures the zeitgeist of the Los Angeles rock and pop music world between the years of 1956 and 1972. Turn Up the Radio! features hundreds of photographs and images of rare - and in numerous cases, previously unpublished - memorabilia. This collection highlights dozens of iconic musicians, including Sam Cooke, Jim Morrison, David Bowie, Neil Young, the Doors, the Eagles, Frank Zappa and many others. Packed with exclusive interviews; a one-of-a-kind keepsake.

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With more than 200 puzzles to solve, this hilarious book offers drivers, car passengers, armchair travelers, and puzzle enthusiasts ample opportunities to sharpen word skills while having fun at the same time. Merging the popular pastime of puzzle solving with a unique form of personal expression - the vanity plate - this book includes many innovative brainteasers that will challenge and entertain puzzle-lovers, such as ISHLPKDS (I schlep kids), UEEEEA (Euphoria), AULOCKS (Goldilocks), and HIOFSIR (Hi Officer).

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From the first published movie review in the late 1800s to the 21st-century era of the 'great movie critics' wake', this chronicle reviews the nature, scope and controversies in American film criticism. Moving through the Silent Era, the pre- and postwar years, the golden age of the 1970s and the eventual decline in the 1980s and 1990s, this exhaustive overview includes biographical information on some of the most influential film critics - including Leonard Maltin, Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael - along with historical records and critical assessments of their work.

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Journey through America's rock n roll history with the musical landmarks detailed in this extensive colelction... Nearly 600 locations, including birthplaces, concert locales, hotel rooms and graves, are neatly compiled and paired with historical tidbits, trivia, photographs and backstage lore - from the site where Elvis got his first guitar and Buddy's Holly's plane crashed to Sid and Nancy's hotel room and the infamous Riot House on Sunset Strip. Where was that hotel where Keith Richards threw a TV out of the window? Find out here!

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Steve Adelman’s humorous and engaging memoir reflects on his years as the director and owner of some of the world’s most popular nightclubs, including the Roxy, Limelight, Tunnel, and Palladium in the heyday of clubs in New York City during the 1980s and 1990s, followed by Avalon (Boston, Hollywood, NYC, and Singapore locations), and the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis. Nocturnal Admissions is a timely, unconventional look at one of pop culture’s most outwardly glamorous, yet misunderstood industries, bringing the reader backstage into the world of nightlife at its highest level. Wearing the multiple hats of ringmaster, entrepreneur, guidance counselor, multimillion-dollar dealmaker, and music soothsayer, Adelman chronicles an improbable journey from small town to big city, filled with a cast of characters he could never have imagined: People named Hedda Lettuce, Jenetalia, Maxi Min, and Jiggy, who collide with and around the likes of Jack Nicholson, Bruce Willis, Sir Richard Branson, Leonardo DiCaprio, RuPaul, Rudy Giuliani, and Snoop Dogg, among many, many others. Navigating city crackdowns, crazed partners, and cultural differences, Adelman relates how he watched his Nana out-dance an ex-NFL lineman, was chastised by Bob Dylan, launched the EDM cultural movement, helped created the “mash-up” with Perry Farrell, butted heads with Jerry Falwell, rang in the New Year with Matt Damon’s mother, leveraged porn star Jenna Jameson, relied on advice from felons, almost pancaked Prince, and built the world’s most lavish nightclub. Nocturnal Admissions is a hilarious, adrenaline-filled ride through the peak decades of the world's most famous nightclubs and nightlife scenes.

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