Laing examines the link between creativity and alcohol through the work and lives of six of America's finest writers.

"Vienna. 1936. Three young friends?Leo, Elsa, and Max?spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness and that they will soon be cruelly ripped apart from one another. With their lives taking them across Europe?to Germany, England, Prague, and Poland?will they ever find their way back to one another? Will they want to?"--Dust jacket.

Reyna Grande tenía nueve años cuando cruzó la frontera de México y los Estados Unidos buscando un hogar y el reencuentro con sus padres, quienes la habían dejado en su tierra natal para migrar a Los Ángeles en busca de una mejor vida. Sin embargo, lo que encontró fue a una madre indiferente y a un padre alcohólico y violento, en un país cuyo sistema educativo menospreciaba sus raíces. Reyna se refugió en las palabras. Su amor por la lectura...

"Voter suppression has plagued America since its inception, and so has the issue of identity-who is really American and what that means. When tied together, as they are in our modern politics, citizens are harmed in overt, subtle, and even personal ways. Stacey Abrams experienced the effects firsthand, running one of the most unconventional races in modern politics as the Democratic nominee for the governorship in Georgia and the first black woman...

Many of us never learned--or have forgotten--how to make smart, long-term decisions, so we avoid making them. In a world where immediate satisfaction is the norm, it's easy to do. Whether it's decisions about our health (our chronic overuse of antibiotics has triggered a shocking rise in immunity to them), our finances (20% of us have nothing saved for retirement), or our jobs (we slash R and D to improve short-term balance sheets and then can't keep...

Traces the story of an American rowing team from the University of Washington that defeated elite rivals at Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics, sharing the experiences of their enigmatic coach, a visionary boat builder, and a homeless teen rower.

Legendary London tattoo artist and a collector himself for over 35 years, Lal Hardy takes us on a tour of private archives, including his own extensive collection, revealing the fascinating hidden world of tattoo. Skin-marking practices, which still retain their frisson of danger, threat, oddity and romance, unite inner-city tattoo artists in Britain with the ancient tribal customs of peoples such as the Maori and Ainu on the other side of the globe....

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Rooms, the extraordinary true story of the downfall of one of England's wealthiest families. Fans of Downton Abbey now have a go-to resource for fascinating, real-life stories of the spectacular lives led by England's aristocrats. With the novelistic flair and knack for historical detail Catherine Bailey displayed in her New York Times bestseller The Secret Rooms, Black Diamonds provides a...

Thirty-six lectures on the visual nature of ancient Rome and how it was able to so successfully communicate its civic and cultural values, or project a knowledge of Roman power, to every corner of the realm. Learn how Rome communicated in visually symbolic ways, gain insight into how similar tools are used today, and hone your ability to see them at work in the visual symbols that are part of government, the military, religion, and just about every...

In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development: slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled...