Dollars for Scholars, Dr. Irving A. Fradkin, with Michael J. Vieira, Branden Books, Paperback ISBN 9780828319744 $19.95; E-Book ISBN 9780828319744, $9.99 It all started when Dr. Fradkin received the first donation: “Here’s a buck!” His organization, Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America , however, took hold when another donor said, “Here’s a million!” This book tells the story of Dr. Fradkin’s crusade to raise money so that thousands of needy students would have access to institutions of higher learning through his scholar-ship grants. When people say, only in America” they include the feats of Dr. Fradkin. He started with a dollar and grew it to tens of millions of dollars now administered by a national headquarters with hundreds of chapters located in every state, and counting benefactors by the tens of thousands. Dollars for Scholars is a tribute to Dr. Irving Fradkin whose vision and efforts have become emblematic in the concrete reality rooted in the phrase, “only in America.”

Allan Spear had a long and distinguished career as a historian and as a Minnesota state senator. Perhaps best known for coming out as openly gay during his first term in the Minnesota Senate-becoming one of the first elected officials in the nation to do so-Spear was also a leader of Eugene McCarthy's run for the presidency, an organizer against the war in Vietnam, and a key proponent for the establishment of the African-American studies department at the University of Minnesota. Spear's memoirs are fascinating and moving: in early chapters on his childhood and college years, he writes with great introspection about his growing self-awareness of being gay. Later he writes about his development as an intellectual, particularly as a white man fighting to win legitimacy for the study of African-American history and culture. During his time at the University of Minnesota, Spear became deeply involved with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) and the antiwar movement. At the same time, Spear became increasingly active in the emerging gay rights movement and began the process of coming out to his friends and colleagues. After a failed run for the Minnesota House in 1968, Spear was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 1972 and served as Senate president from 1993-2000. In 1993, he was instrumental in the passage of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which protected LGBT people from discrimination in housing, education, and employment-an achievement he considered one of the finest of his career. A skilled parliamentarian, he remained a progressive leader in the legislature until his retirement in 2000. Spear passed away on October 11, 2008, leaving his memoir slightly incomplete. A stirring afterword by John Milton completes the story of Spear's life, chronicling the recognition of his accomplishments as a politician and activist during his final years.

"Dr. Ronda's autobiography, written in the 1980's, has inspired many Catholics and possible Catholics. This sequel, written 30 years later, is full of interesting experiences for readers of "En Route to Eternity" to enjoy but also for others who have been following her on EWTN and Catholic radio"--

Michael Wharton was of course 'Peter Simple' of the Daily Telegraph. He wrote two volumes of autobiography, this one, The Missing Will , and its sequel, The Dubious Codicil . Both are reissued in Faber Finds. The Missing Will describes his early life in Bradford, a lamentable career at Oxford, army service in India, years adrift in post-war Bohemia, and finishes on New Year's Day, 1957 when 'I sat down for the first time at my desk in the Daily Telegraph with one of the most appalling hangovers I have ever had in my life, and without a single idea in my head.' 'The jokes are bizarre and side-splitting, the sense of place and character haunting, and I don't expect to read a more honest piece of self-portraiture for some time to come.' Rivers Scott, Financial Times 'Everyone should read this book who want to know how an intelligent and civilised man can survive in the modern world.' Auberon Waugh 'Brilliant and hilarious' - Arthur Marshall

A Washington subpoena interrupts the promising career of a well-known movie gangster of the 40's & 50's. He goes to Rome, becomes an Italian movie star, mixes with real gangsters, Hollywood & international celebrities. Writes, finances, produces, directs & stars in a film about pigs that eat people -- with apologies to no one in particular. A fascinating autobiography reads like lively fiction in 199 pages. The actor's familiar face is on the cover under the title.

Following the surprise smash hit of last year, Being Jordan, comes the next instalment in the life of Katie Price, aka, Jordan, one of the most notorious celebrities in Britain today.Piers Morgan has described her as 'The biggest driver of sales of tabloid newspapers in the country.' A top glamour model since the age of 16, she was an instant hit as a Page 3 girl, was the F1 Jordan team mascot for four years and even spent 3 weeks with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy mansion. Yet behind Jordan lies Katie - the regular girl who likes to stay at home, ride her horses and play with her children - and her husband to be.This book takes up where the last ended, detailing what she really made of her jungle experiences, the truth behind the romance with Peter Andre, her excitement over their new baby, the glamour behind their up-coming wedding, and her heartbreak over the continuing medical traumas concerning her oldest son Harvey.This book promises to be by turns funny, biting, glamorous, disarmingly honest and utterly frank. This is the one celebrity autobiography of the year that promises you the no-holds barred truth from the woman who loves to speak her mind.

Here is Anzia Yezierska's life story, from the Polish ghetto to the sweatshops of New York's Lower East Side, from success as a writer in Hollywood in the 1920s to disillusionment and a return to poverty. With courage and emotion, Yezierska reveals what success and failure felt like and what they meant to her, as a woman and as an artist.

"This book is intended for people to whom nothing is sacred, people who are not afraid to ask pointed and critical questions about anything, be it the contents of the Torah or the contents of their own lives. It is intended for people willing to make every critical effort possible to get at the truth; for that is what the Torah demands of the Jew - to be a student of life so that he may learn to recognize and distinguish between that which is true and that which is false." -- Introduction.

used book, biography

In 1975, at the age of forty, Richard Raskind, a renowned eye surgeon and highly ranked amateur tennis player, "died," and Renée Richards was "born," in what was to become the most public and highly scrutinized sex reassignment to date. It was not until Renée Richards was discovered playing in an amateur tennis tournament that the world took notice. Extensive media coverage and criticism thrust Renée reluctantly into the spotlight, sparking an intense public debate over her private life. Now, at seventy-two, Richards looks back and speaks frankly about all aspects of her complicated and often notorious life in this eye-opening, thought-provoking memoir. Richards' honest and compelling narrative explores the dichotomy between the successful life she lived as Dr. Richard Raskind, who seemed to have everything (devoted friends, a beautiful wife and son, a stellar record of academic and professional achievement, and outstanding athletic ability), and a secret life of struggle with a drive that could not be suppressed, even by years of psychotherapy and the force of a considerable will. Richards takes readers through her difficult decision to undergo surgery and the complex mixture of relief and continued frustration that came with the realization of her new identity. Discussing life after her transformation, Richards candidly relates the details, trials, and pleasures of her romantic life as well as fascinating stories about her tennis career, including her experiences as Martina Navratilova's coach. She also provides an intimate account of her difficult but rewarding relationship with her rebellious son: runaway teenager, high-stakes Vegas gambler, karate champion, and entrepreneur. She describes the deterioration of a once-loving marriage and the challenges of reclaiming her place at the forefront of her demanding medical specialty. Having lived as a woman almost as long as she lived as a man, Richards draws on a personal history that illuminates thirty years of remarkable change in society's attitude toward gender issues. Her absorbing and inspiring story, at once heartbreaking and uplifting, is a testimony to how far we have progressed in our ability to discuss and accept sexuality in all its iterations, as well as a reminder of how far we still must travel.

South African icon Pieter-Dirk Uys has been on stage over 7000 times. In this funny and tender memoir, Uys reveals the person behind the persona. Filled with stories and photographs of his family, this book also features Pieter's Paarlse ouma, his strudel-baking German Oma, his devotion to Sophia Loren, the invention of Evita Bezuidenhout, 40 years of satire, and the joys and sorrows of a remarkable life.

Delve into the Life and Times of Senor Vegas + 8 Innings

Cowan, Paul

"Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion (and other uncommon tales from the founder of the Big Apple Circus) is a celebration of Paul Binder's life in and around the circus. Drawing on thirty-five years with the show he created, the Big Apple Circus' founder and founding Artistic Director invites us inside the fence every kid peers through for an intimate look at the uncommon life of circus artists, their animal partners, and the roustabouts who spend their days in a world that is both close-knit and international, high-minded and low comedy, death-defying and ludicrous. Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion (and other uncommon tales from the founder of the Big Apple Circus) balances the weird and the workaday, the curious and the commonplace, the exhilaration and the exhaustion of life in the circus, with simple portrayals of ordinary people going about the business of achieving the extraordinary."--Publisher's description.

Osher Gunsberg, one of Australia's most loved celebrities, opens up in a powerful, dark, funny and heartwrenching memoir about life, love and living with mental illness. It's hard to remember a time when Osher Gunsberg (or Andrew G as he was then) wasn't on TV - he's just always been there, looking at ease in the spotlight, beaming a big smile, with a questionable haircut. He was there hanging out with The Offspring backstage at the Warped Tour on Channel V; announcing to a national audience of three million people that Guy Sebastian was our first Australian Idol; and later capturing the heart of the nation by hosting every season of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and now Bachelor in Paradise. But while everything looks great from the outside, the real picture has not always been quite so rosy. Osher has always known he's different to most people. Struggling with anxiety, panic attacks and weight issues since he was young, he tried for years to drink away the anxiety and depression. He ended up unemployed, divorced, suicidal and certifiable on the other side of the world, yet somehow he managed to put the broken pieces of his mind back together and make a life for himself again. He lives with a mental illness - and he's come to terms with it to live an authentic, rich and fulfilling life. A revealing, raw, funny and heartfelt memoir from one of Australia's most well-known and well-liked celebrities.

For more than two decades, ever since famed international film director Jean Renoir chose beautiful young actress Noreen Nash to play a coveted role in his second (and considered best) American film The Southerners, Renoir and his wife Dido Freiere were the cherished, intimate friends of Noreen and her husband, well known Hollywood "Physician to the Stars" Lee E. Siegel, M.D. In addition, the Siegels were weekly hosts at ongoing Sunday afternoon gatherings attended by a fascinating coterie of guests that, in addition to silver screen luminaries, invariably included infamous Tropic of Cancer author Henry Miller. And so the notorious Henry Miller became the Siegels' close friend as well. Jean Renoir, one of the foremost film directors of all time, and Henry Miller, topping the list of the most controversial figures in American literature ... both great friends of the Siegels. And yet the two men had never met. It might have been a foregone conclusion that they should become acquainted. Or should they? The two were quite different, as Noreen Nash explains. How would they get along? Would they take to one another or not? The Siegels debated the pros and cons of making the introduction, and ultimately decided affirmatively to connect the two giants. And so, we learn in TITANS OF THE MUSES, what happened when Henry met Jean. Due to its historical importance, characterizations, element of gossip and wealth of detail, TITANS OF THE MUSES presents readers with a fascinating, heretofore unseen portrait of two of the most noteworthy cultural figures of the 20th century.