"An extraordinary collection of interviews with the beloved doctor and author, whose research and books inspired generations of readers. Oliver Sacks--called "the poet laureate of medicine" by the New York Times--illuminated the mysteries of the brain for a wide audience in a series of richly acclaimed books, including Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and numerous The New Yorker articles. In this collection of interviews, Sacks is at his most candid and disarming, rich with insights about his life and work. Any reader of Oliver Sacks will find in this book an entirely new way of looking at a brilliant writer"--

Chronicles Betser's involvement in the El Al "air marshall" program, the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Yom Kippur War of 1973, & a number of successful -- as well as unsuccessful -- hostage/terrorist crises of recent history. Provides an intimate, firsthand account of Israel's previously classified counter terrorist defense missions. Beginning with new revelations abut the Six-Day War, Betser tells of the kidnapping of 5 Syrian generals, reports on the execution of Black September commanders, gives us the first on the scene report of the raid on Entebbe, & exposes the realities of a 25 years of counter terrorist warfare. Photos.

The author describes his conversion at eighty-four to Christianity and his editorial oversight of the controversial second edition of "Great Books of the Western World"

For years, sports fans across the country have run to their morning newspapers to read Mitch Albom. Here, in his fourth superb collection, the nation's No. 1 sports columnist tackles everything from Tonya and Nancy to O.J., from the Lions foibles to the Red Wings' Stanley Cup final. In Live Albom IV, Albom --- also an ESPN analyst, WJR radio talk showhost, and author of the national best-sellers "Bo" and "Fab five" --- gives a full plate of his lyrical column style, which has been hailed by his peers as the best in the business.Touching, insightful, hard-hitting and often hilarious, Live Albom IV also features, in tis entirety, the award-winning Secret World Series, Albom's fictional account about the greatest Fall Classic never played. And, of course, there is a full helping of Albom's non-sports columns from the Comment section of the Detroit Free Press.

"Although Nero's personality has fascinated both historians and writers of fiction, it is the nature of his reign and its context within the Julio-Claudian dynasty that has even greater importance for historians of the Roman Empire. Nero's final collapse brought to an end the dynasty Augustus had founded and placed in jeopardy the political system he had devised. To what extent does Nero's failure reveal not only his own ineptitude but the tensions and problems inherent in that system? Why did this actor-emperor find the role of princeps so difficult to play? These are the questions confronted by Miriam Griffin in her wide-ranging study. Dividing her book into two distinct yet related parts, Griffin first analyzes the reign of Nero in terms of the Emperor's attitude and initiative and then provides a diagnosis of his fall in which his personality is seen interacting with the political institutions he inherited. The accent is on Nero, but he is never viewed in isolation: the example of his family and predecessors, the influence of his advisers and rivals, and the effect upon those who had to follow him--all give a broad focus to this work."--Jacket.

"If your book's subtitle is Savage Tales of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, and the Most Notorious Magazines in the World , you have a lot to live up to—and somehow Mike Edison does . . . Edison seems to have nine lives and enjoys every moment of each of them to the fullest . . . His journey takes him around the world, but he always returns to magazine writing, and his insider scoop on these bizarre workplaces is what, finally, makes this memoir truly memorable." — Penthouse "Cooler than Toby Young and more credible than James Frey."— Bookforum "Will have you alternately envying Edison and being glad you've avoided such encounters." — New York Daily News "Gloriously told . . . Surprisingly intelligent." — SF Weekly "[Edison's] an engaging, sardonic guide to some of magazinedom's more disreputable territories." — Entertainment Weekly "Brash, irreverent, funny as hell and beautifully written."— PopMatters

Michael Ratner (1943-2016) was one of America's leading human rights lawyers. He worked for more than four decades at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) becoming first the Director of Litigation and then the President of what Alexander Cockburn called "a small band of tigerish people." He was also the President of the National Lawyers Guild. Ratner handled some of the most significant cases In American history. This book tells why and how he did it. His last case, which he worked on until he died, was representing truth-telling whistleblower and now political prisoner Julian Assange, the editor of WikiLeaks. Ratner "moved the bar" by organizing some 600 lawyers to successfully defend habeas corpus, that is, the ancient right of someone accused of a crime to have a lawyer and to be brought before a judge. Michael had a piece of paper taped on the wall next to his desk at the CCR. It read: 4 key principles of being a radical lawyer: 1. Do not refuse to take a case just because it is long odds of winning in court. 2. Use cases to publicize a radical critique of US policy and to promote revolutionary transformation. 3. Combine legal work with political advocacy. 4. Love people. Compelling and instructive, Moving the Bar is an indispensable manual for the next generation of activists and their lawyers.

In this seminal exploration of Che Guevara's contributions to Marxist thinking, Michael Lswy traces Che's ideas about Marxism both as they related to Latin America and to more general philosophical, political, and economic issues. Now revised and updated, this edition includes a chapter on Guevara's search for a new paradigm of socialism and a substantive essay by Peter McLaren on Che's continued relevance today. This book eloquently captures his views on humanity, his contributions to the theory of revolutionary warfare, and his ideas about society's transition to socialism, offering a cohesive, nuanced introduction to the range of Guevara's thought.

KQED Radio's Michael Krasny is one of the country's leading interviewers of literary luminaries, a maestro for educated listeners who prefer their discourse high and civil. He is a writer's interviewer. But it didn't start out that way. In Off Mike , Krasny, host of one of public radio's most popular and intellectually compelling programs, talks of his strong desire to become a novelist in the footsteps of Bellow and Philip Roth, and then discovering his real talent as a communicator—a deft ability to draw others out as an interlocutor. In a mix of memoir and reportage, Krasny takes readers inside his world. He gives an account of the polarizing transformation of talk radio, from his early days at KGO commercial radio, through to his current role at NPR, where he manages to keep the flow of talk in his San Francisco based show animated and politically balanced. Forum fans and lovers of literature will be riveted by the insightful and amusing vignettes and behind the scenes accounts. They will get a taste of the sharp commentary from his encounters with panels of experts, and interviews with cultural and political personalities as well as writers.

One evening in late October 1958, the deepest coal mine in North America "bumped"-its rock floors heaved up and smashed into rock ceilings. Most of the men on the shift perished. But nineteen men were trapped alive a mile below the earth's surface, struggling to survive without food, water, light, or fresh air. Almost a week passed without rescue. Hopes of finding life dwindled; then a miracle happened: Rescuers stumbled across a broken pipe that led to the cave of survivors. In the media circus that followed, the survivors' endurance was mythologized and twisted, and the state of Georgia's tourism ploy-inviting the survivors to recuperate on a Georgia beach-turned racist and pitted the miners against each other. Using long-lost stories and interviews with survivors, Greene has reconstructed an extraordinary drama of their struggle and miraculous rescue.

Mickey Mantle (1931-1995), the iconic number 7 of the world-famous New York Yankees, was the epitome of power, grace, and class in the 1950s. Veteran New York sportswriter Maury Allen writes candidly of Mantle's luminous achievements, including being named the American League's Most Valuable Player three times and hitting an astonishing 536 career home runs; of Mantle's uneasiness at being a national hero; of Mantle's long, eventually triumphant, struggle with alcoholism; and of Mantle's subsequent losing battle with liver cancer.

Marty Glickman, the incomparable sportscaster and Olympian athlete, writes of his five decades in sports. And what a career it was! At the heart of his autobiography is the notorious incident at the 1936 "Nazi Olympics" in Berlin. Glickman and Sam Stoller, the only Jews on the American track and field team, were dropped from the 400-meter relay team. More than any other event that would shape his life, this would be a defining moment for Glickman, one that would propel him into one of the richest and longest career in sports broadcasting history. In The Fastest Kid on the Block, Glickman recounts his beginnings as an athlete in Brooklyn and his early years at Syracuse University. After his devastating experience at the Olympics, he began his broadcasting career. As one of the best-known voices of New York City sports, he announced many of the most exciting games in sports history, including baseball, hockey, football, wrestling, and basketball. Glickman was actively involved with, and now brings to life, the most influential teams and personalities in the sports world, including the New York Knicks, the New York Giants, Red Auerbach, Joe Namath, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bradley, Bud Collins, and Mike Emrick, to name just a few. This spirited autobiography concludes with Glickman's trenchant observations about his fellow sports broadcasters, the present-day Olympics, and his own tips on how to break into the competitive, wonderful world of sports broadcasting.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." --George Santayana We need only to look back to Rwanda, and now to Darfur, to see that once again we are living the worst of times. Who better to guide our understanding and give us hope than Martin Gray--a man who survived the worst of times, flourished, and still managed to find joy in living? Martin has come full circle since his boyhood world was turned upside down by the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Overnight, the teenage Martin and his family were immersed in the horrors of the Holocaust and held captive in the Warsaw Ghetto. It was a nightmare of brutality, starvation, and death. Martin became a clever smuggler to help his family survive--until the "butchers" of Treblinka took his mother and brothers. Against impossible odds, Martin survived and returned to fight in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. As the Nazis incinerated the ghetto, he escaped to fight with the partisans, and then the Red Army. After the war, Martin made his way to New York. The cunning and skills he developed during the war enabled him to learn the language and create a successful business. At 35, he retired to France with a fortune and a beautiful Dutch wife, starting a family and living in happiness and peace. But his world was shattered once again by a forest fire that engulfed his fleeing family. In a tragic repeat of history, Martin alone survived. Martin Gray's past could be our future if we don't heed his call to be the change. In this 35th anniversary expanded edition of For Those I Loved, a book beloved by millions of readers worldwide, Martin reminds us that the past is connected to the present. Only we can ensure that history is not repeated.

Mark W. Clark was a major figure in World War II. He was prominent as one of the top American commanders. Together with Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley, and George S. Patton, Jr., Clark was widely regarded as being responsible for victory on the European side of the conflict. One of the great World War II memoirs by a legendary American general in charge of operations in North Africa and Italy. General Mark W. Clark recounts his wartime exploits and tells the story of the battles in Tunisia and Italy with verve and attention to key detail. An unparalleled account by a great military leader.

On August 10, 1938, Lucy S. Dawidowicz set sail from New York to Vilna, Poland, to study at the Yiddish Scientific Institute (YIVO). For a year, while she studied the Jewish past, she immersed herself in Vilna's present, getting to know the Jewish rich and poor, witnessing Poland's brutal anti-Semitism. Then she was forced to flee Vilna, just a week before German tanks and troops rumbled into Poland and eventually destroyed this citadel of East European Jewish culture forever. After the war Lucy Dawidowicz again sailed to Europe -- this time to work with Jewish survivors and to identify the remnants of the precious YIVO library of Vilna.

Originally published in 1958, this is Lillian Roth's story in her own words following up on her blockbuster memoir I'll Cry Tomorrow. "Nothing in my wildest imaginings could have prepared me for what has happened these past five years," says Lillian Roth in her new book, which continues the story of her life from the publication of I'll Cry Tomorrow to the present. Catapulted back into the limelight as a "reformed" alcoholic, faced with the problems of a professional come-back, besieged by people who sought solace and advice, troubled by her own weaknesses and doubts, she found herself on the verge of panic and blindness. But the love and strength of her husband, the will to make good on her own, and the faith and affection of a vast audience who turned to her for help, carried her over the troubled waters. Step by step she found her way out of the darkness that still threatened her. With the same frankness and honesty that made her autobiography a deeply moving experience, Lillian Roth now describes her struggle back to the top of the nightclub circuit, of the lean and the full years, of the disappointments and triumphs, and of her search for religious understanding. She tells of her decision to become a serious actress, of the way she finally found a home, after forty-six years, and of the never-ending struggle that everyone is faced with. "Life is a struggle-and to stop struggling is to stop living. But that struggle is not for money alone, but to create, to realize the best within us." "People turned to me for help, not realizing that I too suffered human frailty. But wondrously, they brought me their strength along with their fears." Seldom has there been a story as inspiring and warmly human as this continuation of the record of a woman's search to find peace and happiness within herself.

Autobiography.

Thelma and Louise meets Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in the story of a woman who transcends gender boundaries to drive faster and delveplex and unholy union between car and driver.

Taken from the journals of distinguished writer Leonard Michaels, Time Out of Mind chronicles the author's life as a friend, lover, husband, and father. With wrenching dramatic intensity, it captures the character and the mind of an extraordinary talent -- from his days as a struggling young writer in Greenwich Village, through the turbulent Vietnam era, to his years as a professor of English literature at Berkeley. This is an unforgettable portrait of an artist in the world -- from one of the most acclaimed authors of our time.