In a time when America is desperately searching for leadership comes this inspiring story of James Madison’s coming of age, providing incisive and original insight into the Founding Father who did the most but is known the least. Michael Signer takes a fresh look at the life of our fourth president. His focus is on Madison before he turned thirty-six, the years in which he did his most enduring work: battling with Patrick Henry—the most charismatic politician in revolutionary America, whose political philosophy and ruthless tactics eerily foreshadowed those of today’s Tea Party—over religious freedom; introducing his framework for a strong central government; becoming the intellectual godfather of the Constitution; and providing a crucial role at Virginia’s convention to ratify the Constitution in 1788, when the nation’s future hung in the balance. Signer’s young James Madison is a role model for the leaders so badly needed today: a man who overcame daunting personal issues (including crippling anxiety attacks) to battle an entrenched and vicious status quo. Michael Signer’s brilliant analysis of “Madison’s Method,” the means by which Madison systematically destroyed dangerous ideas and left in their stead an enduring and positive vision for the United States, is wholly original and uniquely relevant today.

"A frank and funny-because-it's-true memoir from New York Times bestselling author Michael Ian Black, about confronting his genetic legacy as he hits his 40s--the alt-comedy answer to Brad Garrett's WHEN THE BALLS DROP"--

"Joan Rivers is an enduring icon of the 20th century, and her wildly popular humor has appealed to generations of fans. With a career that began in the late 1950s, Joan kept mementos over the course of her entire working life, and Joan Rivers Confidential is a compilation of never-before-seen personal archives. Assembled by her daughter Melissa with Scott Currie, the book contains scripts and monologues, letters from famous friends, exchanges with fans, rare photographs, as well as classic and never-before-heard jokes--many simply scribbled on everything from hotel stationery to airplane boarding passes. Touching on subjects from her 50 years in show business (The Tonight Show, Las Vegas, Elizabeth Taylor, Heidi Abromowitz, the red carpet, and Fashion Police), this is a revelatory and humor-filled insider look at the popular, multitalented comedian."--Provided by Amazon.com.

Shortly after World War II, when the Allies interrogated Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, the senior commander who opposed the Allied invasion of France, they asked him to rate the skills of his opponents. He is reputed to have said, "Patton, he was your best." Praise for his performance was precisely what George Smith Patton, Jr., had sought all his life. As a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute and West Point, he was already searching for what he called "the undefinable difference" that distinguished a great general from the good ones. He led a mechanized attack in Mexico and a tank battalion during World War I. In World War II he turned American fortunes around in North Africa, chased the Germans out of Sicily, and sparked the breakout and liberation of France. When the Germans attacked the American First Army in the Battle of the Bulge, Patton turned his army north and smashed the German salient. He then drove into the heart of Germany and reached Czechoslovakia by war's end. Brilliant yet flawed, Patton's leadership style drove himself and his men to acts of bravery and victory. Half uncouth, provincial cowboy and half cultured sophisticate, the man behind the warrior mask was a complex and paradoxical person. He became an icon of the American military leader and the uncompromising individual.

M Fethullah Gulen gives his unique interpretation of Prophet Muhammad, based on a lifetime of personal study and struggle to live up to the ideal standards realised by one of the most fascinating figures ever to emerge in our midst.

The Independent Directing Bible that will fit in your back pocket! (If you have an extremely large pocket...) Have you always wanted to direct a movie, but don't know how to start? Want to know how to get your first directing job? What do directors even do, anyway? Legendary director Lloyd Kaufman, creator of The Toxic Avenger, reveals 40 years worth of maverick cinematic know-how! Direct Your Own Damn Movie! will be your step-by-step roadmap on the journey through: * Scriptwriting * Pre-production * Casting * Managing your set * Post-production * Distribution Master the art of directing the easy way! There is no better way to become a director than by following the instruction and wisdom of an actual successful film director, not someone who just talks about it. Featuring expert advice from: Eli Roth (Grindhouse, Hostel) Jenna Fischer (LolliLove) Stan Lee (co-writer Spider-Man, Fantastic Four) Ron Jeremy (credits cannot be printed here) Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, Slither) ...and many more! WARNING! Do not read this book if you suffer from motion sickness, or are about to operate heavy machinery. This book is not for the faint of heart, the good of taste, or those who might be pregnant. * There's more to directing than a cool-looking chair. Renegade director Lloyd Kaufman reveals all! * Includes interviews with a host of luminaries on mistakes and disasters from their early film careers * Learn the ten directing commandments of Lloyd Kaufman, plus the all-important 11th: forget the first 10 and direct your own damn movie!

Knopf; 1st edition (1975) 177 pages

"Philadelphia's progressive district attorney offers an inspiring vision of how people can take back power to reform criminal justice, based on lessons from a life's work as an advocate for the accused." --

Ted Turner revolutionised television. Grasping cable's potential in its infancy, he transformed a tiny UHF station in Atlanta into a cable superstation; invented the world's first 24-hour cable news channel, CNN, and transformed the MGM film library into lucrative cable networks. Although Turner sold his company to Time Warner and was ousted, he is still influential. roller-coaster career won a National Magazine Award for Best Profile in 2001. In researching the book he received the active cooperation of Turner himself, including fifteen hours of taped interviews. Media Man is a captivating view of a daring entrepreneur, a pioneering company and the industry they helped create.

The journey of nine extraordinary men from Budapest to the New World, wht they experienced along their dangerous route and how they changed America and the world. They are the scientists Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner, and John von Neuman; Arthur Koestler author of Darkness at Noon; Robert Capa, the first photographer ashore on D-Day; Andre Kertesz, pioneer of modern photojournalism and iconic filmmakers Alexander Korda and Michael Curtiz.

Tells the story of Jerry Butler's erotic voyage from average child to sex star. This edition aims to answer the question: where will Jerry go from here?

The exiled Argentine newspaper publisher details his advocacy of human rights, his 1977 arrest, his thirtymonths of imprisonment, interrogation, and torture, the revocation of his citizenship, and his expulsion from Argentina

The conservative icon who reshaped American politics and laid the groundwork for the end of the Cold War In the second half of the twentieth century, no American president defined his political era as did Ronald Reagan. He ushered in an age that extolled smaller government, tax cuts, and strong defense, and to this day politicians of both political parties operate within the parameters of the world he made. His eight years in office from 1981 to 1989 were a time of economic crisis and recovery, a new American assertiveness abroad, and an engagement with the Soviet Union that began in conflict but moved in surprising new directions. Jacob Weisberg provides a bracing portrait of America's fortieth president and the ideas that animated his political career, offering a fresh psychological interpretation and showing that there was more to Reagan than the usual stereotypes. Reagan, he observes, was a staunch conservative but was also unafraid to compromise and cut deals where necessary. And Reagan espoused a firm belief, just as firm as his belief in small government and strong defense, that nuclear weapons were immoral and ought to be eliminated. Weisberg argues that these facets of Reagan were too often ignored in his time but reveal why his presidency turned out to be so consequential. In the years since Reagan left office, he has been cast in marble by the Republican Party and dismissed by the Democrats. Weisberg shows why we need to move past these responses if we wish truly to appreciate his accomplishments and his legacy.

This sophisticated and playful nonfiction picture book looks at US presidents! See America’s presidents as never before—made of objects! Using everything from blue jeans to boxing gloves, Hanoch Piven “builds” the characters of eighteen of our nation’s leaders. Revealing anecdotes accompany the creative collages and lend insight to the charismatic personalities of prominent presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama, resulting in an irresistible resource.

For most first ladies, their years in the White House are their sole claim to fame. For one—Hillary Rodham Clinton—that tenure was just another step in a remarkable political career. Neither a “hit job” nor a facile tribute, Gil Troy’s lively and refreshingly nonsensational new book provides a revealing look at arguably the most polarizing First Lady in history and undoubtedly the most prominent American woman of our time. Troy, named by History News Network one of America’s Top 15 Young Historians, measures Clinton’s historical footprint, tracing her activities during the turbulent decade that brought her to national prominence and examining her influence as a key player in her husband’s administration. Covering her attempts to overhaul health care and redefine the first lady as co-president while she tried to cope with her husband’s scandals and impeachment, he recounts how Hillary’s rocky road had a mixed impact on the office, even as her ambitions illuminated the role’s potential. As the first feminist first lady, Hillary Clinton faced dilemmas typical of modern American women as she tried to be both a family-oriented, devoted wife and a career-focused, independent woman. Troy shows how she did her best to navigate this divide and breaks new ground in taking her seriously as a thinker. Delving into Hillary’s speeches and writings, he uncovers a surprisingly more moderate, even conservative worldview. In fact, he finds some of her positions—such as her outspoken views on abortion—to be authentic expressions of a genuine Puritan/Methodist centrism rather than a mere political ploy. Offering a mix of praise and censure that elevates to a more sophisticated level debates about her controversial career and presidential aspirations, Troy’s book will enlighten and intrigue Hillary’s passionate critics and staunch defenders alike. It will renew discussions of where she stands in the continuum of modern first ladies—and of where history will ultimately take her. Many of the book’s key themes are effectively underscored by an entertainingly narrated photo essay, with provocative images drawn from the Clinton Presidential Library.

In the tumultuous and vivid history of New Kingdom Egypt, Ramesses III's reign was prosperous and culturally rich. He fended off attacks by the "Sea Peoples" and others who threatened the state, he built the great temple of Medinet Habu, and he left wonderfully complete documents describing contemporary social structure and the economy. Amazingly, we even have an account from a contemporary judicial document that describes events leading to Ramesses III's assassination. This edited collection presents a detailed and informative look at the life, career, and world of one of Egypt's most important pharaohs, providing insight both on his reign and its aftermath and on the study of the political and cultural history of ancient Egypt.

With Freedom's Lawmakers, Eric Foner has assembled the first comprehensive directory of the over 1,500 African Americans who held political office in the South during the Reconstruction era. He has compiled an impressive amount of information about the antebellum status, occupations, property ownership, and military service of these officials -- who range from U.S. congressmen to local justices of the peace and constables. This revised paperback edition also contains new material on forty-five officials who were not included in the first edition.In his Introduction, Foner ably analyzes and interprets the roles of the black American officeholders. Concise biographies, in alphabetical order, trace the life histories of individuals -- many previously unknown -- who played important parts in the politics of the period. This useful and informative volume also includes an index by state, by occupation, by office during Reconstruction, by birth status, and by topic.

Presents the major ideas that have formed the modern Latin American political mind and profiles influential revolutionaries, thinkers, poets, and novelists, from Che Guevara to Octavio Paz and Gabriel García Márquez