Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Meet the Author Tonight!!!

He was the greatest Indian warrior of the nineteenth century. His victory over General Custer at the battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 was the worst defeat inflicted on the frontier Army. And the death of Crazy Horse in federal custody has remained a controversy for more than a century.

The Killing of Crazy Horse pieces together the many sources of fear and misunderstanding that resulted in an official killing hard to distinguish from a crime. A rich cast of characters, whites and Indians alike, passes through this story, including Red Cloud, the chief who dominated Oglala history for fifty years but saw in Crazy Horse a dangerous rival; No Water and Woman Dress, both of whom hated Crazy Horse and schemed against him; the young interpreter Billy Garnett, son of a fifteen-year-old Oglala woman and a Confederate general killed at Gettysburg; General George Crook, who bitterly resented newspaper reports that he had been whipped by Crazy Horse in battle; Little Big Man, who betrayed Crazy Horse; Lieutenant William Philo Clark, the smart West Point graduate who thought he could “work” Indians to do the Army’s bidding; and Fast Thunder, who called Crazy Horse cousin, held him the moment he was stabbed, and then told his grandson thirty years later, “They tricked me! They tricked me!”

At the center of the story is Crazy Horse himself, the warrior of few words whom the Crow said they knew best among the Sioux, because he always came closest to them in battle. No photograph of him exists today.

The death of Crazy Horse was a traumatic event not only in Sioux but also in American history. With the Great Sioux War as background and context, drawing on many new materials as well as documents in libraries and archives, Thomas Powers recounts the final months and days of Crazy Horse’s life not to lay blame but to establish what happened.

TC history buff Mark L. says:

"I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Thomas Powers has done an excellent job of research, searching small details and manuscript collections. In addition,he can engagingly write about what he has found in his research--it is not every researcher who can research and write,as my years of reading history have shown me. "

Meet Thomas Powers tonight at 7:30 at our Historic Lodo Store as part of the Rocky Mountain Land Series.

Mark also recommends these titles on the subject:

Give Me Eighty Men: Women and the Myth of the Fetterman Fight
“With eighty men I could ride through the entire Sioux nation.” The story of the Fetterman Fight, near Fort Phil Kearney in present-day Wyoming in 1866, is based entirely on this infamous declaration attributed to Capt. William J. Fetterman. Historical accounts cite this statement in support of the premise that bravado and contempt for the fort’s commander, Col. Henry B. Carrington, compelled Fetterman to disobey direct orders from Carrington and lead his men into an ambush by an alliance of Plains Indians. In the aftermath of the incident, Carrington’s superiors positioned him as solely accountable for the “massacre” by suppressing exonerating evidence. In the face of this betrayal, Carrington’s first and second wives came to their husband’s defense by publishing books presenting his version of the deadly encounter. Although several of Fetterman’s soldiers and fellow officers disagreed with the women’s accounts, their chivalrous deference to women’s moral authority during this age of Victorian sensibilities enabled Carrington’s wives to present their story without challenge. In this fascinating book, Shannon D. Smith reexamines the works of the two Mrs. Carringtons in the context of contemporary evidence. Fetterman emerges as an outstanding officer who respected the Plains Indians’ superiority in numbers, weaponry, and battle skills. Give Me Eighty Men both challenges standard interpretations of this American myth and shows the powerful influence of female writers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Last Stand

Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

In his tightly structured narrative, Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly sketches the two larger-than-life antagonists: Sitting Bull, whose charisma and political savvy earned him the position of leader of the Plains Indians, and George Armstrong Custer, one of the Union's greatest cavalry officers and a man with a reputation for fearless and often reckless courage. Philbrick reminds readers that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. Increasingly outraged by the government's Indian policies, the Plains tribes allied themselves and held their ground in southern Montana. Within a few years of Little Bighorn, however, all the major tribal leaders would be confined to Indian reservations.

A Terrible Glory

In June of 1876, on a hill above a winding river called "the Little Bighorn," George Armstrong Custer and all 210 men under his direct command were annihilated by nearly 2,000 Sioux and Cheyenne. This devastating loss caused an uproar, and public figures pointed fingers in order to avoid responsibility. Custer, who was conveniently dead, took the brunt of the blame. The truth, however, was far more complex. A TERRIBLE GLORY is the first book to relate the entire story of this endlessly fascinating battle, and the first to call upon all the vital new forensic research of the past quarter century. It is also the first book to bring to light the details of the army cover-up--and unravel one of the greatest mysteries in US military history.


Where A Hundred Soldiers Were Killed

The Powder Ridge country of north central Wyoming was one of the most resource-rich regions of the northern plains in the nineteenth-century. As U.S. mining interests and white settlement to the north of the Montana Territory increased, conflict arose between the United States and the Lakota and Cheyenne nations. On December 21, 1866, the struggle climaxed when a well-organized force of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapahos attacked and destroyed a detachment of infantrymen. The Battle of Where a Hundred Soldiers Were Killed or Hundred in the Hand, as the event is still called, was the worst defeat the U.S. Army had suffered in the Great Plains, only to be exceeded by the battle of Little Big Horn ten years later.



























Wendy's Window: Christian Books for the Holidays

The Christmas Spirit
For many, the Christmas season can be filled with distractions and anxiety rather than the joy and peace it is supposed to bring. In The Christmas Spirit, his first holiday book, Joel Osteen offers uplifting and inspiring stories of family and friends celebrating Christmas traditions that will help readers return to the essence of the holiday by practicing the principles taught by our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate that day. With these stories, Joel reminds us all of what is truly important in life. Filled with humorous and compelling holiday memories from Joel’s family and friends, this heartwarming collection will inspire and amuse readers while enhancing their faith in God’s goodness and eternal wisdom.

The stories in The Christmas Spirit reflect that this Christian holiday is a celebration of family: God’s family, our own, and the diverse global family. Friends and families from near and far share faith and Christmas traditions: They laugh together. They grieve together. They support each other. They offer proof that the best way to overcome hurt and loneliness is to reach out to others who may be hurting and lonely, too.

Joel’s unique stories and memories will encourage readers to savor their own Christmas memories, to share them with loved ones, and to create new memories and traditions that will be passed down for generations to come. For those feeling stressed, hurt, or lacking direction this holiday season, these heartwarming stories will serve as a healing balm and a guiding light to a more hopeful and peaceful holiday.

Over the past decade, Joel Osteen has been called the Most Influential Christian in America by numerous publications and, in 2006, was named one of Barbara Walters’s Most Fascinating People.

Hailed as “America’s voice of hope,” Joel Osteen is one of the most respected pastors in America. Each week 43,000 people attend his worship services at Lakewood Church in Houston, and his weekly inspirational program is seen by more than 7 million television viewers across America, along with tens of millions more in 200 nations throughout the world. This new book of stories from family and friends about Christmas will be cherished by readers everywhere.

The Purpose of Christmas
In his powerful yet compassionate voice, Pastor Rick Warren sounds the clarion call to "remember the reason for the season," taking readers back in time to the most wonderful story of all -- the birth of the baby Jesus. When he was just a small boy, young Rick asked his parents if they could celebrate Christmas with a birthday party for Jesus -- and the tradition began that the Warrens have upheld for over fifty years. Now through stirring imagery and compelling personal insights, The Purpose of Christmas honors the significance and promise of this cherished holiday.

Pastor Warren encourages readers to identify and confront what drains peace from their lives. Warren explains that the way to respond to these peace-robbers is to learn how to surrender to God's will and not feel defeated or discouraged when life does not go as planned. True peace of mind is found by having an unshakeable faith in God -- knowing that his empowering Spirit will guide his children through life's challenges.

Beautifully written, The Purpose of Christmas will stir readers to honor the true significance of Christmas and to nurture God's gifts of love and peace in this world.

The True Saint Nicholas

If you've ever been asked, "Who is Saint Nicholas?"...

If you've ever wondered if he is just a commercial invention...

If you've ever thought there is no such person...

You may be surprised to know the true Saint Nicholas.

You'll never again think of Santa Claus in quite the same way.

An instant classic by one of America's most respected thinkers, The True Saint Nicholas is a book to be shared with family and friends every year to evoke the true spirit of Christmas.

The Christmas Kiss
Swaddled in a sweet poem and wrapped in beautiful illustrations, The Legend of the Christmas Kiss delivers a surprisingly fun tale about how the angels sent a beautiful snowfall on the very first Christmas. It all begins with one little angel who wants to bless the newborn Jesus with a gift -- her kiss. But something special happens to her kiss after passing through the clouds below -- it becomes a glistening speck, drifting down and landing on the Christ child's cheek. Then as multitudes of angels add their kisses to hers, the earth is covered in a winter wonderland. Barbie Jenkins' kid-friendly story is joyously paired with illustrations by Joyce Revoir whose cheerful art is featured in numerous children's books.

TC Tidbits: A Great Resource Mystery/Crime/Suspence Readers

Stop, You’re Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. They list over 3,200 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 36,000 titles), both series (3,600+) and non-series.

Monday, November 29, 2010

What Indie Booksellers Are Saying About The Top Ten Books on the Winter Kids Next List

Matched
"Yes, it's dystopian, but Matched is really about a young woman, Cassia, discovering the gift of thinking for herself after growing up under the rules of The Society. When she is matched to her 'perfect' mate but finds out that her true match might be a different boy with a mysterious past that The Society is trying to cover up, Cassia begins to question their real intention. I can't wait for the sequel, and I'm also hoping this will turn some teens on to Dylan Thomas' poetry." -- Kelly Estep, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY

Beautiful Oops!
"Beautiful Oops! is a small, joyful book that shows kids that there is no such thing as a mistake -- life just presents us with events that open windows to new ways of seeing and thinking. This book can truly be gift for any age reader. It will resonate with those who are frozen by perfectionism, and it is also fun and positive for those kids who love imaginative interaction and exploration." -- Judy Bulow, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

A Long Walk to Water
"Feel the heat, fear, and uncertainty as you walk with 11-year-old Salva, who, in 1985, is fleeing his homeland of Southern Sudan. Linda Sue Park has crafted a gripping story of a 'Lost Boy,' all the more remarkable because it is based on a true story. Intertwined with Salva's story is that of 11-year-old Nya, from a rival tribe in Southern Sudan. This 'long walk' will take readers into a troubled country, but a country still filled with hope due to people like Salva. This is a book for the reader who wants to look behind the headlines." -- David Mallmann, Next Chapter Bookshop, Mequon, WI

Virals
"Kathy Reichs, well known in the adult world for her Temperance Brennan mysteries, has given Dr. Brennan a niece! Tory is smart, intuitive, and psyched to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Coop, the wolf-dog. When her friends start manifesting some dog-like tendencies after being exposed to an experimental virus, the race for answers gets even scarier. This fast-paced adventure takes some unusual twists and keeps the reader turning the pages." -- Margaret Brennan Neville, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

Sapphique
"What a follow up to Incarceron! The prison Incarceron begins to plot an escape from itself, dooming the prisoners inside. Meanwhile, outside, prisoner-turned-prince Finn begins to see the decay of the 'real world' as he struggles to stay afloat in life-threatening politics. An enthralling entry to this series!" -- Meg O'Connor, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, CO



The Steps Across the Water
"Do you want to know why you never see the same taxi driver twice in New York City? Read The Steps Across the Water and discover a city similar to New York, called U Nork, with taller skyscrapers, dirigibles, and zeppelins, and in danger of being destroyed. Only Rose can save the citizens of U Nork. But how does a young girl save a huge city -- or is it really as big as it seems? This is a fantasy adventure told with humor, insight, love, with messages for both young and old." -- Karen Briggs, Great Northern Books and Hobbies, Oscoda, MI

Annexed
"Everyone knows the story of Anne Frank. This book re-imagines that story as experienced by Peter, the teenage boy who lived in the Annex with the Frank family. Peter's voice is haunting and heartbreaking. His pleas for people to remember, to believe, will stay with you long after the book has ended." -- Kyla Paterno, Garfield Book Company at PLU, Tacoma, WA



Cat Secrets
"This is a wonderfully interactive, ideal read-aloud title narrated by a trio of felines who need to make sure their readers are truly cats before they will reveal their 'Cat Secrets.' Readers and listeners will be meowing, stretching, cat-napping, and thoroughly enjoying this playfully subversive book." -- Heather Elia, Colgate Bookstore, Hamilton, NY


Trash
"Can three boys who live by their wits and their ability to scavenge whatever is necessary to stay alive from a city's mountains of trash break out of their bleak world? Andy Mulligan brings us a finely developed and gripping novel, pitting the boys' desperate life-and-death daily struggles against the city's corrupt police force and government officials who are determined to use their unchecked power to recapture what was lost by them and inadvertently discovered by the boys. An unforgettable read!" -- Jack Blanchard, Fairy Godmother, Washington, DC

13 Words
"Some years ago, I read an article that proposed that children didn't like to read because contemporary publishing trends had dumbed-down the language, making books boring. A child should certainly learn to understand words like 'dog' and 'frog,' but where were the words that enlivened the story and stretched the reader's imagination? Leave it to Lemony Snicket to create a children's picture book that celebrates not only 'dog' and 'cake' and 'goat,' but also words like 'haberdashery' and 'despondent' and 'panache!'" -- Laura Hansen, Bookin' It, Little Falls, MN

Presidential Publishing

Of Thee I Sing

This book by President Barak Obama (penned before his presidency), has become the fastest selling children's picture book in Random House's considerable history. That's especially fantastic when you know that the proceeds of the book are being donated to a scholarship fund for the children of fallen and disabled soldiers.


(View a special list of 15 other famous people who wrote children's picture books.)


President George W. Bush's memoir Decision Points has passed the million copies sold mark after less than a month in print. He joins the elite circle of best selling presidents, which include President Bill Clinton for his book My Life and Barak Obama for both The Audacity of Hope and Dreams From My Father.

TC Tidbits: A Bibliophile's Guide to Home Decor


from our friends at Flavorwire.com

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Books on Oprah's 2010 Favorite Things List

The Book of Awakening Cancer survivor, poet, and philosopher Mark Nepo has consciously allowed life to move through him. The Book of Awakening is the result of his journey of the soul and will inspire others to embark on their own. Nepo speaks of spirit and friendship, urging readers to stay vital and in love with this life, no matter the hardships. Encompassing many traditions and voices, Nepo's words offer insight on pain, wonder, and love. Each entry is accompanied by an exercise that will surprise and delight the reader in its mind-waking ability.


A Course in Weight Loss
“If your ‘weighty thinking’ does not change, then even if you lose weight you’ll retain an overwhelming subconscious urge to gain it back. It’s less important how quickly you lose weight, and more important how holistically you lose weight; you want your mind, your emotions, and your body to all ‘lose weight.’ Weight that disappears from your body but not from your soul is simply recycling outward for a while
but is almost certain to return. It’s self-defeating, therefore, to struggle to drop excess weight unless you are also willing to drop the thought-forms that initially produced it and now hold it in place.”
Marianne Williamson

What is the connection between spirituality and weight loss? Best-selling author Marianne Williamson is about to answer that question for you in her groundbreaking new book, bringing you 21 spiritual lessons to help you surrender your weight forever. These lessons form a holistic paradigm for weight loss, addressing the spiritual, emotional, and psychological elements involved in what Williamson refers to as “conscious weight loss.” If you are a food addict, a compulsive eater, or someone who for any reason sees food as the enemy, this book is for you.

A Course in Weight Loss addresses the true causal root of your weight-loss issues: a place within you where you have forgotten your divine perfection. This forgetfulness has confused not only your mind but also your body, making you reach for that which cannot sustain you . . . and reject that which does. As your mind reclaims its spiritual intelligence, your body will reclaim its natural intelligence as well.

The 21 lessons in this book will take you on a deep, sacred journey. One step at a time, you will learn to shift your relationship with yourself—and your body—from one of fear to one of love. And you will begin to integrate the various parts of yourself—mind, body, and spirit—to become, once again, and in all ways, the beautiful and peaceful person you were created to be.

As Williamson writes: “When it comes to your enjoyment of eating, your best days are not behind you but ahead of you!” So get ready to begin a new relationship with food . . . and with yourself.

Decoded
Decoded is a book like no other: a collection of lyrics and their meanings that together tell the story of a culture, an art form, a moment in history, and one of the most provocative and successful artists of our time.

For Fans of Great Design As Well As Iconic Singers


"My whole life, in a sense, has been a search for beauty." --Barbra Streisand

For nearly five decades Barbra Streisand has been one of the most singular figures in American entertainment. From the cabaret to the Broadway stage, from television and film stardom to her acclaimed work as a director, from the recording studio to the concert hall, she has demonstrated that the extraordinary voice that launched her career was only one of her remarkable gifts.

Now, in her first book, Barbra Streisand reveals another aspect of her talent: the taste and style that have inspired her beautiful homes and collections. My Passion for Design focuses on the architecture and construction of her newest homes, the dream refuge she has longed for since the days when she shared a small Brooklyn apartment with her mother, brother, and grandparents. The book itself, a culmination and reflection of Barbra's love of American architecture and design between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, contains many of her own photographs of the rooms she has decorated, the furniture and art she has collected, and the ravishing gardens she has planned on her land on the California coast. In addition to glimpses of her homes, Barbra shares memories of her childhood, the development of her sense of style, and what collecting has come to mean to her.






TC Tidbit: Start Your Day With Pete The Cat






Tattered Cover booksellers have been known to burst into this song with very little provocation but plenty of hilarity. Now YOU can sing along with us, because it's allllllllllllllll good.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Local Favorite Comes Out With A Cookbook!

5280 Magazine says:

"The newly released Vesta Dipping Grill Cookbook offers a different spin on Colorado cuisine and is, in fact, a gold mine of executive chef Matt Selby's eclectic and contemporary recipes. Front and center are the dipping sauces that have made Vesta a Denver icon. Dream about the silky red curry sauce that comes with the Madras grilled venison? Now you can make it at home, along with the golden ponzu shrimp (one of my favorite appetizers), the pecan pie salad, and the smoked and grilled duck breast."

And read about our Local Author Coordinator, and definite non-cook, and her adventures with this oh-so-tempting cookbook at our Rocky Mountain Authors at the Tattered Cover blog.

This book is so brand new we don't have it up on our website yet. But you can check out a cool "look inside the book" feature here, or check out their rocking behind the scenes video here. Or you can come visit or call any of our stores to get your copy!

TC Tidbits: A Look Inside James Frey's Fiction Factory


Read the New York Magazine article.

Thinking Small Can Have A BIG Impact

Don't forget to shop at your local small businesses today--it will make a BIG difference to your community. Learn more about it from our post this past Monday.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Local Folks, It's Buy Local Week!!!



Buy Local Week 2010
November 26 - December 3


Celebrate Buy Local Week with Us
and Reap Your Rewards!


First Pick Up a Shopping Guide:

Pick up the 2010 Holiday Shopping Guide at participating merchants to play Buy Local Bingo. You could win great prizes from local businesses, while investing in your local community.You can also download a printable version of the guide now.





Special Tattered Cover
Buy Local Bingo Reward


Tattered Cover will give away discount coupons during Buy Local Week, from Friday, November 26 - December 3, 2010, to anyone who presents us with a Bingo Card. Coupons are worth 20% off any one book purchased in January or February, 2011

With your business, we thrive!
Thank You and Happy Holidays!
www.tatteredcover.com












Mayor John Hickenlooper (soon to be Governor) talks about the importance of Buy Local Week


Letters About Literature: Help Fund Libraries


TAKE THE LAL WRITING CHALLENGE!

How has an author's work--novel, nonfiction, poetry--changed your view of the world or yourself? What did you learn about yourself that you didn't realize before reading the author's work? Don't write a book report. The author already wrote the book and knows what happened. What the author doesn't know is how you reacted while reading the book. Write about that--your response in a reflective, personal letter to the author! That is the LAL writing challenge.

Each year, LAL awards thousands of dollars through state and national prizes, as well as LAL library grants. Last year, 70,000 young people entered. For more information on how you as a young reader or how your students can enter, browse through this site for sample letters and the how-to-enter guidelines and coupon.

Deadline for this year's competition:

DECEMBER 10, 2010


How to Enter








One Of Judy B.'s Favorites

In 1841, a Japanese fishing vessel sinks. Its crew is forced to swim to a small, unknown island, where they are rescued by a passing American ship. Japan’s borders remain closed to all Western nations, so the crew sets off to America, learning English on the way.

Manjiro, a fourteen-year-old boy, is curious and eager to learn everything he can about this new culture. Eventually the captain adopts Manjiro and takes him to his home in New England. The boy lives for some time in New England, and then heads to San Francisco to pan for gold. After many years, he makes it back to Japan, only to be imprisoned as an outsider. With his hard-won knowledge of the West, Manjiro is in a unique position to persuade the shogun to ease open the boundaries around Japan; he may even achieve his unlikely dream of becoming a samurai.

*STARRED review from Kirkus Reviews*
In 1841, 14-year-old Manjiro joined four others on an overnight fishing trip. Caught by a severe storm, their small rowboat was shipwrecked on a rocky island. Five months later, they were rescued by the crew of a whaling ship from New Bedford. Manjiro, renamed John Mung, was befriended by the captain and eventually lived in his home in New Bedford, rapidly absorbing Western culture. But the plight of his impoverished family in Japan was never far from Manjiro’s mind, although he knew that his country’s strict isolationist policy meant a death sentence if he returned. Illustrated with Manjiro’s own pencil drawings in addition to other archival material and original art from Tamaki, this is a captivating fictionalized (although notably faithful) retelling of the boy’s adventures. Capturing his wonder, remarkable willingness to learn, the prejudice he encountered and the way he eventually influenced officials in Japan to open the country, this highly entertaining page-turner is the perfect companion to Shipwrecked! The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy, by Rhoda Blumberg (2001). (historical note, extensive glossary, bibliography.) (Historical fiction. 9-13)

TC Tidbits: Vonnegutisms


from our friends at flavorwire.com

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A Thanksgiving Poem


T’was the night of Thanksgiving,
But I just couldn’t sleep.
I tried counting backwards,
I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned,
The dark meat and white.
But I fought the temptation,
With all of my might.
Tossing and turning,
with anticipation.
The thought of a snack
became infatuation.
So I raced to the kitchen,
Flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge,
Full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey,
And buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots,
Beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling,
So plump and so round.
‘til all of a sudden,
I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling,
Floating into the sky,
With a mouthful of pudding,
And a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell
As I soared past the trees
Happy eating to all,
Pass the cranberries, please!!
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize
And May your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!

(via thanksgiving-day.org)

The Wimpy Kid Makes His Inflated Debut


in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

What We Are Planning To Do Today:


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Cathy's Recommending...

Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia
Michael Korda's Hero is the story an epic life on a grand scale, a revealing, in-depth, and gripping biography of the extraordinary, mysterious, and dynamic Englishman whose daring exploits and romantic profile—including his sun-burnished blonde looks and flowing white robes—made him an object of intense fascination, known the world over as "Lawrence of Arabia." Yet unlike other biographers, Korda does not seek to burnish or destroy the legend; rather he aims to demystify and reveal the real man—T. E. Lawrence—as he truly was.

An Oxford scholar and archeologist, one of the five illegitimate sons of a British aristocrat who ran away with his daughters' governess, Lawrence was sent to Cairo as an intelligence officer in 1916, vanished into the desert in 1917, and re-emerged as the greatest and most colorful figure of World War I. A foreigner, he united and led the Arab tribes to defeat the Turks and eventually capture Damascus. Yet as he illuminates Lawrence's achievements, Korda digs further to expose the flesh-and-blood man and his contradictory nature: A born leader utterly fearless and seemingly impervious to pain, thirst, fatigue and danger who remained shy, modest, and retiring; a scholar and an aesthete who was also a bold and cold-blooded warrior. Yet as Korda shows, Lawrence was not only a man of his times, but a visionary whose achievements—as a farsighted diplomat, brilliant military strategist, the first media celebrity, and acclaimed writer—transcended them.

Korda analyzes Lawrence's vision for the modern Middle East, plans that, if they had been carried through, might have prevented the hatred and bloodshed that have become ubiquitous to the region. Ultimately, as his magisterial work demonstrates, Lawrence remains the paradigm of the hero in modern times, the arch-heroic types whose life is at once a triumph and a sacrifice, and whose capacity to astonish remains undimmed.

Listen to Korda's "Talk of the Nation" interview on NPR.


Cleopatra: A Life
Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator.

Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, among the most prominent Romans of the day. Both were married to other women. Cleopatra had a child with Caesar and--after his murder--three more with his protégé. Already she was the wealthiest ruler in the Mediterranean; the relationship with Antony confirmed her status as the most influential woman of the age. The two would together attempt to forge a new empire, in an alliance that spelled their ends. Cleopatra has lodged herself in our imaginations ever since.

Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra's supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order. Rich in detail, epic in scope, Schiff 's is a luminous, deeply original reconstruction of a dazzling life.

Listen to Schiff's interview with Michele Norris on NPR.

Colonel Roosevelt

Of all our great presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is the only one whose greatness increased out of office. When he toured Europe in 1910 as plain “Colonel Roosevelt,” he was hailed as the most famous man in the world. Crowned heads vied to put him up in their palaces. “If I see another king,” he joked, “I think I shall bite him.”

Had TR won his historic “Bull Moose” campaign in 1912 (when he outpolled the sitting president, William Howard Taft), he might have averted World War I, so great was his international influence. Had he not died in 1919, at the early age of sixty, he would unquestionably have been reelected to a third term in the White House and completed the work he began in 1901 of establishing the United States as a model democracy, militarily strong and socially just.

This biography by Edmund Morris, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award–winning author of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Rex, is itself the completion of a trilogy sure to stand as definitive. Packed with more adventure, variety, drama, humor, and tragedy than a big novel, yet documented down to the smallest fact, it recounts the last decade of perhaps the most amazing life in American history. What other president has written forty books, hunted lions, founded a third political party, survived an assassin’s bullet, and explored an unknown river longer than the Rhine?

Colonel Roosevelt begins with a prologue recounting what TR called his “journey into the Pleistocene”—a yearlong safari through East Africa, collecting specimens for the Smithsonian. Some readers will be repulsed by TR’s bloodlust, which this book does not prettify, yet there can be no denying that the Colonel passionately loved and understood every living thing that came his way: The text is rich in quotations from his marvelous nature writing.

Although TR intended to remain out of politics when he returned home in 1910, a fateful decision that spring drew him back into public life. By the end of the summer, in his famous “New Nationalism” speech, he was the guiding spirit of the Progressive movement, which inspired much of the social agenda of the future New Deal. (TR’s fifth cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt acknowledged that debt, adding that the Colonel “was the greatest man I ever knew.”)

Then follows a detailed account of TR’s reluctant yet almost successful campaign for the White House in 1912. But unlike other biographers, Edmund Morris does not treat TR mainly as a politician. This volume gives as much consideration to TR’s literary achievements and epic expedition to Brazil in 1913–1914 as to his fatherhood of six astonishingly different children, his spiritual and aesthetic beliefs, and his eager embrace of other cultures—from Arab and Magyar to German and American Indian. It is impossible to read Colonel Roosevelt and not be awed by the man’s universality. The Colonel himself remarked, “I have enjoyed life as much as any nine men I know.”

Morris does not hesitate, however, to show how pathologically TR turned upon those who inherited the power he craved—the hapless Taft, the adroit Woodrow Wilson. When Wilson declined to bring the United States into World War I in 1915 and 1916, the Colonel blasted him with some of the worst abuse ever uttered by a former chief executive. Yet even Wilson had to admit that behind the Rooseveltian will to rule lay a winning idealism and decency. “He is just like a big boy—there is a sweetness about him that you can’t resist.” That makes the story of TR’s last year, when the “boy” in him died, all the sadder in the telling: the conclusion of a life of Aristotelian grandeur.

Life
With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life.

Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones's first fame and the notorious drug busts that led to his enduring image as an outlaw folk hero. Creating immortal riffs like the ones in "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Honky Tonk Women." His relationship with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the U.S., isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Marriage, family, solo albums and Xpensive Winos, and the road that goes on forever.

With his trademark disarming honesty, Keith Richard brings us the story of a life we have all longed to know more of, unfettered, fearless, and true.

Listen to Richard's interview about the book on NPR.







Great Gift Idea!

What’s more fun for guys than reading comics? Making their own. Your Life in Comics lets boys ages 9–13 do just that. Inspired by the Free Spirit favorite 100 Things Guys Need to Know, this do-it-yourself comic book features cartooning exercises and prompts that get boys thinking about important subjects in their lives, including family, friends, school, health, and the future. Rather than provide the story, the book allows guys to decide what happens by creating words and drawings of their own. Some of the interactive exercises feature completed comic strip panels where boys imagine and write the dialog. Others let guys draw comic strips of their own. Freestyle activities let kids personalize the book and explore who they are. Web extensions point the way to additional fun, interactive resources online. Comic books and graphic novels help educators and parents get reluctant readers interested in books. Your Life in Comics goes a step further and helps get guys thinking and writing about critical topics in their lives.

Read an interview with the author done by our friends at graphicnovelreporter.com

Check out the author's amazing website!

TC Tidbits: An Amazing Blog Full of Writers' Tools


Check out The Bookshelf Muse--it contains truly wonderful things. Their "Thesaurus" collection contains "volumes" on Emotional, Setting, Color/Textures/Shapes and Symbolism. Fascinating and wonderful.