Charles R. Is Recommending:

When Corporal Elijah Russell's superb horsemanship is revealed during a firefight in northern Iraq, the young Army Ranger is assigned to an elite Special Forces unit preparing to stage a secret mission in eastern Afghanistan. Elijah's task is to train the Green Berets -- fiercely loyal to their enigmatic commander, Captain Wynne -- to ride the horses they will use to execute this mission through treacherous mountain terrain. But as the team presses farther into enemy territory, the nature of their operation only becomes more mysterious and Wynne's charismatic power takes on a darker cast. Ultimately, Elijah finds himself forced to make a choice: on one side, his best friend and his most deeply held beliefs; on the other, a commanding officer driven by a messianic zeal for his mission.

Based on the author's extensive interviews with Green Berets, Army Rangers, and other veterans, this taut page-turner brilliantly fuses the war novel and the Western into a compellingly original tale.

From a beat-up postal van turned food truck, Coolhaus has rocketed to a national brand. Yahoo called it "the best ice cream in America." The inventive sandwiches, named after famous architects, are sold in supermarkets across the country, as well as from trucks in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and Dallas. Coolhaus has drawn accolades from the New York Times, "Every Day with Rachael Ray," Time, and "Good Morning America," to name a few, and from such celebrities as Will Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, and Alex Guarnaschelli.

Now the owners part with the recipes for their coolest creations, like the BuckMINTster Fuller (Dirty Mint Chip Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip Cookies) and the Frank Behry (Strawberry Gelato with Snickerdoodles). Daring flavors range from classic (Cookies and Sweet Cream), to boozy (Bourbon Manhattan), to vegan (Lychee Martini), and even savory (Fried Chicken and Waffle).

Sandwiched among the treats are tips on ice cream making, profiles of major and up-and-coming architects, and amusing tales of the owners' forays into the ice cream business.

Paul Casablancas, a musician and Claire DeWitt's ex-boyfriend, was talented and popular in the San Francisco scene he shared with Claire. When he's found dead in his apartment, his cherished guitars missing, Claire follows clues through Chinatown, Marin, and Santa Cruz, alongside her new assistant, Claude. Her other cases offer hints to Paul's fate--including the case of a long-ago missing girl whom a teenage Claire found in the midst of the gritty, grim East Village of the 1980s.

As visions of the past reveal the secrets of the present, Claire begins to understand the words of the enigmatic French detective Jacques Silette: "The detective won't know what he is capable of until he encounters a mystery that pierces his own heart." Could love be the undoing of the world's greatest P.I.?

At the age of twenty-six, Penny Marshall was a divorced mother of one living in the Bronx. One year later she starred in a Head & Shoulders commercial (she was the one with the dandruff) with Farah Fawcett. So began the unlikely career of one of Hollywood's most accomplished directors.

My Mother Was Nuts tells the story of Marshall's incredible life, from her starring role on the classic sitcom Laverne and Shirley to her trailblazing moment as the first woman to direct a movie grossing more than $100 million at the box office.

The book is a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood life, exploring her friendships with John Belushi, Lorne Michaels, Art Garfunkel, and Carrie Fisher, her marriage and eventual divorce from Rob Reiner, and her experiences working with Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Geena Davis, Denzel Washington, and Drew Barrymore.This is a book about Hollywood, womanhood, and the power of Spanx.

Kimberly Rae Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a beautifully tidy apartment in Brooklyn. You would never guess that behind the closed doors of her family's idyllic Long Island house hid teetering stacks of aging newspaper, broken computers, and boxes upon boxes of unused junk festering in every room -- the product of her father's painful and unending struggle with hoarding.

In this dazzling memoir, Miller brings to life her experience growing up in a rat-infested home, hiding her father's shameful secret from friends for years, and the emotional burden that ultimately led to her suicide attempt. In beautiful prose, Miller sheds light on her complicated yet loving relationship with her parents, which has thrived in spite of the odds.
 

Coming Clean is a story about recognizing where you come from and understanding the relationships that define you. It is also a powerful story of recovery and redemption.

 

 

Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking, a classic bestseller, has inspired an optimistic perspective for millions of Americans. Now, in an inspirational and entertaining rebuttal, the legendary basketball coach Bob Knight explains why "negative thinking" will actually produce more positive results, in sports and in daily life.

 

Coach Knight, the second-winningest coach in NCAA history with 902 victories, explains that victory is often attained by the team that makes the fewest mistakes. His coaching philosophy was to instill discipline by "preparing to win" rather than hoping to win. That meant understanding the downside and drilling his teams to prevent the things that could go wrong. And when his teams did win, he made sure they didn't dwell on their success, but rather looked immediately to the challenges of the next game. He applies this lesson to business strategy as well.

Coach Knight has long been inspired by his grandmother's words, "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." As the first person to teach Knight about the power of negative thinking, this book is dedicated to her pragmatic spirit.