Category Archives: Books

“The Elephant in the Room” is a searing and candid exploration of what it’s like to live as a fat man

The skinny on The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America (Simon & Schuster, $27)? The book is a searing, honest, and candid exploration of what it’s like to live as a fat man.

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When he was almost 50 years old, Tommy Tomlinson weighed an astonishing—and dangerous—460 pounds. He was at risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke, unable to climb a flight of stairs without having to catch his breath, or travel on an airplane without buying two seats. Raised in a family that loved food, he had been aware of the problem for years, seeing doctors and trying diets from the time he was a preteen.

But nothing worked, and every time he tried to make a change, it didn’t go the way he planned—in fact, he wasn’t sure that he really wanted to change. He was only one of millions of Americans struggling with weight, body image, and a relationship with food that puts them at major risk. Intimate and insightful, The Elephant in the Room is Tomlinson’s chronicle of meeting those people, taking the first steps towards health, and trying to understand how, as a nation, we got to this point.

From buying a FitBit and setting an exercise goal to contemplating the Heart Attack Grill, America’s “capital of food porn,” and modifying his own diet, Tomlinson brings us along on an unforgettable journey of self-discovery that is a candid and sometimes brutal look at the everyday experience of being constantly aware of your size. Over the course of the book, he confronts these issues head on and chronicles the practical steps he has to take—big and small—to lose weight by the end. 

Jean Case’s new book “Be Fearless” reminds us that fearlessness is not lack of fear but the courage to overcome it 

Take five. In Be Fearless:  5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose (Simon & Schuster, $25), philanthropist, investor and technology pioneer Jean Case brings to life the five principles common to the people and organizations that change the world. She argues that we all have the tools and role models at our disposal to make an impact.

Weaving together memorable stories, practical tips and the message that fearlessness is not lack of fear but the courage to overcome it, Be Fearless provides a clear road map to anyone seeking transformational breakthroughs in life or work. The book features compelling stories of ordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary things, as well as stories and insights from leaders and innovators like Bill and Melinda Gates, chef and humanitarian José Andrés, global foundation chief Darren Walker, CEO Sara Blakely, humanitarian Eunice Shriver, and many more.

And the book could not be more timely, as Jane Goodall writes in her foreword, “There is no point in history when it has been more important to Be Fearless, overcome our acceptance of the status quo, and step up to make a difference…roll up your sleeves, take action and Be Fearless.”

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Jean’s extensive career in the private sector (including her leadership role at America Online Inc.), as a philanthropist, and as an impact investing pioneer, makes her an ideal advocate for the importance of embracing a more fearless approach to innovation and bringing about transformational breakthroughs—it has always been a core tenet of her work. We all face deep divisions, significant global challenges, and problems that can seem too big and complex even to attempt to solve, and with this book Jean Case issues a clarion call that there has never been a better time to engage.

Stephen King on James Lee Burke’s latest book: He’s “as good as he ever was.”

Don’t take our word how great James Lee Burke’s latest novel, The New Iberia Blues (Simon & Schuster, $27.99), is.  Stephen King hails him “as good as he ever was.” Michael Connelly gushes that Burke proves that he “remains the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed”.

Wow. Times two.

In his new tome, Burke  takes his beloved protagonist, Detective Dave Robicheaux, from the dark corners of Hollywood to the backwoods of Louisiana after the shocking death of a young woman. Robicheaux’s world isn’t filled with too many happy stories, but Desmond Cormier’s rags-to-riches tale is certainly one of them. Robicheaux first met Cormier on the streets of New Orleans, when the young, undersized boy had foolish dreams of becoming a Hollywood director.

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Twenty-five years later, when Robicheaux knocks on Cormier’s door, it isn’t to congratulate him on his Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Robicheaux has discovered the body of a young woman who’s been crucified, wearing only a small chain on her ankle. She disappeared near Cormier’s Cyrpemort Point estate, and Robicheaux, along with young deputy, Sean McClain, are looking for answers. Neither Cormier nor his enigmatic actor friend Antoine Butterworth are saying much, but Robicheaux knows better. As always, Clete Purcel and Davie’s daughter, Alafair, have Robicheaux’s back. Clete witnesses the escape of Texas inmate, Hugo Tillinger, who may hold the key to Robicheaux’s case.

As they wade further into the investigation, they end up in the crosshairs of the mob, the deranged Chester Wimple, and the dark ghosts Robicheaux has been running from for years. Ultimately, it’s up to Robicheaux to stop them all, but he’ll have to summon a light he’s never seen or felt to save himself, and those he loves.

“Merchants of Truth” raises crucial questions as we face a crisis in trust that threatens the free press

In Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts (Simon & Schuster, $30), prizewinning journalist Jill Abramson takes readers deep into the story of the news business, fighting for survival through a series of crises—first the digital revolution and great recession, and then the President’s unprecedented war on the press.

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In the tradition of David Halberstam’s The Powers That Be, Abramson profiles four powerful news organizations as they grapple with upheaval: BuzzFeed and Vice, upstarts that captivated young audiences; and The New York Times and The Washington Post, legacy papers that were slow to adapt to digital changes. Each struggled with crises in business, technology, resources and credibility. As these forces clashed, the only certainty each organization confronted was radical change.

Abramson also covers the essential platforms to share news—Google/YouTube and Facebook—as they forced transformations in all of these organizations and sped up challenges they faced. The vital question that confronts all four in the era of fake news: Can an informed press stand its ground?

Merchants of Truth raises crucial questions that concern the well-being of our society. We are facing a crisis in trust that threatens the free press. Abramson’s book points us to the future. A riveting must-read.

“Midnight in Chernobyl” is a masterful nonfiction thriller—the definitive account of an event that changed history

Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering history’s worst nuclear disaster. In the 30 years since then, Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world.

But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than 10 years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham’s Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster (Simon & Schuster, $29.95) s the definitive account of the Chernobyl disaster, a harrowing and compelling narrative which brings the tragedy to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand.

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Midnight in Chernobyl is an indelible portrait of one of the great disasters of the twentieth century, of human resilience and ingenuity, and the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will—lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats, remain not just vital but necessary.

The result is a masterful nonfiction thriller, and the definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth.

“Who Killed the Fonz?” is a delightful, clever reinvention of the leather-clad TV series

Happy days are here again. At least on paper And especially in Who Killed the Fonz? (Simon & Schuster, $26), in which James Boice offers a clever reinvention of the legendary TV show, Happy Days.

The book imagines what happened to Richie Cunningham (who now goes by Richard) and the rest of the gang twenty years after the show left off. Only this time ’round, instead of a world of drive-in movie theaters and soda shops, readers are drawn into a gritty 1980s noir as Richard tries to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of Arthur Fonzarelli.

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It’s October 1984, and Cunningham is having a really bad day. Having achieved some early success as a screenwriter in Hollywood, the now forty-something Richard hasn’t written a script anyone wants to buy in years.

Later that same day he gets a phone call with even worse news. His best friend from childhood back in Milwaukee, back when everyone called him Richie, is dead. Arthur Fonzarelli. The Fonz. Lost control of his motorcycle while crossing a bridge and plummeted into the water below. Two days of searching and still no body, no trace of his trademark leather jacket.

Richard flies back for the memorial service, only to discover that Fonzie’s death was no accident—it was murder. With the help of his old pals Ralph Malph and Potsie Weber, he sets out to catch the killer. Who it turns out to be is shocking. So is the story’s final twist.

When Richard travels back to his Wisconsin hometown for the memorial, he quickly finds himself drawn into a mystery surrounding his late friend—whose death may not have been an accident after all. In a time when reboots are all the rage, the fast-paced and nostalgic Who Killed the Fonz? is an ingenious twist on a beloved classic.

Who Killed The Fonz? imagines what happened to the characters of the legendary TV series Happy Days twenty years after the show left off. And while much has changed in the interim—goodbye drive-in movie theaters, hello VCRs—the story centers around the same timeless themes as the show: the meaning of family. The significance of friendship. The importance of community.

Author James Boice captures the bighearted charm of the original Happy Days, while expertly weaving in darker elements and more serious themes, like the challenge of staying connected to one’s roots and what happens when you leave home behind.

“Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal” explores their friendship … and its demise

Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, two giants of the Harlem Renaissance and American literature, were best friends . . . until they weren’t.

We won’t give too much away, but we urge you to circle March 26 on your calendar: That’s the date Yuval Taylor’s  Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal, the first book to tell the full story of their friendship and its dramatic demise, hits the shelves.

Hurston and Hughes were collaborators, literary gadflies, and close companions from traveling together through the rural South collecting folklore to their work on the play Mule Bone. They even had the same patron: Charlotte Osgood Mason, a wealthy white woman who insisted on being called “Godmother”–who ultimately may have been the spark for their bitter falling-out.

Drawing on fresh material from Hurston and Hughes’ letters, the book digs deeply into the existing scholarship on both writers—and their times—to explore this unusual intimacy and the tragedy of its collapse.

Save the dates for these HarperCollins must-read books

A New year. And lots of new books . . . now and to come. HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson tells us these books are the “most anticipated books–THE books to watch in 2019”.

Save the dates!

Glory Road by Lauren Denton (on sale March 19, $16.99) In this new offering from a USA Today bestselling author, three generations of women run a garden center in South Alabama and find the route to love takes as many turns as a southern dirt road.

Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert (April 9, $16.99)  The water from the fountain at an abandoned hotel can suddenly restore memories. Is it a wonderful phenomenon, or are there strings attached? Midnight at the Tuscany HotelAward-winning author Markert weaves a story of magical realism and the joy and pain of being alive.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay (May 14, $16.99) When Madeline inherits her aunt’s struggling book store, she plans to sell it. However, the shop’s two employees and a handsome gardener may change her mind. The Printed Letter BookshopBut, is it too late?

Murder in the City of Liberty by Rachel McMillian(May 28, $15.99) McMillan continues her 1930s mysteries as amateur sleuth Hamish DeLuca (who suffers from panic disorder) and his sidekick Regina “Reggie” van Buren are hired by a famous baseball player. Murder in the City of Liberty (A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery Book 2)Are a series of violent acts linked to the outbreak of war in Europe?

The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden (July 9, $16.99) Jilted by a sudden breakup, Mia West pushes reset on her life. A recurring dream of honeybees leads her to embark on the trip of a lifetime alongside a grunge rock star, The Enlightenment of Bees by [Linden, Rachel]Ethiopian immigrant, Hawaiian urban farmer and Rosie, her vivacious roommate.

Stars of Alabama by Sean Dietrich (July 9, $26.99)  Set in the Depression-era South, the story of two migrant workers, an abandoned baby, corrupt preacher and a girl with miraculous powers Stars of Alabamaintertwine to show how ugly circumstances can create beautiful people.

Explore the legacy of the master’s leading ladies in “Hitchcock’s Heroines”

Whether played by Grace Kelly, Doris Day, or Ingrid Bergman, the heroine of an Alfred Hitchcock picture is always the same: stylish, regal, and elegant.
Explore the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock’s leading ladies—their iconic roles, unforgettable costumes, and timeless style in Hitchcock’s Heroines (Insight Editions, $29.99).

Author Caroline Young chronicles six decades of glamorous style, exploring the fashion legacy of these amazing women. Meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated with studio pictures, film stills and original drawings of the costume designs, each chapter focuses on a specific actress, revealing insights into a fascinating period of movie history.
This deluxe book pays tribute to the women of Hitchcock’s era, who were considered some of the fashion icons of their time and inspired styles that continue to be celebrated and imitated today. These leading ladies broke barriers, made history, and transfixed audiences around the world.

Elizabeth White shares her expertise about overcoming financial struggles in her book

Elizabeth White was once a woman in trouble. Despite her highly educated background and wealth of executive experience, she found herself out of work and out of money. She was in her 50s. White was not alone: After a personal essay went viral, she found herself the unlikely spokesperson for Baby Boomers everywhere who were facing unexpected financial hardship with no retirement to fall back on. She learned and then shared her practical knowledge and her emotional fortitude with those in similar positions.

America is at a crossroads, and elder poverty is a serious issue, with the highest rates since the Great Depression. 40% of older workers and their spouses will be downwardly mobile, falling into poverty (or near-poverty) in old age. And even good news, such as the number of jobs held by older workers has increased by 6.6 million over the last decade, is only part of the truth. In fact over half of those jobs—52 percent or over 3.4 million—paid full-time workers less than $15,000 a year. Women and especially women of color are the worst off. This crisis not only effects Baby Boomers though: Millennials don’t have retirement savings either as they face down education debt, flat wages, uncertain work, plus escalating costs in housing and healthcare.

White self-published her book 55, Underemployed, and Faking NormalSimon & Schuster has now published the book under their imprint.A perfect way to bring her message to a larger audience. This is an important issue and White brings hard data and a comforting shoulder.

Read it!