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For readers of A Woman of No Importance and Eleanor: A Life, the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hungarian Jewish immigrant who became FDR’s closest advisor during World War II and whose influence on American history, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told. A Goodreads Choice Awards FinalistAs Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s special envoy to Europe in World War II she went where the president couldn’t go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp, and stood in the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountain retreat, days after its capture. Though Anna Rosenberg emerged from modest immigrant beginnings with only a high school education, she was the real power behind national policies critical to America winning the war and prospering afterward. Astonishingly, her story remains largely forgotten.Rosenberg advanced from a career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan to become FDR’s unofficial adviser, and soon wielded enormous influence—no less potent for being subtle. Roosevelt dubbed her “my Mrs. Fix-It.” Her extraordinary career continued after his death as she fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women’s equality to national health care.The Confidante explores who gets to be at the forefront of history, and why. Rosenberg’s position as “the power behind,” combined with her status as an immigrant and a Jewish woman, served to diminish her importance. In this inspiring, impeccably researched, and revelatory book, Christopher C. Gorham at last affords Anna Rosenberg the recognition she so richly deserves.

The first and only comprehensive biography of unjustly forgotten war hero Ben Kuroki, a Japanese American farm boy from Nebraska who flew fifty-eight combat missions during World War II while battling racism, injustice, and prejudice on the home front.WINNER OF THE NEBRASKA BOOK AWARD With a foreword by Naomi Ostwald Kawamura of Densho. Introduction by William Fujioka of JANM. Afterword by Jonathan Eig.Ben Kuroki was a 24-year-old Japanese American farm boy whose heritage was never a problem in remote Nebraska—until Pearl Harbor. Among the millions of Americans who flocked to military stations to enlist, Ben wanted to avenge the attack, reclaim his family honor, and prove his patriotism. But as anti-Japanese sentiment soared, Ben had to fight to be allowed to fight for America. And fight he did.As a gunner on Army Air Forces bombers, Ben flew 58 missions spanning Europe, North America, and the Pacific, including the climactic B-29 firebombing campaign against Japan that culminated in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In between his harrowing combat tours, he challenged FDR’s shameful incarceration of more than a 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry in America. In the euphoric wake of America’s victory, the decorated war hero used his national platform to carry out what he called his “fifty-ninth mission,” urging his fellow Americans to do more to eliminate bigotry and racism at home.Ben’s extraordinary story is a quintessentially American one of patriotism, principle, perseverance, and courage. It’s about being in the vanguard of history, the bonding of a band of brothers united in a just cause, a timeless and unflinching account of racial bigotry, and one man’s transcendent sense of belonging—in war, in peace, abroad, and at home.

In March 1998, the Bradley family - Ron, Iva, and their children, Amy and Brad - boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas for a week-long Caribbean cruise. The trip was a chance to celebrate Ron's success at work and Amy's college graduation. In the early hours of March 24, Amy Bradley - a pretty, athletic 23-year-old-returned to the family's stateroom with Brad after dancing at the ship's nightclub. Amy grabbed a blanket and went out to sleep on the balcony. A few hours later, her father awoke to find her gone. What happened to her remains a mystery. Did Amy fall or jump into the water? Did she leave the boat voluntarily when it docked at Curacao that morning? Was she smuggled off against her will and trafficked in one of the island's brothels? In a baffling case filled with false leads, rumours, and conflicting witness reports, the only certainty is that, nearly three decades later, the Bradleys are still looking for Amy. Now, acclaimed investigative journalist James Renner provides the first definitive account of Amy's disappearance, enriched with his own personal narrative that explores themes of identity, loss, and the deeply human need to find meaning in tragedy. With empathy and a keen eye, Renner interviews witnesses who speak on record for the first time, offering fascinating new theories, and explores a little-known side of Amy's life that may explain everything about her fate.

Winner of the 20th Annual Marfield Prize for Outstanding Writing of the Arts Spotlighting the years during WWII when Henri Matisse and his family defiantly refused to evacuate Nazi-occupied France, this groundbreaking book illuminates the previously untold history of their passionate roles in the Resistance and the prodigious, revolutionary work the artist produced in the face of fascism, violence, and hate. For readers of Jeffrey H. Jackson’s Paper Bullets, Martin Dugard’s Taking Paris, Julie Orringer’s The Flight Portfolio, and Picasso’s War by Hugh Eakin – from the acclaimed author of The Confidante.In 1940, with the Nazis sweeping through France, Henri Matisse found himself at a personal and artistic crossroads. His 42-year marriage had ended, he was gravely ill, and after decades at the forefront of modern art, he was beset by doubt. As scores of famous figures escaped the country, Matisse took refuge in Nice, with his companion, Lydia Delectorskaya. By defiantly remaining, Matisse was a source of inspiration for his nation.While enemy agents and Resistance fighters played cat-and-mouse in the alleyways of Nice, Matisse’s son, Jean, engaged in sabotage efforts with the Allies. In Paris, under the swastika, Matisse’s estranged wife, Amélie, worked for the Communist underground. His beloved daughter, Marguerite, active in the French Resistance, was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, sentenced to Ravensbruck concentration camp—and miraculously escaped when her train was halted by Allied bombs. His younger, son, Pierre helped Jewish artists escape to New York; even his teenaged grandson risked his life by defying the Germans and their Vichy collaborators.Amidst this chaos, Matisse responded to the dark days of war by inventing a dazzling new paper technique that led to some of his most iconic pieces, including The Fall of Icarus, his profile of Charles De Gaulle, Monsieur Loyal, and his groundbreaking cut-out book, Jazz. His wartime works were acts of resistance, subtly patriotic and daringly new.Drawing on intimate letters and a multitude of other sources, Christopher C. Gorham illuminates this momentous stage of Matisse’s life as never before, revealing an artist on a journey of reinvention, wrenching meaning from the suffering of war, and holding up the light of human imagination against the torch of fascism to create some of the most exciting work of his career, of the 20th century, and in the history of art.

From award-winning journalist and author John A. Jenkins comes a revolutionary exploration of the summer before Watergate—a parallel world of a half-century ago when America faced events and crises strikingly similar to those of today—told through the lives and words of those who lived it.Inflation rages. Crime is rising. Abortion rights take center stage at the Supreme Court. China poses an existential threat. Black lives are under attack. The president battles the press as he seeks to subvert not just the political order but the rule of law itself. This is the Summer of ’71—a pivotal, operatic season of hope and despair, missed opportunities and era-changing decisions.More than a half-century later, it’s difficult to overstate the importance of events that defined the American experience during that fateful five-month period spanning May to September 1971. On May Day, President Nixon orchestrates a massive police-military response to disrupt the biggest anti-war demonstration in history. Two days later, the Supreme Court announces that it will take up Roe v. Wade. In the weeks and months that follow, friction escalates between the police and the Black Panthers, Congress debates universal healthcare, Attica prisoners riot, and the New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers—a turning point that ultimately dooms Nixon’s presidency and his legacy.Summer of ’71 brings it all to the page through first-person accounts that are only now becoming available: the papers, diaries, and oral histories of key players. Award‑winning journalist and author John A. Jenkins witnessed many of the events himself, and draws on a multitude of sources, including Nixon’s White House tapes, to tell the story of that time as no one else could. Here is both a fascinating, brilliantly researched read in its own right, and a critical lens through which to view today’s political discord.

Long live the King of Deadpan! The first-ever biography of one of the most influential comedians in show business whose extraordinary, nearly 65-year run made him an American treasure.Why did Chicago-born accountant George Robert Newhart go into comedy? In his own words, it was because he “wasn’t a very good accountant.” A wise move. In 1961, his album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, recorded the year before at his debut stand-up gig in a small club in Houston, won two Grammy Awards, was a multimillion-copy bestseller, reached number one on the Billboard charts, saved Warner Bros. Records from extinction, and introduced America to the self-effacing, mild-mannered everyman with a deadpan stammer. His ingenious sketches of his timeless one-sided telephone conversations vaulted Bob Newhart into the big time. He didn’t rest on his laurels . . .Newhart sailed through the 1960s and early 1970s with a busy stand-up touring schedule, an Emmy and Peabody Award–winning NBC sketch-comedy series, appearances on The Dean Martin Show and The Tonight Show with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson, among dozens of others, and memorable supporting roles in such movies as Hell Is for Heroes, Cold Turkey, and Catch-22. Newhart cemented his iconic status in 1972 with the long-running The Bob Newhart Show and would strike back-to-back sitcom gold with Newhart in 1982, which ran for eight seasons on CBS.Though he spent decades in the spotlight, Bob’s most satisfying success was that as a devoted family man—four kids, 10 grandchildren, and a marriage to his beloved wife, Ginnie, that lasted 60 years. This first-ever full-length biography takes readers on a journey into Bob’s life and career, including his lasting friendship with Don Rickles, his introduction to a new generation of fans opposite Will Ferrell in Elf, and his Emmy-winning turn in The Big Bang Theory. For more than six decades, the laughter and the love for Bob Newhart never faded. This is his story. And what a story, what a legend.

From its bold and brilliant inception to its epic, history-making endgame, here is the never-before-told true-crime account of the elimination of the Mafia’s Five Families—revealed by the then-untested FBI agent who controlled the investigation that ultimately led to the convictions of the top ranks of Cosa Nostra . . .For over 50 years, the families Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo controlled organized criminal activities throughout the country. Overseen and held in check by the New York Mafia Commission, they operated with impunity. Until 1981, when Joe Pistone emerged from his 6-year undercover infiltration of the Bonanno family as Mob associate “Donnie Brasco.” It was then that Frank Storey, a newly assigned FBI agent spearheading Mafia investigations in New York, recognized the potential for wiping out the scourge of the Five Families once and for all.Directing a band of 140 young and relatively inexperienced agents who would become the FBI’s game changers, Storey implemented the RICO law—the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Under his directives, they created an effectively groundbreaking playbook in the fight against organized crime.Through undercover infiltration and surveillance, they investigated over 70 murders committed by the Mafia, including that of Paul Castellano, boss of the Gambino family. Besides gathering vital witnesses, they developed the necessary evidence to record court-authorized conversations of the Mafia bosses, which revealed the specifics of their illegal activities. The task would prove formidable and dangerous—and would take its toll on the personal lives of the agents themselves.For the first time, and with never-before-revealed information, the full story of the dismantling of the Commission is told by the one man behind the unprecedented investigation that ended the criminal reign of the Five Families—and the Mafia’s bosses of all bosses—forever.

A Mafia insider and authentic Hollywood tough guy reveals the explosive secrets he’s learned (and kept) for decades in this shocking tell all that unveils the hidden worlds of film and organized crime—from who shot JFK and murdered Jimmy Hoffa to the truth about Marilyn Monroe’s death. Foreword by Steve Schirripa, star of The Sopranos, Blue Bloods, and Under the BoardwalkThe Kennedys, Marilyn, the Vatican, Vegas, The Godfather, the Mob, and more . . .During a cursed childhood in a Manhattan neighborhood teeming with Italian immigrants, Gianni Russo fended for himself at an early age. It was a quality that didn’t go unnoticed by Frank Costello—father figure, mentor, and legendary crime boss. Thanks to Costello, Gianni was only twelve when his luck would change for a lifetime. All of it charmed—and thrilling. With it came Hollywood glamor, Vegas risk-takers, political conspiracies, sex, murder, shadow governments, and secrets. The stories Gianni Russo could tell . . . Now he does in this bombshell confessional. This is the inside account of the Sicilian Mafia, Cosa Nostra, what really transpired in those Mulberry Street clubs, and who whacked whom—including how mobster Tony Spilotro and his brother really died, finally revealed for the first time. This is Gianni, buddy of Frank Sinatra, and intimately more with Marilyn Monroe. What’s the cover-up behind her death, JFK’s, and Jimmy Hoffa’s? It’s all here. So is the clandestine role of the pope as the sacred boss of bosses, the glory days and downfall of Las Vegas, and the colorful behind-the-scenes tales of Gianni’s role in the greatest movie ever made, The Godfather.The go-getter Frank Costello once called “The Kid” shares his shocking, exhilarating, sometimes violent, and always riveting life with the dealmakers of Hollywood and the Mob. Gianni Russo lives to tell, and spills it all.

Written by Meyer Lansky's grandson, this definitive portrait of the legendary 'Mob's Accountant' chronicles the singular life of the business entrepreneur who built a gambling empire, perfected money laundering, established a more efficient Mafia, and changed the course of organized crime forever-featuring never-before-seen personal letters, photographs, and firsthand stories. Meyer Lansky was more than a co-founder of the Mafia. He was a truly transformative figure, a key player who balanced criminal enterprise and legitimate business, ushering in a 'Golden Age' of the Mafia that lasted half of the 20th century. His impact lives on today in the lavish casinos of Las Vegas, the offshore banking strategies of major global industries, and the countless Hollywood films like The Godfather Part II and Bugsy, with Lansky portrayed by actors Lee Strasberg, Ben Kingsley, Harvey Keitel, and others. He remains a legend in the annals of American crime. But even now, after decades of fictionalized accounts, historical conjectures, and larger-than-life mythmaking, the question remains: Who was the real Meyer Lansky? In this eye-opening account-featuring personal letters, rare and exclusive photographs, and stunning new details never before revealed-the grandson of Meyer Lansky dares to answer the most intriguing questions that have fascinated the public to this day: Why and how did a serious Jewish boy from Poland get involved with mobsters like Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel? What was his role in the growth and consolidation of the Mafia, and why couldn't the Feds pin any crime on him besides illegal gambling? How many millions had Lansky amassed by the time of his death in 1983 and what happened to the money? But most shocking of all: Who really killed Bugsy Siegel, and can the truth finally be told? Packed with surprising insights from the grandson and his family, The Lansky Legacy is a must-read for crime buffs, Mafia enthusiasts, and anyone invested in the American Dream.

The true story of the last of the big-time Mob bosses, now updated and back in print nearly two decades after its initial publication, with a new foreword by retired FBI agent Joe Pistone, author of Donnie Brasco, and a new afterword that catches readers up on Joseph Massino’s life in the Witness Protection Program before his passing in 2023—from Anthony M. DeStefano, the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award–winning investigative journalist who is one of the foremost Mafia experts writing today.UPDATED WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY JOE PISTONE AND A NEW AFTERWORDTHE LAST OF THE BIG-TIME MOB BOSSES—AND THE ULTIMATE BETRAYALHe was the last of his kind—an old-world Mob boss steeped in omertà, the Mafia code of silence. While his arrogant friend John Gotti was being secretly recorded by the FBI, Joseph Massino, head of the Bonanno family, quietly became known as “The Ear” by ordering his men to point to their ear instead of saying his name out loud.For more than 20 years, Massino ran what was called the largest criminal network in the United States, employing over 250 made men and untold numbers of associates. The Bonanno family was responsible for over 30 murders, even killing a dozen of its own members to settle scores. Massino ran a tight organization, obsessively checking his social club for bugging devices, frustrating FBI surveillance. But in the end, facing the death penalty and the prospect of leaving his family penniless, Massino would be brought down from the inside, by the underboss who was not only his closest and most trusted friend―but a member of his blood family. So, he started talking to the FBI—the first Mafia godfather to break the sacred code of omertà—which bought him another two decades of life, the final years of which he spent in the Witness Protection Program before dying a free man.Based on exclusive interviews with Massino’s family and closest associates, as well as law enforcement officials and confidential sources, King of the Godfathers is the epic inside story of this Bonanno family boss who was at one time the most powerful gangster in America.

In 1987, hip-hop was at a tipping point: coastally, commercially, and creatively. New York City ruled the culture, while its hottest record label Def Jam was king. Yet out in LA, a new crew was ready to challenge for the crown, and their fresh spin would upend the industry as the decade reached its peak. Two Los Angeles dance club DJs, Matt Dike and Mike Ross, started their own independent label in Matt's cramped apartment on Santa Monica Boulevard and called it Delicious Vinyl. Hoping to press a few thousand records locally, they signed unknown rappers Tone Loc and Young MC, and after recording 'Wild Thing,' 'Funky Cold Medina,' and 'Bust a Move,' they soon sold nearly ten million copies worldwide. For a fleeting, shining time, aligned with a stunning series of collaborators, Matt Dike was the hottest music producer in the world. Iconic artist Jean-Michael Basquiat, director John Hughes, and the Beastie Boys all entered Matt's inner circle. Then, at the height of his success, Dike disappeared from the scene. Mysteriously, he cut himself loose from his closest friends, colleagues, and family. The life, career, and secrets of 'the Howard Hughes of hip-hop' became the stuff of legend. Now, journalist Peter Relic unpacks the truth behind an exhilarating, never-before-told story of the city, the era, and the blazing creativity that changed the landscape of both rap and pop. Filled with unforgettable characters and drawing on dozens of exclusive interviews - including the only in-person sit-down with the enigmatic Matt Dike - Bust a Move is the answer to a mystery, and a celebration of a monumental musical legacy.