Taylor Trade Publishing – serie

At last, former Under Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Brown—infamously praised by President George W. Bush for doing a "heckuva job" in the wake of Hurricane Katrina—tells his side of the response to one of the greatest natural disasters to occur in the United States. Without making excuses for anyone, least of all the President of the United States or himself, Brown describes in detail what ultimately turned out to be the largest federal response to a natural disaster in U.S. history.

Told in the stars' own words, the stories in My Greatest Day in Show Business recall the most memorable moments of 100 high-profile film and television luminaries. Complete with celebrity photographs throughout, this book offers a unique glimpse into the lives of America's most beloved entertainers.

Fresh out of Law School, Spencer Thompson struggles to understand why a large corporation would engage in strange activities, until he is reminded in most certain terms. After all what would you do for a million dollars?

Best-selling author Daniel Paisner makes an indelible impression with a moving and funny novel. From its dramatic and humorous opening scenes to its touching conclusion, Mourning Wood hooks readers with its eccentric characters and offbeat sense of humour. Absurdity, grief, and love give the richly drawn characters depth and familiarity. When Terence Wood, a fading Hollywood icon, stages his own death and disappears into a Maine coastal town, he leaves behind a couple of ex-wives and a son -- all of whom love and hate him. With a back story borrowed from one of his most forgettable pictures, Wood throws in with the louts and fishermen of Bar Harbour, Maine. He takes a job at an amusement park and falls for Two Stools, the overweight coffee shop matron who takes him in. Wood's life soon becomes distantly, yet intimately, entwined with an unlikely mess of a man, Axel Pimletz. Pimletz gets the chance of a lifetime, however, when a publisher reads his obituary for Terence Wood and hires him to write the star's memoirs. Desperate to make the most out of the opportunity, Pimletz takes on the trappings of Wood's life.Eventually, Pimletz's assumption of the fallen icon's persona takes him to Maine, where he hopes to track down some leads for the memoir. There, Wood's old world collides with his new one, and the resulting confusion brings ultimate clarity.

This is the authoritative biography of writer, poet, and beat generation icon Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), whose novel On the Road catapulted him to the forefront of the literary world and influenced budding writers for generations to come. A legendary figure in the landscape of American literature, Kerouac lived a turbulent life, one more intimately connected to his literary output than perhaps any other writer. Restless traveler, alcoholic, dissolute but devoted Catholic, and genius, Kerouac lived hard with his compatriots of the beat movement—William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassady. With them, he created a new type of American literature as well as an enduring literary mythology. Kerouac: The Definitive Biography recounts in gripping detail the story of this exceptional life and the key relationships that affected Kerouac's development as an artist, including those with his three wives, numerous girlfriends, and beloved mother. Most important, Kerouac is the first biography based wholly on the vast array of primary source materials contemporary to the events described—letters, postcards, diaries, journals, notebooks, newspaper and magazine articles, legal documents, and television and audio transcripts—sources that provide an unparalleled view of the intimate thoughts and everyday world of Kerouac.

In the dark, soft night, the haunting call of a single loon echoes over a moonlit lake. All through the day, only one magnificent black and white bird scribes ripples across the surface. Why is he so alone? Moon Loon is an evocative, gentle bedtime story about a girl who is fascinated by this solitary loon. Through richly layered colored pencil illustrations, we follow the girl's musings on the loon from spring through fall.

As he did in his acclaimed '77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age and his earlier nonfiction works, Terry Frei combines reporting, historical research, memoir, and opinion, discussing his varied experiences and the diverse characters—including John and Jack Elway, plus 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith—he has encountered in covering Colorado, national, and international sports since he was a green sportswriter in the era of '77. Those diverse figures include Olympic heroes, Hall of Famers, world boxing champions, and other marquee athletes. He also displays his knack for narrative and inquisitive journalism, introducing readers to intriguing figures and taking them behind the scenes of some very high-profile events and settings. All this follows a blunt and unsparing assessment of the modern newspaper and sports journalism.

Here is the ultimate golf reference book, meant to feed golfers’ insatiable hunger for the statistics and trivia of their game. This book answers such burning questions as who broke the most clubs during a single temper tantrum (Lefty Stackhouse, 14) and the rationale behind 18 holes (it was completely arbitrary). From the sublime to the ridiculous, these fun facts will thoroughly entertain from tee to green.

Since ancient times, memorable moments of military history have been commemorated with jewelry, medals, and symbolic accessories. In Lest We Forget: Masterpieces of Patriotic Jewelry and Military Decorations, Judith Price illuminates iconic military objects, exploring their origins and documenting their place in history. The dramatic compilation of patriotic jewelry and decorations presented in Price’s sixth book tells a truly dazzling story of Western historical conflict and resolution.Lest We Forget serves as a stunning tribute to our men and women in service both past and present. This book derives its title from the poem “Recessional” by Rudyard Kipling, often used as a tribute in war memorials, while its contents chronicle our military history since the Revolution through 150 iconic artifacts. It showcases such diverse items as the Washington Peace Medals to the Indians, the earliest Medals of Honor, Civil War Corps badges, British military decorations, and historic French treasures. Drawn from leading world museums and private collections such as the British Museum, the West Point Museum, the Musée de l’Armée, and the Imperial War Museum, the objects depicted in this book movingly recall the role of decorations and jewelry in commemorating war and peace.

Hike a trail, climb a tree! Smell the flowers, watch the birds! Explore the world!Nature is full of adventures, but sometimes it’s easy to forget things you felt or saw. What did those animal tracks look like? How did you feel when you gazed at the starry sky on a calm, clear night?My Nature Book is the perfect place for a child to keep track of all of his or her memories. It’s a place to draw and write about your experiences with nature, so you’ll remember the sound of the squirrel you heard chattering, the color of the bird that landed on your lunch sack, or the way the meadow grasses waved goodbye. My Nature Book is also full of projects and ideas, such as how to make water windows and luminarias, and even how to make yummy peanut butter cookies or banana bread or muffins to take along on hiking trips. There are also lined pages for writing, blank pages for drawing, and numerous activity pages.

Rather than treat ADD/ADHD as a disorder, Dr. Lynn Weiss celebrates this "brainstyle"—a diversity in thinking—and provides a caring, humanized perspective. Via insights and exercises and using her experience as a counselor and social scientist, Dr. Weiss harnesses the positives in ADD/ADHD rather than the negatives by giving readers the tools they need to embrace their unique brainstyle.

Every inquisitive little girl wonders what it is really like to be a genuine princess. At the heart of Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? lives an energetic and spirited child who has lots of important questions for her mom. Do princesses ride tricycles, climb trees, do chores, or have to eat the crusts of their bread? This sticker doodle book contains everything a princess could want! Design your own princess crown, play sticker tic-tac-toe with a princess pal, and much more!

“If you buy that horse, you’re buying your daughter’s death warrant,” Jane Pohl’s father was warned at the army barracks in the spring of 1941. But the potential that his teenage daughter Jane saw in the small, temperamental Thoroughbred was enough to convince him otherwise.Earlier that year, when Fitzrada arrived at the army base where Jane’s family lived, the horse was stubborn, unpredictable, and dangerous. Any man who dared addle him up soon found himself face down in the dirt. Jane, excited to ride any horse and up for the challenge, had the most success with Fitz. She was patient and consistent, and the horse responded well at last, showing a great affinity for jumping. Then, inexplicably, a terrible riding accident resulted in serious injuries for both Jane and Fitz, and the army decide that it was time to destroy the horse. Heartbroken, Jane pleaded with her reluctant father: the only way to save Fitz was to buy him from the army.Jane Pohl’s foresight proved to be correct. Jane and Fitz went on to take the Virginia show-jumping circuit by storm, winning 37 jumper and 6 hinter championships. At a time when women were rarely seen in jumping classes at horse shows and were not taken seriously by male competitors, Jane and Fitz helped to break down barriers against women riders competing in the Olympics. In 1946, Jane and Fitz found themselves at the Jumper Championship at the prestigious National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden—the highest jumping title in North America. The road there for horse and rider was a five-year test of faith, patience, and understanding friendship.

Wherever stories are told, in whatever language, life and death hold center stage, along with pain and glee, mystery and magic, fools and foes, deceit and decency. This book has them all. Here, in embellishments upon the folklore of Native American tribes from the Pacific Northwest, are tales that seek to explain the world, dispel its darkness, and celebrate its light.So, meet a sorcerer whose magic can turn a horse into a loon, a man who becomes a bush-tailed rat, a girl whose sons were born as puppies, and a Native American tribe that sought the power of shamans to escape white men bent on destroying them.

“Now I know this is where I belong.”Follow Grandfather, Marcus and their vibrant friends in this multi-generational story of acceptance and camaraderie as they navigate through nature’s beauty and learn the rewards of friendships both old and new. In this beautifully illustrated tale by the author and illustrator of such favorites as Only One You and Love You When, we see that by working together, we can find common interests and a place where each of us feels at home.Learn more about Linda at www.lindakranz.com

Journey thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean and investigate a mystery connecting three distinctly different animals from the California Current down to the polar waters west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Become an ocean detective and discover the connection between a seabird, a whale, and a penguin; and maybe you’ll uncover the sea secret that links them all. Inspired by long-term scientific research, Sea Secrets invites young readers to explore two ocean ecosystems and their food webs. Field sketches, watercolor, and photographs combine to reveal the clues. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that turn out to be the most important!Published in cooperation with the Long-Term Ecological Research Network and funded by the National Science Foundation, this engaging and informative illustrated children’s book draws young readers into the fascinating world of science exploration, field work, and ocean discovery!

Thomas Wolfe remains one of America's most famous writers and figures. His experiences and relationships with his family and his hometown shaped his writing later in life, adding a level of realism and depth to his books still celebrated to this day. In Laura Boffa's book, Writing Home, she explores Wolfe's early life from his childhood home in Asheville, North Carolina to his travels around the Midwest, and eventual return to Asheville. Beautiful illustrations throughout bring Wolfe's story to life.It is the story of one young man's journey to become a writer, a journey filled with triumph, longing, and a desire to follow one's dream...

Lessons from Veterans provides an array of personal stories—from nightmarish fights on the islands of Iwo Jima to the shores of Normandy on D-Day. With unprecedented access to veterans and unpublished memoirs, Life Lessons from Veterans provides a new voice to the bravery and sacrifice of the American soldier defending our freedom through more than thirty stories.

Set in Hungamon (aka Bogalusa), Louisiana 1988-89, Provenance takes the reader through progressive historical discoveries to the sources of a Hungarian painting that escaped the grasping fingers of Nazis and Communists, and to the secrets of two families, one Jewish, the owners of the Hungarian painting, and the other gentile, the owners of an American painting, which hides a dark tale.