"From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole. Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as "The Fonz" in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it's simply not the...

"When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist. His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable...

"As skiing evolves from mom-and-pop backcountry hills to megaresorts and all-access passes, the pioneers and diehards--the ski bums -- remain the beating heart of the sport. Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider. Hopping from Vermont to Colorado, Montana...

"Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996) possessed one of the twentieth century’s most astonishing voices. In this first major biography since Fitzgerald’s death, historian Judith Tick offers a sublime portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald clears up long-enduring mysteries. Archival research and in-depth family interviews shed new light on the singer’s difficult...

This unforgettable portrait of resistance, from Laos to California, follows one woman, with wounds inflicted by war and family alike, as she builds a new existence for her and her children by growing Hmong rice, just as her ancestors did, and selling it to those who hunger for the Laos of their memories.

"Few in history can match the breadth and depth of the revolutionary career of the Marquis de Lafayette. Over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution, he fought as one with righteous revolutionaries on both sides of the Atlantic. As an idealistic and courageous teenager serving in the American Revolution, he used his considerable wealth and savvy to help the Americans defeat the British. Then he returned home, and was a principal...

"Biography of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, an American woman who pioneered codebreaking in WWI and WWII but was only recently recognized for her extraordinary contributions to the field"--

Only days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt tapped Chester W. Nimitz to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. From the early years of the war to the surrender ceremony on Tokyo Bay four years later, Nimitz carried the expectations of a nation impatient for revenge-- and transformed the devastated Pacific fleet into the most powerful and commanding naval force in history. Symonds covers all the major campaigns, and captures...

"As a child, little Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned how to play the keyboard by watching his older sister. His extraordinary talent shone through, and he began delighting audiences with his music. He played many instruments and wrote groundbreaking work that is still enjoyed by music-lovers today. This inspiring story of the legendary classical musician features a fact and photo section at the back." -- "Discover the incredible life of Mozart, world-renowned...

"The story of the Astors is an extraordinary but true tale of ambition, invention, destruction, and reinvention -- and of cunning, determination, hard work, hubris, infighting, and greed. One of the wealthiest men to have ever lived, John Jacob Astor first arrived in New York in 1783 and built a fortune through a ruthless expansion of his beaver trapping business, which he grew into an empire through real estate that enriched him at the expense of...