Laughing In The Hills

Bill Barich burst onto the literary scene more than twenty-five years ago with this remarkable account of racetrack life. Holed up in a cheap motel in Albany, California, only a few miles from Golden Gate Fields, he looked to the track to help him make sense of his life during a dark peiod of loss and challenge. With rare sensitivity, he captured the gritty world of the backstretch, and also its poetry, as few other writers have done. Laughing in the Hills, which was first serialized in the New Yorker, has become a classic of sporting literature and a must for anyone who loves horses and the world they create. “It is a lovely, valuable book, introspective without being self-servingly so, affectionate but never saccharine in its evocation of racetrack life, witty and perceptive throughout.” —Jonathan Yardley, Sports Illustrated Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

This wonderful 1980 horse racing classic never loses its luster or charm. Author Bill Barich explores explores the day-to-day internal world of horse racing-- from the backside to the backstretch. This entertaining story of the lives and tribulations of various racetrack personalities is sure to extract every human emotion. The author's summer adventure after a family tragedy finds him living the life many diehard racing enthusiasts wish they could. Barich's adventure discovers more than he could ever imagine about something much bigger than racing-life itself.

Roland Nair calls himself Scandinavian but travels on a U.S. passport. After ten years’ absence, he returns to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, to reunite with his friend Michael Adriko. They once made a lot of money here during the country’s civil war, and, curious to see whether good luck will strike twice in the same place, Nair allows himself to be drawn back to a region he considers hopeless. Adriko is an African who styles himself a soldier of fortune and who claims to have served, at various times, the Ghanaian Army, the Kuwaiti Emiri Guard, and the American Green Berets. He’s probably broke now, but he remains, at thirty-six, as stirred by his own doubtful schemes as he was a decade ago. Although Nair believes some kind of money-making plan lies at the back of it all, Michael’s stated reason for inviting his friend to Freetown is that Nair should meet Michael’s fiancee, a college girl named Davidia from Colorado. Together the three set out to visit Michael’s clan in the Uganda-Congo borderland—but each of these travellers is keeping secrets from the others. Shadowed by Interpol, the Mossad, and MI-6, Nair gets mired in lust and betrayal in a landscape of frighteningly casual violence as he travels with Adriko and Davidia, gets smuggled into a war zone, kidnapped by the Congo Army, and terrorized by a self-proclaimed god ruling over a dying village. Their journey through a land abandoned by the future leads Adriko, Nair and Davidia to meet themselves not in a new light, but rather in a new darkness. A high-suspense tale of kaleidoscoping loyalties in the post-9/11 world, The Laughing Monsters shows one of our great novelists at the top of his game.

Easy money lures eight desperate people into an alliance with a wise guy on the make, his flaky girlfriend and his vengeance-seeking uncle. Lurking into this scheme are: Avo Hawkins, a disabled forester with an axe to grind; Sophy Brophy, lonely, vulnerable and still seeking Miss Right; and Jax Ropes, poet, cafe owner with a family who gets hunger pains. Mix in Jax Uncle, Russell Borskee, ruined in the great sheet metal panic of 1996 and still in mourning; Rashad and Clytee Horninsh, snatch and grab artists with big score ambitions; Lyla Lawrence, former musical comedy star trying to put on a show; Hilda Westerberg, in love with live theater and Tony Schemetti, who has a love of his own; and Aiden Dwellinger, always in his dwelling, plotting the downfall of a former partner. Uncle, were going to scalp him one hair at a time, Tony promises, and then sets out to do it. Unfortunately for him, his crew have their own agendas which collide with his, creating a nifty mix of high-kicking comedy and drama that redefines the groups battlecry: Were not bathing. In the second story, attorney David Mims thinks he can cross a gangster and get away with it. How wrong he is makes for a compelling drama. By the time Mims Gets It Right, its too late. An actors odyssey from childhood through years of wandering before he reaches stardom is a unique story based on fact. Set against the backdrop of the Depression, World War Two and TVs early years, Eric Without Laughter begins with an encounter between protagonist, his abuse father and the fathers .38 caliber revolver, and ends in the Peruvian jungle. In Family Money a gambler encounters more than he bargained for in a gin rummy game that becomes a mission of mercy and betrayal. What the critics have said about Moskovitzs Welcome to Hellville: This short story collection captures the spirit and tempo of my town. Sid Sewell, Editor and Publisher, Duseberg Guide and Tribune. Short stories of this caliber deserve to be widely read, appreciated and enjoyed. David Blankenboat, reviewer 98 Point Wonderful-FM, Dusebergs leading FM station. Welcome to Hellville was published by Xlibris and is available at: www.x-libris.com or from Amazon.com, Borders or Barnes and Noble. Jack Moskovitz 4161 Wakeley St. Omaha, NE 68131

The children of notorious Mafia wiseguy and informant Henry Hill-the real-life subject of Goodfellas-tell their own story of danger, hurt, and family in this extraordinary account of growing up with an out-of-control father in the federal witness protection program. Henry Hill's business partner, Jimmy Burke, has whacked every person who could possibly implicate him in the infamous Lufthansa robbery at JFK airport. On his way to prison, lifelong gangster Henry is given two options: sleep with the fishes, or enter the FBI's Witness Protection Program. Unfortunately for his children Gregg and Gina, they're dragged along for the ride. Like nomads, they're forced to wander from state to state, constantly inventing new names and finding new friends, only to abandon them at a moment's notice. They live under constant fear of being found and killed. But Henry, the rock Gregg and Gina so desperately need, is a heavy cocaine user and knows only the criminal life. He is soon up to his old tricks and consistently putting their identities in jeopardy. And so it continues until the kids, now almost grown, can no longer ignore that the Mob might be less of a threat to them than remaining under the roof of their increasingly unbalanced father.

One of the secrets of a great marriage is laughing together. Couples don’t need to choose between work and play, duty and fun, laughter and responsibility. This book will help couples learn how to use fun, humor, and laughter to lighten the load of everyday life, reduce stress, and grow closer together.