The Covered Man

Starsky and Hutch marked a turning point in the history of television and David Soul was to experience a new kind of fame. At its height, Starsky and Hutch was the most popular television series in the world. Television had its first global brand and David Soul was the first global megastar of the television age. THE COVERED MAN gets beneath the skin of the cult of celebrity and lays bare the very lowest reaches of the high life. When he arrived in New York from the Midwest, as a fresh-faced, penniless young singer, David sought out fame and fortune. He was to find both, but at what cost... THE COVERED MAN is no warm bath of nostalgia. David pulls no punches, recounting with unflinching honesty many of the most difficult parts of his life - as well as sharing with us the highs, the parties and the sexual conquests that are part and parcel of life in the fast lane. David Soul's story so far is a rollercoaster ride to hell and back. It's a complex and fascinating journey to the dark heart of celebrity itself.

Since he was a boy, Julius Stetson dreamt of what life would be like on another planet. After a tragic work accident, he gets an unprecedented chance to make his dream a reality. However, fate plays a cruel trick. As his Martian dream descends into nightmare, the man from Pontiac must make an impossible choice. No matter what he does, his decision will change both worlds.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The knockdown, drag-out, untold story of the other scandal that rocked Nixon’s White House, and reset the rules for crooked presidents to come—with new reporting that expands on Rachel Maddow’s Peabody Award–nominated podcast “Both a thriller and a history book, Bag Man is a triumph of storytelling.”—Preet Bharara, New York Times bestselling author of Doing Justice and host of the podcast Stay Tuned with Preet Is it possible for a sitting vice president to direct a vast criminal enterprise within the halls of the White House? To have one of the most brazen corruption scandals in American history play out while nobody’s paying attention? And for that scandal to be all but forgotten decades later? The year was 1973, and Spiro T. Agnew, the former governor of Maryland, was Richard Nixon’s second-in-command. Long on firebrand rhetoric and short on political experience, Agnew had carried out a bribery and extortion ring in office for years, when—at the height of Watergate—three young federal prosecutors discovered his crimes and launched a mission to take him down before it was too late, before Nixon’s impending downfall elevated Agnew to the presidency. The self-described “counterpuncher” vice president did everything he could to bury their investigation: dismissing it as a “witch hunt,” riling up his partisan base, making the press the enemy, and, with a crumbling circle of loyalists, scheming to obstruct justice in order to survive. In this blockbuster account, Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz detail the investigation that exposed Agnew’s crimes, the attempts at a cover-up—which involved future president George H. W. Bush—and the backroom bargain that forced Agnew’s resignation but also spared him years in federal prison. Based on the award-winning hit podcast, Bag Man expands and deepens the story of Spiro Agnew’s scandal and its lasting influence on our politics, our media, and our understanding of what it takes to confront a criminal in the White House.

An affectionate look at some of the worst recordings ever made, The World’s Worst Records tells the extraordinary but true stories behind some of the most appalling audio crimes ever committed. Extensively researched, and featuring music by major stars, ‘outsider’ artists and almost forgotten singers and songwriters, read about how Elvis Presley came to record a rock ‘n’ roll version of the nursery rhyme Old Macdonald; discover the truth behind actor Peter Wyngarde’s one attempt at pop immortality; meet the beautifully bonkers Florence Foster Jenkins – possibly the most deluded singer in history; fi nd out which Paul McCartney record is most hated world over. Puzzle over why 60’s flower-power icon Donovan would record a song about the toilet habits of astronauts.