The Story Of Drek

One doesn't have to be Jewish to recognize the words that have made their way into every fold of popular language: Chutzpah, Mensch, Tokhes, Mishmash, Nudge, Shtick, Schmaltzy, Schlep, Icky, and so on. Then there are phrases whose meaning and syntax are borrowed from Yiddish: "bite your tongue", "drop dead", "enough already", and "excuse the expression". This hilarious, concise guide includes chapters on the Basic Descriptions of People (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the goofy), the Fine Art of Cursing, Juicy Words and Phrases, Exclamations and Exasperations, and the Fine Art of Blessing.

This brilliant biography of the cult guitar player will likely cause you to abandon everything you thought you knew about jazz improvisation, post-punk and the avant-garde. Derek Bailey was at the top of his profession as a dance band and recordsession guitarist when, in the early 1960s, he began playing an uncompromisingly abstract form of music. Today his anti-idiom of "Free Improvisation" has become the lingua franca of the "avant" scene, with Pat Metheny, John Zorn, David Sylvian and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore among his admirers.

If there's one thing I've learned from comic books, it's that everybody has a weakness—something that can totally ruin their day without fail. For the wolfman it's a silver bullet. For Superman it's Kryptonite. For me it was a letter. With one letter, my dad was sent back to Afghanistan to fly Apache helicopters for the U.S. army. Now all I have are his letters. Ninety-one of them to be exact. I keep them in his old plastic lunchbox—the one with the cool black car on it that says Knight Rider underneath. Apart from my comic books, Dad's letters are the only things I read more than once. I know which ones to read when I'm down and need a pick-me-up. I know which ones will make me feel like I can conquer the world. I also know exactly where to go when I forget Mom's birthday. No matter what, each letter always says exactly what I need to hear. But what I want to hear the most is that my dad is coming home.

“Shows us, in tender detail, a life consumed by our unholy appetites.”—Steve Almond, New York Times Book Review The tragic death of hockey star Derek Boogaard at twenty-eight was front-page news across the country in 2011 and helped shatter the silence about violence and concussions in professional sports. Now, in a gripping work of narrative nonfiction, acclaimed reporter John Branch tells the shocking story of Boogaard's life and heartbreaking death. Boy on Ice is the richly told story of a mountain of a man who made it to the absolute pinnacle of his sport. Widely regarded as the toughest man in the NHL, Boogaard was a gentle man off the ice but a merciless fighter on it. With great narrative drive, Branch recounts Boogaard's unlikely journey from lumbering kid playing pond-hockey on the prairies of Saskatchewan, so big his skates would routinely break beneath his feet; to his teenaged junior hockey days, when one brutal outburst of violence brought Boogaard to the attention of professional scouts; to his days and nights as a star enforcer with the Minnesota Wild and the storied New York Rangers, capable of delivering career-ending punches and intimidating entire teams. But, as Branch reveals, behind the scenes Boogaard's injuries and concussions were mounting and his mental state was deteriorating, culminating in his early death from an overdose of alcohol and painkillers. Based on months of investigation and hundreds of interviews with Boogaard's family, friends, teammates, and coaches, Boy on Ice is a brilliant work for fans of Michael Lewis's The Blind Side or Buzz Bissinger's Friday Night Lights. This is a book that raises deep and disturbing questions about the systemic brutality of contact sports—from peewees to professionals—and the damage that reaches far beyond the game.

Even during his first outstanding rookie season in Major League Baseball, Derek Jeter was determined to channel his burgeoning success into helping the community. This book explores the ways in which one of the world's top-performing baseball stars has become a role model by practicing what he preaches—eating well and exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and working hard to achieve success. Readers will learn all about Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation, which supports programs that encourage physical fitness and good values. All in all, this book shows the rewards that come from an athlete giving back.

In this lively and engaging new biography, Harry Kelsey shatters the familiar image of Sir Francis Drake. The Drake of legend was a pious, brave, and just seaman who initiated the move to make England a great naval power. Kelsey paints a far more interesting picture of Drake as an amoral privateer who lined his pockets with Spanish booty. 98 illustrations.

THE STORY OF THE GREATEST AGE IN ENGLISH SEA HISTORY “He was himself the leading authority in our generation on Tudor sea-history, the successor to Sir Julian Corbett in the last. He corrects Corbett’s want of perspective and gives us a proportioned and well-balanced account of the whole story. It is, in fact, much the best book on the greatest age in our sea history.... It is written with that spirit, that freshness and enthusiasm which seem always to go with a love of the sea. On almost every aspect of his subject, Dr. Williamson has something new to say or new information to bring forward. His expert knowledge of navigation and Tudor geography illuminate the book throughout.”—A. L. Rowse, The Spectator

ABOUT THE BOOK Glens quiet and peaceful retirement is rudely interrupted when he interferes with the torture of an innocent victim by three assailants. His involvement casts him into an adventure of intrigue and treasure, along with Lily, the Sheriff, that will test their faith and character and lead them into a relationship that is as surprising as it is wonderful. Their response to a call of duty will place not only themselves in danger but also all of those who they care for. Walk with them and see how ordinary people may be called upon to perform extraordinary events!