New Nonfiction Releases

December 2009

These books are being published and released this month. They have been ordered by the Library and will be available soon.

(Do you need more information on how to place a hold? )

• Biography and Memoir 
• General Nonfiction

Biography & Memoir

90-Day Geisha:  My Time as a Tokyo Hostess
By Chelsea Haywood
A newlywed fashion model describes her short-term experiences as a paid hostess and companion to wealthy Japanese businessmen, offering insight into the importance of psychology and personality to the geisha industry while challenging popular misconceptions.

Abigail Adams:  A Life
By Woody Holton
In a narrative based on previously un-mined documents, an award-winning historian reveals that the perennially popular “founding mother” was perfectly willing to disagree with her husband (and even countermand his orders), was shrewd when investing the family fortune, and eager to correspond about men’s subjugation of women.

Cleaving:  A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession
By Julie Powell
The popular blogger and best-selling author (Julie and Julia) describes how, in the wake of a strain on her marriage, she left town to immerse herself in the art of butchery.  Powell chronicles the camaraderie and laborious training she received at a butcher shop, and her journeys throughout the world in search of butchery practices of other cultures.

Hellraisers:  The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O’Toole, and Oliver Reed
By Robert Sellers
In a lighthearted tribute that celebrates the most outrageous of their misdeeds, a group portrait of four iconic movie stars documents how their collective talents and a less-scrutinizing media combined to enable their on-the-edge activities, ranging from wild parties and broken marriages to riots and sexual conquests.

In My Father’s Shadow:  A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles
By Chris Welles Feder
The daughter of the acclaimed film maker offers a moving look at life in the shadow of such an elusive, legendary figure, and shares the story of growing up in the unreal reality of Hollywood; features photos from the author’s private collection.

Koestler:  The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic
By Michael Scammell
An LA Times Book Prize-winning author presents a portrait of the influential activist and author of Darkness at Noon that includes coverage of such topics as his Jewish upbringing in Budapest and Vienna, his perspectives on Islamic nationalism, and his alleged spy activities.

The Lady in the Tower:  The Fall of Anne Boleyn
By Alison Weir
An account of the final days of Henry VIII’s second wife seeks to vindicate her from popular negative perceptions while offering insight into additional nuances that affected her character and marriage to the infamous monarch.

Literary Life:  A Second Memoir
By Larry McMurtry
The Pulitzer Prize and Oscar Award-winning author of Lonesome Dove and the recently-released Rhino Ranch reflects on the writing life, in a book that includes anecdotes, gossip, and memorable observations about writing, writers, and the author himself.

My Delicious Life with Paula Deen
By Michael Groover, with Sherry Suib Cohen
In a heartfelt memoir, the husband of Paula Deen, the host of Food Network’s “Paula Deen’s Home Cooking,” tells his side of the story, from his life as a single father and Savannah river man, to his fairy tale romance with the sweetheart of the Southern kitchen.

Pops:  A Life of Louis Armstrong
By Terry Teachout
The author draws on previously unavailable sources, including hundreds of private recordings made throughout the second half of the jazz master’s life, to assess his artistic achievements and personal arenas, including coverage of such topics as Armstrong’s decision to break up his band, and his quarrel with President Eisenhower.

Thank Heaven
By Leslie Caron
The Academy Award-nominated actress in such classic films as “Gigi” presents the story of her life and career, chronicling such topics as her childhood in occupied France, her relationship with Warren Beatty, and her struggles with alcoholism and depression.

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog:  The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman
By Lisa Scottoline
An anthology of whimsical Philadelphia Inquirer columns by the best-selling author of Look Again includes stories about her experience being caught braless in an emergency room, what she identifies as a man’s most important body part, and interrupting as an art form.

General Nonfiction

The 4-Hour Workweek:  Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
By Timothy Ferriss
Expanded to include more than 100 pages of new content, Ferris’s guide offers a blueprint for a better life, whether one’s dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less.

The 5 Big Lies About American Business:  Combating Smears Against the Free Market Economy
By Michael Medved
Medved challenges popular myths about the American corporate system, arguing that free-market businesses are responsible for providing today’s food, medical care, and other necessities of life, and offers contrary insights into topics ranging from globalization to corporate ethics.

After the Ice:  Life, Death, and Geopolitics in the New Arctic
By Alun Anderson
An influential New Scientist director traces the dramatic transformations occurring in the Arctic as a result of global warming, documenting how the combined efforts of the scientific community and competition to tap regional resources are having profound implications for its human and animal populations.

American Sketches:  Our Times and Some People Who Made Them
By Walter Isaacson
A journalist and the best-selling author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life offers a selective collection that illustrates his passage from school to journalist to illustrious biographer.

The Art of Avator: James Cameron’s Epic Adventure
By Lisa Fitzpatrick
With 120 exclusive, full-color images – including paintings, drawings, and film stills – a companion book to the forthcoming movie reveals the process behind the creation of set designs from the imaginative vistas, aerial battle scenes, and fantastical creatures; also includes interviews with key members of the film’s creative crew.

The Art of Planet 51
By Danny Graydon
Timed to coincide with the forthcoming movie’s release, a full-color resource with 150 illustrations features original concept art, artist renderings, an inside look at the film’s production and CGI, director commentaries, and information on the development of the story’s characters.

Bob Dylan Revisited
By Bob Dylan
An illustrated tribute to the songs of Bob Dylan pairs vivid graphic images with the songwriter’s most famous lyrics, in a series of provocative pieces that reflect the urgent moral and political themes of such works as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” and “Hurricane.”

The Collaborative Habit
By Twyla Tharp
In a follow-up to her best seller, The Creative Habit, an acclaimed choreographer explores the art of working successfully with others, and discusses her collaborations with Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Elvis Costello, David Byrne, Milos Foreman, and others.

Comeback 2.0:  Up Close and Personal
By Lance Armstrong
A champion cyclist and cancer-survivor offers a first-person photo-journal of his 2009 comeback season, during which he helped promote a global cancer-awareness campaign; includes behind-the-scenes photos and stunning, four-color shots of racing action.

Crash Course in Love
By Steve Ward and JoAnn Ward
The authors offer a frank, no-nonsense guide to finding love in the same spirit as, and tying in to the second season of,  their hit television show, “VH1 Tough Love.”

The Elephant Whisperer:  My Life with the Herd in the African Wild
By Lawrence Anthony, with Graham Spence
A founder of the Earth Organization presents an account of his close relationship with a rogue elephant herd in South Africa, describing the circumstances that led to his involvement in their rescue and the experiences through which they eventually accepted him as a family member.

Extreme Fear:  The Science of the Mind in Danger
By Jeff Wise
A science journalist for such periodicals as Travel and Leisure examines the physiology of fear while sharing adventure stories about people who have survived against the odds, offering insight into the chemical process of the fear experience and advice on how to optimize one’s mental abilities under pressure.

The First Star:  Red Grange and the Barnstorming Tour That Launched the NFL
By Lars Anderson
A  Sports Illustrated writer and author of  Carlisle vs. Army presents an account of the early establishment of professional football, tracing the pivotal 1920s contributions of University of Illinois player Red Grange and his agent, C. C. Pyle, while analyzing major developments.

Fly by Wire:  The Truth About the Miracle on the Hudson
By William Langewiesche
The author of The Atomic Bazaar argues that the miraculous safe crash landing on the Hudson River should not only be credited to pilot Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger, but also to the advances in aviation and computer technology that have taken place over the past twenty years, focusing on the technology that has been designed with the specific purpose of keeping people safe.

A Gambling Man:  Charles II’s Restoration Game, 1660-1670
By Jenny Uglow
In an account that describes the king’s daring secret deal with his cousin, Louis XIV, the author analyzes the reign of Charles II during the first decade of the Restoration, assessing influences ranging from plague and court licentiousness to intolerance and war.

The Genius of the Beast:  A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism
By Howard Bloom
The acclaimed author of The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History insists that global society has only begun to realize its potential and argues that capitalism has a hidden imperative that can turn the economic crisis into an opportunity for the whole human race.

The Great Money Binge:  Spending Our Way to Socialism
By George Melloan
A former Wall Street Journal deputy editor calls for a return to the successful supply-side economic principles and predicts doom for our nation’s continued infatuation with proposed stimulus plans.

The Ultimate Happiness Prescription:  The 7 Keys to Joy & Enlightenment
By Deepak Chopra
The best-selling writer of such spiritual works as Life After Death demonstrates how to experience joy in spite of the unique challenges of today’s world, drawing on the Buddha’s teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to Enlightenment to reveal how to focus on positive aspects of painful experiences.

Harper’s Bazaar Fabulous at Every Age: Your Quick & Easy Guide to Fashion
By Nadini D’Souza; Jenny Barrett, ed.
The editors of Harper’s Bazaar showcase the glam styles for women at various life stages, drawing upon examples set by leading celebrities who share advice on how to identify a compatible look, build a wardrobe, and save money.

Hidden in Plain Sight:  What Men in the Workplace Are Thinking but Will Never Tell You
By Shaunti Feldhahn
The author draws on nationwide surveys and confidential interviews with thousands of men at all corporate levels to reveal the unspoken codes by which men conduct themselves in the workplace, how emotion is perceived, and how women are actually regarded in a variety of situations.

Homesteading:  A Backyard Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More
By Abigail Gehring
A companion guide to the best-selling Back to Basics shares recommendations for identifying and incorporating green lifestyle choices, covering practices ranging from container gardening and keeping chickens to using rainwater and supporting sustainable restaurants.

Hoodwinked:  An Economic Hit Man Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded – and What We Need to Do to Remake Them
By John Perkins
The best-selling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man takes aim at the current global economic crisis and attempts to clear a path out of the rubble by providing a plan for remaking the economic markets.

The Hope You Need
By Rick Warren
The best-selling author of The Purpose-Driven Life, and the minister featured during President Obama’s inauguration, provides a new guide to daily life that focuses on the power one can draw from the wisdom of the Lord’s Prayer.

House of Versace:  The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival
By Deborah Ball
An unauthorized chronicle of the rise of the influential fashion entrepreneur reveals family secrets pertaining to the crimes, tragedies, and intense rivalries that shaped his career, offering additional insight into the ongoing struggle to maintain his legacy after his death.

How Capitalism Will Save Us
By Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames
The authors address key issues about the fundamentals of a free-market economy to explain why democratic capitalism is more effective than other systems in improving everyday life, and provide coverage of topics ranging from taxes and health care to the causes of the recent financial crisis.

How the Left Swiftboated America
By John Gibson
The popular Fox commentator and radio host presents a defense of the Bush presidency that contends that the administration’s detractors deliberately skewed reports about the Iraq War and other issues while feeding public disillusionment to intentionally discredit the president.

How to Change Someone You Love:  Four Steps to Help You Help Them
By Brad Lamm
Lamm shows the reader, in four concrete steps, how to stop a loved one from engaging in self-destructive behavior, including alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, overeating, irresponsible spending, staying in an abusive relationship, harboring anger, and more.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog
By Chad Orzel
The creator of the popular science blog uses his canine companion, Emmy, to explain the basic principles of quantum physics, introducing basic theories while profiling leading minds from Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr to Erwin Schrodinger and Isaac Newton.

The Last Day of My Life
By Jim Moret
A television journalist recounts his contemplation of suicide and what he planned to do in the 24 hours he had given himself to live, in a book that moves beyond depression, tragedy, and self-doubt, and grapples with such issues as forgiveness, accountability, gratitude, and reflection.

The Last Nazi:  Unmasking a Living Holocaust Perpetrator
By Random House
Due to the subject nature, this “unauthored” account reveals the story of a Holocaust perpetrator, still at large, who made sure that the first stages of Hitler’s Final Solution were carried out – and who has escaped justice for more than six decades.

Live a Little:  What the Research Really Says About Living a Pretty Healthy Life
By Susan M. Love and Alice D. Domar
A lighthearted primer for women establishes a redefinition of health and well-being that focuses on living a relaxed and full life while not suffering undue stress over alleged failures to follow strict health guidelines, in a reference that addresses nutrition, exercise, preventive care, and more.

The Marketplace of Ideas:  Reform and Reaction in the American University
By Louis Menand
In a critical report that recommends what practices should be salvaged or discarded, Menand argues that outdated institutional structures and higher educational philosophies are negatively contrasting with significant changes in today’s faculties and student bodies, with a result that higher education is more competitive and less applicable.

Mind Over Money:  Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health
By Brad Klontz and Ted Klontz
The authors draw on psychological insights to counsel readers on how to develop healthier financial perspectives, identifying childhood and cultural influences that shape the way people think about and manage money, in a guide that explains strategies for overcoming dysfunctional habits for greater financial stability.

Mindsight:  The New Science of Personal Transformation
By Daniel J. Siegel
A UCLA brain scientist introduces the practice of “mindsight” as well as its potential for improving interpersonal relationships, explaining how challenges ranging from everyday stress to severe trauma can be treated by redirecting the flow of energy and information in one’s brain in order to tap inherent insights and empathy.

More Than Genes:  What Science Can Tell Us About Toxic Chemicals, Development, and the Risk to Our Children
By Dan Agin
Agin poses arguments that pre- and post-natal environments are as influential as genes in determining intelligence and behavior, and cites the roles of such factors as pregnancy stress, nutritional deprivation, and socioeconomic imbalances in a variety of disorders.

The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything:  The Essential Companion for Everyday Life (2nd edition)
By Amy D. Bernstein and Peter W. Bernstein, editors
A comprehensive resource for hands-on pursuits in everyday and less-common areas features updated advice on topics ranging from going green and selling a home in a down market to job hunting in a challenged economy and traveling on a budget.

None Left Behind:  The 10th Mountain Division and the Triangle of Death
By Charles W. Sasser
The Vietnam veteran author of the best-selling Raider profiles the 10th Mountain Division and a south Baghdad region of particular terrorist violence while sharing the daring 2007 rescue attempt of three kidnapped soldiers.

Nothing to Envy:  Ordinary Lives in North Korea
By Barbara Demick
An analysis of North Korea throughout the past fifteen years as reflected by the lives of six everyday citizens traces their struggle for survival under totalitarian governance, including coverage of the death of Kim Il Sung, the rise of Kim Jong Il, and the famine that has killed countless people.

Original Sinners:  A New Interpretation of Genesis
By John Coats
In a book that weaves together current biblical scholarship with reflections on modern life, the author looks at Genesis in a new light, viewing its tales of people’s day-to-day concerns, triumphs, and failures as metaphors in which to see the worst and best in modern people.

Peter the Great
By Derek Wilson
The best-selling author of In the Lion’s Court presents a portrait of the Russian emperor that offers insight into his military struggles, contributions as a shipbuilder, and use of brutal methods to maintain control and further his vision to bring Russia into Europe.

Repositioning:  The New Battle for Your Mind
By Jack Trout
The best-selling coauthor of Positioning explains how marketers can evolve the original positioning of their products, brands, and organizations to meet the new demands of a transformed economy, including specific advice on how to attack and weaken competitors.

Rewilding the World:  Dispatches From the Conservation Revolution
By Caroline Fraser
Citing dire predictions about the losses of survival-level resources, Fraser offers a dramatic account of a visionary campaign to save endangered species and landscapes, and documents the contributions of wildlife biologists and conservationists at key strategic locations.

The Road Out of Hell:  Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders
By Anthony Flacco
Flacco documents the harrowing murders committed by decorated war veteran Gordon Stewart Northcott on his chicken ranch outside Los Angeles between 1926 and 1928, describing the traumatic experiences of his nephew, Stanford Clark, who was held captive and forced to participate in at least 20 killings.

The Secret Lives of Buildings:  From the Ruins of the Parthenon to the Vegas Strip in Thirteen Stories
By Edward Hollis
A narrative history of western architecture offers insight into its reflection of cultural influences and transformations, documenting some of the most dramatic examples of dynamic western architecture from Notre Dame’s cathedral to the Berlin Wall.

Seven:  The Number for Happiness, Love, and Success
By Jacqueline Leo
A founder of Child magazine demonstrates how the number seven may improve the focus of a life, drawing on the expertise of a respected mathematician to explore the number’s scientific, psychological, and religious significance in various cultures.

Shoptimism:  Why the American Consumer Will Keep on Buying No Matter What
By Lee Eisenberg
Eisenberg offers a provocative and entertaining tour of America’s love/hate affair with shopping, a pursuit that, even in hard times, remains the true national pastime, delving into both “The Sell” and “The Buy” side of the world of shopping.

Sonic Boom:  Why the World Economy Will Boom and What It Will Mean for You and Everyone Else
By Gregg Easterbrook
The author of The Progress Paradox predicts that the world is about to enter history’s most powerful economic boom, and outlines competitive strategies while citing such causative factors as a global spread in democracy, technological advances, and new free-market economies.

The Source of Miracles:  7 Steps to Transforming Your Life Through the Lord’s Prayer
By Kathleen McGowan
The best-selling author of The Expected One offers a way to draw on the power of the Lord’s Prayer by learning seven lessons that it teaches:  faith, surrender, service, abundance, forgiveness, obstacles, and love – in a book that also includes meditations and affirmations.

Still Standing
By Carrie Prejean
The deposed Miss California sets the record straight, explaining her views on a host of topics, including events during and since her controversial comments that earned her both supporters and harsh critics.

Stones Into Schools:  Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan
By Greg Mortenson and Mike Bryan
A follow-up to the best-selling Three Cups of Tea continues Mortenson’s story of his humanitarian efforts to bring education into disadvantaged Middle East regions, describing such events as the 2005 earthquake and a tense eight-day abduction by the Taliban.

Talking About Detective Fiction
By P. D. James
The award-winning International Crime Writers Hall of Fame author of such works as The Children of Men and Original Sin presents a high-energy analysis of her literary genre and the works of some of its most noteworthy authors.

The True Saint Nicholas:  Why He Matters to Christmas
By William J. Bennett
A radio talk-show host and best-selling author unveils the heart and life of the man who inspired the modern-day version of Santa Claus, in a story about Saint Nicholas’s selfless giving, due to his devotion to God, in third-century Turkey.

The Wisdom of a Broken Heart:  Stop the Pain and Learn to Love Again
By Susan Piver
Piver outlines a compassionate plan for recovering from heartbreak in order to heal and approach life from a stronger and braver perspective, in a guide that provides healing exercises, lighthearted stories, meditations, and other inspirational writings.

You Know You Want It:  Style, Inspiration, Confidence
By Eric Daman
The Emmy-winning costume designer for  Gossip Girl  and  Sex & the City counsels women on how to develop a flattering personal clothing style that takes body type and fashion into account.

YOU:  Having a Baby:  The Owner’s Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy
By Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz
A respected health expert for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and the cofounder of RealAge present a latest entry in the popular series that counsels readers on all aspects of pregnancy, in a reassuring volume that addresses key topics in accessible ways.

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11/09