**It tore families apart. It killed 620,000 Americans. It decided what kind of nation we would become** — yet most of us know only a handful of dates and a few famous names. You've felt it: the sense that the Civil War matters enormously, but the textbook version left you cold. Endless battle maps, dry casualty counts, and a story so "simplified" it forgot the human beings who lived and died in it. You want to truly understand why brother turned against brother — and what it still means fo...

The complete narrative history of the American Civil War, 1861-1865 — Grant, Lee, Sherman, Antietam, Gettysburg, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the unfinished struggle for a nation torn apart by slavery. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, a signal gun fired from Fort Johnson, South Carolina. The shell burst above Fort Sumter. Inside, Major Robert Anderson — a Kentuckian who had owned enslaved people and chose Union loyalty — commanded eighty-five soldiers on reduced rations. The bombardme...

The star of Hitchcock's Rope and Strangers on a Train "recalls life onstage and in film in an engaging, colorful memoir" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).Synonymous with the golden age of Broadway, the dazzling lights of Hollywood, and the rise of television arts, Farley Granger's charm and talent captivated the acting community and audiences alike. Working with creative visionaries like Alfred Hitchcock, Luchino Visconti, and Nick Ray, G...

BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER — Audiobook · Narrated by Sienna Brennan. Listen time: 5 hours 5 minutes The complete narrative history of the American Civil War, 1861-1865 — Grant, Lee, Sherman, Antietam, Gettysburg, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the unfinished struggle for a nation torn apart by slavery. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, a signal gun fired from Fort Johnson, South Carolina. The shell burst above Fort Sumter. Inside, Major Robert Anderson — a Kentuckian who had owned enslav...

**The #1 New York Times bestselling (mostly true) memoir from the hilarious author of Furiously Happy.“Gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate.”—O, The Oprah Magazine**When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her lif...

The legendary movie star's revelatory memoir is "a mesmerizing account of his Candide-like journey through Hollywood" ( The New York Times Book Review ).National BestsellerIn 1950, at the end of Hollywood's Golden Age, a remarkably handsome young boy, still a teenager, gets "discovered" by a big-time movie agent. The boy's name was Tab Hunter—a true Hollywood product, a movie star created from a st...

The legendary Patti LuPone is one of the theatre’s most beloved leading ladies. Now she lays it all bare, sharing the intimate story of her life both onstage and off--through the dizzying highs and darkest lows--with the humor and outspokenness that have become her trademarks.With nearly 100 photographs and illuminating details about the life of a working actor, from inspired costars and demanding directors to her distinct perspective on how she developed and honed her Tony Award–w...

The true story of Grace of Monaco, America's transatlantic Princess and one of the most beautiful women who ever lived. This is the real story of Grace Kelly, behind the Nicole Kidman story. A once in a lifetime story of an Oscar winning actress, a royal princess and a great beauty whose life ended far too soon. Based on three years research and over one hundred interviews, including interviews with nine of Grace's lovers and with her nephew, Baron Christian de Massy, the book also reveals...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An epic, mesmerizing oral history of Hollywood and Los Angeles from the author of the contemporary classic EdieJean Stein transformed the art of oral history in her groundbreaking book Edie: American Girl, an indelible portrait of Andy Warhol “superstar” Edie Sedgwick, which was edited with George Plimpton. Now, in West of Eden, she turns to Los Angeles, the city of her childhood. Stein vividly capture...

Raymond Sarlot bought the Chateau Marmont in 1975, but what was originally a business purchase became a love affair as he delved into the hotel's incredible history. From its perch overlooking the Sunset Strip, the glamorous Marmont reigned for decades as the spot for artists, writers, musicians, and actors of every stripe and remains a home-away-from-home for A-listers like Scarlett Johansson and Johnny Depp. Here, Sarlot and co-author Fred E. Basten share a wealth of scandalous and intri...

This book contains 250 anecdotes about the theater, including these: 1) British actor Pete Postlethwaite has a rugged face. When he was studying at the Bristol Old Vic, he ran out of money to pay for the completion of his course of study. However, the head of the school knew that the young man had real talent, so he told him, "Listen, I have a hunch you're going to do all right in this business, so I'm going to put down the outstanding amount as a debt and then, in a few years' time, I'll ...

“A vivid page-turner” (NPR) detailing the rise, fall, and redemption of Broadway—its stars, its biggest shows, its producers, and all the drama, intrigue, and power plays that happened behind the scenes.“A rich, lovely, debut history of New York theater in the 1970s and eighties” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Razzle Dazzle is a narrative account of the people and the money and the power that turned New York’s gritty back alleys and sex-shops i...