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Three-Time World Champ The Death-Defying True Story of a Kickboxer Turned Drug Smuggler . . . Turned Bu siness Icon [electronic resource] : by Pryor, Ted.aut; cloudLibrary;
The thrilling true story of the rise and fall of a kickboxing legend in the notorious 1980s Miami crime scene . . . and the shocking end that that led him to a new life. From 1982 to 1987, Thaddeus J. “Ted” Pryor was the middleweight kickboxing champion of the world. But behind the scenes, he was a key player in the biggest marijuana trafficking operation in American history. As a renowned athlete, TV model, and bodyguard to stars like Elvis Presley, he drew the attention of the head of the Miami mafia. When the kingpin wanted protection—and some flash—he made Ted his personal intimidator, keeping the peace in the celebrity-drenched nightclub scene and beyond.  But when the gangster blocked him from getting in on the big money of the smuggling business, Ted started his own.  Three-Time World Champ tells the electric story of how Ted became the master of the run-and-gun smuggling business around the Caribbean islands, hustling in hundreds of millions of dollars in weed under the noses of cops and coast guard patrols—until a dubious traffic stop began the unraveling of everything. What began as easy money became a ringside seat to kidnapping, murder, police double-crosses, and a harrowing turn in prison.  Three-Time World Champ brings readers directly into the action of neon-soaked, 1980s Miami, chronicling the rise and fall—and rise again—of an amazing man: a world champ of kickboxing and a world champ of smuggling who, in a wholly unexpected turn, becomes world champ of a business completely removed from everything that came before. It’s harrowing, it’s thrilling, and it happened just like this: the wild life of a Three-Time World Champ.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Criminals & Outlaws; Organized Crime; Sports;
© 2024., BenBella Books,
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Free, Melania : the unauthorized biography / by Bennett, Kate(Journalist),author.;
Melania Trump is an enigma. Regardless of your political leanings, she is fascinating--a First Lady who, in many ways, is the most modern and groundbreaking in recent history. A former model whose beauty in person leaves people breathless, a woman whose upbringing in a communist country spurred a relentless drive for stability, both for herself and for her family. A reluctant pillar in a controversial presidential administration who speaks five languages and runs the East Wing like none of her predecessors ever could--underestimate her at your own peril (as a former government official did and was summarily fired). But who is she really? In Free, Melania we get an insider's look at Melania Trump, from her childhood in Slovenia to her days in the White House, and everything in between. We see the Trump family dynamics that Melania has had to navigate, including her strained relationship with Ivanka. We get a rare glimpse into what goes into her famous and sometimes infamous clothing choices (including perhaps the real message behind Melania's controversial jacket, "I Really Don't Care, Do U?", which she wore while visiting the U.S.-Mexico border), and how a publicly quiet Melania actually speaks very loudly--if you just know where, and how, to listen. And we get a behind-the-scenes look at her often eyebrow-raising relationship with Donald Trump, from their beginnings to becoming the most unusual First Family in modern history. Looking at Melania in the pantheon of historic First Ladies, Kate Bennett shows just how different Melania Trump is and why she matters. Bennett, an expert on First Ladies, has unparalleled access to Melania's very small and loyal inner circle. As she shows in this page-turning book, the seemingly most reluctant First Lady is, in many ways, the most compelling and complex First Lady, ever.
Subjects: Biographies.; Trump, Melania, 1970-; Presidents' spouses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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If walls could speak : my life in architecture / by Safdie, Moshe,1938-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Over more than five decades, legendary architect Moshe Safdie has built some of the world's most influential and memorable structures-from the 1967 modular housing scheme in Montreal known as "Habitat" and the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel, to the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas and the Marina Bay Sands development and extraordinary Jewel Changi airport interior garden and waterfall in Singapore. For Safdie, the way a space functions is fundamental; he is deeply committed to architecture as a social force for good, believing that any challenge, including extreme population density and environmental distress, can be addressed with solutions that enhance community and uplift the human spirit. Safdie always refers to the "silent client" an architect mustultimately serve: the people who live, work in, or experience a building. If Walls Could Speak takes readers behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Safdie's own experiences how an architect thinks and works-"from thespark of imagination through the design process, the model-making, the politics, the engineering, the materials." Relating memorable stories about what has inspired him-from childhoods in Israel and Montreal to the projects and personalities worldwide that have captured his imagination-Safdie reveals the complex interplay that underpins every project and his vision for the role architecture can and should play in society at large. Illustrated throughout with drawings, sketches, photographs, and documentsfrom his firm's voluminous archives that illuminate his stories, If Walls Could Speak ends with a chapter outlining seven projects Safdie would pursue around the world if resources and will were no issue and the choices were his to make. A book like no other, If Walls Could Speak will forever change the way you look at and appreciate any built structure"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Safdie, Moshe, 1938-; Architects;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Unscripted : the epic battle for a media empire and the Redstone family legacy / by Stewart, James B.,author.; Abrams, Rachel(Journalist),author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."In 2016, the fate of Paramount Global--the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire that includes Paramount, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Showtime, and Simon & Schuster--hung precariously in the balance. Its founder and head, ninety-three-year-old Sumner M. Redstone, was facing a very public lawsuit brought by a former romantic companion, Manuela Herzer--a lawsuit that placed Sumner's deteriorating health and questionable judgment under a harsh light. As one of the last in a long line of all-powerful media moguls, Sumner had been a relentlessly demanding boss, and an even more demanding father. When his daughter, Shari, took control of her father's business, she faced the hostility of boards and management who for years had heard Sumner disparage her. Les Moonves, the popular CEO of CBS, felt particularly threatened and schemed with his allies on the board to strip Shari of power. But while he publicly battled Shari, news began to leak that Moonves had been involved in multiple instances of sexual misconduct, and he began working behind the scenes to try to make the stories disappear. Unscripted is an explosive and unvarnished look at the usually secret inner workings of two public companies, their boards of directors, and a wealthy, dysfunctional family in the throes of seismic changes, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams. Through the microcosm of Paramount, whose once victorious business model of cable fees and ticket sales is crumbling under the assault of technological advances, and whose workplace is undergoing radical change in the wake of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and a distaste for the old guard, Stewart and Abrams lay bare the battle for power at any price--and the carnage that ensued."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Moonves, Leslie.; Redstone, Shari.; Redstone, Sumner.; CBS Corp.; Viacom Inc.; Corporations; Executives; Mass media;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The islanders : a novel / by Moore, Meg Mitchell,author.;
Anthony Puckett was a rising literary star. The son of an uber-famous thriller writer, Anthony's debut novel spent two years on the bestseller list and won the adoration of critics. But something went very wrong with his second work. Now Anthony's borrowing an old college's friend's crumbling beach house on Block Island in the hopes that solitude will help him get back to the person he used to be. Joy Sousa owns and runs Block Island's beloved Whoopie Pie Café. She came to this quiet space eleven years ago, newly divorced and with a young daughter, and built a life for them here. To her customers and friends, Joy is a model of independence, hard-working and happy. And mostly she is. But this summer she's thrown off balance. A food truck from a famous New York City brand is roving around the island, selling goodies--and threatening her business. Lu Trusdale is spending the summer on her in-laws' dime, living on Block Island with her two young sons while her surgeon husband commutes to the mainland hospital. When Lu's second son was born, she and her husband made a deal: he'd work and she'd quit her corporate law job to stay home with the boys. But a few years ago, Lu quietly began working on a private project that has becoming increasingly demanding on her time. Torn between her work and home, she's beginning to question that deal she made. Over the twelve short weeks of summer, these three strangers will meet and grow close, will share secrets and bury lies. And as the promise of June turns into the chilly nights of August, the truth will come out, forcing each of them to decide what they value most, and what they are willing to give up to keep it.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Family secrets; Island life; Man-woman relationships; Novelists;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
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Desperation Reef A Novel [electronic resource] : by Parker, T. Jefferson.aut; Curda, Major.nrt; Németh-Parker, Stephanie.nrt; cloudLibrary;
In this high-stakes thriller by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker, ("A marvel...hits the high-water mark for crime fiction every time out." —Gregg Hurwitz), a big wave surfer and her sons compete in the same contest that killed her husband many years before. Jen Stonebreaker hasn't entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband's tragic death twenty-five years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, Jen is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport. When he’s not riding waves, modeling for surfing magazines, or posting viral content for his many fans, Casey Stonebreaker spends his days helping with the family restaurant — catching fish in the morning and bartending at night. Casey’s love for the ocean and his willingness to expose illegal poachers on his platforms puts him on a collision course with a crime syndicate eager to destroy anyone threatening their business. Outspoken Brock Stonebreaker couldn’t be more different from his twin. The founder of Breath of Life, a church and rescue mission that assists with natural disasters that no one else will touch, Brock has lived an adventurous and sometimes violent life. Not everyone appreciates the work that Brock's Breath of Life mission accomplishes, and threats to destroy his mission—and his family—swirl around him. As the big-wave contest draws closer, a huge, late fall swell is headed toward the Pacific coastline. Jen's fears gnaw at her—fear for herself, for her sons, for what this competition will mean for the rest of her life. A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Forge.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Suspense; Crime;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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Laugh more : stories from an unexpected life / by Travis, Debbie,author.; Brancatisano, Lisa,illustrator.;
"Lifestyle pioneer and bestselling author Debbie Travis is back with a book of ridiculously funny, touching and true stories drawn from her own life and dedicated to everyone in desperate need of a good laugh. A decade ago, Debbie Travis gave up her hectic life as the producer and star of several hit TV shows to move to a 13th-century crumbling farmhouse and vast olive orchard in Tuscany, which she and her husband then turned into the boutique hotel and wellness retreat. That was a big change in direction -- and Debbie's shared the best of what she learned on that journey in two bestselling books full of humane, heartfelt and sensible advice on pursuing your true passion (Design Your Next Chapter) and making room for happiness, health and connection (Joy: Life Lessons from a Tuscan Villa). Now, in Laugh More, Debbie digs down to what really keeps her going, especially when the going gets tough: her talent for telling a good story and sharing a good laugh. Organizing them around the passing of the seasons at the Villa Reniella, Debbie gathers up a brilliant mix of stories from her daily life and from her past -- growing up headstrong in a struggling family in northern England (her mum perfected dog-food shepherd's pie), travelling the world as a model (not so glamorous), becoming one of the first home renovation TV stars (by the seat of her overalls) and encountering the famous and the delightful (especially her wicked and wonderful grandmother, Joyce). Snortingly funny, poignant, inspirational and full of the human foibles Debbie loves so much, Laugh More is a warm and cozy book to curl up with, and even better to read aloud. And since memories are so often ignited by great eating, Debbie has added a bonus: fifteen of her favourite, seasonal recipes."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Recipes.; Personal narratives.; Travis, Debbie; Travis, Debbie; Interior decorators; Television personalities;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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A map of the new normal : how inflation, war, and sanctions will change your world forever / by Rubin, Jeff,1954-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Bestselling author and economist Jeff Rubin looks ahead and warns that the inflation that took the world by surprise in 2021 is in fact the front of a perfect storm of war, supply-chain disruption, geopolitical realignment, domestic upheaval, and energy scarcity that will change everything. During the pandemic, the borrowing patterns of the Canadian government inflated a national deficit by a factor of ten in just two years -- and the time has come to pay for it. The ramifications of international COVID-19 spending could potentially last for decades, and inevitably one of the first manifestations of these consequences will be an unhooking of private lenders' interest rates from central banks. That is just the first symptom of a series of cascading upheavals. Supply-chain disruptions have already shown the vulnerability of the globalism model that has fueled growth for the past decades. War has not only shown the fragility of the status quo, but has revealed diplomatic and economic rifts that promise to shift trading patterns, which means access to markets and to resources. At the same time, the precarity of the US dollar underlines the life-or-death importance of those resources, energy in particular. And consolidation of a Eurasian bloc, from Russia to China, and encompassing old enemies like Iran and former US ally Saudi Arabia, hint that the upheaval of Covid was just the beginning. Tracking trade wars and kinetic wars, central banks and run on banks, pipelines blown up and startups knocked down, The New World Order gives us a glimpse of a near future that will look very different from the recent past. It reminds us that our mortgage rates and job security, our grocery bills and investments, are all tied to events set in motion by governments, corporations, and black swans around the world."--
Subjects: Economic forecasting.; Social prediction.; Twenty-first century;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Laugh More Stories from an Unexpected Life [electronic resource] : by Travis, Debbie.aut; cloudLibrary;
Lifestyle pioneer and bestselling author Debbie Travis is back with a book of ridiculously funny, touching and true stories drawn from her own life and dedicated to everyone in desperate need of a good laugh. A decade ago, Debbie Travis gave up her hectic life as the producer and star of several hit TV shows to move to a 13th-century crumbling farmhouse and vast olive orchard in Tuscany, which she and her husband then turned into the boutique hotel and wellness retreat. That was a big change in direction—and Debbie’s shared the best of what she learned on that journey in two bestselling books full of humane, heartfelt and sensible advice on pursuing your true passion (Design Your Next Chapter) and making room for happiness, health and connection (Joy: Life Lessons from a Tuscan Villa). Now, in Laugh More, Debbie digs down to what really keeps her going, especially when the going gets tough: her talent for telling a good story and sharing a good laugh. Organizing them around the passing of the seasons at the Villa Reniella, Debbie gathers up a brilliant mix of stories from her daily life and from her past—growing up headstrong in a struggling family in northern England (her mum perfected dog-food shepherd’s pie), travelling the world as a model (not so glamorous), becoming one of the first home renovation TV stars (by the seat of her overalls) and encountering the famous and the delightful (especially her wicked and wonderful grandmother, Joyce). Snortingly funny, poignant, inspirational and full of the human foibles Debbie loves so much, Laugh More is a warm and cozy book to curl up with, and even better to read aloud. And since memories are so often ignited by great eating, Debbie has added a bonus: fifteen of her favourite, seasonal recipes.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Personal Memoirs; Culinary; Relationships;
© 2024., Random House of Canada,
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Natural beauty : a novel / by Huang, Ling Ling,1989-author.;
"In this sly, surprising, and razor-sharp debut novel, a virtuoso pianist gives up her future as a musician to work at a high-end wellness store in New York City where the pursuit of beauty comes at a staggering cost. Our narrator is the youngest student at the Conservatory. She produces a sound from the piano no one else does, employing a special technique she learned from her parents--also stunningly talented musicians--who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future as a pianist and accepts a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City. Holistik is known for its remarkable products and outrageous procedures: remoras that suck cheap Botox from the body, eyelash extensions made of spider silk, emotional support ducklings bred to imprint on their owners. Every product is ethically sourced and made with nothing but the highest quality ingredients. Our narrator's new job is a coveted one among New York's beauty-obsessed, and it affords her entry into a new world of privilege. She becomes transfixed by Helen--a model, and the niece of Holistik's charismatic owner--and the two strike up a close friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, Holistik plies our narrator with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, lighten her hair, and change her eye color. But beneath these fancy creams and tinctures lies a terrible truth that threatens to consume her. After all, beauty is nothing without ugliness. NATURAL BEAUTY is a piercing, terrifying, and darkly funny debut that eviscerates the beauty and wellness industry, exploring questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity. This propulsive novel takes a world that feels familiar and pushes it to a conclusion that at first might seem jarring, but when we inch closer, settles on us as truth"--
Subjects: Black humor.; Satirical literature.; Novels.; Beauty, Personal; Chinese Americans; Women pianists;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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