Search:

Results 491 to 500 of 716 | « previous |

Maggie Smith : a biography / by Coveney, Michael,1948-author.;
"No one does glamour, severity, girlish charm or tight-lipped witticism better than Dame Maggie Smith. Michael Coveney's biography shines a light on the life and career of a truly remarkable performer, one whose stage and screen career spans six decades. From her days as a West End star of comedy and revue, Dame Maggie's path would cross with those of the greatest actors, playwrights and directors of the era. Whether stealing scenes from Richard Burton, answering back to Laurence Olivier, or playing opposite Judi Dench in Breath of Life, her career can be seen as a 'Who's Who' of British theatre. Her film and television career are just as starry. From the title character in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and the meddling chaperone in A Room With a View to the Harry Potter films in which she played Minerva McGonagall (as she put it 'Miss Jean Brodie in a wizard's hat') and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films in which she played the wise Muriel Donnelly, Smith has thrilled, engaged and made audiences laugh. As Violet Crawley, the formidable Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey she conquered millions more. Paradoxically she remains an enigmatic figure, rarely appearing in public. Michael Coveney's absorbing biography, written with the actress's blessing and drawing on personal archives, as well as interviews with immediate family and close friends, is a portrait of one of the greatest actors of our time"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Smith, Maggie, 1934-; Actors;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

One golden summer / by Fortune, Carley,author.;
"Good things happen at the lake. That's what Alice's grandmother says. And it's true. Alice spent just one summer at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen-it's where she took that photo, the one of three smiling teenagers in a yellow boat, the image that changed her life. Always more comfortable on the sidelines, adult Alice has turned her fear of rejection into a dazzling career as a portrait photographer. She's happiest behind the safety of her lens, letting other people shine. Alice loves her work, but even she'd admit she desperately needs a break. So when Nan takes a fall and needs time to recover, Alice brings them both to that magical place: Barry's Bay. But as soon as they settle, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat. Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he's all grown-up -- a reckless, charismatic flirt, who manages to bring joy to Nan's face and make Alice want to step out of her comfort zone. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice's soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart. Because Alice sees people -- that's why she is so good at what she does -- but she's never met someone who looks and sees her right back."--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Novels.; Grandparent and child; Man-woman relationships; Photographers;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 5
unAPI

The invisible spy : Churchill's Rockefeller Center spy ring and America's first secret agent of World War II / by Maier, Thomas,1956-author.;
As a tough but smart Italian American kid, Ernest Cuneo played Ivy League football at Columbia University and was in the old Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise before becoming a City Hall lawyer and "Brain Trust'' aide to President Roosevelt. He was on the payroll of national radio columnist Walter Winchell and mingled with the famous and powerful. But his status as a spy remained a secret, hiding in plain sight. During this time, Cuneo began a love affair with one of Churchill's agents at Rockefeller Center, Margaret Watson, a beautiful Canadian woman with a photographic memory ideal for spycraft. In one nighttime attack, Watson was nearly smothered to death by a Nazi assassin inside her women's dormitory near Rockfeller Center. Cuneo's transformation from a gridiron athlete into a high-stakes intelligence go-between and political influencer is one of the great untold stories of American espionage. He has remained "invisible" in the public eye, until now, with this unveiled look into his life. Thomas Maier weaves Cuneo's remarkable personal story with the vivid and insightful portraits of many top figures in his world. Full of action and fascinating characters, this untold history shows how the British launched a far-ranging covert campaign against Nazi conspirators hidden in America, a spy war unbeknown to many.
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965; Cuneo, Ernest L., 1905-1988.; Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945; Winchell, Walter, 1897-1972; Great Britain. MI6; United States. Office of Strategic Services; Espionage, American; Intelligence officers; Spies; Undercover operations; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Ladyparts : a memoir / by Copaken, Deborah,author.;
"Breasts. Uterus. Cervix. Heart. Vagina. The source of life, right? Well, for writer and photographer Deborah Copaken, it turned out to be just the opposite--almost. Between escaping from an abusive marriage, facing down the challenge of single-parenthood, and attempting to find love again, getting her bearings after everything she knew fell to pieces proved more slippery than she ever could have anticipated. From a Fourth of July health scare that brings new meaning to the words rocket's red glare, to wearing a giant heart monitor while out on dates to try and mend a heart both literally and figuratively broken, Lady Parts is Copaken's irreverent inventory of the female body and all the ailments that can befall it. Copaken's Lady Parts mines for irony the breakdown of a body during a time of intense spiritual and psychological upheaval, and paints with both black humor and breathtaking candor the portrait of a woman in revolt. From bloodclots and breast exams, heart palpitations and heartbreaks, to the terror, loneliness, and empowerment of a woman fighting for her life, Copaken weaves her harrowing experiences together with insights from medical and historical research to show how many of these common health issues and disabilities merely amplify what women around the world confront on a daily basis: warped beauty standards, workplace sexism, worries about romantic partners, and mistrust of their own bodies"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Copaken, Deborah; Copaken, Deborah.; Authors, American; Body image in women.; Photojournalists; Women authors; Women photographers; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The lost boy of Santa Chionia / by Grames, Juliet,author.;
"Calabria, 1960. Francesca Loftfield, a twenty-seven-year-old, starry-eyed American, arrives in the isolated mountain village of Santa Chionia tasked with opening a nursery school. There is no road, no doctor, no running water or electricity. And thanks to a recent flood that swept away the post office, there's no mail, either. Most troubling, though, is the human skeleton that surfaced after the flood waters receded. Who is it? And why don't the police come and investigate? When an old woman begs Francesca to help determine if the remains are those of her long-missing son, Francesca begins to ask a lot of inconvenient questions. As an outsider, she might be the only person who can uncover the truth. Or she might be getting in over her head. As she attempts to juggle a nosy landlady, a suspiciously dashing shepherd, and a network of local families bound together by a code of silence, Francesca finds herself forced to choose between the charitable mission that brought her to Santa Chionia, and her future happiness, between truth and survival. Set in the wild heart of Calabria, a land of sheer cliff faces, ancient tradition, dazzling sunlight-and one of the world's most ruthless criminal syndicates-The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia is a suspenseful puzzle mystery, a captivating romance, and an affecting portrait of a young woman in search of a meaningful life"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Cold cases (Criminal investigation); Missing persons; Nineteen sixties; Secrecy; Young women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Marmee : a novel / by Miller, Sarah,author.; Based on (work):Alcott, Louisa May,1832-1888.Little women.;
Includes bibliographical references.In 1861, war is raging in the South, but in Concord, Massachusetts, Margaret March has her own battles to fight. With her husband serving as an army chaplain, the comfort and security of Margaret's four daughters-- Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--now rest on her shoulders alone. Money is tight and every month, her husband sends less and less of his salary with no explanation. Worst of all, Margaret harbors the secret that these financial hardships are largely her fault, thanks to a disastrous mistake made over a decade ago which wiped out her family's fortune and snatched away her daughters' chances for the education they deserve. Yet even with all that weighs upon her, Margaret longs to do more--for the war effort, for the poor, for the cause of abolition, and most of all, for her daughters. Living by her watchwords, "Hope and keep busy," she fills her days with humdrum charity work to keep her worries at bay. All of that is interrupted when Margaret receives a telegram from the War Department, summoning her to her husband's bedside in Washington, D.C. While she is away, her daughter Beth falls dangerously ill, forcing Margaret to confront the possibility that the price of her own generosity toward others may be her daughter's life. A stunning portrait of the paragon of virtue known as Marmee, a wife left behind, a mother pushed to the brink, a woman with secrets.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888.; Families; March family (Fictitious characters); Mothers and daughters; Secrecy; Women;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 2
unAPI

Bad motherf**ker : the life and movies of Samuel L. Jackson, the coolest man in Hollywood / by Edwards, Gavin,1968-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.A fascinating exploration and celebration of the life and work of the coolest man in Hollywood, Samuel L. Jackson--from his star-making turns in the films of Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino to his ubiquitous roles in the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, not to mention the cult favorite Snakes on a Plane. Samuel L. Jackson's embodiment of cool isn't just inspirational-it's important. Bad Motherfucker lays out how his attitude intersects with his identity as a Black man, why being cool matters in the modern world, and how Jackson can guide us through the current cultural moment in which everyone is losing their cool. Edwards details Jackson's fascinating personal history, from stuttering bookworm to gunrunning revolutionary to freebasing addict to A-list movie star. Drawing on original reporting and interviews, the book explores not only the major events of Jackson's life but also his obsessions: golf, kung fu movies, profanity. Bad Motherfucker features a delectable filmography of Jackson's movies--140 and counting!--and also includes new movie posters for many of Jackson's greatest roles, reimagined by dozens of gifted artists and designers. The book provides a must-read road map through the vast territory of his on-screen career and more: a vivid portrait of Samuel L. Jackson's essential self, as well as practical instructions, by example, for how to live and work and be.
Subjects: Biographies.; Jackson, Samuel L.; African American motion picture actors and actresses; Motion picture actors and actresses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

A gangster's life : war and addiction in the new underworld / by Edwards, Peter,1956-author.; Dankoski, Shane,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Bestselling author Peter Edwards exposes Canada's evolving criminal underworld in this unflinching account of Shane Dankoski, a gang member who rescued himself from certain death by turning his back on criminal life. In this gripping tale of a modern-day outlaw, Shane Dankoski meticulously recounts his time as a high-ranking member of the United Nations gang of British Columbia in the early 2000s. Under constant threat from other gangs, including the Wolfpack and Hells Angels, Shane spent a decade evading the law and building his drug empire. Shane seemed destined for gang life. He grew up in a violent home on a small block in a neighbourhood of Surrey where a nation-spanning gang war would later take root. After losing numerous friends and becoming addicted to the very drugs he helped put on the street, Shane would eventually be picked up by police officers whom, recognizing a man with enough conscience to want out, turned him into an agent of their own. Now retired from crime and settled down as a family man, Shane's story proves that it's possible to triumph over life's obstacles. Peter Edwards deftly weaves a tale of betrayal, grief and astounding resilience, in this gut-wrenching portrait from the inside of Canada's criminal underworld. Millennial Gangster brings alive the structure and international scope of modern gang life, and of ultimately finding a way out of it"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Dankoski, Shane.; Gang members; Gangs;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

The third rainbow girl : the long life of a double murder in Appalachia / by Eisenberg, Emma Copley,author.;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-318)."In the early evening of June 25, 1980 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, two middle-class outsiders named Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were murdered in an isolated clearing. They were hitchhiking to a festival known as the Rainbow Gathering but never arrived; they traveled with a third woman however, who lived. For thirteen years, no one was prosecuted for the "Rainbow Murders," though deep suspicion was cast on a succession of local residents in the community, depicted as poor, dangerous, and backward. In 1993, a local farmer was convicted, only to be released when a known serial killer and diagnosed schizophrenic named Joseph Paul Franklin claimed responsibility. With the passage of time, as the truth seemed to slip away, the investigation itself caused its own traumas-- turning neighbor against neighbor and confirming a fear of the violence outsiders have done to this region for centuries. Emma Copley Eisenberg spent years living in Pocahontas and re-investigating these brutal acts. Using the past and the present, she shows how this mysterious act of violence has loomed over all those affected for generations, shaping their fears, fates, and the stories they tell about themselves. In The Third Rainbow Girl, Eisenberg follows the threads of this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, forming a searing and wide-ranging portrait of America-- its divisions of gender and class, and of its violence."-- Dust jacket flap.
Subjects: True crime stories.; Murder; Murder;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

I used to live here once : the haunted life of Jean Rhys / by Seymour, Miranda,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Jean Rhys is one of the most compelling writers of the twentieth century. Memories of her Caribbean girlhood haunt the four short and piercingly brilliant novels that Rhys wrote during her extraordinary years as an exile in 1920s Paris and later in England, a body of fiction--above all, the extraordinary Wide Sargasso Sea--that has a passionate following today. And yet her own colorful life, including her early years on the Caribbean island of Dominica, remains too little explored, until now. In I Used to Live Here Once, Miranda Seymour sheds new light on the artist whose proud and fiercely solitary life profoundly informed her writing. Rhys experienced tragedy and extreme poverty, alcohol and drug dependency, romantic and sexual turmoil, all of which contributed to the "Rhys woman" of her oeuvre. Today, readers still intuitively relate to her unforgettable characters, vulnerable, watchful, and often alarmingly disaster-prone outsiders; women with a different way of moving through the world. And yet, while her works often contain autobiographical material, Rhys herself was never a victim. The figure who emerges for Seymour is cultured, self-mocking, unpredictable--and shockingly contemporary. Based on new research in the Caribbean, a wealth of never-before-seen papers, journals, letters, and photographs, and interviews with those who knew Rhys, I Used to Live Here Once is a luminous and penetrating portrait of a fascinatingly elusive artist"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Rhys, Jean.; Novelists, English; Women novelists, English; Caribbean literature (English); Dominica literature; English literature;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
unAPI

Results 491 to 500 of 716 | « previous |