A fascinating glimpse behind the big suits and deadpan looks to the heart and soul of a band that made it big by playing it cool With their minimalist beats, sophisticated lyrics, and stoic mien, the Talking Heads were indisputably one of the most influential and intriguing bands of their time. Rising from the ashes of punk and the smoldering emb...more
In this humorous examination of Americana, pop music critic Sarah Vowell shares her experience of being raised by a firearms enthusiast in Christian-dominated Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and, in doing so, investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. In this insightful and funny collection of personal stories Vowell -- widely hailed for her inimitable stories on public radio's This American Life -- ponders a number of curious questions: Why is she happiest when visiting the site...more
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other -- a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cult...more
When Biblical scholar Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages, he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. For almost 1500 years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were influenced by the cultural, theological and po...more
Hot on the heels of the #1 bestsellers The Onion's Our Dumb Century and Jon Stewart's America comes The Areas of My Expertise, the brilliant and uproarious #15 bestseller (i.e., a runaway phenomenon in its own right-no, seriously)-a lavish compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom-all of it completely unresearched, c...more
Political pundit and popular talk show host Al Franken follows his bestselling LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM) with THE TRUTH (WITH JOKES). Since his previous book, the Republicans have won a this-time-uncontested presidential election, and Franken has started up Air America, the liberal radio network. The "truth" part includes the facts, ...more
As commander-in-chief of His Majesty's ships and vessels in the West Indies, Admiral Hornblower faces pirates, revolutionaries, and a blistering hurricane in the chaotic aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
Another in the author's series of novels about the adventures of the sea hero Horatio Hornblower. We are shown a number of episodes in Hornblower's early career: his part in Nelson's funeral, his travels across England and Europe, and his service in the Turkish campaign, where he first made his reputation as a strategist and adventurer.
A friend gives Jonathan Derry some musical tapes. But the tapes are really an elaborate computerized betting system that can make their owner a rich man -- or a dead one, as Jonathan unfortunately discovers. When his friend is brutally murdered, Jonathan must find the tapes' real owner before he meets the same fate. Nonstop action, a wicked villain...more