On My Radar:

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
by Margot Lee Shetterly
William Morrow
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.

Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.

Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.

Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race,Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

In My TBR Stack:

The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidency
by Kathryn Smith
Touchstone Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

The first biography of arguably the most influential member of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration, Marguerite “Missy” LeHand, FDR’s de facto chief of staff, who has been misrepresented, mischaracterized, and overlooked throughout history…until now.

Widely considered the first female presidential chief of staff, Marguerite “Missy” LeHand was the right-hand woman to Franklin Delano Roosevelt—both personally and professionally—for more than twenty years. Although her official title as personal secretary was relatively humble, her power and influence were unparalleled. Everyone in the White House knew one truth: If you wanted access to Franklin, you had to get through Missy. She was one of his most trusted advisors, affording her a unique perspective on the president that no one else could claim, and she was deeply admired and respected by Eleanor and the Roosevelt children.

With unprecedented access to Missy’s family and original source materials, journalist Kathryn Smith tells the captivating and forgotten story of the intelligent, loyal, and clever woman who had a front-row seat to history in the making. The Gatekeeper is a thoughtful, revealing unsung-hero story about a woman ahead of her time, the true weight of her responsibility, and the tumultuous era in which she lived—and a long overdue tribute to one of the most important female figures in American history.

On My Radar:

Around the World in 50 Years: My Adventure to Every Country on Earth
by Albert Podell
Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin's Griffin
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Around the World in 50 Years is the inspiring story of an ordinary guy who achieved two great goals that others had told him were impossible. First, he set a record for the longest automobile journey ever made around the world, during which he blasted his way out of minefields, survived a serious accident atop the Peak of Death, came within seconds of being lynched, and lost three of the five men who started with him: two to disease, one to the Vietcong.

After that, Albert Podell set another record by going to every country on earth. He survived riots, revolutions, civil wars, trigger-happy child soldiers, voodoo priests, jihadists, robbers, corrupt cops, and Cape buffalo. He traveled through every kind of earthquake, cyclone, tsunami, volcanic eruption, snowstorm, and sandstorm that nature threw at him. He ate everything from old camel meat and African field rats to dung beetles and the brain of a live monkey. And he overcame encounters with crocodiles, hippos, anacondas, giant leeches, flying crabs—and several beautiful women who insisted that he stop this nonsense and marry them.

Around the World in 50 Years is a remarkable and meaningful tale packed with some of the most memorable, frightening, and hilarious adventure stories you have ever read.

On My Radar:

Never Say No to a Rock Star: In the Studio with Dylan, Sinatra, Jagger, and More....
by Glenn Berger
Schaffner Press
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

In 1974, at the age of seventeen, author Glenn Berger served as "Schlepper" and apprentice to the legendary recording engineer Phil Ramone at New York City's A&R Studios, and was witness to music history on an almost daily and nightly basis as pop and rock icons such as Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, and James Brown performed their hit-making magic, honed their sound, strutted their stuff, bared their souls, and threw epic tantrums. In this memoir, full of revelatory and previously unknown anecdotal observations of these musical giants, Glenn recounts how he quickly learned the ropes to move up from schlepperhood to assistant to the tyrannical Ramone, and eventually, to become a recording engineer superstar himself. Not only is Never Say No to A Rock Star a fascinating, hilarious and poignant behind-the-scenes look of this musical Mecca, but Berger, now a prominent psychologist, looking back through the prism of his youthful experience and his years working as a counselor and therapist, provides a telling and honest examination of the nature of fame and success and the corollaries between creativity, madness and self-destruction. 

In My TBR Stack:

5% More: Making Small Changes to Achieve Extraordinary Results
by Michael Alden
Wiley
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

5% More presents a painless route to change, with results that can last a lifetime. Whether you want to boost your health, wealth, or wisdom, this book reveals a key technique that makes it stick. You may already know that breaking big goals into small chunks makes them easier to achieve, but the trick is in making those chunks large enough to be productive, yet small enough to be sustainable. This book shows you how to bring your goals within reach with only five percent more effort. Five percent is almost unnoticeable in terms of effort—but it accrues quickly, with each step boosting the baseline. Increase sales, decrease your marathon time, boost your savings, or master a new skill. Just five percent more can get you where you want to be.

Small changes, small commitments, and small adjustments can lead to very big results. You can accomplish more than you ever thought possible in your business or in your life. This book walks you through the 5% More strategy to help you map your path to the future.

• Accomplish big changes with very small steps
• Make bigger leaps in progress each step of the way
• Break big goals into manageable milestones
• Find a change that you can stick to for the long-term

Mountain climbers don't conquer Everest on their first time out—attempting to do so would be a tragic failure. No matter what your goal, no matter what your baseline, small, incremental steps set you up for success. 5% More gives you a concrete strategy for realizing your goals and making changes that last.

On My Radar:

The Trip: Andy Warhol's Plastic Fantastic Cross-Country Adventure
by Deborah Davis
Atria Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

From the author of Strapless and Guest of Honor, a “jaunty romp through American pop-art history” (The Washington Post) about a little-known road trip Andy Warhol took in 1963, and how that journey profoundly influenced his life and art.

In 1963, up-and-coming artist Andy Warhol, along with a colorful group of friends, drove across America. What began as a madcap, drug-fueled romp became a journey that took Warhol on a kaleidoscopic adventure from New York City, across the vast American heartland, all the way to Hollywood, and back.

With locations ranging from a Texas panhandle truck stop to a Beverly Hills mansion, from the beaches of Santa Monica to a photo booth in Albuquerque, The Trip captures how Warhol intersected with Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, Marcel Duchamp, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and other bold-faced names of the time. Along the way, Warhol also met rednecks, beach bums, underground filmmakers, artists, poets, socialites, and newly minted hippies—all of them leaving an indelible mark on his psyche.

In The Trip, Andy Warhol’s speeding Ford Falcon is our time machine, transporting us from the last vestiges of the sleepy Eisenhower epoch to the true beginning of the explosive, exciting sixties. Through in-depth, original research, Deborah Davis sheds new light on one of the most enduring figures in the art world and captures a fascinating moment in 1960s America—with Warhol at its center.

In My TBR Stack:

Sex and Death: Stories
by Sarah Hall & Peter Hobbs
Harper Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

How we come in, and how we go out, sex and death: these are the governing drives, our two greatest themes.

In this provocative, haunting, and sexy collection of short stories, a group of acclaimed writers from across the globe probes the nature of, and connection between, two of the most powerful, exhilarating, and terrifying forces that define and shape the human experience: sex and death.

Here we see the events that mark the lives of the young and old, of men and women, of those meeting only briefly and others reflecting on shared pasts.

In these intense, often traumatic, and sometimes humorous interactions, we are confronted not just with our urges and anxieties, but with the very limits of mortality and morbidity. Honest, compassionate, and psychologically astute, the stories in Sex and Death are daring in their approaches to the form and relentless in their pursuit of what it is to be human.

Kevin Barry • Lynn Coady • Ceridwen Dovey • Robert Drewe • Damon Galgut • Petina Gappah • Sarah Hall • Peter Hobbs • Yiyun Li • Alexander MacLeod • Ben Marcus • Jon McGregor • Guadalupe Nettel • Courttia Newland • Taiye Selasi • Ali Smith • Wells Tower • Alan Warner • Claire Vaye Watkins • Clare Wigfall

On My Radar:

The Jolly Roger Social Club: A True Story of a Killer in Paradise
by Nick Foster
Henry Holt
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

The true story of a series of bold killings which took place in a shadowy American ex-pat community in Panama -- a tale of greed, political history, and murder.

In the remote Bocas del Toro, Panama, William Dathan Holbert, aka "Wild Bill," is awaiting trial for the murder of five fellow American ex-patriots. Holbert;s first victims were the Brown family, who lived on a remote island in the area's Darklands. There, Holbert turned their home into the "Jolly Roger Social Club," using drink-and-drug-fueled parties to get to know other ex-pats. The club's tagline was: "Over 90% of our members survive." Those odds were not in his victim's favor.

The Jolly Roger Social Club is not just a book about what Holbert did and the complex financial and real estate motives behind the killings; it is about why Bocas del Toro turned out to be his perfect hunting ground, and why the community tolerated -- even accepted him -- for a time. Told through the fascinating history of the country of Panama, a paradise with sinister ties to the political and economic interests of the United States, journalist Nick Foster brings this uniquely bizarre place to life, shedding light on a community where many live under assumed names, desperate to leave their old lives behind - and sometimes people just disappear.

A Q&A with Author/Publicist Paula Marguiles:

The Tao of Book Publicity: A Beginner's Guide to Book Promotion
by Paula Marguiles
One People Press


 Q & A

1. You have been a book publicist for more than 25 years. What made you finally decide to write a guidebook on promotion for authors?

In the course of my publicity work, I’ve received calls from hundreds of authors, many of whom ask the same questions: When do I start my publicity campaign? How much should I plan to spend? Do I need a website? How do I build a platform? What price should I give my book? Do I have to use social media and, if so, which sites are best? Should I print a hardcover version, or will a paperback suffice? Do I need to enter contests? How can I get more reviews? 

These are all important questions, and since so many authors seem to have the same concerns about their books, I decided to share what I’ve learned over the years as a publicist in one convenient, inexpensive resource guide. 

2. The Tao of Book Publicity has a Zen look and feel to the cover and title. How does understanding the Tao principles help authors to promote their books? 

I chose the Tao as a way of offering authors a practical philosophy on how they might approach book marketing. There are many authors who find promotion crass and time-consuming; a good majority would rather be writing than spending time trying to develop promotional material and schedules for themselves and their work. But I’ve found that book promotion can be a rewarding and fulfilling activity if done with the right perspective in mind. 

As I describe in the book, most book publicity comes from a place of not-knowing; there are people we approach, for example, for reviews or interviews, but we cannot strong-arm those individuals into giving us what we want. Instead, we take the time to think about what our message is, who we are targeting with that message, and how to propose it in the most succinct, relevant, and motivating way we can. We then present our message (what most in my business call our “pitch”), and then follow-up with persistence to try to get a yes response. Our results are never guaranteed – it is up to the reporters or editors we contact to decide if the message we’re sharing is right for them. But when we come from a place of humility and unattachment, we tend to do a better job of both preparation (in which case, we usually achieve the goals we’re attempting) and managing our expectations. 

3. What other aspects of book publicity to do you cover in the book?

I provide how-to explanations for developing publicity material, including front and back cover text, press releases, Q&As, media and blog tour queries, and newsletter and media lists. I also cover topics such as social media, book pricing and sales, book tours and media interviews, and author websites. In addition to explaining how book publicity works, I also discuss practical topics such as publicity costs, timing, and considerations when hiring a publicist; I’ve found that many authors want to know upfront about fees for services and what steps they should have completed before they contact a publicist like me. 

4. If you have one piece of advice for new authors, what would it be?

That’s easy – write a good book! 

Of course, that’s easier said than done. I’ve found that oftentimes authors, especially those who have chosen to self-publish, are in a rush to get their books out. In their hurry, they forgo important steps like workshopping the book, spending time on revision, hiring a professional editor and cover designer, and developing their platforms. As a result, many of their books, sadly, don’t sell. If authors want their books to be well-received by booksellers, the media, and (most important) readers, they must take the time to carefully edit, polish, and package them well – there is no substitute for these steps in the publishing process.

5. Can you describe how an author might use this book as a guide to his or her own publicity plans?

Authors can read the chapters in any order they like (each chapter is designed to be read as stand-alone unit) and see what sounds as if it might be a good fit for them and their books. If something doesn’t sound right, they don’t have to use it. The information in the chapters is there to provide guidance and insight into what I believe are the common practices of most book publicists, but none of what’s there is meant to be a hard-and-fast prescription for any author’s individual book publicity plans.

6. Are you working on another book? If so, what can you tell us about it?

In addition to this latest book, I’m also the author of the short story collection, Face Value: Collected Stories, and two novels: Coyote Heart, which is a modern-day romance about a married woman who falls in love with a Pala Indian man, and Favorite Daughter, Part One, a first-person retelling of the life story of the famous Native American legend, Pocahontas. I’d like to get back to writing fiction and plan to spend the next year completing Part Two of Favorite Daughter. 

Guest Post:

Real Men Wear Beige “One man’s jailhouse journey through the chaotic realm of concrete and steel”

By Donato Alfredano

As an author, my inspiration comes from life altering events.  As you might imagine, the more intense and profound the event is, the more compelled I am to write about it.  My first book, titled “Be Strong, Be Tough, Be Smart” tells the story of raising my son who was diagnosed with autism at the age of four but then went on to become a PhD, working with NASA and other space science institutions.  His story of triumph and inspiration is a shining example of the term “life altering.”

But not all life altering events are happy ones. You know what they say… ”Life’s a bitch.”  For me, maybe more like a roller coaster.  Yes, it only took a few bad choices and a tempestuous lifestyle to
land me behind bars.  In my new book, “Real Men Wear Beige,” I strive to shine a light on the realities of incarceration and provide my readers with an insider’s perspective on prison life, with a strong focus on humanity and veracity.

We are all impacted differently by the books we read and we are all affected by different components of the same story.  Aside from being absorbed or intrigued by the book as a whole, there are three impressions I hope readers of Real Men Wear Beige will be left with:
So, you paid your price to society.  It’s all behind you now… right?

Try to imagine it.  You’re being plucked out of the polarizing world of stagnation and insanity, known as prison, and dropped into the free world, the real world, full of relative stability, free choice and diversity. 

The good news is that you’re home, you’re free, and you’ve paid you’re price to society.  The bad news is that nobody else sees it that way.  To them you’re still a felon, an ex-con and an underdog.  In Real Men Wear Beige, I strive to explain my rude awakening as I trudged through the obstacles that my new title of convicted felon afforded me long after my release from prison.  In today’s world of the explicit and unforgiving internet, finding employment, renting a home, and many other everyday affairs become a battle and a block wall for a newly released inmate, especially in terms of acclimating and becoming a productive member of society.  You supposedly paid your price to society and should be able to start with a clean slate, right?  Wrong, in actuality you will wear the proverbial anchor of injustice around your neck for… well… ever. 

But they’re just jailbirds, felons and thugs. Right?

OK, but there is a human side.  Prison is all about people.  In Real Men Wear Beige, I’ve proclaimed “prison is a microcosm of the best and the worst that society has to offer - from the dregs to the divine.”  I’ve strived to exemplify the diverse personalities of many of the interesting and often peculiar individuals I encountered throughout my jailhouse journey. In other words, I attempted to understand them and examine their attitudes and convictions.

But why… what’s the point?  The answer is simple:  There is a “disconnect”, an animosity, and a blind spot in our society that makes reasonableness and reformation practically impossible to achieve in our broken prison system.  We are essentially incapable of recognizing inmates as real individuals who made some bad choices for which they have been held accountable.  No, not every inmate is innately fiendish and immoral.  Undeniably, prison houses the child molesters and murderers, but the absolute majority of inmates are real people who are just trying to slog their way toward the light at the end of the tunnel.  Here’s a thought… how about treating people for who they are, not what they did?

But you get a “fair and reasonable” sentence. Right?

Not always. Americans are finally beginning to realize that our “not-so-perfect” sentencing process may warrant a second look.  Mass incarceration and the overwhelming impact it has on families, economic livelihoods, and the quality of life for children growing up without mothers and fathers, is beginning to cause many to re-think their preconceived notions of what constitutes a “fair and reasonable” prison sentence. Prison reform?  Call it what you like, but re-thinking mandatory sentencing laws and the criteria used by our court system to determine what is actually fair and reasonable are a good starting point. In Real Men Wear Beige, I’ve pointed to an implicit lack of discretion and diversity in the sentencing process, resulting in the one-size-fits-all approach to prison sentencing in the USA. It’s about time we make an effort to fix it.  After all, “The vilest deeds, like prison weeds, grow well in prison air.  It’s only what is good in man that wastes and withers there.”  Oscar Wilde

Donato Alfredano, 
Author, Songwriter, Educator

Be Strong, Be Tough, Be Smart

also by Donato Alfredano

with Giada Star

On My Radar:

A Little Thing Called Life: On Loving Elvis Presley, Bruce Jenner, and Songs in Between
by Linda Thompson
Dey Street Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

For the last forty years, award-winning songwriter Linda Thompson has quietly led one of the most remarkable lives in show business. The longtime live-in love of Elvis Presley, Linda first emerged into the limelight during the 1970s when the former beauty pageant queen caught the eye of the King. Their chance late-night encounter at a movie theater was the stuff of legend, and it marked the beginning of a whirlwind that would stretch across decades, leading to a marriage with Bruce Jenner, motherhood, and more drama than she ever could have imagined.

Now for the first time, Linda opens up about it all, telling the full story of her life, loves, and everything in between. From her humble beginnings in Memphis to her nearly five year relationship with Elvis, she offers an intimate window into their life together, describing how their Southern roots fueled and sustained Graceland's greatest romance. Going inside their wild stories and tender moments, she paints a portrait of life with the King, as raucous as it is refreshing. But despite the joy they shared, life with Elvis also had darkness, and her account also presents an unsparing look at Elvis's twin demons—drug abuse and infidelity—forces he battled throughout their time together that would eventually end their relationship just eight months before his untimely death.

It was in the difficult aftermath of Elvis's death that Linda found what she believed was her true home: the arms of Olympic gold medal-winner Bruce Jenner. Detailing her marriage to Bruce, Linda reveals the apparently perfect life that they built with their two young sons—Brandon and Brody—before Bruce changed everything with a secret he'd been carrying his entire life, a secret that Linda herself kept for nearly thirty years, a secret that Bruce's transition to Caitlyn Jenner has finally laid bare for the world. Providing a candid look inside one of the most challenging moments of her life, Linda uncovers the struggles she went through as a woman and a mother, coming to terms with the reality of Bruce's identity and resolving to embrace him completely no matter what, even as it meant they could no longer be together,

And yet, despite her marriage unraveling, her search for love was not over, eventually leading her to the legendary music producer and musician David Foster, a relationship that lasted for 19 tumultuous years, resulting in a bond that spurred her songwriting career to new heights but also tested her like never before. Filled with compelling and poignant stories and 16 pages of photographs, A Little Thing Called Life lovingly recounts Linda's incredible journey through the years, bringing unparalleled insight into three legendary figures.

On My Radar:

The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes
by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Jeffrey E. Stern
Public Affairs Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

 On August 21, 2015, Ayoub al-Khazzani boarded the 15:17 train in Brussels, bound for Paris. Khazzani's mission was clear: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on the crowded train. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons and prepared to launch his attack.

But when he emerged, he encountered something he hadn't anticipated: three Americans who refused to give in to fear.

Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone were childhood friends, taking a vacation together. They had some relevant training: Stone is a martial arts enthusiast and Airman First Class in the US Air Force; Skarlatos is an active duty member of the Oregon National Guard; and not one of the three was afraid of a fight. But their decision—to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone—would never have happened if they hadn't had a lifetime of trust, support, and loyalty between them.

This book is the gripping, true story of a terrorist attack that would have killed more than 500 people if not for their actions, but it is also the story of three American boys and their friendship.

Using each hero's point of view in sequence, The 15:17 to Paris skillfully builds the drama of the attack, while weaving in the stories of the protagonists' lives, the friendship and loyalty that would come to define them, and the events that led them, inexorably, to that fateful day.
The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of unparalleled, unexpected courage, and people coming together against fear rather than splitting apart. It is a story of near tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength inside themselves that we all aspire to.

On My Radar:

The Sibling Connection: How Siblings Shape Our Lives
by Jane Mersky Leder
Amazon Digital Services, LLC
e-Book

From the author:

A book for adults about siblings, The Sibling Connection: How Siblings Shape Our Lives, explores the often mysterious, complex, and constantly changing sibling connection.  Contrary to popular belief, life’s longest relationship is not dictated by rivalry, even when siblings compete during childhood.  Siblings are major players in our lives and impact everything from our choice of profession to our choice of a husband, wife, or partner. Siblings are reflections of ourselves and help us better understand who we are, why we are, and the way we are.