Thursday, May 12th, 2011
“At first I wanted the book to be about Michael,” admits John Prendergast, “and I’d just be a supporting actor. But as we got into it, I realized I had to explain WHY I cared enough about Michael and his brothers to become their Big Brother. And once I started asking those internal questions, the answers took me deeper and deeper into painful and often embarrassing spaces. But the more I ‘discovered’ about myself and my own history, the more determined I was to tell the whole story, no matter what it revealed.”
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Tags: Africa, big brothers big sisters, Crown, John Prendergast, memoir, Michael Mattock, nonfiction, random house, Washington DC
Posted in Read It First
Thursday, May 5th, 2011
“As a teenager, I swore in my adult life there were two things I would never do,” admits Keith Dixon. “I would never get married. And, I would never live in New York City. Cooking for Gracie is another thing I never expected to happen – from the beginning of my writing career, I always wanted to be a novelist and nothing else, to grapple exclusively with the big sweeping narrative dreamlands. I never much considered the possibility of writing a memoir, or – even stranger – a memoir with recipes. And yet that’s exactly what I’ve done, or at any rate been led to do.”
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Tags: cooking, Cooking for Gracie, Crown, crown publishing group, Keith Dixon, memoir, parenting, recipe, recipes
Posted in Read It First
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
What would you do if, just weeks after your spouse’s sudden death, you found out he or she was keeping secrets? Big secrets. Secrets that could cost you millions of dollars—and brand you as a criminal. INNOCENT SPOUSE is an eye-opening memoir that asks a provocative and disturbing question: How well do you really know your spouse?
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Tags: Al Pacino, Bob Woodward, Carol Joynt, Carol Ross Joynt, CBS News, Charlie Rose, Christopher Reeve, CNN, Crown, Elizabeth Taylor, financial, Georgetown, Howard Ross, Innocent Spouse, Innocent Spouse status, IRS, Jacques Chirac, Keith Hernandez, Larry King, money, Nathans, Nightline, Q&A Cafe, single parent, Tom Cruise, Walter Cronkite, Washington DC, widow
Posted in
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
As someone who knew Bobby Fischer from the time he was quite young, I’ve been asked hundreds of times, “What was Bobby Fischer really like?” This book is an attempt to answer that question. But a warning to those who turn these pages: Paradoxes abound. Bobby was secretive, yet candid; generous, yet parsimonious; naive, yet well informed; cruel, yet kind; religious, yet heretical. His games were filled with charm and beauty and significance. His outrageous pronouncements were filled with cruelty and prejudice and hate. And though for a period of decades he poured most of his energy and passion into a quest for chess excellence, he was not the idiot savant often portrayed by the press.
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Tags: biography, Bobby Fischer, chess, Crown, Endgame, Frank Brady, history, nonfiction
Posted in Read It First
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
I think the fascination with Madame Tussaud comes from the fact that the life she created was as intricate and mystifying as her artistry itself. Here was a woman who was asked to tutor the king’s sister, yet she managed to keep her head during the Reign of Terror when women were being imprisoned for nothing more than wearing the wrong color. She navigated two very different worlds – the court of Versailles and the streets of Paris – and against all odds, lived to tell the tale. And through it all, it was her artistry that saved her.
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Tags: Crown, fiction, French Revolution, historical fiction, Madame Tussaud, Marie Antoinette, Michelle Moran, was museums
Posted in Read It First
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Calling all Erik Larson fans! A very special offer for you and your book group: we’re giving away advance copies of Erik’s new book – In the Garden of Beasts, coming out in May – to 10 book groups. One lucky book group will win the grand prize: Erik will call or video chat with your group, sure to make for a one-of-a-kind discussion. To enter for the chance to win, leave a comment telling us a bit about your book group!
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Tags: Crown, Erik Larson, Germany, history, Nazi, non-fiction, The Devil in the White City, World War II
Posted in Book Group of the Month Meet the Author
Thursday, January 6th, 2011
I’m often asked if a reader needs to be an expert on opera to enjoy The Metropolis Case, and I always say that to the contrary, I want to help introduce opera to people – and especially music lovers, which I think includes just about everyone – who have never experienced it. While those who know opera will undoubtedly find clues in the unfolding story that others will miss, my hope is that everyone will find much to enjoy, in the same way people attend the same opera repeatedly despite knowing every twist and turn.
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Tags: Crown, fiction, Matthew Gallaway, music, opera, The Metropolis Case
Posted in Meet the Author
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
This book was a long – absurdly long – sustained effort. I was twenty-two years old when I first happened on the world of reptile smuggling. I was in my senior year of college, and I bought two baby turtles on a whim from a lady in Chinatown in New York City, and to take care of them I consulted a magazine called Reptiles, which was sold at pet stores. It was in Reptiles that I realized how big the reptile-keeping hobby actually was, with hugely pricey animals and a giant trade convention every year in Florida.
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Tags: animals, Crown, jennie erin smith, nature, non-fiction, stolen world, true crime
Posted in Read It First
Monday, December 27th, 2010
Bestselling author Stephan Talty travels the world researching great untold stories that he brings to life with a journalist’s precision and a novelist’s empathy. His works of nonfiction read like page-turning novels full of unforgettable characters. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Blue Water and The Illustrious Dead. His newest book, Escape from the Land of the Snows, tells the thrilling story of the young Dalai Lama’s harrowing escape from Tibet. Readers who are new to the Dalai Lama’s life story will be amazed. Readers who know the story well will be surprised.
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Tags: Buddhism, China, Crown, Dalai Lama, Escape From the Land of Snows, Himalayas, history, nonfiction, Stephan Talty, Tibet
Posted in Meet the Author Read It First
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry. More than twenty years later, her children found out. Their lives would never be the same. If you have read and enjoyed The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot wants to hear from you! Share Your Story About The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
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Tags: biography, Crown, Rebeccca Skloot, science, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Posted in Fan Favorites
