Manhattan Beach, written by Jennifer Egan, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “A Visit from the Goon Squad,” is loosely based on the life of one the first female divers for the naval yards in New York City during WWII. It’s a captivating tale and one that highlights how truly hard it was for women to be allowed to do jobs outside “female cultural norms” at that time. Imagine donning a “diving suit” weighing 200 pounds. It was a dangerous and difficult feat, to say the least, but vital to the … [Read more...] about Manhattan Beach

Have you noticed how many books these days are really a bunch of riffs on life? You know, a collection of blogs or short articles with titles such as “When I Meditate” or “I Can’t Get That Penis out of My Mind.” Stuff like that. (You for sure want to know which book has that penis title in it.) I like the idea of writing a book this way. Seems a hell of a lot easier than actually stringing together a coherent, thematically interesting book from page 1 to 300. I’m pretty sure this will be the … [Read more...] about Would Everybody Please Stop?

This is a wonderful and thrilling story of how one man always had a dream of going to Antartica.  As a child who was bullied everyday on the bus by his schoolmates, Andrew found refuge in the hundreds of copies of National Geographic magazines he read as a child. Within the pages of the magazine he imagines himself traveling the world and dreams of working for the magazine one day.  Excommunicated from the Mormon Church and disowned by his family for being gay, Andrew eventually gets his dream … [Read more...] about The Black Penguin

All of us have watched Lesley interview famous people on "60 Minutes."  She's good at that.  But wait till you hear her take on being a grandmother.  Like other moms, she felt guilty over not being there as much as she would have liked for her own daughter.  But Lesley is all in on the grandmother track.  She even shares scientific information about the powerful impact grand parenting has on both the grandchildren and grandparents themselves. … [Read more...] about Becoming Grandma

Kirk is over a hundred and he and Anne have been married for over 60 years!  How did they make a Hollywood marriage work that long?  There's lots to learn about not just marriage but any relationship from Kirk and Anne.  A delightful read with beautiful, moving, and heartfelt letters from both of them. … [Read more...] about Kirk and Anne

Fantastic writing and a touching story--clever, witty, laugh-outloud funny. … [Read more...] about Calypso

Ooh.  This is just too good to put into words.  Her husband said: “I love it because it faithfully reflects the woman I have loved for so long.” Barack adds he may be a bit biased, but added, “She also happens to be brilliant, funny, wise—one of a kind.  This book tells her quintessentially American story.”  Here are some of the adjectives I wrote down as I read her remarkable memoir: transparent, accessible, real, vulnerable, inspiring, smart, incredibly well-written, and moving. I could go on, … [Read more...] about Becoming

Goodwin will capture your heart and mind with her poignant and fascinating exploration of these four remarkable leaders: Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson.  It’s captivating to see how the influences of their formative years played out as they grew into adults and politicians. Most striking, however, is at the core, each had a voracious appetite for learning, a willingness to change and grow, tremendous empathy for others, and a desire to truly make the world a … [Read more...] about Leadership In Turbulent Times

When Mary Byron first arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, she was only 29 and newly married to a U.S. special agent whose job it was to protect the entire American community in the Western Cape Province during South Africa’s transition to democracy under Mandela. What had this midwestern girl signed up for? Madly in love and eager to join her husband Patrick on his mission, this independent career girl would suddenly find herself thrust into uncharted territory as she learned to navigate a … [Read more...] about No Ordinary Life