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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Film, television, music, theatre
Kerwin's youth was riddled with adversity, which culminated in a
criminal record. Doomed to fail, he decided to fight for his goal
of attaining remarkable success. This intimate biography of a young
man's struggle to ascend the socio-economic ladder will propel you
to rise and pursue your dreams.
A revealing and incisive account of the King of Late Night at the
height of his fame and power, by his lawyer, wingman, fixer, and
closest confidant
From 1962 until 1992, Johnny Carson hosted "The Tonight Show" and
permeated the American consciousness. In the '70s and '80s he was
the country's highest-paid entertainer and its most enigmatic. He
was notoriously inscrutable, as mercurial (and sometimes cruel)
off-camera as he was charming and hilarious onstage. During the
apex of his reign, Carson's longtime lawyer and best friend was
Henry Bushkin, who now shows us Johnny Carson with a breathtaking
clarity and depth that nobody else could.
From the moment in 1970 when Carson hired Bushkin (who was just
twenty-seven) until the moment eighteen years later when they
parted ways, the author witnessed and often took part in a string
of escapades that still retain their power to surprise and
fascinate us. One of Bushkin's first assignments was helping Carson
break into a posh Manhattan apartment to gather evidence of his
wife's infidelity. More than once, Bushkin helped his client avoid
entanglements with the mob. Of course, Carson's adventures weren't
all so sordid. He hosted Ronald Reagan's inaugural concert as a
favor to the new president, and he prevented a drunken Dean Martin
from appearing onstage that evening. Carson socialized with Frank
Sinatra, Jack Lemmon, Jimmy Stewart, Kirk Douglas, and dozens of
other boldface names who populate this atmospheric and propulsive
chronicle of the King of Late Night and his world.
But this memoir isn't just dishy. It is a tautly rendered and
remarkably nuanced portrait of Carson, revealing not only how he
truly was, but why. Bushkin explains why Carson, a voracious (and
very talented) womanizer, felt he always had to be married; why he
loathed small talk even as he excelled at it; why he couldn't visit
his son in the hospital and wouldn't attend his mother's funeral;
and much more. Bushkin's account is by turns shocking, poignant,
and uproarious -- written with a novelist's eye for detail, a
screenwriter's ear for dialogue, and a knack for comic timing that
Carson himself would relish. "Johnny Carson" unveils not only the
hidden Carson, but also the raucous, star-studded world he
ruled.
From a disastrous post-baby honeymoon to managing the monster nanny
and from trying to convince her son to sleep in his own bed to
getting her kids to unlearn the swear words they have picked up
from a careless parent - Tahira puts it all out there. And
alongside these funny stories she tackles the bigger, more serious
themes - especially of her own journey to self-love and the guilt
that dogs every mom from the day she gets pregnant. Brutally honest
and observant, this is a book that will make you laugh and,
perhaps, cry just a little too.
One of the youngest survivors of the Warsaw ghetto, author
Sahbra Anna Markus lived a life only those who have survived
Hitler's hell can imagine. In Only a Bad Dream? she narrates the
drama of her early years through her most vivid memories. Sahbra
courageously recounts those childhood experiences in her compelling
voice, now freed from the repeated warnings: "Don't tell anyone
you're a Jew." "Don't forget you're a Jew." "It was only a dream."
"Hang on tight, or you'll get lost and die."
She tells of traipsing through forests at night, fleeing certain
death, of her parents hiding her in a church, desperate to save her
life. A frantic search for surviving family found the Markuses
traveling throughout Europe on foot, by rowboat, military train,
farm wagon, trucks, and finally the ship Caserta that delivered
them to the land of hope, freedom, and new beginnings-the only
Jewish homeland, Israel.
Only a Bad Dream shares how, in the midst of hunger and
deprivation, Sahbra still found joy in simple things like cats, the
moon, wolves, and fireflies. A story of the triumph of the human
spirit, this memoir provides strong insight into the courage,
strength, and dignity possessed by those who endured the
Holocaust.
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