Portraits and Observations

Portraits and Observations
Author: Truman Capote
Publisher: Modern Library
Total Pages: 673
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0812994396

From the Modern Library’s new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by Truman Capote—also available are Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Other Voices, Other Rooms (in one volume), In Cold Blood, and The Complete Stories Perhaps no twentieth-century writer was so observant and graceful a chronicler of his times as Truman Capote. Portraits and Observations is the first volume devoted solely to all the essays ever published by this most beloved of writers. Included are such masterpieces of narrative nonfiction as “The Muses Are Heard” and the short nonfiction novel “Handcarved Coffins,” as well as many long-out-of-print essays, including portraits of Mae West, Humphrey Bogart, and Marilyn Monroe. From his travel sketches of Brooklyn, New Orleans, and Hollywood, written when he was twenty-two, to the author’s last written words, “Remembering Willa Cather,” composed the day before his death in 1984, Portraits and Observations puts on display the full spectrum of Truman Capote’s brilliance. Certainly Capote was, as Somerset Maugham famously called him, “a stylist of the first quality.” But as the pieces gathered here remind us, he was also an artist of remarkable substance.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut
Author: Jill Kargman
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0062042270

The star of Bravo’s new comedy Odd Mom Out and author of The Ex Mrs. Hedgefund and Wolves in Chic Clothing firmly believes in Woody Allen’s magical math equation: Comedy = Tragedy + Time. Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut is a delightful collection of essays and observations based on Jill Kargman’s family, her phobias (vans, mimes, clowns), and her ability to use humor as a tool to get past life’s obstacles, making the fun times funnier and the tough times bearable. Fans of David Sedaris, Sloane Crosley, and Nora Ephron will rejoice, howl, and sympathize.

Cosbyology

Cosbyology
Author: Bill Cosby
Publisher:
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2002
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780786239870

Bill Cosby is a man of many faces: award-winning actor, bestselling author, doctor of education, media icon, role model, and -- first and foremost -- comedian. Fusing his classic jazzy timing and edgy humor with the intelligence and perception that have made him a huge star, Cosby draws from that life experience to tell laugh-out-loud stories on everything from childhood and marriage to school, sports, and work. With dry wit and uncanny insight, he transforms the mundane -- his first experiences skiing, lying to his mother, worrying about ingrown hairs -- into the hilarious. Fans young and old will delight in this new collection, and new readers will discover a great comic genius. Book jacket.

Laid Bare

Laid Bare
Author: Tom Judson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2011-11-09
Genre:
ISBN: 9781466481961

What's it like turning a trick at a luxury hotel in midtown Manhattan? How are hay bales made on a small family farm? Why isn't there a porn stars' union? Have you ever been busted for drugs in Oklahoma? How do you make a Negroni cocktail? What is the technical name for candy corn? And how much will a tin of SPAM set you back when you're visiting the Caribbean? And what could these things possibly have in common? They're just some of the subjects covered by Tom Judson in this collection of essays. Fans of Gus Mattox (Tom's stage persona while working in gay porn) were the first to encounter the surprisingly tender tone of Tom's writing through posts on his blog, "Gus's Soapbox." Soon he began writing under his own name for magazines and newspapers around the globe, bringing the unique perspective and insight of someone who has seen life up close from perspectives most of us can only imagine. This volume contains the essays most frequently requested by his readers. "What a pleasure to have Tom Judson's delightfully insightful, funny and wise book of essays at one's fingertips. He was the Gypsy Rose Lee of Porn, but now he's 'Tom Judson, Author' and just as delicious." --Charles Busch, author of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom

The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing

The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing
Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2009
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199216819

Selected and introduced by Richard Dawkins, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is a celebration of the finest writing by scientists for a wider audience - revealing that many of the best scientists have displayed as much imagination and skill with the pen as they have in the laboratory.This is a rich and vibrant collection that captures the poetry and excitement of communicating scientific understanding and scientific effort from 1900 to the present day. Professor Dawkins has included writing from a diverse range of scientists, some of whom need no introduction, and some of whoseworks have become modern classics, while others may be less familiar - but all convey the passion of great scientists writing about their science.

Observing Ourselves

Observing Ourselves
Author: Earl Babbie
Publisher: Waveland Press
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2015-01-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1478628782

Is it possible for human beings to study other humans as scientifically as physicists and microbiologists study inorganic matter, cells, and tissue? According to Dr. Babbie, one of the most recognized names in applied sociology, the social scientist must understand more than just the methodology involved in research. Babbie’s conviction that the power of social research lies more in the realm of questions than in the realm of answers prompted him to compose fifteen short essays addressing some of the fundamental philosophical and methodological issues involved in the scientific study of human beings.

Orcas Island

Orcas Island
Author: Orcas Island Historical Museum
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780738530987

Presents a selection of vintage images culled from the archives of the Orcas Island Historical Society and Museum and a short history of Orcas Island. Orcas Island, the largest of the 172 islands in San Juan County, lies in the Salish Sea north of PugetSound.

The Making of the American Essay

The Making of the American Essay
Author: John D'Agata
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 821
Release: 2016-03-15
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1555977340

"Now, with "The making of the American essay' the editor includes selections ranging from Anne Bradstreet's secular prayers to Washington Irving's satires, Emily Dickinson's love letters to Kenneth Goldsmith's catalog's, Gertrude Stein's portraits to James Baldwin's and Norman Mailer's mediations on boxing. In this volume the editor uncovers new stories in the American essay's past and shows us that some of the most fiercely daring writers in the American literary canon have turned to the essay in order to produce some of our culture's most exhilarating art."-- book jacket.