All the worst humans : how I made news for dictators, tycoons, and politicians / Elwood, Phil (Philip)

"A bridge-burning, riotous memoir by a top PR operative in Washington who exposes the secrets of the 129-billion-dollar industry that controls so much of what we see and hear in the media -- from a man who used to pull the strings, and who is now pulling back the curtain. After nearly two decades in the Washington PR business, Elwood wants to come clean, by exposing the dark underbelly of the very industry that's made him so successful. The first step is revealing exactly what he's been up to for the past twenty years -- and it isn't pretty. Elwood has worked for a murderer's row of clients, including Gaddafi, Assad, and the government of Qatar -- namely, the bad guys. In All the Worst Humans, Elwood unveils how the PR business works, and how the truth gets made, spun, and sold to the public -- not shying away from the gritty details of his unlikely career. This is a piercing look into the corridors of money, power, politics, and control, all told in Elwood's disarmingly funny and entertaining voice. He recounts a four-day Las Vegas bacchanal with a dictator's son, plotting communications strategies against a terrorist organization in Western Africa, and helping to land a Middle Eastern dictator's wife a glowing profile in Vogue on the same time the Arab Spring broke out. And he reveals all his slippery tricks for seducing journalists in order to create chaos and ultimately cover for politicians, dictators, and spies -- the industry-secret tactics that led to his rise as a political PR pro. Along the way, Phil walks the halls of the Capitol, rides in armored cars through Abuja, and watches his client lose his annual income at the roulette table. But as he moved up the ranks, he felt worse and worse about the sleaziness of it all -- until Elwood receives a shocking wake-up call from the FBI. This risky game nearly cost Elwood his life and his freedom. Seeing the light, Elwood decides to change his ways, and his clients, and to tell the full truth about who is the worst human"--

One with the whale / Collective Eye Films.
1 with the whale
Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence, a tiny island in the Bering Sea. So, when Chris Apassingok becomes the youngest person to ever harpoon a whale for his Alaskan village, his mother proudly shares the news on Facebook. To her surprise, Paul Watson and thousands of his international followers brutally attack Chris online without fully understanding the scope of his accomplishment. ONE WITH THE WHALE is a heartwarming yet thrilling story of one family's struggle to fight against cultural genocide and environmental racism, while regaining a foothold in both the ancient and modern world.

Ambition monster : a memoir / Romolini, Jennifer

"A deeply personal memoir about workaholism, the addictive nature of ambition, and the humbling process of picking yourself up when the world lets you down-an anti-girlboss tale for our times"--

An autobiography of trauma : a healing journey / Levine, Peter A.

"An intimate memoir from Peter Levine, renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing and bestselling author of Waking the Tiger. Shares the author's personal journey to heal his severe childhood trauma as well as his breakthroughs on the path to create Somatic Experiencing. Explores how he came to view Einstein as his personal spirit guide and mentor, only to discover a profound real-life connection to him through his mother. Explains how the SE method is derived from the author's studies of animals in their natural environments, neurobiology, and 50 years of clinical observations"--

The most human : reconciling with my father, Leonard Nimoy / Nimoy, Adam
Reconciling with my father, Leonard Nimoy
"In this honest memoir of generational family trauma, addiction, and recovery, Adam Nimoy provides a son's intimate account of one of the greatest pop icons of the twentieth century"--

Once a king : the lost memoir of Edward VIII / Tippett, Jane Marguerite
Once a king :
Fifteen years after having abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson--the woman he loved--King Edward VIII, now the Duke of Windsor, published his memoirs. But while preparing the manuscript for his published and mostly ghostwritten book--which largely avoided controversy--the Duke also produced a private manuscript for posterity. This was written in his own words and with an uninhibited frankness. This book reproduces this previously unseen writing, including much that he could or would not write for publication in 1951. Tippett weaves together Edward's writing alongside newly uncovered interviews with the Duke and Duchess, diary entries from ghostwriter Charles Murphy and other sources. Together they form a new portrait of one of the most famous characters in modern royal history and his recollections and innermost feelings, particularly around the abdication of 1936.

The six pack : on the open road in search of WrestleMania / Balukjian, Brad.

"They say to never meet your heroes. Brad Balukjian doesn't listen. From the bestselling author of The Wax Pack, comes another eye opening road trip adventure into a pocket of massively popular pop culture -- professional wrestling -- starring the Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana, and many more larger than life characters of the WWF of the 1980s. In 2005, Brad Balukjian left his position as a magazine fact-checker to pursue a dream job: partner with his childhood hero, The Iron Sheik (whose real name was Khosrow Vaziri), to write his biography. Things quickly went south, culminating in the Sheik threatening Balukjian's life. Now seventeen years later, Balukjian returns to the road in search of not only a reunion with the Sheik, but something much bigger: truth in a world built on illusion. Balukjian seeks out six of the Sheik's contemporaries, fellow witnesses to the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) explosion in the mid-'80s, to unearth their true identities. As Balukjian drives 12,525 miles around the country, we revisit the heady days when these avatars of strength, villainy, and heroism first found fame and see where their journeys took them. From working out with Tony Atlas (Tony White) to visiting Hulk Hogan's (Terry Bollea) karaoke bar, we see where these men are now and how they have navigated the cliffs of fame. The Six Pack combines the spirit of a fan with the rigor of an investigative reporter, tracking down former WWF employees, childhood friends, and mutually curious archivists. Wrestling is perceived as a subculture without a cultural home, somewhere between sport and theater -- often dismissed as silly and low brow. But what makes this book so compelling is the humanity beneath each wrestler. The Iron Sheik, Hulk Hogan, and the rest of the cast were not characters in a comic book movie. They were real people, with families and feelings and bodies that could break. Most of them did, in fact, break; some have been repaired, but none of them will ever be the same"--

Swamp kings : the story of the Murdaugh family of South Carolina & a century of backwoods power / Ryan, Jason (Journalist)
Story of the Murdaugh family of South Carolina and a century of backwoods power
"The most famous man in South Carolina lives in prison. He stands convicted of a staggering amount of wrongdoing -- more than 100 crimes and counting. Once a high-flying, smooth-talking, pedigreed Southern lawyer, Alex Murdaugh is now disbarred and disgraced. For more than a decade, prosecutors asserted that Alex was secretly a fraud, a thief, a drug trafficker, and an all-around phony. On the night of June 7, 2021, they claimed, he also became a killer, shooting dead his wife and son in a desperate bid to escape accountability. The many crimes of Alex Murdaugh, exposed piecemeal over the last two years, have appalled the general public. Yet his implosion -- the spectacular manner in which he has turned his vaunted family name to mud -- has also proved mesmerizing. With every revelation, Alex Murdaugh has been shown to be a man without bottom, though he insists he never harmed his family. Remarkably, all of his misdeeds have precedent. In Swamp Kings, Jason Ryan reveals Alex's evil actions are only the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to the Murdaugh family of Hampton County, history has a way of repeating itself. For every alleged, headline-grabbing crime associated with Alex Murdaugh, mirror-image incidents have played out within his family's past, including parallel instances of fraud, theft, illicit trafficking of babies and booze, calamitous boat crashes, and even alleged murder. There were some crimes committed by Alex's kin that even he would not dare mimic. Covering a century of depravity in an impoverished and isolated stretch of the Deep South, Swamp Kings weaves together the ... narratives of generations of Murdaughs before culminating in the telling of a murder trial for the ages. Page after page the family's legacy is laid bare as a spotlight is finally trained on the Murdaugh men who have long lorded over the South Carolina Lowcountry."--

Unbecoming a lady : the forgotten sluts and shrews that shaped America / Oneill, Therese
Forgotten sluts and shrews that shaped America
"Slut. Shrew. Sinful. Scold. The 19th-and early 20th-century American women profiled in this collection were called all these names and worse when they were alive. And that's just fine. These glorious dames earned those monikers, and one hundred years later they can wear them proudly! They refused to conform to societal standards. They bucked everyday niceties and blazed their own trails. They were collectively unbecoming as women, but they forever changed what women can become ... Therese Oneill chronicles the lives of eighteen unbecoming ladies whose audacity, courage, and sheer disdain for lady-like expectations left them out of so many history books. Curious readers will learn about forgotten heroines such as: Dr. Mary Edwards Walker who, despite being the only woman ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, was shunned and forgotten due to her insistence on wearing pants in public. Elizabeth Packard: whose careful record of her own unjust incarceration in a 19th century madhouse by her husband (her crime: not wanting to be Presbyterian anymore) led to nationwide law reforms to protect the rights of those with mental health issues. Lilian Gilbreth: best remembered for being the real-life mom of Cheaper by the Dozen but who probably should be remembered for scientifically removing the stigma of the sanitary napkin and designing the modern-day kitchen. And many more!" --

Why I believe : a psychologist's thoughts on suffering, miracles, and faith / Cloud, Henry

"World-renowned psychologist and leadership expert Henry Cloud has impacted millions of lives through his groundbreaking books and through his work coaching leaders of the most influential organizations in the world. But few people know the details of his own story and how he became one of the most beloved and respected psychologists and faith influencers in America. In this indelibly personal and vulnerable book, Dr. Cloud leads us through his early struggles with illness and depression and the miracles that healed him and led him to his calling as a healer of others. Through masterful storytelling combined with a deeply nuanced understanding of the human mind, Dr. Cloud invites readers to inhabit the spaces of suffering and elation that make us most human and to walk alongside of him as he ponders the great questions we are so often afraid to ask but which also give life meaning.