Showing results for "united states of america" in Literature & Fiction

The star of Parks and Recreation and author of the New York Times best seller Paddle Your Own Canoe returns with a second book that humorously highlights 21 figures from our nation’s history, from her inception to present day - Nick’s personal pantheon of “great Americans". After the great success of his autobiography, Paddle Your Own Canoe, Offerman now focuses on the lives of those who inspired him. From George Washington to Willie Nelson, he describes 21 heroic figures and why they inspire in him such great meaning.

Today's political pundits express shock and disappointment when candidates resort to negative campaigning. But history reveals that smear campaigns are as American as apple pie. Anything for a Vote is a look at 200-plus years of dirty tricks and bad behavior in presidential elections, from George Washington to Barack Obama and John McCain. Let the name-calling begin!

Harold Kushner and his roommate of 30 years, Murray Schwartz, are average senior citizens facing down their mortality in a trailer park in Land O' Lakes, Florida. Two self-professed “best Jewish bowlers ever” wind up contestants in the first-ever Great Mongolian Bowling League Tournament in the US. The rivalry becomes a high-stakes roll-off as Harold approaches “perfection” (defined in the bowling world as three 300-score games in a row) despite a fix set by the alley's mobster owners.

A big-hearted, hilarious tale of forgiveness, hope and acceptance, reminding us that there is no road map to life.

When Rachel Meyer, a 30-something foodie from New York, agrees to move to Mumbai with her Indian-born husband, Dhruv, she knows some culture shock is inevitable. Blessed with a curious mind and an independent spirit, Rachel is determined to learn her way around the hot, noisy, seemingly infinite metropolis she now calls home. But the expat American’s sense of adventure is sorely tested when her mother-in-law, Swati, suddenly arrives from Kolkata - 1,000 miles away - alone, with an even more shocking announcement: She’s left her husband of more than 40 years and moving in with them.

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, 2007.
Friday August 15th, 1997. The night the girls arrived. Two tiny Korean babies are delivered to Baltimore to two families who have no more in common than this.

In 1998, a 22-year-old man-child with a mediocre set of balls, zilch between the ears, and a mind-blowing alcohol problem placed the last of his worthless belongings into a dilapidated baby carriage, attached it to an even older bicycle, and decided to see if he could pedal nearly 3,000 miles across North America. With little more than pocket-change, he wondered about his chances of making it home alive.