Books published by publisher NAN A TALESE

Avi Steinberg is stumped. After defecting from yeshiva to Harvard, he has only a senior thesis essay on Bugs Bunny to show for his effort. While his friends and classmates advance in the world, he remains stuck at a crossroads, unable to meet the lofty expectations of his Orthodox Jewish upbringing. And his romantic existence as a freelance obituary writer just isn’t cutting it. Seeking direction—and dental insurance—Steinberg takes a job as a librarian in a tough Boston prison. The prison library counter, his new post, attracts con men, minor prophets, ghosts, and an assortment of quirky regulars searching for the perfect book and a connection to the outside world. There’s an anxious pimp who solicits Steinberg’s help in writing a memoir. A passionate gangster who dreams of hosting a cooking show titled Thug Sizzle. A disgruntled officer who instigates a major feud over a Post-it note. A doomed ex-stripper who asks Steinberg to orchestrate a reunion with her estranged son, himself an inmate. Over time, Steinberg is drawn into the accidental community of outcasts that has formed among his bookshelves — a drama he recounts with heartbreak and humor. But when the struggles of the prison library — between life and death, love and loyalty — become personal, Steinberg is forced to take sides.Running the Books is a trenchant exploration of prison culture and an entertaining tale of one young man’s earnest attempt to find his place in the world while trying not to get fired in the process.

Famous for his delectably dry humor, Senator Bob Dole brings us the ultimate bipartisan book: some of his favorite witticisms, hilarious remarks, and wry observations of the great political figures of this century.Bob Dole's political career may not have taken him to the White House, but he did pick up some great stories along the way. In this delightful collection, the longtime United States senator shares his favorite anecdotes, witticisms, and reminiscences.From the campaign trail to the Oval Office, from smoked-filled rooms to the chambers of the Capitol, Bob Dole surveys a century of political wit. There are bon mots from Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and a host of other political figures. Bob Dole introduces each section with mirthful moments from his own experience, displaying the gift for wry humor that has made him such a favorite guest on late-night talk shows.A jovial--and completely bipartisan--compendium, Great Political Wit is a connoisseur's selection of political repartee at its best.Great Political Wit will have readers rolling on both sides of the aisle.Bob Dole is recognized as one of the nation's most prominent political figures of the twentieth century. Known for his effectiveness as a consensus builder in his thirty-five years in Congress, Senator Dole was the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history. He was also chairman of the Republican National Committee, the 1976 Republican nominee for vice president, and the 1996 Republican nominee for president. He is currently serving as the chairman of the World War II Memorial campaign and as chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons in Bosnia. Wounded in World War II, Senator Dole was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. He is married to Elizabeth Hanford Dole, president of the American Red Cross, and lives in Washington, D.C.

Famous for his delectably dry humor, Senator Bob Dole brings us the ultimate bipartisan book: some of his favorite witticisms, hilarious remarks, and wry observations of the great political figures of this century.Bob Dole's political career may not have taken him to the White House, but he did pick up some great stories along the way. In this delightful collection, the longtime United States senator shares his favorite anecdotes, witticisms, and reminiscences.From the campaign trail to the Oval Office, from smoked-filled rooms to the chambers of the Capitol, Bob Dole surveys a century of political wit. There are bon mots from Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and a host of other political figures. Bob Dole introduces each section with mirthful moments from his own experience, displaying the gift for wry humor that has made him such a favorite guest on late-night talk shows.A jovial--and completely bipartisan--compendium, Great Political Wit is a connoisseur's selection of political repartee at its best.Great Political Wit will have readers rolling on both sides of the aisle.Bob Dole is recognized as one of the nation's most prominent political figures of the twentieth century. Known for his effectiveness as a consensus builder in his thirty-five years in Congress, Senator Dole was the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history. He was also chairman of the Republican National Committee, the 1976 Republican nominee for vice president, and the 1996 Republican nominee for president. He is currently serving as the chairman of the World War II Memorial campaign and as chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons in Bosnia. Wounded in World War II, Senator Dole was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. He is married to Elizabeth Hanford Dole, president of the American Red Cross, and lives in Washington, D.C.

An international bestseller with tremendous word-of-mouth appeal, Follow Your Heart is a bittersweet, heartwarming novel spanning generations and teaching the universal truths about life, love, and what lies within each of us. Originally published in Italy, Follow Your Heart won the coveted Premio Donna Citta di Roma and sold over 800,000 copies in that country alone before hitting bestseller lists throughout the rest of Europe. Now North American readers can enjoy the novel that has won over the world.It begins in late autumn 1992 as an elderly Italian woman, prompted by the knowledge of her encroaching death, sits down to write a letter to her granddaughter now grown and living in far-off America. Through these moving reflections, we see one life laid bare--joys, sorrows, regrets, and all. And through the eyes of a woman nearing the end of her days, we come to understand what life experience has taught her: that no matter what the stakes, we must look within ourselves and gather the courage to follow our hearts.From the Trade Paperback edition.

For generations in Jerusalem, a fabled mansion has been the retreat for foreign correspondents, diplomats, pilgrims and spies–but until now, few have known the true story of the house that became the American Colony Hotel or its bizarre history of tragedy, religious extremism, emotional blackmail, and peculiar sexual practices. During the boom years following the Civil War, in the country’s heartland capital, Chicago, a prominent lawyer Horatio Spafford and his blue-eyed wife Anna rode the mighty wave of Protestant evangelicalism deluging the nation. When suddenly tragedy struck, the charismatic Spaffords, grieving, attracted followers eager to believe their prophecy that the Second Coming was at hand and in 1881 sailed with them to Jerusalem to see the Messiah alight on the Mount of Olives. No sooner had they settled into the Holy City than the U. S. Consul and the established Christian missionaries declared them heretics and whispered of sexual deviance. Yet Muslims and Jews admired their unflagging care of the sick and the needy, and Jews were intrigued with their advocacy of a Jewish Return to Zion. When Horatio died, Anna assumed leadership, shocking even her adherents by abolishing marriage and established a dictatorship that was not always benevolent. Ever dogged by controversy, she and her credulous followers lived through and closely participated in the titanic upheavals that eventually formed the modern Middle East. Written with flair and insight, American Priestess provides a fascinating exploration of the seductive power of evangelicalism and raises questions about the manipulation of religion to serve personal goals. A powerful narrative, the story sweeps through the dramatic collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the establishment of the British Mandate, and finally the founding of Israel where Anna’s house in East Jerusalem, now the American Colony Hotel, stands as an exemplar of beauty and comfort, despite its turbulent history.

This stunning companion to the internationally bestselling Bedside Book of Birds explores the relationship between predators and their prey.The intricate, complex connection between the hunter and the hunted has defined animal life on Earth throughout time. In The Bedside Book of Beasts, Graeme Gibson gathers from all eras and cultures works of art and literature that capture the power, grace, and inventiveness of both predators and their natural prey. Here are myths, fables, poetry, generous excerpts from nature and travel writing, journals, sacred texts, and works of fiction. There are vivid descriptions of noteworthy predators — including the big cats, bears, wolves — but also the small but voracious praying mantis. Gibson also brings to life the experiences, strategies, and emotions of vulnerable prey, and paints intriguing portraits of such legendary evil beasts as the Minotaur, Grendel, and the Biblical Leviathan. All of this is enhanced by a breathtaking array of art, both traditional and contemporary, as well as scientific, religious, and mythological drawings, paintings, and woodcuts.In The Bedside Book of Beasts Gibson evokes a profound sense of the eternal, often unsettling, connection between the human animal and the free, untamed beasts of the wilderness.