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Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder. With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.  

Brief Summary With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his fourteen years of recovery. Brand speaks to those suffering along the full spectrum of addiction--from drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar addictions to addictions to work, stress, bad relationships, digital media, and fame. Brand understands that addiction can take many shapes and sizes and how the process of staying clean, sane, and unhooked is a daily activity. He believes that the question is not -Why are you addicted? - but -What pain is your addiction masking? Why are you running--into the wrong job, the wrong life, the wrong person's arms?- Russell has been in all the twelve-step fellowships going, he's started his own men's group, he's a therapy regular and a practiced yogi--and while he's worked on this material as part of his comedy and previous bestsellers, he's never before shared the tools that really took him out of it, that keep him clean and clear. Here he provides not only a recovery plan, but an attempt to make sense of the ailing world. ISBN:9781250141927 Author:Russell Brand

Brief Summary The sun shone, the crowds waved and cheered wildly and billions watched on TV all around the world as Kate lovingly kissed William on the balcony of Buckingham Palace - not once but twice! Beautiful and composed, Kate smiled throughout a day that had become a wonderful celebration of a young couple's love for one another. The world it seemed still believed in their favorite fairytale - any girl could dream of becoming a princess. Kate is the definitive biography of the nation's newest princess. Bestselling author Sean Smith has retraced the steps of Kate's journey, from her childhood in rural Berkshire and her unhappy time as a victim of school bullies, to her transformation from a plain, gangly girl into the beauty she is today. He reveals the true story of how the romance with William blossomed at St Andrews University and how they managed to survive as a couple after the relationship hit the rocks in 2007, becoming stronger with a firm commitment to each other that they were for keeps. He examines Kate's time spent as a royal apprentice and her evolving role as an ambassador for British fashion. The story ends in Westminster Abbey where Kate and William married, describing all the glamour and spectacle of their big day. Fully illustrated this is the one book you will want to read about the event of the decade. ISBN:9781847378682 Author:Sean Smith

Brief Summary In 1963, Mimi Beardsley was a naive young American girl, very much a product of her class and time – she had attended the same exclusive girls’ school as Jackie Bouvier, now installed in the White House as the president’s wife. Which is also where Mimi found herself, as an 18-year-old intern. The JFK White House was a place for which she was not remotely prepared, dominated by the charismatic and sexually rapacious figure of the president. Within days, they had started a relationship. There are several extraordinary things about Mimi’s story. One is that she has evaded notice from any of the biographers of JFK and other chroniclers of the heady days and sexual shenanigans of Camelot. Only by chance did a reporter in 2006 follow up a mention of her name in a book about JFK, and doorstep her – now a married grandmother living quietly in New York – to find out whether she was the Mimi Beardsely mentioned in a passing reference. This is all the more surprising given the length of time the affair continued – 18 months – and the fact that it was ended only by his assassination. Mimi Beardsley Alford has decided, after 40 years of silence and deep reflection, to tell her story. But this is not just a personal memoir of a young woman of her generation and class coming of age in the 1960s, and her relationship with JFK. She also examines the significant impact it had on her life and relationships since, why she has chosen to remain silent for so long, and why she feels that this is the moment to speak out. ISBN:9780091931759 Author:Mimi Alford