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Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of May 22, 2011

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BOSSYPANTS
Tina Fey
Cover of BOSSYPANTS

BOSSYPANTS

by Tina Fey · Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown

5 wks at #1 · 5 on list

Once in a generation a woman comes along who changes everything. Tina Fey is not that woman, but she met that woman once and acted weird around her. Before 30 Rock, Mean Girls and 'Sarah Palin', Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true. At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately half-hearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon - from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence. Tina Fey reveals all in this hilarious memoir, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

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DOES THE NOISE IN MY HEAD BOTHER YOU?
Steven Tyler
Cover of DOES THE NOISE IN MY HEAD BOTHER YOU?

DOES THE NOISE IN MY HEAD BOTHER YOU?

by Steven Tyler · Ecco

1 wks on list

"Steven Tyler is one of the giants of American music, who's been influential for a whole generation of Rock 'n' Roll fans around the world. Long May He Rock!" —Sir Paul McCartney Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? is the rock memoir to end all rock memoirs — the straight-up, no-holds-barred story of Grammy Award-winning, Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and all around superstar legend Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith (and celebrity judge on American Idol). The rock and roll epic that is Tyler's life begins with Tyler's youth in the Bronx, tracing his early music career and influences, his legendary partnership with Joe Perry, the meteoric rise, fall, and rise of Aerosmith over the last three decades, their music, Tyler's battles with substance abuse, his epic romantic life, his relationship with his four children (including actress Liv Tyler), life on the road and in the spotlight, the economics of the rock star business --and all the sex, drugs, and rock and roll that anyone could ask for. In Tyler's own words: "I've been mythicized, Mick-icized, eulogized and fooligized, I've been Cole-Portered and farmer's-daughtered, I've been Led Zepped and 12-stepped. I'm a rhyming fool and so cool that me, Fritz the Cat, and Mohair Sam are the baddest cats that am. I have so many outrageous stories, too many, and I'm gonna tell 'em all. All the unexpurgated, brain-jangling tales of debauchery, sex & drugs, transcendence & chemical dependence you will ever want to hear. And this is not just my take, this is the unbridled truth, the in-your-face, up-close and prodigious tale of Steven Tyler straight from the horse's lips."

3
STORIES I ONLY TELL MY FRIENDS
Rob Lowe
Cover of STORIES I ONLY TELL MY FRIENDS

STORIES I ONLY TELL MY FRIENDS

by Rob Lowe · Holt

2 wks on list

Actor Rob Lowe's memoir presents a wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye. A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood. The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety. Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. Rob Lowe's New York Times bestselling autobiography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, shares tales that are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.

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IF YOU ASK ME
Betty White
Cover of IF YOU ASK ME

IF YOU ASK ME

by Betty White · Putnam

1 wks on list

"Drawing from a lifetime of lessons learned, seven-time Emmy winner Betty White's wit and wisdom take center stage as she tackles topics like friendship, romantic love, aging, television, fans, love for animals, and the brave new world of celebrity. If You Ask Me mixes her thoughtful observations with humorous stories from a seven- decade career in Hollywood"--Publisher's description.

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SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY, selected and introduced
Caroline Kennedy
Cover of SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY, selected and introduced

SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY, selected and introduced

by Caroline Kennedy · Voice/Hyperion

In She Walks in Beauty, Caroline Kennedy has once again marshaled the gifts of our greatest poets to pay a very personal tribute to the human experience, this time to the complex and fascinating subject of womanhood. Inspired by her own reflections on more than fifty years of life as a young girl, a woman, a wife, and a mother, She Walks in Beauty draws on poetry's eloquent wisdom to ponder the many joys and challenges of being a woman. Kennedy has divided the collection into sections that signify to her the most notable milestones, passages, and universal experiences in a woman's life, and she begins each of these sections with an introduction in which she explores and celebrates the most important elements of life's journey. The collection includes works by Elizabeth Bishop, Sharon Olds, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden, Adrienne Rich, Sandra Cisneros, Anne Sexton, W. S. Merwin, Dorothy Parker, Queen Elizabeth I, Lucille Clifton, Naomi Shahib Nye, and W. B. Yeats. Whether it's falling in love, breaking up, friendship, marriage, motherhood, or growing old, She Walks in Beauty is a priceless resource for anyone, male or female, who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a woman.

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FROM THIS MOMENT ON
Shania Twain
Cover of FROM THIS MOMENT ON

FROM THIS MOMENT ON

by Shania Twain · Atria

1 wks on list

(Piano Vocal). This sheet music features an arrangement for piano and voice with guitar chord frames, with the melody presented in the right hand of the piano part, as well as in the vocal line.

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A SINGULAR WOMAN
Janny Scott
Cover of A SINGULAR WOMAN

A SINGULAR WOMAN

by Janny Scott · Riverhead

1 wks on list

From the author of The Beneficiary: Fortune, Misfortune and the Story of My Father comes a major publishing event: an unprecedented look into the life of the woman who most singularly shaped Barack Obama-his mother. Barack Obama has written extensively about his father, but little is known about Stanley Ann Dunham, the fiercely independent woman who raised him, the person he credits for, as he says, "what is best in me." Here is the missing piece of the story. Award-winning reporter Janny Scott interviewed nearly two hundred of Dunham's friends, colleagues, and relatives (including both her children), and combed through boxes of personal and professional papers, letters to friends, and photo albums, to uncover the full breadth of this woman's inspiring and untraditional life, and to show the remarkable extent to which she shaped the man Obama is today. Dunham's story moves from Kansas and Washington state to Hawaii and Indonesia. It begins in a time when interracial marriage was still a felony in much of the United States, and culminates in the present, with her son as our president- something she never got to see. It is a poignant look at how character is passed from parent to child, and offers insight into how Obama's destiny was created early, by his mother's extraordinary faith in his gifts, and by her unconventional mothering. Finally, it is a heartbreaking story of a woman who died at age fifty-two, before her son would go on to his greatest accomplishments and reflections of what she taught him.

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THE HEART AND THE FIST
Eric Greitens
Cover of THE HEART AND THE FIST

THE HEART AND THE FIST

by Eric Greitens · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

1 wks on list

The author describes how, after working as a humanitarian around the world, he realized that he could do nothing to prevent violence or people from becoming refugees and soon joined the elite Navy SEALs, where he drew on his humanitarian training as he battled injustice. 50,000 first printing.

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MY LUCKY LIFE IN AND OUT OF SHOW BUSINESS
Dick Van Dyke
Cover of MY LUCKY LIFE IN AND OUT OF SHOW BUSINESS

MY LUCKY LIFE IN AND OUT OF SHOW BUSINESS

by Dick Van Dyke · Crown Archetype

1 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The legendary Hollywood star of classic films and TV shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bye Bye Birdie, and Mary Poppins shares intimate stories from six decades of his renowned career. “Earnest, funny, and appealing . . . captures the essence of an eventful life lived on and off the small screen.”—The Washington Post With a foreword by Carl Reiner Dick Van Dyke, indisputably one of the greats of the golden age of television, is admired and beloved by audiences the world over for his beaming smile, physical dexterity, impeccable comic timing, ridiculous stunts, and unforgettable screen roles. His trailblazing television program, The Dick Van Dyke Show, was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s and introduced another major television star, Mary Tyler Moore. But Dick Van Dyke was also an enormously engaging movie star whose films, including Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, have been discovered by a new generation of fans and are as cherished today as they were when they first appeared. Who doesn’t know the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business is a colorful, loving, richly detailed look at the decades of a multilayered life, written by a performer who still thinks of himself as a “simple song-and-dance man,” but who is, in every sense of the word, a classic entertainer.

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PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT
Rex Ryan
Cover of PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT

PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT

by Rex Ryan · Doubleday

1 wks on list

The head coach of the New York Jets shares the lessons he has learned in leadership and motivation throughout his career, recounting colorful stories from his work with the Jets and the Ravens as well as memories about his father, NFL coach Buddy Ryan.

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ONWARD
Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon
Cover of ONWARD

ONWARD

by Howard Schultz with Joanne Gordon · Rodale

5 wks on list

Describes how the CEO of Starbucks gained new insights into leadership upon resuming his position eight years after stepping down, a comeback he accepted to restore the company's performance and sustainability values.

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ALL THAT IS BITTER AND SWEET
Ashley Judd with Maryanne Vollers
Cover of ALL THAT IS BITTER AND SWEET

ALL THAT IS BITTER AND SWEET

by Ashley Judd with Maryanne Vollers · Ballantine

5 wks on list

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From humanitarian and actress Ashley Judd comes “an important and moving memoir. . . . Every reader will be inspired” (Bill Clinton). “Enlightening . . . full of real-life stories that reflect both the compassion of its author and the need for healing in the world.”—Madeleine K. Albright In 2002, award-winning film and stage actor Ashley Judd found her true calling: as a humanitarian and voice for those suffering in neglected parts of the world. After her first trip to the notorious brothels, slums, and hospices of southeast Asia, Ashley knew immediately that she wanted to advocate on behalf of the vulnerable. During her travels, Judd started to write diaries that detailed extraordinary stories of survival and resilience. But along the way, she realized that she was struggling with her own emotional pain, stemming from childhood abandonment and abuse. Seeking in-patient treatment in 2006 for the grief that had nearly killed her, Judd found not only her own recovery and an enriched faith but the spiritual tools that energized and advanced her feminist social justice work. In this deeply moving and unforgettable memoir, Judd describes her odyssey, from lost child to fiercely dedicated advocate, from anger and isolation to forgiveness and activism. In telling it, she answers the ineffable question about the relationship between healing oneself and service to others.

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THE SOCIAL ANIMAL
David Brooks
Cover of THE SOCIAL ANIMAL

THE SOCIAL ANIMAL

by David Brooks · Random House

9 wks on list

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER With unequaled insight and brio, New York Times columnist David Brooks has long explored and explained the way we live. Now Brooks turns to the building blocks of human flourishing in a multilayered, profoundly illuminating work grounded in everyday life. This is the story of how success happens, told through the lives of one composite American couple, Harold and Erica. Drawing on a wealth of current research from numerous disciplines, Brooks takes Harold and Erica from infancy to old age, illustrating a fundamental new understanding of human nature along the way: The unconscious mind, it turns out, is not a dark, vestigial place, but a creative one, where most of the brain’s work gets done. This is the realm where character is formed and where our most important life decisions are made—the natural habitat of The Social Animal. Brooks reveals the deeply social aspect of our minds and exposes the bias in modern culture that overemphasizes rationalism, individualism, and IQ. He demolishes conventional definitions of success and looks toward a culture based on trust and humility. The Social Animal is a moving intellectual adventure, a story of achievement and a defense of progress. It is an essential book for our time—one that will have broad social impact and will change the way we see ourselves and the world.

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THIS IS A BOOK
Demetri Martin
Cover of THIS IS A BOOK

THIS IS A BOOK

by Demetri Martin · Grand Central

1 wks on list

How To Read This Book If you're reading this sentence then you've pretty much got it. Good job. Just keep going the way you are. Some Honours and Awards for which Demetri Martin would qualify National Champion at being the exboyfriend who is most consistently awkward around his exgirlfriend or anyone who is even a casual acquaintance of hers. A scholarship awarded to Greek Americans who have done very little for the Greek American community but definitely look Greek American, no matter what outfit they are wearing. Top 40 people under 40 who live in his apartment building. Lifetime Achievement Award for Wanting a Lifetime Achievement Award. Congressional Medal of Snacking.

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.