My American Success Story: Always the First, Never the Last is the autobiography of Roy Roberts, who became the highest ranking African American executive in the history of General Motors Corporation and the global auto industry. Roberts transformed GM plants, merged its Pontiac and GMC divisions, and coined the term "right-sizing" during a critical period of upheaval and transformation for the U.S. auto industry. My American Success Story chronicles Roberts' spectacular corporate career, community involvement (including his 2011-2013 role as emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools) and fulfilling personal life, highlighted by his 40-year marriage to Maureen, his wife. A consistent theme of Roberts' story is his determination to share success by opening doors for others. As he puts it: "It's not a sin to be the first; it's a sin to be the last."

My American Dream-From an Orphan to an American success Story I have been described as an American Success story. Here is why. I was born in California of an American mother and a Nigerian father. My father saddened and disheartened by the death of my mother took me to Nigeria when I was two years old to allow me to grow up with paternal relatives. My grandmother was delighted to finally have a chance to become acquainted with her grandson she never seen, and delightedly agreed to take care of me while my father went to work in the city. Tragedy once again struck shortly after my arrival to Nigeria, however. It was on my father's way to his new position few days later that he was killed in a truck accident. As a result of his sudden death, he had had no chance to tell his relatives particularly my grandmother anything about my mother's side of the family, other than the simple fact that I had been born in Sonoma, California. EVEN THIS FACT was kept from me growing up by my Nigerian relatives including my grandmother until one day it slipped out in conversation. "From that day on I knew I would come back to the United States to see the place I was born."

The great American success story offers you the opportunity to sit down with some of the most accomplished people in America and learn from the best of the best what it takes to be a success. /

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A great American success story . . . an endearing and well-written book.”—The New York Times Book Review Colin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average start at school. Then he joined the Army. The rest is history—Vietnam, the Pentagon, Panama, Desert Storm—but a history that until now has been known only on the surface. Here, for the first time, Colin Powell himself tells us how it happened, in a memoir distinguished by a heartfelt love of country and family, warm good humor, and a soldier’s directness. My American Journey is the powerful story of a life well lived and well told. It is also a view from the mountaintop of the political landscape of America. At a time when Americans feel disenchanted with their leaders, General Powell’s passionate views on family, personal responsibility, and, in his own words, “the greatness of America and the opportunities it offers” inspire hope and present a blueprint for the future. An utterly absorbing account, it is history with a vision.

Discover how a Cuban native left his homeland after Fidel Castro's communist takeover, trained for a massive planned U.S. military attack on Castro and overcame language and cultural barriers to excel in America. "From Cuba with Love" details Pablo Umpierre's idyllic childhood before communism. Castro nationalized all businesses, including the robust retail business Umpierre's father had worked a lifetime to create. Pablo Umpierre chose to leave his parents, brother and extended family for a new life. When he arrived in Miami on June 16, 1962, Pablo Umpierre had just 10 cents to his name. Pablo Umpierre ended up joining a top-secret Cuban brigade commissioned by the U.S. Army. Learn about the underreported volunteer Cuban battalion, where the group trained, how the group was honorably discharged, how Umpierre settled in Los Angeles, Calif., met singer Dean Martin, found the love of his life and started a family.

“I haven't read anything that has moved me this much since Wonder.” —Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places A space-obsessed boy and his dog, Carl Sagan, take a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe in this funny and moving novel for fans of Counting by 7s, Walk Two Moons, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he’ll uncover—from the truth about his long-dead dad to the fact that, for a kid with a troubled mom and a mostly not-around brother, he has way more family than he ever knew. Jack Cheng’s debut is full of joy, optimism, determination, and unbelievable heart. To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world. To read the last is to know he and his story will stay with you a long, long time. "Stellar." —Entertainment Weekly “Life-embracing.” —The Wall Street Journal "Works beautifully." —The New York Times Book Review “Irresistible.” —The Chicago Tribune “The best I've read in a long, long time.” —Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s “Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.” —Kirkus, starred review “A propulsive stream-of-conscious dive.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “A gift—a miracle.” —Paul Griffin, author When Friendship Followed Me Home “Exuberant.” —Booklist "Full of the real kind of magic." —Ally Condie, author of Matched "Absorbing, irresistible." —Common Sense Media “Incredible.” —BookRiot "Full of innocence and unwavering optimism." —SLC "Inspiring." —Time for Kids “Powerfully affirms our human capacity for grace and love and understanding.” —Gary D. Schmidt, author of Okay for Now

For decades, beloved chef Lidia Bastianich has introduced Americans to Italian food through her cookbooks, TV shows, and restaurants. Now she tells her own story for the first time in this “memoir as rich and complex as her mushroom ragú" (O, the Oprah Magazine). Born in Pula, on the Istrian peninsula, Lidia grew up surrounded by love and security, learning the art of Italian cooking from her beloved grandmother. But when Istria was annexed by a communist regime, Lidia’s family fled to Trieste, where they spent two years in a refugee camp waiting for visas to enter the United States. When she finally arrived in New York, Lidia soon began working in restaurants, the first step on a path that led to her becoming one of the most revered chefs and businesswomen in the country. Heartwarming, deeply personal, and powerfully inspiring, My American Dream is the story of Lidia’s close-knit family and her dedication and endless passion for food.

“This isn’t just a must-read for military buffs—it’s a source of inspiration for every American and anyone who aspires to be one.” —John Kerry, former US Secretary of State Born in Poland, John Shalikashvili (1936-2011) emigrated to the United States in 1952 and was drafted into the army as a private in 1958. He rose steadily through the ranks, serving in every level of unit command from platoon to division. In 1993, Shalikashvili was tapped by President Bill Clinton to replace General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, becoming the first immigrant, first draftee, and first Officer Candidate School graduate to hold the position. This first-ever biography of Shalikashvili’s riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches story reveals how his distinctive background helped him become one of the United States’s greatest military leaders. He exhibited a unique and unconventional leadership style—employing expertise, humility, straightforwardness, and empathy—that he adroitly used to resolve or prevent destructive conflict. His distinctive leadership style greatly benefited the United States, Europe, and beyond: as when he led the rescue of 500,000 Kurdish refugees in the first Gulf War’s aftermath; when he represented Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell in helping secure loose nukes in the former Soviet republics; as he joined forces with fellow immigrant Madeleine Albright on the Partnership for Peace initiative and NATO enlargement program in the 1990s; and in retirement, when he helped end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, thereby finally allowing gay servicemembers to serve openly without fear of dishonorable discharge. “An engaging story of a remarkable man whose life story would be fascinating even without regard to his military career.” —Foot Notes Blog

From the introduction: "Tradition has it that every American child receives, as part of his birthright, the freedom to mold his own life. . . . However inaccurate as a description of American society, the success myth reflects what millions believe that society is or ought to be. The degree to which opportunity has or has not been available in our society is a subject for empirical investigation. It rests within the realm of verifiable fact. The belief that opportunity exists for all is a subject for intellectual analysis and rests within the realm of ideology. This latter dimension of the success myth is the primary focus of this book."