From its raw beginnings on Southern dirt tracks, NASCAR smacked of a slightly depraved spectacle, as if nothing but trouble could come from the unbridled locomotion of a V8 engine. By the time NASCAR roared into the twenty-first century, it had grown into a billion-dollar sports and marketing colossus, its races attended by hundreds of thousands of fans on any given weekend from mid-February through mid-November, watched on television by the second-largest viewing audience in sports, and bankrolled by the marketing largesse of the Fortune 500’s elite. One Helluva Ride, a full-throttle account of the rise and reign of NASCAR nation, is award-winning motorsports reporter Liz Clarke’s chronicle of how stock car racing exploded from regional obsession to national phenomenon. In covering the sport for more than fifteen years, Clarke has developed a strong rapport with NASCAR’s drivers, team owners, and hard-core fans. Through her reporting and analysis, we get to know the public and private sides of NASCAR’s most iconic figures, including seven-time champion Richard Petty, who set the standard for treating fans with respect, and the late Dale Earnhardt, whose brazen, bullying tactics wreaked havoc on the track, but whose heart was as big as Daytona’s infield. The sports world stopped in its tracks the day Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Some feared that NASCAR’s soul would die with him. But it has raced on, steered by visionary promoters, the all-controlling France family (who founded the sport), and, above all, the next generation of drivers to stir fans’ passions: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., son of the NASCAR legend and now, like his father before him, the circuit’s most popular driver; Jeff Gordon, the beloved but oft-maligned outsider, bred from the cradle to be NASCAR’s winningest modern champion; and Kasey Kahne, a reluctant heartthrob whose confidence derives entirely from an accelerator pedal. Clarke also brings us inside NASCAR’s most triumphant and tragic dynasties: the Pettys, the Earnhardts, and the Allisons–and reveals how faith, family, and a deep-seated love of their sport helps them cope with grief and loss. Clarke shows NASCAR to be at a crossroads. In pursuit of a broader audience, NASCAR has severed its sponsorship ties to Big Tobacco, abandoned racetracks in small markets in favor of speedways near glitzy major cities, and welcomed Japan’s Toyota into a sport traditionally restricted to American-made sedans. As NASCAR races toward mass appeal, some suggest it is leaving its roots behind. To others, it is boldly extending its reach from the Southern workingman to every man, woman, and child in the world. Whether you’re one of the die-hard NASCAR faithful or just a casual follower, nobody brings you closer to the sport and business of big-time stock car racing than Liz Clarke. This book, like the phenomenon it profiles, really is One Helluva Ride.

The sensational ’60s music memoir—part rock & roll fairytale, part mob epic—that “reads like a music-industry version of Goodfellas” (The Denver Post). Tommy James was the 60’s pop icon behind timeless hits like “Hanky Panky,” “Mony Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Crimson and Clover,” and more. These songs helped define the era, and they have been covered by artists ranging from Billy Idol to Tiffany to R.E.M. But just as compelling as the music itself is the life Tommy James lived while making it. In Me, the Mob, and the Music, James reveals his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with Roulette Records and Morris Levy, the legendary Godfather of the music business. It is a fascinating portrait of this swaggering era of rock ‘n’ roll, when concerts were wild and the hits kept coming—while, just backstage, payola schemes and mafioso tactics were the norm.

A highly entertaining memoir and business book specifically designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs, family business members, and general readers to help find their passion and achieve their career goals.

As a young girl Charlize Theron saw Darryl Hannah in Splash and she was convinced that she would make a better mermaid. Ever since, she has pursued her dream with single-minded obsession. Prize-winning author Chris Karsten traces Charlize's meteoric rise from a smallholding in South Africa to the pantheon of stars. Personal interviews with friends and family in South Africa and extensive research flesh out the life and career of this remarkable woman. Judging from the first 33 years of her life as revealed in this part-biography, Charlize will indeed one day be able to look back on her life and say: "This has been one helluva ride."

A guide for anyone--newcomer to experienced--who wants to go bike riding on the roads of Washtenaw County

Told with laugh-out-loud humor and take-no-prisoners frankness, this is a story of incredible resilience amid the dangers and chaos of poverty, prejudice, and personal demons.

Gil Slatter is quick on the draw and has a head for running a ranch—but he’s also a lonely man with nothing more than a cot in the bunkhouse at the TXY Ranch to call home. When the ranch’s foreman drops dead of a heart attack and the owner picks Gil to take his place, his entire world turns upside down. One day life is simple. The next, he’s running the entire outfit, buying new horses to replace the rundown remuda, finding new markets for the beef, tackling the problems of water shortages and homesteaders and learning how to deal with the tough and proud old man who owns the place. The old foreman’s passing means more than just a new job and new challenges on the ranch, though. He also leaves behind a daughter, a willful young woman named Kate. When Gil drops by to pay his respects, she shocks him with a somewhat outrageous proposal... and ends up stealing his heart. So starts the Western adventure of a lifetime. Between wild horses, outlaws, rustlers, homesteaders, an ambitious young landowner with a mean streak, and the flirtatious, scheming wife of the ranch’s owner, it’s no easy task for any man to handle. But with his new bride beside him, Gil is determined to take the TXY to new heights of success… or die trying!

Various works of poetry about life in the wilds of Alaska, seen through the eyes of one who lives there and partakes of what the wilderness has to offer.

NAMED "BEST OF" BY MULTIPLE ROMANCE BLOGS No Weddings - One Funeral - Two Bar Mitzvahs - Three Christmases - For Valentine's Award-winning author Kat Bastion teams with her husband, Stone Bastion, in the No Weddings Series about Cade Michaelson, a successful man with his sights set on a new venture in business, and Hannah Martin, the woman who makes it personal. The No Weddings Limited Edition Box Set includes the novels: No Weddings One Funeral Two Bar Mitzvahs Three Christmases ...PLUS a sneak peek of HEARTBREAKER, the first spinoff novel in the Unbreakable series Praise for the No Weddings series... "One of the best romantic comedies of the year! Absolute must read!" ~ Agents of Romance "The No Weddings Series is one of the best I have read that follows one couple. Cade and Hannah are both lovable characters, the storyline is real and entertaining, and the banter is fun and witty." ~ Lives & Breathes Book Blog "I loved it, and I mean REALLY loved it!" ~ Orchard Book Club "This is an exceptional series...You find yourself fully engrossed in their world and can't put the book down." ~ Books -n- Kisses "The No Weddings series has a group of such amazing characters; you can't help but relate to them and feel the emotion in every situation they encounter. It has been a long time since a story has made me feel that way let alone an entire series!" ~ Under the Covers Book Blog "The story of Cade & Hannah's relationship is realistic, heart-warming, and filled with real-world connections that shook me in a way that few titles I've read this year have managed...I have loved every minute of the No Weddings series." ~ That's What I'm Talking About ABOUT THE BOOKS... No Weddings Award-winning author Kat Bastion teams with her husband, Stone Bastion, in this first book in the No Weddings Series about Cade Michaelson, a successful man with his sights set on a new venture in business, and Hannah Martin, the woman who makes it personal. One Funeral The stakes climb higher in this second book in the No Weddings Series for Hannah Martin, a woman restrained by her past, and Cade Michaelson, the man who could help set her free. Two Bar Mitzvahs Summer heats up in this third book in the No Weddings Series, where Cade Michaelson strives to balance his and Hannah Martin’s new relationship with the growing demands of his financial success. Three Christmases As the holiday season approaches in this fourth book in the No Weddings Series, Cade Michaelson strives to be better at balancing work and love, and Hannah Martin’s growing ability to trust is put to the test. *** PLEASE NOTE *** Scorching (explicit) sex scenes. Fire extinguisher highly recommended. The Best of 2014 No Weddings Series: No Weddings One Funeral Two Bar Mitzvahs Three Christmases For Valentine’s The Unbreakable Series: Standalone novels of beloved characters from The No Weddings series Heartbreaker Rule Breaker Lawbreaker Icebreaker ~ upcoming release Ball Breaker ~ upcoming release

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