Download Free The Fire Island Road That Wasnt Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Fire Island Road That Wasnt and write the review.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A modern American classic, this huge and galvanizing biography of Robert Moses reveals not only the saga of one man’s incredible accumulation of power but the story of his shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York. One of the Modern Library’s hundred greatest books of the twentieth century, Robert Caro's monumental book makes public what few outsiders knew: that Robert Moses was the single most powerful man of his time in the City and in the State of New York. And in telling the Moses story, Caro both opens up to an unprecedented degree the way in which politics really happens—the way things really get done in America's City Halls and Statehouses—and brings to light a bonanza of vital information about such national figures as Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt (and the genesis of their blood feud), about Fiorello La Guardia, John V. Lindsay and Nelson Rockefeller. But The Power Broker is first and foremost a brilliant multidimensional portrait of a man—an extraordinary man who, denied power within the normal framework of the democratic process, stepped outside that framework to grasp power sufficient to shape a great city and to hold sway over the very texture of millions of lives. We see how Moses began: the handsome, intellectual young heir to the world of Our Crowd, an idealist. How, rebuffed by the entrenched political establishment, he fought for the power to accomplish his ideals. How he first created a miraculous flowering of parks and parkways, playlands and beaches—and then ultimately brought down on the city the smog-choked aridity of our urban landscape, the endless miles of (never sufficient) highway, the hopeless sprawl of Long Island, the massive failures of public housing, and countless other barriers to humane living. How, inevitably, the accumulation of power became an end in itself. Moses built an empire and lived like an emperor. He was held in fear—his dossiers could disgorge the dark secret of anyone who opposed him. He was, he claimed, above politics, above deals; and through decade after decade, the newspapers and the public believed. Meanwhile, he was developing his public authorities into a fourth branch of government known as "Triborough"—a government whose records were closed to the public, whose policies and plans were decided not by voters or elected officials but solely by Moses—an immense economic force directing pressure on labor unions, on banks, on all the city's political and economic institutions, and on the press, and on the Church. He doled out millions of dollars' worth of legal fees, insurance commissions, lucrative contracts on the basis of who could best pay him back in the only coin he coveted: power. He dominated the politics and politicians of his time—without ever having been elected to any office. He was, in essence, above our democratic system. Robert Moses held power in the state for 44 years, through the governorships of Smith, Roosevelt, Lehman, Dewey, Harriman and Rockefeller, and in the city for 34 years, through the mayoralties of La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri, Wagner and Lindsay, He personally conceived and carried through public works costing 27 billion dollars—he was undoubtedly America's greatest builder. This is how he built and dominated New York—before, finally, he was stripped of his reputation (by the press) and his power (by Nelson Rockefeller). But his work, and his will, had been done.
Spins the tale of a seafaring captain who overcomes personal tragedy and extreme obstacles to reinvent and find himself and start a new beginning.
Her hippie mother convinced Baez to birth her baby in the neighbor's swimming pool. After that bad advice, the reader must decide if her life went uphill or down. Enticed away from a topless bar, wrestling provided opportunities and adventures never before imagined. Her wrestling partner, the Vietnamese Ninja, and others provided a reckless ride through the comical world of wrestling and beyond. Her little girl, Shiloh, ruled her life as well as her desire to encourage other young women to study science and technology, but her personal decisions often interfered. Before wrestling, she struggled to pay tuition at MIT. The biggest challenge came when her daughter is kidnapped and she then spent many years searching for her. You will fall in love with Baez and others; despise the rest. Happy ending? You decide!
The editor, Cheryl Dunbar Kahlke, has woven five written accounts about Fire Island into a very readable book, generously complemented with photographs and postcards of the 1920s to the 1940s era. The five narratives are universal in emotion and yet simultaneously immensely personal in detail. That private quality triggers the reader's sensation of a personal knowledge of the feelings and experiences of each. In addition, each tale is enhanced by that presenter's honest abandon as they penned their memories in their own vernacular and individual colloquial style.Overall, the subject matter, Fire Island, universalizes the outpourings. Factual and historic details in timelines, maps, charts, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia add to the book. These keep the stories grounded in historic reality, which is useful for those who desire a deeper background of the times.
Three friends. One dead body. The summer they’ll never forget… Sharing a beach house on Fire Island seems like a killer way for best friends Zoe, Sage and Nick to spend summer together. But just as they’re dreaming of sunset margaritas and late-night barbecues, the body of their house hostess washes up on the beach. Talk about a buzz kill…. Now all Zoe can think about is why the “grieving” husband is planning parties rather than mourning his wife. Nick suddenly has secrets he can’t tell a soul. And Sage is trying to score booty as if it’s her last summer on earth…which it just might be. Because despite the ocean views and endless parties, Zoe, Sage and Nick have stopped wondering if the good times will last and started wondering if they will….
“One of the great reporters of our time and probably the greatest biographer.” —The Sunday Times (London) From the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Power Broker and The Years of Lyndon Johnson: an unprecedented gathering of vivid, candid, deeply moving recollections about his experiences researching and writing his acclaimed books. Robert Caro gives us a glimpse into his own life and work in these evocatively written, personal pieces. He describes what it was like to interview the mighty Robert Moses and to begin discovering the extent of the political power Moses wielded; the combination of discouragement and exhilaration he felt confronting the vast holdings of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas; his encounters with witnesses, including longtime residents wrenchingly displaced by the construction of Moses' Cross-Bronx Expressway and Lady Bird Johnson acknowledging the beauty and influence of one of LBJ's mistresses. He gratefully remembers how, after years of working in solitude, he found a writers' community at the New York Public Library, and details the ways he goes about planning and composing his books. Caro recalls the moments at which he came to understand that he wanted to write not just about the men who wielded power but about the people and the politics that were shaped by that power. And he talks about the importance to him of the writing itself, of how he tries to infuse it with a sense of place and mood to bring characters and situations to life on the page. Taken together, these reminiscences—some previously published, some written expressly for this book—bring into focus the passion, the wry self-deprecation, and the integrity with which this brilliant historian has always approached his work. To understand more about Robert Caro's research, see the Sony Pictures Classic documentary “Turn Every Page.”
One of the Guardian's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century "With language so vibrant it practically has a pulse, Enright makes an exquisitely drawn case for the possibility of growth, love and transformation at any age." —People From internationally acclaimed author Anne Enright comes a shattering novel set in a small town on Ireland's Atlantic coast. The Green Road is a tale of family and fracture, compassion and selfishness—a book about the gaps in the human heart and how we strive to fill them. Spanning thirty years, The Green Road tells the story of Rosaleen, matriarch of the Madigans, a family on the cusp of either coming together or falling irreparably apart. As they grow up, Rosaleen's four children leave the west of Ireland for lives they could have never imagined in Dublin, New York, and Mali, West Africa. In her early old age their difficult, wonderful mother announces that she’s decided to sell the house and divide the proceeds. Her adult children come back for a last Christmas, with the feeling that their childhoods are being erased, their personal history bought and sold. A profoundly moving work about a family's desperate attempt to recover the relationships they've lost and forge the ones they never had, The Green Road is Enright's most mature, accomplished, and unforgettable novel to date.
George S. K. Rider’s The Rogue’s Road to Retirement takes a unique approach to growing old—don’t do it! After retiring, Rider embarks on a bumpy journey to find himself and a new lease on life. For the first time, he gets in touch with his creative side—an unusual direction indeed, since he spent seventy years of his life as a college athlete turned Navy officer turned Wall Street trader and weekend jock. Told through a series of uproariously humorous and sometimes poignant adventures, The Rogue’s Road to Retirement is about getting back in touch with your inner rascal and getting off your duff (George ends up in an MTV video, a Pepsi ad doing the polka, and Sports Illustrated)! Rider’s adventures and stories reflect on finding a new passion in retirement by: being kind to your kids (after all, you need them to do the lawn work now); discovering the joys of guilt-tripping your grandchildren into hanging out with you; struggling with the age-old dilemma—take another nap or go to the gym; driving your spouse nuts now that you’re both home 24/7; barhopping (or barhobbling) after sixty-five; savoring the sweet memories of friends and loves ones now gone; and much more. The Rogue’s Road to Retirement is about the rebels, raconteurs, and roués who refuse to grow old gracefully, who want to grow old the way they grew up—raising hell, having fun, and giving their kids and grandkids a run for their money.
Unicorn Dreams is an amusing family saga about the Andros family as seen through the eyes of Edward, its youngest member. He begins his reminiscences in the year 1980 when the sight of so many unicorns on department store shelves causes him to recall his sister-in-law, Alissa, who had a special connection with that heraldic beast. It is the impact of Alissa on various family members which is the backbone of the novel. Whether seen as saint or sinner, no one remains indifferent to Alissa. Among the various family members who are affected by Alissa is Eleanor Andros, matriarch of the clan. She often compares herself to Eleanor of Aquitaine whom, despite what the historians say, she refers to as "that dear saintly queen." There's Arthur, Alissa's husband, eldest son and heir to the family business who deserted the clan with nary a backward glance. Next comes Richard, recluse and malcontent, who especially despises Alissa whom he blames for Arthur's alienation and the subsequent destruction of his dreams of a promising music career. John is the black sheep of the family whose selfish behavior is the biggest thorn in Eleanor's side. Lastly, there's Edward himself, struggling against family opposition and resentment to become a doctor during the difficult Depression years. Besides the immediate family, members of the extended family are also drawn into Alissa's web. There's lovable obese Uncle Theo whose ideas are as outrageous as his thickly Greek-accented English. Eleanor's half brother, Teddy Busby, bon vivant and ladies' man, is attracted by Alissa's lure. While his daughter, Melinda, shares his infatuation, his son, Roderick, is determined to play Mordred in Alissa's Camelot. These are a few of the characters who are woven into the tangled tapestry of the Andros family's life as they struggle together, and sometimes against each other, to survive bootlegging, prohibition, the Depression, World War II, and all the crises which affect everyone throughout a lifetime. Whether laughing together at a family dinner, attending a lavish Elizabethan costume party, or suffering together through the losses of death and divorce, Alissa's influence, for good or bad, is profoundly felt by everyone.