Knopf Doubleday » Nan A. Talese

A Song in the Night by Bob Massie

rfeldman — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00:18 +0000

“A moving and memorable story of courage, conviction, and personal relationships that touched me deeply. Bob Massie is quietly and eloquently heroic in a way I won’t soon forget.”
—Tom Brokaw

Bob Massie was born with classical hemophilia, a painful disorder that caused repeated bleeding in his joints and slowly robbed him of the ability to walk. Though bound to leg braces and wheelchairs as a child, his curiosity and enthusiasm pulled him relentlessly outward toward knowledge and people. Gradually he fought back and eventually succeeded not only in walking again but in traveling widely through a life of passion and commitment. He graduated in history from Princeton, where he organized the opening up of the university’s exclusive club system, and later was ordained as an Episcopal minister. After several years teaching children and working with the homeless in New York City, he moved to the challenging halls of Harvard Business School, where he earned a doctorate while tending to a devoted but struggling congregation in the working-class city of Somerville, Massachusetts.

Though the medical dangers increased—he had acquired the HIV and hepatitis through transfusions for hemophilia—he continued to press for justice. He wrote a prizewinning book on South African apartheid, led one of America’s most innovative environmental groups, ran for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts, and created the world’s leading standard for corporate sustainability. Then, in 2002, the same year Massie was named one of the 100 most influential people in the field of finance by CFO magazine, he received more devastating health news. The hepatitis was causing his liver to fail, and Massie was brought close to death in 2009.

After surviving these remarkable challenges, Bob Massie is now ready to share his story. Though his journey has not been easy, he writes about it with tremendous grace and candor. In an era rife with disillusionment, A Song in the Night will inspire everyone who reads it.

“A good friend and a visionary leader, Bob Massie has combined foresight, passion, and skill to create lasting change in the US and around the world. In A Song in the Night, Bob shares deeply personal stories that help describe how he overcame great challenges to forge such strong commitments for his work and family. Bob has lived an incredible life, and we are so fortunate that he has shared it with us in this wonderful new book.”
—Al Gore

Read a Q&A with Bob Massie in TIME Magazine.

Bob Massie will be reading at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA on June 13th.

Purchase a copy from one of these online retailers:
Amazon :: Barnes & Noble :: IndieBound :: Powell’s :: Random House

David Hockney, A Stunning New Biography

jjacoby — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:56:35 +0000

Christopher Simon Sykes, who collaborated with Eric Clapton on his autobiography, turns his attention to an art world rock star: David Hockney. In volume one, he provides a colorful and intimate portrait of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, based on access to Hockney’s extensive archives, notebooks, and paintings, as well as interviews with family and friends.

Born in 1937, David Hockney grew up in a northern English town during the days of postwar austerity. By the time he was ten years old he knew he wanted to be an artist, and after leaving school he went on to study at Bradford Art College and later at the Royal College of Art in London. Bursting onto the scene at the Young Contemporaries exhibition, Hockney was quickly heralded as the golden boy of postwar British art and a leading proponent of pop art. It was during the swinging 60s in London that he befriended many of the seminal cultural figures of the generation and throughout these years Hockney’s career grew. Always absorbed in his work, he drew, painted and etched for long hours each day, but it was a scholarship that led him to California, where he painted his iconic series of swimming pools. Since then, the most prestigious galleries across the world have devoted countless shows to his extraordinary work.

Most recently Hockney has been at the forefront the art world’s digital revolution, producing incredible sketches on his iPhone and iPad, and it is this progressive thinking which has highlighted his genius, vigor and versatility as an artist approaching his 75th birthday.

“Certainly the most moving and amusing account of the most popular British artist of the 20th century. [David Hockney] bounces along as the rebellious, eccentric, funny artist discovers sex, then London, and so on to fame and fortune, via California. Sykes elicits marvellous background details and anecdotes… The wit, energy and magical talent of Hockney to use whatever happens to him to his purpose and for humour are shown on almost every page.”—London Evening Standard

“Prodigiously entertaining.”
—Financial Times

“A chatty, knowledgeable, insider’s biography, full of anecdotes.”
—The Guardian

Beautifully illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs throughout, this gorgeous volume makes a lovely addition to any library and is a perfect gift for any lover of art.

Pre-order a copy from one of these online retailers:
Amazon :: Barnes & Noble :: IndieBound :: Powell’s :: Random House

Walter Scott Prize Shortlist Includes Barry Unsworth

rfeldman — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:38:48 +0000

Barry Unsworth’s The Quality of Mercy has been shortlisted for the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction, the largest annual UK prize to be judged outside London, which honors the legacy and achievements of Sir Walter Scott, founder of the historical novel. The judges’ criteria include originality and innovation, quality of writing, and the ability of a book to shed light on the present as well as the past. The judging panel described making a very difficult choice from “the strongest longlist for the Prize so far,” and described Unsworth’s novel as, “A terrific story which successfully knits political, historical and personal strands.”

The award will be presented by former prizewinner Hilary Mantel in a ceremony on June 16th. The other contenders are: On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt, Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst, and Pure by Andrew Miller.

The Quality of Mercy has already received high praise from the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times.

The Healing by Jonathan Odell

rfeldman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:05:39 +0000

“A terrific novel that will take its place in the distinguished pantheon of Southern fiction. Like The Help, that show-stopping work by Kathryn Stockett, The Healing is another Mississippi-born work of art and Odell’s Polly Shine is a character for the ages.”
—Pat Conroy, author of The Prince of Tides and South of Broad

Mississippi plantation mistress Amanda Satterfield loses her daughter to cholera after her husband refuses to treat her for what he considers a “slave disease.” Insane with grief, Amanda takes a newborn slave child as her own and names her Granada, much to the outrage of her husband and the amusement of their white neighbors. Troubled by his wife’s disturbing mental state and concerned about a mysterious plague sweeping through his slave population, Master Satterfield purchases Polly Shine, a slavewoman reputed to be a healer. But Polly’s sharp tongue and troubling predictions cause unrest across the plantation. Complicating matters further, Polly recognizes “the gift” in Granada, the Mistress’s pet, and a domestic battle of wills ensues.

Seventy-five years later, Granada, now known as Gran Gran, is still living on the plantation and must revive the buried memories of her past in order to heal a young girl abandoned to her care. Together they learn of the power of story to heal the body, the spirit and the soul.

Rich in mood and atmosphere, The Healing is the kind of novel readers can’t put down—and can’t wait to recommend once they’ve finished. An American Booksellers Association (ABA) Indie Next selection for March!

Attention book clubs: Download the reading group guide

For more information about the book, including exclusive video and audio content, visit www.Jon-Odell.com

Purchase The Healing from one of these online retailers:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Powell’s
Random House

Indie Next List March 2012: The Healing

rfeldman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:20:18 +0000

We’re thrilled to share the news that The American Booksellers Association has selected Jonathan Odell’s enchanting and empowering novel The Healing for the March 2012 Indie Next List. On shelves February 21st, the book has received praise from bestselling authors Pat Conroy and Lalita Tademy, and has been featured in the February issue of Minnesota Monthly, where the author describes how he researched the book by interviewing the midwives of the Mississippi Delta. Watch the book trailer, find out about upcoming author events, read an excerpt, and take a look at our reader’s guide.

“Engrossing … Bound to be compared to Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling The Help, this historical novel probes complex issues of freedom and slavery.”
—Library Journal, starred review

The Quality of Mercy by Barry Unsworth

rfeldman — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:00:55 +0000

“Deeply moving. . . . Unsworth brings his characters together with authority and grace. As with all of his historical novels, he conveys the sights, sounds and smells of life in another century without the slightest hint of pedantry.”
—The Wall Street Journal

Barry Unsworth returns to the terrain of his Booker Prize-winning novel Sacred Hunger, this time following Sullivan, the Irish fiddler, and Erasmus Kemp, son of a Liverpool slave ship owner who hanged himself. It is the spring of 1767, and to avenge his father’s death, Erasmus Kemp has had the rebellious sailors of his father’s ship, including Sullivan, brought back to London to stand trial on charges of mutiny and piracy. But as the novel opens, a blithe Sullivan has escaped and is making his way on foot to the north of England, stealing as he goes and sleeping where he can.

His destination is Thorpe in the East Durham coalfields, where his dead shipmate, Billy Blair, lived: he has pledged to tell the family how Billy met his end.

In this village, Billy’s sister, Nan, and her miner husband, James Bordon, live with their three sons, all destined to follow their father down the pit. The youngest, only seven, is enjoying his last summer aboveground.

Meanwhile, in London, a passionate anti-slavery campaigner, Frederick Ashton, gets involved in a second case relating to the lost ship. Erasmus Kemp wants compensation for the cargo of sick slaves who were thrown overboard to drown, and Ashton is representing the insurers who dispute his claim. Despite their polarized views on slavery, Ashton’s beautiful sister, Jane, encounters Erasmus Kemp and finds herself powerfully attracted to him.

Lord Spenton, who owns coal mines in East-Durham, has extravagant habits and is pressed for money. When he applies to the Kemp merchant bank for a loan, Erasmus sees a business opportunity of the kind he has long been hoping for, a way of gaining entry into Britain’s rapidly developing and highly profitable coal and steel industries. Thus he too makes his way north, to the very same village that Sullivan is heading for . . .

With historical sweep and deep pathos, Unsworth explores the struggles of the powerless and the captive against the rich and the powerful, and what weight mercy may throw on the scales of justice.

Purchase a copy from one of these online retailers:

Amazon :: Barnes & Noble :: IndieBound :: Powell’s :: Random House

The Fat Years by Chan Koonchung

rfeldman — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:43 +0000

“What happens when 1.3 billion Chinese are all very happy? The Fat Years is suspenseful, hilarious, intelligent, and dark — a powerful novel. Anyone interested in learning about the current state and future of China should read this novel.”
—Shu-mei Shih, University of California, Los Angeles

Banned in China, this controversial and politically charged novel tells the story of the search for an entire month erased from official Chinese history.

Beijing, sometime in the near future: a month has gone missing from official records. No one has any memory of it, and no one could care less—except for a small circle of friends, who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of the sinister cheerfulness and amnesia that have possessed the Chinese nation. When they kidnap a high-ranking official and force him to reveal all, what they learn—not only about their leaders, but also about their own people—stuns them to the core. It is a message that will astound the world.

A kind of Brave New World reflecting the China of our times, The Fat Years is a complex novel of ideas that reveals all too chillingly the machinations of the postmodern totalitarian state, and sets in sharp relief the importance of remembering the past to protect the future.

“In conjuring China’s very near future, Chan Koonchung has given us a bracingly honest portrait of the present. He captures all the flamboyant paradoxes of daily life in China on the cusp of empire, but is also awake to its submerged anxieties. His writing is steeped in humor and fantasy, but his project could not be more serious: The struggle over the soul of a nation.”
—Evan Osnos, Beijing correspondent, The New Yorker

The New York Times reported how the book became an underground sensation in China.

Purchase a copy from one of these online retailers:

Amazon :: Barnes & Noble :: IndieBound :: Powell’s :: Random House

Video: Author Jonathan Odell on his Inspiration for The Healing

rfeldman — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:52:47 +0000

When the young slave Granada Satterfield is chosen to apprentice a mysterious healer in 1860, a domestic battle of wills ensues with troubling consequences for a Mississippi plantation. On sale February 21st, The Healing is the kind of novel readers can’t put down — and can’t wait to recommend once they’ve finished. Watch author Jonathan Odell discuss the real people who inspired the book:

“A terrific novel that will take its place in the distinguished pantheon of Southern fiction. Polly Shine is a character for the ages.”
—Pat Conroy

“Engrossing. . . . Bound to be compared to Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling The Help, this historical novel probes complex issues of freedom and slavery.”
—Library Journal, starred review

Reading Group Guide available.

Pre-order The Healing from one of these online retailers:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Powell’s
Random House

Vogue Picks Best Books of 2011: Includes Anne Roiphe’s Art and Madness

rfeldman — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:49:43 +0000

Anne Roiphe’s dazzling memoir Art and Madness has been selected as one of Vogue’s Top Ten Books of 2011, alongside works by Joan Didion, Julian Barnes, and Diane Keaton. The magazine writes:

“The greatest book about 1950s literary circles since Joyce Johnson’s Minor Characters, Anne Roiphe’s Art and Madness recalls the novelist’s lost years of Paris Review parties and late nights at Elaine’s, years in which she set aside her own ambitions to become a handmaiden of sorts to male artistic genius—at tremendous personal cost.”
—Vogue

Coming of age in the 1950s, Roiphe, the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants, grew up on Park Avenue and had an adolescence defined by privilege, petticoats, and social rules. At Smith College her classmates wore fraternity pins on their cashmere sweaters and knit argyle socks for their boyfriends during lectures. Young women were expected to give up personal freedom for devotion to home and children. Instead, Roiphe chose Beckett, Proust, Sartre, and Mann as her heroes and sought out the chaos of New York’s White Horse Tavern and West End Bar.

She was unmoored and uncertain, “waiting for a wisp of truth, a feather’s brush of beauty, a moment of insight.” Salvation came in the form of a brilliant playwright whom she married and worked to support, even after he left her alone on their honeymoon and later pawned her family silver, china, and pearls. Her near-religious belief in the power of art induced her to overlook his infidelity and alcoholism, and to dutifully type his manuscripts in place of writing her own.

During an era that idolized its male writers, she became, sometimes with her young child in tow, one of the girls draped across the sofa at parties with George Plimpton, Terry Southern, Doc Humes, Norman Mailer, Peter Matthiessen, and William Styron. In the Hamptons she socialized with Larry Rivers, Jack Gelber and other painters and sculptors. “Moderation for most of us is a most unnatural condition . . . . I preferred to burn out like a brilliant firecracker.” But while she was playing the muse reality beckoned, forcing her to confront the notion that any sacrifice was worth making for art.

Art and Madness recounts the fascinating evolution of a time when art and alcohol and rebellion caused collateral damage and sometimes produced extraordinary work. In clear-sighted, perceptive, and unabashed prose, Roiphe shares with astonishing honesty the tumultuous adventure of self-discovery that finally led to her redemption.

Read a review in The Daily Beast.

Superb Holiday Gifts

rfeldman — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:43:25 +0000

Whether you need a gift for an armchair traveler or a wannabe space traveler, we have you covered this holiday season. Renowned authors Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, and Peter Ackroyd have books to suit every taste. Click on the covers below to learn more.

“Atwood’s prose is addictive … She crafts sentences with poise and grace and pitch-perfect highbrow humor.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer

At a time when speculative fiction seems less and less far-fetched, Margaret Atwood lends her distinctive voice and singular point of view to the genre in a series of essays that brilliantly illuminates the essential truths about the modern world. Deeply thoughtful and deftly argued, Atwood shows readers how science fiction fits into a long, venerable tradition.

“Conroy’s fans will savor these 15 essays on the books and people that helped shape his long writing career … They lend themselves to being taken up separately, at leisure, and savored like a rich dessert.”
—The Charlotte Observer

Beloved storyteller Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life is a celebration of the books and writers that have shaped his life. Written with Conroy’s trademark pathos and wit, each chapter offers a compelling case for reading as widely and deeply as we can. A passionate ode to lifelong learning.

“There’s plenty of marvelous information in the book about what lies beneath London … Ackroyd is not just interested in London’s hidden relics; he’s interested in what they—and the idea of an underground—mean to a culture.”
—The Daily Beast

London Under is a wonderful, atmospheric, imaginative, oozing short study of everything that goes on under London, from original springs and streams and Roman amphitheaters to Victorian sewers, gang hideouts, and modern tube stations. To go under London is to penetrate history, to enter a hidden world. As Ackroyd puts it, “The vastness of the space, a second earth, elicits sensations of wonder and of terror. It partakes of myth and dream in equal measure.”