The Autobiography of a Snake


Book Description

In this visual complement to The Andy Warhol Diaries—a snake who might be Warhol himself chronicles his attempts to scale the social ladder This is the never-before-published story of a snake trying to make it in the world of sixties high society, strongly suggested to be a stand-in for Warhol himself. The snake’s tongue-in-cheek observations as he slithers from adorning Jackie Kennedy’s boots to embellishing Coco Chanel’s shirt will delight the sophisticated fashion crowd. But the stars of the show are Warhol’s whimsical illustrations, revivified with a color scheme inspired by his iconic Pop Art. Before he achieved his dream of making it big in New York, Andy Warhol worked in advertising for a leather goods company, Fleming-Joffe, alongside Ogden Nash and Piero Fornasetti. It was for Fleming-Joffe that he created these images, held by the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and rarely seen until this deluxe publication. The Autobiography of a Snake is a brilliant portrait of Warhol’s obsessions, his talent, and the world he would one day conquer.




Don "The Snake" Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320


Book Description

Don "The Snake" Prudhomme reveals for the first time ever his incredible life and career on and off of the drag strip.

Imagine spending a year with Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, having coffee together and talking about his life, his racing, his friends, and his family. He’d tell you about how he rose from being a high school drop-out who was painting cars to a respected Top Fuel dragster driver and successful businessman. You’d hear how he toured the country with Tommy Ivo and "The Hawaiian" Roland Leong, racing all the legends from "Big Daddy" Don Garlits to "The Golden Greek" [Chris] Karamesines. He'd say how he met Tom McEwen and recall how they became the Snake and the Mongoose, leading to a career in Funny Cars that netted him four championships in a row. He'd talk about the thrill of first wins and owning his own teams but also the struggles of bad seasons, crashes and fires, broken parts, and broken contracts. Along the way, he’d speak about the people in his life, such as engine-builder Keith Black and NHRA president Wally Parks, and those who were killed in the wild and unpredictable sport of nitro racing. It wouldn’t be only racing, though. Prudhomme would share lessons he learned about business and life from such varied sources as a neighbor in Granada Hills to Ford GT40 driver Dan Gurney. He also would talk about the importance of family: how his wife, Lynn, and daughter, Donna, changed his world and how finding out about his African-American roots opened his eyes to a culture and inheritance he’d always wanted. This is the experience you’ll get in Don "The Snake" Prudhomme: My Life Beyond the 1320.




Killing My Own Snakes


Book Description

'Gloriously funny . . . unfailingly entertaining' – Mail on Sunday 'What worlds she's seen, what a life she's had – at long last, the memoirs of the fearless, witty, indomitable Ann Leslie' – Deborah Moggach She has been shot at by Bosnian snipers, been pursued by Robert Mugabe’s notorious secret police, filed from the North Korean border, propositioned by both Salvador Dali and David Niven and been driven maniacally through London by Steve McQueen. But Ann Leslie’s life is every bit as remarkable as her career. A daughter of the Raj, she was born in India and the strongest influence on her early life was an illiterate Pashtun bearer, who saved her life during Partition. Her mother, a great beauty, was indifferent to her eldest daughter and she was sent to the first of a series of boarding-schools aged just four, eventually winning a scholarship to Oxford. After graduating she began her career at the Manchester office of the Daily Express, where the news editor took an instant dislike to her - she was a southerner, educated and – worst of all – female. Despite his best efforts she was soon given her own column. Then, after a stint covering show business she was appointed Foreign Correspondent of the Daily Mail, an association that endures today, almost forty years later, and one which finally allowed her real talent to shine through. Killing My Own Snakes is a witty, incident-filled account of an extraordinary life, a fascinating self-portrait of one the most influential journalists of our time.




Snake Oil


Book Description

"In the world of snake oils, you have to see the world a little differently. Where others see poverty, you see riches; where others see weeds, you see flowers; where others see sickness, you see openness." Becca Stevens calls herself a "snake oil seller": She takes natural oils, mixes them with a good story, sells them in an open market and believes they help to heal the world. Becca is the founder of Thistle Farms, one of the most successful examples in the US of a social enterprise whose mission is the work force. She is also the founder of its residential program, Magdalene. The women of Magdalene/Thistle Farms have survived prostitution, trafficking and addiction, and the natural body care products they manufacture-balms, soaps, and lotions-aid in their own healing as well as that of the people who buy them. The book weaves together the beginnings of the enterprise with individual stories from Becca's own journey as well as 20 women in the community. In Snake Oil, Becca tells how the women she began helping fifteen years ago have been the biggest source of her own healing from sexual abuse and her father's death as a child. Wise and reflective, Snake Oil offers an empowering narrative as well as a selection of recipes for healing remedies that readers can make themselves.




Snake


Book Description

The first in-depth biography of one of the most talented and infamous legends to play in the National Football League—the life and times of pro football’s first bad boy, famed Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler. Ken "The Snake" Stabler was the embodiment of the original Men in Black—the freewheeling, hard-hitting Oakland Raiders. The league’s first swashbuckling pass thrower, the mythical southpaw Southerner famous for come-from-behind drives late in the game, Stabler led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl championship in 1977. In an era dominated by gentleman quarterbacks like Roger Staubach and Bob Griese, this 1974 NFL MVP, four-time Pro-bowler, and Super Bowl champion was an iconoclast who partied as hard as he played and lived life unapologetically on his own—not the NFL’s—terms. Though Stabler’s legacy is larger-than-life, there has never before been an exclusive account of him, until now. Snake goes deep under the surface of Stabler’s persona to reveal a man who, despite his penchant for partying and debauchery, was committed to winning and being the best player he could be. From his college days playing for Bear Bryant at Alabama to his years with the Raiders under coach John Madden, his broadcasting career to his death in 2015 and the revelation that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as C.T.E., Snake probes the myriad facets of Stabler’s life on and off the field to tell his complete story, and explores how his legacy and the culture and times that pivotally shaped it, continues to impact football today.




Black Snake


Book Description

Part of the award-winning Young Adult non-fiction series, The Drum. “Everyone looks on me like a black snake.” – Letter from Ned Kelly to Sergeant Babington, July 1870. Ned Kelly was a thief, a bank robber and a murderer. He was in trouble with the law from the age of 12. He stole hundreds of horses and cattle. He robbed two banks. He killed three men. Yet, when Ned was sentenced to death, thousands of people rallied to save his life. He stood up to the authorities and fought for what he believed in. He defended the rights of people who had no power. Was he a villain? Or a hero? What do you think?




Don't Sleep, There are Snakes


Book Description

Although Daniel Everett was a missionary, far from converting the Pirahãs, they converted him. He shows the slow, meticulous steps by which he gradually mastered their language and his gradual realisation that its unusual nature closely reflected its speakers' startlingly original perceptions of the world. Everett describes how he began to realise that his discoveries about the Pirahã language opened up a new way of understanding how language works in our minds and in our lives, and that this way was utterly at odds with Noam Chomsky's universally accepted linguistic theories. The perils of passionate academic opposition were then swiftly conjoined to those of the Amazon in a debate whose outcome has yet to be won. Everett's views are most recently discussed in Tom Wolfe's bestselling The Kingdom of Speech. Adventure, personal enlightenment and the makings of a scientific revolution proceed together in this vivid, funny and moving book.




There's a Snake in My Garden


Book Description




The Snake in the Sandtrap (and Other Misadventures on the Golf Tour)


Book Description

The recent Open winner and golf commentator shares his favorite anecdotes from the professional golf tour, humorous stories from all the major international tournaments




Snake Dancing


Book Description

Snake Dancing is the second volume of Roberta Sykes' three volume autobiography, Snake Dreaming. It chronicles Roberta's increasing politicisation and involvement in the Black movement to the time of her invitation from Harvard to take up postgraduate study in the United States. Struggling to overcome the effects of her ordeals in Snake Cradle, Roberta Sykes gradually moves into the national spotlight as a writer and as First Secretary of the Aboriginal Embassy set up in a tent on the lawns of Parliament House. She details the dangerous, demanding and sometimes lonely life of an itinerant activist, and brings a human perspective to events that were often headline news around the world. Snake Dancing is essential reading for those wishing to understand the complex nature of interaction between the races in Australia's recent history. The first volume of her autobiography, Snake Cradle, won the 1997 Age Book of the Year and the 1998 Nitta Kibble awards, and those who were moved by it will continue to be engrossed by Roberta Sykes' remarkable life. 'Roberta... that you not only survived but triumphed is an incredible tribute to you and the human spirit.' - David Suzuki 'Sykes explores the depth of the personal veneer surrounding every Australian who is, like it or not, part of the hidden history of black and white contact in this country. Secrets taken to the grave choke up every cemetery in Australia. A genuine national pride must also accept and accommodate the shame. Sykes' intricate and courageously honest story of her life may help us understand why this needs to be so.' - Alexis Wright, Australian Book Review 'Reading Roberta Sykes is to be engaged by a great tale and by and uncompromisingly fine writer.' - Janine Burke, The Age