Closest Companion by Geoffrey C. Ward

Closest Companion is the highly acclaimed and surprisingly engrossing secret diary of Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, Franklin Roosevelt's sixth cousin, who spent more private time with FDR during his years in the White House than any other person. Expertly edited by the eminent historian and bestselling author Geoffrey C. Ward, the diary begins on FDR's inauguration day in January 1933 and ends on the day Roosevelt died in April 1945. Including thirty-eight letters that FDR wrote to Daisy, this volume is a significant contribution to history, offering unique and intimate details of FDR's relationship with Winston Churchill and other wartime leaders, his decision to run for an unprecedented fourth term, his deteriorating health, and his hopes for the postwar world. But at bottom, Closest Companion is a love story like no other, one that provides dramatic new insights into the character and private life of one of America's greatest presidents. MORE

Product Details
Simon & Schuster, July 2009
Trade Paperback, 464 pages
ISBN-10: 1-4391-0314-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-0314-2

Diane Dimond's New Book: Be Careful Who You Love, Inside the Michael Jackson Case

The explosive definitive account of the Michael Jackson saga, chronicling the King of Pop's battles against child molestation charges from 1993 to 2005, from award-winning journalist

Diane Dimond, who broke the story first, over twelve years ago

Michael Jackson has long captured the world's attention, first as the dynamic lead singer of the Jackson Five, then during his highly successful breakout solo career. But somewhere along the line Jackson transformed himself into something hardly recognizable and was investigated -- not once, but twice -- for crimes we could hardly imagine.

Even now, after his unexpected acquittal on multiple charges of child molestation, there is a sense that the real truth behind the allegations is not known. The character of Michael Jackson -- from his humble beginnings to his rich career and the birth of Neverland Ranch -- is destined for great debate among fans, journalists, historians, and psychiatrists for years to come. In the meantime, there is Diane Dimond, the journalist of record on the Jackson case.

In November 2003, when the Santa Barbara county sheriff's department conducted another raid on Neverland Ranch, Diane Dimond and her camera crews were the only ones there to capture the moment and report the news to the world. Now, for the first time, Dimond recounts the multifaceted details of the Jackson case, utilizing her extensive notes and sources. What she tells us is a shocking story.

Be Careful Who You Love will take you behind the scenes and into the courtroom of one of the most controversial cases of the decade, while giving readers a dramatic glimpse of one reporter's vigilance and unending quest to uncover the truth. MORE

'American Adulterer' offers compelling, clinical look at JFK

It takes a great deal of audacity and no less imagination to dissect the libidinous mind of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but British doctor-turned-novelist Jed Mercurio comes equipped with a little black bag, ready to operate.

Mercurio, who created the BBC medical dramas Bodies and Cardiac Arrest, delivers a compelling — if sometimes distressingly clinical — historical fiction that gives the 35th president's life as an unrepentant "fornicator" a full physical.

"The subject," as the author refers to JFK throughout the novel (lending his observations a physician's cool detachment), "takes the view that monogamy has seldom been the engine of great men's lives."

Central to the book's premise is that this great man has been saddled with a laundry list of debilitating afflictions, including Addison's disease, thyroid deficiency, gastric reflux, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, prostatitis, urethritis, mysterious fevers, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis and asthma.

Racked with pain, relentless intestinal distress, his movements stiffly hogtied by a back brace, Kennedy is medicated, probed and punctured by a team of doctors in search of the correct chemical cocktail — all to keep the illusion of health and vitality alive for the sake of the nation.MORE

Kathryn Stockett's 'The Help' is The Hot Book This Summer

A debut novel set in 1960s Jackson, Miss., The Help has been building an audience through word of mouth, supportive booksellers and the publisher's relentless promotion of Stockett and her novel.

It has turned into one of summer's sleeper hits.

"There's a moment right now for this book," says Amy Einhorn, whose Putnam imprint publishes The Help. "It's the tipping point where people are telling other people that they just need to read this."

Stockett's novel tells the story of white Southerner Skeeter Phelan, 22, who persuades the African-American maids in Jackson to help her write a book about their experiences — good and bad — working for white families.

"The story is so well told," says Rona Brinlee, owner of The Book Mark in Atlantic Beach, Fla. "You can feel the time period so viscerally. You become so attached to these women. They are so at risk and you have to know what's going to happen to them. It's a page-turner." MORE

Random House Buys Rights to Jackson Autobiography

Publishers including Random House have bought the rights to reprint Michael Jackson’s best-selling 1988 autobiography, “Moonwalk,’’ Random House said Friday.
The book, in which the late pop icon talks of his fame, music career, and family, will be released in October following his death last month. It will sell for $25.

The US and Canadian rights were bought by Harmony Books, an imprint of Random House. Harmony will print an initial run of 100,000 copies.

Harmony Books spokesman Campbell Wharton declined to comment on the terms of the deal made with Jackson’s estate.More

A Memoir of Noodles, Neuroses

I’ll say this for “The Ramen King and I’’: I’ve never read anything remotely like it. Andy Raskin’s memoir manages to weave together such disparate strands as romantic betrayal, Japanese cuisine, the dot.com boom, and an exhaustive personal history of Momofuku Ando, inventor of the instant noodles popularly referred to as ramen noodles. In its finest moments, the book is peculiar and riveting.
Raskin, who has a degree in computer science from Yale and a master’s in Japan studies, would seem an unlikely memoirist. But he does possess a crucial ingredient: ample neuroses. “I should not want attention or validation. I should give things another shot. I should be more organized,’’ he writes, in his self-lacerating introduction. “I should be friendlier with the guys who run the body shop. I should keep things under wraps. I should not be suffering from what the inventor of instant ramen identified - just prior to inventing instant ramen - as the Fundamental Misunderstanding of Humanity.’’

But Raskin’s real problem, as he sees it, is one of intimacy. He keeps pushing women away, or throwing them over, and eventually winds up in a 12-step-type program where his sponsor instructs him to write letters to a figure he admires. Raskin chooses Ando. He spends the rest of the book trying to orchestrate a personal audience with the entrepreneur. We can all breathe a sigh of relief that Raskin - who also has an MBA from Wharton - didn’t choose Jack Welch. MORE

Author E. Lynn Harris Dies at Age 54

Long before the secret world of closeted black gay men came to light in America, bestselling author E. Lynn Harris introduced a generation of black women to the phenomenon known as the "down low."

Harris endeared such characters to readers who were otherwise unfamiliar with them, using themes and backdrops familiar to urban professionals, conditioned by their upbringings, their church leaders or their friends to condemn and criticize homosexuality in the African-American community. A proud Razorback cheerleader at the University of Arkansas who struggled with his own sexuality before becoming a pioneer of gay black fiction, Harris died Thursday at age 54 while promoting his latest book in Los Angeles.

Publicist Laura Gilmore said Harris died Thursday night after being stricken at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and a cause of death had not been determined. She said Harris, who lived in Atlanta, fell ill on a train to Los Angeles a few days ago and blacked out for a few minutes, but seemed fine after that.

An improbable and inspirational success story, Harris worked for a decade as an IBM executive before taking up writing, selling the novel "Invisible Life" from his car as he visited salons and beauty parlors around Atlanta. He had unprecedented success for an openly gay black author and his strength as a romance writer led some to call him the "male Terry McMillan."

In 15 years, Harris became the genre's most successful author, penning 11 titles, ten of them New York Times bestsellers. More than four million of his books are in print.MORE

Carrie Prejean, Dethroned Miss California, Writing a Book

Regnery Publishing announced Monday that it has signed dethroned Miss California Carrie Prejean to a book deal.

Her book, titled "Still Standing," will give her side of the controversy that ensued after that infamous answer she gave at the Miss USA pageant concerning gay marriage.

The publisher says the book will address: What happened behind the scenes at the pageant, why she answered Perez Hilton's question the way she did and what really led to her losing the Miss California crown. MORE

Author Details Story of Incarcerated Vocal Group

It sounds like a film script: five African-American men incarcerated at the Tennessee Shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftate Penitentiary in Nashville during the '40s and '50s form a vocal group and release a hit record. But the story is true.

The blues quintet, dubbed The Prisonaires, was led by Johnny Bragg, who was serving 594 years for multiple counts of rape, and included William Stewart, serving 99 years for witnessing the murder of a man; Marcel Sanders, facing one to five years for involuntary manslaughter; Ed Thurman, serving 99 years for murdering a man who killed his dog; and John Drue Jr., serving three years for larceny.

They made history with their song, "Just Walkin' in the Rain," which was released on Sun Records in 1953.

Jay Warner, a six-time Grammy-winning music publisher and the founder of National League Music recounts The Prisonaires story in "Just Walkin' in the Rain: The True Story of the Prisonaires: the Convict Pioneers of R&B and Rock & Roll" (Renaissance Books, $25).

The tale is complex and inspiring as it deals with the issues of civil rights and prison reform, but its main focus is on the relationship between Bragg and the governor of the time, Frank Clement.

"It's really two men from opposite ends of the social and political spectrum who find a need in each other. MORE

Book News: Gillispie Authoring Book About Coaching Experiences

Billy Gillispie is writing a book about his life and experiences as a college basketball coach, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Gilispie and free-lance writer Steve Richardson have been writing the book for three years and recently made a formal agreement to see it through to its completion. The book is titled the The Billy Gillispie Story.

"I am just really excited about what we have done so far," Gillispie told the paper. "And I look forward to continuing on this project. It has been a lot of fun so far, and I am sure it will be a lot of fun to complete. I have more time to do it now."

Gillispie was fired by Kentucky in March after two frustrating seasons with the program. He previously coached Texas A&M and Texas-El Paso. MORE

Close pal to issue Farrah Fawcett book next month

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A close friend of late "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett will publish her personal diaries about the 'actress' three-year struggle with cancer next month.

"My Journey with Farrah: A Story of Life, Love and Friendship," by Alana Stewart, will come out on August 11 _ less than two months after Fawcett succumbed to anal cancer on June 25. The book is thought to be the first insider's look at Fawcett's illness.

Stewart, the ex-wife of rocker Rod Stewart and a friend of Fawcett's for 30 years, said she was encouraged to go into print by Fawcett herself and by Ryan O'Neal, the "Love Story" movie star who was Fawcett's long time companion. MORE

Bestselling Authors To Attend 2009 National Book Festival

Washington, D.C. (CNS) - A bevy of bestselling authors will be on hand to make presentations at the ninth annual 2009 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. The popular event will be held on Saturday, September 26 at the National Mall.

Bestselling authors David Baldacci, John Grisham, John Irving, Julia Alvarez, Judy Blume, Ken Burns, Gwen Ifill and Jodi Picoult will all be attending the festival. Celebrity chef Paula Deen will also be there to present.

The event is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, with President Barack Obama and first Lady Michelle Obama acting as Honorary Chairs. Last year, the festival had over 120,000 people attend and is free and open to the public.

"This promises to be one of our most exciting author lineups ever," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington in a press release. "This year's National Book Festival truly offers something for everyone, with books by popular and award-winning authors in many genres and for all age groups." MORE

Jay-Z Close to Book Deal With Spiegel & Grau

Jay-Z is close to finalizing a book deal with the Spiegel & Grau imprint of Random House. The literary agent repping the rapper, Matthew Guma, had no comment, but sources say the book will consist of Jay-Z commenting on and telling the stories behind his lyrics.

Sources said that when Mr. Guma originally approached editors and publishers earlier this summer, he was talking about doing a bundle of three books: One was going to be a traditional memoir, one was going to be a business book, and the third was the one that Spiegel & Grau ended up acquiring.MORE

Justin Timberlake Proposes Book About Golf

Justin Timberlake Out With a Book Proposal on Golf
Justin Timberlake wants to write a book about golf! Sources say lit agent David Vigliano—who has recently repped books by celebrities like Shannon Doherty and Clay Aiken—sent editors a short proposal by the singer last month. Mr. Timberlake has been a golf fanatic for years, getting his first taste of the game as a boy and later playing it with a group of roadies during the last *NSYNC tour. Today, he regularly competes in charity tournaments, and even owns an environmentally friendly golf course in his hometown of Millington, Tennessee. MORE

The King of Vodka

The King of Vodka
The Story of Pyotr Smirnov and the Upheaval of an Empire
By Linda Himelstein
In this sweeping history of vodka scion Pyotr Smirnov and his family, distinguished journalist Linda Himelstein plumbs a great riddle of Russian history through the story of a humble serf who rose to create one of the most celebrated business empires the world has ever known. At the center of this vivid narrative, Pyotr Smirnov comes to life as a hero of wonderful complexity—a man of intense ambition and uncanny business sense, a patriarch of a family that would help define Russian society and suffer from the Revolution's aftermath, and a loyalist to a nation that would one day honor him as a treasure of the state.

Born in a small village in 1831, Smirnov relied on vodka—a commodity that in many ways defines Russia—to turn a life of scarcity and anonymity into one of immense wealth and international recognition. Starting from the backrooms and side streets of 19th century Moscow, Smirnov exploited a golden age of emancipation and brilliant grassroots marketing strategies to popularize his products and ensconce his brand within the thirsts and imaginations of drinkers around the world. His vodka would be gulped in the taverns of Russia and Europe, praised with accolades at World Fairs, and become a staple on the tables of Tsars. His improbable ascent—set against a sobriety crusade supported by Chekhov and Tolstoy, mounting political uprisings and labor strikes, the eventual monopolization of the vodka trade by the state—would crumble amidst the chaos of the Bolshevik revolution. Only a set of bizarre coincidences—including an incredible prison escape by one of Smirnov's sons in 1919—would prevent Smirnov's legacy from fading into oblivion. More

Dan Brown Book Cover Revealed

Dan Brown Drumroll: The Book Cover Revealed
Showing a blood red wax seal, cryptic symbols and a shadowy skyline of the Capitol, the cover hinted at the setting for the book in Washington D.C. — “though it’s a Washington few will recognize,” said Jason Kaufman, Mr. Brown’s editor. “As we would expect, he pulls back the veil — revealing an unseen world of mysticism, secret societies, and hidden locations, with a stunning twist that long predates America.” Mr. Brown had previously written that the book would be “set deep within the oldest fraternity in history,” the Masons. The new novel, which is being published by the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on Sept. 15, features Robert Langdon, the protagonist of “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons.” Knopf Doubleday is planning a 5 million first print run in hardcover. MORE

Nigella Christmas

Here is everything you could wish for to make your life and your Christmas easy and enjoyable: from party canapés, cocktails and manageable mass catering to scrumptious Christmas cakes and puddings; from no-fuss brunch to quick and easy homemade presents (chutneys, preserves and other delectable standbys) and edible tree-decorations. There are mouthwatering recipes with a seasonal twist and simple menus for feeding friends over the extended holiday season with minimum stress and maximum enjoyment. And, of course, exciting and inspiring variations for the Main Event itself - from her traditional super-juicy turkey with all the trimmings, to festive ginger-glazed ham and the Ultimate Christmas Pud; from goose, rib of beef, stuffed rolled pork, all the way to a special vegetarian Christmas feast, a chocolate pudding for Christmas pudding haters, a French Yule Log, Australian Christmas Pud and the Boozy British Trifle.MORE

Mortal Friends: A Political High Society Winner

Set amid politics and high society in D.C., new novel keeps you guessing
The “Beltway Basher,” a local serial killer, has just struck again, and Reven Lynch, the narrator of novelist Jane Stanton Hitchcock’s briskly entertaining “Mortal Friends,” is (guiltily) agog. “I must admit I was fascinated by these ­current crimes,” says Reven, a ­fortysomething ­divorcee about town—in this case, Georgetown.

A decorator turned proprietor of a fashionable antiques shop, Reven is pretty, blond (with a little help), well-connected (her best friend, ­Violet, is the wife of a banking heir) and full of easy, breezy small talk. About her unusual first name: It’s “never” spelled backward. “I was basically a mistake,” she tells ­people. “My parents never thought they’d have me.”

Actually, Reven’s got the never thing down pat. She never pays her bills on time, can never keep a ­secret, never looks much below the surface, never makes smart choices about men. Her romances tend to follow a pattern: “a whoosh of ­enthusiasm followed either by a fast puncture or a slow deflation.”
Book Details

Mortal Friends
By Jane Stanton Hitchcock
Harper, 334 pages, $25.99

She is drawn into the Beltway Basher case when an inscrutable detective, convinced that the perp is a Washington bigwig, solicits her aid in traversing the rough terrain known as high society. It “had ­always been a question in my mind,” Reven muses early in the novel, as she edges into the murder investigation. “Would I recognize evil if it came close?” Hint: It’s going to come close, really, really close. More