[This book] is [an] account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played torturous, unpredictable games - games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."--Back...

The author argues that the robbers, aimless blue-collar friends who'd dabbled in evangelicalism and doomsday scenarios, "were looking at American society and seeing a house of cards teetering on collapse." The crime was meant to bankroll plans for a survivalist compound; yet their sense of rage was indicated by the arsenal of assault rifles and improvised explosives. The amateurish robbery devolved into a running firefight with outgunned law enforcement...

"A frank, smart and captivating memoir by the daughter of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Born on a farm and named in a field by her parents--artist Chrisann Brennan and Steve Jobs--Lisa Brennan-Jobs's childhood unfolded in a rapidly changing Silicon Valley. When she was young, Lisa's father was a mythical figure who was rarely present in her life. As she grew older, her father took an interest in her, ushering her into a new world of mansions, vacations,...

Hidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained–the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five...

Senator Kamala Harris's commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents--an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India--met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and...

"Deborah Larkin was only ten years old when the quiet calm of her California suburb was shattered. Thirty miles north, on a quiet November night in Santa Barbara, a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment. The mystery deepens when it is discovered that Olga's mother in-law--a deeply manipulative and deceptive woman--had been doing everything in her power to separate Olga and her son, Frank, prior to Olga's disappearance. From...

Former police detective Mark Fuhrman describes his part in the investigation of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, his testimony in the trial, his nolo contendere plea to charges of perjury, and the effect the Simpson trial had on Fuhrman's family.

Biography of Monty Roberts, focusing on the unique methods he has developed for training horses through gentleness and an understanding of nonverbal communication, and telling how he has applied his techniques to human relationships.

"Abuse and exploitation of workers is baked into the very foundations of the entertainment industry. To break the cycle and make change that sticks, it's important to stop looking at headline-making stories as individual events. Instead, one must look closely at the bigger picture, to see how abusers are created, fed, rewarded, allowed to persist, and, with the right tools, how they can be excised. In Burn It Down, veteran reporter Maureen Ryan does...

"The Sunshine State most definitely lives up to its name. In California, visitors can happily conjure up images of joy-filled days by the beach, scenic drives along stunning coast roads, hikes in national parks, wine tastings, and adrenalin-fuelled thrills at its world-class amusement parks. All this, of course, sits alongside a big dose of Hollywood glitz and glamour, celebrity spotting and serious shopping, not to mention an exciting culinary scene....