Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Journalists, Editors & Publishers

Herodotus, the fifth-century chronicler, scarcely figured in the curriculum when famed Polish writer and traveler Ryszard Kapuscinski attended university in the 1950s. Ryszard became a foreign correspondent who hoped to go abroad, perhaps to Czechoslovakia. Instead, he was sent to India—the first stop on a decades-long tour of the world. His only companion on his travels was a volume of Herodotus. In his journey across continents, Kapuscinski discovers his life's work: to understand and describe the non-Western world, in all its variety, through his still-virginal Western eyes.

When Ted Turner started out in business, he owned a small billboard company in rural Georgia. Over the decades, he built a multi-billion empire that included CNN, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), MGM studios, and the Atlanta Braves. Risk-taking, careful planning, and steely determination are the hallmarks of this brash, outspoken, and wildly successful media mogul. On the other side of the world, his counterpart—Australian-born Rupert Murdoch—began with one small newspaper and parlayed it into more than 100 newspapers and magazines around the globe.

For a half-century, the world's most influential figures told their story to Larry King. One of the most famous personalities in television history—whose trademark suspenders and unmistakable voice were known to millions around the world—King reveals nearly all in this intimate and riveting memoir.

Controversial and outspoken, hated and admired, Larry Flynt was one of the most polarizing figures of the 20th century. The life of the infamous publisher needs no exaggeration to make it one of the most interesting stories of our time. The found of Hustler magazine, Flynt was an ardent advocate of First Amendment rights and a man whose landmark Supreme Court cases are studied by law students across the country.

From columnist and author of Marley and Me, John Grogan, comes a collection of more than 80 newspaper articles. In pieces that reflect his unique understanding of the crazy-quilt world we inhabit, Grogan shows us all sides of the human condition. From the fragility of life at a crosswalk to cell phones driving us to distraction (as we drive!), from turning the tables on telemarketers to the Iraq War coming home to a small town in Pennsylvania, these pieces are filled with insight and sensitivity.

For more than thirty years, Andy Rooney had the last word on the most-watched television program in history. "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney"—a segment on 60 Minutes—aired from 1978 to 2011. A man of wit, gruffness, and common sense, Rooney spoke candidly about what drove him—and us—crazy, what brought us joy, and what made us human. Hear the man himself as he reads some of his finest newspaper essays, offering his observations on a variety of topics, including politics and politicians, the economy, doctors, sex, clothes, football, toilet paper, ice cream, and cough drops.

As host of Larry King Live, which was one of the most popular daily forums for political news and commentary, Larry King asked probing questions of major world leaders, politicians, pundits, spin doctors, and reporters. Drawing upon insights gained during those interviews, King takes an in-depth look at how the United States arrived at a pivotal point in its history. Bi-partisan politics, bimbo eruptions, grandstanding in Congress, backstabbing tactics, and more are covered in this fascinating and revealing memoir.

Seldom has the world seen a man with the grace, style, intellect, and success of journalist, author, publisher, Broadway and film producer, and husband to long-time Cosmopolitan head Helen Gurley Brown, David Brown. Throughout his remarkable life, he was a friend, acquaintance, and confidant of the world's most powerful, most famous, and most notorious.

After the New York Post's Cindy Adams lost her beloved husband, the famed comedian Joey Adams, the last thing on her mind was finding a companion. But that's exactly what she got when a visitor arrived with a surprise: a Yorkshire terrier named Jazzy. This is the true story of a tell-it-like-it-is gossip columnist who takes on society's most powerful and glamorous every day, but is ultimately redeemed by a tiny dog who teaches her more about joy and survival than any human ever could.

One of America's most beloved social commentators—Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author Russell Baker—followed up his bestselling memoir, The Good Times, with this collection of his best New York Times columns, dating back to 1962. There' s a Country in My Cellar covers Baker's usual wide range of topics, told in a wonderfully funny style, and many of which are profoundly serious beneath the banter.

There is a theater superstition that if the emptied house is ever left completely dark, a ghost will take up residence. To prevent this, a single "ghost light" is left burning at center stage after the audience and all of the actors and musicians have left. In this eloquent and moving memoir, celebrated New York Times drama critic and columnist Frank Rich reveals how theater became a beacon of security for him as a child. As he struggled with his parent's divorce, Rich found his way in a tumultuous world, transformed by the magic of Broadway.

In 1948, an Austrian-Hungarian Jewish 22-year-old from New York began his new career. Determined to be famous, he bought a one-way ticket to Paris, France. His assignment: cover nightclubs, sidewalk cafes, and weddings for the legendary Paris Herald Tribune. For the next 14 years, he developed a life and career by socializing and reporting on the folkways and foibles of some of the most powerful and famous people in the world.

Funny men don't necessarily have funny childhoods. Art Buchwald had to find his humor the hard way. In this poignant memoir, Buchwald writes with intimacy and candor about his early years—of a life constantly on the move and in the company of strangers. Shortly after he was born, he and his mother were separated. He tells of a childhood that took him from a Seventh-Day Adventist shelter to New York's Hebrew Orphan Asylum to a series of foster homes—all before the age of fifteen.