The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone: The Story of Tom

In "The Colonel, " Alanna Nash, the author of "Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch, " explores in depth the amazing story of Colonel Tom Parker, the man behind the legend and the myth of Elvis Presley. The result is a book that reads like the most riveting of real-life detective stories -- one that will completely change your view of Presley's life, success, and death.While scores of books have been written about Elvis Presley, this is the first meticulously researched biography of Tom Parker written by someone who knew him personally. And for anyone truly interested in the performer many consider the greatest and most influential of the twentieth century, it is impossible to understand how Elvis came to be such a phenomenon without examining the life and mind of Parker, the man who virtually controlled Elvis's every move.Alanna Nash has been covering the story of Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker since the day of Presley's funeral in Memphis, Tennessee. She was the first journalist allowed to view Presley's body, a compelling and surprising sight. But the profile of Parker attending the funeral in a Hawaiian shirt and a baseball cap was even stranger, and led her to investigate the man behind the myth.It has been known for twenty years that Thomas Andrew Parker was, in fact, born in Holland as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk. But Nash has dug much deeper and, in a masterpiece of reporting, unearthed never-before-seen documents, including Parker's army records and psychiatric evaluations, and the original police report of an unsolved murder case in Holland that lies at the heart of the Parker mystery. In the process of weighing the evidence, she answers the biggest riddle in the history of the music industry, as it becomes clear that every move Parker made in the handling of Elvis Presley -- from why he never allowed Elvis to perform in Europe, to why he didn't halt Elvis's drug use, to why he put him in so many mediocre movies, and even the Colonel's direction of Presley's army career -- was designed to protect Parker's own secrets. Filled with startling new material, her book challenges even the most familiar precepts of the Presley saga -- everything we presumed about Parker's handling of the world's most famous entertainer must now be reevaluated in the light of information Nash reveals about Parker, who cared little for Presley beyond what the singer could do to bolster the Colonel's precarious position as an illegal alien.Elvis Presley, as one of Parker's unwitting victims, paid a major price for the Colonel's past and his overwhelming need to be more important than his client. As a result, Presley was never allowed to reach his potential and died in drug-induced frustration over his stunted and mismanaged career.In this astonishing, impeccably written, and vastly entertaining book, Nash proves that the only figure in American popular culture as fascinating as Elvis Presley is Colonel Tom Parker, the man who shaped Elvis, who in turn helped shape us.

Jim Harrison is best known for his novels that speak wisdom and illuminate the soul. He now turns his hand to a child's tale, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods. Exquisitely illustrated by Tom Pohrt, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods recounts a childhood tragedy that ends in redemption. Harrison tells a personal story of little Jimmy, a boy who injures his eye and must learn life's meanings through adversity. It is this painful experience that leads to little Jimmy's discovery of nature -- animals, birds, and woods -- and ultimately to his ability to overcome intense suffering. Beautifully written with Harrison's quintessential style of writing about the natural world, combined with the unique illustrations of Tom Pohrt, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods promises to delight children of all ages and will appeal to all the devoted fans of Harrison's literature and poetry as well.

Release Date: August 01, 1984

Before Jackie Robinson ever donned a Dodger uniform - there was Tom Bass. Before Rosa Parks ever demanded a seat in the front of the bus - there was Tom Bass. Before Martin Luther King ever had a dream - there was Tom Bass. Before Barack Obama ever ran for President - there was the legend of Tom Bass - the black horse whisperer. Born a slave, Tom Bass rose to the summit of what had always been a white man's profession, the training of the America's greatest Saddlebred horses. At nine years old this Mozart of the equestrian world used his extraordinary natural talent to teach an outlaw mule who couldn't even be handled to canter backwards. An advocate of gentleness and patience, Bass turned dangerous horses into reliable mounts - without ever raising his voice or using a whip. His immense knowledge of equine psychology allowed the man who had been born in a slave cabin to invent a revolutionary and humane bit, still in use today. Yet Bass's greatest achievements were in the saddle, not in the training ring. What he was able to entice horses to do defies belief. His consummate skill and immense empathy with horses allowed him to produce horses of such exquisite proficiency that their accomplishments are still remembered today. Buffalo Bill's famous white horse, Columbus, was one such legendary talent. Bass was able largely to transcend the race barrier because he was accounted the greatest horseman of the late nineteenth century. The first black American ever to ride in Madison Square Garden, in an age when racial segregation ruled the nation, Tom Bass was the mounted friend of five presidents of the United States, including Teddy Roosevelt. Upon Tom's death in 1934, his name was a household word, synonymous with equestrian feats of unparalleled beauty and achievement. Then his story faded into oblivion, until this fascinating biography of America's most remarkable black horseman was rescued from the shadows.

In her national bestseller Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin imagined the life of the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. Now, in this jubilant new novel, Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a nineteenth century icon and inspiration—and whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength. “Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.” She was only two-foot eight-inches tall, but her legend reaches out to us more than a century later. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead, she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and transformed into the world’s most unexpected celebrity.Here, in Vinnie’s singular and spirited voice, is her amazing adventure—from a showboat “freak” revue where she endured jeering mobs to her fateful meeting with the two men who would change her life: P. T. Barnum and Charles Stratton, AKA Tom Thumb. Their wedding would captivate the nation, preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of presidents and queens. But Vinnie’s fame would also endanger the person she prized most: her similarly-sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight.A barnstorming novel of the Gilded Age, and of a woman’s public triumphs and personal tragedies, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is the irresistible epic of a heroine who conquered the country with a heart as big as her dreams—and whose story will surely win over yours.From the Hardcover edition.

Granville Jones is at the end of his life—once a famous, world-roving correspondent, now self-exiled on an island emirate in the Gulf, an old and forgotten man, long eclipsed by rising stars of television journalism. When the coup breaks it seems that Jones is the last to know. As this story of the early 1950s unfolds, we learn of the great love affair that brought "Gran" Jones to his island. Both that ancient love and the indissoluble bonds between Jones and the deposed emir are caught up by the old man’s professional demon. We follow Jones, move by move, playing his endgame with the fragments of physical and mental powers still vouchsafed in him. Though it contains pain and tragedy, this finely wrought and moving novel tells of a life redeemed by the commitment of its protagonist to his métier.

Jim Harrison is best known for his novels that speak wisdom and illuminate the soul. He now turns his hand to a child's tale, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods. Exquisitely illustrated by Tom Pohrt, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods recounts a childhood tragedy that ends in redemption. Harrison tells a personal story of little Jimmy, a boy who injures his eye and must learn life's meanings through adversity. It is this painful experience that leads to little Jimmy's discovery of nature -- animals, birds, and woods -- and ultimately to his ability to overcome intense suffering. Beautifully written with Harrison's quintessential style of writing about the natural world, combined with the unique illustrations of Tom Pohrt, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods promises to delight children of all ages and will appeal to all the devoted fans of Harrison's literature and poetry as well.

In her national bestseller Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin imagined the life of the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. Now, in this jubilant new novel, Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a nineteenth century icon and inspiration—and whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength. “Never would I allow my size to define me. Instead, I would define it.” She was only two-foot eight-inches tall, but her legend reaches out to us more than a century later. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead, she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and transformed into the world’s most unexpected celebrity.Here, in Vinnie’s singular and spirited voice, is her amazing adventure—from a showboat “freak” revue where she endured jeering mobs to her fateful meeting with the two men who would change her life: P. T. Barnum and Charles Stratton, AKA Tom Thumb. Their wedding would captivate the nation, preempt coverage of the Civil War, and usher them into the White House and the company of presidents and queens. But Vinnie’s fame would also endanger the person she prized most: her similarly-sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight.A barnstorming novel of the Gilded Age, and of a woman’s public triumphs and personal tragedies, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb is the irresistible epic of a heroine who conquered the country with a heart as big as her dreams—and whose story will surely win over yours.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is a much loved and classic work of 19th century American literature. It is the story of Tom, a rambunctious young lad who lives with his Aunt Polly. Tom is a boy who doesn't much like going to school and throughout the book does everything he can to get out of it. Near the beginning of the novel Tom exhibits his keen wit by convincing some boys to paint his Aunt Polly's fence that he has been punished with having to paint on a Saturday for skipping school to go swimming. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is a story of boyhood love. Tom falls for Becky Thatcher, the daughter of the town Judge, and tries to woe her throughout the novel. It is also the story of boyhood adventure and camaraderie. Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn witness a murder, become pirates, are thought to be dead, and search for lost treasure. It is a novel rich with the regional dialect and depictions of the Mississippi River Valley in which Mark Twain grew up and is known for writing about. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" will delight readers young and old with its light-hearted comedic narrative.

FEAR NOT THE STORM: The Story of Tom Cullen, An Irish Revolutionary is a true-life novel about an obscure young man who becomes part of the leadership heading Ireland's struggle for freedom from British rule in the early years of the twentieth century. Cullen's baptism of fire occurs while serving as a young Irish Volunteer and member of the Irish Republican Army during Dublin's 1916 Easter revolt. After his arrest, internment in Wales and release by the British government, he returns home. Quite unexpectedly, Tom becomes a friend and valued colleague of Michael Collins. During Ireland's War for Indepndence (1919-1921), Cullen, a West Wicklow man, embarks upon a life full of danger and intrique. Serving as Collins's Assistant Director of Intelligence, he matches wits with some of Britain's most dangerous spies and ruthless assassins. In his biography of Michael Collins, Irish historian Tim Pat Coogan states, ...Tom Cullen...with [Frank] Thornton and [Liam] Tobin...completed the [Collins's] intelligence team which broke the [Dublin] Castle's spy system. A seasoned vetern by the autumn of 1921, Cullen now one of Collins's closest associates, rises to the rank of major general in Ireland's new army. After Michael's tragic death in 1922, it is Tom Cullen who leads the procession carrying his dear comrade's coffin to its final resting place in Dublin's Glasnevin cemetery. It is the determined accomplishments of this little-known, heroic Irish revolutionary that forms the centre-piece of Cathal Liam's new book. For indeed, Ireland's independence could not have been achieved without the sacrifices of such behind-the-scenes individuals. Tom Cullen's story deserves to be told and now, at last, FEAR NOT THE STORM pays tribute to a life so richly lived.