Little, Brown and Company Spring/Summer '12

NINETY DAYS: A MEMOIR OF RECOVERY

APRIL 2012 HARDCOVER

Ninety Days: A Memoir of Recovery
Bill Clegg
978-0-316-12252-8, $24.99

A suspenseful account of an addict’s journey to recovery, by a writer “as intoxicated by language as he was by crack.” (A.L. Kennedy)

The goal is 90. Just 90 clean and sober days to loosen the hold of the addiction that caused Bill Clegg to lose everything. With 73 days in rehab behind him he returns to New York and attends two or three meetings each day. It is in these refuges that he befriends essential allies, including a seemingly unshakeable veteran of sobriety named Asa, and Polly, who struggles daily with her own cycle of recovery and relapse.

At first, the support is not enough: Clegg relapses for the first time with only three days left. Written with uncompromised immediacy, Ninety Days begins where Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man ends—and tells the wrenching story of Clegg’s battle to reclaim his life. As any recovering addict knows, hitting rock bottom is just the beginning.

About the author: Bill Clegg is a literary agent in New York. He is also the author of Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man.

Publicity tour: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.

Publicity contact: Michelle Aielli, michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com

THE BLOOD OF HEROES

MAY 2012 HARDCOVER

The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo—and the Sacrifice That Forged a Nation
James Donovan
978-0-316-05374-7, $29.99

A sweeping, action-packed saga of the legendary last stand at the Alamo, by the author of the bestseller A Terrible Glory.

On February 23, 1836, a large Mexican army led by dictator Santa Anna reached San Antonio and laid siege to about 175 Texas rebels holed up in the Alamo. The Texans refused to surrender for nearly two weeks until almost 2,000 Mexican troops unleashed a final assault.

The defenders fought valiantly—for their lives and for a free and independent Texas—but in the end, they were all slaughtered. Their ultimate sacrifice inspired the rallying cry “Remember the Alamo!” and eventual triumph.

Exhaustively researched, and drawing upon fresh primary sources in U.S. and Mexican archives, The Blood of Heroes is the entertaining and unforgettable account of this epic battle. Populated by larger-than-life characters—including Davy Crockett, James Bowie, William Barret Travis—this is a stirring story of audacity, valor, and redemption.

About the author: James Donovan is the author of the bestselling A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Big Horn—The Last Great Battle of the American West. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Publicity tour in Texas: Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Killeen.

Publicity contact: Carolyn O’Keefe, carolyn.okeefe@hbgusa.com

SERVICE: A NAVY SEAL AT WAR

MAY 2012 HARDCOVER

Service: A Navy SEAL at War
Marcus Luttrell with James D. Hornfischer
978-0-316-18536-3, $27.99

In October 2006, after miraculously returning from his star-crossed mission in Afghanistan, Marcus Luttrell went back to war. In six months of high-intensity urban fighting in the most dangerous city in the world, Ramadi, Iraq, he was part of one of the greatest victories in the history of the SEAL teams.

Returning home and leaving military life, Luttrell began a quest to understand how and why a rare few choose to risk their lives to serve their country. Drawing on the experiences of warriors of all generations and service branches, exploring their amazing stories, Luttrell has produced a profoundly moving testament to American courage and sacrifice. Service is both a war story for the ages and a heartfelt tribute to all who have served.

Lone Survivor, a New York Times bestseller, has netted more than one million copies in hardcover and paperback, and was propelled back on to bestseller lists after the death of Osama bin Laden.

Writer-director Peter Berg’s film adaptation of Lone Survivor is scheduled to go into production for Universal Studios in January 2012.

About the author: Marcus Luttrell became a combat-trained Navy SEAL in 2002 and served in many dangerous Special Operations assignments around the world. He lives near Huntsville, Texas.

Co-author James D. Hornfischer’s Neptune’s Inferno (Bantam, 2011) was a New York Times bestseller and his The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors (Bantam, 2004) has netted more than 200,000 copies in hardcover and paperback and was chosen by The Wall Street Journal as one of the five best books on “war as soldiers know it.” He lives in Austin, Texas.

Publicity tour: Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Hood, Dallas, San Diego, Norfolk, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Pensacola

Publicity contact: Liz Garriga, elizabeth.garriga@hbgusa.com

THE ADMIRALS: NIMITZ, HALSEY, LEAHY, and KING

MAY 2012 HARDCOVER

The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King—The 5-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea
Walter R. Borneman
978-0-316-09784-0, $29.99

How America’s only five-star admirals triumphed in World War II and made the United States the world’s dominant sea power.

Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Fleet Admiral: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. These four men were the best and the brightest Annapolis produced, and together they led the U.S. Navy to victory in World War II, establishing the United States as the world’s greatest sea power.

In The Admirals, award-winning historian Walter Borneman tells their combined story in full and dramatic detail for the first time. He shows us how the four admirals revolutionized naval warfare forever with submarines and aircraft carriers, and how these men—who were both friends and rivals—worked together to ensure that the Axis fleets lay destroyed on the ocean floor at the end of World War II.

About the author: Walter R. Borneman is the author of seven works of nonfiction, including 1812, The French and Indian War, and Polk. He holds both a master’s degree in history and a law degree. He lives in Colorado.

Borneman is extremely well-respected by both popular and academic historians. He has received endorsements from Robert V. Remini, Jon Meacham, and Douglas
Brinkley. There are 60,000 copies of 1812 (HarperCollins, 2004) in print, and the paperback still sells between 5,000 and 8,000 copies every year. There are more than 30,000 copies of Borneman’s book, Polk (Random House, 2009), in print.

Publicity contact: Theresa Giacopasi, theresa.giacopasi@hbgusa.com.

THE HUNT FOR KSM

MARCH 2012 HARDCOVER

The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Terry McDermott and Josh Meyer
978-0-316-18659-9, $27.99

The definitive account of the decade-long pursuit and capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the real mastermind of the worst terrorist attacks in history.

Khalid Sheik Mohammed is the most significant terrorist in captivity. On March 1, 2003, American and Pakistani intelligence agents captured him—bringing to a close one of the greatest manhunts in history.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews, many with investigators speaking for the first time and with members of KSM’s family, as well as thousands of documents, McDermott and Meyer give the first comprehensive account of the chase for KSM and what happened after he was captured, including the disruption of the global network he personally assembled.

The Hunt for KSM is a tour de force of investigative journalism and a vivid portrayal of the epic struggle to capture the most significant terrorist behind bars.

About the authors: Josh Meyer’s “Inside Al Qaeda” series that ran in the Los Angeles Times was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and he has twice been part of teams that have won the Pulitzer Prize for their security reporting. He is the former chief terrorism reporter for the Los Angeles Times and has reported on international terrorism for more than a decade. He lives in Washington, DC.

Terry McDermott worked at eight newspapers for more than 30 years, most recently for 10 years at the Los Angeles Times, where he was a national correspondent. He is the author of Perfect Soldiers (HarperCollins, 2005), and 101 Theory Drive (Pantheon, 2010). His New Yorker essay on KSM was groundbreaking.

McDermott’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Wilson Quarterly, Columbia Journalism Review, Los Angeles Times Magazine, and Pacific Magazine.

Publicity tour: New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco

Publicity contact: Carolyn O’Keefe, carolyn.okeefe@hbgusa.com

The Violinist’s Thumb And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, And Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code

JULY 2012 HARDCOVER

The Violinist’s Thumb And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code
Sam Kean
978-0-316-18231-7, $25.99

In The Disappearing Spoon, bestselling author Sam Kean unlocked the mysteries of the periodic table. In The Violinist’s Thumb, he explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA.

There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, genes to explain why some people survive nuclear bombs and why other people have no fingerprints. Genes illuminate everything from JFK’s bronze skin (it wasn’t a tan) to Einstein’s genius.

They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking. They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists.

Kean’s vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species’ future.

About the author: Sam Kean’s work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Mental Floss, Slate, the New York Post, and New Scientist. He lives in Washington, DC. Kean’s The Disappearing Spoon received great critical acclaim and success. It debuted at #12 on the New York Times bestseller list and is in its 10th printing; the paperback is also a New York Times bestseller.

In 2009, Kean was a runner-up for the National Association of Science Writers’ Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for best science writer under the age of 30, and he was a Middlebury Environmental Journalism fellow.

Publicity tour: Boston, Washington, DC, Seattle and Philadelphia

Publicity contact: Carolyn O’Keefe

GROWING UP BRAVE

AUGUST 2012 HARDCOVER

Growing Up Brave: Expert Strategies for Helping Your Child Overcome Fear, Stress, and Anxiety
Donna B. Pincus, PhD
978-0-316-12560-4, $25.99

A practical, hands-on approach to helping children overcome anxiety. With social and academic pressures at an all-time high, one in five children today suffers from a diagnosed anxiety disorder and many others go undiagnosed. More children than ever are being prescribed psychotropic drugs. In GROWING UP BRAVE, nationally recognized childhood anxiety expert Dr. Donna Pincus demonstrates that excessive anxiety is manageable and even preventable when parents learn how to identify and understand it, and respond by using convenient and simple parenting techniques. The book’s effective tools teach parents how to promote a warm, secure attachment with their child in only five minutes a day, develop routines that help ward off anxiety, implement Dr. Pincus’s “bravery ladder,” and much more. Growing Up Brave is an empowering and valuable guide that will leave parents equipped to help their child regain confidence and happiness.

About the author: Dr. Donna B. Pincus is the Director of Research of the Child and Adolescent Treatment Program at the Center for Anxiety Related Disorders (CARD) at Boston University. She lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Publicity Contact: Michelle Aielli, michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com

THE OMEGA-3 EFFECT

AUGUST 2012 PAPAERBACK

The Omega-3 Effect: Everything You Need to Know About the Miracle Nutrient for Living Longer, Happier, and Healthier
William Sears, MD
978-0-316-19684-0, $10.99

From one of the most trusted names in family healthcare—-a guide to the many health benefits of omega-3s.
We all want to live as healthfully as possible. In THE OMEGA-3 EFFECT, Dr. William Sears turns his attention to the critical role that omega-3s play in the body. Dr. Sears takes readers through each body system—including the brain, heart, joints, skin, and immune system—and demonstrates how omega-3s are essential to each.

THE OMEGA-3 EFFECT also offers tips on what foods and supplements readers should incorporate into their diet, as well as delicious recipes. Written in the wise, accessible tone that has made his books long-term bestsellers, Dr. Sears offers a practical and science-based approach to living a more healthful life.

About the author: William Sears, MD, has practiced pediatrics for more than 40 years, and is an associate clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. He is the author of more than 30 books that have collectively sold more than two million copies and lives with his wife in Southern California.

Publicity Contact: Justin Levine, justin.levine@hbgusa.com

FIVE CHIEFS: A SUPREME COURT MEMOIR

OCTOBER 2011 HARDCOVER

Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir
John Paul Stevens
978-0-316-19980-3, $24.99  

When he resigned last June, Justice Stevens was the third longest serving Justice in American history (1975-2010)—only Justice William O. Douglas, whom Stevens succeeded, and Stephen Field have served on the Court for a longer time.

In Five Chiefs, Justice Stevens captures the inner workings of the Supreme Court via his personal experiences with the five Chief Justices—Fred Vinson, Earl Warren, Warren Burger, William Rehnquist, and John Roberts—that he interacted with. He reminisces of being a law clerk during Vinson’s tenure; a practicing lawyer for Warren; a circuit judge and junior justice for Burger; a contemporary colleague of Rehnquist; and a colleague of current Chief Justice John Roberts. Along the way, he will discuss his views of some the most significant cases that have been decided by the Court from Vinson, who became Chief Justice in 1946 when Truman was President, to Roberts, who became Chief Justice in 2005.

Packed with interesting anecdotes and stories about the Court, Five Chiefs is an unprecedented and historically significant look at the highest court in the United States.

About the author: John Paul Stevens served as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1970-1975. President Ford nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat December 19, 1975. Justice Stevens retired from the Supreme Court on June 29, 2010.

Publicity tour: Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Publicity contact: Liz Garriga, elizabeth.garriga@hbgusa.com.

INSIDE SEAL TEAM SIX

DECEMBER 2011 HARDCOVER  

Inside Seal Team Six: My Life and Missions with America’s Elite Warriors
Don Mann with Ralph Pezzullo
978-0-316-20431-6, $27.99  

Don Mann offers an indispensable, ground-breaking narrative of what it takes to make a SEAL, and to break a man—very close to the same thing. Pushing himself and his men to extremes, Mann suffered intensely for country, and here he’ll describe his life in the SEALS and SEAL Team 6, his training and the training he conducted, and the operations that took him within  an inch of his life. This will be the most up-to-date, comprehensive book on SEAL Team 6.

There are 6500 Navy SEALS, but only a select few reach the most rigorous, effective team of all, so secret that its operations are only beginning to be understood: known as SEAL Team  6, it’s one of the United States’s two secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Missions Units; the other such group is 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force).

SEAL Team 6 trains and operates over 300 days a year away from home. They have been secretly involved in every major US military operation since their founding in World War II. They are the only unit qualified to operate in all terrains. And most recently, they were responsible for the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden.

On air, on land, at sea—the SEALS are the dominant, misunderstood, and secrecy-shrouded American special operations unit, and here, they come to vivid life.
            
About the author: Don Mann (CWO3, USN) has for the last 30 years been associated with the Navy SEALS either as a platoon member, assault team member, boat crew leader, or advanced training officer; and more recently program director preparing civilians to go to BUD/s (SEAL Training). Up until 1998 he was on active duty with SEAL Team 6. Since his retirement, he has deployed to the Middle East on numerous occasions in support of the war against terrorism. Many of the active duty SEALs on SEAL Team 6 are the same guys he taught how to shoot, conduct ship and aircraft takedowns, and trained in urban, arctic, desert, river and jungle warfare, as well as Close Quarters Battle (CQB) and  Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). He has suffered two broken backs, two cases of high altitude pulmonary edema, and multiple other broken bones, in training or service. He has been captured twice during operations and lived to talk about it.

Ralph Pezzullo is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning playwright, screenwriter and journalist. His books include Jawbreaker (with CIA operative Gary Berntsen).

Publicity contact: Nicole Dewey, nicole.dewey@hbgusa.com and Theresa Giacopasi, theresa.giacopasi@hbgusa.com.

TOP SECRET AMERICA

SEPTEMBER 2011 HARDCOVER

Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State
Dana Priest and William Arkin
978-0-316-18221-8, $29.99

The top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has become so enormous, so unwieldy, and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. The result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger. In Top Secret America, award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover the enormous consequences of this invisible universe of over 1,300 government facilities; nearly 2,000 outside contractors; and more than 850,000 people granted “Top Secret” security clearance. A landmark exposé of a new, secret “Fourth Branch” of American government, Top Secret America is sure to spark national and international alarm.

About the author: Dana Priest is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post and has received multiple Pulitzer prizes.

William M. Arkin has been a columnist and reporter with the Washington Post since 1998. He lives in Vermont.

Publicity tour: New York, Washington, DC and Pittsburgh.

Publicity contact: Nicole Dewey, nicole.dewey@hbgusa.com and Carolyn O’Keefe, carolyn.okeefe@hbgusa.com

REDIRECT

SEPTEMBER 2011 HARDCOVER

Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change
Timothy D. Wilson
978-0-316-05188-0, $25.99

We tell ourselves stories to make sense of the world. These stories ultimately determine if we will lead healthy, productive lives or get into trouble.

In Redirect, Timothy Wilson, “one of the most brilliant, creative, and respected psychologists of his generation” proposes a radical new view—that although these narratives can be extremely hard to change, they can change surprisingly quickly if tweaked in the right way. Why might some sex education programs result in more teen pregnancies? Why might that self-help book have left you distinctly unhappier? Wilson blows the whistle on failed attempts to solve a broad range of problems and presents new solutions that work. Wilson’s theories in Redirect have been tested scientifically and found to have real results, towards both personal meaning and happiness and social progress.

About the Author: Timothy D. Wilson is the Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Publicity Contact: Carolyn O’Keefe, carolyn.okeefe@hbgusa.com

LOVE AND CAPITAL

SEPTEMBER 2011 HARDCOVER

Love and Capital
Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution
Mary Gabriel
978-0-316-06611-2, $35.00

A surprising and revelatory account of romance and revolution—and one of the great love stories of all time.

Brilliantly researched and wonderfully written, Love and Capital is a heartbreaking and dramatic saga of the family side of the man whose works would redefine the world after his death. Drawing upon years of research, acclaimed biographer Mary Gabriel brings to light the story of Karl and Jenny Marx’s marriage. We follow them as they roam Europe, on the run from hostile governments amidst a secret network of would-be revolutionaries, and see Karl not only as an intellectual but as a protective father and loving husband, a visionary, a jokester, and a man of tremendous passions.

In Love and Capital, Mary Gabriel has given us a vivid, resplendent, and truly human portrait of the Marxes—their desires, heartbreak, and devotion to each other and their ideals.

About the Author: Mary Gabriel worked in Washington and London as a Reuters editor for nearly 20 years. She is the author of two previous biographies, Notorious Victoria and The Art of Acquiring. She lives in Italy.

Publicity Contact:Theresa Giacopasi, theresa.giacopasi@hbgusa.com

HELP! FOR WRITERS

SEPTEMBER 2011 HARDCOVER

Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces
Roy Peter Clark
978-0-316-12671-7, $22.99

One of America’s most influential writing teachers offers 210 solutions to the biggest problems writers face.

The craft of writing offers countless potential problems: The story is too long; the story’s too short; revising presents a huge hurdle; writer’s block is rearing its ugly head. In Help! For Writers, Roy Peter Clark presents an “owner’s manual” for writers, outlining the seven steps of the writing process, and addressing the 210 most urgent problems that writers face. In his trademark engaging and entertaining style, Clark offers 10 short solutions to each problem. Out of ideas? Read posters, billboards, and graffiti.
Can’t bear to edit yourself? Watch the deleted scenes feature of a DVD, and ask yourself why those scenes were left on the cutting-room floor. Help! For Writers offers 210 strategies to guide writers to success.

About the Author: Roy Peter Clark is vice president and senior scholar at The Poynter Institute, and has authored or edited 16 books about writing and journalism. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Publicity Contact: Michelle Aielli, michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com

WEST BY WEST

OCTOBER 2011 HARDCOVER

West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life
Jerry West and Jonathan Coleman
978-0-316-05349-5, $27.99

One of the greatest basketball players of all time tells—with relentless honesty—the incredible story of his life.

He is one of basketball’s towering figures: “Mr. Clutch,” who mesmerized his opponents and fans. The coach who began the Lakers’ resurgence in the 1970s. The general manager who helped bring “Showtime” to Los Angeles, creating a championship winning force that continues to this day.
Now, for the first time, the legendary Jerry West tells his story—from his tough childhood in West Virginia, to his unbelievable college success at West Virginia University, his 40-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his relationships with NBA legends like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Unsparing in its self-assessment and honesty, West by West is far more than a sports memoir: it is a profound confession and a magnificent inspiration.

About the Author: Jerry West has been an Olympic Gold Medalist, NBA All-Star, NBA champion, coach, general manager and executive vice president of the Los Angeles Lakers and president of the Memphis Grizzlies. He lives in California and West Virginia.

Jonathan Coleman lives in Charlottesville and is the bestselling author of At Mother’s Request, Exit The Rainmaker, and Long Way to Go.

Publicity Contact: Michelle Aielli, michelle.aielli@hbgusa.com