Marshall Dodge and Bob Bryan began swapping funny Down East stories when they were students at Yale in the 1950s. Their fascination and appreciation for Maine and its people triggered the production of several “Bert and I” records, from which 14 stories were selected for the first edition of this book. Now, eleven more have been added for this expanded second edition. Dodge and Bryan were groundbreaking in their appreciation of the oral tradition and paved the way for contemporary storytelling icons like Garrison Keillor, Tim Sample, and Tom Bodett.

It is not hard to argue that every black performer in show business owes something to Bert Williams. Discovered in California in 1890 by a minstrel troupe manager, Williams swiftly became a regular player in the troupe. Traveling on from the rough-and-ready "medicine shows" that then dotted the West, he rose through the ranks of big-time vaudeville in New York City, and finally ascended to the previously all-white pinnacle of live-stage success: the fabled Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway. Inspite of his triumphs-he brought the first musical with an all-black cast to Broadway in 1903-he was often viewed by the black community with more critical suspicion than admiration because of his controversial decision to perform in blackface. Modest, private, and conservative in his personal life, Williams left political activism and soapbox thumping to others. More than the simple narration of a remarkable life, Introducing Bert Williams offers a fascinating window into the fraught issues surrounding race and artistic expression in American culture. The story of Williams's long and varied career is a whirlwind of inner turmoil, racial tension, glamour, and striving-nothing less than the birth of American show business.

This inspiring book of wisdom, life lessons, and self-help from National Geographic celebrates the power of optimism: the driving force behind the authors’ beloved, socially conscious clothing and lifestyle brand, now worth more than $100 million. Following the chronology of their personal and professional journeys, Bert and John share their unique ride—from their scrappy upbringing outside Boston to the unlikely runaway success of their business. The brothers illuminate ten key "superpowers" accessible to us all: openness, courage, simplicity, humor, gratitude, fun, compassion, creativity, authenticity, and love. Their story, illustrated with the company's iconic artwork, shows how to overcome obstacles and embrace opportunities—whether it's growing stronger from rejection, letting your imagination loose, or simplifying your life to focus on what matters most. In these colorful pages, Bert and John's plainspoken insights are paired with inspiring quotations, playful top-ten lists, deeply moving letter from the Life is Good community, and valuable takeaways from tapping the power of optimism to live your best life. Both entertaining and profound, Life is Good: The Book is the ultimate guide to embracing and growing the good in your life.

Hey Bert is a clarion call to open our eyes to the extentof poetry's capacity with the aim to find new ways oflooking at our own lives. Poems that speak intenselyof the everyday, of nostalgia, friendship and love, thebody, the sacred, all seen through Pastore's unique,eccentric filter of spirit animals, pop-culture, dreamsand astrology.In the spirit of John Giorno, Anne Waldman, and JuliaHeyward, Pastore's work draws from performance art,confessional poetry, mantra, and folklore to create avoice both fiercely contemporary and somehow out oftime. His inspiration for this collection derived fromhis trips to Carlisle, where his love for poetry ignitedtwelve years ago.'I think my poems connect with people, becausethey speak of things that we all experience and aren'tintimidating to people who don't generally read poetry.I think my collection could be a bridge for people whogrew up on Instagram poetry.'

Saints at Heart presents an engaging picture of the spiritual life as shown in the experience and writings of the saints. The title announces the book’s double theme: the lives of holy men and women who have consecrated their lives to God, and to the possibility of our following them and also dedicating our hearts to God. Readers will discover in this book well-told and appealing stories of women and men, ordinary human beings like themselves, who knew God and whose lives as a consequence radiated light, love, and joy. Each story presents the core message of a saint’s life and highlights an important spiritual path that readers will be encouraged to follow.

Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games takes you inside the video arcade game industry during the classic decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Warren Davis, the creator of the groundbreaking Q*bert, worked as a member of the creative teams who developed some of the most popular video games of all time, including Joust 2, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Revolution X. In a witty and entertaining narrative, Davis shares insightful stories that offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work as a designer and programmer at the most influential and dominant video arcade game manufacturers of the era, including Gottlieb, Williams/Bally/Midway, and Premiere. Likewise, the talented artists, designers, creators, and programmers Davis has collaborated with over the years reads like a who’s who of video gaming history: Eugene Jarvis, Tim Skelly, Ed Boon, Jeff Lee, Dave Thiel, John Newcomer, George Petro, Jack Haegar, and Dennis Nordman, among many others. The impact Davis has had on the video arcade game industry is deep and varied. At Williams, Davis created and maintained the revolutionary digitizing system that allowed actors and other photo-realistic imagery to be utilized in such games as Mortal Kombat, T2, and NBA Jam. When Davis worked on the fabled Us vs. Them, it was the first time a video game integrated a live action story with arcade-style graphics. On the one-of-a-kind Exterminator, Davis developed a brand new video game hardware system, and created a unique joystick that sensed both omni-directional movement and rotation, a first at that time. For Revolution X, he created a display system that simulated a pseudo-3D environment on 2D hardware, as well as a tool for artists that facilitated the building of virtual worlds and the seamless integration of the artist’s work into game code. Whether you’re looking for insights into the Golden Age of Arcades, would like to learn how Davis first discovered his design and programming skills as a teenager working with a 1960s computer called a Monrobot XI, or want to get the inside scoop on what it was like to film the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Aerosmith for Revolution X, Davis’s memoir provides a backstage tour of the arcade and video game industry during its most definitive and influential period.