The author was a participant, and elected official for over 32 years, in the government of the City of Los Angeles. This book is an effort to commemorate some of the truly intriguing, funny, and down right goofy stories that have helped the City of Angels gain its reputation as an eclectic city often called LA-LA LAND. Stories from recent years as well as some wild, funny, and fascinating stories from its history. It was Smiths desire to document a collection of short stories that are not intended to be a literary giant, but rather a very enjoyable read.

The San Francisco Giants are one of baseball's most storied franchises. Through the words of the players, via multiple interviews conducted with current and past Giants, readers will meet the players, coaches, and management and share in their moments of greatness and defeat. Haft recounts stories from this decorated Giants dynasty, which earned World Series rings in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Giants fans will not want to be without this book.

One of the world’s greatest and most thoughtful architects recounts his extraordinary career and the iconic structures he has built—from Habitat in Montreal to Marina Bay Sands in Singapore—and offers a manifesto for the role architecture should play in society Over more than five decades, legendary architect Moshe Safdie has built some of the world’s most influential and memorable structures—from the 1967 modular housing scheme in Montreal known as “Habitat” and the Yad Vashem memorial in Israel, to the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas and the Marina Bay Sands development and extraordinary Jewel Changi airport interior garden and waterfall in Singapore. For Safdie, the way a space functions is fundamental; he is deeply committed to architecture as a social force for good, believing that any challenge, including extreme population density and environmental distress, can be addressed with solutions that enhance community and uplift the human spirit. Safdie always refers to the “silent client” an architect must ultimately serve: the people who live in, work in, or experience a building. If Walls Could Speak takes readers behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Safdie’s own experiences how an architect thinks and works—“from the spark of imagination through the design process, the model-making, the politics, the engineering, the materials.” Relating memorable stories about what has inspired him—from childhoods in Israel and Montreal to the projects and personalities worldwide that have captured his imagination—Safdie reveals the complex interplay that underpins every project and his vision for the role architecture can and should play in society at large. Illustrated throughout with drawings, sketches, photographs, and documents from his firm’s voluminous archives that illuminate his stories, If Walls Could Speak ends with a chapter outlining seven projects Safdie would pursue around the world if resources and will were no issue and the choices were his to make. A book like no other, If Walls Could Speak will forever change the way you look at and appreciate any built structure.

"This books details the last four years of the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff run"--

Providing a behind-the-scenes look at the personalities and events that have shaped the Detroit Tigers' recent resurgence, readers will meet the players, coaches, and management and share in their moments of greatness, grief, and quirkiness. Beginning in 2002, when author Mario Impemba arrived in the Tigers' broadcast booth and when the team had consecutive 100-loss seasons, the book details how, in just three shorts years, team president Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland led the Tigers to the American League pennant—a feat the Tigers repeated in 2012. Impemba takes readers into the Comerica Park broadcast booth alongside the legendary Ernie Harwell, onto the team plane during the team's two runs to the World Series, and into the clubhouse as Miguel Cabrera closed in on the 2012 Triple Crown. He shares personal stories about several Tigers stars, including Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder, Curtis Granderson, Ivan Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers, Magglio Ordonez, and more. If These Walls Could Talk: Detroit Tigers gives fans a taste of what it's like to be a part of the Tigers storied history from a perspective unlike any other.

A hilarious and entertaining novel about three very different families who dream of finding the perfect home.