Get ready for the read of your life. Never before has a single book combined awesome vans, unicorns, Billy Joel, and erotic fiction in such a potent combination. A writing tour de force? Perhaps. A reading experience that will sear itself into your consciousness like a red-hot branding iron? Without question. Comedian and basic cable superstar Michael Ian Black unleashes the full fury of his astonishing intellect in this collection of short comic essays. My Custom Van is a no-holds-barred assault to the funny bone that will literally beat you into submission with hilarity*. How did he do it? How did he create such a fine anthology? Answer: With love. Michael opened his heart and used the magical power of love to write more than fifty thought-provoking essays like, "Why I Used a Day-Glo Magic Marker to Color My Dick Yellow," and "An Open Letter to the Hair Stylist Who Somehow Convinced Me to Get a Perm When I Was in Sixth Grade." Maybe you think love is not a substitute for "good writing skills" and "spell check." Bull pucky! When it comes to writing books, love is the most powerful word processor of all. Sounds pretty great, right? And yet...something is still holding you back from paying the full purchase price of this book. What is it? Perhaps you secretly believe you do not deserve a book this good. Nonsense -- you deserve this book and so much more. In fact, if Michael could have written you all the stars in the sky, that's what he would have done. But he couldn't do that, due to his lack of knowledge in the area of astronomy. So he wrote this book instead. And this flap copy. Enjoy. * Michael Ian Black is not responsible for any actual injuries caused by reading this book.

A volume of irreverent essays by the comedian from The State and Stella considers such topics as why salami is the world's greatest lunch meat and what Billy Joel would be thinking on his way to a party where there would be a piano.

The inspiration for Chloé Zhao's 2020 Golden Lion award-winning film starring Frances McDormand. "People who thought the 2008 financial collapse was over a long time ago need to meet the people Jessica Bruder got to know in this scorching, beautifully written, vivid, disturbing (and occasionally wryly funny) book." —Rebecca Solnit From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads. Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy—one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive, but have not given up hope.

Sunday Times bestseller 'When I see something old, that I think is beautiful, special, valuable, it's not about the money. It's about being in another time and place.' Star of TV's Salvage Hunters, Drew Pritchard will go to the greatest lengths for the best deals. He discovered the casts Lord Elgin made of his infamous marbles in a school garage, and broke the bank to buy the tool box Malcolm Campbell used when he set the water speed record in 1934. He made a million. Lost it. And made it again. The face of the compulsively fascinating business of finding and restoring lost treasures, visionary Drew takes us up and down the country, into garages, factories, schools and pubs, digging out incredible items from that 'other time and place'. Then by lovingly restoring them, he brings our history back to life. A flat cap among silver spoons and old school ties, our favourite no-bullshit expert may be a one-off, but his story makes us all dream of that obscure piece of antiquity gathering dust in the garden shed...

Want to wake up to a breathtaking new view every morning? Have you been dreaming about owning a vehicle to fuel your adventures? Building a campervan gives you total freedom to create your very own rolling home. Escape the daily grind, hit the open road and re-write the way you live. The Van Conversion Bible is the ultimate guide to planning, designing and converting a campervan. It’s more than just the story of how we built our own van Ringo, it will help you build a van bespoke to your needs. It provides definitive answers to your questions (even the ones you haven’t thought of yet!) to ensure you save time and avoid expensive mistakes. From detailed gas, water and electrical system diagrams to a step-by-step build guide, you’ll find everything you need to start your journey inside. Whatever your skills and budget, you can learn how to build your dream campervan. Your very own home on wheels awaits…

Living a mobile lifestyle is now more possible than ever before. It's the new option. Forget hostel costs or rent. You have transport and your have a home. You're free to travel the world and you can do it on a budget. This book shows you how.

In the tradition of bestsellers such as Shoe Dog, Authentic is a surprisingly candid, compelling memoir by a high school dropout who went on to establish one of the world's most iconic brands. You may not have known their creator, but you certainly know the shoes: for more than four generations, Vans shoes have been synonymous with cool. Now in Authentic, a memoir written by Paul Van Doren and published just before his May 2021 death, the charismatic founder of Vans shares his story of heading West and capturing the American dream. Authentic is a celebration of Van Doren's remarkable life and the iconic brand he built, beloved by skateboarders, creatives, and fans everywhere for its laid-back, colorful SoCal vibe, and famous for its people-oriented company culture. In Authentic, he shares his unlikely journey from high-school dropout to sneaker-industry legend. A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren started out as a 16-year-old "service boy" at a local rubber factory. Over the next few decades, he leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story. What began as a family shoe business has today evolved into a globally recognized brand with billions of dollars of annual revenue. Van Doren is not just an entrepreneur, he's an innovator. In 1966, when the first House of Vans store opened, there were no stand-alone retail stores just for sneakers. Paul's bold experiments in product design, distribution, and marketing (Why not sell custom shoes? Single shoes?), aided by legions of fans — skateboarders, surfers, even Sean Penn wearing Vans' famous checkerboard slip-on shoe in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High — made Vans a household name. But there was also back-breaking work, a shocking bankruptcy, family turmoil, and a profound shift in how customers think about athletic shoes. The book details Van Doren's personal life, but also hard-won business lessons learned over six turbulent decades in the shoe trade: the importance of deep-rooted values, of improvisation, of vision (and revision), and above all, of valuing people over profits. Authentic is Paul Van Doren's written legacy and his lessons for the innovators of tomorrow. Bracingly forthright and totally entertaining, Authentic is a business memoir by an American original.