With easygoing humor and profound poignancy, Ron Wolfson’s inspiring memoir is filled with stories of growing up in a warm family, embracing Jewish identity, and learning never to underestimate his mother. A moving book that will resonate with anyone seeking to shape stronger families and communities and live a life of joy and purpose.

In celebration of its 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America and its publication Boys' Life, this book is a collection of the best Boys' Life pages of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting information. All pages in this collection are facsimile reproductions of the magazine's original pages.

The classic account of growing up gay in America. "The best little boy in the world never had wet dreams or masturbated; he always topped his class, honored mom and dad, deferred to elders and excelled in sports . . . . The best little boy in the world was . . . the model IBM exec . . . The best little boy in the world was a closet case who 'never read anything about homosexuality.' . . . John Reid comes out slowly, hilariously, brilliantly. One reads this utterly honest account with the shock of recognition." The New York Times "The quality of this book is fantastic because it comes of equal parts honesty and logic and humor. It is far from being the story of a Gay crusader, nor is it the story of a closet queen. It is the story of a normal boy growing into maturity without managing to get raped into, or taunted because of, his homosexuality. . . . He is bright enough to be aware of his hangups and the reasons for them. And he writes well enough that he doesn't resort to sensationalism . . . ." San Francisco Bay Area Reporter

Powerful life lessons in a funny and moving portrait of family, community and spiritual discovery in America. ''I am the best boy in the United States of America. That's what my grandfather - my 'Zaydie' - called me from the time I was a little child in Omaha, Nebraska. I know it's true because this is a true story. All my stories are true .... ''Zaydie loved three things: his family, his business, and his adopted country - the United States of America. I never, ever heard Zaydie say 'the United States.' It was always 'da United States of America,' in his thick Russian accent .... For Louie Paperny, each one of his nine grandchildren was the best boy or the best girl in the United States of America. We believed him. I believed him. And in a certain way, I've lived the rest of my life trying to be that best boy.'' - from Chapter 1: Hilarious and heartfelt, Ron Wolfson's inspiring memoir is filled with stories of growing up in a warm family, encountering colorful characters like the merchants of Omaha and the famous Warren Buffett, navigating adolescence and learning never to underestimate his mother. With easygoing Midwestern humor and profound poignancy, Ron's ''true stories'' of family and community in the United States of America will resonate with anyone seeking to shape stronger families, create compelling communities and live their best life, a life of joy and laughter, meaning and purpose, and, yes, blessings and kisses.

John Reid's The Best Little Boy in the World was hailed as a classic memoir of growing up gay in a straight world. But "John Reid" didn't write it. Years would pass before the writer could reveal his true identity as Andrew Tobias, America's bestselling financial guru, author of The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. Now, twenty-five years later, Tobias, proud to use his real name, brings his remarkable life story up to date. Writing with his customary charm and frank humor, Tobias tells of love affairs and heartbreak, hot New York parties and tough political battles, the excitement of genuine social change and the tragedy of seeing dear friends die young. Here too are the unforgettable scenes of Tobias revealing his sexual orientation not only to his parents but to the president of the United States. The author is an irresistible companion as he shares with us his proud stories, embarrassing confessions, and hilarious musings on "the homosexual lifestyle." Witty, heartfelt, and wonderfully affirming in every sense, this is Andrew Tobias's finest book to date.

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, Booklist, BookPage, Library Journal, and Library Reads A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection An IndieNext Selection A People Magazine Pick of the Week Winner of the Rome Prize Winner of the American Initiative for Italian Culture “The Bridge” Book Award Longlisted for the International DUBLIN Literary Award Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence (Fiction) "Raw and beautiful. . . . What rises and shines from the page is Todd Aaron, a hero of such singular character and clear spirit that you will follow him anywhere. You won’t just root for him, you will fight and push and pray for him to wrest control of his future. You will read this book in one sitting or maybe two, and, I promise, you will miss this man deeply when you are done.” —Ann Bauer, Washington Post Sent to a “therapeutic community” for autism at the age of eleven, Todd Aaron, now in his fifties, is the “Old Fox” of Payton LivingCenter. A joyous man who rereads the encyclopedia compulsively, he is unnerved by the sudden arrivals of a menacing new staffer and a disruptive, brain-injured roommate. His equilibrium is further worsened by Martine, a one-eyed new resident who has romantic intentions and convinces him to go off his meds to feel “normal” again. Undone by these pressures, Todd attempts an escape to return “home” to his younger brother and to a childhood that now inhabits only his dreams. Written astonishingly in the first-person voice of an autistic, adult man, Best Boy—with its unforgettable portraits of Todd’s beloved mother, whose sweet voice still sings from the grave, and a staffer named Raykene, who says that Todd “reflects the beauty of His creation”—is a piercing, achingly funny, finally shattering novel no reader can ever forget.

In 1986 the overthrow of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos by Cory Aquino's 'People Power' revolution focused global attention on the Philippines. Western media took their lead from the US, and the untrammelled denigration of the fleeing dictator and his wife served to tarnish the Philippines more generally. James Hamilton-Paterson, who knew the Philippines well having lived there for some years, resolved in America's Boy (1998) to examine the Marcoses more closely - not to exonerate them but, rather, to explain the political and social roots of their regime, sustained for so long by support from Washington. 'The ultimate book about the national character of the Philippines ... both a history and a psychoanalysis of a whole people, a socio-political tour de force.' Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, Malaya 'Every page displays Hamilton-Paterson's mastery of his material ... required reading for anyone interested in the enduring impact of US policy in the Philippines.' Publishers Weekly