The story of an almost-vanished town, its history, and the author's family, this unforgettable book offers a rich and luminous portrait of mid-twentieth-century small-town life in eastern Kentucky. 10 photos.

It's bad enough that PD's husband left her a childless widow at 42, but when she heads west to the Oregon coast to remake her life with a new name, a new look and a new determination to become a professional musician, things keep going wrong. Her cabin has problems. The landlord is missing. Her first gig is a disaster. And the tsunami is coming.

From the man who catapulted the Covenant with Black America to number one on the New York Times bestseller list comes a searing memoir of poverty, ambition, pain and atonment. Tavis Smiley grew up in a family of thirteen in rural Indian, where money was scarce and the sight of other black faces even scarcer. Always an outsider because of his race, economic background, and Pentecostal religious beliefs, he was sustained by his family’s love. But one day his world was shattered when his father brutally beat him, sending him to the hospital and then into foster care for a period of time. In What I Know for Sure, Smiley recounts how he overcame his painful history and became one of America’s most popular media figures.

*A Boston Globe Bestseller!* *An Outside Magazine Book Club Pick!* *Winner of the International Ski Association's Ullr Book Award!* "A sparkling account."—Wall Street Journal An electrifying adventure into the rich history of skiing and the modern heart of ski-bum culture, from one of America's most preeminent ski journalists The story of skiing is, in many ways, the story of America itself. Blossoming from the Tenth Mountain Division in World War II, the sport took hold across the country, driven by adventurers seeking the rush of freedom that only cold mountain air could provide. As skiing gained in popularity, mom-and-pop backcountry hills gave way to groomed trails and eventually the megaresorts of today. Along the way, the pioneers and diehards—the ski bums—remained the beating heart of the scene. Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider. Hopping from Vermont to Colorado, Montana to West Virginia, Hansman profiles the people who have built their lives around a cold-weather obsession. Along the way she reckons with skiing's problematic elements and investigates how the sport is evolving in the face of the existential threat of climate change.

Since 1883, Beaver Creek has attracted adventurous individuals. The allure of precious minerals brought miners to the valley, and many stayed after the illusion of striking it rich began to fade. Those folks homesteaded and farmed or ranched. Ranching flourished for a few families until the early 1970s. Two men credited with developing the Vail ski area set their sights on the Beaver Creek drainage for a new ski resort. Political battles over permits stretched from Denver to Washington, DC. In addition, environmental issues burgeoning in the early 1970s added another layer of complexity to the proposed ski area. Dark days were looming as interest rates hit 18 percent and a recession hit the national economy. A silver lining in all the turmoil at the fledgling resort occurred when former president Gerald R. Ford bought one of the first residential lots, making Beaver Creek his address. The original visionaries goal to build a world-class resort was on its way to completion after years of challenges.