Wanda Sykes reduces people to tears -- tears of laughter. She's done so as a stand-up comic, a sitcom star, and a sports commentator for years now, and in the process she's gained a huge fan base nationwide. Now that she's conquered television, she's applying her genius to her first book, Yeah, I Said It. Here, Wanda presents hilarious and uncensored commentary on sex, family, politics, celebrities, and much more than she could ever say in a sound bite. But then again, she's a genius with a sound bite too. Here's what she says about men and football. "I used to think that football took place in this overbearing male-only environment that bled masculine domination. But the more I attend, the more I realize these football fans could actually be experiencing the straight man's gay pride parade. You see men painting each other's faces in bright colors. You see men proud to wear another man's last name on their shirt. You see some men wear no shirt at all....Hot wieners on every corner as you walk up to the main competition. Men open the back of their trunks for a little tailgating." Here's what she says about women: "Women are taking stripper classes in hopes their men will stop going to strip clubs....You can't compete with those strippers....You gotta have...the stripper mentality. In other words, the ability to lie like a dog for a measly buck. A stripper will tell your man anything for a dollar. 'Oow, I thought you were Brad Pitt.' " An uproarious and irreverent collection from one of today's foremost comedic talents, Yeah, I Said It is Wanda Sykes at her uncensored best. Here, she channels her sharp wit into funny bits on the truth as she sees it from the halls of government in Washington, D.C., to the red carpets and boardrooms of Hollywood. Imbued with her razor-sharp voice, these essays showcase Sykes's sidesplitting candor and her trademark brand of comedy.

Wanda Sykes reduces people to tears -- tears of laughter. She's done so as a stand-up comic, a sitcom star, and a sports commentator for years now, and in the process she's gained a huge fan base nationwide. Now that she's conquered television, she's applying her genius to her first book, Yeah, I Said It. Here, Wanda presents hilarious and uncensored commentary on sex, family, politics, celebrities, and much more than she could ever say in a sound bite.

Lenny, Mike, and Other Mike are back in school for the glory that is seventh grade, and this year, Mike is determined to make catcher on the middle-school team. When Mike's hard work pays off and he wins the coveted postition, Lenny is a little jealous, but he'll settle for being the team's unofficial announcer. The team has a brilliant new pitcher, Hunter Ashwell, and though he's a bit of a jerk, he and Mike have a great pitcher/catcher dynamic that could make the team champions. But things take a strange turn when Hunter's perfect pitching streak goes downhill, and Lenny suspects foul play—specifically, someone stealing Mike's catcher signals. But who could be responsible, and why?

For the last quarter century, Dan Jenkins has been fixing his cold-eyed stare and wisecracking style on the real-life Billy Clyde and Kenny Lee Pucketts of the sports world. You Call It Sports, But I Say It’s a Jungle Out There is a collection of his best work from Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Golf Digest, and his nationally syndicated column, and includes a stack of new pieces written especially for this book. Jenkins spares no one in his search for the culprits who have taken the fun out of sports: NFL owners and refs, PGA Tour administrators, basketball players who can’t read, tennis players who can’t speak English (or say anything worth hearing when they do). He also finds things worth celebrating: the electric charge given off by Arnold Palmer at his best, the excitement of a truly great college football game, or a real heavyweight champion, like Joe Louis. Overflowing with good ol’ boys, great one-liners, famous sporting events, and barroom tales, this is the best of Dan Jenkins—which is to say, it’s as good as sportswriting gets anywhere.

BOOK 3 of The Ghost Handler Series Heather's got a hunky new guy and a grumpy old ghost. First it was Jack, the hot teenage ghost. Now it's Zac, an all-too-alive bad boy. Not to mention trouble with Drew, Audrey and the usual BFF dramas. The last thing Heather needs is a new haint on the scene, especially not the ghost of her cantankerous grandfather. * Four weeks were all that was left of summer vacation, if you counted Thursday registration the first week of August, and I did. I had made some progress on the summer goal front. 1) My older sister Audrey tolerated my existence more than at the beginning of summer, as long as her friends weren't around and my geeky friend Xavier kept his distance. 2) Drew and I chatted. So at least I was on his radar. But he had a clingy girlfriend I wanted to unwrap from his frame. Then trouble arrived in a muscle car--our neighbors' bad boy grandson Zac. Audrey called dibs on him, which was fine with me. Drew made no bones about disliking him, also fine with me. But for some reason I may never understand, Zac liked freaky me. So you know what that meant--my progress with my sister and the lifeguard of my dreams reached yet another stumbling block. My problems multiplied exponentially at the arrival of another visitor and his sweet pipe tobacco scent--my ghostly grandfather. Just what I needed--a crabby octogenarian haint to complicate everything. Biography Although Georgia author Maureen Hardegree concedes to having all the usual baggage of a middle child, she is NOT a ghost handler. She does, however, believe in connecting with her inner teenager and in feeding her active imagination--it likes Italian food and chocolate. When she's not writing, she's working on costumes for the Northeast Atlanta Ballet . . . or doing the bidding of her husband, daughter, and cats Pixie and Turnip Ann. Visit her at www.maureenhardegree.com

When Don Rhodes took his seat not far behind Michael Jackson at the funeral of the “Godfather of Soul” on December 30, 2006, it marked the close of a forty-year friendship. In Say It Loud! Rhodes pays tribute to James Brown and his storied career, with a close and comprehensive look at the life of the legendary singer at his home in Augusta, Georgia, and the family he left behind. From the evolution of Brown’s fiery, uniquely rhythmic musical style to his social activism, world travels, run-ins with the law, and four marriages (and uncertain number of affairs), Rhodes provides a sensitive but candid look at the life of the man behind such hits as “I Feel Good,” “Please, Please, Please,” “Sex Machine,” and “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud.” He takes us back to the 1960s, when James Brown and other American soul and rock artists were relieved to find that they had nothing to fear from the Beatles and other British artists taking America by storm—indeed, as some of the Brits acknowledged, the Americans had inspired them. Mick Jagger, whose dance steps were influenced by Brown, once said of him, “His show didn’t just have to do with the artist but had to do with the audience. . . . Their reaction was always . . . like being in a church.” Unlike his friend Elvis Presley, James Brown went on to be a frequent global traveler, adored by fans throughout the world. Say It Loud! bears out the reputation of the man with the famous cape as “the hardest-working man in show business,” bringing us the full story of a conscientious performer and consummate professional with a fascinating and controversial personal life. Never-before-published photos, as well as anecdotes from an enduring friendship and details of Brown’s life at home, will further ensure that music fans of all ages will cherish this tribute to an American icon by a longtime friend.

This book develops a systematic model for the analysis and description of casual conversation in English, based on a large body of authentic data.