"Deputy Mike Barnett asked Gary Plauchâe, "Why, Gary? Gary, why?" seconds after television cameras recorded Gary shooting and killing karate instructor Jeff Doucet, who had raped, molested, and kidnapped Gary's son Jody. Now, thirty-five years later, Jody Plauchâe answers the deputy's question on behalf of his late father and explores the story of his molestation, kidnapping, and survival. He unveils the sly tactics that child predators often use so that he can better inform parents of the potential signs that a person might harm their child. Through his own incredible story of using his past for good by helping others, he shares how any reader who has suffered great trauma can move on and not let the past define him or her. You have the potential to overcome negativity and redefine your own story"--

At first, Mark Prothero, Defense Attorney for Gary Ridgway, thought: "This can't be the Green River Killer! He's too ordinary! He's too small. He's too calm. He's too polite! He can't possibly have murdered forty-nine women. They can't be serious! They must have screwed up! I didn't realize then, but I was right. Gary Ridgway hadn't killed forty-nine women. He'd killed even more than that." Soon, Mark Prothero faced the question: "How could you possibly defend the most prolific serial killer in United States history, the infamous Green River Killer? If anyone deserved to be executed for his crimes, didn't he?" Mark Prothero, co-lead defense attorney who helped save Gary Ridgway from the death sentence, has heard that question many times. Now he’s written a book that reveals the true, inside story of exactly how an idealistic public defender, high school swim coach, husband, and dad could bring himself to spend many months of close confinement with a man who brutally murdered at least 75 young women, often in the act of sex. Defending Gary shows how Prothero could reconcile these monstrous acts knowing the reality of this unassuming fellow Gary Ridgway, a mild-mannered, church-going, devoted husband, father, and former Navy man, with an IQ of around 82 and a longtime job as a truck painter from Auburn, Washington, near Seattle.

Discover the moving, entertaining, never-before-told story of how one man found his calling: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten. As a kid in suburban Chicago, Gary Sinise was more interested in sports and rock 'n' roll than reading or schoolwork. But when he impulsively auditioned for a school production of West Side Story, he found his true purpose--or so it seemed. Within a few years, Gary and a handful of friends created what became one of the most exciting and important new theater companies in America. From its humble beginnings in a suburban Chicago church basement and eventual move into the city, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company launched a series of groundbreaking productions, igniting Gary's career along with those of John Malkovich, Joan Allen, Gary Cole, Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Perry, John Mahoney, and countless others. Television and film came calling soon after, and Gary starred in Of Mice and Men (which he also directed) and The Stand before taking the role that would change his life in unforeseeable ways: Lieutenant Dan in the Academy Award-winning Forrest Gump. The military community's embrace of the character of the disabled veteran was matched only by the depth of Gary's realization that America's defenders had not received all the honor, respect, and gratitude their sacrifices deserve. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, this became Gary's new calling. Grateful American, now a New York Times bestseller, documents Gary's dedication to working tirelessly on behalf of those who serve this country, sharing stories about how he has: Entertained more than a half million troops around the world playing bass guitar with his Lt. Dan Band Raised funds on behalf of veterans Founded the Gary Sinise Foundation with a mission to serve and honor America's defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need Grateful American is the moving, entertaining, profoundly gripping story of how one man found his life's work: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten. Praise for Grateful American: "Gary Sinise writes as he lives, and as the artist and actor he has always been: with American authenticity, purpose, and a conviction that is inseparable from his nature." --Tom Hanks, actor and filmmaker "No entertainer alive today has visited and performed more for our troops at veterans hospitals and military bases all over the world than Gary Sinise. For years his foundation has built 'smart homes' for our troops that were severely wounded in combat. The book is called Grateful American, and I promise that after you read it you will be grateful for what Gary has accomplished and contributed to our country. He's truly one of a kind." --Clint Eastwood, actor, director, producer, and musician

The ordinary lives of Gary McKinnon and his mother Janis changed dramatically one morning in 2002 when police interviewed Gary about hacking into US government computers. Three years later, on 7 June 2005, he was arrested. Extradition seemed certain and so, fearing that Gary would take his own life rather than be taken away, Janis began her extraordinary battle. Facing up to sixty years' incarceration, Gary was vilified by the authorities, who described his actions as 'the biggest military computer hack of all time'. The truth was rather less dramatic - Gary was searching for signs of UFOs. When he discovered that thousands of NASA and Pentagon computers had no passwords or firewalls he started to leave notes warning that their security was deeply flawed. It was only in 2008 after a TV interview that an expert in autism phoned Gary's solicitors and said he was sure that Gary was suffering from Asperger's syndrome. The stakes were now even higher. The US judiciary had all the might of the world's greatest power. But it had not reckoned on Gary's mother. This is the story of how one woman squared up not only to the Pentagon but also to the British judicial and political systems. It is a book about a mother who took on the world and won.

In this poignant, perceptive, witty novel, Gary D. Schmidt brings authenticity and emotion to multiple plot strands, weaving in themes of grief, loss, redemption, achievement, and love. Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene's Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school's traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students from wealthy backgrounds. In a parallel story, Matt Coffin has wound up on the Maine coast near St. Elene's with a pillowcase full of money lifted from the leader of a criminal gang, fearing the gang's relentless, destructive pursuit. Both young people gradually dispel their loneliness, finding a way to be hopeful and also finding each other.

Airman, war hero, immigrant, law student, diplomat, novelist and celebrity spouse, Romain Gary had several lives thrust upon him by the history of the twentieth century, but he also aspired to lead many more. He wrote more than two dozen books and a score of short stories under several different names in two languages, English and French, neither of which was his mother tongue. Gary had a gift for narrative that endeared him to ordinary readers, but won him little respect among critics far more intellectual than he could ever be. His varied and entertaining writing career tells a different story about the making of modern literary culture from the one we are accustomed to hearing. Born Roman Kacew in Vilna (now Lithuania) in 1914 and raised by only his mother after his father left them, Gary rose to become French Consul General in Los Angeles and the only man ever to win the Goncourt Prize twice. This biography follows the many threads that lead from Gary's wartime adventures and early literary career to his years in Hollywood and his marriage to the actress Jean Seberg. It illuminates his works in all their incarnations, and culminates in the tale of his most brilliant deception: the fabrication of a complex identity for his most successful nom de plume, Émile Ajar. In his new portrait of Gary, David Bellos brings biographical research together with literary and cultural analysis to make sense of the many lives of Romain Gary - a hero fit for our times, as well as his own.

Originally published: Newtown, N.S.W.: Walker Books Australia, 2016.