Books of Soul

The Oprah Winfrey Show: Reflections on an American Legacy by Deborah Davis

December 11, 2011
The Oprah Winfrey Show came to an end on May 25, 2011, after 25 years on television. Arguably the most influential television personality of all time, Ms. Winfrey and her show have had an impact on American culture that cannot be overstated. This beautifully illustrated book will explore and celebrate the legacy of the show using essays and tributes from a stellar group of contributors including Maya Angelou, Bono, Ellen DeGeneres, Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, Julia Roberts, Maria Shriver, Gloria Steinem, John Travolta, and more. The book will feature photographs from the Harpo archive, spanning the 25 years the show has been on the air, including the farewell season.

Essays within the book will be dedicated to different themes (e.g., personal growth, social action, and literature) and will explore how the show has touched people’s lives and impacted the conversation around those issues. The essays will be followed by narrative text, which will guide the reader through the history of the show’s involvement with each topic and will include stories about the events, people, and organizations that have acted as touchstones or provided insights along the way. Accompanying the essays and narrative text will be images from the show, behind-the-scenes photographs, as well as signature portraits of the contributing celebrities taken by noted photographers.

The book will allow Oprah Winfrey Show fans to understand the broad cultural impact of the show, while revisiting favorite guests, episodes, and stories.

News: NBC bringing Walter Mosley’s ‘Easy Rawlins’ to TV

October 9, 2011

September 13th, 2011

NBC bringing Walter Mosley‘s ‘Easy Rawlins’ to TV

Walter Mosley‘s private investigator Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is moving from fiction to primetime.

According to Deadline, NBC is developing a project called “Easy Rawlins,” based on Mosley’s best-selling series.

The novels feature a self-taught black detective who finds himself solving crimes amidst the changing social landscape of Los Angeles from the ’40s to the ’60s, but NBC will narrow the show’s focus to the latter decade. The character is one that moves easily between the segregated worlds of L.A.

See http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/13/nbc-bringing-walter-mosleys-easy-rawlins-to-tv/

The Next Big Story by Soledad O’Brien

August 1, 2010

Celebra Hardcover
Available November 2, 2010 in Hardcover

An intimate look behind the CNN journalist’s most compelling reporting moments and how it has shaped her perspective on America’s future.

“Story is our medium. It’s how we connect emotionally with our viewers. And it’s how we make sense of our world…When we talk about a ‘big story,’ we’re really talking about what resonates with people, what matters to them…And I think when it comes to our national narrative, what we need to realize is that we’re all contributing to the story, that we can affect where this country is going.”

From top CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien comes a highly personal look at her biggest reporting moments from Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the devastating Haiti earthquake to the historic elections and high profile interviews with everyday Americans. Drawing on her own unique background and consciousness as well as her experiences as a journalist at the front lines of the most provocative issues in today’s society-and particularly from her work as host of the acclaimed series Black in America and Latino in America-O’Brien offers her candid, clear-eyed take on where we are as a country and where we’re going.

What emerges is both an inspiring message of hope and a glimpse into the heart and soul of one of America’s most straight-talking reporters.

The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities
by Soledad O’Brien with Rose Marie Arce

Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva: A Novel by Victoria Rowell

May 23, 2010
Calysta Jeffries is the hottest black actress in daytime and the diva of the soap opera world, known for her role as Ruby Stargazer on television’s most popular soap opera, “The Rich and the Ruthless.”

After fifteen years, three returns from the dead, two failed pregnancies, one alien abduction, and overcoming retrograde amnesia, Calysta still hasn’t managed to snag the biggest award in daytime drama: the Sudsy. Now is supposed to be her moment. But Calysta’s onscreen/offscreen rival Emmy Abernathy wins the award for the fourth time. The drama begins when journalist Mitch Morelli asks Calysta for a quote after the award show and her true feelings for her costar slip out.

Ripped from the headlines of Soap Opera Digest and straight off of the television screen, Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva will give readers plenty to talk about as they try to guess where the real world ends and Rowell’s imagination begins

Atria
Available May 4, 2010 in Paperback

Killing Willis by Todd Bridges

March 20, 2010

Killing Willis: From Diff’rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted
by Todd Bridges, , Sarah Tomlinson (Contributor)

Touchstone
Available 03/16/10 in Hardcover

The former child star—best known as Willis Jackson on Diff’rent Strokes—shares the shocking but inspirational details of his struggles with addiction, brushes with the law, and fierce fight to carve a path through the darkness and find his true identity.

For Todd Bridges, early stardom was no protection from painful childhood events that paved the road to his own personal hell. One of the first African-American child actors on shows like Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, and Roots, Bridges burst to the national forefront on the hit sitcom Diff’rent Strokes as the subject of the popular catchphrase, “What’chu Talkin About Willis?” When the show ended, Bridges was overwhelmed by the off-camera traumas he had faced. Turning to drugs as an escape, he soon lost control.

Now, for the first time, Bridges opens up about his life before and after Diff’rent Strokes: the incredible reversals of fortune brought on by fame and the precipitous—and very public—descent that followed; the persecution from police; the drug addiction that nearly consumed him; the criminal charges that almost earned him a life sentence; and his successful legal defense led by Johnnie Cochran. Through it all, Bridges never relented in his quest to fight his way back from the abyss, establish his own identity—separate from Willis Jackson—and offer his ordeal as a positive example for those struggling to overcome similar challenges. His triumphant story of recovery and redemption is recounted here as well.

Todd Bridges has lived a life of remarkable twists and turns—from the greatest heights to the lowest lows imaginable. In this shocking but ultimately hopeful memoir, he proves that what he was really talking about was survival.

Never Make the Same Mistake Twice by Nene Leakes

August 30, 2009
Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Lessons on Love and Life Learned the Hard Way
by Nene Leakes
Nene Leakes (Author), Denene Millner (Contributor)

Touchstone
Available 08/11/09

Outrageous, captivating, and unafraid to tell it like it is, Nene Leakes shares her wild journey from a scandalous past to the pinnacle of reality television stardom. Lauded by her fans for her refreshing honesty, infectiously genuine style, and clever sense of humor, Nene is an empowered, self-made woman who has not forgotten where she came from and knows exactly where she wants to go.

In this straight-talking and provocative memoir, Nene charts her journey from family black sheep to single mother to making good and realizing her dreams. With her charm and bold, self-possessed voice, Nene tackles her painful childhood; the abuse she suffered at the hands of a violent boyfriend; her struggle to support her firstborn son; and her path to true love, self-acceptance, and pride.

In Never Make the Same Mistake Twice, Nene dishes on her cast mates; takes on the rumors about her past; and shares hard-earned and inspiring life lessons in her fierce, no-nonsense, and irreverent style.