Career Memoirs

The average American has thirteen jobs in a lifetime. Tom Bross has had at least forty. Don't worry—this is only Book One. You should know up front that this book is a pathetic, self-indulgent journey through a topic generally hated by everyone. Work. And he hopes you love it. He's been a pot-scrubber, a porter, a pizza guy, and a dancing genie. He's had a boss who fired him, a boss who mentored him, and a boss whose mixed-up metaphors drove him crazy. He sent out a résumé with a photo of himself bursting out of a walnut shell—caption: That's me in a nutshell—and somehow it worked.

The average American has thirteen jobs in a lifetime. Tom Bross has had at least forty. This is Book Three, where the dust starts to settle. You should know up front that this is the one with the happy ending—though Tom would call it more of a mostly-survived ending, which feels more honest anyway. At ten, he was a drug mule for his hippie mother and got busted by a bike cop for riding on the wrong side of the street. Not for the drugs. The drugs were fine. At twenty, he came home from four months of backpacking through Europe to find his first love had taken up with a poet, which was rude.

Miles Franklin began the candid, passionate, and contrary My Brilliant Career when she was only 16, intending for it to be the Australian answer to Jane Eyre. This thinly veiled autobiographical tale of a young girl hungering for life and love in the outback was so beyond its years when first released in 1901 that Franklin insisted it not be published again until 10 years after her death. My Brilliant Career is a coming of age story for all of the ages.

The Strange Career of Jim Crow is one of the great works of Southern history. Indeed, the book actually helped shape that history. Published in 1955, a year after the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education ordered schools desegregated, Strange Career was cited so often to counter arguments for segregation that Martin Luther King, Jr. called it "the historical Bible of the civil rights movement." The book offers a clear and illuminating analysis of the history of Jim Crow laws, presenting evidence that segregation in the South dated only to the 1890s.

Six-time New York Times bestselling author and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright—one of the world’s most admired and tireless public servants—reflects on the final stages of one’s career, and working productively into your later decades in this revealing, funny, and inspiring...

From King of Metal Dave Mustaine, a powerful reflection on the harsh truths and raw realizations that can only come from confronting death. Dave Mustaine is no stranger to pain and suffering. He battled demons all his life—including an alcoholic father, addiction, and black magic—and turned...

The two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter behind the groundbreaking album Exile in Guyville traces her life and career in a genre-bending memoir in stories about the pivotal moments that haunt her. When Liz Phair shook things up with her musical debut, Exile in Guyville—making her as...

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own. Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere...

Most people are afraid to admit the role of luck in their lives. It feels better to be "self-made" - the kind of person who boldly declares that if you drop them in the middle of New York, penniless and naked, they'll emerge a millionaire thirty days later. Nothing could be further from the truth. John Morgan is not afraid to acknowledge the tremendous role luck has played in his life. There's been plenty of good - like deciding to attend Mass on a whim and meeting the love of his life-and plenty of bad - like being raised by an alcoholic father who couldn't keep a job.

The average American has thirteen jobs in a lifetime. Tom Bross has had at least forty. This is Book Two, where things start coming apart. You should know up front that the train comes a little off the rails in this one. There's a paycheck that doubles overnight and a CEO who eventually doubles as a federal inmate. There's a dot-com that collapses, and an engagement at Disneyland, which is not the happiest place on earth. He restocked first-aid cabinets out of a beat-up van across Eastern Washington, one knuckle bandage at a time.

NARRATED BY THE AUTHOR! The star of the legendary HBO series The Sopranos and podcast co-host with Christina Applegate, Jamie Lynn Sigler opens up about the vicissitudes of life, from early stardom to heartache and love, motherhood, and illness, offering readers an unflinchingly vulnerable...

Career Magic is full of priceless advice and insightful experience. Lee Cockerell chronicles how he dropped out of college, rose through the ranks at Hilton and Marriott, and eventually became the executive vice president of operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. Lee candidly shares the specific things he did to experience such dramatic success in the corporate world, but he also shares the mistakes he made along the way and the million-dollar lessons he learned that ultimately led him to the top spot at the number one vacation destination in the world.

​Diane von Furstenberg, entrepreneur and philanthropist, presents her words to live by. In an easy-to-navigate A-Z dictionary format, designed to be browsed or listened to as a whole, Own It offers listeners Diane’s well-earned wisdom for enjoying both personal and professional growth at any age.

A philosopher/mechanic's wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working with one's hands “This is a deep exploration of craftsmanship by someone with real, hands-on knowledge. The book is also quirky, surprising, and sometimes quite moving.” —Richard Sennett...

A Montreal garbageman’s sharp and funny memoir/exposé, in which he attempts to convince people to “stop imagining that your garbage magically disappears” This fascinating no-bullshit account of twenty years in waste management paints a vivid portrait of the heroic labor, anarchic spirit...

When six-year-old Reginald Lewis overheard his grandparents discussing employment discrimination against African Americans, he asked, “Why should white guys have all the fun?" This self-assured child would grow up to become the CEO of Beatrice International and one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever. At the time of his death in 1993, his personal fortune was estimated in excess of $400 million and his vast commercial empire spanned four continents.

Winner of the 2017 Audie Award for Narration by the Author A poignant, intimate, funny, inspiring memoir—both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on creativity, devotion, and craft—from Bryan Cranston, the Emmy Award–winning and beloved star of Malcolm in the Middle and one of...

If you think ghosts are only responsible for hauntings, think again. The Demonologist reveals the grave religious process behind supernatural events and how it can happen to you. Used as a text in seminaries and classrooms, this is one book you can't put down. For over five decades, Ed and Loraine Warren have been considered America's foremost experts on demonology and exorcism. With over 3,000 investigations to their credit, they reveal what actually breaks the peace in haunted houses. Don't miss the Warrens in the new blockbuster movie The Conjuring.

Tennis star Rafael Nadal reveals the secrets of the sport and the inspiring stories behind his success in this riveting memoir, written with award-winning journalist John Carlin. What makes a champion? What does it take to be the best in the world at your sport? Rafael Nadal has the answers. It...

Hattie McDaniel is best known for her performance as Mammy, the sassy foil to Scarlett O’Hara in the movie classic Gone with the Wind. Her powerful performance won her an Oscar® and bolstered the hopes of Black Hollywood that the entertainment industry was finally ready to write more multidimensional, fully realized roles for Blacks. But despite this victory, and pleas by organizations such as the NAACP and SAG, roles for Blacks continued to denigrate the African American experience.