Download or read book Fool s Paradise written by Steven Gaines and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-12-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the acclaimed bestselling author of Philistines at the Hedgerow comes a remarkably revealing profile of the Miami Beach no one knows–a tale of fabulous excess, thwarted power, and rekindled lives that will take its place among the decade’s best works of social portraiture. Created from a mix of swampland and dredged-up barrier reef, Miami Beach has always been one part drifter-mecca and one part fantasyland, simultaneously a catch basin for con men, fast-talk artists, and shameless self-promoters, and a Shangri-La for sun worshippers and hardcore hedonists. In Miami Beach it’s often said that "if you’re not indicted you’re not invited." But the city’s mad, fascinating complexity resists easy stereotyping. Fool’s Paradise is more than just a present-day profile of a dark Eden. Gaines journeys back into the city’s social and cultural history, unearthing stories of the resort’s past that are every bit as absorbing–and jaw-dropping–as those of its present. The book begins with a snapshot of the city’s current excess (this is, after all, a sun-washed hamlet that boasts, on a per capita basis, more bars–and breast implants–than any other place in America), then plunges into the Beach’s origins, chronicling the audacious rise of such hoteliers as the Fontainebleau’s Ben Novack and the Eden Roc’s Harry Mufson, the sharp-elbowed tactics of Al Capone and Frank Sinatra, and the Mac-10 shooting sprees of the Marielito and Colombian drug lords. From there, the narrative shifts to two wildly eccentric souls who gave their lives to preserving the city’s architectural dazzle and creating its color palette, introduces us to "the Most Powerful Man in Miami Beach," and arrives finally in the modern day, where we meet, among others, a kinky German playboy who once owned a quarter of South Beach and publicly flaunts his sexual escapades; a fabulously successful nightclub promoter whose addictive past seems to have given him a portal into the night world’s id; and a gaggle of young sexy models, dreamers, and schemers on a mission to achieve significance. Evoking the Beach’s surreal blend of flashy Vegas and old Hollywood glamour, as well as its manic desperation and reckless wealth, Gaines persuasively demonstrates that though the Beach is–in the words of its most famous drag queen–"an island of broken toys . . . a place where people get away with things they’d never get away with anyplace else," it casts an irresistible spell.
Download or read book A Fool in Paradise written by Neil Hutchison and published by Proglen Trading Co., Ltd.. This book was released on 2011-02 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following hot the heels of his best seller, Money Number One, Neil Hutchison continues his in-depth investigation into the tourist playground of Pattaya. This collection of short stories, originally published individually under the pseudonym 'A Fool in Paradise', form a collage of insights into the machinations of this fantastic city on the eastern seaboard of Thailand. Anyone who has read Money Number One will enjoy this follow-up book as it reinforces the conclusions drawn and advice presented in the former through the personal experiences of the author. The tales are fast-paced, humourous, well written and ALL TRUE. Well, almost. Sir Winston Churchill quipped that "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." If that is true, then Neil is a success story because his love and enthusiasm for Pattaya and its people has not diminished over the years. The highs, lows, ups, downs, laughter and tears portray a convincing analysis of the human condition. As Neil says, "Pattaya is to a writer what a room full of fruit bowls is to an artist." The last story, 'Footprints in the Sand', is a particularly poignant tale of just how the city can affect its visitors and guests, even those who should know better. Written with his heart firmly on his sleeve, it proves that no matter how smart we think we are or how old we get, we just never learn. This tale is a 'must read' for any foreign male contemplating a long-term liaison with a Thai lady.
Download or read book Robert B Parker s Fool s Paradise written by Mike Lupica and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-08-24 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When an unknown man is found murdered in Paradise, Jesse Stone will have his hands full finding out who he was--and what he was seeking. When a body is discovered at the lake in Paradise, Police Chief Jesse Stone is surprised to find he recognizes the murder victim--the man had been at the same AA meeting as Jesse the evening before. But otherwise, Jesse has no clue as to the man's identity. He isn't a local, nor does he have ID on him, nor does any neighboring state have a reported missing person matching his description. Their single lead is from a taxi company that recalls dropping off the mysterious stranger outside the gate at the mansion of one of the wealthiest families in town. . . . Meanwhile, after Jesse survives a hail of gunfire on his home, he wonders if it could be related to the murder. When both Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson also become targets, it's clear someone has an ax to grind against the entire Paradise PD.
Download or read book Fool s Paradise written by John Gierach and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-05-06 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lighthearted and lyrical new collection of observations on fly-fishing by the author of Still Life with Brook Trout features whimsical complaints about what the author believes is wrong with the world, both within and outside the fishing community. 50,000 first printing.
Download or read book Money Number One written by Neil Hutchison and published by Proglen Trading Co., Ltd.. This book was released on with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enter Pattaya with your eyes wide open, not like a lamb to the slaughter. The original guide to Pattaya by Neil Hutchison, author of A Fool in Paradise. From landing at Bangkok airport through to going home again, everything is covered. From hotels to entertainment, from motorbike taxis to Baht buses, from beer bars to go go bars, and from bar hostesses to freelancers, you will find it in this book. And most of all find out how the Thai entertainment workers think about their visitors. Or as Neil says: "The politically correct single man's survival guide to the adult entertainment of Pattaya, Thailand." What others say: "A must for male visitors to the Land of Smiles." Bernard Trink (Bangkok Post) "A fun read with an important message. ... I would recommend that the single male, with fire in his heart and conflagration in his jocks should study the book before having his first beer. He will save more than the price of the book. ... Should be incorporated in the price of incoming plane tickets and made compulsory reading." Lang Reid (Pattaya Mail)
Download or read book A Fool s Paradise written by Nancy Flowers Wilson and published by Writers and Poets USA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Story about two bright black young women and their struggle to pull through their downfalls and come to terms with the happenings.
Download or read book A Fool s Paradise written by Anita Konkka and published by Dalkey Archive Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overeducated, unemployed, recently dumped, and depressed, the 38-year-old nameless narrator is a familiar American character, except she's Finnish. It is the 1980s, her married Russian lover has recently left her, and the narrator compulsively writes in her journal as she tries to put her life back together. Obsessed with omens, astrology, dreams, fortune-tellers, and other objects of the paranormal, the narrator is both funny and morose.
Download or read book The Fool is Back written by Neil Hutchison and published by Proglen Trading Co., Ltd.. This book was released on with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of human stupidity is not a new science but it certainly makes fascinating reading. An interesting thing about the human race is that if there is a way to screw up, someone will eventually stumble upon it. Enter the fool. By the author of the Pattaya best seller Money Number One and the updated Money Still Number One, this the sequel to A Fool in Paradise, adding a further 32 stories to the colourful tapestry that is Pattaya, Thailand. In the opinion of many people including the author, Pattaya is the most wonderful place on the planet. As with A fool in Paradise, the stories are all true or based on true events. 'A Brief History of Pattaya' takes a lighthearted look at what the history books don't tell you whereas 'Miss Goodbar' offers advice to foreign men on how to choose, woo and cohabit with their Thai dream girl. 'Boys at Play' is the unofficial, unauthorized and unholy account of one holiday of lifetime. When you take six mischievous Aussie mates, add ten days of unsupervised freedom and put them together in South East Asia's number one party town, you get a true adventure of unbelievable proportions; full of fun, laughter, love, sex and tragedy. Why tragedy? Because none of them could ever speak about it, except amongst themselves. Apart from one photograph, this remains the only record of their tale. So pull up a chair, take your shoes off and relax. For your reading pleasure, The Fool is Back!
Download or read book Fool s Paradise written by Stewart Justman and published by Ivan R. Dee Publisher. This book was released on 2005 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through the channels of the mass media, celebrity psychologists urge us to realize that society has robbed us of our authentic selves. That every moral standard or prohibition imposes on our selfhoods. That what we have inherited from the past is false. That we ourselves are the only truth in a world of lies. That we must challenge "virtually everything." That we must "wipe the slate clean and start over." Each of these "principles" is a commonplace of pop psychology, and each has almost unimaginably radical implications. Where did pop psychology come from, and what are its promises--and fallacies? How is it that we have elevated people like Phil McGraw, Theodore Rubin, Wayne Dyer, M. Scott Peck, Thomas Harris, John Gray, and many other self-help gurus to priestly status in American culture? In Fool's Paradise, the award-winning essayist Stewart Justman traces the inspiration of the pop psychology movement to the utopianism of the 1960s and argues that it consistently misuses the rhetoric that grew out of the civil rights movement. Speaking as it does in the name of our right to happiness, pop psychology promises liberation from all that interferes with our power to create the selves we want. In so doing, Mr. Justman writes, it not only defies reality but corrodes the traditions and attachments that give depth and richness to human life. His witty and astringent appraisal of the world of pop psychology, which quotes liberally from the most popular sources of advice, is an essential social corrective as well as a vastly entertaining and stimulating book.
Download or read book A Fool s Paradise written by Sydney Grundy and published by . This book was released on 1898 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fool s Paradise written by Dean Stewart and published by Heyday Books. This book was released on 2001 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carey McWilliams (1905-1980) -- lawyer, activist, historian, editor of The Nation for two decades -- wrote the history of California as no one else could, or would. Alternately scathing, amusing, and disturbing, his sharp and literate accounts shatter the myths meant to obscure the real workings of the state, revealing always the relationship between the exploited and those who would exploit them.Readers will find that McWilliams's writing on history and the issues of his day is still relevant -- in fact, it is the basis for the field that we now call California studies
Download or read book Robert B Parker s Fool Me Twice written by Michael Brandman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When two cases collide, police chief Jesse Stone is caught in the middle in this New York Times bestseller. Autumn in Paradise, Massachusetts, is usually idyllic. Not this time. A Hollywood movie company has come to town and brought troubled star Marisol Hinton—beautiful, talented, demanding, and scared out of her wits that her estranged husband's jealousy might take a violent turn. When she receives a death threat, Jesse and the Paradise police department go on high alert. But more lives are in danger than Jesse imagines—including his own.
Download or read book Paradise Dogs written by Man Martin and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-06-07 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adam Newman once had it all. But then he lost it. Now Adam yearns to reunite with his estranged wife, Evelyn, and recapture the Edenic life they once had running Paradise Dogs, the roadside hot-dog restaurant now legendary throughout central Florida. He has a few obstacles along the way. For starters, there's his impending marriage to Lily. There's also the matter of a quarter million dollars' worth of diamonds that he mislaid, along with what appears to be a shadowy conspiracy that is buying up land around the Cross-Florida Canal (and which may or may not be a product of Adam's alcohol-infused imagination). Despite his own troubles---and a brief stay in Chattahoochee---Adam looks to mentor his son, Addison, in the ways of love. Awkward, unsure, and employed as the world's least accurate obituary writer, Addison pines for a beautiful and painfully earnest linguistic student but must compete for her attention with his older and more sophisticated half brother from Evelyn's first marriage. But if anybody can set these worlds in order, it is Adam, who has an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time and allowing others to believe he's someone he's not. Whether it's delivering a baby, rescuing a marriage, or exposing a Communist conspiracy, our protagonist is up for the job. Paradise Dogs, from Georgia Author of the Year Award winner Man Martin, is a farcical tale of paradise lost, the American Dream, and the true measures of love
Download or read book The Prince of Paradise written by John Glatt and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ben Novack, Jr. was born into a life of luxury and opulence. Heir to the legendary Fontainebleau hotel, he spent his childhood surrounded by some of the world's biggest stars, including Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Elvis Presley, and Ann-Margret, who performed regularly at the Fontainebleau's La Ronde Room. He sat by while his parents entertained presidents and movie stars, as they reigned over Miami Beach in the ‘50's and ‘60's, and when the family business went sour he became wealthy in his own right, founding a multi-million dollar business using connections he made at the Fontainebleau. But Ben, Jr.'s luxurious, celebrity-studded lifestyle would end in another hotel room—a thousand miles away from the one where he grew up—when police found him bound up in duct tape, beaten to death. Seven years earlier, police found Novack in an eerily similar situation—when his wife Narcy duct-taped him to a chair for twenty-four hours and robbed him. Claiming it was a sex game, he never pressed charges and never followed through with a divorce. Now prosecutors claimed Narcy let the vicious killers into the room and watched as they beat her husband with dumbbells. They also suspected she was involved in the horrendous death of Novack's mother, just three months before. But it would be Narcy's own daughter who implicated her to the police. John Glatt tells the whole story of this twisted case of passion, perversion, and paradise lost, in Prince of Paradise.
Download or read book This Is Paradise written by Kristiana Kahakauwila and published by Hogarth. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elegant, brutal, and profound—this magnificent debut captures the grit and glory of modern Hawai'i with breathtaking force and accuracy. In a stunning collection that announces the arrival of an incredible talent, Kristiana Kahakauwila travels the islands of Hawai'i, making the fabled place her own. Exploring the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade and authentic self, This Is Paradise provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island. In the gut-punch of “Wanle,” a beautiful and tough young woman wants nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps as a legendary cockfighter. With striking versatility, the title story employs a chorus of voices—the women of Waikiki—to tell the tale of a young tourist drawn to the darker side of the city’s nightlife. “The Old Paniolo Way” limns the difficult nature of legacy and inheritance when a patriarch tries to settle the affairs of his farm before his death. Exquisitely written and bursting with sharply observed detail, Kahakauwila’s stories remind us of the powerful desire to belong, to put down roots, and to have a place to call home.
Download or read book Fool s Paradise written by Tori Phillips and published by HarperCollins Australia. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'TWAS NO LAUGHING MATTER When fleeing an odious arranged match, the Lady Elizabeth Hayward found herself under the protection of famed court jester Richard Tarleton. But even disguised as the fool's boy apprentice, there was no hiding the fact that she'd fallen hopelessly in love! Though Tarleton's ready wit had won him royal favour, his tongue was tied in the presence of the sweet–voiced Elizabeth at least about things that truly mattered. For how could he offer the queen's own goddaughter a gift so lowly as his own foolish heart? MAGGIE AWARD WINNER March Madness Don't miss these talented newcomers to the field of historical romance!
Download or read book Trouble in Paradise written by Robert B. Parker and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1999-10-01 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesse Stone returns in this New York Times bestselling novel of death and deception from Robert B. Parker. Stiles Island is a wealthy and exclusive enclave separated by a bridge from the Massachusetts coast town of Paradise. James Macklin sees the Island as the ultimate investment opportunity: all he needs to do is invade it, blow the bridge, and loot the island. To realize his scheme, Macklin, along with his devoted girlfriend, Faye, assembles a crew of fellow ex-cons—all experts in their fields—including Wilson Cromartie, a fearsome Apache. James Macklin is a bad man, a very bad man. And Wilson Cromartie, known as Crow, is even worse. As Macklin plans his crime, Paradise police chief Jesse Stone has his hands full. He faces romantic entanglements in triplicate: his ex-wife, Jenn, is in the Paradise jail for assault, he’s begun a new relationship with a Stiles Island realtor named Marcy Campbell, and he’s still sorting out his feelings for attorney Abby Taylor. When Macklin’s attack on Stiles Island is set in motion, both Marcy and Abby are put in jeopardy. As the casualties mount, it’s up to Jesse to keep both women from harm.
