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The Hollywood Book of Extravagance: The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols
Savor the inside scoop on over-the-top superstars "I'm not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. . . . I'm a billionaire!" "Acting is an empty and useless profession." "Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere else." "I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons." Which screen icons gave us the quotes above? How do stars get away with self-indulgent, unrestrained behaviors-or do they? In The Hollywood Book of Extravagance, longtime industry insider and Hollywood historian James Robert Parish gives you a provocative look behind the scenes at the lavish indulgences and larger-than-life egos of Tinseltown's rich and famous. The featured celebrities range from heartthrobs to industry tycoons, and from yesterday's matinee idols to today's hottest celebs. The stars are grouped according to their excesses: ego, neurosis, partying, power, rich living, and romancing. You'll devour little-known details on the excesses and exploits of notables ranging from Mae West to Madonna, Greta Garbo to Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, Bela Lugosi to John Belushi, Zsa Zsa Gabor to Paris Hilton, Errol Flynn to Jude Law, and many more..
Price: $5.18
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An Extravagance of Donkeys
These are true stories, told with insight and understanding, of life on a farm in New Hampshire that became a sanctuary for any donkey who needed a home. Donkeys are thought to be humble and stubborn They are much more than that: from Jenny who goes up an Elizabethan spiral staircase and does not want to come down, to the concern members of the herd display when one of them is ill. They celebrate the arrival of a foal and respect the authority of the mule that joins them. When she dies, they stand on her grave and bray a sad requiem on and on into the night. Thousands of years of being the beast of burden of the poor has stamped donkeys with a stigma of inferiority, but they have humor, strong wills, and a great deal of affection to give. They are curious and loyal. These are stories about friendship: the donkeys with each other and with the author who established her love for her first donkey when she was very young. After the sad death of that donkey, she vowed to offer sanctuary to any donkey who needed a home. These are stories to read aloud in a family setting or perhaps by a young person who can empathize with and enjoy these often misunderstood gentle creatures. They are stories for anyone who loves animals. .
Price: $7.45
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Extravagance: The World of Whimsical Interiors
A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the sumptuous, extravagant or just plain whimsical homes of creative souls past and present Some are filled to bursting with leopardskin cushions and gilt mirrors. Others have an indefinably quaint, old-world charm all their own. Some are dimly lit by candles, while one or two are brightly illuminated by the neon glow of strings of fairy lights. Whatever the inspiration behind them, the homes featured in Extravagance: the World of Whimsical Interiors bear the stamp of the people who live there-people who have decided to make their home a reflection of their own personality and passions. From Vanessa Bell to the outrageous French artists Pierre et Gilles, from Sigmund Freud's Viennese apartments to the home of photographer Turbeville in New Mexico, Extravagance: the World of Whimsical Interiors explores the private tastes of these designers, artists and thinkers who shape the world. Also featured are the charmingly eccentric homes of unknown devotees of design: a butcher who, on his days off, is a specialist in sixteenth-century art; a Greek businessman who bought his own French chateau to decorate as his whims dictated. Fashion journalist Claude Berthod's text lovingly details the particular features of each home, while the stunning photographs of Roland Beaufre will provide inspiration for all those who believe that good taste and design flair are intrinsically individual qualities. .
Price: $12.97
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What We Need: Extravagance and Shortages in America's Military
In early 2006 the Army chief of staff reported about $440 billion in expenditures A dollar bill is a smidgen over six inches long. If 440 billion greenbacks are placed end to end, they would extend 220 billion feet, or 41,600,000 miles. That is 1,664 times around the equator. If the greenbacks had Andy Jacksons picture instead of George Washingtons, that line still would run well over 2,000,000 miles. That is about four trips to the moon and back. So, then..... On $440 billion, how is it possible that soldiers still lack sufficient body armor, training facilities and ammunition, and high-tech bandages? On $440 billion, how is it possible that there is not enough money for vehicle maintenance and repair? On $440 billion, how is it possible that GIs still write home asking folks to send socks and sheets and batteries? What We Need addresses The Great American Dichotomy: we allocate vast sums for our military, yet inevitably we spend most of that treasure on technical marvels that we do not use. And if we do not use them, we are entitled to ask how much we need them. .
Price: $1.66
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Spending God's Money: Extravagance And Misuse In The Name Of Ministry-Fourth Revised Edition
What's Happened to Our Contributions? A hundred years ago, collective giving seemed the perfect solution. What one individual or church couldn't do, combined efforts accomplished with ease. National agencies sprung up, offering to spend on our behalf. And we embraced them. Flash forward to days crammed with emails, overtime, and endless commuting. Time is often more valuable than money, and the desire to delegate spiritual privileges and responsibilities is even stronger. Surely national agencies and the professionals who oversee them can carry out the Great Commission faster and more effectively than harried homemakers and stressed executives. But as our time shrinks, national ministries grow larger. What started as lean groups of roll-up-your-sleeves workers have become Paul Bunyan-sized agencies, with excess fat and an overload of middle men draining a big chunk of the money intended for spreading the gospel. Elaborate national headquarters have shot up across America, with presidential office suites rivaling those of top CEOs. And giving isn't the same. Sending a check to a faceless organization doesn't generate the same fulfillment as pressing money into the hand of a young person heading for the mission field. Now the only smiling faces are those of mega leaders. And recently, their smiles have been fading as disenchanted givers voice their displeasure with irresponsible spending. The author of this on-the-edge book proposes an answer. After opening readers' eyes to the tremendous waste of their hard-earned dollars, she offers ways to bring joy and effectiveness back into giving..
Price: $19.95
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Extravagance: A Novel
William Tobias Merrick, an energetic young man from the provinces, travels to the big city in a time of great optimism and ferment, hoping to make his mark on a frenzied, money-crazed society obsessed with the promise of new technologies. The city in question is London in the 1690s; but it is also New York in the 1990s. The new technologies are diving bells, pneumatic winches, and "sucking-worm" drainage engines; but they are also wireless telecommunication devices, patented biotechnology processes, and revolutionary electronic Internet routers. Only the sense of unlimited possibility remains the same throughout. Unfolding simultaneously in two distant--but remarkably similar--periods of history, Extravagance is a comic, pictaresque novel of financial mania, the story of a world gripped by a terminal case of irrational exuberance. Navigating the perils of both eras is a single cast of characters: Will himself, a young man on the make, eager to do whatever it takes to make his fortune; Will's uncle (and sponsor) Gilbert Hawking, a shrewd businessman with one foot in the Old Economy and one in the New; Benjamin Fletcher, the developer of a pioneering new technology destined to set the world on fire; and Theodore Witherspoon, the cheerfully unscrupulous wizard of the financial markets who promises to make them all wealthy beyond their dreams. Meanwhile, Will's aspirations are complicated by his pursuit of Ben Fletcher's sister, Eliza, the gorgeous and disconcertingly aggressive woman who is as desirable as she is elusive. Can Will succeed in his efforts to win both Eliza and the fortune that her brother's new technology seems likely to bring him? And can he make it all happen before the general euphoria of the age reaches its inevitable climax? Extravagance is a uniquely conceived work of high comic entertainment -- an ultra-smart time machine of a novel that proves that both love and greed are timeless. From the Hardcover edition..
Price: $1.40
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