Books: "Summer Ball"

This is where you can get information about many of the books featured on The Early Show in May.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

"Summer Ball" by Mike Lupica

Mike Lupica, a veteran sports columnist for the New York Daily News, has written his fourth novel for young adults. "Summer Ball" is a sequel to recent best-seller, "Travel Team."

The first book told the story of 12-year-old Danny Walker, growing up in a small town on Long Island, N.Y. and finding safety and comfort in the world of basketball, where he aspires to be on the seventh grade's travel team so he can relate to his estranged father, a former basketball star.

"Summer Ball" picks up Danny's life after he's made the travel team and needs to raise his game when he's pitted against some of the best young players in the country.

Lupica visited to The Early Show to discuss the two books. To see the segment,

To read an excerpt of "Summer Ball," click here.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

"Sarah's Daughter," by Ruth Bass

Ruth Bass is a New England native who's written for newspapers for years. Now, her first novel is getting a lot of attention.

"Sarah's Daughter" is about the struggles of a 19th century teenage girl whose life is turned upside down by her mother's sudden death in a tragic accident.

The book, which takes readers to a rural New England town, is already being compared to those in the "Little House on the Prairie" series.

Bass visited The Early Show to talk about it. To see the segment,

Bass was a Girl Scout troop leader for 19 years and says she was often struck by the fact that the girls thought many of the issues they were dealing with were new to their generation when, in fact, they'd been around for hundreds of years. Bass says she hopes the book shows young readers how to overcome life's obstacles.

Readers of all ages have been reacting favorably, for which Bass credits the appeal of the main character, Rose. People ranging "from girls to grannies," as Bass' niece put it, seem to feel a connection to Rose.

To read an excerpt of "Sarah's Daughter," click here.

A Comprehensive, Open-Minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent," by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris

The moment a woman reveals that she is pregnant, she becomes a target for advice from well-meaning family, friends, and even strangers.

All that advice can leave a mother-to-be very uncertain.

But a new book called "From the Hips: A Comprehensive, Open-Minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent" promises to help you find your own style of motherhood, your comfort zone, the one that works for you.

The authors, Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris, stopped by The Early Show to

The book's cover describes it as "a comprehensive, open-minded, uncensored, totally honest guide to pregnancy, birth, and becoming a parent."

Odes and Morris have written the type of book they say they would have liked to have had when they were pregnant, but couldn't find. They say they needed one that was unbiased and showed the many ways to go through pregnancy.

"Like most women, we found ourselves braving the road to motherhood without a decent map," says Odes. "We were shocked to discover that every piece of material we encountered on the subject of having a baby made us feel pressured to act in one way or another, rather than encouraging us to find our own voices as parents."

So, they've chosen to help prospective and new parents to find their own parenting voices, through the book.

They also shared a few of their "anti-rules for parents in progress."

To read an excerpt of "From the Hips," click here.

"Lethally Blond," by Kate White

Gossip reporter-turned detective Bailey Weggins is back. The latest novel in the Weggins mystery series is called "Lethally Blond."

Weggins is the creation of Cosmopolitan magazine editor Kate White.

White stopped by The Early Show to

She said many of the ideas for the books spring from things that happened in her life, and from her work at Cosmo. White said she even includes things her colleagues really said, and many colleagues try to spot their remarks in the books! Some, she said, even THINK they see themselves or their utterances, when what they're looking at didn't come from them at all!

White said "Lethally Blond" grew from a time when her son, who was 13 at the time, briefly disappeared in a snow storm at the family's vacation home. The novel involves a young man who goes missing.

To read an excerpt of "Lethally Blond," click here.

"Thinking About Tomorrow: Reinventing Yourself at Midlife," by Susan Crandell

When someone has a midlife crisis, it usually suggests he or she is worried about running out of time in life.

But author Susan Crandall says it's never too late to fulfill your dreams.

Her new book, "Thinking About Tomorrow: Reinventing Yourself at Midlife" is a guide to just that, and maintains it's never too late to pursue a better life.

In the book, Crandell profiles 45 men and women who have successfully reinvented themselves at midlife. She refers to it as "turning the midlife crisis on its head."

"The 'old model' or definition of a midlife crisis," she writes, is, "You'd turn 50 and start to panic that more than half of your life was over, but you hadn't really lived. You'd try a quick fix like buying a Harley or having an affair. Eventually, when those things didn't satisfy the craving you felt, you'd come to terms with the fact that the richest part of your life was finished, and settle into your September years."

But Crandell says she expects many baby boomers to turn the traditional midlife crisis into a "midlife opportunity."

She stopped by The Early Show to

Incidentally, in April 2004, at the age of 52, Crandell quit her job as editor in chief of More magazine to spend more time with her husband, who had survived three bouts with cancer. If he relapsed, she wanted to be able to spend time with him.

To read an excerpt of "Thinking About Tomorrow," click here.

"Crazy Bosses," by Stanley Bing

If you think your boss is a bully, or a wimp, or just plain nuts, you are definitely not alone.

Fortune magazine columnist and workplace guru Stanley Bing claims all bosses are insane.

His new book, "Crazy Bosses," contains advice on how to handle them.

He visited The Early Show to talk about it. To see the segment,

Bing is actually Gil Schwartz, CBS executive vice president of corporate communications.

In an article Bing wrote for Fortune, he said, "(The) crazy boss is aided by his insanity, not hampered by it. Craziness is an asset, not a liability. His bullying, paranoia, selfishness, ruthlessness, perfectionism, and addiction to drugs, booze, or work are the only tools he has to achieve all the things expected of him."

Bing identifies five types or aspects of a crazy boss: the bully, the paranoid, the narcissist, the wimp, and the disaster hunter. Bing thinks of these aspects as a continuum, so a boss can exhibit any of these attributes at any given time.

Bing shares tips on handling the insanity, and provides a number between 1 and 100 that measures the level of difficulty involved in getting along with a particular type of boss.

In an interesting twist, Bing has a chart that records his personal growth as a crazy boss since 1988. It shows double-digit growth in all areas of his crazy boss behavior.

To read an excerpt of "Crazy Bosses," click here.

To go to Bing's blog, click here.

"Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town America," by CBS News correspondent Bill Geist

For 20 years, correspondent Bill Geist has delivered offbeat stories from some way off-the-beaten-path places for CBS News Sunday Morning.

He does it with his trademark deadpan and warmly humorous style.

Now, Geist has taken some of his favorites and put them in a book, "Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town America." It chronicles standout tales of eccentric Americans he's come across and of misadventures he's had in all that time crisscrossing the country.

Geist stopped by The Early Show to talk about it.

Among the stories he discussed: the stand-still parade, the cow-pie tossing contest, the prairie dog suckers, the flying paperboy, red rails in the sunset, figure-eight school bus racing, and watermelon speed eating.

To watch the segment,

To read an excerpt of "Way Off the Road," click here.

To read CBS News Sunday Morning coverage of Geist's book, click here.

"Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas," by Kevin Merida and Michael A. Fletcher

Like him or not, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas often sparks heated conversation. He's been a controversial figure ever since his memorable confirmation hearing 16 years ago.

A new book, "Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas," has details on Thomas' life and career that have never been published.

The book's co-author and Washington Post associate editor Kevin Merida visited The Early Show to talk about it. He and news anchor Russ Mitchell discussed why Thomas is disliked by so many African-Americans, the lasting ramifications of Anita Hill's testimony during those confirmation hearings, Thomas' impact on the High Court, and his legacy.

To watch the segment,

In the book, Merida and co-author Michael A. Fletcher, a fellow Post journalist, try to explain what made Thomas the man he is today, and why he is such a seemingly conflicted personality.

To read an excerpt of "Supreme Discomfort," click here.

"High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It," by Joseph Califano

Spells out how much we all have to pay because of substance abuse.

Secretary joseph califano's call for action to help substance abusers.

Thirty years ago, then-Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph Califano declared smoking "public health enemy No. 1."

Now, the longtime public health advocate says we need to take a closer look at all types of addiction.

His new book, "High Society: How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It," spells out how much we all have to pay because of substance abuse. It is a call for action to help substance abusers.

Califano visited The Early Show to discuss it. To watch the segment,

For much more on the book, and the problem, click here.

To read an excerpt, click here.

"The Curtain Went Up, My Pants Fell Down," by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

Most people remember Henry Winkler as "The Fonz," from the old, hit TV Show, "Happy Days."

But the award-winning actor and director is also co-author of a series of children's books, featuring Hank Zipzer, "the world's greatest underachiever."

Winkler's eleventh novel is called "The Curtain Went Up, My Pants Fell Down."

He stopped by The Early Show to talk about it. Winkler also read from it. To watch the segment,

To read an excerpt, click here.

For a list of upcoming Winkler appearances, click here.

"Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds," by Susan Gregory Thomas

There are thousands of products out there that promise to turn young children into little geniuses, items such as videos, CDs, flash cards, etc., with one more high-tech than the next.

But in her new book, "Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds," investigative reporter Susan Gregory Thomas contends those products don't really help children get smarter. In fact, she asserts, they may actually impair early development, and could impede kids socially and cognitively.

She visited The Early Show to discuss her research. To see the segment,

Thomas' two daughters were toddlers while she wrote the book.

She says the products are developed and sold based on marketing research, not research on child development. Yet, Generation-X parents are buying them in record numbers.

To read an excerpt of "Buy, Buy Baby," click here.

"Hot Granny: Fabulous at 50, 60 and Beyond!" by Mel Walsh and Chuck Gonzales

Most people wouldn't think to put the words "granny" and "hot" together, bur Mel Walsh, an expert on aging, dares to do it in a book she co-authored, "Hot Granny: Fabulous at 50, 60 and Beyond!"

It's full of practical advice to help us stay happy, healthy, and sexy as we approach our golden years.

Walsh stopped by The Eearly Show to talk about it, and share some tips.

She offered advice on accepting the limitations brought on by age and learning to open new doors to reinvent yourself. She also shared her "hot granny" views on friendships, dating and health as we age.

What, exactly IS a "hot granny?!"

Walsh says, "It's an attitude thing. She doesn't necessarily have to be a babe. She may look like a horse, walk like a chicken and have wrinkles as deep as the Grand Canyon, but she's a woman who knows who she is and her focus is not on yesterday, but on today and tomorrow."

Walsh adds, "That's not to say that a hot granny doesn't care about how she looks, but I am worried about women who do nothing but monitor their wrinkles. We need to pay attention to how we look so we don't scare people at the mall, but you don't have to patrol your wrinkles full time. I have elected to let gravity have its' way with me."

She continues, "Being a hot granny is about keeping your brain in gear, loving what you do and loving others."

To see the Early Show segment,

To read an excerpt of "Hot Granny," click here.

"Shrink Yourself: Break Free From Emotional Eating Forever," by Dr. Roger Gould

"Comfort food" is just that, comforting, when we're going through a tough time.

But psychiatrist Dr. Roger Gould says that kind of emotional eating is bad for your body and your spirit.

He shows us how to have a healthier relationship with food in his new book, "Shrink Yourself: Break Free from Emotional Eating Forever."

Gould discussed the book on The Early Show.

He says the weight problem many people struggle with is really the result of "emotional eating." He tells about the core feelings of powerlessness that cause us to use food to prevent us from feeling our true emotions. He assures us that weight loss is more than just an issue of willpower, and involves dealing with our emotions in an adult way. He offers suggestions to help get our eating under control.

To see the segment,

To read an excerpt of "Shrink Yourself," click here.