New Releases by Allen Rucker

From the front man and lead singer/songwriter of Alabama--the biggest country music group of all time--comes an inspiring memoir of faith, family, and living the American dream.

Fans of a certain multi-award-winning HBO dramatic series and lovers of fine eating everywhere will love the ultimate guide to making every event the perfect occasion, served up by the Garden State's most gracious hostess, Carmela Soprano. From graduation parties to holiday gatherings to poolside barbecues, Carmela gives you everything you need to keep your personal crew as happy as a clam in red sauce: over 75 delicious new Neapolitan-based recipes as well as scores of Soprano-approved tips on picking the ideal location, choosing tasteful decorations, whipping up the best drinks, and selecting the right music. Sweetening the festa are dozens of never-seen illustrations and insightful commentaries from Soprano relatives and intimates. You'll find "AJ" Soprano's confirmation invitation, advice on "party anxiety" from therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi, a term paper by Meadow Soprano on "Why My Grandmother Can't Cook," advice from family friend Paulie Walnuts on throwing a surprise party, and much, much more. Unsure about wine? Follow the advice of Artie Bucco, proprietor of the renowned Nuovo Vesuvio restaurant in Newark, New Jersey: "If you have steak, a `big' meat dish, think of a `big' red wine like a California Burgundy. I guess you could match it with a big white wine, too, but I don't know of any big white wines." Want to surprise with a birthday gift? Model yours after what Carmela plans on giving her husband, waste management executive Tony Soprano, on his fiftieth: a Dean Martin impersonator, an outdoor screening of his favorite film, The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney, and a monogrammed putter. (But no ritzy watch. He has a dozen of them.) Planning a wedding? Find inspiration in the vision of Carmela's sister-in-law, Janice Soprano Baccilieri: "As guests enter a cathedral of pines, they would pass an ancient wishing well where they could deposit small presents or deep thoughts about life and love. Ideally, I would love for the whole ceremony to be done in the nude, but unfortunately, the time for that kind of pagan openness has long passed." Flustered by funerals? Heed the wise suggestions for his own wake from Tony's Uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano: "A lot of food, no crap, a lot of homemade Bucassi vino, a nice speech from Bobby Bacala, since he was always the nicest to me of all those bums, and me singing like Caruso on the Victrola." In Carmela's words: "What's closer to a celebration of life than celebrations? Look for them, jump into them, charger plates and all, and have a ball."

Raised by a single mom in rural Illinois, Gretchen Wilson's formal education concluded in the eighth grade when she traded books for tending bar at Big O's, a rough-and-tumble joint on the outskirts of Pocahontas, IL. By the time she was 15, Gretchen was managing the place with the help of a loaded 12-gauge behind the bar to keep folks in line. Though he was long gone, Wilson's father had instilled a love of music in his daughter that blossomed on stage at Big O's where she found herself fronting a cover band and eyeing a move to Nashville in search of something more. Another town, struggling in another bar job, but again her gift for music won out. Discovered while singing with the house band at a bar in Nashville's famed Printer's Alley, Gretchen Wilson soon joined the ranks of the Muzik Mafia and the rest is history. In less than one calendar year she went from worrying about the repossession of her car to being one of the most successful recording stars in the world. Co-written by acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author Allen Rucker, the book will cover this inspiring All-American success story while providing a fun, and insightful look in on the kind of strength, will, and humor that have allowed Wilson to reclaim the term "Redneck" and recast it as a point of pride for millions of her fans. Whether she discusses her fashion preferences (Wal-Mart over Victoria's Secret), her choice of beer over champagne, her views on family, or the artists who've helped her to carve out the path she currently walks (Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, etc.), Wilson's signature knack for storytelling and connecting with her audience on that authentically real level translates seamlessly to the page and offers a new and exciting glimpse at one of America's most beloved performers.

Rucker--baby boomer, husband, father of two, self-described "aging hack"--had a life that was certainly good enough. Then, at the age of 50 he was struck out of nowhere by a rare condition called transverse myelitis, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. This remarkable book speaks to the fragility of life and resilience of an ordinary human being.

For the first time, Tom Green--who shot to fame as host of MTV's "The Tom Green Show; starred in a hit movie; wrote and directed his own film, which was soundly trashed by the entertainment press; married and divorced Hollywood royalty; and suffered a very public, poignant, and even darkly comic battle with testicular cancer--tells the wild story of his unlikely journey from media darling to media punching bag and how he survived the Hollywood hype machine. Seven years ago, Tom Green was a skateboarding fanatic who lived with his parents in Canada, worked on comedy with his friends, and dreamed of becoming a talk-show host. He was doing a public access show up north when MTV heard about him and brought him to New York to see what he could do in the big city. Tom became an instant smash, slicing up dead raccoons on stage, introducing his parents to Monica Lewinsky in the middle of the night, and pioneering a type of shocking humor that begat "Jackass," Fear Factor, and other reality shows. In the next few years, Tom starred in the hilarious "Road Trip and three other movies ("Freddy Got Fingered, "Stealing Harvard, and "Charlie's Angels), married and divorced Drew Barrymore, and recorded his surgery for testicular cancer in a well-received, hysterical, and oddly moving documentary for MTV. But the fearless Canadian with the outrageous sense of humor, hit show, and tabloid-hyped marriage got a taste of the darker side of Hollywood, too, as the media that made him the toast of Tinseltown cut him down to size in the wake of his divorce, illness, and some professional bumps in the road. "Hollywood Causes Cancer not only tells the full story of Tom's wildly entertaining trip tocelebrity but is also an absorbing and even revelatory look at a dramatic, excessive, ruthless place called Hollywood, and how one man survived his journey into the heart of it all.

Ciao ! Benvenuti alla mia cucina ! Bonjour, et bienvenue dans ma cuisine ! A vrai dire, c'est dans plusieurs cuisines, plusieurs cuisines italo-américaines, que je vous invite. Pour nous, la nourriture, c'est la gioia di vivere, la joie de vivre. La nourriture, c'est la famille, la tradition, la naissance, le mariage, la mort - la vie, quoi ! Ce livre s'inspire de la vraie vie, la vita reale. Les recettes sont authentiques, ceux qui les préparent le font pour de vraies familles ! Le cuoche, le chef qui les prépare, est en général un ami, et dans certains cas c'est moi, le seul à en avoir fait ma profession. Nous vivons dans le nord du New jersey et, malgré des parcours très différents les uns des autres, nous partageons la même passion pour la tradition culinaire que nos ancêtres ont emportée avec eux en quittant " le pays ". C'est cette tradition que ce livre de recettes tente humblement de vous transmettre. Artie Bucco, chef-cuisinier du Nuovo Vesuvio De la pizza aux linguine au pesto, des cailles à la Sinatra au tiramisu, Artie Bucco et ses invités offrent aux amateurs de bonne chère une centaine de recettes et de préparations de la cuisine italo-américaine. Buon appetito !

"Til bords med the Sopranos" forteller deg hvordan du lager mat som en italiensk Mamma og hvordan du kan spise som en verdensmester. Sopranoene og deres forretningsforbindelser tilbyr leseren 100 oppskrifter fra Napoli og området rundt, og kommer med en rekke tips til tilbereding. Boken er rikt illustrert med fargefotografier, noen også fra tv-serien. Oppskriftene er tilrettelagt av Andreas Viestad. Oppskriftregister.

As compiled by Artie Bucco, text by Allen Rucker, recipes by Michele Scicolone, series created by David Chase