Most Popular Books by Daniel Paisner

Now in paperback: ?An impressive achievement...Not likely to be forgotten anytime soon.?(Washington Times) Here is the riveting true story of Jason McElwain? better known as ?J-Mac??the autistic student who made headlines when he scored twenty points, including a school record six three-pointers, for his high school basketball team in 2006. Including the revealing perspectives of J-Mac?s family and coach, this is McElwain?s inspiring account of the challenges of growing up autistic?not only for himself, but for his family. It?s also the tale of his unlikely star turn, the difference it made in his journey through life?and all the heartbreaking and heart-lifting stops along the way.

The Grand Slam and Olympic champion traces her rise from a disadvantaged childhood to one of the world''s top women tennis players, discussing her battles with racism, the injuries that threatened her career, and her current roles as a philanthropist and media personality.

Based on the true story explored in the Academy Award–nominated film, In Darkness, this holocaust memoir is "a gripping account of survival and friendship" ( Booklist). In 1943, with Lvov''s 150,000 Jews having been exiled, killed, or forced into ghettos and facing extermination, a group of Polish Jews daringly sought refuge in the city''s sewer system. The last surviving member this group, Krystyna Chiger, shares one of the most intimate, harrowing and ultimately triumphant tales of survival to emerge from the Holocaust. The Girl in the Green Sweater is Chiger''s heartwrenching first-person account of the fourteen months she spent with her family in the fetid, underground sewers of Lvov. The Girl in the Green Sweater is also the story of Leopold Socha, the group''s unlikely savior. A Polish Catholic and former thief, Socha risked his life to help Chiger''s underground family survive, bringing them food, medicine, and supplies. A moving memoir of a desperate escape and life under unimaginable circumstances, The Girl in the Green Sweater is ultimately a tale of intimate survival, friendship, and redemption. "With a powerful story and a keen voice, Chiger''s Holocaust survivor''s tale is a worthy and memorable addition to the canon." — Publishers Weekly "Chiger''s exceptional story . . . stands out among the many Holocaust survival narratives as one that will touch the hearts of teens and adults alike and bring home the horrors of this very dark period in history." — School Library Journal "Through the eyes of the child that Krystyna Chiger was in Lvov, Poland in 1939 we see the whole moral universe." —Naomi Ragen, author of The Saturday Wife and The Covenant "[A] gripping memoir." — Kirkus Reviews

Three-term New York mayor Ed Koch discusses his career changes since turning seventy and examines the art of staying vibrant.

Parents have it tough. Kids have it tough, too. And few people are in a better position to guide readers through these tough times than Judge Glenda Hatchett. As chief presiding judge of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country, she gained a front-row perspective on the hot-button social issues of our time -- including drug and alcohol abuse, truancy, date rape, and school violence. As presiding judge on the hit television series Judge Hatchett, she continues to build bridges between parents and their lost, angry, and alienated teens. And, as a parent, she''s turned her professional experiences to personal advantage, helping her own children navigate through some of the more difficult dilemmas facing young people today. Using her experiences as a judge and a parent, Judge Hatchett shares with readers seven simple strategies to becoming more involved in a child''s life and maintaining a strong relationship. Including concrete examples and illuminating anecdotes, Judge Hatchett says what she means and means what she says in this essential guide to raising safe, smart, and successful children ... even in the tough times.

The instant New York Times bestseller from Shark Tank star and Fubu Founder Daymond John on why starting a business on a limited budget can be an entrepreneur''s greatest competitive advantage. Daymond John has been practicing the power of broke ever since he started selling his home-sewn t-shirts on the streets of Queens. With a $40 budget, Daymond had to strategize out-of-the-box ways to promote his products. Luckily, desperation breeds innovation, and so he hatched an idea for a creative campaign that eventually launched the FUBU brand into a $6 billion dollar global phenomenon. But it might not have happened if he hadn’t started out broke - with nothing but hope and a ferocious drive to succeed by any means possible. Here, the FUBU founder and star of ABC’s Shark Tank shows that, far from being a liability, broke can actually be your greatest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur. Why? Because starting a business from broke forces you to think more creatively. It forces you to use your resources more efficiently. It forces you to connect with your customers more authentically, and market your ideas more imaginatively. It forces you to be true to yourself, stay laser focused on your goals, and come up with those innovative solutions required to make a meaningful mark. Drawing his own experiences as an entrepreneur and branding consultant, peeks behind-the scenes from the set of Shark Tank, and stories of dozens of other entrepreneurs who have hustled their way to wealth, John shows how we can all leverage the power of broke to phenomenal success. You’ll meet: · Steve Aoki, the electronic dance music (EDM) deejay who managed to parlay a series of $100 gigs into becoming a global superstar who has redefined the music industry · Gigi Butler, a cleaning lady from Nashville who built cupcake empire on the back of a family recipe, her maxed out credit cards, and a heaping dose of faith · 11-year old Shark Tank guest Mo Bridges who stitched together a winning clothing line with just his grandma’s sewing machine, a stash of loose fabric, and his unique sartorial flair When your back is up against the wall, your bank account is empty, and creativity and passion are the only resources you can afford, success is your only option. Here you’ll learn how to tap into that Power of Broke to scrape, hustle, and dream your way to the top.

What happens when the life you are living is no longer the life you imagined? When you are well and truly stuck? A darkly comic tale of longing and legacy, Balloon Dog, the fourth novel from best-selling ghostwriter Daniel Paisner, prompts readers to consider what it means to leave a mark and what it takes to be swept up in the same currents that move almost everyone else. A brazen art heist pushes our protagonists to reflect on the choices they''ve made-and the ones that have been made for them. Set in the near- present, the story turns on the ill-conceived theft of a high-end Jeff Koons sculpture, lifted in plain sight from its perch beside a luxurious mountain home in Park City, Utah, and follows the musings, misadventures, and meeting of minds of a Long Island writer in midlife crisis and the art thief behind the ill conception. Balloon Dog poses two central questions: Is the transformative power of art enough to lift us from our days? And what is art, anyway?

A Nigerian native who emigrated to the United States at age 11, Alex Owumi''s exploits on the basketball court led him to a successful career as a small college player. Undrafted by the NBA, Owumi pursued his pro basketball dream overseas, eventually signing with Al-Nasr of Libya, a state-run athletic club privately funded by the family of then-Libyan president Muammar Qaddafi. Owumi''s tenure with Al-Nasr was interrupted by the Libyan uprising and resulting civil war. Imprisoned in his Benghazi apartment for more than 2 weeks with no food, phone, Internet, or hope, Owumi wondered whether he would make it out of Libya alive. Despite his weakened condition and the dangers lurking in the city, he was able to escape Benghazi and flee the country. Smuggled to a refugee camp in Egypt, he was, much to his surprise, contacted by an Egyptian team seeking his services. And so, in a bizarre, storybook ending, Owumi finished the year by helping lead the team to an unlikely league championship, earning league MVP honors in the process. Qaddafi''s Point Guard is a book about hope and longing, conflict (cultural, political, and military), and ultimately, triumph—to overcome obstacles and survive against the most desperate odds.

Serena Williams picked up a tennis racquet for the first time at three years old. She did this not out of childish curiosity or an impish competitive streak, but by design. Before she was even born, her father decided that tennis would be the way up and out for his struggling family. Soon Serena and her older sister Venus were practicing several hours a day on the public courts of Compton, California, alongside three older sisters. Before their daily sessions, the sisters would sweep the courts of broken glass and drug paraphernalia, this was the proving ground of two future champions. By the time she was nine, Serena had earned a number-one junior ranking in the regional Under-10 division, playing with such fierce determination that she quickly earned a place among the game''s elite. Now, at twenty-six, Serena Williams is poised to begin a new chapter in her career. She has already won every major title in tennis. She has been counted out more times than she can remember. She has been derailed by injury, devastated by the tragic 2003 shooting death of her older sister Yetunde, and dismissed by critics for her unorthodox training schedule and boundless interests outside tennis. And yet she prevails.

The Detroit Tigers, an umpire, a pitcher, and a mistake—one of the "classic, human, baseball stories" (Ken Burns, creator of the PBS mini-series Baseball). The perfect game is one of the rarest accomplishments in sports. In nearly four hundred thousand contests in over 130 years, it has happened only twenty times. On June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga threw baseball''s twenty-first. Except that''s not how it entered the record books. That''s because Jim Joyce, voted the best umpire in the game in 2010 and 2011, missed the call on the final out. But rather than throwing a tantrum, Galarraga simply turned and smiled, went back to the mound, and finished the game. "Nobody''s perfect," he said later in the locker room. "You might think everything that could have been said, replayed, and revealed about that night has already been uttered, logged, and exposed. You would, however, be as wrong as the unfortunate Mr. Joyce" ( The Detroit News). In Nobody''s Perfect, Galarraga and Joyce come together to tell the personal story of a remarkable game that will live forever in baseball lore, and to trace their fascinating lives in sports. The result is "a masterpiece", an absorbing insider''s look at two careers in baseball, a tremendous achievement, and an enduring moment of pure grace and sportsmanship ( The Huffington Post).

A guide for women football fans explains each component of the game of football, describes the role of each position player, outlines common plays, and provides descriptions of some of the most memorable moments in NFL history.

Axel Pimletz writes obituaries for a Boston newspaper. He''s been going nowhere for the past fifteen years and his failure has almost consumed his self-esteem. Axel needs action and excitement, like a front-page story. He never guesses he''s about to get both—along with murder!

New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Broke and "Shark" on ABC''s hit show Shark Tank explores how grit, persistence, and good old-fashioned hard work are the backbone of every successful business and individual, and inspires readers to Rise & Grind their way the top. Daymond John knows what it means to push yourself hard--and he also knows how spectacularly a killer work ethic can pay off. As a young man, he founded a modest line of clothing on a $40 budget by hand-sewing hats between his shifts at Red Lobster. Today, his brand FUBU has over $6 billion in sales. Convenient though it might be to believe that you can shortcut your way to the top, says John, the truth is that if you want to get and stay ahead, you need to put in the work. You need to out-think, out-hustle, and out-perform everyone around you. You''ve got to rise and grind every day. In the anticipated follow-up to the bestselling The Power of Broke, Daymond takes an up close look at the hard-charging routines and winning secrets of individuals who have risen to the challenges in their lives and grinded their way to the very tops of their fields. Along the way, he also reveals how grit and persistence both helped him overcome the obstacles he has faced in life and ultimately fueled his success.

An obituary writer is hired to polish the autobiography of a dead actor. One problem: the actor is alive, with a new identity, and working as a lobster in an amusement park in Maine.

A first responder’s harrowing account of 9/11—the inspirational true story of an American hero who gave nearly everything for others during one of New York City’s darkest hours. On September 11, 2001, FDNY Battalion Chief Richard “Pitch” Picciotto answered the call heard around the world. In minutes, he was at Ground Zero of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center began to burn—and then to buckle. A veteran of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Picciotto was eerily familiar with the inside of the North Tower. And it was there that he concentrated his rescue efforts. It was in its smoky stairwells where he heard and felt the South Tower collapse. He made the call for firemen and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind with a skeleton team of men to help evacuate a group of disabled and infirm civilians. And it was in the rubble of the North Tower where Picciotto found himself buried—for more than four hours after the building’s collapse.

A portrait of television newswomen, with an inside look at the business of broadcasting news on a daily basis.

The popular teenage television actor uses excerpts from his fan mail as a jumping-off point to discuss troublesome aspects of adolescence, including family life, dating, and drugs, with examples drawn from his own experiences on and off the set of "The Co

Besides being a hard-hitting, unusually honest political memoir, Citizen Koch is filled with heartfelt reminiscences from Koch''s life - his childhood working as a hatcheck boy in a Newark dancehall with his immigrant parents during the Depression, his years living in Brooklyn, his World War II experiences as a Sergeant in the 104th Infantry Division, his time as a young attorney, and much, much more. Best of all, he chronicles his introduction to politics and offers a private and personal recounting of his nine years as a U.S. Congressman and three terms as Mayor of New York City. And, for the first time, Ed discusses his contemplation of suicide during the corruption crisis that clouded his third term.