Most Popular Books by Julie Salamon

Robert and Mary Rowe’s second child, Christopher, was born with severe neurological and visual impairments. For many years, the Rowes’ courageous response to adversity set an example for other parents of children with birth defects. Then the pressures on Bob Rowe—personal and professional—took their toll, and he fell into depression and, ultimately, delusion. And one day he took a baseball bat and killed his wife and three children. Julie Salamon deftly avoids sensationalism as she tells the Rowes’ tragic story with intelligence, sympathy, and insight. Like all great literary journalism, Facing the Wind asks us to join its issues and examine our own lives and problems in the new, bright light that good writing always sheds.

The classic New York Times–bestselling tale of friendship, generosity, and the magic and wonder of the Christmas spirit On his annual search for Rockefeller Center''s next Christmas tree, the chief gardener spots an ideal candidate: a stately Norway spruce located on the grounds of a convent. There he meets Sister Anthony, a nun for whom the tree has special meaning. Orphaned and sent to the convent as a lonely young girl, Sister Anthony befriended the then-tiny spruce whom she lovingly named "Tree." Over the following decades, as the tree grew, so did Sister Anthony''s appreciation for the beauty and wonder of nature. She is reluctant to see her oldest and closest friend chopped down and sent away to New York City. But when a fierce blizzard threatens the old tree''s existence, Sister Anthony realizes it''s time to let the world enjoy Tree as she has for nearly her whole life. Accompanied by charming illustrations and a new introduction by the author, The Christmas Tree is a heartwarming story of love and friendship, a modern holiday classic for all ages.

White Lies is the eloquent story of one woman’s narrow escape from the confusion of her time. With insight and humor, White Lies follows Jamaica’s struggle for survival and integrity in an age of anxiety as she tries to reconcile herself to the overwhelming inauthenticity she feels in the face of her mother and father’s lives. Dr. and Mrs. Just came to America from the death camps of Europe and secluded themselves in the Bible Belt, determined to shield their daughters from the horror they had survived. They wanted to live and to forget—but that wasn’t always possible. Sometimes the fierceness and the pain were revealed but never explained. Only with the unintentional assistance of an intimate stranger does Jamaica begin to grasp how her parents were able to make peace with their past.

As he tries to make his own way in New York City, a handsome stray cat known as Pretty Boy finds a series of temporary homes while learning that relying on others, and being relied upon, is a wonderful thing in this new work from the "New York Times"-bestselling team behind "The Christmas Tree." Full color.

Fans of The Incredible Journey and Old Yeller will love this endearing, page-turning dog adventure story Luna is a farm puppy who loves to dance, and has only known a happy, serene life surrounded by her mother, Mutt, and her siblings, and cared for by Gilberto, the son of farm workers. But now Gilberto and his parents have moved on, and Mr. Thomas the farmer doesn''t feel he can take care of a whole family of dogs. He finds new homes for the puppies, not realizing that the man who took Luna and her brother does not have their best interests at heart. Luna and Chief, hungry and scared, are trapped in the smelly barn of a puppy mill—until they take matters into their own paws and find a way to escape. But can Luna and Chief find their way home? With a lovable cast of animal characters and endearing illustrations, this charming story is a perfect read-aloud for fans of classic children’s novels like Gentle Ben, A Cricket in Times Square, and Shiloh.

This heartwarming story of a little girl''s bond with her great-grandma, who tells the silliest, most magical stories, celebrates four generations of a Jewish family who come together for Shabbat. It''s Friday, and little Ruby gets to spend the day with her great-grandma, Tata. Together, they go for a walk with Ruby''s grandma, Yaya. They take a nap. They read books. The whole family gathers for Shabbat dinner, and Ruby gets to eat a delicious piece of challah bread. Best of all, throughout the day, Tata tells Ruby funny, fantastical stories that come from her dreams, in which she soars on a giant blueberry bird, or dances right on top of the dinner table. In this heartwarming tale that spans four generations of Jewish women, acclaimed author-illustrator duo Julie Salamon and Jill Weber celebrate family traditions, the enduring love between a girl and her great-grandma, and the everlasting power of stories.

Describes the eight-step program of giving by the twelfth-century Jewish scholar, Ramdam, and how it applies to contemporary life.

Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God, and Diversity on Steroids A warts-and-all exploration of the struggles suffered and triumphs achieved by America''s health-care professionals, Hospital follows a year in the life of Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, which serves a diverse multicultural demographic. Unraveling the financial, ethical, technological, sociological, and cultural challenges encountered every day, bestselling author Julie Salamon tracks the individuals who make this complex hospital run-from doctors, patients, and administrators to nurses, ambulance drivers, cooks, and cleaners. Drawing on her skills as an award-winning interviewer, observer, and social critic, Salamon reveals the dynamic universe of small and large concerns and personalities that, taken together, determine the nature of care in America.

"A definitive portrait of the madness of big-time moviemaking" (Newsweek), now the basis for the new season of TCM''s hit podcast, "The Plot Thickens" and featuring a new afterword by the author When Brian De Palma agreed to allow Julie Salamon unlimited access to the film production of Tom Wolfe''s best-selling book The Bonfire of the Vanities, both director and journalist must have felt like they were on to something big. How could it lose? But instead Salamon got a front-row seat at the Hollywood disaster of the decade. She shadowed the film from its early stages through the last of the eviscerating reviews, and met everyone from the actors to the technicians to the studio executives. They''d all signed on for a blockbuster, but there was a sense of impending doom from the start--heart-of-gold characters replaced Wolfe''s satiric creations; affable Tom Hanks was cast as the patrician heel; Melanie Griffith appeared mid-shoot with new, bigger breasts. With a keen eye and ear, Salamon shows us how the best of intentions turned into a legendary Hollywood debacle. The Devil''s Candy joins John Gregory Dunne''s The Studio, Steven Bach''s Final Cut, and William Goldman''s Adventures in the Screen Trade as a classic for anyone interested in the workings of Hollywood. With a new afterword profiling De Palma ten years after the movie''s devastating flop (and this book''s best-selling publication), Julie Salamon has created a riveting insider''s portrait of an industry where art, talent, ego, and money combine and clash on a monumental scale.

The authorized biography of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein. In Wendy and the Lost Boys bestselling author Julie Salamon explores the life of playwright Wendy Wasserstein''s most expertly crafted character: herself. The first woman playwright to win a Tony Award, Wendy Wasserstein was a Broadway titan. But with her high- pitched giggle and unkempt curls, she projected an image of warmth and familiarity. Everyone knew Wendy Wasserstein. Or thought they did. Born on October 18, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish Jewish immigrant parents, Wendy was the youngest of Lola and Morris Wasserstein''s five children. Lola had big dreams for her children. They didn''t disappoint: Sandra, Wendy''s glamorous sister, became a high- ranking corporate executive at a time when Fortune 500 companies were an impenetrable boys club. Their brother Bruce became a billionaire superstar of the investment banking world. Yet behind the family''s remarkable success was a fiercely guarded world of private tragedies. Wendy perfected the family art of secrecy while cultivating a densely populated inner circle. Her friends included theater elite such as playwright Christopher Durang, Lincoln Center Artistic Director André Bishop, former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich, and countless others. And still almost no one knew that Wendy was pregnant when, at age forty-eight, she was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital to deliver Lucy Jane three months premature. The paternity of her daughter remains a mystery. At the time of Wendy''s tragically early death less than six years later, very few were aware that she was gravely ill. The cherished confidante to so many, Wendy privately endured her greatest heartbreaks alone. In Wendy and the Lost Boys, Salamon assembles the fractured pieces, revealing Wendy in full. Though she lived an uncommon life, she spoke to a generation of women during an era of vast change. Revisiting Wendy''s works-The Heidi Chronicles and others-we see Wendy in the free space of the theater, where her many selves all found voice. Here Wendy spoke in the most intimate of terms about everything that matters most: family and love, dreams and devastation. And that is the Wendy of Neverland, the Wendy who will never grow old.

The definitive story of one American family at the center of a single, shocking act of international terrorism that "manages to capture the essence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" (Dan Ephron). On October 3, 1985, Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled Jewish New Yorker, and his wife boarded the Achille Lauro to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary with a Mediterranean cruise. Four days later, four Palestinian fedayeen hijacked the Italian luxury liner and took the passengers and crew hostage. Leon Klinghoffer was shot in the head, his body and wheelchair thrown overboard. His murder became a flashpoint in the intractable struggle between Israelis and Arabs and gave Americans a horrifying preview of what it means when terrorism hits home. In this richly reported book, drawing on multiple perspectives, Julie Salamon dispels the mythology that has grown around that shattering moment. What transpired on the Achille Lauro left the Klinghoffer family in the grip of irredeemable sorrow, while precipitating tragic reverberations for the wives and sons of Abu al-Abbas, the Palestinian mastermind behind the hijacking, and the family of Alex Odeh, a Palestinian-American murdered in Los Angeles in a brutal act of retaliation. Through intimate interviews with almost all living participants, including one of the hijackers, Julie Salamon brings alive the moment-by-moment saga of the hijacking and the ensuing U.S.-led international manhunt; the diplomatic wrangling between the United States, Egypt, Italy, and Israel; the long agonizing search for justice; and the inside story of the controversial opera about the Klinghoffer tragedy that provoked a culture war. An Innocent Bystander is a masterful work of journalism that moves between the personal and the global with the pace of a geopolitical thriller and the depth of a psychological drama. Throughout lies the tension wrought by terrorism and its repercussions today.

The 1996 bestselling fable about a nun, a gardener, and the most famous tree in the world is back, packaged with a beautiful ornament for Christmas trees everywhere. Full-color. Between Oct. 16, 1997, and January 3, 1998, Random House donates a portion of the proceeds to Save the Children Federation, Inc.

New York Times best seller! A classic story about friendship, generosity and the spirit of Christmas. Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, News Daily, and Library Magazine! Recommended by Atlanta Constitutional News and Chicago Tribune! Recommended by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times! 5 stars from Amazon USA! When Christmas comes, we always think of familiar favorites--including carefully opening gifts, singing carols, reuniting relatives and friends who are not nearby, Christmas stories, and Christmas trees.

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