Richard Ben Cramer

An American Iliad in the guise of contemporary political reportage, What It Takes penetrates the mystery at the heart of all presidential campaigns: How do presumably ordinary people acquire that mixture of ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness that makes a true candidate? As he recounts the frenzied course of the 1988 presidential race -- and scours the psyches of contenders from George Bush and Robert Dole to Michael Dukakis and Gary Hart -- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer comes up with the answers, in a book that is vast, exhaustively researched, exhilarating, and sometimes appalling in its revelations.

Joe DiMaggio was, at every turn, one man we could look at who made us feel good. In the hard-knuckled thirties, he was the immigrant boy who made it big—and spurred the New York Yankees to a new era of dynasty. He was the Yankee Clipper, the icon of elegance, the man who wooed and won Marilyn Monroe—the most beautiful girl America could dream up. Joe DiMaggio was a mirror of our best self. And he was also the loneliest hero we ever had.In this groundbreaking biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer presents a shocking portrait of a complicated, enigmatic life. The story that DiMaggio never wanted told, tells of his grace—and greed; his dignity, pride—and hidden shame. It is a story that sweeps through the twentieth century, bringing to light not just America's national game, but the birth (and the price) of modern national celebrity.

When legendary Red Sox hitter Ted Williams died on July 5, 2002, newspapers reviewed the stats, compared him to other legends of the game, and declared him the greatest hitter who ever lived. Richard Ben Cramer, Pulitzer Prize winner and acclaimed biographer of Joe DiMaggio, decodes this oversized icon who dominated the game and finds not just a great player, but also a great man. In 1986, Richard Ben Cramer spent months on a profile of Ted Williams, and the result was the Esquire article that has been acclaimed ever since as one of the finest pieces of sports reporting ever written. Given special acknowledgment in The Best American Sportswriting of the Century and adapted for a coffee-table book called Ted The Seasons of the Kid, the original piece is now available in this special edition, with new material about Williams's later years. While his decades after Fenway Park were out of the spotlight -- the way Ted preferred it -- they were arguably his richest, as he loved and inspired his family, his fans, the players, and the game itself. This is a remembrance for the ages.

In How Israel Lost Richard Ben Cramer analyzes the four questions that have bedeviled Israel and Palestine for almost forty I. Why do we care about Israel?II. Why don¹t the Palestinians have a state?III. What is a Jewish state?IV. Why is there no peace?Cramer illustrates how Israel is losing her soul by maintaining her occupation of the lands conquered in the Six Day War. Israel has become a victim of that occupation no less than the Palestinians, who must have a nation of their own.Both his observations and argument are drawn with startling clarity, informed by the fierce and fearless reporting that won him the Pulitzer Prize for Middle East coverage.

The most intimate portrait of GEORGE H. W. BUSH ever published George Herbert Walker Bush, the forty-first president of the United States and the patriarch of America’s most powerful political dynasty, never wrote a memoir. But bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Richard Ben Cramer took the full measure of President Bush in his thousand-page epic, What It Takes—one of the most influential and respected works of journalism and biography of the modern era.Drawn from those pages and edited by Cramer shortly before he died, this book traces how seminal moments in President Bush’s life formed his character and foretold his legacy. The result is a loving portrait that remains as fresh, relevant, and insightful as the day it was first published.***Tell the truth, Bush wasn’t much for programs, one way or the other. It wasn’t that he wanted to do anything . . . except a good job. He wanted to be a Senator. . . . Just about the time he was thinking it over, about to announce his big move, there were stories in the paper—front page, it was awful!—about this little girl in the Houston public housing, sleeping on the floor, who’d got bitten by a rat! God, what a shame! . . . Bush didn’t think about a program for housing, or maybe calling that Councilman he helped to elect—propose a rat eradication plan! No, he called home, that afternoon:“Bar . . . You think we could give that family our baby bed?”And they did. That very evening, George came home, packed up that bed, and took it right over. —from Being Poppy

Cramer penetrates Bob Dole's legendary reserve to decipher the enigma of his character and the vicissitudes of his career. Dole loyally served four Republican presidents--including one who treated him shabbily and another whose policies he often questioned--and has survived Congress for 35 years. Bob Dole is an invaluable barometer not only to Dole himself, but to American politi cs as a whole.

Uses photographs to trace the life and career of Ted Williams, and attempts to depict his complex personality

Was rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis’ fourth wife murdered, and did her husband, a man nicknamed "the Killer," do it? A literary whodunnit by one of the greats of artful and hard-hitting narrative journalism.With an introduction by series editor Alex Belth and a tribute by series publisher Mike Sager, a Cramer acolyte.About The Stacks Reader SeriesThe Stacks Reader Series highlights classic literary non-fiction and short fiction by great journalists that would otherwise be lost to history—a living archive of memorable storytelling by notable authors. Brought to you by The Sager Group with support from NeoText (NeoTextCorp.com)

VHS videocassette explores the golden age of Irish-Americans living in America as immigrants, with children who begin to make their first indelible marks upon American society. Included are brief profiles of such figures as Al Smith and Ned Harrigan. Also covered is the rise of the first Irish political machine, Tammany Hall, which proved both a blessing and a curse for the Irish in America. Serious in tone and well documented, this tape is appropriate for use in the college classroom.

Michael keaton....The Bat Goes On ! 6 of Pop Music Rising Stars...Casey Kasem Trivia Michael Orvitz , Sydney Pollack , Barry Diller America's Olympic Hopefuls

Prince Charles , Lady Di , The Other Women John Gotti Jim Courier...World's Top Ranked Tennis Player