Books published by Diversion Books

Everyone knows Steve Madden's name and his shoes, but few are familiar with his story. Over the past thirty years Steve Madden has taken his eponymous shoe company from the fledgling start up he founded with a mere $1,100 to a global, multi-billion dollar brand. But Madden's mistakes, from his battle with addiction to the financial shortcuts that landed him in prison, are as important to his story as his most iconic shoes. In this raw, intimate, and ultimately inspiring book, Madden holds nothing back as he shares what it took to get here and the lessons he's learned along the way. From his unconventional hiring strategies to his slavish devotion to product, Madden offers a business perspective that is as unique as his styles. In The Cobbler, readers are treated to the wild ride though his rise, fall, and comeback. But they will also walk away uplifted by a man who has owned up to his mistakes and come back determined to give back and use his hard-won platform to create positive change.

The first major biography of Little Richard, a rollicking, nuanced celebration of the late singer/songwriter¿s life and his role in the history of American music¿gospel, soul, rock, and more¿Tutti Frutti¿ ¿ ¿Rip It Up¿ ¿ ¿Good Golly Miss Molly¿ ¿ ¿Lucille¿ ¿ ¿Long Tall Sally¿ ¿ ¿You Keep A-Knockin¿¿Little Richard blazed the trail for generations of musicians¿The Beatles, James Brown, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Prince . . . the list seems endless. He was ¿The Originator,¿ ¿The Innovator,¿ and the self-anointed ¿King and Queen of Rock ¿n¿ Roll.¿ When he died on May 9, 2020, The Big Life of Little Richard¿a nearly-completed book¿was immediately updated to cover the international response to his death. It is the first major biography of Macon, Georgiäs Richard Wayne Penniman, who was, until his passing, the last rock god standing.Mark Ribowsky, acclaimed biographer of musical icons¿the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding¿takes readers through venues, gigs, and studios, conveying the sweaty energy of music sessions limited to a few tracks on an Ampex tape machine and vocals sung along with a live band. He explores Little Richard¿s musicianship; his family life; his uphill battle against racism; his interactions with famous contemporaries and the media; and his lifelong inner conflict between his religion and his sexuality.The Big Life of Little Richard not only explores a legendary stage persona, but also a complex life under the makeup and pomade, the neon-lit duds and piano pyrotechnics, along with a full-body dive into the waters of sexual fluidity. By 2020, eighty-seven-year-old Little Richard¿s electrifying smile was still intact, as were his bona fides as rock¿s kingly architect: the ¿50s defined his reign, and he extended elder statesmanship ever since. His biggest smash, ¿Tutti Frutti,¿ is one of history¿s most covered songs¿a staple of the pre-Invasion Beatles¿and Elvis pivoted from country to blues rock after Little Richard made R&B¿s sexual overtones a fundament of the new musical order. Even Hendrix, the greatest instrumentalist in rock history, toured with him before launching a meteoric solo career. Whenever someone pushes the music and culture of rock to its outer borders, one should turn to Little Richard for assurance that anything is possible.

Recently named by Elon Musk ask one of his favorite books of all time, Twelve Against the Gods is William Bolitho's 1929 collection of biographical essays on the lives and accomplishments of famed fortune-hunters, adventurers, daredevils, and explorers including Alexander the Great, Casanova, Isadora Duncan, and Napoleon.

From a rising star in financial and life coaching comes an informative, accessible, and relatable guide for worried parents who want to proactively plan to earn and save more money while protecting their finances and families from crisis * Budgeting * Passive Income Strategies * Wills and Trusts * 401(k)s and IRAs * Tax Red

The Lamoureux twins-Olympic gold medalists on the historic 2018 US women's ice hockey team-tell their story of grit and determination, from youth hockey dominated by boys to the big business of elite international sports, fighting for gender equity in hockey, sports, and beyond

As President Biden commits the US to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, bold new scientific and technological innovations will soon revolutionize the world-and a vital guide from the frontlines of our fight against climate change has finally arrived. The United States' accelerated plans to combat the existential threat of climate change finally gives reason to hope. In Our Livable World, research specialist and author Marc Schaus explores the incredible new green innovations in science and engineering that can allow us to avoid the worst repercussions of global warming as we work to usher in a sustainable, livable world. To beat a challenge the size of climate change, our solutions will have to be ambitious: solar thermal cells capable of storing energy long after the sun goes down, "smart highways" designed to charge your vehicle as you drive, indoor vertical farms automated to maximize crop growth with no pesticides, bioluminescent vines ready to one day replace our streetlights, jet fuel created from landfill trash-and next-generation carbon capture techniques to remove the emissions we have already released over the past several decades. Far from the geoengineering schemes of cli-fi action thrillers, real solutions are being developed, right this moment. Our Livable World features interviews with the innovators, real talk on the revolutionary technology, and a clear picture of a cleaner planet in the future. Though climate change is arguably the biggest threat humankind has ever faced, this book proves that our ability to fight this change is limited only by the scope of our imagination and the power of our will.