Books published by Random House Publishing Group

"The definitive collection of beloved late journalist Grant Wahl's work, and a masterclass in the art of sportswriting After Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collapsing in his press seat during a quarterfinal match, tributes to Wahl poured in from around the globe. Wahl was beloved for good reason-he was kind, generous, and unflinching in the face of injustice. He was also clearly one of the best journalists covering sports of his generation. Spanning four decades of storytelling, World Class collects for the first time the finest work of Grant Wahl, from his college thesis to his twenty-five years of reporting at Sports Illustrated to his deeply personal work for Fâutbol with Grant Wahl for Substack. Grant was the multi-tool modern sportswriter: clear and direct; able to write long, short, or in between; cosmopolitan; socially aware. He never talked down to the reader but at the same time refused to sell them short. He was keen to shed light and unafraid of the heat his work might generate. Arranged thematically, World Class demonstrates how Grant's career aligned with the evolution of sportswriting. Included are explorations of soccer subcultures from F.C. Barcelona to the dusty sandlots of Nacogdoches, Texas, as well as accounts of trophy lifts that have a first-draft-of-history definitiveness. Some pieces capture prodigies early in their careers, like LeBron James and Christian Pulisic; others lift the voices of the women athletes to whom Wahl paid early attention-stars like Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe. The book showcases the daring and important positions Wahl took in Qatar in the weeks before he died, supporting migrant workers and LGBTQ+ people. More than a collection of Grant Wahl's best work, World Class is a portrait of a journalist at the height of his powers, always evolving with the times, revealed by the stories he found and the unflinching way he told them"--

"The Weird Ones face a dire situation when Wheatley gets into trouble with the game's creator, and must win three near-impossible challenges to save him, risking a lifetime ban from Affinity and the loss of their friend, as they grapple with the daunting challenge of defeating an opponent who literally controls the game"--

"Ewing demonstrates that our schools were designed to propagate the idea of white intellectual superiority, to "civilize" Native students and to prepare Black students for menial labor. Education was not an afterthought for the Founding Fathers; it was envisioned by Thomas Jefferson as an institution that would fortify the country's racial hierarchy. Ewing argues that these dynamics persist in a curriculum that continues to minimize the horrors of American history."--

"All will be revealed in the no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer - and possible double agent - Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany's nuclear program. Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill's secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she's learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who's long held her heart. British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany: she's shaken by the assignment. An assassination is unlike anything she's ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture. At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel has requested a meeting with the undercover agent. Chanel, a spy in her own right, with ambiguous loyalties, is meeting with the British Ambassador in Madrid - and has requested Maggie join them. And Chanel provides the perfect cover for Maggie's trip to Spain. The two play cat and mouse as Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg. But the most shocking curveball is from the most intimate player: Maggie's own mother has kept a hand in the war - and has secrets of her own to share. Maggie desperately wants to find her 'happily-ever-after,' but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves - with fateful implications for the future of the free world"

"When ... Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods fell in love with a trained service dog named Congo, they wanted to understand what made him such a great companion. Given that there hadn't been a large-scale study of puppy development since 1950, they decided to start one. ... Using the same kinds of cognitive tests and games that have become standard for understanding human infant development, they initially wanted to know if they could predict which qualities would make puppies grow up to be great assistance dogs. But they quickly realized that these special dogs have a lot to tell us about how all dogs navigate the world, solve problems, and learn from the people around them. ... Introducing us to the many puppies who contributed to this research and synthesizing findings from cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this ... book will teach readers how puppies begin to develop abilities that allow them to succeed as adults and flexibly solve problems"--

"Two sisters reconnect and pursue their dreams on the beautiful island of Nantucket, overcoming life's challenges and finding new love, in this heartwarming and hopeful novel ... Eddie Grant is happy with her life and her work as a personal assistant to Dinah Lavender, one of the most famous and renowned romance authors in the business. But being a spectator to notoriety and glamour isn't as fulfilling as she once thought. Thankfully, Eddie has the perfect excuse for a vacation: Her hardworking younger sister, Barrett, is opening her gift shop on Memorial Day weekend, and could use all the help she can get. But going home to the beautiful island of Nantucket means facing the family's difficult past. Shortly after the death of Eddie and Barrett's brother, their mother left them and their father made the spontaneous decision to buy a small farm. Eddie stayed there for only a year before her family's grief threatened to consume her as well, and had been living in Manhattan ever since. Now that she is back, Eddie must face all she left behind: her father's increased eccentricities, which has led to a house bursting at the seams with books; her sister's resentment over Eddie's escape; and a past love connection, one that is still undeniable and complicated, all these years later. But the Grant sisters are nothing if not resilient and capable, opening a used bookstore in their father's abandoned barn to manage his hoarding, and navigating the discovery of a long-buried family secret that will change all of them forever"--

The “gripping” (The Atlantic) story of five families shattered by pernicious, pervasive conspiracy theories, and how we might set ourselves free from a crisis that could haunt American life for generations.“Excellent . . . This is the intimate side of the cold civil war America has been stuck in for nearly a decade.”—Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times “SHED MY DNA”: three excruciating words uttered by a QAnon-obsessed mother, once a highly respected lawyer, to her only son, once the closest person in her life. QAnon beliefs and adjacent conspiracy theories have had devastating political consequences as they’ve exploded in popularity. What’s often overlooked is the lasting havoc they wreak on our society at its most basic and intimate level—the family. In The Quiet Damage, celebrated reporter Jesselyn Cook paints a harrowing portrait of the vulnerabilities that have left so many of us susceptible to outrageous falsehoods promising order, purpose, and control. Braided throughout are the stories of five American families: an elderly couple whose fifty-year romance takes a heartbreaking turn; millennial sisters of color who grew up in dire poverty—one to become a BLM activist, the other, a hardcore conspiracy theorist pulling her little boy down the rabbit hole with her; a Bay Area hippie-type and her business-executive fiancé, who must decide whether to stay with her as she turns into a stranger before his eyes; evangelical parents whose simple life in a sleepy suburb spirals into delusion-fueled chaos; and a rural mother-son duo who, after carrying each other through unspeakable tragedy, stop speaking at all as ludicrous untruths shatter a bond long thought unbreakable.Charting the arc of each believer’s path from their first intersection with conspiracy theories to the depths of their cultish conviction, to—in some cases—their rejection of disinformation and the mending of fractured relationships, Cook offers a rare, intimate look into the psychology of how and why ordinary people come to believe the unbelievable. Profound, brilliantly researched, and beautifully written, The Quiet Damage lays bare how we have been taken hostage by grifters peddling lies built on false hope—and how we might release our loved ones, and ourselves, from their grasp.

The Afro Unicorns come together to help Divine overcome her fear of water.

"A Dell trade paperback original"--Title page verso

"An epic reimagining of the life of Margaret Fuller-America's first feminist and the pioneering journalist who inspired a generation of writers and activists-from the New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post"--

"In this big-hearted debut about ambition, race, and class, a family grapples with how much of their lineage they're willing to unearth in order to participate in the nation's first federal reparations program. Almost a decade ago, Willie Revel gave up her burgeoning journalism career in New York to help run her father's struggling construction company in Philadelphia. An ambitious single mother, Willie has reluctantly put family first without being able to forget who she might have become. Now, as the president of the United States prepares to pass the Forgiveness Act, a bill that would allow Black families to claim reparations if they can prove they are the descendants of slaves, Willie delves deeper into her family's history, while also trying to keep the family from going into bankruptcy. Acts of Forgiveness reveals the ways historical discrimination can manifest in the present. Could reparations help uncover her forgotten roots and right generational wrongs, while also helping save their beloved home and her father's life work? But for reasons both justifiable and cryptic, the rest of the family is hesitant and wary of what pursuing Forgiveness could mean. Her mother who was adopted is not eager to dig up the past; her father doesn't trust the government; and her daughter is just trying to make it through the fifth grade at her elite private school. It's up to Willie to verify their ancestry and save her family from financial ruin-but as she delves into their history, Willie begins to learn just how complicated family can really be. With warm insight and powerful prose, Acts of Forgiveness asks how history shapes who we are, to consider the weight of success when it is achieved despite incredible odds, and what leaving behind a legacy truly means"--