Ascot Media Group Blog
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Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes and the Good Luck Circle Take Kids And Adults On The Adventure Of A Lifetime

Palm Beach, FL,  – Americans love traditions and every family has a favorite. Any time is the perfect time to read a mysteriously ‘creepy’ tale to children – one that is garnering acclaim and attention at schools around the country. We are talking about Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes, and the Good Luck Circle (Health Communications, Inc.) by Frank McKinney. The wild tales in McKinney’s brilliant novel were inspired by thousands of one-mile trips to school with his daughter Laura on their daily trek through a dense grove of trees, past an eerie nature preserve and over a rickety drawbridge.

It is the story of Ppeekk (pronounced ‘Peekie’) Rose Berry, who is forced to walk to her first day of school after moving from rural Indiana to sunny Florida.  Ppeekk has an unexpected chance encounter with a mysterious little man who leads her to find King Frederick the 9th, a flattened, 3-inch, dead Shiner fish who comes to life in her hands.  She aptly names him “Dead Fred,” and is soon introduced to his brilliant underwater kingdom of High Voltage. 

She discovers that Dead Fred has been dethroned by Megalodon, a fiendish 50-foot prehistoric shark who uses his entourage of vicious crabs, blood-red remora fish and three ghastly creatures to threaten and extract the imagination and joy of children everywhere – and bring the kingdom of High Voltage to an abrupt end.  As she and Dead Fred learn to love and trust one another, he enlists her help in trying to save High Voltage from the evil beast. 

Ppeekk and her friends use all their resources, including themselves as human bait, to lure Megalodon and his rogue army into the fight of their lives in a heart-pounding adventure that takes place in the middle of a fierce and deadly Category 5 hurricane.

This best-selling author’s first venture into young reader fiction has reached number five on Amazon.com’s top-selling young reader books for teen adventure/thriller. Visit McKinney’s interactive website to see how Dead Fred is charged with enthralling magic and page-turning suspense at: www.dead-fred.com.

Frank McKinney has been profiled on Oprah (2x), 20/20, CBS Evening News, USA Today and Travel Channel. His seemingly bottomless well of creativity and imagination is exemplified in Dead Fred. He is a five-time international best-selling author, philanthropist and visionary. Please check out some of Frank’s colorful TV appearances at: http://frank-mckinney.com/franks_greatest_hits.html .

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TIP SHEET:

Steve Alten, NY Times best-selling author of the MEG series:  “An engaging and uplifting tale with more interesting characters than a Narnia adventure.”
Randell L. Grant: “I had a wonderful time reading this along with my 10yr old Johanna. We made it even more fun by making different voices to go along with the many characters. Johanna didn’t want to stop reading and was disappointed to have to wait until the next night to continue. To hear her yell with joy when Dead Fred came back to life was so special. The book tells a story about the challenges we all face in everyday life – from interacting with each other in the family, making new friends, overcoming adversity, life’s triumphs and the fact that there are always new challenges (Megalodon’s) down the road.”
William Harbison: “I believe that Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes and the Good Luck Circle is one of the finest children’s books ever written. The love that Frank McKinney has poured into this book is incredible! It is exciting and fun for kids as well as adults! I would highly recommend Frank’s masterpiece Dead Fred!”

 

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How Inner-City Kid Farrah Gray Became A Millionaire By Age 14

Las Vegas, NV,  – Acclaimed author, syndicated columnist, and entrepreneur Farrah Gray offers readers Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out (HCI) as a tool to help them get ahead – even in our current poor economy. Raised in the projects on the south side of Chicago, Gray defied the odds and became a self-made millionaire by the age of 14.

Gray began his entrepreneurial, personal and civic development as a stellar young citizen at six years old, selling homemade body lotion and his own hand-painted rocks as bookends door-to-door. At age seven, he was carrying business cards reading “21st Century CEO.” He went on to foster companies as diverse as a venture capital fund to food manufacturing.

His rise from poverty to international renown as an entrepreneurial icon and preeminent power speaker has inspired millions around the world and his story is now available to readers in Reallionaire; Get Real, Get Rich; and The Truth Shall Make You Rich. Gray’s books have been translated into Russian, German, Polish, French, Korean, Indonesian, and Vietnamese, with book sales in Africa, Australia and Europe, and in Central and South American countries. Gray’s books have also become required reading in university classrooms at Harvard and Princeton, among others.

Gray has extensive experience advising readers about personal and professional matters. He is a syndicated columnist with the National Newspaper Publishers Association of 200 weekly newspapers reaching more than 15 million readers. As an AOL Money Coach, Gray gives daily leadership, personal and professional development, diversity, strategic planning, creativity, and financial management advice to millions of AOL subscribers.

His sense of social responsibility motivated him to create the non-profit organization The Farrah Gray Foundation, which focuses on inner city community-based entrepreneurship education and provides financial assistance for students from at-risk backgrounds to attend historically black colleges and universities. He donates his speaking engagement honorariums, which can be upwards of $15,000, and the proceeds of his book to his foundation.

At the age of 21, in recognition of his ingenious, economic mind and distinguished commitment to values such as leadership, integrity, and scholarship, Gray received an Honorary Doctorate degree of Humane Letters from Allen University. He holds a Key to the City from Dallas, Shreveport, and Cincinnati. He has also received Proclamations from the governors of Illinois and Nevada, the mayors of Louisville, Kentucky, Chicago, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Wilmington, Delaware, and St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Dr. Gray’s Awards include The National Urban League Whitney M. Young Jr. Entrepreneurship Award, The Alabama A & M Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Award, The Davidson College Love of Learning Lifetime Educational Achievement Award, Central State University Award of Appreciation for contributions made in the area of entrepreneurship, NV Magazine Vision Award, and the American Red Cross Award of Appreciation.

Reallionaire is available online and in bookstores everywhere.  Learn more about this inspiring figure at: www.Farrahgray.com

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TIP SHEET:

Bill Clinton, (Former) President of the United States of America: “I know Farrah Gray and we have discussed his future.  His motivation determines what he will do. His attitude determines how well he will succeed at making a difference.”

O: The Oprah Magazine dubbed Farrah Gray an “all-star” with “priceless advice.”

Suze Orman, New York Times Bestselling Author: “You are just the best and the real thing.”

Good Morning America: “Farrah Gray is the ultimate American success story.”

ABC 20/20: “America’s Reallionaire.”

CNN: “Farrah Gray, the youngest African American of his generation to make his mark on Wall Street and to become a millionaire.”

MSN.com placed Farrah Gray on its 2010 Young Tycoons List along with Mark Zuckerberg.

 

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The Dead Celebrity Cookbook – A Resurrection Of Recipes From More Than 145 Stars Of Stage And Screen

New York, NY, – For anyone who loves Hollywood memorabilia, is an entertainment junkie, and loves to eat and cook – they will treasure Frank DeCaro’s The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes from More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen (HCI Books). Frank compiled favorite recipes from some of Hollywood’s biggest names; including Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Sonny Bono, Liberace, Michael Jackson, John Denver, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, Humphrey Bogart, and Peter Falk, just to name a few.

“I love these dead celebrities! They’re the stars I grew up watching, and they deserve to be remembered even if they were more talented on screen than they were in the kitchen. Frank clearly worships them as much as I do, and after reading The Dead Celebrity Cookbook you will, too.” -Rosie O’Donnell

“Celebrities die–eventually–but their recipes live on, thanks to Frank DeCaro’s thorough and thoroughly delicious book. DeCaro’s dry wit is tasty, and judging from these yummy concoctions, most of these celebs died really happy!” –Michael Musto, Village Voice

Inspired by a “Dead Celebrity Party” during his college years, DeCaro thought the one thing missing from the event was the food of the dead. Since then, he’s been collecting recipes of the stars and lucky for us, he’s put them together in, THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK: A Resurrection of Recipes from More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen (HCI Books – October 2011- $19.95).

DeCaro, who is best known for his nearly 7-year stint as the movie critic on The Daily Show with John Stewart, and now heard weekdays on his own call-in radio show, gives us a giggle while feeding us treats from Tinsel Town like: Liberace’s Sticky Buns, Mae West’s Fruit Compote, John Ritter’s Favorite Fudge and Bea Arthur’s Vegetarian Breakfast.

THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK is here to remind you that before there were celebrity chefs, there were celebrities who fancied themselves as chefs. They were whipping up culinary delights, and sometimes sharing them with us on shows like Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas or even Johnny Carson. DeCaro gives us some entertaining and informative commentary before each section of recipes in chapters that include: “Talk Show Chow,” “An All-Night Oscar Buff,” and “I Lunch Lucy,” a whole section dedicated to the red-haired TV goddess.

Says DeCaro, “I miss those days when celebrities still had mystery about them, and a glimpse inside their radar ranges seemed, for any fan, like a window into the world of glamour and excitement, which is why I put together this book.” This book delivers recipes that the stars are dying for you to make.

For more information, please go to: www.deadcelebritycookbook.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Best known for his years as the flamboyant movie critic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Frank DeCaro is heard each weekday morning on his live national call-in program The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. A writer and performer, DeCaro pens the “Icons” column for CBS Watch magazine. The author of the pioneering memoir A Boy Named Phyllis, DeCaro previously wrote the “Style Over Substance” column for The New York Times. Visit the author at frankdecaro.com and on Facebook, and follow him at twitter.com/frankdecaroshow.

Available online or at bookstores or to order directly from the publisher, contact:  (800) 441-5569 or www.hcibooks.com.
THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK: A Resurrection of Recipes from More Than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen
Frank Decaro
ISBN: 978-9-7573-1596-1– $19.95 — October 2011

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TIP SHEET:

Brini Maxwell, author of Brini Maxwell’s Guide to Gracious Living and creator of felixpopuli.com: “I adore this book so much I find myself on the horns of a dilemma–make the recipes or kill myself so I can be in the sequel.”

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough,, bestselling authors of more than twenty cookbooks including Lobsters Scream When You Boil Them and 100 Other Myths About Food and Cooking: “Hankering for star-powered recipes? With this laugh-out-loud encyclopedia of Hollywood culinaria, Frank DeCaro brings out the real ‘celebrity chefs’ in spades. Or with a spade.”
 
Lisa Lampanelli, comedienne: “Frank DeCaro has the most delectable treats I’ve ever tasted — and the recipes aren’t bad, either! My dying wish is to have one of my recipes in The Dead Celebrity Cookbook II. Anyone for the Queen of Mean’s ‘So-Good-You’ll-Slap-Yo-Mama Chicken ’n Waffles’?”

Bob Smith, author of Remembrance of Things I Forgot: “Frank DeCaro’s two obsessions–food and the famous–have been hilariously united in The Dead Celebrity Cookbook. Reading Frank is like breaking your diet with your funniest best friend.”

SAMPLE RECIPE FROM THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK
Peter Falk 1927-2011
He was one of the great ones–appearing in films as disparate as The Princess Bride and Wings of Desire in the same year, 1987. But no matter what Peter Falk did (and he did a lot), he will always be remembered as the police detective in the rumpled raincoat on the mystery series Columbo. The character, one he played for more than thirty years beginning in 1971, is one of TV’s most indelible portraits. Among Falk’s most beloved films were the cult hit The In-Laws, the one-two Neil Simon punch of Murder by Death and The Cheap Detective, and six pictures with his buddy, the director/actor John Cassavetes, including the 1974 classic A Woman Under the Influence. The Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actor published his memoir Just One More Thing in 2006, and it wasn’t a moment too soon. Falk was diagnosed with dementia two years later. Just one more thing: His pork chops are as toothsome as he was.

Peter Falk’s Pork Chops
6 pork chops
1 medium onion, finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup white vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup water
½ cup liquid from jarred vinegar peppers
1 cup (or more) vinegar peppers
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350°. Brown pork chops in olive oil in a heavy frying pan and remove to a casserole. Cook onions until translucent in same oil and add to casserole. Deglaze pan by adding white vinegar and stirring up all brown bits. Add to casserole along with all remaining ingredients except vinegar peppers. Bake for 1½ hours. Add vinegar peppers and cook 15 minutes more. Remove pork chops and peppers to a warm serving plate. Add 2 teaspoons corn starch to pan drippings to make gravy. Pour over pork chops and peppers and serve.

Cutting Room Floor (sidebar):
You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but Idris Elba, the hulking British actor best known as Stringer Bell on HBO’s The Wire, has said that his edgy detective character on Luther owes a debt to Falk. Luther, a childhood fan of Columbo and creator Neil Cross, explains that both the classic American mystery show and the smoking hot BBC crime series are “howcatchems” not whodunits, and no one did that better than Lt. Frank Columbo.

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Everyone Is Talking About ‘The Stars Of Preventative Health’ Who Claim The Real Fountain of Youth Comes From More Action In The Bedroom

Southlake, Texas,  – Dr. Mark Anderson, Dr. Walter Gaman, and health expert and public speaker, Judy Gaman, are part of Executive Medicine of Texas’ first-rate medical facility. They are also the hosts of a hugely popular radio show and authors of a top selling book.  Please read more on their combined talents below:

Rapidly Growing Radio Show
Listeners never know what might be discussed on The Staying Young Radio Show – a weekly, one-hour nationally syndicated health and wellness radio program. Distributed by SRN AMC-3, SR5 Wegener Receiver, the show airs live every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and is fast-becoming the hot topic of Monday morning chat around the water cooler. The show offers the latest in medical advancements and health news, often including nationally-acclaimed medical experts, best-selling authors and celebrities, but what listeners really love is the delivery. 

Drs. Mark Anderson and Walter Gaman, accompanied by Walter’s beautiful wife Judy, have developed a huge following because no subject is off limits!  While listeners know they’ll get an expert answer, they also know they’ll be thoroughly entertained along the way by the hilarious banter that takes place between the three talented hosts. This team of talent is a media dream and can provide quotes, full text, radio or television interviews and medical advice in a totally media-friendly way, and radio stations can use their “daily medical minutes” to meet their public service announcement requirements.

Finding The Fountain Of Youth Just Got A Little Easier
Drs. Gaman and Anderson, together with Judy Gaman, co-authored Stay Young: 10 Proven Steps to Ultimate Health (George House Publishing); a one-of-a-kind health journal that offers a detailed plan for people to get healthy and stay that way! While the whole book is packed with expert health information, Chapter 8 seems to get more attention by its assertion that having sex really does contribute to good health! Apparently, frequent intercourse causes the brain to release a human growth hormone that helps maintain youth. Yes, the fountain of youth can be found between the sheets! The doctors present their case in a straightforward manner that is backed by case studies and facts, but have managed to do something most health care facilities have not – combined ‘sexy’ with healthcare and turned health into something exciting!

Executive Medicine of Texas is a first-rate facility that offers state-of-the-art technology, geared to the specific needs of the patient, and go above and beyond when it comes to keeping their clients as healthy and vibrant as possible. With a team of physicians that act more like medical detectives than doctors, they leave no stone unturned when it comes to the health of their patients. The outstanding care and services they offer has made them an international leader in preventative and proactive medical care, making them a favorite with high profile celebrities and attracting patients from around the world.

For more information, please visit www.emtexas.com or www.stayyoungthebook.com  or www.stayingyoungshow.com

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TIP SHEET:

Hear clips of the show at www.stayingyoungshow.com

For a sample of Medical Minutes go to http://www.emtexas.com/Medical-Minutes.asp

To read a “sample” of multitudes of published articles: Corporate Wellness Magazine, Prime Living

Sample of Quotes: Match.com, Spa Week Daily, Chicago Tribune

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Using Mexico As The Back Door To The U.S. Escalates Trafficking In Humans By Drug Cartels

Dallas, TX,  – Terror on the Border (Unrivaled Books) by novelist Ernie Hunt is a riveting story so steeped in realism of the devastation wreaked by Mexican drug cartels that it is hard to believe it’s fiction!

Dave Cunningham, author of Travel Within: The 7 Steps to Wisdom and Inner Peace says it all with: “Terror on the Border is a gripping story. The last 120 pages will take you on a breathless ride.”

Hunt’s lead character is Jack Cassidy, a fearless ex-sniper who wants justice! And he wants it for the oppressed citizens of San Miguel, Mexico, a town ravaged by violence inflicted by a malicious cartel, headed up by an egotistical madman and his evil enforcer. Married to a woman who was herself a victim of human trafficking, Cassidy and his bride Juanita set out to do all they can to help this seemingly forgotten town. 

Juanita is kidnapped along with her cousin, an American Border Patrol Officer, by the notorious Lobos gang and held for ransom in hopes of making their rich uncle pay for their release. After a daring escape from their torture chamber, they reunite with Jack and two private detectives from Dallas and set out to warn their uncle of the impending danger from the cartel.

Hunt’s compelling and inimitable style of story-telling will have readers gripped by fear but unable to put the book down as the action intensifies in bloody confrontations near the border, and the shocking twists and turns will hold readers’ attention all the way to the explosive ending!

Ernie Hunt’s novel draws attention to the $20 billion a year human slave trade that exists in Mexico and to one cartel in particular that is born of Mexican Army Special Forces deserters whose members include corrupt former federal, state and local police officers.

For more information on this prolific writer, please visit his website at wwww.eehunt.com.

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Rescuing An Abused Or Neglected Dog Comes With A Reward – A Lifetime Of Unconditional Love

Dallas, TX, – Diane Pomerance will be the first to tell you that she and her husband didn’t set out to save or rescue dogs but the dogs ‘found’ them. In her latest book, Our Rescue Dog Family Album (Polaire Entertainment Group, Inc.), the love she has for these neglected, injured or abandoned animals is conveyed through every heartwarming story of 45 rescued dogs that were given the chance to replace pain and despair with joy, hope and contentment.

The author of seven books about all aspects of living with and caring for animals and for sharing life with a special pet, Dr. Pomerance’s most recent book Our Rescue Dog Family Album is a memorable tribute and collection of heartwarming stories and beautiful color photographs of the lives of 45 dogs they had rescued and adopted over the past several decades.

In addition to this wonderful compilation of stories, Dr. Pomerance previously wrote six books in The Animal Companion Series that cover the gamut for every imaginable scenario for pet owners; from adopting the right animal companion and caring for aging animals, to helping cope with the loss of a beloved pet. She is also the narrator of her books on audio CD’s and a description of all of her books and CDs can be viewed. They can be purchased on her website at www.aimalcompanionsandtheirpeople.com, amazon.com, etc.

These books are a must read for animal lovers and anyone who owns or is contemplating getting one. They belong in any pet lover’s library and have great appeal to readers of all ages. In fact, these books make a wonderful Holiday gift for any animal lovers in your life. They illustrate how pets interact in every part of our daily lives and how they are not only our best friends, but they provide us with limitless emotional and spiritual benefits. In fact, the calming and soothing effect they have on people is just one reason they are used in nursing homes, in children’s hospitals, helping with autistic children – and even in prisons.

Where else but from our pets can we get such unconditional love and loyalty? They let us just be ourselves without pretense or affectation and don’t even care if we have brushed our teeth or if we’re clean or dirty – they love us just because we’re us!

Dr. Pomerance and her books have been featured on CNN Headline News, Fox News, Lifetime TV, Montel Williams and The Daily Buzz, as well as in countless radio interviews and numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Diane Pomerance has a Ph.D. in Communications and is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist who counsels those grieving from any loss, but particularly those mourning the loss of a beloved pet.

This benevolent husband and wife team admit there is often a great deal of pain, hard work and sadness involved with these animals, nonetheless, they feel it’s always a privilege to be a part of their journey by providing the necessary love and care to give these wonderful dogs a chance at a new life. 

In Our Rescue Dog Family Album, the Pomerances’ pay homage to the many dogs who have shared their lives over the past decade; some who have stayed to become cherished members of their own ever-expanding family, as well as those who have moved on to find new families. They believe the gifts these dogs brought them are beyond measure and the life lessons they have taught are invaluable. The gratitude, innate wisdom and unconditional love from these animals brings profound joy to every life they touch.

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TIP SHEET:

Seattlepi books: “If ever a book was appropriately named, Our Rescue Dog Family Album is the book. Details of over forty dogs that were rescued … are shared, along with scores of pictures of these lucky canines.  What Pomerance – and anyone who has ever rescued a dog — knows is that once you rescue an animal, you have a devoted friend, ‘til death do you part.  (Her) …books for dog owners and prospective owners, covering topics that include the death of a pet, adopting the right companion, older animals, and the roles companion animals play in the lives of the humans with whom they live.
People who read (it)…will be charmed by the histories of these dogs that no one wanted…from puppy mills (boo! hiss!), others were abused and abandoned, and still others share unknown backgrounds… (she) draws the reader in with her obvious respect for her furry family. Filled with irresistible photos and enchanting stories of improved lives… (It) makes a lovely gift for any dog lover or wannabe-dog-owner, and should be found in the waiting rooms of veterinarians across the world. Maybe it will inspire others to adopt a shelter dog…or two…or three…”

DogTipper.com: “Our family has included a number of rescue dogs over the years…all but one came to us from shelters or by being dumped near our country home.  We …were immediately impressed by Dr. Pomerance’s Our Rescue Dog Family Album…being a nationally-recognized pet expert who works with several organizations including the SPCA of Texas, K-9 Friends Visiting Therapy Dogs of GTDOG, and Alaskan Malamute Assistance League.  (It)… documents some of the many dogs who have been adopted into her loving home…is an entertaining book, enhanced with color photos of her pets and details of…day-by-day efforts to save as many distressed dogs as possible. Their gradual introduction and integration into the lives of abandoned and mistreated pets is an inspiring journey. The Pomerances’ inspiring story is a quick read but will long linger in the hearts of all dog lovers.”

 

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Uncle Al Capone…The Untold Story From Inside His Family – By The Last Of The Capones…

Bonita Springs, FL,  – Deirdre Marie Capone lived in the house of the infamous Al Capone, her uncle. He taught her to swim, ride a bike, and play the mandolin. In her tell-all memoir, Uncle Al Capone…The Untold Story From Inside His Family (Recap Publishing LLC), Deirdre, the last member of the family born with the name Capone, shares what it was really like growing up a Capone – definitely not the way most people would have imagined it to be. It is the only book ever written about America’s most notorious mobster by someone who knew him well.

Already a best-seller on Amazon, Deirdre’s fascinating memoir tells what really happened in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, what the ‘outfit’ was really all about, and what the ‘family’ were really like, especially the one person she confided in more than anyone – her Aunt Maffie (short for Mafalda – the Italian princess she was named after); a strong woman with whom she shared a close bond as one of the only two girls in the Capone family.

Uncle Al Capone is packed with absorbing stories about Al and his family, along with never-before-published photos and authentic Capone family recipes for the food that Al and his family enjoyed. Simply stated, there is no one else left who could ever share this piece of history with the world.

Deirdre relates what life was like growing up the grand niece of Public Enemy #1, Al Capone. Her own life had been saddened by the fact that her father, who had tried to live a more legitimate lifestyle than the rest of the family, couldn’t shake the shame of the Capone name and ended up taking his own life when Deirdre was just ten years-old. For most of her life she too had made every effort to hide the fact that she was a Capone and in 1972, in her early thirties, she left Chicago and her family history behind to reinvent herself in Minnesota, making sure that no one other than her husband knew her ancestry. She succeeded.

That is, until her past caught up with her on the day her nine year-old son came home from school and announced they were studying Al Capone in a class project. She and her husband agreed it was time to tell the kids but she was afraid for them – she had not wanted them growing up shunned by others or not having other kids to play with once they knew her name. She need not have worried – her kids thought it was totally ‘cool.’ So, at age 34, she finally accepted herself as Deirdre Marie Capone and today her 14 grandchildren are proud to tell the story of their ancestry.

Uncle Al Capone grabs the reader’s attention right from the start with its true life dialogue of the Capone family – from their ancestral roots in Angri, Italy to Brooklyn, New York, and later to Chicago. Deirdre offers a true portrait of an American family and gives a decidedly different look at her favorite uncle, endlessly depicted as the iconic mastermind behind some of the century’s most brutal killings.

For all the dissension, for all the pain, there comes a moment in our lives where we have to stand up and say: This – the good and the bad – is who I am, says Deirdre Marie Capone. For more information on this intriguing book, please visit: www.unclealcapone.com.

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TIP SHEET:

Jonathon Eig, author of Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster: “A lot of people think Al Capone was a psychopath. A lot of people think Robert De Niro captured the true nature of America’s most notorious gangster. A lot of people seem hell bent on clinging to a bunch of mythology that plain and simple makes no sense. A lot of people are fools. Deirdre Marie Capone is not one of them. With this lovely, personal, heartfelt story, she takes a stand. She’s not nominating Capone for sainthood. She’s not asking you to pardon him his crimes. She’s simply and honestly telling the story she knows best–the story of her family. Do yourself a favor: read it. You’ll be glad you did. And when you’re done, you can judge Al Capone for yourself.”

Katerie Prior, ForeWord Reviews: “…Throughout the book, Capone tries to reconcile what she knows about her family with recorded history. Early in the book she writes, “I will not pretend to be able to paint a rosy picture of my uncle Al. I cannot make him out to be a perfect man, or even a good man. But what I want people to know is that he was a complex man. He was human and he had a heart.” Capone succeeds, balancing both the public history of Al, from the Valentine’s Day Massacre to his incarceration at Alcatraz, with personal photos, family recipes, and her own memories…It’s not always an easy task as the author recounts losing friends, jobs, and other opportunities, once people learned she was a descendant of the notorious Al Capone… (it is) a memoir that is as complex and human as the man that it’s about. It brings a fresh perspective to the other Al Capone biographies, and finally gives the larger-than-life gangster the one thing that may have eluded him in life: to be seen as simply a human being.”

 

 

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