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Come to the Edge by Christina Haag

Publishers Weekly

Stifling pathos and loss overshadow this heartfelt memoir by actress Haag about her youthful years of friendship and romance with John F. Kennedy Jr. Both born in 1960, though Haag was some months older, the two attended elite private schools in mid-1970s' New York City and, trailed by Kennedy's Secret Service agents, frequented the same parties and bars as teenagers. Haag went to Brearley, Kennedy to Collegiate, and they both ended up at Brown University and even shared a large house. Haag's serious acting career both attracted Kennedy—a fledgling actor and co-star with her in the small theater production of Winners in 1985—and distanced him, as he preferred his girlfriends to hop on a plane at a moment's notice and plunge into vigorous, sometimes perilous physical activities. Kennedy's abrupt death in a plane accident in 1999 throws a poignant sweetness over such insignificant details as trips they took together and dialogue exchanged; the two were gradually pulled apart in late 1990 by his involvement with Daryl Hannah and other women. Haag proceeds in her narrative with an elusive earnestness, trying to capture the deep connection between the lovers despite the pull of his celebrity, his mother, and their separate pursuits. What remains is a piercing portrait of a vibrant, reckless, tender young man so bursting with life that nothing could contain him.



Known and Unknown: A Memoir by Donald Rumsfeld

Newsweek-The Daily Beast

"The battle is joined. After a long silence, Donald Rumsfeld opened both barrels Tuesday, releasing his memoir, Known and Unknown . Early leaks of the book's defiant take on his life, times, and conduct of the Iraq War drew howls from some of the targets of his score-settling But Rumsfeld battles on, taking his unapologetic account to the public."--( John Barry)





Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering by Meredith Baxter

Synopsis

Meredith Baxter is a beloved and iconic television actress, most well-known for her enormously popular role as hippie mom, Elyse Keaton, on Family Ties. Her warmth, humor, and brilliant smile made her one of the most popular women on television, with millions of viewers following her on the small screen each week. Yet her success masked a tumultuous personal story and a harrowing private life. For the first time, Baxter is ready to share her incredible highs, (working with Robert Redford, Doris Day, Lana Turner, and the cast of Family Ties), and lows (a thorny relationship with her mother, a difficult marriage to David Birney, a bout with breast cancer), finally revealing the woman behind the image.

From her childhood in Hollywood, growing up the daughter of actress and co-creator of One Day at a Time Whitney Blake, Baxter became familiar with the ups and downs of show business from an early age. After wholeheartedly embracing the 60s counterculture lifestyle, she was forced to rely on her acting skills after her first divorce left her a 22-year-old single mother of two. Baxter began her professional career with supporting roles in the critically panned horror film Ben, and in the political thriller All the President's Men.

More lucrative work soon followed on the small screen. Baxter starred with actor David Birney as the title characters in controversial sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie. While the series only lasted a year, her high-profile romance with Birney lasted 15 volatile and unhappy years. Hiding the worst of her situation from even those closest to her, Baxter’s career flourished as her self-esteem and family crumbled. Her successful run as Nancy on Family was followed by her enormously popular role on Family Ties, and dozens of well-received television movies.

After a bitter divorce and custody battle with Birney, Baxter increasingly relied on alcohol as a refuge, and here speaks candidly of her decision to take her last drink in 1990.

And while another ruinous divorce to screenwriter Michael Blodgett taxed Baxter’s strength and confidence, she has emerged from her experiences with the renewed self-assurance, poise, and understanding that have enabled her to find a loving, respectful relationship with Nancy Locke, and to speak about it openly.

Told with insight, wit, and disarming frankness, Untied is the eye-opening and inspiring life of an actress, a woman, and a mother who has come into her own.