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In truth, something far darker and more elemental often lurks behind a host's best intentions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePartisan, witty, and laced with astonishing historical detail, \u003ci\u003eThe Duchess Who Wouldn't Sit Down\u003c\/i\u003e is dedicated to a new understanding of the art of hospitality. Jesse Browner leads the way back through Western civilization, from a present-day poker game where Browner's devastatingly delicious sandwiches leave the best players penniless, to the ancient Greeks, whose gods punished or exalted the mortals according to their excellence as hosts. On the way, we visit Hitler at his summer home (a staunch vegetarian, he liked to lecture his guests on the horrors of the slaughterhouse); Gertrude Stein (a marvelously successful hostess) in Paris and Lady Ottoline Morrell (a dismal failure) in England; Louis XIV at Versailles (whose opulent feasts and parties were matched only by his regulation of his courtiers' behavior, controlling even who was allowed to sit down); and the Roman emperors (for whom classic dinner-table entertainment was a good poisoning). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs delightful and edifying as an evening in favored company, \u003ci\u003eThe Duchess Who Wouldn't Sit Down\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-read for everyone who's ever accepted an invitation-or wonders why they keep sending them out.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49743965618449,"sku":"CIN1582342970VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49979712143633,"sku":"CIN1582342970G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1582342970.jpg?v=1750895243"},{"product_id":"how-did-i-get-here-making-peace-with-the-road-not-taken-book-jesse-browner-9780062275707","title":"How Did I Get Here?: Making Peace With The Road Not Taken","description":"\u003cp\u003eA literary exploration that asks seeks to answer the question: Have I lived the life I intended?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJesse Browner, a novelist with a full-time job at the United Nations, has written a book reminiscent of the Talking Heads classic song \"Once in a Lifetime.\" Based on an essay he wrote for Poets and Writers Magazine, Browner asks hard questions about life choices, about the tendency to believe there is a parallel life that might have been more fulfilling or more free. He wonders: Is the true artist made by single-minded devotion to his craft? Do we compromise our dreams in service to responsibilities to family and jobs?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese questions prompted Browner to take a hard look at himself and the evolution that brought him to this moment of existential doubt. In How Did I Get Here? he divides his adult life into five distinct phases--ambition, love, work, fulfillment, and serenity. Sketching portraits of himself at every stage, he looks for idiosyncrasies, commonalities, and clues--signposts that lead him to today. He also draws on the lives of others, from Franz Kafka to his sister to indie rocker Elliott Smith, in search of understanding. What he finds in his courageous quest is bravely honest and inspiring, touching on what it means to live a life with intention and meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49926403686673,"sku":"CIN0062275704G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50273992507665,"sku":"CIN0062275704A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51202560590097,"sku":"NIN9780062275707","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52613953421585,"sku":"NLS9780062275707","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53456752640273,"sku":"CIN0062275704VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062275704.jpg?v=1751004160"},{"product_id":"everything-happens-today-book-jesse-browner-9781609450519","title":"Everything Happens Today","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A stupendous, thought-provoking, devilishly delicious novel that reads like Zen koan meets \u003ci\u003ePortrait of the Artist as a Young Man\u003c\/i\u003e . . . 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