Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States
Pete Jordan

Publisher's Comments
Dishwasher is Pete Jordan's amusing memoir of his itinerant dishwashing extravaganza. "For 12 years, I was the most prolific dishlicker of them all. From 1989 – 2001, I dished my way around the country, unwittingly searching for direction. From a bagel joint in New Mexico to a Mexican joint in Brooklyn; from a dinner train in Rhode Island to the Lawrence Welk Resort in Branson, MO; from an upper–crust ladies' club to a crusty hippie commune – I washed the nation's dishes," he explains.

Part adventure, part self–parody, and part self–discovery, it reveals how he transformed into "Dishwasher Pete" – the ultimate professional dish dog, unlikely folk hero, writer, and publisher of his own cult 'zine – and his struggles to find love, stability, and yes, the elusive happy–ever–after.

Rollergirl: Totally True Tales from the Track
Melissa Joulwan

Publisher's Comments
The 1950s phenomenon of Roller Derby is back in full force, and it's definitely not your grandma's game anymore. With leagues in more than one hundred cities across the country, a national tournament, and major sponsors, the new wave of the sport has gone mainstream. No one is better qualified to tell the story of Flat Track Derby's astronomic rise than Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan. As a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls -- the league that launched the sport and the reigning national champions -- she has helped redefine what it means to be stylish, sporty, and sexy.

With her mouthy, tough-as-nails style, Melicious recounts her best tales from the track: her fierce rivalries with The Wrench and Ivanna S. Pankin, the scene at the annual national tournament, the thrill of a bout, and the infractions that so often bring her to the penalty box. From the minute she first laced up her skates and wrapped herself in her alter ego, Roller Derby has given her a confidence boost, and she shares the positive impact the sport has also had on girls -- young and not-so-young -- who tack posters of her on their bedroom walls and lace up their own skates.

Complete with photos and suggestions on how to develop a Rollergirl name and persona, this unprecedented tell-all comes from the woman who's watched the sport evolve from an underground Friday-night event to a bona fide national phenomenon.

Sing a Battle Song: The Revolutionary Poetry, Statements, and Communiques of the Weather Underground, 1970-1974
Edited by Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, and Jeff Jones

Publisher's Comments
Outraged by the Vietnam War and racism in America, a group of young American radicals announced their intention to “bring the war home.” The Weather Underground waged a low-level war against the U.S. government through much of the 1970s, bombing the Capitol building, breaking Timothy Leary out of prison, and evading one of the largest FBI manhunts in history.

Sing a Battle Song brings together the three complete and unedited publications produced by the Weathermen during their most active period underground, 1970 to 1974: The Weather Eye: Communiqués from the Weather Underground; Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism; and Sing a Battle Song: Poems by Women in the Weather Underground Organization.

Sing a Battle Song is introduced and annotated by three of the Weather Underground’s original organizers—Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and Jeff Jones—all of whom are all still actively engaged in social justice movement work.

Idealistic, inspired, pissed-off, and often way-over-the-top, the writings of the Weather Underground epitomize the sexual, psychedelic, anti-war counterculture of the American 1960s and 1970s.

Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild
Deborah Siegel

Publisher's Comments
Chronicling the battles that have shaped modern conceptions of feminism across two generations, Sisterhood, Interrupted illuminates how younger women are reliving — often without realizing it — the battles of the past. Contrary to clichés about the end of feminism, Deborah Siegel argues that younger women are not abandoning the movement but reinventing it. After forty years, is feminism today a culture, or a cause? A movement for personal empowerment, or broad-scale social change? Have women achieved equality, or do we still have a long way to go?

From the Hips: A Comprehensive, Open-Minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent
Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris

Publisher's Comments
Drawing on the experiences of hundreds of real parents and the expertise of doctors, midwives and other birth and baby pros, this indispensable resource is filled with the most accurate and up-to-date information about having and caring for a baby, including:

• Decisions, Decisions: A judgment-free breakdown of every major choice, including prenatal testing, natural vs. medical childbirth, circumcision, breast or bottle feeding, and work/life options
• The Endless No: What not to eat, take, and do when you’re pregnant-get the real facts behind the prohibitions
• I Want My Life Back: Anxiety, regret, ambivalence, and other rarely discussed postpartum emotions
• Parents and partners: A look beyond the one-size-fits-all approach to family, with strategies for minimizing perfect-parent pressure and managing your real-life relationships through the changes
• Sorting Through the Voices: A user-friendly guide to the dueling gurus, trendy techniques, and conflicting theories that confuse new parents

A forward-thinking book that includes a wide range of voices and approaches, From the Hips reflects the many ways of being pregnant and parenting without suggesting that there is one right way.