Foreign rights guide

The definitive, revealing biography of an American legend—renowned news anchor Walter Cronkite—by a bestselling American historian. Walter Cronkite, the most revered and beloved journalist of the twentieth century, spent decades reporting from the frontlines, but until now relatively little has been known about the life of the man who brought America its news. Based on unprecedented access to Cronkite’s private papers as well as interviews with him before his death, Douglas Brinkley brings to life the American icon who, as anchor of CBS Evening News, became known as the “most trusted man in America.” Born in Missouri and raised mostly in Texas, Cronkite dropped out of college during the Great Depression and began working as a journalist and radio broadcaster. At the height of World War II Cronkite gained recognition as a war correspondent, reporting with Allied troops from North Africa and the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. In 1950, Edward R. Murrow recruited him to work for CBS, where he would stay for decades, hosting numerous programs and covering presidential elections, the space program, the war in Vietnam, and the first television broadcasts of the Olympics. From his anchor chair, Cronkite reported on the events of each day, always closing with his signature line “And that’s the way it was.” He was also witness—and the nation’s voice—through the most profound moments in American history, from the Kennedy Assassination and Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 to Watergate and the Iran Hostage Crisis. Epic, intimate, and masterfully written, CRONKITE is the much-anticipated biography of an extraordinary American life. Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s new past master.” His most recent books are THE QUIET WORLD, THE WILDERNESS WARRIOR, and THE GREAT DELUGE. Six of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. Harper

Estimated length: 816 pages, with two 16-page b/w photo inserts

Manuscript available
Eldon, Kathy

IN THE HEART OF LIFE: A Restless Soul, a Search for Meaning, and a Bond that Death Couldn't Break

After graduating from university, Kathy Eldon married a Brit and moved to London in 1969. In 1978, her husband came to her with an opportunity that might provide the adventure and life experience she craved: they were to move with their two young children to Kenya. There, Kathy and her husband set about raising Dan and Amy in a life of safaris and social engagement, in a society that shaped them to be spiritual and artistic. Eldon dove into this tumultuous new world as a journalist and writer. But this is not a romanticized paean to Africa, and TAKING FLIGHT describes the darker aspects Eldon began to discover in her adopted homeland. Her darkest moment of all came in 1993 when her son Dan, a twenty-two-year-old photojournalist for Reuters, was stoned to death by an angry mob in Somalia. Eldon knew that there was no way through her grief unless she could transform it into something positive. Her journey through grief has been deeply spiritual, and she describes how she began to understand that Dan was ever-present in her life. An African adventure, a family saga, a spiritual journey, and even a psychic mystery, TAKING FLIGHT is, most of all, a story of love and destiny. Kathy Eldon has worked as a teacher, editor, journalist, and film and television producer and is the author of several previous books. She and her daughter Amy launched Creative Visions Foundation to support “creative activists” like Dan, who use media to inform, inspire and empower positive change. Movie rights to Dan Eldon’s story have been optioned by Julia Roberts’ production company, and Kathy is closely involved with the project. HarperOne

Estimated length: 304 pages; illustrations throughout

Manuscript available: June 2012
Fitzpatrick, David

SHARP

“In Sharp, David Fitzpatrick is our tour guide for a harrowing journey from self-destructive psychosis to a cautious re-emergence into the flickering sunshine of the sane world. Fitzpatrick writes about mental illness with the unsparing intensity of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton but also with the hard-won self-knowledge of William Styron, Kay Jamison, and other chroniclers of disease, recovery, and management. While reading Sharp, I was at turns frightened, appalled, enlightened, and overcome with sadness. Throughout I was fully engaged and, by book’s end, reassured about the triumph of the human spirit and the healing power of a family’s patient and abiding love. For those of us who seek a better understanding of mental illness, David Fitzpatrick’s Sharp is a must read, remarkably told.”—Wally Lamb

A beautifully written and deeply personal memoir that takes readers into the mind of a man who was in his early twenties when he began exhibiting symptoms of severe mental illness, including self-mutilation and deep depression. David Fitzpatrick’s two-decade struggle began when he started to cut himself after college. In a disturbing but inspiring account, David recounts how he overcame his dangerous and bloody addiction to slashing himself with a razor blade. SHARP is a compelling narrative of self-examination and determination to understand the mental forces at work preventing David from leading a normal life. It is also a tale of hope, a soul-baring quest of a lost man who returns to himself and reclaims his life. David was born in Dearborn, Michigan, grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Skidmore College, and earned his MFA degree from Fairfield University in 2011. He works part-time at an auto dealership and is married to a graphic designer and fellow writer, Amy Holmes. The New Haven Review, Barely South Review, and the now-defunct Fiction Weekly have published his works. He is currently at work on a novel. William Morrow
Publication: September 2012 (JS)

Estimated length: 368 pages

Galley available
Fontaine, Claire

Fontaine, Mia

The bestselling authors of COME BACK return in this charming, funny memoir about the changing relationship between a mother and her adult daughter, set against the backdrop of an unforgettable round-the-world adventure. COME BACK chronicled Mia Fontaine’s harrowing drug addiction at the age of 15 and her mother Claire’s desperate and ultimately successful attempts to save her. Now, a decade later, Claire and Mia are determined to transform their lives and their relationship once again. With each of them facing a defining moment (at fifty-one Claire is ready to shed her identity as Mia’s savior, while twenty-five-year-old Mia is ready to grow beyond her role as recovery’s poster child), the two embark on a six-month-long round-the-world adventure. Mission: to consciously bond as friends while also evolving as women. In an amazing journey that takes them through twelve countries amid monkey attacks, camel rides around the pyramids, and terrifying cab trips (a feature found across the globe); Mia comes to know her mother in the same way that Claire has always known her, as all mothers know their daughters: better than anyone else, often better than themselves. Readers will close this book with a deeper understanding of the mother/daughter relationship—and of themselves—seeing new possibilities for their own lives. An author and screenwriter, Claire Fontaine has devoted time to coaching families in crisis. Mia Fontaine, a popular motivational speaker, has written for The New York Times and works in publishing. William Morrow

Estimated length: 320 pages

Manuscript available
Jordan, Pete

IN THE CITY OF BIKES: An American Discovers Amsterdam

From Pete Jordan, author of DISHWASHER, comes a memoir of one man’s quest to find the stability to settle down with the woman he loves and to start a family in Amsterdam, the city of bikes, all told through the insatiable love of cycling. Jordan arrives in Amsterdam for a semester abroad to study urban planning, hoping to eventually work towards making U.S. cities more bicycle friendly. But once Pete sets foot in Amsterdam, he is seduced by a city on two wheels. Pete’s wife (of just two weeks), Amy Joy, joins him, and they set about making a life for themselves in their new adopted homeland. They struggle the first year trying to find a home and jobs. With a baby on the way, Amy Joy eventually finds an apartment above an aging bicycle mechanic’s shop, and he eventually turns the shop over to her. But Pete’s years of irresponsibility threaten to jeopardize their ideal home-life when he falls short on a promise to help Amy Joy run the business. Part memoir, part history, part tour of Amsterdam, IN THE CITY OF BIKES recounts Jordan’s initial hardships in his adopted homeland, and his passion for cycling, with style, wit, and humor that makes for a thoroughly entertaining tale. Harper Perennial

Estimated length: 384 pages

Manuscript available: July 2012
King, Rodney

*THE RIOT WITHIN: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption

Rodney King has a prominent place in American history, having become an iconic symbol of the problems of race relations in the U.S., but has mostly stayed out of the limelight since his reluctant thrust into fame after an LAPD beating and the subsequent explosive trial of the officers who beat him. Their acquittal caused public outrage that raised tensions between the black community and the LAPD, increased anger over police brutality and social inequity, and sparked a violent riot that nearly destroyed the city of Los Angeles. But it also had a positive effect-it forced the often taboo and unspoken subject of racial conflict into the public consciousness, where it could be discussed openly by all. But while Rodney King may be an icon, he is by no means an angel. In the years before and since the police beating, King was involved in a robbery, struggled with drug addiction, and has had problems with alcohol. However, he has also refused to be bitter about the crippling emotional and physical damage that was inflicted upon him that night in 1991, and instead has resolved to lift himself out of the legacy of his impoverished and abusive childhood to create a better life. May 2012 will mark the 20th anniversary of the L.A. riots, the longest, most destructive urban conflict in modern U.S. history. HarperOne

Estimated length: 256 pages; 16 page 4-color photo insert

Book available
Knox, Amanda

*UNTITLED MEMOIR

Many accounts have been written of the Amanda Knox case, and countless writers and reporters have speculated on what role, if any, was played by Knox in that tragic and terrifying sequence of events.  No one has yet heard Amanda Knox's own account of what happened, and this book will give Knox an opportunity to tell the story in full detail, for the first time. It will be the story of a crime and a trial, but also a moving account of a young woman's struggle to cope with a nightmarish ordeal that placed her at the center of a media storm, and led to her imprisonment. For the very first time since her trial for murder, her four-year incarceration in Perugia, Italy, and her appeal and acquittal of all charges, Amanda Knox will share the truth about her terrifying ordeal.  Knox will give a full and unflinching account of the events that led to her arrest in Perugia and her struggles with the complexities of the Italian judicial system. Aided by journals she kept during her imprisonment, Knox will talk about her harrowing experience at the hands of the Italian police and later prison guards and inmates.  She will reveal never before-told details surrounding her case, and describe how she used her inner strength and strong family ties to cope with the most challenging time of her young life. Harper

Estimated length:  338 pages

Carol Miller grew up under the watchful eyes of her parents in a very traditional Jewish household in Queens. One night, as a kid, she heard a barbershop quartet practicing in the alley under her window and fell in love with the music. When she went to find it on the radio, her parents scolded her for having such poor taste. But it was too late—she was hooked on popular music. At the University of Pennsylvania, the university radio station was looking for students to help out. Carol thought she might make a good station secretary—until she got in the DJ booth. Pursuing radio with dogged intensity and ambition, she landed increasingly high profile spots in Philadelphia and then New York radio. Her life in radio is as star-studded as her upbringing was traditional—she’s the first DJ to play Bruce Springsteen on the radio in New York, is asked for by name by Paul McCartney, becomes close with Steven Tyler (until Bebe Buell attacks her in a club), Lily Tomlin shared her drugs with her and she dated Paul Stanley, who turned out to be a nice Jewish boy from the same kind of neighborhood she grew up in. In her inimitable voice, this story of a life in rock, will make you laugh, break your heart, and make you wish you had spent the last 30 years like Carol Miller, spinning the best of rock for fans and friends. Carol Miller is one of the longest-running New York radio personalities. She’s been on the air at WPLJ and WNEW, is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and hosted dozens of national and international radio shows. She has also appeared on VH-1, ET and elsewhere. Ecco

Estimated length: 272 pages; 16 page color photo insert

In her second memoir (the first, Debbie, My Life, was published by Morrow in 1988), Debbie reveals all the things she couldn’t disclose in her first book, including amazing anecdotes about Elizabeth Taylor.   This is a story of heartbreak, hope, courage, and above all, survival. In 1988, Debbie’s third marriage seemed like a great success -- until she discovered that her husband had his mistress stashed at the Stardust just down the street from Debbie’s own newly opened Las Vegas hotel. She then learned that he’d embezzled all the proceeds from her business. When she confronted him, she barely escaped with her life. For the third time, Debbie would suffer a divorce that left her emotionally and financially bankrupt. Reynolds’s first marriage had ended disastrously in 1959 when Eddie Fisher left her for her best friend, Elizabeth Taylor.  In 1973, her second marriage ended when Harry Karl lost his vast fortune, plus all the money Debbie had earned during her long career at MGM. That one would cost her $10 million in Harry’s gambling debts. In UNSINKABLE, Reynolds revisits the most important parts of her life as an actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age.  Since 1970, Debbie’s passion has been saving movie costumes, including Marilyn Monroe’s white dress from The Seven Year Itch—one of the most famous costumes in the world.  After a series of unsuccessful attempts to set up a museum to house her collection, Debbie was forced to auction off part of it.  The June 2011 exhibition at the Paley Media Center in Beverly Hills was a spectacular success that made headlines everywhere. The catalog sold out, bringing in nearly half a million dollars. The auction grossed $22 million, with the Monroe dress breaking all records, selling for $5.6 million, and a second auction in December 2011 brought in millions more. At 79, Debbie continues not only to work but to thrive, performing her one-woman show around the world as well as making regular TV appearances and writing a weekly syndicated advice column. Her new memoir is a story of hope and survival in the face of staggering odds; as her character in The Unsinkable Molly Brown proclaims,“I ain’t down yet.”    William Morrow

Estimated length: 320 pages; 8-page photo insert