In the Philadelphia neighborhood known as the Badlands, drug gangs rule absolutely. Each time a life is lost in the carnage of the local drug wars, a boldly drawn chalk outline of a body appears on the street leading up to City hall: a teenaged dealer, a priest, a little girl with a jump rope. Ofelia Santoro rides her bicycle through the dark, decaying streets, looking for her fourteen-year-old-son, Gabriel. She’s afraid of what she might find. Gabriel has fallen in with the most savage of the drug dealers, but now wants to get out—if he can. In this gritty, fast-moving novel, acclaimed Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez brings home the violence that is scarring America’s vast urban wastelands, and the humanity that might save them. “An unfancy prose is streaked by strong, cinematic images . . . Lopez aims to prick consciences, in the tradition of the documentary novelist, and he does so with considerable style.”—The Daily Telegraph “Lopez has done what Balzac, Dickens . . . and Dostoevsky did so masterfully: he has taken a torch to the back of the cave and returned to tell us what he has seen.” –Pete Hamill, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Third and Indiana: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Lopez, Steve

United States

Penguin Publishing Group

"It’s a city of bottom feeders. With no bottom." Assistant District Attorney Lisa Savitch has a problem. Her boss wants her to nail the Sunday Macaroni Club-five remnants of the old political machine led by Augie Sangiamino, a former U.S. Senator with a conviction for fraud, now a political consultant. Why are these has-beens so important when there are children in Philadelphia dying of leukemia in the vicinity of an oil refinery? As for Augie, it's like he says at grace on Sunday: "We thank you, Lord, for this wonderful macaroni dinner. But we could use a little help, to tell you the truth, in this campaign." His two candidates are way behind in the polls, and he needs a miracle, divine or otherwise, to reverse the trend. Miracles, of course, cost money, and that's where the Sunday Macaroni Club dives into a glorious-and usually hilarious-carnival of greed, ambition, and self-preservation. Its hoorifying politics are democracy in America, and few people understand those better than Steve Lopez or have more fun painting them large. The characters of The Sunday Macaroni Club spill off the page with a furious energy and unexpected decency-by turns appalling, alluring, and endearing, they are altogether unforgettable.

The Sunday Macaroni Club: A Novel

Harcourt

Albert LaRosa has spent his whole life just trying to get from yesterday to tomorrow. Born, raised, and now the sheriff of a small New Jersey island town, he was forced back to his hometown of Harbor Light after his shot at the big time as a cop in Philadelphia was destroyed by the events of one dark night. Twenty-five years and one marriage later, it looks as if life might finally give him a break. Albert is offered a job as chief of security at a new casino at a salary he has only dreamed of. Not that his dreams were ever very grand. Of course, not everyone in town is equally happy. Albert can live with the death threats. And the bombings. Even a dead body provides some professional excitement. He can take his father's tirades about selling out and he can cope with his girlfriend, Rickie, losing her business--at least he's always been a good friend to her son, Jack. What bothers him is that he might have to arrest one of them for murder. Lopez throws his irresistible characters into the whirlwind that threatens to destroy the increasingly fragile world of Harbor Light, and makes us care both for them and for what they tell us about getting from one day to the next. As Albert realizes, you can get to your future only by way of your past.

In the Clear

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Houghton, mifflin, harcourt

An intimate portrait of gifted violinist Nathaniel Ayers traces his promising education at Juilliard, his struggles with schizophrenia, and the factors that led to his homelessness in Los Angeles, circumstances that prompted their friendship and the author's efforts to improve the musician's life in spite of numerous setbacks.

The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Putnam Adult

Now a major motion picture-"An intimate portrait of mental illness, of atrocious social neglect, and the struggle to resurrect a fallen prodigy." (Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down) This is the true story of journalist Steve Lopez's discovery of Nathaniel Ayers, a former classical bass student at Julliard, playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles' Skid Row. Deeply affected by the beauty of Ayers's music, Lopez took it upon himself to change the prodigy's life-only to find that their relationship has had a profound change on his own life.

The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Mti)

Humor & Entertainment

BERKLEY

The New York Times bestselling true story that inspired the major motion picture—an “unforgettable tale of hope, heart and humanity”(People). Journalist Steve Lopez discovered of Nathaniel Ayers, a former classical bass student at Julliard, playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’s Skid Row. Deeply affected by the beauty of Ayers’s music, Lopez took it upon himself to change the prodigy's life—only to find that their relationship would have a profound change on his own. “An intimate portrait of mental illness, of atrocious social neglect, and the struggle to resurrect a fallen prodigy.”—Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

A beautiful prosecutor and a former FBI agent become partners in work and romance to put an end to the last remnants of an old Philadelphia political machine responsible for a prostitution ring, campaign fraud, and other dirty dealings. Original.

Sunday Macaroni Club

Contemporary

Signet

An inspiring sports memoir from the family who captured America?s heart at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Lopez family set new records at the Beijing Olympics with three siblings on the same U.S. taekwondo team?and a fourth sibling as their coach. Mark took the silver medal, and Steven and Diana both brought home the bronze, with big brother Jean coaching them to victory. Here, for the first time, is the inspiring story of a family united behind a dream. In 1972 Julio Lopez and his wife Ondina emigrated from Nicaragua, hoping for a better life for their family in America. In an atmosphere of love, support, mutual respect, and healthy competition, their children trained hard in taekwondo, daring to dream they might reach the pinnacle of their athletic field in the Olympics. Told in turn by Steven, Mark, Diana, and Jean, this is the incredible story of how one close-knit family?s boundless determination and rock-solid support system took them from their home in Texas to Olympic glory in Beijing.

Family Power: The True Story of How "The First Family of Taekwondo" Made Olympic History

López, Diana

Lopez, Jean

Lopez, Mark

Community & Culture

Celebra

A beautiful prosecutor and a former FBI agent become partners in work and romance to put an end to the last remnants of an old Philadelphia political machine responsible for a prostitution ring, campaign fraud, and other dirty dealings. Reprint.

Genre Fiction

Plume

the soloist

When Steve Lopez sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles' skid row, he finds it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years ago, Ayers was a promising student at Julliard - ambitious, charming and hugely talented - until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless and paranoid, but glimmers of his earlier brilliance are still there. Over time, the two men form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayer's life. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. Their friendship will changes both of their lives in ways that neither could predict. Poignant and ultimately hopeful, "The Soloist" is a beautifully told story of devotion in the face of seemingly unbeatable challenges, and the inspiring power of music.

The Soloist

Black Swan.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lopez, Steve. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lopez, Steve

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lopez, Steve. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Third and Indiana: A Novel

The Sunday Macaroni Club: A Novel

In the Clear

The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music

The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Mti)

The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music

Sunday Macaroni Club

Family Power: The True Story of How "The First Family of Taekwondo" Made Olympic History

Sunday Macaroni Club

The Soloist