Biographies & Memoirs - Books

Cos'è un intellettuale

Biographies & Memoirs

In occasione dell’intervista di Marco Belpoliti a Javier Cercas per l’uscita in Italia di Il sovrano delle ombre, lo scrittore spagnolo riflette sul ruolo dell’intellettuale oggi: «Come persona posso essere codardo, ragionevole, ma come scrittore non posso esserlo» dice Cercas. «Scrittore coraggioso è un pleonasmo. Scrittore codardo è un ossimoro.»

Inspire

Biographies & Memoirs

The latest adventure from bestselling author Ben Fogle explores what we can learn from nature about living well and living wild.What can rowing across the Atlantic teach us about boredom and about patience?Can coming down from Everest take more resilience than climbing up in the first place?How can the isolation of the South Pole highlight what’s most important? And how can we tap into the same reflective state in our daily lives?Writing during the unprecedented period of the coronavirus pandemic and drawing on a wealth of personal stories, Ben reflects on the significance of nature to all our lives and shows us how we can benefit from living a little more wild.Drawing on his greatest adventures, he shares what his time spent in the wilderness has taught him about life. Ranging across seas, icecaps, jungles and deserts, Ben’s stories are filled with wonder and struggle, with animals, adventure, wilderness, friendships, unexpected acts of kindness and heroism, and are bursting with inspiration directly from nature. Ben’s epic stories reveal a new side to his adventures and show how everyone can find meaning in the wilderness, even if it’s just outside their front door.Full of exciting adventures and practical guidance, this primer on positivity is a story about overcoming obstacles, surpassing your expectations and inspiring your journey of adventure.Reviews‘Excellent’ The Times‘Explores what we can all gain from living wild, while reflecting on meaningful encounters with nature’ Sunday Express S magazinePraise for Ben Fogle‘A peak performance from our favourite adventurer’ Telegraph‘Ben Fogle has achieved something noble and profound’ Guardian‘Written with wit and affection, this light-hearted, yetstirring narrative entertains and inspires with equal measure’ Countryside Magazine‘Funny, entertaining and really rather inspiring, too’ Daily Mail'A great escapade told with refreshing frankness' Independent on Sunday‘Passionate and well-researched’ Tatler‘Fogle's typical adventure-style storytelling keeps the narrative light and entertaining’ IndependentAbout the authorBEN FOGLE is a broadcaster and traveller. A modern-day nomad and journeyman, he has travelled to more than 100 countries and accomplished amazing feats from swimming with crocodiles to rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean; from crossing Antarctica on foot to surviving a year as a castaway on a remote Hebridean island; not to mention summiting Mt Everest. Ben is the adventurer next door, an everyday guy who hopes to inspire ordinary people to pursue the extraordinary. He is the UN Patron of the Wilderness.

Vita di Samuel Johnson

Biographies & Memoirs

Marcel Schwob ha scritto che se Boswell fosse riuscito a concentrare in dieci pagine la sua monumentale "Vita di Samuel Johnson", avrebbe dato alla luce l’opera d’arte tanto attesa. Quasi raccogliendo la sfida, Giorgio Manganelli scrisse nel 1961 questo trattatello, che rappresenta una stupefacente ‘biografia sintetica’ e insieme un geniale ritratto collettivo dove – sullo sfondo di una Londra torva e sordida, ma amatissima – accanto a Johnson figurano i suoi più cari amici: Richard Savage, scrittore fallito, sregolato e ribaldo, Topham Beauclerk, ilare e irresponsabile libertino, e naturalmente James Boswell, autore di un «calco letterario fedele fino alla allucinazione» del modo di essere del Dottore. Uomini dalla prensile passionalità, capaci di offrirgli un’immagine già vissuta e intellettualizzabile dell’esistenza: l’ideale per lui, che ambiva a essere «esperto e incorrotto». Ma il Johnson di Manganelli è ancora di più: il primo eroe di una civiltà di massa, un divo ammirato e amato per il fatto stesso di esistere, di conglomerare con la sua bizzarria e la sua sarcastica conversazione ascoltatori e spettatori. Ed è, anche, un perturbante alter ego, soprattutto laddove di Johnson ci appare il lato più segreto: la malinconia, l’ipocondria, l’infelicità, fieramente combattute con il lavoro, con «i doveri dell’intelligenza, presidio della chiarezza interiore e dunque della moralità».

Con Kubrick

Biographies & Memoirs

Nel gennaio del 1999, mentre stava terminando il montaggio di Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick telefonò a Michael Herr, con cui aveva sceneggiato Full Metal Jacket, e disse che sarebbe stato felice di fare una lunga intervista con lui in occasione dell'uscita del film. Si erano conosciuti nel 1980 e per anni avevano scritto insieme quello che è ritenuto da molti il più grande film di guerra di tutti i tempi, ma la loro amicizia era durata ben oltre Full Metal Jacket, e quando l'improvvisa morte di Kubrick impedì l'intervista che aveva chiesto, Michael Herr scrisse al suo posto questo libro furioso e malinconico, la storia di quell'amicizia e di quel capolavoro. Nel tratteggiare la figura di Kubrick, Herr si propose di confutare la trita mitologia che lo circondava, sostituendo all'icona minacciosa del regista folle e misantropo il ritratto di un uomo pieno di calore umano, leale, appassionato e infinitamente curioso. Con Kubrick è uno sguardo privilegiato e definitivo sul regista che ha cambiato per sempre il cinema contemporaneo, e sull'uomo, complicato e spesso frainteso, che si teneva nascosto dietro l'immagine dell'artista.

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff: Ein Leben in Briefen

Biographies & Memoirs

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff in Briefen: Lernen Sie die große Dichterin des 19. Jahrhunderts ganz privat kennen. Erfahren Sie mehr über die Bökendorfer Intrige gegen die junge Annette, über ihre Zweifel, Träume und Erfolgserlebnisse, über den mutigen Schritt der Dichterin in die Öffentlichkeit. Lauschen Sie ihren Gesprächen mit Freundinnen und Freunden, besuchen Sie ihre Wohnorte, blättern Sie in Bildergalerien und in einer Erstausgabe eines ihrer Bücher und sehen Sie sich die Route ihrer letzten Reise auf einer interaktiven Karte an.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Biographies & Memoirs

Harriet Jacobs's slave narrative is remarkable for its candid exposure of the sexual abuse suffered by slaves at the hands of their owners. Her sufferings, and eventual escape to the North, are described in vivid detail. This edition also includes her brother's short memoir, 'A True Tale of Slavery'.

Iaiá Garcia

Biographies & Memoirs

Luís Garcia era funcionário público. Desde 1860 elegera no lugar menos povoado de Santa Teresa uma habitação modesta, onde se meteu a si e a sua viuvez. Não era frade, mas queria como eles a solidão e o sossego. A solidão não era absoluta, nem o sossêgo ininterrupto; mas eram sempre maiores e mais certos que cá embaixo. Os frades que, na puerícia da cidade, se tinham alojado nas outras colinas, desciam muita vez, ou quando o exigia o sacro ministério, ou quando o governo precisava da espada canônica, e as ocasiões não eram raras; mas geralmente em derredor de suas casas não ia soar a voz da labutação civil.

The Life of Olaudah Equiano

Biographies & Memoirs

A remarkable account of early slavery and later freedom,The Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, Written By Himself, is the 1789 autobiography of former slave Olaudah Equiano. This memoir is a slave narrative, travel tale, and spiritual journey all-in-one. His life is a tale of terror as well as an exciting adventure.This fascinating account describes Equiano's abduction from Africa at the age of ten and the years spent in labor on slave ships. It documents his attempts at becoming an independent man through his study of the Bible, and his eventual success in gaining his own freedom in 1766. What follows is success in business, in literacy, and a move to becoming an influential African advocate of abolishing the slave trade in Britain during the late 18th century. Equiano’s degraded youth and respected later life in England is told with verve and sophistication in this spirited quest for fulfillment.A real masterpiece and a book of historical importance, the book was one of the first widely read slave narratives and was a precursor to other such slave narratives as that of Frederick Douglass. The work has proven so influential in the study of African and African-American literature that it is frequently taught in both English literature and history classrooms in universities.

Jeff Buckley

Biographies & Memoirs

The journals, notebooks, musings, and early song drafts of Jeff Buckley, the late singer best-known for the definitive version of "Hallelujah" and his classic album Grace, including dozens of evocative photos of his personal effects and ephemera.After the release of his acclaimed debut album, Grace, in 1994, Jeff Buckley quickly established himself as one of the decade's most defining talents in pop music: a singer, guitarist, and songwriter with a multi-octave range whose tastes took in rock, blues, jazz, hardcore, Qawwali music, and even show tunes. Hailed by the likes of Bono, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant, Grace showcased Buckley's voice, passion, and influences and pointed to an inordinately promising future. Three short years later, at the age of thirty, he tragically drowned in Memphis. But his legend and stature have only grown since; in recent years, everyone from Adele to Coldplay to Radiohead has spoken of the impact Buckley's music had on them.For much of his life, Buckley diligently kept journals recording his goals, inspirations, aspirations, and creative struggles. These diaries amount to one of the most insightful life chronicles any musical artist has left behind. Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice marks the first-ever publication of Buckley's handwritten account of his journey from his days in Los Angeles in the late '80s through shortly before his passing. Combined with reproductions of other memorabilia--including letters, notes, and unpublished lyrics--this book takes readers and fans deep into Buckley's mind and life.

Mon année en Zemmourie (III) - Femmes : mode d'emploi

Biographies & Memoirs

Qui est Éric Zemmour ? Devenu au fil de ses outrances médiatiques et de ses succès en librairie le chef des ventes d’une prospère boutique identitaire, il aspire aujourd’hui à diriger le pays. Comment cette ambition est-elle née ? En racontant l’année qu’il a passée en « Zemmourie », Hubert Prolongeau nous entraîne à la fois dans les coulisses d’une enquête épineuse et sur les traces d’un des personnages les plus controversés du moment. Drôle et très documentée, cette biographie pas comme les autres met à jour en quatre volumes les rouages intimes de celui que ses admirateurs considèrent comme le « Trump français ». Femmes : mode d’emploi Où le jeune Éric, journaliste en pleine ascension, découvre avec un écrit sulfureux sur les femmes le pouvoir de la polémique. Où l’on apprend qu’il serait passé de la théorie à la pratique lorsque sept femmes l’accusent de comportement inapproprié. Où l’on constate que ces femmes ont été peu entendues. Où l’on s’interroge, à l’occasion de sa réhabilitation de Vichy, sur le rapport compliqué qu’il entretient avec la communauté juive. Où l’on laisse parler ses amis, qui le dépeignent comme drôle, cultivé, sachant rire de lui-même mais « peu intéressé par l’autre ». Où l’on termine par un après-midi cocasse chez un fameux leader national.

Il tempo di Adriano Olivetti

Biographies & Memoirs

Un giovane giornalista, Furio Colombo, arriva in Olivetti dalla Rai, attirato dall’idea di progresso e di futuro che negli anni Cinquanta si respira a Ivrea. Ma il futuro in quegli anni è anche la musica dei Beatles e di Bob Dylan, è l’America di Kennedy e di Martin Luther King, dove Adriano Olivetti lo manda alla ricerca di nuovi talenti. Un percorso di vita ed esperienze straordinario, in cui la visione olivettiana assume una dimensione internazionale e si confronta con sorprendente lungimiranza col nostro tempo.

John A. Broadus

Biographies & Memoirs

John A. Broadus (1827-1895) was a founding faculty member and the second president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He preached to Robert E. Lee’s army during the Civil War and later wrote the enduring classic, A Treatise on the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons. A. T. Robertson called him "one of the finest fruits of modern Christianity." Charles Spurgeon deemed him the "greatest of living preachers." A. H. Newman described Broadus as "perhaps the greatest man the Baptists have produced."Indeed, the legacy of Broadus lives on today, reflecting a model author, teacher, preacher, scholar, seminary leader, and denominational statesman. This timely new biography, a collection of ten independently contributed chapters that address his work from various angles, presents Broadus as a shining example of balance, careful thinking, and biblical faithfulness in a season when Southern Baptists are seeking to re-establish a new consensus and move forward in the twenty-first century.

Chinas entführte Töchter

Biographies & Memoirs

Adoption, Menschenhandel und die Suche nach Gerechtigkeit zwischen China und den USA: Die neue Reportage der renommierten und vielfach ausgezeichneten US-Journalistin Barbara DemickWeit über die Grenzen Chinas hinaus ist die sogenannte »Ein-Kind-Politik« berüchtigt. Nachdem sie 2016 offiziell beendet wurde, zeigen sich längst die Nachwirkungen dieser Strategie zur Eindämmung des Bevölkerungswachstums.Barbara Demicks Reportage erzählt die Geschichte der chinesischen Zwillinge Fangfang und Shuangjie, geboren 2000. Sie sind nicht die ersten Kinder ihrer Eltern und deshalb ein Dorn im Auge der Behörden. Doch der Versuch, die Zwillinge vor dem Staat zu schützen, scheitert. Fangfang wird ihrer Familie entrissen und zur Adoption freigegeben. Von einer christlichen Familie aufgenommen, wächst sie unter dem Namen Esther in Texas auf ‒ unwissend, entführt worden zu sein.Wird Demicks unermüdliche aktivistische Arbeit die getrennten Zwillinge wieder zusammenbringen? Und werden sie sich wieder als die Schwestern fühlen, die sie einmal gewesen sind? Eine große Reportage über eine folgenschwere, grausame Politik und welche Auswirkungen sie auf die chinesische Bevölkerung und unzählige Adoptivfamilien hat.Barbara Demick ist eine renommierte und vielfach ausgezeichnete Journalistin und Autorin. Als Fernostkorrespondentin der Los Angeles Times, unter anderem in Peking, erhielt sie einzigartige Einblicke in die chinesische Gesellschaft und ihr Leid unter den gefürchteten Familienplanungsbehörden.»Chinas entführte Töchter« ist Barbara Demicks viertes Buch bei Droemer, bereits erschienen sind »Buddhas vergessene Kinder« (2021), »Im Land des Flüsterns« (2016) und »Die Rosen von Sarajevo« (2012).

Sangre y champán

Biographies & Memoirs

Una biografía absolutamente veraz que puede leerse como una novela histórica de aventuras.El extraordinario fotógrafo Robert Capa fue testigo de excepción de los grandes acontecimientos históricos y bélicos del siglo XX: la Guerra Civil española, el desembarco de Normandía o la fundación del Estado de Israel.Incansable viajero, jugador, bebedor y mujeriego, murió a los 41 años al pisar una mina en la guerra de Indochina, después de una vidaintensa y apasionante. A partir de entrevistas con personajes que le conocieron bien y de material de archivo, Alex Kershaw ha escrito una biografía absolutamente veraz que puede leerse como una novela histórica de aventuras.

True Gretch

Biographies & Memoirs

From trailblazing Michigan governor, Democratic leader, and national advocate for women’s rights, Gretchen Whitmer, comes an unconventional and deeply personal account of her life and career—“Not your nana’s ponderous political memoir” (New York magazine)—offering insights into her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, her fight against domestic terrorism threats, and her resilience in the face of extraordinary challenges.When Gretchen Whitmer was growing up, her beloved grandmother Nino taught her that you can always find something good in other people. “Even the meanest person might have pretty eyes,” she would say. Nino’s words persuaded Whitmer to look for the good in any person or situation—just one of many colorful personal experiences that have shaped her political vision. (And, as Whitmer writes, one that resonated more than another piece of advice her grandmother offered, to “never part your hair in the middle.”)In this candid and inspiring book, Whitmer reveals the principles and instincts that have shaped her extraordinary career, from her early days as a lawyer and legislator and her 2018 election as governor of Michigan, to her bold and innovative actions as she led the state through a series of unprecedented crises. Her motto in politics, she writes, is to “get shit done.”Whitmer shares the lessons in resilience that steered her through some of the most challenging events in Michigan’s history, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a five-hundred-year flood, the rise of domestic terrorism, and the fierce fight to protect reproductive rights.Along the way, she tells stories about the outsize characters in her family, her lifelong clumsy streak, the wild comments she’s heard on the campaign trail, her self-deprecating social media campaigns (including her star turn as a talking potato with lipstick), and the slyly funny tactics she deploys to neutralize her opponents.Written with Whitmer’s trademark sense of humor and straight-shooting style, True Gretch is not only a compelling account of her remarkable journey, but also “welcome reassurance that someone might be courageous and capable enough to run toward the fire” (The Washington Post)—a blueprint for anyone who wants to make a difference in their community, their country, or the world. It is a testament to the power of humor, perseverance, and compassion in the face of darkness.

Anne Frank Diary

Biographies & Memoirs

The Diary of a Young Girl (also known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, who gave it to Anne\'s father, Otto Frank, the family\'s only known survivor. The diary has since been published in more than 60 different languages.

Antoinette Fouque. L'irréductible de la libération des femmes

Biographies & Memoirs

« Penser en femme d’action, agir en femme de pensée », tel est le credo d’Antoinette Fouque, psychanalyste, philosophe, éditrice, cofondatrice du Mouvement de libération des femmes. On sait qu’elle a enrichi les sciences humaines, politiques, et le monde des Lettres de ses avancées théoriques sur la cause des femmes et la différence des sexes. Mais qui était-elle vraiment, cette audacieuse qui a osé infléchir le cours de l’Histoire pour inscrire chaque jour l’indépendance dans la destinée des femmes ? Mystérieuse Antoinette ! La suivre à travers les méandres de sa trajectoire c’est découvrir la combattante qui agit en femme de cœur, avec ses forces et ses fragilités, ses passions, ses contradictions. Une femme d‘honneur qui met au premier plan la libération des femmes, dont les hommes ne sont pas exclus. Une femme d’aujourd’hui qui a pensé pour l’avenir des jeunes générations. Et si Antoinette était encore plus grande que sa légende ? Grâce à des éclairages croisés, des souvenirs en rafale, et des témoignages d’ami(e)s d’Antoinette, Jocelyne Sauvard retrace pour la première fois le destin éblouissant de cette créatrice d’exception dont la voix inoubliable nous prend comme la musique ou le récit d’une histoire d’amour.

Silver Screen Fiend

Biographies & Memoirs

The instant New York Times bestseller from author, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a “heartfelt and hilarious” (USA TODAY) memoir about coming of age as a performer during the late 1990s while obsessively watching classic films at a legendary theater in Los Angeles. “[Oswalt has] a set of synapses like a pinball machine and a prose style to match” (The New York Times).Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships.Set in the nascent days of LA’s alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiend chronicles Oswalt’s journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way. “Clever and readable...Oswalt’s encyclopedic knowledge and frothing enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies, to cliché-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector” (The Boston Globe). More than a memoir, this is “a love song to the silver screen” (Paste Magazine).

Sinéad O'Connor: The Last Interview

Biographies & Memoirs

A significant collection of interviews with the defiant, controversial, and ground-breaking singer, songwriter, and activist throughout her turbulent career . . .“It’s not like I got up in the morning and said, ‘Okay, now let’s start a new controversy’.” -- Sinéad O’ConnorSinéad O'Connor’s music — both in her songwriting and in her beautiful voice —addressed both emotional despair and incandescent joy with glorious ardor. But she may have been just as well known for her outspokenness. This collection of interviews covers the entire span of O'Connor's career, from the early days to her last interview. From giddy teenager to seasoned superstar, she speaks candidly about her meteoric rise to fame, and recounts what happened when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on live television in an act of protest. Unguarded and unpredictable, O'Connor was a woman who electrified the globe: imaginative, opinionated, and eloquent.

Cartas da prisão de Nelson Mandela

Biographies & Memoirs

Cartas da prisão de Nelson Mandela é uma obra histórica: a primeira – e única – coleção autorizada de correspondências que abarca os vinte e sete anos em que o líder sul-africano esteve encarcerado. Lançada simultaneamente em diversos países, a publicação celebra o centenário de Mandela. Comoventes, fervorosas, arrebatadoras e sempre inspiradoras, as mais de duzentas cartas – muitas das quais nunca vistas pelo público – foram reunidas a partir de coleções públicas e privadas. O livro inclui um prefácio escrito por Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela, neta do grande líder. Um retrato íntimo de um ativista político que também era marido devoto, pai afetuoso, aluno dedicado e amigo fiel.

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