Biographies & Memoirs - Books

Ero Bergoglio, sono Francesco

Biographies & Memoirs

Un reportage da Buenos Aires, tra immagini e parole, nelle stesse ore in cui il nuovo papa Francesco sale al soglio pontificio. L’autore parte verso quella “fine del mondo”, evocata proprio dal Santo Padre il giorno della sua elezione, per constatare quanto sapore di frontiera si respiri realmente in quella terra. E scopre una realtà sociale alquanto inquieta. L’Argentina è un paese che potrebbe sfamare oltre trecento milioni di individui ma che al suo interno contiene sacche di povertà assoluta. Un paese dove la delinquenza di strada è fenomeno comune anche nei quartieri più rinomati e dove il paco (la droga) miete giovani vittime. Nel libro vengono intervistati due parroci di periferia che, anche attraverso il contributo personale di papa Francesco, oggi si dedicano al recupero e al reinserimento sociale di questi ragazzi. Jorge Mario Bergoglio nel suo percorso, prima di provinciale dei gesuiti, poi come vescovo ausiliare di Buenos Aires e quindi come cardinale, è sempre stato vicino agli emarginati. Ha fatto della predicazione del Vangelo il cuore stesso del suo stile di vita. Uno stile sobrio, semplice, umile. Molti degli aneddoti riferiti confermano questa immagine arricchendola di nuove storie e curiosità. Numerose sono le conversazioni che l’autore ha avuto con moltissima gente comune e con i tanti amici del Santo Padre: i compagni di studio negli anni del seminario a Villa Devoto e quelli della Facoltà di filosofia e teologia a San Miguel. Quello che emerge è il ritratto di un uomo che comunica più con le azioni che con le parole, rifugge dalle teorizzazioni, e quando parla utilizza spesso esperienze personali, storie realmente accadute, perché è solo attraverso la testimonianza di vita vissuta che si può trasmettere la vera esperienza del Vangelo.

Mahatma Gandhi Autobiography

Biographies & Memoirs

Mahatma Gandhi Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth is a deeply personal and philosophical account of one of history’s most influential leaders. Written by Mahatma Gandhi himself, this autobiography chronicles his journey from a young lawyer in British-controlled India to the leader of the nonviolent resistance movement that changed the course of history. Gandhi shares his struggles, triumphs, and the spiritual and moral principles that shaped his life and mission. Through his honest reflections on truth, nonviolence, and self-discipline, this book serves as both a historical document and a timeless guide to personal growth and ethical leadership.

Patriot (edizione italiana)

Biographies & Memoirs

Il potente e toccante memoir dell'impavido leader dell'opposizione che ha pagato il prezzo più alto per ciò in cui credeva. Navalny ha iniziato a scrivere PATRIOT nel 2020, poco dopo l'avvelenamento che gli è quasi costato la vita. Il libro racconta tutta la sua storia: la gioventù, il momento in cui ha sentito l'esigenza di dedicarsi all'attivismo, il matrimonio e la famiglia, l'impegno con il quale ha sfidato una superpotenza mondiale determinata a ridurlo al silenzio e la sua ferma convinzione che non sia possibile resistere al cambiamento, che il cambiamento arriverà. Con dovizia di dettagli avvincenti, che includono anche lettere inedite dalla prigione, Navalny racconta, tra le altre cose, la sua carriera politica, i diversi attentati alla sua vita e a quella delle persone a lui più vicine, e l'incessante campagna che, con il suo team, ha condotto contro un regime sempre più dittatoriale.Scritto con la passione, l'acume, la schiettezza e il coraggio per i quali Navalny era giustamente acclamato, PATRIOT è la sua ultima lettera al mondo: un resoconto toccante degli ultimi anni trascorsi nel più brutale carcere al mondo, un memento dei motivi per i quali i principi di libertà individuale sono irrinunciabili, una pressante esortazione a continuare il lavoro per il quale Navalny ha dato la vita. «Questo libro è una testimonianza non solo della vita di Alexei, ma anche del suo incrollabile impegno nella lotta contro la dittatura, una lotta alla quale ha sacrificato tutto, compresa la sua vita. Grazie a queste pagine, i lettori impareranno a conoscere l'uomo che amavo profondamente, un uomo di integrità e coraggio assoluti. Raccontare la sua vita è un modo per onorare la sua memoria e ispirare altri a combattere per ciò che è giusto e a non perdere mai di vista i valori che contano davvero.» - Yulia Navalnaya

Pojken som överlevde förintelsen

Biographies & Memoirs

Thomas Buergenthal, professor i internationell rätt, är specialiserad på mänskliga rättigheter. Han är domare vid Internationella domstolen i Haag. Han är också en av de yngsta som överlevt Förintelsen. Thomas föddes 1934. Föräldrarna var tyska medborgare med judiskt påbrå som hade flytt till Tjeckoslovakien efter Hitlers makttillträde. Den nyblivna familjen tvingades så småningom lämna sin tillflyktsort och hamnade i ett getto i Polen. Därifrån fraktades de till nazisternas dödsläger Auschwitz. Thomas var tio år gammal. Det var sista gången han såg sin far. Pojken som överlevde Förintelsen är en oerhört stark berättelse om den lilla pojkens hårda kamp för sitt liv i Auschwitz och Sachsenhausen. Men boken skildrar också livet efter lägren. En månad före sin elvaårsdag befriades Thomas av polska och sovjetiska trupper. Han blev ett slags maskot för den polska Kosciuszkodivisionen och var bland annat med om slutstriden i Berlin innan han hamnade på ett barnhem i Polen. Därifrån smugglades han ut till Tyskland, och återförenades mirakulöst med sin mor. När Thomas blev äldre emigrerade han till USA och utbildade sig till jurist. Thomas Buergenthal är nu en internationellt känd domare och författare till ett dussintal böcker i internationell rätt och mänskliga rättigheter. Pojken som överlevde Förintelsen är hans gripande – och fantastiska – livshistoria.

The Years with Ross

Biographies & Memoirs

From iconic American humorist James Thurber, a celebrated and poignant memoir about his years at The New Yorker with the magazine’s unforgettable founder and longtime editor, Harold Ross“Extremely entertaining. . . . life at The New Yorker emerges as a lovely sort of pageant of lunacy, of practical jokes, of feuds and foibles. It is an affectionate picture of scamps playing their games around a man who, for all his brusqueness, loved them, took care of them, pampered and scolded them like an irascible mother hen.” —New York TimesWith a foreword by Adam Gopnik and illustrations by James ThurberAt the helm of America’s most influential literary magazine from 1925 to 1951, Harold Ross introduced the country to a host of exciting talent, including Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, Ogden Nash, Peter Arno, Charles Addams, and Dorothy Parker. But no one could have written about this irascible, eccentric genius more affectionately or more critically than James Thurber, whose portrait of Ross captures not only a complex literary giant but a historic friendship and a glorious era as well. "If you get Ross down on paper," warned Wolcott Gibbs to Thurber," nobody will ever believe it." But readers of this unforgettable memoir will find that they do.Offering a peek into the lives of two American literary giants and the New York literary scene at its heyday, The Years with Ross is a true classic, and a testament to the enduring influence of their genius.

Glanz und Untergang der Familie Napoleons

Biographies & Memoirs

Gertrude Aretz (1889-1938) war eine deutsche Historikerin und Schriftstellerin. Aretz beschäftigte sich insbesondere mit den Lebensläufen berühmter historischer Persönlichkeiten und veröffentlichte unter anderem Werke über die Familie Napoleons und Elisabeth von England.

Ogni tanto passava una nave

Biographies & Memoirs

Non è l’ennesima biografia di Franco Battiato, non è un libro di musica, tantomeno d’arte.Più che altro è una storia fatta di progetti in salita, di viaggi non sempre prevedibili e altre amenità varie, intraprese da due amici che hanno scelto anche di lavorare insieme su questioni molto pop e altre che non lo sono affatto. È la cronaca, raccontata e disegnata, di quasi una quarantina d’anni di ricerche, tentativi ed esperienze negli ambiti più vari: quelli della musica, della grafica, del teatro, del cinema e di quant’altro fosse al tempo necessario affrontare per trovarsi sempre più spesso coinvolti in un bel viaggio. Quello che conduce alla più personale delle ricerche, quella di se stessi.

Caterina

Biographies & Memoirs

Nell'autunno del 2009 la vita di Antonio Socci viene sconvolta dall'arresto cardiaco che colpisce la figlia, la cui vita rimane appesa a un filo. "La mattina di quel 12 settembre ero baldanzoso come un bambino e non sapevo che Caterina, la mia Caterina, doveva morire quella sera stessa." Quando il cuore della figlia si ferma, precipitandola nel coma e costringendola in un letto d'ospedale, Antonio Socci decide di aprire il proprio, di trovare le parole davanti al dolore incarnatosi nel corpo di Caterina. Sono le parole di preghiera e amore di un padre e di una madre, degli amici più cari e di tutte le persone che si sono strette - fisicamente o tramite le migliaia di messaggi inviati - attorno alla tragedia di una famiglia, nella ricerca di un senso che non tarda a manifestarsi. Caterina. Diario di un padre nella tempesta è la cronaca di quella condivisione. Il racconto di un viaggio attraverso le tenebre, nella speranza di un miracolo. Fino alla luce di un improvviso sorriso.

La regina che amava la libertà

Biographies & Memoirs

Una donna indipendente e anticonformista, una figura controversa e affascinante.Fin dal momento della sua nascita, Cristina di Svezia è destinata a due cose: a essere grande e a essere diversa. Figlia amatissima dell’impetuoso e colto re Gustavo II Adolfo della dinastia dei Vasa, viene educata come un principe, in aperta controtendenza rispetto ai radicati pregiudizi del tempo. Controversa e irriverente, scandalosa e geniale, Cristina scelse di disobbedire alle leggi di un mondo ancora troppo antico per accettare una personalità multiforme come la sua. Regina bambina a soli sei anni, assetata di libri e di cultura, trasformò Stoccolma nell’Atene del Nord. Trattò alla pari intellettuali e re ed ebbe tra i suoi maestri Cartesio, il filosofo più celebrato e discusso d’Europa. Rifiutò il matrimonio per essere libera ed elaborò il concetto di libertà per poter essere se stessa. Tutta la sua vita, sospesa fra governo, intrighi, passioni e meraviglie, fu la personificazione di un ossimoro. Il mondo però non la capì mai. Così Cristina preferì rinunciare alla corona e trasferirsi a Roma, città universale di linguaggi e culture diverse, dove fu seconda solo al papa.Annarosa Mattei narra il cammino di una donna che ha segnato l’intero Grand Siècle, il Seicento, con l’audacia di scelte imprevedibili, anomale, enigmatiche. Della mitica Cristina racconta le lotte, l’insofferenza, gli errori, per svelare come abbia recitato la sua difficile parte in commedia di regina senza regno oltre ogni convenzione.

Straw

Biographies & Memoirs

“Darryl has written a profound book on the meaning of celebrity, sports and manhood . . . a riveting and memorable account.” —David ConeFormer New York Met and Yankee slugger Darryl Strawberry has subtitled his autobiography Straw, “Finding My Way”—and his path was never easy. A National League Rookie of the Year, eight-time MLB All Star, and four-time World Series Champion, Strawberry’s baseball achievements were often overshadowed by his struggles off the field. In Straw, he tells it all: his boyhood in Crenshaw, Los Angeles; his rise to baseball superstardom; the high life and low life; his brushes with the law; his triumphant battle over cancer; his religious awakening, and his marriage to the love of his life.“Straw is the story of a guy who had two strikes against him in the middle innings of life and hit one out of the park.” —Reggie Jackson“Straw [has] the virtue of sincerity and of seeming profoundly felt. Its narrator emerges as a real and complex man: humble in the face of his failures, palpably hungry for redemption, and yet still capable of myopia and self-righteousness. You feel for him in a way you never did—at least I never did—when you were merely cheering and/or booing him at Shea.” —The New York Times“If you’re looking for an interesting book about a chaotically interesting life, Straw makes for good reading.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Born to Run (Edició en català)

Biographies & Memoirs

Tot va començar el 2009, en concloure l'actuació de Bruce Springsteen i la E Street Band a la mitja part de la Super Bowl. Va ser tan estimulant que en Bruce es va decidir a escriure sobre el que havia experimentat i així, sense saber ben bé què en sortiria de tot plegat i amb força discreció, posà fil a l'agulla i va anar filant-se aquesta monumental autobiografia. Ens descriu com va ser la seva infantesa a Freehold, Nova Jersey; una colpidora barreja de foscor, perill i poesia que va anar conformant l'imaginari de les seves cançons, tot conduint-nos al moment que ell defineix com el seu «Big Bang» particular: la primera vegada que va veure l'Elvis Presley al programa televisiu d'Ed Sullivan. També, amb sinceritat i humor, ens relata la seva lluita per convertir-se en músic, els seus inicis com a líder d'una banda, la formació de la E Street Band i tot el que s'amaga darrera la cançó «Born to Run», el seu himne personal. Aquest serà un llibre revelador per a tothom que conegui i gaudeixi d'en Bruce Springsteen; però és molt més que unes memòries d'una rock star llegendària. És un llibre per a treballadors i somiadors, per a pares i fills, per a amants i solitaris, per a artistes, monstres i per a qualsevol persona que encara no hagi descobert el riu sagrat del Rock & Roll, escrit amb el lirisme d'un compositor singular i la saviesa d'un home que ha reflexionat sobre les seves experiències.

El pez en el agua

Biographies & Memoirs

EDICIÓN 30.º ANIVERSARIOEl libro más autobiográfico de Vargas Llosa: la memoria del surgimiento de sus vocaciones literaria y política.«La escritura de Mario Vargas Llosa ha dado forma a nuestra imagen de Sudamérica y tiene su propio capítulo en la historia de la literatura contemporánea. En sus primeros años, fue un renovador de la novela; hoy, un poeta épico».Per Wästberg, presidente del Comité Nobel«Se escribe para llenar vacíos, para tomarse desquites contra la realidad, contra las circunstancias».La obra de Vargas Llosa se sustenta en numerosos acontecimientos personales que transcurrieron en su juventud. La difícil relación con un padre duro y violento, el nacimiento de la vocación de escritor como oposición a esa autoridad, los años del Colegio Militar Leoncio Prado, la precoz vida bohemia, la precipitada boda con «la tía Julia» o la existencia real de «la Casa Verde».Además, y a modo de contrapeso, conocemos la corta pero intensa carrera política del autor. Esos tres años que transcurrieron desde la improvisada movilización popular de la plaza San Martín en oposición a la política de Alan García hasta la definitiva derrota ante Fujimori.El pez en el agua es un libro cargado de experiencias que se nos muestran desnudas y sinceras, sin recurrir a la ficción, acompañadas tan sólo de la prosa hipnótica, reveladora y magistral de Mario Vargas Llosa.Críticas:«Entre nuestros contemporáneos, nadie mejor que el premio Nobel de 2010 ha sido capaz de seducir amablemente a una gran masa de lectores contándoles historias llenas de sentido con una prosa tan bella como eficaz. Y con un dominio de las estrategias narrativas que la evolución de la literatura del siglo XX instrumentó para superar la manera de hacer novela en el siglo anterior».Darío Villanueva«Sus libros contienen la más compleja, apasionada y persuasiva visión de la novela y del oficio de novelista de la que tengo noticia; también contienen el mejor estímulo que un novelista puede encontrar para escribir, un estímulo solo inferior al que contienen las propias novelas de Vargas Llosa».Javier Cercas, El País«Hay que leer El pez en el agua, un libro capital en su bibliografía en el que está la sustancia de lo que dice el jurado que le concede el Nobel: el Vargas Llosa que mira al poder desde dentro o desde sus orillas, yel que sigue maravillado y aterrado ante algunos de los elementos más sobresalientes de su niñez y de su juventud».Juan Cruz, El País

LIFE The Day Kennedy Died

Biographies & Memoirs

Fifty years ago, on November 22, 1963, in Dallas's Dealey Plaza, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated while traveling in a motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline. LIFE magazine, the weekly pictorial chronicle of events in America and throughout the world, was quickly on the scene. The Kennedys had been LIFE's story: Jack and Jackie made the cover in his sailboat before they were married and he was a fresh-faced senator from Massachusetts, and the White House doors had remained open to LIFE throughout his presidency: Cecil Stoughton's photographs of Caroline and John-John in the Oval Office, Jackie's tour of the renovation, tense behind-the-scenes moments during 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis--all of this appeared in LIFE. The famous Zapruder film, included here, first appeared in LIFE, after being acquired by LIFE's Richard B. Stolley. Stolley also interviewed at the time Dallas police, Kennedy administration officials, members of the Oswald family, workers at Jack Ruby's bar. Jackie's first conversation after the murder was with Theodore H. White for LIFE, and in it she told the American people, for the first time, about the Camelot her late husband had imagined. All of that is revisited in LIFE The Day Kennedy Died, including: • An official release of the unedited Zapruder film • An essay by Richard B. Stolley on how he exclusively obtained the iconic film for LIFE • An essay by Abraham Zapruder's granddaughter, Alexandra, who writes for the first time about how the film affected her family over the generations • Personal stories about where they were when they heard the news from Barbra Streisand, Maya Angelou, Jimmy Carter, Tony Bennett, Willie Mays, Sergei Khrushchev, James Earl Jones, John Boehner, Tom Brokaw, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alec Baldwin, Bill O'Reilly, Dan Rather and many more • Rarely seen photos from the TIME/LIFE archive of Allan Grant's photo essay of the Oswald family on the night of the assassination • A foreword featuring a conversation with historian David McCullough • LIFE's Theodore H. White's famous "Camelot" interview with Jackie (which she gave shortly after the assassination), as well as the story behind the interview and the words that never ran • A detailed look at 50 years of conspiracy theories, written by J.I. Baker, author of The Empty Glass The Kennedys: A LIFE story for more than 50 years, and still today.

40 Memoiren der Literaturikonen

Biographies & Memoirs

Die Sammlung '40 Memoiren der Literaturikonen' lädt die Leser ein auf eine fesselnde Reise durch die Vielzahl literarischer Stile und Themen, die von einigen der eindrucksvollsten Schriftsteller der Geschichte ans Licht gebracht wurden. Diese Anthologie bietet einen wertvollen Querschnitt durch die persönliche Welt der beteiligten Autoren, die von der Romantik bis zur Moderne reicht. Ob es sich um die feinsinnigen Beobachtungen eines Stefan Zweig oder die subversiven Gedanken eines Maxim Gorki handelt, jedes Werk ermöglicht einen einzigartigen Einblick in die Seele jener, die Geschichte geschrieben haben. Die handverlesenen Beiträge zeugen von einem bemerkenswerten historischen und kulturellen Reichtum, da sie die kollektive Weisheit und den künstlerischen Schaffensgeist der Autoren reflektieren. Von der scharfsinnigen Analyse Walter Benjamins über die gesellschaftskritischen Schriften eines Charles Dickens bis hin zu den nachdenklichen Erinnerungen von Bertha von Suttner, kommen vielfältige Stimmen zu Wort, die gemeinsam die weitreichenden Entwicklungen der literarischen Welt beleuchten und das Verständnis des Lesers vertiefen. Diese Anthologie bietet eine beispiellose Gelegenheit, unterschiedliche Perspektiven und literarische Ausdrucksformen innerhalb eines einzigen Bandes zu entdecken. Leser, die sich auf diese Sammlung einlassen, können nicht nur ein breites Spektrum an Einsichten und Reflexionen erwarten, sondern auch den intellektuellen Diskurs zwischen den bedeutenden Persönlichkeiten des literarischen Kanons erleben. Die Vielfalt der Memoiren eröffnet neue Horizonte und inspiriert dazu, den Dialog zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart zu erleben.

The Storyteller

Biographies & Memoirs

Historia o tym, jak tyczkowatemu dzieciakowi ze Springfield w stanie Wirginia udało się spełnić szalone marzenie. Mimo że dziś Dave Grohl jest znanym na całym świecie rockmanem, pozostał skromnym facetem, który wciąż zachwyca się siłą muzyki i z pokorą przyjmuje sławę. W gawędziarskim stylu – i z ogromnym poczuciem humoru – wspomina swoją pierwszą trasę koncertową z zespołem Scream, opowiada o czasie spędzonym w Nirvanie i tragicznym końcu zespołu, o powstaniu Foo Fighters, kiedy znalazł się na życiowym zakręcie, o graniu z Iggym Popem, występie na ceremonii rozdania Oscarów, tańczeniu z chłopakami z AC/DC, przypadkowym spotkaniu z Little Richardem, a także życiu rodzinnym, zwłaszcza bliskiej relacji z trzema córkami… Lista jest długa.Historie Grohla są pełne muzyki. Warto ich posłuchać.Ekscytująca uczta dla fanów, a także niezwykłe spojrzenie na ostatnich trzydzieści lat historii rocka.„Booklist”Książka szczera, skromna i pełna historii o wielkich gwiazdach… Miłośnicy muzyki będą czytać na zapętleniu.CNNTe wspomnienia czytają się same – ma się wrażenie, że to rozmowa w barze z przyjacielem, który jakimś trafem pracował z prawie każdym istotnym mainstreamowym i niezależnym muzykiem rockowym ostatnich dekad.„Pittsburgh Post-Gazette”Dave Grohl kieruje przekaz do ludzi stojących pod sceną: „W głębi duszy jestem taki jak wy. Ciężko zapracowałem na swoją dzisiejszą pozycję, ale miałem obsesję na punkcie tej samej muzyki, która kręci was. Ja też jestem fanem”.„Billboard”W tej świetnej i szczerej książce Grohl nie boi się opowiadać o wszystkim: od śmierci Kurta Cobaina po ojcostwo.Audible (ranking Best of the Year)

Anılar, Düşler, Düşünceler

Biographies & Memoirs

Analitik psikolojinin kurucusu Carl Gustav Jung, 1957 baharında 81 yaşındayken, tüm bir yaşam öyküsünü meslektaşı ve yakın dostu Aniela Jaffé'ye anlatmayı kabul etti. O güne dek yaşamöyküsünü yazması yolundaki tüm önerileri geri çevirmiş olan Jung, belirli aralıklarla düzenlenen söyleşilerde, yaşamının hiç bilinmeyen yönlerini Jaffé'ye anlattı. İki yıldan fazla bir zaman kendini bu uğraşa adamakla kalmadı, 1961'deki ölümüne kadar kitabın son biçimini almasına katkıda bulundu. Anılar, Düşler, Düşünceler, insan zihninin en büyük kâşiflerinden birinin, yaşamının en gizli köşelerine kadar uzanan içten açıklamalarından oluşuyor. Bu benzersiz kitap, kişilik, rüyalar ve fanteziler ile din konusunda tüm insanlığı etkileyen düşünceleri geliştirmiş olan Jung'un, ilginç ve bir o kadar da saklı kişiliğini kendi ağzından gözler önüne seriyor. Önce hayranı olduğu, sonradan derin görüş ayrılıklarına düştüğü Sigmund Freud'la ilişkilerine birinci elden ışık tutuyor. Carl Gustav Jung'un özyaşamöyküsünü, fotoğraflar eşliğinde ve İris Kantemir'in Almanca aslından yaptığı çeviriyle sunuyoruz.

In the Shadow of King Saul

Biographies & Memoirs

A lyrical autobiography in essays from a celebrated author, honoring outlier artists and other heroes and villains who inspired himIn the New York Review of Books, Joyce Carol Oates expressed her admiration for an equally prolific contemporary: “Among Charyn’s writerly gifts is a dazzling energy. . . . [He is] an exuberant chronicler of the mythos of American life”; the Los Angeles Times described him as “absolutely unique among American writers.” In these ten essays, Charyn shares personal stories about places steeped in history and myth, including his beloved New York, and larger-than-life personalities from the Bible and from the worlds of film, literature, politics, sports, and the author’s own family. Together, writes Charyn, these essays create “my own lyrical autobiography. Several of the selections are about other writers, some celebrated, some forgotten. . . . All of [whom] scalped me in some way, left their mark.”

Pappyland

Biographies & Memoirs

An instant New York Times bestsellerFrom the bestselling author of The Cost of These DreamsThe story of how Julian Van Winkle III, the caretaker of the most coveted cult Kentucky Bourbon whiskey in the world, fought to protect his family's heritage and preserve the taste of his forebears, in a world where authenticity, like his product, is in very short supply.As a journalist said of Pappy Van Winkle, "You could call it bourbon, or you could call it a $5,000 bottle of liquified, barrel-aged unobtanium." Julian Van Winkle, the third-generation head of his family's business, is now thought of as something like the Buddha of Bourbon - Booze Yoda, as Wright Thompson calls him. He is swarmed wherever he goes, and people stand in long lines to get him to sign their bottles of Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve, the whiskey he created to honor his grandfather, the founder of the family concern. A bottle of the 23-year-old Pappy starts at $3000 on the internet. As Julian is the first to say, things have gone completely nuts.Forty years ago, Julian would have laughed in astonishment if you'd told him what lay ahead. He'd just stepped in to try to save the business after his father had died, partly of heartbreak, having been forced to sell the old distillery in a brutal downturn in the market for whiskey. Julian's grandfather had presided over a magical kingdom of craft and connoisseurship, a genteel outfit whose family ethos generated good will throughout Kentucky and far beyond. There's always a certain amount of romance to the marketing of spirits, but Pappy's mission statement captured something real: "We make fine bourbon - at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon." But now the business had hit the wilderness years, and Julian could only hang on for dear life, stubbornly committed to preserving his namesake's legacy or going down with the ship. Then something like a miracle happened: it turned out that hundreds of very special barrels of whiskey from the Van Winkle family distillery had been saved by the multinational conglomerate that bought it. With no idea what they had, they offered to sell it to Julian, who scrambled to beg and borrow the funds. Now he could bottle a whiskey whose taste captured his family's legacy. The result would immediately be hailed as the greatest whiskey in the world - and would soon be the hardest to find.But now, those old barrels were used up, and Julian Van Winkle faced the challenge of his lifetime: how to preserve the taste of Pappy, the taste of his family's heritage, in a new age? The amazing Wright Thompson was invited to be his wingman as he set about to try. The result is an extraordinary testimony to the challenge of living up to your legacy and the rewards that come from knowing and honoring your people and your craft. Wright learned those lessons from Julian as they applied to the honest work of making a great bourbon whiskey in Kentucky, but he couldn't help applying them to his own craft, writing, and his upbringing in Mississippi, as he and his wife contemplated the birth of their first child. May we all be lucky enough to find some of ourselves, as Wright Thompson did, in Julian Van Winkle, and in Pappyland.

Mafia Cop

Biographies & Memoirs

He was one of the most decorated cops in the history of NYPD. From his "wiseguy" relatives, he learned the meaning of honor and loyalty. From his fellow cops, he learned the meaning of betrayal. MAFIA COP His father, Ralph "Fat the Gangster" Eppolito, was stone-cold Mafia hit-man. Lou Eppolito, however, chose to live by different code; he chose the uniform of NYPD. And he was one of the best -- a good, tough, honest cop down the line. Butu even his sterling record, his headline-making heroism, couldn't protect him when the police brass decided to take him down. Although completely exonerated of charges that he had passed secrets to the mob, Lou didn't stand a chance. They had taken something from him they couldn't give back: his dignity and his pride. Now, here's the powerful story, told in Lou Eppolito's own words, of the bloody Mafia hit that claimed his uncle and cousin...of his middle-of-the-night meeting with "Boss of Bosses" Paul Castellano...of one good cop who survived eight shootouts and saved hundreds of victims, who was persecuted, prosecuted, and ultimately betrayed by his own department. Full of hard drama and gritty truth, Mafia Cop gives a vivid, inside look at life in the Family, on the force, and on the mean streets of New York.

Destiny's Journey

Biographies & Memoirs

Destiny's Journey is a memoir reconstructed partly from notebooks that Döblin kept from the time he worked in the French Ministry of Information in the spring of 1940 and partly written without notes in Los Angeles where he took refuge during the Second World War. It tells the personal and generational story of the flight of Jewish and anti-Nazi intellectuals from Europe to America, their fear and frustration, isolation, and inability to work. Döblin’s story differs from that of other Jewish intellectuals and artists in that his family converts to Catholicism in Los Angeles. Unlike most of them, he returns to Europe as an officer with the French forces and works on denazifying German literature. The conversion narrative bridges the departure from and return to Europe. To critic John Simon, “the latter part of the book often reads like a shrill piece of Christian homiletics. But even this is not without interest, as it traces the transformation of an anarchic outsider into a dogmatic insider.” “The first part of ‘Destiny's Journey’ [about] Döblin's departure from Paris [in] 1940... is magisterial: acidly observed, saturated in telling detail, grimly comic and harrowing... with an exemplary introduction by Peter Demetz... an important, nourishing book” — John Simon, The New York Times

Biographies & Memoirs Books