Biographies & Memoirs - Books

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Biographies & Memoirs

This powerful and unflinching memoir by young mother and fugitive slave, Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813 -1897), remains among the few remaining slave narratives written by a woman. The book was published in 1861 after Jacobs’ harrowing escape from a wicked and predatory master, under the pseudonym Linda Brent since having her true identity revealed would have jeopardized her freedom under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Jacobs describes her life as a young slave in North Carolina as relatively idyllic until her mother’s death when her mistress bequeathed her to a relative. She soon discovers the horror of her position and writes candidly of the struggles, sexual abuse, and fight for survival that female slaves faced on plantations, as well as the hypocrisy of the master-slave relationship. She recounts women’s efforts to practice motherhood and protect their children who might be sold away at any time. The book documents her life of servitude, her attempts to escape, and how she finally gained freedom to be reunited with her children in the North where she became an abolitionist speaker and reformer. This remarkable odyssey of her struggle for self-preservation and freedom was a passionate appeal to white Northern women as she sought to expand their knowledge and influence their thoughts about slavery as an institution. While overshadowed by the breakout of the Civil War, it has since been touted as one of the first important slave narratives written from the female perspective.

City Boy

Biographies & Memoirs

In den Sechzigern und Siebzigern war New York eine gefährliche, chaotische und turbulente Stadt. Es war die Stadt von William Burroughs, Susan Sontag, Robert Mapplethorpe - und Edmund White. Mit schonungsloser Offenheit, mit Witz und Eleganz beschreibt White in seinen Erinnerungen das Leben der Bohème dieser bewegten Jahre an einem Ort, an dem alles möglich schien. "City Boy" beschwört die lebendige Künstler- und Intellektuellenszene und die berauschende Atmosphäre New Yorks mit beeindruckender Klarheit, Brillanz und einem unvergleichlichen Gespür für den Augenblick.

Journal du voleur

Biographies & Memoirs

"Je nomme violence une audace au repos amoureuse des périls. On la distingue dans un regard, une démarche, un sourire, et c'est en vous qu'elle produit des remous. Elle vous démonte. Cette violence est un calme qui vous agite. On dit quelquefois : "Un gars qui a de la gueule." Les traits délicats de Pilorge étaient d'une violence extrême. Leur délicatesse était violence."

Cleopatra

Biographies & Memoirs

Emil Ludwig’s account of Cleopatra’s life is a brilliant psychological study of the Queen and those two men with whom her name remains forever: Caesar and Antonius. Instead of the eccentric amorous, the idiosyncratic author shows us a real and deep lover, a mother, and a fighter.

The Book of Ser Marco Polo, The Venetian: Vol. 1

Biographies & Memoirs

This is the first of the two-volume work by Sir Henry Mule, whose famous translation of Marco Polo's work has been one of the best-known versions since the 18th century. This volume begins with an overview of the history of the Mongol Empire, as well as that of the Polo family and their prior explorations as merchants. The work continues onto Marco and his father and uncle's setting out from Venice towards Acre.

The Thomas the Tank Engine Man

Biographies & Memoirs

The stories of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends have delighted generations of children and adults, but what do we know of the man who created them?A devoted pastor and family man, the Reverend W Awdry first started telling the stories in order to amuse his own children, with no idea that the characters would lead to a global phenomenon that now, seventy years after their first appearance, shows no signs of waning.In this fascinating and warm biography, prolific author Brian Sibley brings to life one of the most eminent children's writers of the twentieth century, tracing his story from his Edwardian childhood through his time at University and into World War 2. A convinced pacifist, Awdry was thrown out of one curacy and denied another, because of his beliefs. Never afraid to fight for what he thought was right, he argued with his publishers and his illustrators, demanding the best for his favourite creations - the trains and their friends.

Narrative of Sojourner Truth

Biographies & Memoirs

Truth's narrative is a powerful rendering of bondage, denial, and loss transcended by genius, family, and a spiritual base. It juxtaposes spirituality with moral turpitude. Truth was a freethinker who lived within a family of wretched circumstances in New York's Ulster County; she was a wife whose runaway husband had been beated into submission; a mother who reclaimed her only son from a brutal Georgia slaver; a person of principles who was duped by slavers and false prophets; and, finally, at 46, an orator, abolitionist, and member of the Northampton utopian community. As a companion to Truth's narrative, Washington presents a cogent, well-crafted introduction full of historical information that sketches a framework for understanding slavery as it was practiced in the Northeast. This slender book belongs in all literature and history collections.

LIFE Queen Elizabeth at 90

Biographies & Memoirs

Queen Elizabeth II has been called "A Queen for All Times." At 90 years old, she now has eclipsed Queen Victoria's 63-year record to become Britain's longest reigning monarch. She remains the head of state of the United Kingdom, and a group of 16 nations including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand call her queen, and she is the head of the British Commonwealth which includes another 37 countries, including India and South Africa. Throughout her life, she has enjoyed much happiness including a long and happy marriage to Prince Philip, four children, and Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees. Her reign has also been marked by much sadness, including the failed marriages of three of her children, the deaths of close family members and friends, and the markedly difficult death of Princess Diana, which took a toll on both the Royal Family and the nation.Now Life, in a new special edition, takes a nuanced and thoughtful look at the reign of Elizabeth at 90 and what her over-63 years on the throne have meant for her subjects and the world at large, including her early life, the years of World War Ii, her marriage and family, life ruling Great Britain, Windsor family values and much more.With dozens of stunning photos, stories, and analysis, Queen Elizabeth at 90 is a keepsake of both a life well-lived and an historical time on the throne, as well as a captivating collection for any royal watcher.

Mi sono innamorato della filosofia

Biographies & Memoirs

Qualche studente si è talvolta lamentato con me di non trovare nella filosofia risposte definitive, come desiderava. E la stessa cosa mi è stata detta più volte da varie persone, che respingevano la filosofia per le sue contraddizioni. In risposta, io citavo loro un pungente aforisma di Nicolás Gómez Dávila: "la filosofia è proprio l'arte di contraddirsi reciprocamente senza annullarsi"; e, aggiungevo, non solo senza annullarsi, ma arricchendosi dialetticamente proprio in questo contraddirsi. L'uomo può trovare nella filosofia quelle ali che gli permettono di volare molto in alto, e di realizzare, in questo continuo cercare, la sua vera natura.

Libraio per caso

Biographies & Memoirs

Ha fatto molta strada Romano Montroni da quando, giovanissimo, pedalava in sella a una bicicletta con un cassone pieno di libri. È cominciata così una straordinaria avventura umana e professionale, segnata dall'incontro con Giangiacomo Feltrinelli: nel 1963, a ventiquattro anni, Montroni è il direttore della Libreria Feltrinelli di piazza Ravegnana, a Bologna, e uno dei più giovani direttori di libreria d'Italia. È la prima tappa di un lunghissimo cammino costellato di incontri, progetti, idee, sfide, sorprese. E di successi. Nel 2005, poi, il distacco dalla Feltrinelli e l'inizio di un nuovo corso come consulente del progetto librerie.coop.Traboccante dello slancio, dell'entusiasmo e della passione che gli sono propri, in questo "ritratto del libraio da giovane" che è memoria e al tempo stesso romanzo di formazione, Romano Montroni si racconta; nel farlo, racconta anche una stagione culturale vista dal suo personalissimo osservatorio, la libreria: dai movimenti studenteschi del '68 e del '77 alla crisi dei primi anni ottanta, ai libri al chilo, ai megastore. E intanto, con un piede nel passato e l'altro, risolutamente, nel futuro, continua instancabile a trasmettere la capacità di "vendere l'anima" a nuove generazioni di librai.

O sentido das águas

Biographies & Memoirs

Tributário dos diários de viagem, este livro nos permite apreender a bacia do Negro por suas múltiplas vozes e cores em uma verdadeira imersão multissensorial. Grande afluente do Amazonas, o rio Negro se estende por cerca de 1200 quilômetros no território brasileiro. Às suas margens, florestas majestosas abrigam uma diversidade botânica incomparável. Quando as folhas e os galhos caem das árvores, decompõem-se no curso d'água, conferindo-lhe a coloração particular — um grande espelho âmbar a refletir as copas e o céu. Nesse ambiente em que fantasia e realidade parecem se confundir, a beleza natural estonteante encontra par na variedade cultural igualmente rica e complexa dos povos que o habitam.Resultado de mais de trinta anos de viagens de Drauzio Varella pela região, O sentido das águas é um percurso singular pela bacia do rio Negro, suas paisagens e suas gentes, reveladas aqui pelo olhar curioso e empático do autor.

O exercício da incerteza

Biographies & Memoirs

Relato franco da experiência de mais de cinquenta anos de carreira de Drauzio Varella, este livro é o retrato honesto de uma trajetória dedicada a um exercício de constante aprendizado.A medicina não é uma ciência exata. Seu exercício está sujeito a fatores imprevisíveis que variam de paciente a paciente — tendo sempre a finitude humana no horizonte. Essa parcela do imponderável é matéria para o relato de Drauzio Varella, oncologista que se tornou nacionalmente conhecido como um dos primeiros médicos a fazer uso dos canais de comunicação de massa para propagar informações sobre saúde e conscientizar sobre bons hábitos.O autor narra com sensibilidade e franqueza episódios de sua vida a partir do fio da medicina. Por sua prosa fluida, acompanhamos momentos críticos, como a pandemia do HIV e a epidemia de tuberculose nos presídios em que atendia voluntariamente, e outros celebrados, como a bem-sucedida campanha de combate ao uso de drogas injetáveis no Carandiru, que capitaneou.Estas memórias ultrapassam o registro biográfico ao fazer uma reflexão sobre a prática médica, que figura nestas páginas como arte que exige humildade, estudo, empatia e habilidade para atravessar os reveses do acaso.

Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank

Biographies & Memoirs

Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank• Vollständig verlinkt und mit eBook-Inhaltsverzeichnis• Mit einem Vorwort des Herausgebers und einer ausführlichen Darstellung der Urheberrechts-ProblematikHätte Anne Frank die Nazizeit überlebt, wäre höchstwahrscheinlich eine große Schriftstellerin aus ihr geworden. Ihrem Tagebuch vertraute sie diesen Lebenstraum an: "Du weißt ja schon lange, dass es mein größtes Ziel ist, einmal Journalistin und später eine berühmte Schriftstellerin zu werden [...] Themen habe ich schon jede Menge. Nach dem Krieg will ich auf jeden Fall ein Buch mit dem Titel ›Das Hinterhaus‹ herausbringen [...] mein Tagebuch kann mir als Grundstein dafür dienen."Den ersten Tagebucheintrag schrieb Anne am 12. Juni 1942, den letzten am 1. August 1944, vier Tage vor der Verhaftung. Alle Bewohner des Verstecks im ›Hinterhaus‹ wurden von den Nazis zunächst nach Auschwitz verschleppt. Im März 1945 starb Anne, ebenso wie ihre Schwester Margot, an Entkräftung und Typhus im Konzentrationslager Bergen-Belsen. Der genaue Todestag ist nicht bekannt. Anne Franks Tagebuch gilt heute als bedeutendstes schriftliches Zeugnis aus der Nazi-Zeit.Eine ausführliche Darstellung zur Urheberrechtsfrage findet sich im Vorwort dieses eBooks.

But Enough About Me

Biographies & Memoirs

“Breezy . . . juicy . . . irresistible” this memoir from a former Rolling Stone reporter is “as entertaining as the megastars she has built a career on profiling” (Entertainment Weekly).New Jersey in the 1980s had everything Jancee Dunn wanted: trips down the shore, Bruce Springsteen, a tantalizing array of malls, and, especially, her family. But one night she met a girl who worked at Rolling Stone magazine in New York City. To Jancee, who visited the city exactly once a year, New York might as well have been in Canada. But she loved music, so she passed along her résumé.Soon Jancee was behind the scenes, interviewing some of the most famous people in the world, among them Madonna, Cameron Diaz, and Beyoncé. She trekked to the Canadian Rockies to hike with Brad Pitt, was chased by paparazzi who mistook her for Ben Affleck’s new girlfriend, snacked on Velveeta with Dolly Parton, and danced drunkenly onstage with the Beastie Boys. She even became a TV star as a pioneering VJ on MTV2.As her life spun faster, she traded her good-girl suburban past for late nights and hipster guys. But then a chance meeting turned Jancee’s life in an unexpected direction and helped her to finally learn to appreciate where she came from, who she was, and what she wanted to be.Hilarious and touching, But Enough About Me is the story of an outsider who couldn’t quite bring herself to become an insider and introduces readers to a lovable real-life heroine.“An inside look at being a celebrity journalist.” —New Yorker“Disarmingly funny.” —People“Relentlessly readable.” —New York Magazine“Pitch-perfect.” —Vogue

Storia di Maria Antonietta

Biographies & Memoirs

Il ritratto benevolo di una regina sfortunata, Maria Antonietta, poco amata, spesso vituperata, per lo più considerata frivola. E tra le pagine il racconto di una corte e della Rivoluzione che segnò in maniera definitiva il declino dell’assolutismo e la nascita dell’età contemporanea.

Les cotillons célèbres

Biographies & Memoirs

Huit récits composent le recueil des Cotillons célèbres (1861), dans lequel Émile Gaboriau évoque de façon fidèle les biographies des maîtresses de Louis XIV et de Louis XV et met en relief l’influence de la galanterie sur les destinées de la monarchie en France….

Vozes da liberdade

Biographies & Memoirs

Vozes da liberdade é uma curadoria de títulos com histórias profundas e importantes da história dos direitos dos afro-estadunidenses. São biografias e autobiografias que fundamentarem a luta por igualdade. Conheça: 'A história de Sojourner Truth, a escrava do Norte', 'Relato da vida de Frederick Douglass, um escravo americano', 'Nos bastidores - Trinta anos escrava, quatro anos na Casa Branca', 'Incidentes na vida de uma escrava'.

The Spiral Staircase

Biographies & Memoirs

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The New York Times bestselling author of A History of God delivers the gripping, inspirational story about her own search for God. “A story about becoming human, being recognized, finally recognizing oneself…. It fills the reader with hope.” —The Washington Post Book WorldIn 1962, at age seventeen, Karen Armstrong entered a convent, eager to meet God. After seven brutally unhappy years as a nun, she left her order to pursue English literature at Oxford. But convent life had profoundly altered her, and coping with the outside world and her expiring faith proved to be excruciating. Her deep solitude and a terrifying illness–diagnosed only years later as epilepsy—marked her forever as an outsider. In her own mind she was a complete failure: as a nun, as an academic, and as a normal woman capable of intimacy. Her future seemed very much in question until she stumbled into comparative theology. What she found, in learning, thinking, and writing about other religions, was the ecstasy and transcendence she had never felt as a nun.

Cześć starenia! Cybulski we wspomnieniach

Biographies & Memoirs

Nowa, poszerzona o siedemnaście nowych wspomnień, poprawiona i uzupełniona książka Cześć, starenia złożona jest z opowieści o Zbigniewie Cybulskim (1927–1967), aktorze, legendzie polskiego kina, współtwórcy Studenckiego Teatrzyku Bim-Bom. Niezapomniany Staszek z Giuseppe w Warszawie, Jacek z Do widzenia, do jutra, kapitan van Worden z Rękopisu znalezionego w Saragossie – w pamięci widzów na wiele lat zapisał się jako Maciek Chełmicki w Popiele i diamencie. Ta rola zmieniła jego życie. Czy wyłącznie na lepsze?Był fenomenem, idolem swego pokolenia, obiektem uwielbienia. Już za życia stał się legendą.Zbyszka Cybulskiego, brata-łatę zwracającego się do wszystkich „starenia!”, wspominają jego bliscy, m.in. żona Elżbieta Chwalibóg-Cybulska, szwagierka Maria Chwalibóg, cioteczny brat Wojciech Jaruzelski, jego przyjaciele i znajomi z okresu krakowskiego, gdańskiego i warszawskiego, wśród nich Magda Zawadzka, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Joanna Jędryka, Iga Cembrzyńska, Lucyna Winnicka, Agnieszka Osiecka, Jacek Fedorowicz, Daniel Olbrychski oraz Andrzej Wajda, reżyser, który w Zbigniewie Cybulskim – młodym aktorze w czarnej skórzanej kurtce i charakterystycznych ciemnych okularach – dostrzegł Maćka Chełmickiego.Dzięki ogromnemu archiwum żony aktora i imponującym zbiorom autorki w książce znalazło się wiele dokumentów, pamiątek po aktorze oraz jego zdjęć prywatnych, a także wybrana korespondencja.Mariola Pryzwan – autorka m.in. złożonych ze wspomnień książek o Annie German, Annie Jantar, Marii Pawlikowskiej-Jasnorzewskiej, Haliny Poświatowskiej, Władysławie Broniewskim – przez całe swoje dorosłe życie zbiera materiały i wspomnienia o swym ulubionym aktorze, z właściwą sobie elegancją i skrupulatnością tworząc z nich jedyną w swoim rodzaju biografię.

Mao

Biographies & Memoirs

La biografía definitiva de Mao Zedong.«Este libro es una bombaatómica.»Donald Morrison, Time«Una obra magistral. Esta magnífica biografía destruye metódicamente cada pilar de las reivindicaciones de Mao. Unlogro.» Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times Book ReviewJung Chang y el historiador Jon Halliday, su marido, han escrito una biografía de Mao realmente sobrecogedora. Basada en diez años de investigación y en las entrevistas realizadas a muchas de las figuras que se movieron en los círculos más cercanos a Mao —y que hasta ahora no habían hablado— y con casi todo aquel que, fuera de China, mantuvo alguna relación significativa con el líder chino, ésta es la biografía de Mao más seria y acreditada que se ha escrito.Después de conquistar China, a partir de 1949 Mao tuvo el secreto objetivo de dominar el mundo. En la persecución de esta fantasía causó la muerte de 38 millones de personas en la mayor hambruna de la historia. En conjunto, bajo el gobierno de Mao perecieron, en tiempos de paz, más de 70 millones de seres humanos. La autora nos lleva a las sombrías estancias de su corte y nos deja observar el drama hasta en los rincones más recónditos. La personalidad de Mao y su relación con sus esposas, hijos y amantes salen a la luz por primera vez.Reseñas: «Pocos libros están destinados a cambiar la historia, pero este lo hará.» George Walden, The Daily Mail«Jung Chang y Jon Halliday entran en una crítica salvaje que, basándose en numerosísimas fuentes —incluidas las soviéticas—, acabarán por barrer las miasmas de engaño e ignorancia que todavía envuelven la vida de Mao a los ojos de muchos ciudadanos occidentales.» Max Hastings, The Sunday Telegraph«Un triunfo. Un asombroso retrato de la tiranía, la degeneración, los asesinatos en masa y la promiscuidad, una batería de bombas para el revisionismo histórico y una soberbia pieza de investigación. La primera biografía privada y política del mayor monstruo de los monstruos.» Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Sunday Times«Lo que Chang y Halliday han hecho es inmenso y sobrepasa, dentro del ámbito de las biografías, todo lo que se había hecho anteriormente.» Jonathan Mirsky, The Independent«Chang y Halliday arrojan una luz nueva y reveladora sobre cada uno de los episodios de la tumultuosa vida de Mao. Un libro estupendo.» Michael Yahuda, The Guardian«Una obra que pone de manifiesto que comunismo y destrucción son sinónimos, pese a la admiración que la mencionada ideología recibió y sigue recibiendo desde determinadas instancias académicas y culturales.» Alfredo Crespo, El imparcial

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