Biographies & Memoirs - Books

The Fairfax Way

Biographies & Memoirs

The inside story on Canada’s most successful, below-the-radar company in historyEven those who have heard of Prem Watsa and Fairfax Financial probably don’t understand them. The company sprawls across more than 100 countries and is known for its complex finances—so complex, they once attracted a who’s-who of Wall Street short sellers who misread the company as the next Enron and decided it could be profitably pushed into an open grave. The hedge funds even had Bob Dylan lined up to sing at the company’s funeral party. Fairfax stared down regulators and fought back. Dylan never got the chance to sing.Watsa, now 75, stole a page from Warren Buffett in building a $45 billion global empire built on value investing and insurance assets. Its bold and creative trades are legendary, often moving against the herd and making billions while others lose their shirts. These days, the company is back winning billion-dollar bets, but away from the headlines. The Fairfax Way explores the lessons learned and why skies are now blue above a transformed company.In its 39-year history, Fairfax’s annual compound return of 19.2% trounces the S&P 500’s 11.3%. Lately, it is outperforming even Silicon Valley tech stocks and winning back an investor following. It’s time to get to know Fairfax better. The company’s holdings include strategic investments like Bauer hockey sticks, William Ashley wedding gifts, Sleep Country mattresses, Golf Town stores, and Seaspan container ships. If you took home Swiss Chalet chicken last week or went for steak at the Keg, you ate at Fairfax restaurants. It’s time to get to know Prem Watsa better, too. People long misjudged him as a recluse. Truth is, he simply always wanted to build a business, not talk to the media. After 40 years, he and his executives have finally decided it’s a good time to open up.For all the colourful dealmaking, billion-dollar bets, high-stakes hedge fund wars, Thomas reveals an inspiring story for our current troubled times. What emerges is that many people just had trouble believing Fairfax had the audacity to build a company culture based on the golden rule—treat others as you would have them treat you. The Fairfax Way captures the inside story of how a culture of treating people right can be a secret competitive moat to long-term outperformance.

The Early Life of Abraham Lincoln

Biographies & Memoirs

This book is a result of a thorough research conduct by the author Ida M. Tarbell. Tarbell's research in the backwoods of Kentucky and Illinois uncovered the true story of Lincoln's childhood and youth. She wrote to and interviewed hundreds of people who knew or had contact with Lincoln. She tracked down leads and then confirmed their sources. She sent hundreds of letters looking for images of Lincoln and found evidence of more than three hundred previously unpublished Lincoln letters and speeches.

Augustus

Biographies & Memoirs

”Vid den tiden utfärdade kejsar Augustus en förordning om att hela världen skulle skattskrivas.” Den kända inledningen till julevangeliet säger inte mycket om Roms förste kejsare. När han dog 14 e Kr var det romerska riket större och mäktigare än någonsin. Men när hans fosterfar Caesar höggs ihjäl i senaten, över fyra decennier tidigare, hade bilden varit en annan. Romerska republikens sista dagar var räknade, och den övermodige tonåringen hade svurit att hämnas sin fars mördare, den tidens mäktigaste män. Inbördeskriget var ett faktum. Den bästsäljande historikern och författaren Adrian Goldsworthy skildrar med stor kunskap Augustus dramatiska liv. Tidigare böcker av Adrian Goldsworthy som finns utgivna på svenska: Puniska krigen (2003), Kejsare och generaler (2006) och Caesar (2007).

Mad Girl's Love Song

Biographies & Memoirs

A biography of Sylvia Plath, a literary icon who continues to haunt, fascinate, and enthrall even now, fifty years after her death.On February 25 , 1956, twenty-three-year-old Sylvia Plath walked into a party and immediately spotted Ted Hughes. This encounter—now one of the most famous in all of literary history—was recorded by Plath in her journal, where she described Hughes as a “big, dark, hunky boy.” Sylvia viewed Ted as something of a colossus, and to this day his enormous shadow has obscured her life and work. The sensational aspects of the Plath-Hughes relationship have dominated the cultural landscape to such an extent that their story has taken on the resonance of a modern myth.Before she met Ted, Plath had lived a complex, creative, and disturbing life. Her father had died when she was only eight; she had gone out with literally hundreds of men, had been unofficially engaged, had tried to commit suicide, and had written more than two hundred poems. Mad Girl’s Love Song chronicles these early years, traces the sources of her mental instability, and examines how a range of personal, economic, and societal factors—the real disquieting muses—conspired against her.Drawing on exclusive interviews with friends and lovers who have never spoken openly about Plath before and using previously unavailable archives and papers, this is the first book to focus on the early life of the twentieth century’s most popular and enduring female poet. Mad Girl’s Love Song reclaims Sylvia Plath from the tangle of emotions associated with her relationship with Ted Hughes and reveals the origins of her unsettled and unsettling voice.

Cartas 1977-1984 (Tomo 5)

Biographies & Memoirs

Quinto volumen de la compilación de la correspondencia del autor de Rayuela. Unas cartas que pueden leerse como diario personal, autobiografía o cuaderno de bitácora de sus libros.«Odio las cartas literarias, cuidadosamente preparadas, copiadas y vueltas a copiar; yo me siento a la máquina y dejo correr el vasto río de los pensamientos y los afectos», escribió Julio Cortázar en 1942: una declaración de principios que mantuvo siempre. Con curiosidad permanente, Cortázar da cuenta de todos los aspectos de su actividad como escritor, de sus desvelos políticos y sus vaivenes personales, hace el balance del día, opina sobre lo que lee, lo que escucha y lo que ve, relata sus andanzas como traductor, como militante revolucionario o como defensor de los derechos humanos. Nada queda afuera: la Argentina de provincias, Buenos Aires, París, Cuba, Nicaragua, el boom de la literatura latinoamericana, la amistad, el amor, la muerte. El autor no cesa de asombrarnos con su humor, su lucidez y una inusual coherencia entre vida y obra. Organizada en cinco volúmenes que abarcan un período comprendido entre 1937 y 1984, la presente edición de la correspondencia cortazariana presenta más de mil cartas inéditas, recupera los fragmentos suprimidos en ediciones anteriores e incluye índices de obras del autor y de personas citadas. Una colección que parece estar escribiendo ahora, a nuestro lado «un hombre que jamás se aburrió un solo segundo a lo largo de toda su vida».

Apocalypse Never (resumo)

Biographies & Memoirs

Este livro é um resumo produzido a partir da obra original. A mudança climática é real, mas não é o fim do mundo. Não é sequer nosso maior problema ambiental. Michael Shellenberger tem lutado por um planeta mais verde por décadas. Ajudou a salvar as últimas sequoias ameaçadas do mundo, co-criou o que seria o predecessor do atual Novo Acordo Verde (Green New Deal), além de, juntamente com cientistas climáticos e ativistas, liderar uma ação bem sucedida para manter as usinas nucleares funcionando, assim evitando os famosos "picos de emissão". Porém, em 2019, enquanto se alegava que "bilhões de pessoas iriam morrer", o que contribuiu para uma ampla crise de ansiedade ― inclusive entre adolescentes ―, como ativista ambiental há anos, afamado especialista em energia e pai de uma adolescente, Shellenberger resolveu que deveria falar mais a respeito a fim de separar a ficção da ciência. Mesmo após anos da atenção dada pela grande mídia, muitos continuam ignorantes quanto aos fatos mais básicos sobre clima. Em boa parte das nações mais desenvolvidas, os picos das emissões de carbono vêm caindo há mais de uma década. O mesmo ocorre quanto aos números de mortes causadas por condições climáticas extremas, que tiveram uma queda de 80% nos últimos quarenta anos, inclusive em nações mais pobres. Além disso, o risco de um superaquecimento da Terra tem se tornado mais improvável graças ao baixo crescimento populacional e a abundância de gás natural. Curiosamente, aqueles que são mais alarmistas quanto aos problemas climáticos também são os que tendem a se opor às soluções mais óbvias. O que está realmente por detrás de todo esse levante apocalítico ambientalista? Estão poderosos interesses financeiros. Há desejo por status e poder. E há, sobretudo, um desejo de transcendência de pessoas supostamente seculares.

A Spitfire Girl

Biographies & Memoirs

This WWII biography recounts the heroic contributions of a female pilot who flew Spitfires, Hurricanes and Wellington Bombers for the RAF. A farmer’s daughter from Oxfordshire, Mary Ellis fell in love with flying at the age of eleven, when she rode in a biplane at a flying circus. Already a licensed pilot by the time the Second World War broke out, Mary joined the Air Transit Auxiliary in 1941. As a ferry pilot, she transported aircraft for the Royal Air Force, including more than four hundred Spitfires and seventy-six different kinds of aircraft. After the war, Mary accepted a secondment to the RAF as one of the first pilots to fly the new Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first fighter jet. By 1950, she became Europe's first female air commandant. In this authorized biography, Mary and biographer Melody Foreman vividly recount her action-packed career spanning almost a century of aviation. Mary says: I am passionate for anything fast and furious. I always have been since the age of three and I always knew I would fly. The day I stepped into a Spitfire was a complete joy and it was the most natural thing in the world for me.

Granite Mountain

Biographies & Memoirs

A first-person account by the sole survivor of Arizona’s disastrous 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire—the inspiration for the major motion picture Only the Brave.Brendan McDonough was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a team of elite firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Their leader, Eric Marsh, was in a desperate crunch after four hotshots left the unit, and perhaps seeing a glimmer of promise in the skinny would-be recruit, he took a chance on the unlikely McDonough, and the chance paid off. Despite the crew’s skepticism, and thanks in large part to Marsh’s firm but loving encouragement, McDonough unlocked a latent drive and dedication, going on to successfully battle a number of blazes and eventually win the confidence of the men he came to call his brothers.Then, on June 30, 2013, while McDonough—“Donut” as he’d been dubbed by his team—served as lookout, they confronted a freak, 3,000-degree inferno in nearby Yarnell, Arizona. The relentless firestorm ultimately trapped his hotshot brothers, tragically killing all 19 of them within minutes. Nationwide, it was the greatest loss of firefighter lives since the 9/11 attacks.Granite Mountain is a gripping memoir that traces McDonough’s story of finding his way out of the dead end of drugs to the minute-by-minute account of the fateful day he lost the very men who had saved him. It is also a powerful reminder of the heroism of the people who put themselves in harm’s way to protect us every day.

The Mint

Biographies & Memoirs

Based on original edition first published in 1936 by Doubleday, Doran and Company, New York, and printed at The Country Life Press, Garden City, New York. The Mint by T. E. Lawrence describes his time in the Royal Air Force, working, despite having held senior rank in the army (colonel), as an ordinary aircraftman, under an assumed name, 352087 Ross. The book is notable for its sharp observation, for the insight it gives into Lawrence himself, and for the censorship issues around its publication. The text contains the frank cursing and rough language of military barracks. For anyone not familiar with the author's name, he's most famous as "Lawrence of Arabia".

Qué día más bueno

Biographies & Memoirs

Un mes en la vida de una mujer, escritora, esposa y madre de cuatro hijos que busca la estabilidad depositando sobre su lengua dos gotas de LSD.«Dos días después abrí el buzón y encontré un paquete. En el remite decía "Lewis Carroll". Dentro encontré un frasquito de color azul cobalto.»Hasta entonces, Ayelet Waldman había probado todas las terapias imaginables, de la farmacopea al mindfulness. Pero las tempestades anímicas que le provocaba su trastorno bipolar eran insoportables; marido e hijos sufrían con ella.Dos gotas del frasquito en la lengua y Ayelet se suma a la legión subterránea de ciudadanos que hacen un uso terapéutico del LSD en microdosis.Durante un mes, esta abogada, escritora y madre de adolescentes, lleva un diario sobre el tratamiento. En él también explora la historia y los mitos que rodean al LSD y otras drogas, así como la lucha bizantina que el Estado les antepone. El resultado es un testimonio revelador, tan alegre como fascinante.Críticas: «El libro más divertido que he leído últimamente.» Zadie Smith«Una mirada curiosa y exhaustiva a las posibilidades terapéuticas de las drogas ilegales. Un libro fascinante y profusamente documentado.» Nora Krug, The Washington Post«Un manifiesto lúcido y coherente sobre cómo y por qué la empresa racista e inmoral de la Guerra contra las drogas ha fracasado. Una obra apasionante y persuasiva.» Claire Vaye Watkins, The New Republic«Podría decirse que este libro es la particular guerra de Ayelet Waldman contra la propaganda que subyace a la Guerra contra las drogas, pero es también mucho más que eso y, sobre todo, mucho más divertido.» Rebeca Solnit«Un libro sincero, valiente y muy humano. Normalizando la discusión sobre el LSD, Waldman puede que un día ayude a otros a sentirse normales.» Jennifer Senior, The New York Times«Valiente, audaz, y por veces descarnado.» Francisco Martínez, FANTASYMUNDO

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Biographies & Memoirs

The sequel to All Creatures Great and Small continues the adventures of veterinarian James Herriot in a small town in Yorkshire, England After his first day on the job, James Herriot’s mentor warns him that the life of a country veterinarian is full of small triumphs and big disasters, but that he’d never be bored. From night visits to drafty barns during freezing northern England winters, to the beautiful vitality of rural life in the summertime, to the colorful menagerie of animals—and their owners—that pass through his office, Herriot experiences new challenges and joys every day. In these pages, Herriot trains under his eccentric boss Siegfried Farnon in a rustic English village, courts the woman that becomes his wife, and meets the people he would come to write about for a lifetime. “A very warm, very engaging read…. The reader falls totally under his spell.” —Associated Press “Humor, realism, sensitivity, earthiness; animals comic and tragic; and people droll, pathetic, courageous, eccentric….”—The Columbus DispatchJames Herriot (1916–1995) was the pen name of James Alfred “Alf” Wight, an English veterinarian whose tales of veterinary practice and country life have delighted generations. Many of Herriot’s works—including All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, and Every Living Thing—became international bestsellers and have been adapted for film and television. Though largely fictional, Herriot’s stories rely on numerous autobiographical elements taken from his life in northern England’s Yorkshire County, and they depict a simple, rustic world deeply in touch with the cycles of nature.

THE NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH

Biographies & Memoirs

The Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Sojourner Truth is a compelling autobiographical account of a remarkable woman who went from being an enslaved person to a prominent abolitionist and women's rights activist. The book is written in a simple yet powerful style, reflecting Truth's own unadorned and forthright manner of speaking. Through her narrative, Truth sheds light on the harsh realities of slavery, the struggle for freedom, and the importance of standing up for one's rights. The use of vivid anecdotes and personal experiences makes this book both engaging and thought-provoking, offering valuable insights into the 19th century African American experience. Sojourner Truth's narrative stands as a testament to the resilience and courage of individuals who fight against injustice and inequality, making it an essential read for those interested in American history and social justice movements. Sojourner Truth's unique perspective as a former slave turned activist brings a unique and powerful voice to the ongoing discussions on race, gender, and equality, making her narrative a timeless and inspirational read.

Sergeant Rex

Biographies & Memoirs

The thrilling and inspiring story of a US Marine and his dog Rex, a bomb sniffing German Shepard, who forged a bond of trust and loyalty while serving on the war-torn streets of Iraq’s most dangerous city.In Iraq we put our lives in each other’s hands (and paws) day after day. We took care of each other no matter what. Rex and I have a bond that will last for the rest of our born days. If ever there was a marine who lived up to Semper Fidelis, the motto of the Marine Corps, it’s Rex.Deployed to Iraq’s infamous Triangle of Death in 2004, Sergeant MikeDowling and his military working dog Rex were part of the first Marine Corps military K9 teams sent to the front lines of combat since Vietnam. It was Rex’s job to sniff out weapons caches, suicide bombers, and IEDs, the devastating explosives that wreaked havoc on troops and civilians alike. It was Mike’s job to lead Rex into the heart of danger time and time again, always trusting Rex to bring them both back alive.Dowling had turned twenty-five and Rex three just after they arrived in Iraq. Neither of them had any idea what to expect, and no training could fully prepare them for this job. An animal lover since childhood, Dowling had fostered and trained dogs for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and he was determined to serve in the military’s K9 unit after joining the Marines. On their first patrols in Iraq, Rex suffered a seemingly incurable fear of explosions and gunfire, but with Mike at the other end of his leash, Rex gained the courage to perform his duty.Filled with harrowing tales of knife-edge bomb-detection work, including an extraordinary baptism by fire, Sergeant Rex is a heart-pounding account of how an unbreakable human-canine bond helped Mike and Rex to stay focused on their mission and save countless lives. Dowling takes us into the searing 130-degree heat, the choking dust, and the ever-present threat of violent attack that seemed to permeate Iraq’s streets. We experience Dowling’s visceral fear of walking down an IED-laden alley where dismemberment or death can come with any footstep, only his trusted partner, Rex, by his side.Loyalty is one of the hallmarks of any good Marine, and nowhere is that quality more evident than in this astonishing account of Mike Dowling and Rex’s wartime experiences. A moving story of how a man and a dog developed complete trust in each other in the face of terrible adversity, Sergeant Rex is an unforgettable tale of sacrifice, courage, and love.

Walt's Disneyland

Biographies & Memoirs

Disneyland in Anaheim, California, is the only theme park in the world that literally has Walt Disney's fingerprints on it. He lived in his apartment over the Disneyland Fire House for weeks at a time. He was planning Disneyland years before he released his first feature film, Snow White. He was focused on improving the Park in the final days of his life. Disneyland was truly his passion. Before Walt died in December 1966, he promised that Disneyland would keep changing and continue growing — and it has. Walt also promised that the optimistic, adventurous spirit of Disneyland would never change — another promise kept. WALT'S DISNEYLAND uncovers those parts of Disneyland that have remained essentially unchanged since he left us. If you know where to look, Walt’s pristine, unchanged Disneyland is still there, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. By uncovering the hidden history of Disneyland, this book will make your next Disneyland adventure a richer, more enjoyable, more meaningful experience.Author Jim Denney (the co-author of the classic Disney biography HOW TO BE LIKE WALT) takes you on a tour of Disneyland as it is today — from Main Street USA to Tomorrowland — and shows you where to find Walt's original Disneyland of 1955 to 1966. It's a journey into the heart and soul of one of the greatest innovators of all time, Walt Disney.

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter

Biographies & Memoirs

“A book that will leave no one indifferent, and no one affected in quite the same way.” —New York TimesA superb autobiography by one of the great literary figures of the twentieth centurySimone de Beauvoir's Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter offers an intimate picture of growing up in a bourgeois French family, rebelling as an adolescent against the conventional expectations of her class, and striking out on her own with an intellectual and existential ambition exceedingly rare in a young woman in the 1920s.Beauvoir vividly evokes her friendships, love interests, mentors, and the early days of the most important relationship of her life, with fellow student Jean-Paul Sartre, against the backdrop of a turbulent political time.

Dans les nuages

Biographies & Memoirs

Extrait : "Les pailles prirent naissance dans un modeste champ des environs de Toulouse et mes bâtons furent tirés d'un petit frêne de la forêt de Saint-Germain. Ma nature rêveuse me transportait sans cesse dans les plus hautes régions. Je rêvais le luxe, les voyages ; j'enviais les sièges dorés dont les pieds reposent sur des tapis d'Orient. Être chaise officielle eût été le bonheur de ma vie..."À PROPOS DES ÉDITIONS LIGARANLes éditions LIGARAN proposent des versions numériques de qualité de grands livres de la littérature classique mais également des livres rares en partenariat avec la BNF. Beaucoup de soins sont apportés à ces versions ebook pour éviter les fautes que l'on trouve trop souvent dans des versions numériques de ces textes. LIGARAN propose des grands classiques dans les domaines suivants : • Livres rares• Livres libertins• Livres d'Histoire• Poésies• Première guerre mondiale• Jeunesse• Policier

The Girl from the Metropol Hotel

Biographies & Memoirs

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for AutobiographyThe prizewinning memoir of one of the world’s great writers, about coming of age as an enemy of the people and finding her voice in Stalinist Russia Born across the street from the Kremlin in the opulent Metropol Hotel—the setting of the New York Times bestselling novel A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles—Ludmilla Petrushevskaya grew up in a family of Bolshevik intellectuals who were reduced in the wake of the Russian Revolution to waiting in bread lines. In The Girl from the Metropol Hotel, her prizewinning memoir, she recounts her childhood of extreme deprivation—of wandering the streets like a young Edith Piaf, singing for alms, and living by her wits like Oliver Twist, a diminutive figure far removed from the heights she would attain as an internationally celebrated writer. As she unravels the threads of her itinerant upbringing—of feigned orphandom, of sleeping in freight cars and beneath the dining tables of communal apartments, of the fugitive pleasures of scraps of food—we see, both in her remarkable lack of self-pity and in the two dozen photographs throughout the text, her feral instinct and the crucible in which her gift for giving voice to a nation of survivors was forged.“From heartrending facts Petrushevskaya concocts a humorous and lyrical account of the toughest childhood and youth imaginable. . . . It [belongs] alongside the classic stories of humanity’s beloved plucky child heroes: Edith Piaf, Charlie Chaplin, the Artful Dodger, Gavroche, David Copperfield. . . . The child is irresistible and so is the adult narrator who creates a poignant portrait from the rags and riches of her memory.” —Anna Summers, from the Introduction

Capturing The Wry

Biographies & Memoirs

Between 1993 and 1995 John Hartley and his alter ego Johny Nocash led the Irony Board(s) on a journey with an intended destination of fame and fortune. The paths of life do not always lead in the desired direction, however. Described at the time by renowned music journalist Martin Aston as "bittersweet, naive, hook-lined, captivating, unpretentious, clever - but not clever-clever - and deserving of more widespread attention", the Irony Board's tales of love, lust and signing on are recounted here.'Capturing the Wry' was originally published in paperback as a limited edition of 100 by i40Publishing.What the experts said..."Making music as a life choice is a rocky road to say the least. This book will find a home in the hearts of many." John Douglas and Frank Reader, the Trash Can Sinatras"Essential reading for troubled souls of a certain age." Johny Brown, the Band of Holy Joy"A swaggering walk down memory lane, when memory lane had proper concrete elephants." Marc Iles, the Bolton News"A bittersweet tale of indiepop stardom ulitimately scuppered by the need to eat." John Dobson, In Bed With Maradona"Great times, well-recounted by the people's poet Johny Nocash. I even remembered some of it." Andrew Kellington, drummer, the Irony Board150pp

Bismarck

Biographies & Memoirs

This landmark biography presents a vivid historical and psychological picture of the man of blood and iron, and delves more into the life and mind of Otto Von Bismarck than any preceding attempt. A fantastically detailed and authentic biography of the man who dominated European affairs in the late nineteenth century, Bismarck – The Story of a Fighter constitutes a must-read for those with an interest in Germany history.

The Game

Biographies & Memoirs

Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author and journalist, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the last decade—guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange—and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of this generation.

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