Biographies & Memoirs - Books

Letters

Biographies & Memoirs

One of The New Statesman's Best Books of the YearOne of Kirkus Reviews' Best Nonfiction Books of 2024One of The New Yorker's 'Best Books We've Read in 2024 So Far'THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • The letters of one of the greatest observers of the human species, revealing his passion for life and work, friendship and art, medicine and society, and the richness of his relationships with friends, family, and fellow intellectuals over the decades, collected here for the first time“Here is the unedited Oliver Sacks—struggling, passionate, a furiously intelligent misfit. And also endless interesting. He was a man like no other.” —Atul Gawande, author of Being MortalDr. Oliver Sacks—who describes himself in these pages as a “philosophical physician” and a “neuropathological Talmudist”—wrote letters throughout his life: to his parents and his beloved Auntie Len, to friends and colleagues from London, Oxford, California, and around the world. The letters begin with his arrival in America as a young man, eager to establish himself away from the confines of postwar England, and carry us through his bumpy early career in medicine and the discovery of his writer’s voice; his weight-lifting, motorcycle-riding years and his explosive seasons of discovery with the patients who populate his book Awakenings; his growing interest in matters of sight and the musical brain; his many friendships and exchanges with writers, artists, and scientists (to say nothing of astronauts, botanists, and mathematicians), and his deep gratitude for all these relationships at the end of his life.Sensitively introduced and edited by Kate Edgar, Sacks’s longtime editor, the letters deliver a portrait of Sacks as he wrestles with the workings of the brain and mind. We see, through his eyes, the beginnings of modern neuroscience, following the thought processes of one of the great intellectuals of our time, whose words, as evidenced in these pages, were unfailingly shaped with generosity and wonder toward other people.

The Comeback

Biographies & Memoirs

Franklin Roosevelt contracted polio in the summer of 1921, resulting in permanent paralysis from the waist down. One year later, he went back to work. Noted historian Geoffrey C. Ward, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Parkman Prize and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, who is himself a polio survivor, investigates the courage and character of the man who became the greatest president of the twentieth century. “The Comeback,” a selection from A First-Class Temperament, the second volume in Ward’s monumental biography that began with Before the Trumpet, is the story of one extraordinary man’s struggle to regain his feet and reenter public life. Before his illness, FDR’s political future had seemed bright. He knew that pity was poison, that if the public understood the extent of his disability his career would be at an end. Roosevelt, therefore, had to teach himself the impossible: how to walk—or seem to walk—again. This is that journey, following the future president from his disastrous attempt to return to his law office to his triumphant march down the aisle at the 1924 Democratic National Convention, where, leaning on his crutches, he delivered the triumphant “Happy Warrior” speech for ill-fated presidential candidate Al Smith and was hailed as a hero. It was FDR’s new beginning. An eBook short.

What Really Happens in Vegas

Biographies & Memoirs

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—until now. James Patterson shows the real Vegas in a dazzling journey through “lively tales of those who labor and dream in Sin City" (Kirkus). “Wild and wonderful…The magic of Sin City doesn’t just happen. Patterson and Seal tell its secrets in beautifully presented snippets that often overlap not just surprisingly, but charmingly too.” —Telegraph (UK) Las Vegas is on Luxury Standard Time: every clock in the airport is a Rolex. No dream is too big, no wish is too small—the VIP hosts in Vegas fulfill guests’ every (legal) desire. Jackpots hit when least expected. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has days to find a man who unknowingly won over $200,000 at the slots. “I love love”: the inventor of the Elvis impersonator wedding and the drive-thru wedding has performed hundreds of marriages—and believes in them all. Glamorous yogis take a helicopter across the desert to the Valley of Fire, where they perform sun salutations to the glory of Las Vegas. A gambling VIP “whale” loses $1 million at the casinos, yet still leaves saying, "Had a great time. I'll be back." In What Really Happens in Vegas, full of surprises for both newcomers and Las Vegas regulars, James Patterson and Vanity Fair contributing editor Mark Seal transport readers from the thrill of adrenaline-fueled vice to the glitter of A-list celebrity and entertainment.

Sailing Alone around the World

Biographies & Memoirs

Full of astounding adventures, Sailing Alone around the World is the true story of the first man ever to circle the globe alone entirely by sea. In a little over three years, Captain Joshua Slocum completed the feat many experts believed couldn't be done—and he has the stories to prove it. During his historic voyage, Slocum was chased by pirates in Gibraltar, soaked by a "rain of blood" in Australia, and battered by perilous storms in the open ocean. He also met many famous—and infamous—people along the way, from Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa, to Black Pedro, "the worst murderer in Tierra del Fuego." This absorbing tale, written with humor and poetic eloquence, was first published in 1900 and has remained in print ever since.

Rock 'n' Roll Love Stories

Biographies & Memoirs

The music world has seen some of the most iconic partnerships of all time: Sonny and Cher, Mick and Marianne, Elvis and Priscilla, Ike and Tina.... Rock 'n' Roll Love Stories looks at 14 of the best, taking us from the 1950s all the way up to the early 2000s. Along the way we see behind the public face of a whole range of relationships, from the straightforwardly romantic to the messily divided, and from the famous (and infamous) to those that were played out below the radar of public opinion. Engaging, vibrant, and full of detail, Rock ’n’ Roll Love Stories comes imbued with the energy and spirit of the music world over the last half century.

Independent Pasts

Biographies & Memoirs

Independent Pasts has a very large range of apeal. It is a must read for all motorcycle enthusiests, as well as an insightful look at the process necessary to patch up relationships that have wandered off track. The mother of the author insists that it tells an important story of the importance of good, strong adult male relationships (in a healthy way). Guaranteed to make you laugh out loud and shed a soft tear, this adventure filled memoir is an easy read that you will not want to put down.

Live Long And . . .

Biographies & Memoirs

Star Trek legend and veteran author William Shatner discusses the meaning of life, finding value in work, and living well whatever your age. "I have always felt," William Shatner says early in his newest memoir, that "like the great comedian George Burns, who lived to 100, I couldn't die as long as I was booked." And Shatner is always booked. Still, a brief health scare in 2016 forced him to take stock. After mulling over the lessons he's learned, the places he's been, and all the miracles and strange occurrences he's witnessed over the course of an enduring career in Hollywood and on the stage, he arrived at one simple rule for living a long and good life: don't die. It's the only one-size-fits-all advice, Shatner argues in Live Long and..:What I Learned Along the Way, because everyone has a unique life—but, to help us all out, he's more than willing to share stories from his unique life. With a combination of pithy humor and thoughtful vulnerability, Shatner lays out his journey from childhood to peak stardom and all the bumps in the road. (Sometimes the literal road, as in the case of his 2,400-mile motorcycle trip across the country with a bike that didn't function.) William Shatner is one of our most beloved entertainers, and he intends never to stop entertaining. His funny, provocative, and poignant reflections offer an unforgettable read about a remarkable man.

Exodus, Revisited

Biographies & Memoirs

The definitive follow-up to Unorthodox (the basis for the award-winning Netflix series)—now updated with more than 50 percent new material—the unforgettable story of what happened in the years after Deborah Feldman left a religious sect in Williamsburg in order to forge her own path in the world.In 2009, at the age of twenty-three, Deborah Feldman packed up her young son and their few possessions and walked away from her insular Hasidic roots. She was determined to find a better life for herself, away from the oppression and isolation of her Satmar upbringing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. And in Exodus, Revisited she delves into what happened next—taking the reader on a journey that starts with her beginning life anew as a single mother, a religious refugee, and an independent woman in search of a place and a community where she can belong. Originally published in 2014, Deborah has now revisited and significantly expanded her story, and the result is greater insight into her quest to discover herself and the true meaning of home. Travels that start with making her way in New York expand into an exploration of America and eventually lead to trips across Europe to retrace her grandmother’s life during the Holocaust, before she finds a landing place in the unlikeliest of cities. Exodus, Revisited is a deeply moving examination of the nature of memory and generational trauma, and of reconciliation with both yourself and the world.

Must We Burn de Sade?

Biographies & Memoirs

The famous essay that really kicked off the Marquis' restoration. First translated in '53. With numerous selections from his writings.

Il testimone

Biographies & Memoirs

Mario Almerighi, giudice in prima linea nella lotta alla mafia e agli apparati corrotti dello stato, ripercorre quarant’anni di storia italiana, tra delitti dimenticati e politici impuniti. Una storia che inizia in Sicilia a fine anni settanta, quando il magistrato Giangiacomo Ciaccio Montalto avvia un’inchiesta su uno dei clan mafiosi più attivi della zona. Montalto si ritrova presto da solo nelle indagini e accerchiato dalle minacce, e il 25 gennaio 1983 viene freddato da un commando di sicari. Da questo omicidio di un servitore dello stato che lo stato stesso non ha saputo o non ha voluto proteggere, parte una scia di sangue e malaffare che intreccia politica, corruzione e criminalità organizzata: la lotta tra le procure, il ruolo del giudice Carnevale, il famigerato “ammazzasentenze”, i legami del potere siciliano con il governo Andreotti. L’antimafia serra i ranghi, sono gli anni del maxiprocesso di Falcone e Borsellino, in risposta alla stagione degli omicidi eccellenti di mafia: Mattarella, La Torre, dalla Chiesa, fino all’emissario di Andreotti a Palermo, l’onorevole Salvo Lima. Saltano tutti i patti, lo stato forse si compromette oltre ogni misura: Mario Almerighi di quei fatti è stato protagonista, un testimone che racconta in questo libro, per la prima volta, la sua versione.

Lytton

Biographies & Memoirs

NATIONAL BESTSELLERFrom bestselling true-crime author Peter Edwards and Governor General's Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring, two sons of Lytton, the BC town that burned to the ground in 2021, comes a meditation on hometown―when hometown is gone.“It’s dire,” Greta Thunberg retweeted Mayor Jan Polderman. “The whole town is on fire. It took a whole 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to, all of a sudden, there being fire everywhere.”Before it made global headlines as the small town that burned down during a record-breaking heat wave in June 2021, while briefly the hottest place on Earth, Lytton, British Columbia, had a curious past. Named for the author of the infamous line, “It was a dark and stormy night,” Lytton was also where Peter Edwards, organized-crime journalist and author spent his childhood. Although only about 500 people lived in Lytton, Peter liked to joke that he was only the second-best writer to come from his tiny hometown. His grade-school classmate’s nephew Kevin Loring, Nlaka’pamux from Lytton First Nation, had grown up to be a Governor General’s Award–winning playwright. The Nlaka’pamux called Lytton “The Centre of the World,” a view Buddhists would share in the late twentieth century, as they set up a temple just outside town. A gold rush in 1858 saw conflict with a wave of Californians come to a head with the Canyon War at the junction of the mighty Fraser and Thompson rivers. The Nlaka’pamux lost over thirty lives in that conflict, as did the American gold seekers. In modern times, many outsiders would seek shelter there, often people who just didn’t fit anywhere else and were hoping for a little anonymity in the mountains. Told from the shared perspective of an Indigenous playwright and the journalist son of a settler doctor who pushed back against the divisions that existed between populations, Lytton portrays all the warmth, humour and sincerity of small-town life. A colourful little town that burned to the ground could be every town’s warning if we don’t take seriously what this unique place has to teach us.

Royal Love Stories

Biographies & Memoirs

Historically, many royal marriages have represented the unions of dynasties, with true engagements of the heart notable for their rarity. Yet royal couples could fall in love, and this book is full of surprises, from the undying love that the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, felt for his Tsarina, to the unlikely love that flourished between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Amongst them, too, are less happy loves of Crown Prince Rudolph for his 17-year-old lover, Countess Mary Vetsera, or, in the 1940s, of the Prince of Sweden, refused consent to marry the girl he loved she only became his princess over 30 years later. Bringing the reader right up to modern times, and touching, absorbing, and tragic by turns, these stories bring the glamour and the contradictions of royalty vividly to life.

Paul Ricœur ou la liberté selon l'espérance

Biographies & Memoirs

Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

Abraham: Or the Obedience of Faith

Biographies & Memoirs

F. B. Meyer (1847 – 1929) was a famous pastor and evangelist in England. He was a frequent speaker at Keswick and a friend of Hudson Taylor, D. L. Moody and Spurgeon. He was loved for his many writings, devotionals and Scriptural biographies which helped countless thousands grow in their love for the Lord and his Word. It is our prayer that Meyer's writings will similarly challenge and encourage you in your Christian walk. ABRAHAM, OR THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH is one of his classic Biblical Biographies. With great skill and insight, Meyer looks at the life lessons from this man of God and gives practical application for our lives today!

Memories of My Life (Illustrated)

Biographies & Memoirs

Sarah Bernhardt, named by her fans the Divine Sarah, was the greatest French actress of the later 19th century and is recognized as the first international stage star. She debuted in the title role of Racine’s Iphigénie in 1862 and built a reputation as a versatile actress with an expressive voice and poetic gestures. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, she pursued multiple careers, buying a series of French theaters to produce modern experimental plays while touring Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Canada. She also wrote, painted, and sculpted. During a 1905 performance in Rio de Janeiro, Bernhardt badly injured her knee, which finally required amputation in 1915. Despite her injury, Bernhardt performed on stage and in films until weeks before her death. In "Memories of My Life" she writes vividly and with apparent honesty about her remarkable life. "My life, which I had at first expected to be very short, now seemed likely to be very, very long, and it gave me great joy to think of the infernal displeasure that would cause my enemies." This illustrated edition contains dozens of photographs and paintings of her throughout her life.

L'Étonnement du voyageur. 1987-1989

Biographies & Memoirs

Dans le sillage de son autobiographie (Moi je, Nous, Somme toute) le nouveau "livre de bord" de Claude Roy fait suite à Permis de séjour et à La fleur du temps. Journaux intimes et carnets, articles, ces "journaux à ciel ouvert", poèmes à l'état naissant, cahiers de lectures, blocs-notes de voyages, et ces maximes que l'auteur préfère appeler "minimes", c'est un livre à la fois d'une grande variété et d'une grande unité. Portraits d'oiseaux et profils d'écrivains, observations de l'ami de la nature et perspicacité du moraliste, chuchotements du vent dans les blés ou de la mer sur le rivage et grondement des révolutions à l'Est, L'étonnement du voyageur accorde les sagesses de la solitude et les plaisirs de la sociabilité, le regard intérieur et l'attention à l'histoire.

Misconception

Biographies & Memoirs

In February of 2009, Shannon and Paul Morell were especially eager to bring a new life into the world. After years of infertility and miscarriages they had, in 2006, finally scrimped and saved enough to have in vitro fertilization. The result? Two dear daughters had been born, and six precious embryos had been frozen. They counted the days until they could transfer the six remaining embryos. Until the fateful day of February 17, 2009, when the clinic called. “The doctor would like to you to come in today…”Shannon writes, “Face to face with the doctor, I noticed that his face was gravely serious. 'There's been a terrible incident in our lab,' he said. 'Your embryos have been thawed.'A pause, as we both exchanged disbelieving looks, and he went on....'Your embryos have been transferred into another woman.'" The Morells have a story to tell. A cautionary tale of medical errors, unexpected miracles, sincere mourning, and grateful bonding with their son. Amazingly, theirs is also a story of joy-filled thanksgiving . . . a story of life—life that is precious, sacred, and treasured.

Erinnerungen

Biographies & Memoirs

Die Autobiographie des großen bayrischen Humoristen und Satirikers. Ludwig Thoma wurde durch seine ebenso realistischen wie satirischen Schilderungen des bayerischen Alltags und der politischen Geschehnisse seiner Zeit populär.

SONS & SHADOWS

Biographies & Memoirs

SONS & SHADOWS is a powerful exploration of the father-son bond and its lasting impact on identity and relationships. Author Axel Jordan shares his deeply personal journey of navigating the complexities of an emotionally distant father, revealing how these experiences shaped his understanding of love, trust, and self-worth.Through heartfelt storytelling and therapeutic insights, Jordan examines the challenges of healing and forgiveness-not just toward others, but toward oneself. This book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a guide for anyone seeking to break cycles, set boundaries, and build a legacy of love and self-compassion.SONS & SHADOWS offers hope, reflection, and a path toward growth.

Il signor Ikea

Biographies & Memoirs

L'incontro con Ingvar Kamprad, straordinario self-made man Tutto comincia come un classico racconto di viaggio: un reporter e un fotografo partono per il Grande Nord della Scandinavia, alla scoperta di allevamenti di renne, bionde valchirie e notti bianche d’estate. Ma quando il signor Ikea irrompe nell’azione, la storia cambia improvvisamente passo. Che cos’è la grandezza? E che cosa significa essere veramente grandi? È questo che continua a chiedersi il disincantato reporter attraversando la Svezia nella speranza di intervistare Ingvar Kamprad, il leggendario fondatore dell’Ikea. Mentre scorre l’incredibile storia di Ingvar Kamprad, diventato dal nulla uno degli uomini più ricchi del mondo grazie all’invenzione del “design democratico”, il lettore si ritrova immerso a sua volta in una favola. Una favola ironica e anch’essa “democratica”, popolata da gnomi invisibili, sirene in borghese, fantasmi in incognito e incantesimi a scoppio ritardato; fino al soprendente faccia a faccia finale tra il grande uomo e il piccolo reporter. Sospeso tra reportage e romanzo, ma anche tra nostalgia dell’avventura e satira di un giornalismo che ha perso l’anima, Il signor Ikea è un libro-caleidoscopio, che sfiora sorridendo tutti i generi senza fermarsi su nessuno. Un libro a doppio taglio, percorso, come un brivido d’estate, da un dubbio: che non solo nella forma delle cose ma anche nelle vicende umane ci sia un design.

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