Biographies & Memoirs - Books

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Biographies & Memoirs

The memoirs of a brilliant and beloved Founding Father Printer, author, scientist, inventor, statesman, revolutionary—arguably no American life has been more remarkable than Benjamin Franklin’s.Penned between 1771 and 1790 and published after his death, the unfinished Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is one of the most acclaimed and widely read personal histories ever written. From his youth as a printer’s assistant working for his brother’s Boston newspaper through his own publishing, writing, and military careers, his scientific experiments and worldwide travels, his grand triumphs and heartbreaking tragedies, Franklin tells his story with aplomb, bringing to life the flesh-and-blood man behind the American icon.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

The Napoleon of Crime

Biographies & Memoirs

From the New York Times bestselling author of Prisoners in the Castle, a dramatic portrait of the master thief of the nineteenth century: Adam Worth “Fascinating . . . a brisk, lively, colorful biography of an amazing criminal.”—The New York Times (Best Books of the Year) The Victorian era’s most infamous and iconic thief, the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes’s Professor Moriarty, Adam Worth was known as the Napoleon of crime. Suave, cunning, and fearless, Worth learned early that the best way to succeed was to steal. And steal he did. Following a strict code of honor, Worth won the respect of Victorian society. He also aroused its fear by becoming a chilling phantom, mingling undetected with the upper classes, whose valuables he brazenly stole. His most celebrated heist: Gainsborough’s grand portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire—ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales—a painting Worth adored and often slept with for twenty years. With a brilliant gang that included “Piano” Charley, a jewel thief, train robber, and playboy, and “the Scratch” Becker, master forger, Worth secretly ran operations from New York to London, Paris, and South Africa—until betrayal and a Pinkerton man finally brought him down. The Napoleon of Crime is a grand, dazzling tour into the gaslit underworld of the nineteenth century, and into the doomed genius of a criminal mastermind.

A mulher em mim

Biographies & Memoirs

A mulher em mim é uma história corajosa e surpreendentemente comovente sobre liberdade, fama, maternidade, sobrevivência, fé e esperança. Em junho de 2021, o mundo inteiro ouvia Britney Spears falar, publicamente, em uma corte perante uma juíza. O impacto ao compartilhar a sua voz — a sua verdade — foi inegável e mudou o curso tanto de sua vida como a de inúmeras outras pessoas. A mulher em mim revela pela primeira vez a incrível jornada e a força interior de uma das maiores artistas da história da música pop. Extraordinariamente escrita de forma sincera, direta e humorada, a inovadora autobiografia de Britney Spears esclarece o poder duradouro da música e do amor — e a importância de uma mulher contar a sua própria história, em seus próprios termos, finalmente.

Délires

Biographies & Memoirs

Les délires d'Amanda " Mon secret de beauté ? M'asseoir à côté d'une moche. "" Je n'ai jamais couché pour arriver. Je suis arrivée pour pouvoir coucher. "" Quand je serai morte, on me datera au carbone 14 pour connaître enfin mon âge. " Artiste éclectique, Amanda Lear accepte volontiers le qualificatif de touche-à-tout, mais lorsqu'on lui demande de se définir en un mot, elle répond " star ". Virtuose de la repartie et de l'autodérision, elle fut tour à tour égérie de Salvador Dalí, amante de David Bowie, diva du disco et reine du boulevard. Malgré une enfance timide et complexée, son enthousiasme et sa curiosité de chaque instant lui ont permis de façonner le personnage à la fois drôle, élégant et mystérieux que tout le monde connaît.Regorgeant de piques et de répliques savoureuses, ce pétillant florilège rassemble aussi réflexions et souvenirs plus profonds, sous la plume aiguisée d'une fine observatrice de la nature humaine.

Twelve Years a Slave

Biographies & Memoirs

Quality ebook edition of this compelling and influential memoirs, an inside account of life as a slave in rural Louisiana, written by a Northern free man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. and sold into brutal slavery. This edition of Twelve Years a Slave features additional interesting and rare images relating to Solomon Northup, such as the actual "manifest of slaves" from the ship that brought him in chains to New Orleans. Now seen as a feature motion picture filmed in New Orleans, rural Louisiana and environs, this historic, gripping, and well-written account is presented by Quaint Press (New Orleans) using active and complete Table of Contents, linked notes, proper ebook formatting, and all the original illustrations from the 1854 edition (plus the added images). A book of this importance and interest deserves a complete and professional digital presentation. The film features Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Paul Dano, and Michael Fassbender.

The Life of P.T. Barnum

Biographies & Memoirs

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.Meet the greatest entertainer of the 19th Century…In 1834, desperate to create a better life for his family, small-time Connecticut businessman P. T. Barnum moved to New York City. With true entrepreneurial spirit and against all odds, he wowed audiences with his ensemble of musical spectacles, attractions and variety shows – often exploiting the vulnerable for entertainment value. A master showman, his crowning achievement was the world-famous circus, Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth.In this account of his life and work, written by the man himself and first published in 1855, P. T. Barnum creates an aura of excitement about himself and his enduring fame, confirming his reputation as the greatest impresario of all time and revealing the controversial decisions that helped him to his fortune.Reviews‘[P.T. Barnum was the] greatest American impresario, a canny businessman who was just a little luckier, more energetic and more imaginative than his competitors. As a result, he wound up the most influential progenitor of much that is spectacular, vulgar, cheerfully phony and just plain fun about American popular culture’ The TimesAbout the authorP.T. Barnum was the founder of the renowned Barnum & Bailey circus and noted American showman, entrepreneur and businessman. He began his career at a newspaper, then subsequently moved on to various business ventures, and finally became a politician.

Encountering Earth's Final Enemy

Biographies & Memoirs

We think our lives will always be the same. That changes will never happen. That intrusions will never alter our present peace and serenity. We move about from day to day, and become oblivious to any encroaching possible problems. Then, a huge crisis arrives: DEATH!! It comes without warning. It offers no time for preparation. No time for erecting protective walls. As earths final enemy, death takes someone special from you. It takes away your shared blessings. It ends a beautiful, fruitful, and fulfilling life together. In deaths shattering aftermath, survivors make the gallant attempt to piece their lives back together again. This is because everything that was once highly positive has been suddenly made negative by deaths uninvited invasion. In this volume the author shares his painful grief journey following the death of his wife. He shares how his life was turned upside down. How he became a severely broken individual. How he endured numerous painful and unavoidable life changes. How he was faced with the tough challenge of reframing his life. And how in the end, he was able to move toward a renewed life of healing and blessings.

Stephen Hawking

Biographies & Memoirs

Stephen Hawking is no ordinary scientist. Perhaps more than any other scientist, he has broadened our basic understanding of the universe. His theoretical work on black holes and the origins and nature of the cosmos have been groundbreaking—if not downright revolutionary. He has also spent much of his adult life confined to a wheelchair, a victim of ALS. But his physical limitations have done nothing to confine him intellectually or hinder his scientific development. Hawking would already be remarkable for his cutting-edge work in theoretical physics alone. However, he has also managed to popularize science unlike any one else. Today, he is a household name and achieved almost cult-like fame with the release of A Brief History of Time. Although this book is steeped in the complexities of cosmology, millions of people were eager to learn just some of what he had to offer. Science writers White and Gribbin have painted a compelling portrait of a scientific mind that seemingly knows no bounds. Weaving together clear explanations of Hawking’s science with a detailed, balanced, and sensitive personal history, we come to know and appreciate both sides of this incredible man. Includes new updates in Hawking's biography and the recent discovery of the Higgs-Boson (or "God") particle.

The Call to Serve

Biographies & Memoirs

In honor of the one hundredth anniversary of George H. W. Bush’s birth, this visually stunning chronicle features never-before-published photos and memories celebrating the forty-first president’s vision of leadership as service to country—curated by Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Meacham.Lavishly illustrated, The Call to Serve is an intimate, illuminating portrait of the forty-first president, a man who was so much more than just his politics. In words and images—many found in a lifetime of scrapbooks kept by Barbara Pierce Bush—Jon Meacham brings George H. W. Bush vividly to life. From the values of integrity, empathy, and grace that Bush learned in childhood to his leadership at the highest levels in tumultuous times, the forty-first president embodied an ideal of service that warrants attention in our own divided time.Bush pursued a life of service to America through his heroic combat experience in the Pacific during World War II, his political rise in Texas, his serving as U.S. ambassador to the UN, his time as envoy to China and as director of the CIA, his tenure as Ronald Reagan’s vice president, and his election as the forty-first president of the United States. Set against the background of America during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this book commemorates the legacy of a man who was far from perfect—he could be cutthroat on the campaign trail—but whose ambition was not an end unto itself. Bush’s drive to succeed was, rather, a means to put the values of balance, patriotism, and respect for others into action in the political arena. Toward the end of Bush’s life, the forty-fourth president, Barack Obama, said that Bush put the country first “both before he was president, while he was president, and ever since.”Featuring more than 450 photographs, Meacham’s introduction and commentary throughout, and narration drawn from his biography of George H. W. Bush, Destiny and Power, this is an essential tribute to a uniquely American life.

Rosewater: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival

Biographies & Memoirs

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY JON STEWART | Previously published as Then They Came for MeWhen Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran’s presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiancée, Paola, that he’d be back in just a few days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran’s most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew only by his smell: Rosewater. For the Bahari family, wars, coups, and revolutions are not distant concepts but intimate realities they have suffered for generations: Maziar’s father was imprisoned by the shah in the 1950s, and his sister by Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. Alone in his cell at Evin Prison, fearing the worst, Maziar draws strength from his memories of the courage of his father and sister in the face of torture, and hears their voices speaking to him across the years. He dreams of being with Paola in London, and imagines all that she and his rambunctious, resilient eighty-four-year-old mother must be doing to campaign for his release. During the worst of his encounters with Rosewater, he silently repeats the names of his loved ones, calling on their strength and love to protect him and praying he will be released in time for the birth of his first child. A riveting, heart-wrenching memoir, Rosewater offers insight into the past seventy years of regime change in Iran, as well as the future of a country where the democratic impulses of the youth continually clash with a government that becomes more totalitarian with each passing day. An intimate and fascinating account of contemporary Iran, it is also the moving and wonderfully written story of one family’s extraordinary courage in the face of repression. “I really connected to Maziar’s story. It’s a personal story but one with universal appeal about what it means to be free.”—Jon Stewart “An important and elegant book . . . a prison memoir enlarged into a family history.”—The New Republic “Clear and compelling . . . engaging and informative—a gripping tribute to human dedication and a cogent indictment of a corrupt regime.”—Washington Independent Review of Books “[Rosewater] is not only a fascinating, human exploration into Bahari’s personal experience . . . it also provides insight into the shared experience of those affected by repressive governments everywhere.”—Mother Jones“A damning account . . . [Rosewater] turns a lens not only on Iran’s surreal justice system but on the history and culture that helped produce it.”—The Washington Post “[Rosewater] is a unique achievement. It is a story not just of political cruelty (a subject Bahari treats movingly), but also about the two poles of Iranian political culture, bent together in upheaval.”—The Guardian (UK) “A beautifully written account of life in Iran, filled with insights not only into the power struggles and political machinations but into the personal, emotional lives of the people living in that complicated country. Maziar Bahari is a brave man and a wonderful storyteller.”—Fareed ZakariaFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Christopher Hitchens: The Last Interview

Biographies & Memoirs

This selection of interviews showcases the remarkable career of one of this generation’s greatest and most divisive thinkers—featuring a foreword by Stephen Fry. “ . . . pulls together some of Hitchens’s greatest dialogues, each sparkling with intelligence and wit.” —New York Times Book Review If someone says I’m doing this out of faith, I say, Why don’t you do it out of conviction? One of his generation’s greatest public intellectuals, and perhaps its fiercest, Christopher Hitchens was a brilliant interview subject. This collection—which spans from his early prominence as a hero of the Left to his controversial support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan toward the end of his life—showcases Hitch’s trademark wit on subjects as diverse as his mistrust of the media, his love of literature, his dislike of the Clintons, and his condemnation of all things religious. Beginning with an introduction and tribute from his longtime friend Stephen Fry, this collection culminates in Hitchens’s fearless final interview with Richard Dawkins, which shows a man as unafraid of death as he was of everything in life.

Fouchè - el genio tenebroso

Biographies & Memoirs

Fouché, el genio tenebroso (también traducido al español simplemente como Fouché o como Fouché. Retrato de un hombre político) es un libro biográfico del escritor austríaco Stefan Zweig en el que se narra la vida del político francés Joseph Fouché.Este libro es la particular visión de Zweig acerca de la vida del influyente político francés Joseph Fouché, que desempeñó un papel importante en la Francia de finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX, es decir, en el convulso periodo que media entre la revolución francesa y el imperio napoleónico, y la vuelta a la monarquía por la que el estado francés pasó durante esos años.Zweig aborda el libro siguiendo su estilo particular, en el que prescinde de fechas y datos para ahondar en la personalidad y el carácter del personaje retratado, buscando sus motivaciones íntimas y tratando de desentrañar así las verdaderas causas de los acontecimientos.Nos advierte en el prefacio al libro que aunque elige la figura de Joseph Fouché no lo hace porque piense que se trata de alguien admirable, sino más bien porque le parece el ejemplar perfecto del político, es decir, un hombre absolutamente inmoral, con todas las connotaciones que eso implicaba en la época en la que escribió, y para la que escribió esta obra –la convulsa época del siglo veinte, con sus fascismos y sus abusos de poder-.

Up From Slavery

Biographies & Memoirs

Up From Slavery is the 1901 autobiography of Booker T. Washington detailing his slow and steady rise from a slave child during the Civil War, to the difficulties and obstacles he overcame to get an education at the new Hampton University, to his work establishing vocational schools—most notably the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama—to help black people and other disadvantaged minorities learn useful, marketable skills and work to pull themselves, as a race, up by the bootstraps. He reflects on the generosity of both teachers and philanthropists who helped in educating blacks and native Americans. He describes his efforts to instill manners, breeding, health and a feeling of dignity to students. Now Enjoy This Classic In Its Audio Enhanced, Read Aloud Version!

Up from Slavery: An Autobiography

Biographies & Memoirs

An Apple Books Classic edition.“I was born a slave…in the midst of the most miserable, desolate, and discouraging surroundings.” Thus begins Booker T. Washington’s account of his incredible journey from a child enslaved on a Virginia plantation to one of the leading speakers and educators of the late 1800s. Washington shares formative experiences. He recalls carrying books to school for his master’s children while wishing he himself could learn and tells the story of how, after his family was emancipated, he walked almost 500 miles to enroll in a new school for Black people. Washington went on to found the famous Tuskegee Institute so that he could help others in his community receive a good education.Throughout his personal anecdotes, Washington expresses his belief in the importance of education for creating a future free from oppression, particularly for Black people. His autobiography, and the ideas expressed within its pages, continue to spark conversation today, more than 100 years after its publication.

A Modern Fairy Tale

Biographies & Memoirs

Introducing A Modern Fairy Tale, an original Hyperion/ABC Video book written by New York Times bestselling author Jane Green. Download this video book that tells the story of how Prince William and Kate Middleton grew up, fell in love, and got engaged. With words, pictures, and video from the ABC archives, this unique storytelling experience offers details about a modern young prince and his captivating bride, and their upcoming wedding. The video book also delves into the history of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, their love stories and their historic weddings. Try it now to experience the Royal Wedding – and three generations of royal love.

Driven

Biographies & Memoirs

Whether skateboarding across the kitchen as a child,or taking part in the world's most prestigious vintage road race, TV chef James Martin has never been oneto sit still. In this entertaining narrative he revealshow his two passions – cooking and cars – have fuelled his hopes, dreams and successes and made him the household name he is today.James talks with passion, energy and candid humour about his childhood, early ambitions, becoming a successful chef and wowing audiences with his foxtrot on Strictly Come Dancing. His story is punctuated with tales of remarkable cars, from his first toy Ferrari to his vintage Maserati, each one representing a personal milestone and bringing with it charming stories and amusing anecdotes. James' cars give him the perfect excuse to delve into his life, revealing frank and fascinating details - from racing through the fields on his father's tractor and teenage fumblings in the back seat, to hurtling round a track with James Bond actor, Daniel Craig.With James' career reaching new heights, and his collection of classic cars continuing to grow, Driven tells how his two lifelong obsessions have shaped the life of this relentlessly ambitious man.About the authorJames Martin is the much-loved presenter of BBC 1's hugely successful Saturday Kitchen and BBC 2's Eating with the Enemy. In 2006 he wowed fans with his skills on the dance floor in Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1). James has written successful cookbooks ranging from traditional British fare to international desserts and also writes a regular motoring column for the Mail on Sunday. James lives in Hampshire with his dog Fudge and a garage full of stunning vintage cars.

A Vida de H.P. Lovecraft

Biographies & Memoirs

A vida de H.P. Lovecraft – o grande mestre do terror, de S.T. Joshi (principal especialista mundial em Lovecraft), é a biografia definitiva daquele que, nas palavras de Stephen King, "permanece insuperado como o maior expoente do horror clássico". Lovecraft - o criador do personagem icônico Cthulhu -, além de manter, geração após geração, uma legião de leitores em todo o mundo, conseguiu o feito raro de ter um trânsito cada vez maior da literatura para a cultura de massa contemporânea. "Ele é um nome adorado na cultura pop, e uma influência sobre 'todo mundo': do escritor argentino Jorge Luis Borges ao cineasta Guillermo del Toro, sem falar de um número incontável de bandas de rock e designers de jogos" (Laura Muller, revista Salon).

Plato: The Complete Works (31 Books)

Biographies & Memoirs

Plato was a philosopher in Ancient Greece. He was an essential figure in the development of philosophy, especially the Western tradition, and he founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Plato's dialogues have been used (and are still used) to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion and mathematics. His lasting themes include Platonic love, the theory of forms, the five regimes, innate knowledge, among others. His theory of forms launched a unique perspective on abstract objects, and led to a school of thought called Platonism. This collection contains the following works by Plato: Early Works •Apology •Charmides, or Temperance •Crito •Euthyphro •Gorgias •Hippias, Lesser •Hippias, Greater •Ion •Laches •Lysis •Protagoras Transitional Works •Cratylus •Euthydemus •Meno •Parmenides •Phaedo •Phaedrus •Symposium •The Republic Middle Works •Theaetetus Late Works •Critias •Laws •Philebus •Sophist •Statesman •Timaeus Works of Disputed Authorship •Alcibiades I & II •Eryxias •Menexenus •Theages

Born a Crime

Biographies & Memoirs

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid “Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa’s history that must never be forgotten.”—Esquire Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and an NAACP Image Award • Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Time, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Esquire, Newsday, and Booklist Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.

The Essential Works of Thomas More

Biographies & Memoirs

Musaicum Books presents to you a meticulously edited Thomas More collection. This ebook has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Content: "Sir Thomas More" by Henri Brémond "The Life of Thomas More" by William Roper Collected Letters of Thomas More Books: Utopia The History of King Richard the Third The Four Last Things Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation The Sadness of Christ (De Tristitia Christi) The Life of Pico della Mirandola (Translated by Thomas More) Tractates and Prayers: A Godly Instruction A Godly Meditation Prayer of Thomas More A Devout Prayer Poems: A Rueful Lamentation The Words of Fortune to the People A Merry Jest To Them Who Trust in Fortune To Them Who Seek Fortune

Biographies & Memoirs Books