Biographies & Memoirs - Books

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Biographies & Memoirs

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, written in 1789, details its writer's life in slavery, his time spent serving on galleys, the eventual attainment of his own freedom and later success in business. Including a look at how slavery stood in West Africa, the book received favorable reviews and was one of the first slave narratives to be read widely.

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Biographies & Memoirs

A remarkable account of early slavery and later freedom, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" is the 1789 autobiography of former slave Olaudah Equiano. His life is a tale of terror, as well as an exciting adventure. He tells of his abduction from Africa at the age of ten, and his subsequent years of labor on slave ships. During and after this time, he fervently attempts to gain independence: he studies the Bible and carefully saves his money. After surviving a decade in this way, Equiano is able to purchase his own freedom in 1766. What follows is his success in business, in literacy, and in his outspoken condemnation of the slave trade. Considered an admirable precursor to such slave narratives as that of Frederick Douglass, Equiano's degraded youth and respected later life in England is told with verve and sophistication in this spirited quest for fulfillment.

Recipe for Life

Biographies & Memoirs

As well as starring on The Great British Bake Off, Mary Berry is returning to our TVs with her brand new series, Britain's Best Home Cook . . . so indulge, and discover her autobiography.From the moment she came into the world - two weeks early, throwing her parents' lives into disarray - Mary has gracefully but firmly done things her own way. Born in 1935, in the city of Bath, Mary's childhood was a curious mix of idyllic picnics and ramblings, and alarming air raids; of a spirited and outdoorsy home life and a dreaded school existence. All nearly cut horribly short by an almost fatal bout of polio when she was thirteen, which isolated Mary in hospital, away from beloved family and friends for months. Recovery saw her turn to her one true passion - cookery. And so began a love affair that has spanned six remarkable decades; from demonstrating ovens in the early 1950s to producing glossy food magazines in the 60s and 70s, gradually becoming the country's most prolific and - many would say - best loved cookery writer. Until her emergence in the 21st century as a TV sensation and style icon on the Great British Bake Off. In this touching, evocative and fascinating memoir, we accompany Mary on her journey of nearly eighty years; a life lived to the full, with a wicked sense of fun and an eye for the absurd, it is the life of a delightfully traditional but thoroughly modern woman.

Yashka

Biographies & Memoirs

Yashka is the autobiography of Maria Botchkareva, a young Russian woman who bravely took up arms first against the Germans in World War One, and then opposed the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Maria describes a hard upbringing as a member of the Russian peasantry. Married at sixteen to her first husband Afanasy, it wasn't long before his charms were replaced by physical abuse; Maria soon fled. She applied for work as a servant girl, only to discover that the man advertising actually owned a string of brothels; she was promptly sent to the town of Sretensk to work in one. Such harsh experiences in youth nevertheless built a certain determination and toughness in the young Maria. When war broke out in 1914, she applied to join as a soldier - facing verbal abuse and sexual harassment from the outset, she nevertheless took to military life with eagerness and courage. The soldiers nicknamed her 'Yashka', and a measure of respect was slowly gained as she demonstrated great bravery. The middle portions of the book see Botchkareva describe the most exciting episodes of her army service. Her dramatic rescue of fifty wounded soldiers is accompanied by her success in defeating the enemy. Briefly captured, Yashka claimed to be a Red Cross nurse looking for her husband, but soon after ambushed and escaped the German platoon, inflicting several casualties in the process. The Russian Revolution would disrupt the military's operations, and Yashka soon found many of her fellow soldiers demoralized both from war fatigue and a sympathy for the Bolshevik cause. Narrowly avoiding execution by the Bolsheviks, she escaped to the United States - where this memoir was dictated to Isaac Don Levine. Determined to stop communism from overtaking the country, Botchkareva returned to Russia but was put to death as an 'Enemy of the People' in 1920.

Terra viva

Biographies & Memoirs

«Quienes nos preocupamos por el planeta Tierra tenemos mucho que agradecer a Vandana Shiva». Jane Goodall «No os perdáis las memorias de una de las científicas radicales más importantes». The Guardian Vandana Shiva ha luchado durante más de cuatro décadas en defensa de la biodiversidad, la democracia real y el conocimiento científico atesorado por las comunidades indígenas y arrinconado por la ciencia occidental. Ha sido una líder incansable en la batalla para salvar las semillas del control de las multinacionales. En estas memorias la científica y activista nos habla por primera vez de su infancia en la India, de la influencia de sus padres y de los bosques del Himalaya en los que se crio, y también de las mujeres del Movimiento Chipko, guardianas del conocimiento farmacéutico y ecológico ancestral. La autora ecofeminista condensa en un solo discurso la física cuántica, la botánica, la tecnología o las políticas medioambientales en una biografía que es un manifiesto en favor de la supervivencia del planeta y la soberanía de los pueblos. En palabras de Yayo Herrero, autora del prólogo: «Este libro es un trozo de la historia del movimiento de defensoras y defensores de la vida y de la Tierra contado por una de sus protagonistas. […] La complejidad de su pensamiento se expresa sin embargo con una tremenda sencillez». Con traducción de Matilde Pérez.

Lány a hullámok hátán

Biographies & Memoirs

Lebilincselő történet Gertrude Ederléről, aki alig tizenkilenc éves korában a nők közül elsőként úszta át a La Manche csatornát. 1926-ban, mielőtt a szoknyák térd fölé csúsztak, és bárki elfogadta volna, hogy egy nő fizikai próbatétel elé állhasson, egy Trudy Ederle nevű merész amerikai tinilány magával ragadta a világ képzeletét. Trudy első volt a nők között, aki átúszta a La Manche csatornát, két órával megdöntve az addigi - egy férfi által felállított - rekordot. Miután visszatért Amerikába Trudy egy csapásra a világ leghíresebb nőjévé vált - majd éppilyen gyorsan el is tűnt a nyilvánosság elől. A dühöngő húszas évek díszletei között játszódó könyv Ederle drámai és inspiráló történetét meséli el: hogyan küzdött egy olyan célért, amelynek elérését mindenki lehetetlennek tartotta, és milyen árat fizetett érte. Abban a pillanatban, amikor Trudy a Csatorna meghódítása után kilépett a szárazföldre, évszázadok sztereotípiáit rombolta le. A nők eljövendő generációinak mutatott utat. Ederle varázslatos és gyakran félreértett személyiség volt, akinek a történetét nagyrészt elfelejtették. Glenn Stout kimerítő kutatásának hála a világklasszis úszónő alakja újra megelevenedhet e könyv lapjain.

Der Mann, der nicht verlieren kann

Biographies & Memoirs

Rick Reilly hat Donald Trump über 30 Jahre beim Golfspiel beobachtet. Sein Buch über dessen Verhalten beim Sport ist ebenso witzig wie erhellend.Wie man Golf spielt entblößt, wer man ist. Der bekannte Sport-Journalist und Golf-Enthusiast Rick Reilly hat Donald Trump viele Jahre auf dem Golfplatz erlebt, und schildert in seinem Buch urkomisch die Raffinesse und Kaltschnäuzigkeit, mit der sich Trump beim Gentleman-Sport auf alle nur erdenklichen Weisen einen Vorteil zu verschaffen weiß. Wenn es etwas gibt, was in Trumps Welt auf keinen Fall passieren darf, dann eine Niederlage – und sei es beim Spiel mit Tiger Woods. Reilly weiß zudem, was hinter dem Einreiseverbot für Araber steckte (Golf!), warum Trump und Merkel sich nicht verstehen (Golf!) und warum Trump acht Ziegen besitzt (Golf!). Ein unverzichtbares Buch, das mehr sagt als jede politische Analyse.

Familiar Stranger

Biographies & Memoirs

“Sometimes I feel myself to have been the last colonial.” This, in his own words, is the extraordinary story of the life and career of Stuart Hall—how his experiences shaped his intellectual, political, and theoretical work and how he became one of his age’s brightest intellectual lights.Growing up in a middle-class family in 1930s Kingston, Jamaica, still then a British colony, the young Stuart Hall found himself uncomfortable in his own home. He lived among Kingston’s stiflingly respectable brown middle class, who, in their habits and ambitions, measured themselves against the white elite. As colonial rule was challenged, things began to change in Kingston and across the world. In 1951 a Rhodes scholarship took Hall across the Atlantic to Oxford University, where he met young Jamaicans from all walks of life, as well as writers and thinkers from across the Caribbean, including V. S. Naipaul and George Lamming. While at Oxford he met Raymond Williams, Charles Taylor, and other leading intellectuals, with whom he helped found the intellectual and political movement known as the New Left. With the emotional aftershock of colonialism still pulsing through him, Hall faced a new struggle: that of building a home, a life, and an identity in a postwar England so rife with racism that it could barely recognize his humanity.With great insight, compassion, and wit, Hall tells the story of his early life, taking readers on a journey through the sights, smells, and streets of 1930s Kingston while reflecting on the thorny politics of 1950s and 1960s Britain. Full of passion and wisdom, Familiar Stranger is the intellectual memoir of one of our greatest minds.

The Immortal Dickens

Biographies & Memoirs

An amazing insight into the life of one of the greatest novelists, this is a magnum opus. It critically analyzes various works of Dickens as well as the time when they were written. The imagination, endeavour and effort behind the conception of each of the characters created by him are defined in detail.

William Cowper (1778-1858) The Indispensable Parson. The Life and Influence of Australia's First Parish Clergyman (Commemorative Pictorial)

Biographies & Memoirs

A short biography of Rev. William Cowper (1778-1858), Australia's first Parish Clergyman, illustrated with pictures of his times. The minister of St Philip's Sydney, Cowper exercised a profound influence on nineteenth century Sydney, and left an abiding legacy on the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. The illustrations bring nineteenth-century Sydney to life for contemporary readers.

Broken

Biographies & Memoirs

Four and a half months after her boyfriend became a paraplegic in a motorbike accident, he and Emma travelled to Australia, Emma's home country, and embarked upon a 18,000 kilometre backpacking trip. This story takes the reader on a whirlwind trip around Australia. A young woman struggling to accept her boyfriend's paralysis, and a paraplegic man backpacking during a time many spinal injured patients remain in hospital. Written with honesty, insight and dark humour, Emma examines the dynamics of the relationship, impact of the injury, difficulties faced learning to live in a wheelchair in a challenging country, and encountering perceptions of the disabled. Ultimately, this is a compelling love story. I believe not only people experiencing spinal injuries, their family and friends would be interested in my book, but also people interested in travel and memoir. Kev and I were a typical young couple working ski seasons, and my book shows that life can change quickly and dramatically. - Emma White

Edison

Biographies & Memoirs

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edmund Morris comes a revelatory new biography of Thomas Alva Edison, the most prolific genius in American history.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus ReviewsAlthough Thomas Alva Edison was the most famous American of his time, and remains an international name today, he is mostly remembered only for the gift of universal electric light. His invention of the first practical incandescent lamp 140 years ago so dazzled the world—already reeling from his invention of the phonograph and dozens of other revolutionary devices—that it cast a shadow over his later achievements. In all, this near-deaf genius (“I haven’t heard a bird sing since I was twelve years old”) patented 1,093 inventions, not including others, such as the X-ray fluoroscope, that he left unlicensed for the benefit of medicine.One of the achievements of this staggering new biography, the first major life of Edison in more than twenty years, is that it portrays the unknown Edison—the philosopher, the futurist, the chemist, the botanist, the wartime defense adviser, the founder of nearly 250 companies—as fully as it deconstructs the Edison of mythological memory. Edmund Morris, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, brings to the task all the interpretive acuity and literary elegance that distinguished his previous biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Ludwig van Beethoven. A trained musician, Morris is especially well equipped to recount Edison’s fifty-year obsession with recording technology and his pioneering advances in the synchronization of movies and sound. Morris sweeps aside conspiratorial theories positing an enmity between Edison and Nikola Tesla and presents proof of their mutually admiring, if wary, relationship.Enlightened by seven years of research among the five million pages of original documents preserved in Edison’s huge laboratory at West Orange, New Jersey, and privileged access to family papers still held in trust, Morris is also able to bring his subject to life on the page—the adored yet autocratic and often neglectful husband of two wives and father of six children. If the great man who emerges from it is less a sentimental hero than an overwhelming force of nature, driven onward by compulsive creativity, then Edison is at last getting his biographical due.

Maradona

Biographies & Memoirs

Diego Armando Maradona è considerato un genio. Uno dei più grandi giocatori di tutti i tempi, se non il più grande, ma anche uno dei più controversi. Di lui ricorderemo di sicuro i gol, i dribbling e le punizioni. Così come gli eccessi della sua vita fuori dal campo. Basata su testimonianze e storie inedite, questa biografia racconta il ragazzo povero di periferia e il calciatore, dai suoi esordi all'Argentinos Juniors fino alla morte in estrema solitudine. Un'opera che ripercorre le gesta e gli errori di una personalità autodistruttiva, adulata e ripudiata allo stesso tempo. Una storia che è ormai letteratura e che continua ad affascinare milioni di tifosi e appassionati di calcio.

Cher

Biographies & Memoirs

DI CHER CE N’È UNA SOLA . . .La vita di Cher è talmente straordinaria che poteva essere raccontata solo da una persona… Cher.Da più di settant’anni, Cher lotta per vivere la propria vita come vuole lei – e oggi, finalmente, racconta la sua vera storia in modo intimo e dettagliato. La sua eccezionale carriera non ha eguali. Unica donna ad aver raggiunto la vetta della classifica di Billboard per sette decenni consecutivi, ha vinto un Oscar, un Emmy, un Grammy e un premio come migliore attrice al Festival di Cannes, è entrata nella Rock & Roll Hall of Fame e ha ricevuto il Kennedy Center Honors per il suo contributo alla cultura americana e alle arti dello spettacolo. È un’attivista e filantropa di lunga data. Da bambina dislessica che sognava di diventarefamosa, Cher è cresciuta in circostanze spesso turbolente, circondata da cantanti, attori e una madre che, nonostante il loro difficile rapporto, l’ha sempre ispirata. Con la schiettezza e il senso dell’umorismo che la contraddistinguono, Cher – Il memoir racconta come questa ragazza, un diamante grezzosenza alcun piano e ben poca fiducia in se stessa, sia riuscita a diventare la camaleontica superstar che da oltre mezzo secolo continua a stupire il mondo. Cher – Il memoir. Parte prima ricostruisce i suoi straordinari inizi, dagli anni dell’infanzia all’incontro e al matrimonio con Sonny Bono – e ripercorre la complicata relazione che li ha resi famosi in tutto il mondo come coppia, ma che alla fine li ha allontanati.Cher – Il memoir svela la figlia, la sorella, la moglie, l’amante, la madre e la superstar.Una vita troppo immensa per essere contenuta in un solo volume.

Lionel Groulx. Le mythe du berger

Biographies & Memoirs

Les récentes polémiques autour de la figure de Lionel Groulx, de même que la multiplicité des études qui ont analysé son oeuvre et sa pensée, prouvent bien l'envergure du personnage dans la société canadienne-française et dans la formation, parfois ambiguë, de l'identité québécoise. Écrivain acharné et redoutable publiciste, Lionel Groulx est sans conteste l'auteur qui a le plus publié au cours du XXe siècle au Québec. En transgressant tôt dans sa carrière les frontières de la modestie, il utilisait déjà dans les années vingt des pseudonymes pour mousser ses propres livres et se construire un réseau d'influences qui a contribué à l'édification de son image publique. Basé sur l'analyse de près de 6 000 lettres échangées entre Lionel Groulx et divers agents du champ littéraire (éditeurs, critiques, journalistes, écrivains), cet essai percutant montre, sans parti pris, la construction puis l'ébranlement d'une figure mythique incontournable de l'histoire du Québec.

A kétkedő Darwin – Az evolúcióelmélet eredete

Biographies & Memoirs

CHARLES DARWIN, a visszahúzódó biológus elképesztő felfedezése – a természetes kiválasztódás, amely az evolúció fő hajtóereje – alapjaiban változtatta meg a tudományt és az emberek világképét. Mintegy két évtized telt el elmélete kidolgozása és publikálása között, annak üzenete ugyanis még alkotóját is megrémisztette. Darwin, a végletekig óvatos angol úriember gondolatai nemcsak tudományos szempontból voltak radikálisak, hanem a korabeli törvények szerint istenkáromlás címén büntethetőnek is számítottak.David Quammen a tudós jegyzetfüzetein, levelezésén és naplóin keresztül meghitt portrét rajzol Darwinról, és közérthetően foglalja össze munkásságát.

Al Capone

Biographies & Memoirs

Chicago, rok 1920, czasy prohibicji. Al Capone, porywczy młody człowiek o przeciętnej inteligencji odkrywa świat bezgranicznych możliwości. Nieprzygotowany na sławę i bogactwo syn emigrantów z Neapolu wkrótce kontroluje handel alkoholem na niespotykaną skalę, konkurując dochodami z największymi korporacjami. Korumpuje policję i miejscowe sądy. Zostaje jednym z pierwszych celebrytów o międzynarodowej sławie. Komu wreszcie udało się dopaść Ala Capone? Czy byli to Nietykalni z Eliotem Nesem na czele? Jaką rolę odegrał prokurator okręgowy? Dlaczego, by uwięzić Capone, trzeba było nagiąć etykę zawodową i ryzykować własnym życiem? Korzystając z niedawno odkrytych, liczących tysiące stron dokumentów rządowych, Jonathan Eig opowiada na nowo dramatyczną historię najsłynniejszego gangstera Ameryki. Kreśli portret emocjonalnie złożonego człowieka, którego do zguby przywiodło nie tyle gangsterskie życie, co przerośnięte ego. Oto cały Capone.

Cher

Biographies & Memoirs

A vida extraordinária de Cher só pode ser contada por uma pessoa… ela própria.Depois de mais de setenta anos lutando para viver da forma que acreditava ser certa, Cher finalmente revela sua verdadeira história em um livro de memórias repleto de detalhes íntimos e publicado em duas partes.Sua notável carreira é incomparável. Cher foi única mulher até hoje a liderar as paradas da Billboard por sete décadas consecutivas, a vencer um Oscar, um Emmy, um Grammy e levar para casa um prêmio do Festival de Cinema de Cannes.Sonhando, desde criança, em se tornar famosa, Cher foi criada em circunstâncias muitas vezes caóticas, cercada por cantores, atores e uma mãe que a inspirou, apesar do relacionamento difícil entre elas.Com a honestidade e o humor característicos da artista, Cher: a autobiografia (parte um) narra como esse diamante bruto teve sucesso e se tornou a superestrela que o mundo não conseguiu ignorar.Esta primeira parte de suas memórias acompanha o extraordinário começo de sua vida, da infância até conhecer e se casar com Sonny Bono – e escancara o relacionamento altamente complicado que os tornou famosos no mundo todo, mas que eventualmente os separou.Cher: a autobiografia (parte um) revela a filha, a irmã, a esposa, a amante, a mãe e a superestrela.É uma vida imensa demais para caber em apenas um livro.

How to Be Like Mike

Biographies & Memoirs

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. But his pre-eminence is more than just extraordinary athletic ability: the lessons of his life-such as focus, passion, hard work, perseverance and accountability-have shaped him into one of the most revered celebrities of the 20th century. In this inspiring book Pat Williams, motivational speaker and senior vice president of the NBA's Orlando Magic, reveals Jordan's method for living a life of greatness that we can all incorporate into our lives. Fascinating anecdotes and quotes from those who know Michael best provide a glimpse into a persona as sweeping and immense as any generation has ever witnessed. Peppered with examples from Williams's life and those of other star athletes and celebrities, this uplifting book shows that we are, indeed, all capable of fulfilling our full potential. Readers from all walks of life can appreciate and aspire to living life like a champion.

Too Close to the Falls

Biographies & Memoirs

Heartbreaking and wicked: a memoir of stunning beauty and remarkable grace. Improbable friendships and brushes with death. A schoolgirl affecting the course of aboriginal politics. Elvis and cocktails and Catholicism and the secrets buried deep beneath a place that may be another, undiscovered Love Canal – Lewiston, New York. Too Close to the Falls is an exquisite, haunting return, through time and memory, to the heart of Catherine Gildiner’s childhood. And what a childhood it was …

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