Biographies & Memoirs Books

Le Riz et le Rouge

Le Riz et le Rouge

Biographies & Memoirs

Ses études à peine achevées, l'auteur de ce récit de voyage a connu ce privilège d'un autre temps : pouvoir parcourir l'Extrême-Orient durant plusieurs mois sans autres mesures que celles de sa fantaisie et de sa curiosité, sans autre espoir que de s'y passionner, et se donnant pour seule règle d'échapper aux conventions du tourisme stéréotypé. Ainsi le voit-on en compagnie d'un futur député faisant campagne dans l'île de Kyushu, au sud du Japon, très loin de Tokyo ; à Java et à Sumatra, tout au long des chemins d'un paradis gaspillé ; en plein drame vietnamien, de Saïgon à Vientiane ; de Bangkok à Pnom-Penh, là où la tragédie laisse parfois substituer d'étranges et si fragiles îlots de sérénité ; du nord au sud de la Chine, enfin, au centre même de la Révolution culturelle, à la rencontre de ces gardes rouges omniprésents qu'il a pu voir et interroger longuement, attentif à scruter et à comprendre leur foi, leur orgueil et leurs frénésies. Japon, Chine, Indonésie, Vietnam, Laos, Thaïlande, Cambodge : c'est ici la chronique d'un voyage en liberté à travers l'Asie indécise, au cœur et aux frontières de ces pays au destin suspendu.

Chaplin - Uma biografia definitiva

Chaplin - Uma biografia definitiva

Biographies & Memoirs

O maior ícone da história do cinema, Charlie Chaplin, viveu uma das mais dramáticas jornadas da pobreza à fama. Sua vida foi marcada por contrastes extraordinários: a criança de um bairro pobre de Londres que se tornou multimilionário; o palhaço cinematográfico que era um perfeccionista compulsivo por trás das câmeras; o astro bajulado que caiu publicamente em desgraça após escândalos pessoais e políticos. Esta biografia, definitiva e atraente, é a única a ter tido acesso irrestrito aos arquivos de Chaplin. A presente edição oferece um variado conjunto de fotos e a mais completa filmografia do gênio. Inclui também novo material revelador acerca dos casamentos de Chaplin, seu caso com a atriz Louise Brooks, a perseguição que ele sofreu do FBI durante a caça aos comunistas, revelando o papel da agência no caso de "prostituição" aberto contra ele, e a importância do filme de Richard Attenborough, Chaplin.

Fairly at Bat

Fairly at Bat

Biographies & Memoirs

Autobiography of Ron Fairly, an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster.Combining playing and broadcasting appearances, Fairly was involved in over 7,000 major league games from 1958 through 2006.

My Diary Where Evil Lives

My Diary Where Evil Lives

Biographies & Memoirs

I thought he loved me, but should love hurt that way? I was black and blue. I did not recognize the young girl standing before me in the mirror. Evil was all around me, and I had no idea how to get it out of my life. I never felt so alone, so distant from everybody in my life. I felt ashamed and lost. I looked into his eyes with every beating and saw red. His evil shone through. Sometimes I felt as if he was proud of himself. He liked molding me into this walking zombie that I was. He ruled my world. His torture was horrific, and I could not think for myself any longer. I was just what he wanted: a broken down little girl and he was my master. I saw the joy in his face as he looked at me. It must have made him feel good about himself, like he had all the power in the world. His laughs haunt me as well. I can still hear him, so evil. He could raise his voice and I would cower down like a wounded dog. He did things to me that are Immoral, and after doing what he had done, he always said, "I'm sorry. I just love you so much. I can't let you ever leave me." The very thought of me leaving him drove him to an evil rage, and the beating and rape would began all over again. He always said, "If I can't have you, no one will." It was horrific for me in every way. I developed bipolar disorder and had posttraumatic stress disorder. My life went from a happy childhood to an adult relationship that not even an adult should ever endure. Alcohol and drugs covered my wounds and numbed my mind, but they only made my life even worse than it was. I added fuel to my fire. I lived with the devil inside of me. He created the person that I was. He must have been so proud. And then a light of hope came to me. I was pregnant. The only good thing I got out of that man was my baby girl, but she also endured pain and trauma, and it started before she was even born. I had to do something, even if it was to kill him, which I fantasized about most of the time. The day came. He took her from me, and as a mother, I did the unthinkable. I could not let him hurt me anymore. He pulled his last string with me, and I was going pull the trigger on him and then myself. It had to end.

Mahatma Gandhi Quotes

Mahatma Gandhi Quotes

Biographies & Memoirs

Tidels makes way for Exceptional Learners. With over a million books downloaded worldwide, Tidels empower kids to learn, read and explore the world.   Everyone needs some inspiration, and these motivational quotes will give you the edge you need to create your success.This book contains motivational quotes by Mahatma Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. This is the perfect book for all the supporters and fans of Mahatma Gandhi. Our book is specially designed for kids and can be read by all ages which takes you through his entire journey of life and giving you a complete picture of his views on life.

Discours par Maximilien Robespierre — 17 Avril 1792-27 Juillet 1794

Discours par Maximilien Robespierre — 17 Avril 1792-27 Juillet 1794

Biographies & Memoirs

Je ne viens pas vous occuper ici, quoi qu'on en puisse dire, de l'intérêt de quelques individus ni du mien; c'est la cause publique qui est l'unique objet de toute cette contestation: gardez-vous de penser que les destinées du peuple soient attachées à quelques hommes; gardez-vous de redouter le choc des opinions, et les orages des discussions politiques, qui ne sont que les douleurs de l'enfantement de la Liberté. Cette pusillanimité, reste honteux de nos anciennes moeurs, serait l'écueil de l'esprit public et la sauvegarde de tous les crimes. Elevons-nous une fois pour toute à la hauteur des âmes antiques; et songeons que le courage et la vérité peuvent seuls achever cette grande révolution. Au reste, vous ne me verrez pas abuser des avantages que me donne Ici manière dont j'ai été personnellement attaqué; et, si je parle avec énergie, je n'en contribuerai que plus puissamment à la véritable paix et à la seule union qui convienne aux amis de la Patrie. Ce n'est pas moi qui ai provoqué la dernière scène qui a eu lieu dans cette Société; elle avait été précédée d'une diffamation révoltante dont tous les journaux étaient les instruments et répandue surtout par ceux qui sont entre les mains de mes adversaires. Deux députés à l'Assemblée nationale connus par leur civisme intrépide et le défenseur de Château-Vieux avaient articulé des faits contre plusieurs membres de cette Société. Sans m'expliquer sur cet objet, et même sans y mettre autant d'importance que beaucoup d'autres, sans attaquer nommément qui que ce soit, j'ai cru devoir éclairer la Société sur les manoeuvres qui, dans ces derniers temps, avaient été employées pour la perdre ou la paralyser; j'ai demandé la permission de les dévoiler à cette séance; j'avais annoncé en même temps que je développerais dans un autre temps des vérités importantes au salut public; le lendemain toutes les espèces de journaux possibles, sans en excepter La Chronique ni Le Patriote Français, s'accordent à diriger contre moi et contre tous ceux qui avaient déplu à mes adversaires les plus absurdes et les plus atroces calomnies. Le lendemain, M. Brissot, prévenant le jour où je devais porter la parole, vient dans cette tribune, armé du volumineux discours que vous avez entendu.

Timothy Keller

Timothy Keller

Biographies & Memoirs

Newsweek bezeichnet Timothy Keller als den "C. S. Lewis des 21. Jahrhunderts". Millionen von Menschen haben seine Bücher gelesen und seine Predigten gehört. In dem "City-to-city"-Netzwerk hat er christliche Gemeinden weltweit vernetzt. Aber welche Menschen, welche Theologen und Denker, welche Bücher und welche Lebenserfahrungen haben sein eigenes Denken und seinen geistlichen Werdegang geprägt? Angefangen von der Frau, die ihn lehrte, die Bibel zu lesen, über den Professor, der ihn bei jeder Predigt Jesus ins Zentrum stellen ließ, bis hin zu dem Philosophen, der ihm den Blick unter die Oberfläche der Gesellschaft zeigte. Wie haben C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer, Elisabeth Elliot, John Stott und viele andere ihn geprägt? Zum ersten Mal zeichnet Hansen auch Timothy Kellers frühe Jahre nach: Wie er sich mit seiner alles bestimmenden Mutter auseinandergesetzt hat und zum Wortführer der Geschwister wurde und wie er in seiner ersten Gemeinde lernte, Menschen als Seelsorger und Pastor zu begleiten. Und natürlich zeigt er, wie Tim Keller als Pastor der Redeemer Church in New-York-City zu einem der weltweit prägendsten christlichen Leiter wurde – auch wenn er selbst diese internationale Bekanntheit nie gewollt hat.

An Unlikely Prince

An Unlikely Prince

Biographies & Memoirs

In this compelling new biography, historian Niccolò Capponi frees Machiavelli (1469–1527) from centuries of misinterpretation. Exploring the Renaissance city of Florence, where Machiavelli lived, Capponi reveals the man behind the legend. A complex portrait of Machiavelli emerges—at once a brilliantly skillful diplomat and a woefully inept liar; a sharp thinker and an impractical dreamer; a hardnosed powerbroker and a risk-taking gambler; a calculating propagandist and an imprudent jokester.Capponi's intimate portrait of Machiavelli reveals his behavior as utterly un-Machiavellian, his vision of the world as limited by his very provincial outlook. In the end, Machiavelli was frustrated by his own political failures and utterly baffled by the success of his book The Prince.

My Dog Tulip

My Dog Tulip

Biographies & Memoirs

Heartwarming and profound, this account of one writer’s relationship with his beloved German Shepherd is “one of the bonafide dog-lit classics” (New Yorker)The distinguished British man of letters J. R. Ackerley hardly thought of himself as a dog lover when, well into middle age, he came into possession of a German Shepherd. To his surprise, she turned out to be the love of his life, the “ideal friend” he had been searching for in vain for years. My Dog Tulip is a bittersweet retrospective account of their sixteen-year companionship, as well as a profound and subtle meditation on the strangeness that lies at the heart of all relationships.In vivid and sometimes startling detail, Ackerley tells of Tulip’s often erratic behavior and very canine tastes, and of his own fumbling but determined efforts to ensure for her an existence of perfect happiness.My Dog Tulip was adapted for the screen as a major animated feature film with a cast that includes the voices of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini. Heralded as “a stroke of genius" by New York Magazine and “the love story of the year” by Vanity Fair, it is a masterpiece of animal literature that is sure to touch the hearts of anyone who has found companionship with their own four-legged friend.

90 Minutes in Heaven

90 Minutes in Heaven

Biographies & Memoirs

As he is driving home from a minister's conference, Baptist minister Don Piper collides with a semi-truck that crosses into his lane. He is pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, Piper experiences heaven where he is greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually. He hears beautiful music and feels true peace.Back on earth, a passing minister who had also been at the conference is led to pray for Don even though he knows the man is dead. Piper miraculously comes back to life and the bliss of heaven is replaced by a long and painful recovery.For years Piper kept his heavenly experience to himself. Finally, however, friends and family convinced him to share his remarkable story.

John Hume The Persuader

John Hume The Persuader

Biographies & Memoirs

Politician, peacemaker, persuader: John Hume was a titan of Irish history – a tireless architect of the Good Friday Agreement who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in ending decades of conflict in Northern Ireland. But who was the real John Hume? What motivated the former history teacher to reach beyond political lines? What sustained him during the bloodiest years of violence? How did he impel the IRA to end its long-running campaign? How did he convince presidents and prime ministers to take risks and back his vision for Northern Ireland? How should he be remembered? In John Hume: The Persuader, Stephen Walker draws on over 100 interviews with family members, colleagues and critics across the political spectrum, as well as never-before-published interviews with Hume himself, to present a probing, balanced and immensely readable portrait of one of the most significant political figures in Northern Ireland and the world. 'The definitive biography of John Hume.' Freya McClements, Northern Editor, Irish Times 'This superb biography does full justice to a towering figure.' David McCullagh, RTÉ Broadcaster and Author 'A riveting portrait of a man who changed Ireland.' Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics (DCU) and Author 'Scrupulously fair, deeply researched and insightful.' Sam McBride, Northern Ireland Editor, Belfast Telegraph

My Invented Country

My Invented Country

Biographies & Memoirs

A highly personal memoir of exile and homeland by bestselling author Isabel AllendeIn My Invented Country Isabel Allende evokes the magnificent landscapes of her country, a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and indomitable spirit, and the politics, religion, myth and magic of her homeland that she carries with her even today. The book circles around two life-changing moments. The assassination of her uncle, Salvador Allende Gossens, on September 11, 1973, sent her into exile and transformed her into a literary writer. And the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on her adopted homeland, the United States, brought forth from Allende an overdue acknowledgment that she had indeed left home. My Invented Country, whose structure mimics the workings of memory itself, ranges back and forth across that distance accrued between the author’s past and present lives. It speaks compellingly to immigrants, and to all of us, who try to retain a coherent inner life in a world full of contradictions.

Eric Hobsbawm

Eric Hobsbawm

Biographies & Memoirs

Eric Hobsbawm's works have had a nearly incalculable effect across generations of readers and students, influencing more than the practice of history but also the perception of it. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, of second-generation British parents, Hobsbawm was orphaned at age fourteen in 1931. Living with an uncle in Berlin, he experienced the full force of world economic depression, and in the charged reaction to it in Germany was forced to choose between Nazism and Communism, which was no choice at all. Hobsbawm's lifelong allegiance to Communism inspired his pioneering work in social history, particularly the trilogy for which he is most famous--The Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital, and The Age of Empire--covering what he termed "the long nineteenth century" in Europe. Selling in the millions of copies, these held sway among generations of readers, some of whom went on to have prominent careers in politics and business. In this comprehensive biography of Hobsbawm, acclaimed historian Richard Evans (author of The Third Reich Trilogy, among other works) offers both a living portrait and vital insight into one of the most influential intellectual figures of the twentieth century. Using exclusive and unrestricted access to the unpublished material, Evans places Hobsbawm's writings within their historical and political context. Hobsbawm's Marxism made him a controversial figure but also, uniquely and universally, someone who commanded respect even among those who did not share-or who even outright rejected-his political beliefs. Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History gives us one of the 20th century's most colorful and intellectually compelling figures. It is an intellectual life of the century itself.

Animales

Animales

Biographies & Memoirs

«Cada uno de estos ensayos es magnífico.»The New York TimesEn Fez, una clínica muy peculiar se encarga de ofrecer descanso a los burros que llevan toda su vida abasteciendo el gran mercado. En Islandia, la ballena más famosa del mundo es incapaz de aprender a disfrutar su libertad. En Nueva Jersey, una vecina deja escapar a uno de los más de veinte tigres que tiene como mascotas. Allá donde miremos, las interacciones entre humanos y animales provocan relaciones de amor y poder, miedo y cariño, luchas y entendimientos. Y a Susan Orlean le encanta mirar y, sobre todo, contar.Tan profundas como divertidas, las historias de Animales exploran las infinitas posibilidades que surgen cada vez que una persona y un animal cruzan sus caminos. A través de la agudísima prosa de Orlean, somos testigos de cómo nos relacionamos con el mundo animal y cómo este nos sigue sorprendiendo cada vez.

Non Papa, Non...

Non Papa, Non...

Biographies & Memoirs

« Tu n’es qu’un vilain garçon, un vrai petit crétin. » Dès l’âge de quatre ans, c’est ce que Stuart entend tout le temps, ce que son père ne cesse de répéter. Rapidement, les insultes se transforment en coups, des raclées qui laissent son corps meurtri. D’autres fois, Stuart est attaché, et on ne lui donne à manger que des restes dans la gamelle du chien. Un jour, les choses empirent encore, lorsque son père commence à abuser de Stuart et de ses jeunes sœurs. Le calvaire dure des années. Jusqu’au jour où le père de Stuart est dénoncé, jugé et emprisonné. Devenu adulte, Stuart décide de renouer avec son père qui a été libéré. Un jour, il frappe à sa porte. Et là, son père essaye à nouveau de commettre l’irréparable. Pris de rage, le jeune homme brisé ne peut réagir que d’une seule manière… La terrifiante histoire vraie d’un petit garçon à l’enfance sacrifiée.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Biographies & Memoirs

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a slave narrative that was published in 1861 by Harriet Ann Jacobs, using the pen name "Linda Brent." The book is an in-depth chronological account of Jacobs's life as a slave, and the decisions and choices she made to gain freedom for herself and her children. It addresses the struggles and sexual abuse that young women slaves faced on the plantations, and how these struggles were harsher than what men suffered as slaves. The book is considered sentimental and written to provoke an emotional response and sympathy from the reader toward slavery in general and slave women in particular for their struggles with rape, the pressure to have sex at an early age, the selling of their children, and the treatment of female slaves by their mistresses.

Inyenzi ou les Cafards

Inyenzi ou les Cafards

Biographies & Memoirs

À Nyamata, nous avions depuis longtemps accepté que notre délivrance soit la mort. Nous avions vécu dans son attente, toujours aux aguets de son approche, inventant et réinventant malgré tout des moyens d’y échapper. Jusqu’à la prochaine fois où elle serait plus proche encore, où elle emporterait des voisins, des camarades de classe, des frères, un fils. Et les mères tremblaient d’angoisse en mettant au monde un garçon qui deviendrait un Inyenzi qu’il serait loisible d’humilier, de traquer, d’assassiner en toute impunité. En retraçant son histoire, Scholastique Mukasonga dresse un tombeau de papier aux victimes tutsi de la haine raciale. Le témoignage essentiel d’une rescapée sur quarante ans de persécutions au Rwanda.

Secret Child

Secret Child

Biographies & Memoirs

The shocking true story of a young boy hidden away from his family and the world in a Catholic home for unmarried mothers in 1950s Dublin.Born an 'unfortunate' onto the rough streets of 1950s Dublin, this is the incredible true story of a young boy, a secret child born into a home for unmarried mothers in 1950s Dublin and a mother determined to keep her child, even if it meant hiding him from her own family and the rest of the world.Despite the poverty, hardship and isolation, the pride and hope of a community of women who banded together to raise their children would give this boy his chance to find his real family.A wonderfully heartwarming and evocative tale of working class life in 1950s Dublin and 1960s London.