Biographies & Memoirs - Books

Artaud: Blows and Bombs

Biographies & Memoirs

Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) remains a massively inspirational figure, worldwide, in contemporary art, film, writing and digital media. In this definitive biography, author Stephen Barber tracks Artaud’s extraordinary and compelling life, from his volatile alliance with the Surrealist movement in the 1920s, to his legendary Theatre of Cruelty of the 1930s, to his nine-year asylum incarceration and his final period of drug-ravaged freedom in 1940s Paris. ARTAUD: BLOWS AND BOMBS provides a vivid, potent portrait of Artaud’s extreme and provocative life. Artaud’s creative influence has been seminal, from the Beat movement to Punk, from the revolutionary theatre movements of the 1960s to contemporary digital media theory. This first-ever biography locates the vital source of that influence. Artaud’s wild life was full of conflict, desperation and fury. Many of its crucial aspects have been totally unknown, notably Artaud’s apocalyptic journey to the Aran Islands in 1937, from which he returned to France in a strait-jacket, and his agonizing electroshock-treatments of the mid-1940s; ARTAUD: BLOWS AND BOMBS illuminates all of these critical moments in Artaud’s life for the first time. Based on fifteen years of research and on many interviews with the people closest to Artaud, this is a unique and electrifying biography that will be read for decades to come.

Benjamin Banneker

Biographies & Memoirs

«William Wells Brown (1814 – 1884) was a prominent African-American author, playwright and lecturer who is considered one of the first significant antislavery activists. An escaped slave, he dedicated his life to writing a truthful memoirs, essays, novels, biographies and finally became the most widely published and influential slave narratives. The biographical essay “Benjamin Banneker” is included in “The Black Man, His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements” volume – a collection of historical sketches briefly depicting the life paths of several great black men. Published in 1863, the “Benjamin Banneker” essay is about the mathematician and amateur astronomer, whose force of spirit helped him to overcome all the difficulties and raise himself to positions of honor and influence. The shocking but truthful life story is absolutely must-read for every educated person. We are glad to present you the legendary book in a new complex format. The e-book is coupled with the audio version, that will make you enjoy the lovely book anew. Read or listen of your choice!»

Karl Marx

Biographies & Memoirs

Im Januar 2009 wurde Dietmar Dath vom Spiegel gefragt, ob er für die "Beseitigung des kapitalistischen Systems" sei. Seine Antwort: "Absolut." Mit diesem Beitrag zu Marx' 200. Geburtstag hat Dath nicht nur ein äußerst persönliches Buch über Marx geschrieben, sondern eines, das in seiner Klarheit und Dynamik gleichzeitig eine brillante Einführung in die Marxsche Lehre und deren Nachwirkung bietet. So zeigt er unter anderem, dass Marx das zu Bekämpfende immer zuerst einmal verstehen will und sich stets an der Praxis orientiert – zwei der vielen Gründe für seine anhaltende Aktualität.

Means of Ascent

Biographies & Memoirs

In Means of Ascent, Book Two of The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Robert A. Caro brings alive Lyndon Johnson in his wilderness years. Here, Johnson’s almost mythic personality—part genius, part behemoth, at once hotly emotional and icily calculating—is seen at its most nakedly ambitious. This multifaceted book carries the President-to-be from the aftermath of his devastating defeat in his 1941 campaign for the Senate-the despair it engendered in him, and the grueling test of his spirit that followed as political doors slammed shut-through his service in World War II (and his artful embellishment of his record) to the foundation of his fortune (and the actual facts behind the myth he created about it). The culminating drama—the explosive heart of the book—is Caro’s illumination, based on extraordinarily detailed investigation, of one of the great political mysteries of the century. Having immersed himself in Johnson’s life and world, Caro is able to reveal the true story of the fiercely contested 1948 senatorial election, for years shrouded in rumor, which Johnson was not believed capable of winning, which he “had to” win or face certain political death, and which he did win-by 87 votes, the “87 votes that changed history.” Telling that epic story “in riveting and eye-opening detail,” Caro returns to the American consciousness a magnificent lost hero. He focuses closely not only on Johnson, whom we see harnessing every last particle of his strategic brilliance and energy, but on Johnson’s “unbeatable” opponent, the beloved former Texas Governor Coke Stevenson, who embodied in his own life the myth of the cowboy knight and was himself a legend for his unfaltering integrity. And ultimately, as the political duel between the two men quickens—carrying with it all the confrontational and moral drama of the perfect Western—Caro makes us witness to a momentous turning point in American politics: the tragic last stand of the old politics versus the new—the politics of issue versus the politics of image, mass manipulation, money and electronic dazzle.

A Life of Gen. Robert E. Lee

Biographies & Memoirs

This book is about Lee who was beloved and respected throughout the world. Men of all parties and opinions unite in this sentiment, not only those who thought and fought with him, but those most violently opposed to his political views and career.

Les Enfants humiliés

Biographies & Memoirs

«"Les Enfants humiliés" est le plus grand des essais de Bernanos, parce que le plus pur, le plus dépouillé, celui où la colère ne s’étale jamais, mais crève seulement dans un mot, dans une phrase, terribles, parce que cette fameuse colère n’y paraît rien autre qu’une forme désespérée et sublime de l’amour.» — J.-M. DOMENACH. «Il y a dans le livre de Bernanos un merveilleux portrait de Hitler en brave homme saisi par le ressentiment au lendemain de la première guerre mondiale, calciné dans la fleur de sa jeunesse par le ressentiment, recuit dans la certitude d’avoir été floué en tant que jeune caporal, en tant que citoyen, en tant que brave homme moyen d’humanité médiocre. Hitler, dit Bernanos, est mort quand il avait vingt ans, car c’est être mort que de piétiner sans relâche dans la même vieille histoire froide. De sa mort est sortie sa puissance. Bernanos écrit contre ces gens-là, contre ces sales bêtes repues de leur bon droit, gavées d’amertume et de ressentiment. [...] Le grand secret c’est qu’il n’y a pas d’humanité. Il n’y a qu’un cloaque, qu’un vivier purulent de petits caporaux, de jeunes cadres, de vieux boursiers et de moyenne bourgeoisie tiède et morne. Et puis, bien sûr, il y a les pauvres. Mais ceux-là, personne ne sait en parler, et eux-mêmes n’imaginent pas qu’on puisse dire quelque chose d’eux: la parole, c’est pour les maîtres.» — Christian BOBIN.

Thomas De Witt Talmage

Biographies & Memoirs

Thomas De Witt Talmage Thomas De Witt Talmage, American preacher, clergyman and divine (1832-1902) This ebook presents «Thomas De Witt Talmage», from Thomas De Witt Talmage. A dynamic table of contents enables to jump directly to the chapter selected. Table of Contents - About This Book - Preface - First Milestone - The Second Milestone - The Third Milestone - The Fourth Milestone - The Fifth Milestone - The Sixth Milestone - The Seventh Milestone - The Eighth Milestone - The Ninth Milestone - The Tenth Milestone - The Eleventh Milestone - The Twelfth Milestone - The Thirteenth Milestone - The Fourteenth Milestone - The Fifteenth Milestone - The Sixteenth Milestone - The Seventeenth Milestone - A Biographical Sketch Of Dr. Talmage's Last Milestones - The Last Milestones - The Second Milestone - The Third Milestone - The Passion Play At Ober-ammergau - The Last Milestone

Rim of the Desert

Biographies & Memoirs

THE LAW OF LEAD IN THE WEST The Broken Bit boys shot Sheriff Ben Borders after the nesters and law-abiders had re-elected him. Old Ben lay dying on the courthouse steps with Jim Keene looking down at him. "You stayin'?" said Ben. "I'll be staying," said Jim. "Well, when you get to the other side of the hill—remember this, son—the only thing you'll find there is just what you brought with you." Jim Keene had ridden a thousand miles to get to Cloud Valley and away from trouble. He was a strong man and a fighting man, but he always took sides. He couldn't help fighting for the underdog. And when he got to Cloud Valley he found that he couldn't run away from himself. With the sheriff dead, there was no law. So Jim Keene dealt himself in on the fight—on the side of the weak—and shot his way to justice…

Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

Biographies & Memoirs

The celebrated remembrances of the man who led the Union to victory during the Civil WarCompleted just days before his death, Grant’s Personal Memoirs is a clear and compelling account of his military career, focusing on two great conflicts: the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Lauded for its crisp and direct prose, Grant’s autobiography offers frank insight into everything from the merits of the war with Mexico to the strategies and tactics employed by Union forces against the Confederacy to the poignancy of Grant’s meeting with General Lee at Appomattox Court House.Beloved and bestselling since its publication in 1885, Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is a seminal work of military history and one of the great achievements of American autobiography.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

El mundo de ayer

Biographies & Memoirs

'El mundo de ayer' es uno de los más conmovedores y atractivos testimonios de nuestro pasado reciente, escrito además con mano maestra por un europeo empapado de civilización y nostalgia por un mundo, el suyo, que se iba desintegrando a pasos agigantados. Escritor extraordinariamente popular y testigo de excepción de los cambios que convulsionaron la Europa del siglo XX entre las dos guerras mundiales, Zweig recuerda, desposeído y en tierra extraña-en unas circunstancias personales de insospechado dramatismo-, los momentos fundamentales de su vida, paralela en mucho a la desmembración de aquella Europa central que se quería más libre y segura, al abrigo de la locura y la tormenta. El resultado es un libro capital, uno de los mejores de Zweig y referencia inexcusable para entender los desvaríos de un siglo devastador. "Gran radiografía de la cultura europea moderna." Rafael Argullol, El País "El libro prende y no suelta, quizá porque uno lo asume como la memoria de nuestro pasado cercano exprimida por la sensibilidad de un gran escritor que lo vivió con absoluta intensidad." Robert Saladrigas, La Vanguardia

Coach K

Biographies & Memoirs

The definitive biography of college basketball’s all-time winningest coach, Mike Krzyzewski Mike Krzyzewski, known worldwide as “Coach K,” is a five-time national champion at Duke, the NCAA's all-time leader in victories with nearly 1,200, and the first man to lead Team USA to three Olympic basketball gold medals. Through unprecedented access to Krzyzewski’s best friends, closest advisers, fiercest adversaries, and generations of his players and assistants, three-time New York Times bestselling author Ian O’Connor takes you behind the Blue Devil curtain with a penetrating examination of the great, but flawed leader as he closes out his iconic career. Krzyzewski built a staggering basketball empire that has endured for more than four decades, placing him among the all-time titans of American sport, and yet there has never been a defining portrait of the coach and his program. Until now. O’Connor uses scores of interviews with those who know Krzyzewski best to deliver previously untold stories about the relationships that define the venerable Coach K, including the one with his volcanic mentor, Bob Knight, that died a premature death. Krzyzewski was always driven by an inner rage fueled by his tough Chicago upbringing, and by the blue-collar Polish-American parents who raised him to fight for a better life. As the retiring Coach K makes his final stand, vying for one more ring during the 2021-2022 season before saying goodbye at age 75, O’Connor shows you sides of the man and his methods that will surprise even the most dedicated Duke fan.

The Underground Railroad - Courage in the Time Of Slavery (Illustrated Edition)

Biographies & Memoirs

The Underground Railroad was a secret network of routes used by Southern slaves in escaping to the North. In their attempts they were often guided and helped by former fugitive slaves and abolitionist who were known as the conductors. Read about these incredible and unforgettable life journeys and the people who took these treacherous routes to freedom. This edition includes the narratives of Harriet Tubman and Laura S. Haviland, the female conductors, along with a meticulous record of the lucky few slaves who managed to cross-over to North and escape the clutches of the dreadful slavery.

Presto!

Biographies & Memoirs

Penn Jillette’s New York Times bestselling account of his “extremely funny and somewhat profane journey to discovering a healthy lifestyle…that will motivate others to seek weight-loss solutions” (The Washington Post).More than three hundred and thirty pounds and saddled with a systolic blood pressure reading at dangerous heights, legendary magician Penn Jillette found himself at a crossroads. He needed a drastic lifestyle change if wanted to see his small children grow up. Enter Crazy Ray. A former NASA scientist and unconventional, passionate innovator, Ray Cronise changed Penn Jillette’s life with his wild “potato diet.”In Presto, Jillette takes us along on his journey from skepticism to the inspiring, life-changing momentum that transformed the magician’s body and mind. He describes the process in hilarious detail, as he performs his Las Vegas show, takes meetings with Hollywood executives, hangs out with his celebrity friends and fellow eccentric performers, all while remaining a dedicated husband and father. Throughout, he weaves in his views on sex, religion, and pop culture, making his story a refreshing, genre-busting account. Outspoken, frank, and bitingly clever, Presto is an incisive, rollicking read. In the end, it is “undeniably inspiring” (Booklist).

Never Silent

Biographies & Memoirs

"Never Silent is a gorgeous book . . . Peter Staley has written an electrifying primer for anyone who's thinking/worrying/wondering about how to change/save the world." —Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright of Angels in America2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist The previously untold stories of the life of the leading subject in David France's How To Survive A Plague, Peter Staley, including his continuing activism In 1987, somebody shoved a flyer into the hand of Peter Staley: massive AIDS demonstration, it announced. After four years on Wall Street as a closeted gay man, Staley was familiar with the homophobia common on trading floors. He also knew that he was not beyond the reach of HIV, having recently been diagnosed with AIDS-Related Complex. A week after the protest, Staley found his way to a packed meeting of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power—ACT UP—in the West Village. It would prove to be the best decision he ever made. ACT UP would change the course of AIDS, pressuring the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and three administrations to finally respond with research that ultimately saved millions of lives. Staley, a shrewd strategist with nerves of steel, organized some of the group's most spectacular actions, from shutting down trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to putting a giant condom over the house of Senator Jesse Helms. Never Silent is the inside story of what brought Staley to ACT UP and the explosive and sometimes painful years to follow—years filled with triumph, humiliation, joy, loss, and persistence.Never Silent is guaranteed to inspire the activist within all of us.

On Gold Mountain

Biographies & Memoirs

From the bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women, here is the true story of the one-hundred-year-odyssey of the author’s Chinese-American family, combining years of research with “fascinating family anecdotes, imaginative details, and the historical details of immigrant life” (Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club)."As engagingly readable as any novel." —Los Angeles Times Book ReviewIn 1867, Lisa See's great-great-grandfather arrived in America, where he prescribed herbal remedies to immigrant laborers who were treated little better than slaves. His son Fong See later built a mercantile empire and married a Caucasian woman, in spite of laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Lisa herself grew up playing in her family's antiques store in Los Angeles's Chinatown, listening to stories of missionaries and prostitutes, movie stars and Chinese baseball teams.See’s family history encompasses secret marriages, entrepreneurial genius, romance, racism, and much more, as two distinctly different cultures meet in a new world in this “lovingly rendered…vivid tableau of a family and an era” (People).

Elvis by the Presleys

Biographies & Memoirs

An intimate account of legendary entertainer Elvis Presley, featuring stunning photography and exclusive stories from Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and moreBehind the King of Rock and Roll was a husband, father, son, cousin, friend, and spiritual seeker. In Elvis by the Presleys, those who knew him best come together to memorialize our greatest star, featuring hours of exclusive family interviews, Elvis quotes, and private family photographs and images of personal memorabilia from the archives of Graceland/Elvis Presley Enterprises. Elvis by the Presleys reveals life at Graceland like never before. Graceland is seen as a teeming family retreat, where the kitchen was the center of operations; where tag football games were played in the yard; where folks drove golf carts up and down the hills; and where Elvis spent many of his happiest times.We witness the arc of his love affair with Priscilla; Elvis as a father to his adored Lisa Marie; his obsessions and passions; and the strength of his musical legacy, which continues unabated to this day. There are Christmas cards here, too; contracts and invoices; selections from Lisa Marie’s childhood scrapbook; and even a picture of the champagne bottle (signed) from Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding.Elvis by the Presleys is the tumultuous story of the life of a lovely yet complex man; a portrait of the career of a brilliantly accomplished yet often frustrated artist; an insider’s tale of enduring love, related with warmth and unguarded candor . . . and a story told the way only a family can tell it.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

Biographies & Memoirs

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is Lawrence’s memoir of his involvement in leading a portion of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman empire during World War I. The empire had joined the side of Germany and the Central Powers in the war, and Britain hoped that a successful revolt would take the empire out of the war effort. Britain had also promised the Arabs that, if they were successful, England would recognize a single Arab state.Lawrence convinced the Arab leaders, who had historically not shown a willingness to work together, to join forces in supporting Britain’s strategy in the area. His memoir is part travelogue, part philosophy treatise, and part action novel. It details his movements and actions during his two year involvement, his relationships with the various Arab leaders and men who fought with him, and his thoughts—and doubts—during that time. It’s a gripping tale made famous by the movie Lawrence of Arabia, and one that Winston Churchill called “unsurpassable” as a “narrative of war and adventure.”The manuscript of Seven Pillars of Wisdom has a rich history. Lawrence finished his first draft in 1919 from his notes during the war, but lost most of it when changing trains in England (it was never found). The next year, he started working on a new version from memory that ended up being sixty percent longer than the original. He then edited that version (although it was still a third longer than the original draft), finishing it in early 1922, and had eight copies of it printed to give to friends so they could review it and offer editing suggestions (and to prevent a repeat of losing his only copy). About this time he re-enlisted in the service, but friends convinced him to work on a version he could publish. In 1926, he had a first edition of approximately 200 copies published that included 125 black-and-white and color illustrations from sixteen different artists. The first edition lost money, and it was the only edition published during his lifetime. This edition uses the first edition text and includes all 125 of the original illustrations, including both endpapers.

Mermoz

Biographies & Memoirs

Né dans l'Aisne à Aubenton le 9 décembre 1901 et disparu en 1936 à bord de l'hydravion Croix-du-Sud au large des côtes de Dakar, Mermoz a eu un destin unique : il fut le plus prestigieux et le plus aimé des pilotes à l'époque où l'aviation comptait encore des aventures qui tenaient de l'épopée et inspiraient au monde entier une admiration sans borne. Kessel, son ami et son biographe, dit de lui : 'Archange glorieux, neurasthénique profond, mystique résigné, païen éblouissant, amoureux de la vie, incliné vers la mort, enfant et sage, tout cela était vrai chez Mermoz, mais tout cela était faux si l'on isolait chacun de ces éléments. Car ils étaient fondus dans une extraordinaire unité.'

Out of the Darkness

Biographies & Memoirs

Instant New York Times Bestseller"A masterwork. ... O'Connor answers every question, deftly and deeply, that we've had about the most controversial person in America's biggest game." —Peter KingFour-time New York Times bestselling sport biographer Ian O’Connor pulls back the curtain on four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, delivering the definitive portrait of the legendary yet mysterious quarterback who has astonished, befuddled, yet always captivated fans of America’s #1 sport.Aaron Rodgers is among the two or three most talented players to ever hold the most important job in American team sports – quarterback. He also stands as the most mysterious and polarizing figure in the modern-day national pastime that is professional football.From his controversial Covid stance to his methods of spiritual awakening to his estrangement from his family to his high-profile romances to his devastating Achilles injury a mere four plays into his New York Jets career, Rodgers has long dominated the NFL’s news cycle.At thirty-nine, in search of a challenge that would rejuvenate him, Rodgers divorced the iconic Green Bay Packers of Vince Lombardi fame for the Jets, who have not appeared in a Super Bowl since Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. The trade made Rodgers the biggest story in the biggest league in the biggest market. By far.That story only got bigger when Rodgers shockingly went down on the night of 9/11, in front of a packed house that roared for him when he took the field carrying an American flag, and in front of the biggest Monday Night Football audience in ESPN history, peaking at more than 25 million viewers across all platforms. Rodgers then shocked the world by pulling off the fastest recorded comeback from an Achilles tear, returning to practice eleven weeks after surgery. Remarkably enough, he would have played again in the 2023 season, at age 40, had the Jets remained in playoff contention.Ian O’Connor uses hundreds of original interviews to pull back the curtain and answer the most penetrating questions about the league’s most enigmatic player. Just like he did in his defining bios of Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, Derek Jeter, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer, O’Connor reveals all sides of an all-time great and delivers a portrait of a complex man that will forever shape the way he is viewed.

Nixon Volume II

Biographies & Memoirs

Stephen E. Ambrose’s biography of one of the most complex and puzzling US presidents at the apogee of his career, rebounding from defeat to an innovative, high-risk presidency, already sowing the seeds of his ruin.Starting with Nixon’s drive to the presidency, volume two of Ambrose’s major biography of America’s 37th president chronicles Nixon’s campaigns, his ultimate victory in 1962 as well as his first term as President, and culminates with the Nixon’s reelection on November 7, 1972. Nixon was a complex man graced with superb intellect, creative, knowledgeable about world activities and peerless in his talent for foreign affairs. Yet he could also be manipulative, quick to anger, driven by unseen ambitions, cynical about domestic politics, and sensitive to criticism. Culled from his private papers, speeches, hand-written notes, audio recordings of conversations in the Nixon White House and much more, Ambrose’s account offers insight into the thought patterns and attitudes of the man whose Presidency was marked by the debacles of Watergate and Vietnam, yet who also began the process of nuclear disarmament and opened up crucial diplomatic relations with China. This is a brilliant and detailed second part to Ambrose’s Nixon trilogy.

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