Biographies & Memoirs - Books

John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God

Biographies & Memoirs

John Piper fires readers' passion for the centrality and supremacy of God by unfolding Calvin's exemplary zeal for the glory of God.God rests all too lightly on the church's mind in our time. Consequently, the self-saturation of his people has made God and his glory auxiliary, and his majesty has all but disappeared from the modern evangelical world. John Calvin saw a similar thing in his day, and it was at the root of his quarrel with Rome. Nothing mattered more to Calvin than the centrality, supremacy, and majesty of the glory of God. His aim, he wrote, was to "set before [man], as the prime motive of his existence, zeal to illustrate the glory of God"-a fitting banner over all of the great Reformer's life and work. "The essential meaning of Calvin's life and preaching," writes John Piper, "is that he recovered and embodied a passion for the absolute reality and majesty of God. Such is the aim and burden of this book as well." As Piper concisely unfolds this predominant theme in Calvin's life, he seeks to fire every Christian's passion for the centrality and supremacy of God, so that God's self-identification in Exodus 3 as "I am who I am" becomes the sun in our solar system too.

American Values

Biographies & Memoirs

With rich detail, compelling honesty, and a storyteller’s gift, RFK Jr. describes his life growing up Kennedy in a tumultuous time in history that eerily echoes the issues of nuclear confrontation, religion, race, and inequality that we confront today.“With emotion and striking detail, RFK Jr. recalls both the private joys and very public pain of his childhood.”— Independent Catholic NewsIn this powerful book that combines the best aspects of memoir and political history, the third child of Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of JFK takes us on an intimate journey through his life, including watershed moments in the history of our nation. Stories of his grandparents Joseph and Rose set the stage for their nine remarkable children, among them three U.S. senators—Teddy, Bobby, and Jack—one of whom went on to become attorney general, and the other, the president of the United States.We meet Allen Dulles and J. Edgar Hoover, two men whose agencies posed the principal threats to American democracy and values. We live through the Cuban Missile Crisis, when insubordinate spies and belligerent generals in the Pentagon and Moscow brought the world to the cliff edge of nuclear war. At Hickory Hill in Virginia, where RFK Jr. grew up, we encounter the celebrities who gathered at the second most famous address in Washington, members of what would later become known as America’s Camelot. Through his father’s role as attorney general we get an insider’s look as growing tensions over civil rights led to pitched battles in the streets and 16,000 federal troops were called in to enforce desegregation at Ole Miss. We see growing pressure to fight wars in Southeast Asia to stop communism. We relive the assassination of JFK, RFK’s run for the presidency that was cut short by his own death, and the aftermath of those murders on the Kennedy family.RFK Jr. also shares his own experiences, not just with historical events and the movers who shaped them but also with his mother and father, with his own struggles with addiction, and with the ways he eventually made peace with both his Kennedy legacy and his own demons. A lyrically written book that provides insight, hope, and steady wisdom for Americans as they wrestle, as never before, with questions about America’s role in history and the world and what it means to be American.

Alistair Cooke's America

Biographies & Memoirs

For more than sixty years Alistair Cooke wrote and broadcast on every facet of American life with incomparable wit and wisdom. This is his ‘personal history’ of America, the best-selling book that accompanied his legendary BBC television series which was first broadcast in November 1972. It has sold over two million copies and has emerged through tumultuous times to become regarded as a classic. It is an irresistibly readable guide to what has made this powerful democracy work and survive through 200 years. Alistair writes with authority about the explorers who put their new-found land on the map, the pioneers who tamed the Wild West, the soldiers who fought for independence, the slaves who fled north, the tycoons who built fortunes and the immigrants that sought a new life. From the Mayflower to the gold rush, the jazz age to Pearl Harbor, with portraits of figures as varied as Buffalo Bill, John D. Rockefeller and Martin Luther King Jr., here is the American story in all its triumphs and failures, grandeurs and tragedies. It is the defining portrait of a nation. This anniversary edition includes the reflective note to the reader that Alistair Cooke wrote in 2002.

The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 3

Biographies & Memoirs

This is a biographical book. Fred. Montagu told me of the pedigree. I shall take care of all your commissions. Felicitate yourself on having got from me the two landscapes; that source is stopped. Not that Mr. M`untz is eloped to finish the conquest of America, nor promoted by Mr. Secretary's zeal for my friends, nor because the ghost of Mrs. Leneve has appeared to me, and ordered me to drive Hannah and Ishmael into the wilderness. A cause much more familiar to me has separated US—nothing but a tolerable quantity of ingratitude on his side, both to me and Mr. Bentley. The story is rather too long for a letter: the substance was most extreme impertinence to me, concluded by an abusive letter against Mr. Bentley, who sent him from starving on seven pictures for a guinea to One hundred pounds a year, my house, table, and utmost countenance. In short, I turned his head, and was forced to turn him out of doors. You shall see the documents, as it is the fashion to call proof papers. Poets and painters imagine they confer the Honour when they are protected, and they set down impertinence to the article of their own virtue, when you dare to begin to think that an ode or a picture is not a patent for all manner of insolence.

Tagebuch

Biographies & Memoirs

Die weltweit gültige und verbindliche Fassung des Tagebuchs der Anne Frank, autorisiert vom Anne Frank Fonds Basel.Das Tagebuch von Anne Frank ist Symbol und Dokument zugleich. Symbol für den Völkermord an den Juden durch die Nazi-Verbrecher und Dokument der Lebenswelt einer einzigartig begabten jungen Schriftstellerin.Die vorliegende Ausgabe ist die einzige vom Anne Frank Fonds in Basel autorisierte Fassung des Tagebuchs, von dem es eine erste und eine zweite, spätere Version gibt, die beide von Anne Frank selbst stammen. Sie hatte das von ihr über mehr als zwei Jahre geführte Tagebuch zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt überarbeitet, weil die erste Fassung ihren schriftstellerischen Ansprüchen nicht mehr genügte.Diese Ausgabe enthält den von Anne Frank überarbeiteten Tagebuchtext samt den unverändert aus der ersten Fassung übernommenen Teilen, ohne jene Auslassungen, die Annes Vater Otto Frank aus Diskretion vorgenommen hatte. Mirjam Pressler hat dafür eine neue, dem ungekünstelten Stil des Originals adäquate Übersetzung erarbeitet.Dieser vollständige Text, dessen Authentizität seit der kompletten Wiedergabe aller Werkfassungen in der kritischen Ausgabe der ›Tagebücher der Anne Frank‹ (S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1988) unbestritten ist, vermittelt ein eindrucksvolles Bild von Anne Franks Gefühls- und Gedankenwelt und nicht zuletzt von ihren Fortschritten als Schriftstellerin.»…werde ich jemals Journalistin und Schriftstellerin werden? Ich hoffe es, ich hoffe es so sehr! Mit Schreiben kann ich alles ausdrücken, meine Gedanken, meine Ideale und meine Phantasien.« Anne Frank, 5. April 1944Überblick über die Versionen der Tagebücher:Anne Frank hat zwei fragmentarische Tagebuchversionen hinterlassen: Version a und Version bVersion a ist der ursprüngliche Tagebuchtext von Anne Frank. Version b ist Anne Franks unvollendete Bearbeitung der Tagebuch-Texte, mit der sie eine etwaige Publikation vorbereitet hat. Version b wurde 1986 erstmals publiziert. Seit kurzem wird dieses Fragment als Romanentwurf bezeichnet. Version c war die erste Fassung des Tagebuchs, die Otto Frank nach dem Krieg 1947 veröffentlichte. Otto Frank, der seine gesamte Familie verloren hatte, bereinigte den Text von Stellen, die für ihn das Andenken an seine Familie schmälerten. Die Version c ist seit 1990 nicht mehr lieferbar. Version d ist die so genannte Leseausgabe der Tagebücher, die vom Anne Frank Fonds autorisiert wurde und die Versionen a und b in eine Fassung überführt, so dass die Tagebuchtexte ungekürzt zur Verfügung stehen. Diese Version hat die Version c abgelöst und ist seit 1991 die weltweit verbindliche Grundlage für die Übersetzungen des Tagebuchs in über 80 Sprachen, in über 100 Ländern. Alle Versionen der Tagebücher – außer der Version c – sind in verschiedenen Ausgaben in der Übersetzung von Mirjam Pressler im S. Fischer Verlag lieferbar.

Premiers voyages en zigzag

Biographies & Memoirs

Extrait : "Un chroniquer raconte naïvement que Genève fut fondée par l'un de ces innombrables fils de Priam qui, après la guerre de Troie, se dispersèrent sur la terre habitable, semant les villes sur leur passage. Celui-ci s'appelait Lemanus. Frappé par la beauté de notre lac, il lui donna son nom, et puis s'y embarqua."À PROPOS DES ÉDITIONS LIGARANLes éditions LIGARAN proposent des versions numériques de qualité de grands livres de la littérature classique mais également des livres rares en partenariat avec la BNF. Beaucoup de soins sont apportés à ces versions ebook pour éviter les fautes que l'on trouve trop souvent dans des versions numériques de ces textes. LIGARAN propose des grands classiques dans les domaines suivants : • Livres rares• Livres libertins• Livres d'Histoire• Poésies• Première guerre mondiale• Jeunesse• Policier

Je suis Providence 2

Biographies & Memoirs

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) est un auteur qui fascine autant par son œuvre que par sa personnalité. Ayant influencé avec ses récits fantastiques et horrifiques (comme L'Appel de Cthulhu) de nombreux écrivains comme Stephen King, ses fictions et sa vie ont été soumises à de nombreuses interprétations pas toujours exactes, véridiques et précises.Spécialiste des littératures de l'imaginaire et de Lovecraft en particulier, S.T. Joshi travaille sur sa biographie depuis plus de 20 ans. Par son érudition et son ampleur, elle est aujourd'hui considérée comme la référence au niveau mondial.

The Cretan Runner

Biographies & Memoirs

A witty, thrilling, and “effortlessly poetic” account of the Cretan resistance during World War II—with a map and 32 black-and-white photographs (The Guardian) George Psychoundakis was a 21-one-year-old shepherd from the village of Asi Gonia when the battle of Crete began: “It was in May 1941 that, all of a sudden, high in the sky, we heard the drone of many aeroplanes growing steadily closer.” The German parachutists soon outnumbered the British troops who were forced first to retreat, then to evacuate, before Crete fell to the Germans. So began the Cretan Resistance and the young shepherd’s career as a wartime runner. In this unique account of the Resistance, Psychoundakis records the daily life of his fellow Cretans, his treacherous journeys on foot from the eastern White Mountains to the western slopes of Mount Ida to transmit messages and transport goods, and his enduring friendships with British officers (like his eventual translator Patrick Leigh Fermor) whose missions he helped to carry out with unflagging courage, energy, and good humor.

La Grande Peur des bien-pensants

Biographies & Memoirs

Sous couvert d'une biographie d'Edouard Drumont, quarante-cinq ans d'Histoire de France – de 1870 à 1915, de la Commune à l'Affaire Dreyfus en passant par le scandale du canal de Panama – forment la trame de ce brillant pamphlet-hommage. De l'auteur antisémite de "La France juive", qu'il appelait "mon maître", Bernanos dresse le portrait d'un grand homme idéaliste aux prises avec tous les bien-pensants de l'époque: bourgeois conservateurs, républicains, socialistes, juifs, francs-maçons, parlementaires, militaires, prêtres et autres notables qui ne songent qu'à s'enrichir et à se concilier les faveurs de ceux qui les briment, tout en préparant inconsciemment la Grande Guerre à venir. "La Grande Peur des bien-pensants", récit de l'agonie de la France chrétienne et violent réquisitoire contre une République corrompue, est l'occasion pour Bernanos d'exprimer toute la colère antibourgeoise et anticapitaliste qui l'anime. À travers le récit de la fin solitaire d'un Drumont vaincu et désespéré, c'est aussi une sorte de testament de sa propre jeunesse.

The Dragons of Decagon

Biographies & Memoirs

Before man walked the earth Dragons were the most powerful beingsthat lived. They had a civilization that could put any to shame. Defense,education, magic, and harmony, but, sometimes trouble came their way.They never caused it, but neither did they back down on what was right,and they defended their own and their friends fiercely. And so it was,the call for help came from the Merpeople, they had a longstandingfriendship, and often met up in Sea Valley to pool information andshare a bountiful meal. Since the battle of the Wolfcrabs was past andno one had been hurt, it had been a peaceful time for everyone.

Elon Musk. Biografia twórcy PayPala, Tesli, SpaceX

Biographies & Memoirs

BESTSELLEROWA BIOGRAFIA CZŁOWIEKA, KTÓRY ZMIENIA ŚWIAT NA NASZYCH OCZACH Steve Jobs chciał waszych pieniędzy. Mark Zuckerberg pragnie wam pomóc udostępnić zdjęcia bobasów. Elon Musk zamierza uratować świat przed zagładą. Wizjoner, geniusz, nieznośny szef, najbardziej zuchwały przedsiębiorca Doliny Krzemowej, jeden z najbogatszych ludzi na ziemi. Człowiek stawiany w jednym szeregu z Thomasem Edisonem, Henrym Fordem i Stevem Jobsem. Każdy start-up w jego rękach zmienia się w złoto. Stworzył PayPala, koncern samochodowy Tesla Motors, a także SpaceX – firmę wysyłającą prywatne rakiety w kosmos. Muskowi udało się, mimo że jego życie jest niedorzeczne. A może właśnie dlatego. Żeby przekonać rząd, że pojawił się nowy gracz w wyścigu kosmicznym, zaparkował rakietę na trawniku przed siedzibą Federalnej Administracji Lotnictwa w Waszyngtonie. Gdy po auta Tesli ustawiały się kolejki chętnych, Leonardo DiCaprio błagał Elona o egzemplarz elektrycznego Roadstera. Musk oczywiście odmówił. Ashlee Vance, publicysta specjalizujący się w nowoczesnych technologiach, przeprowadził dziesiątki wywiadów z rodziną, przyjaciółmi i pracownikami Elona Muska. Dotarł także do jego wrogów. Sam Musk przyrzekł, że zrobi wszystko, by nie dopuścić do publikacji tej książki. Nagle zmienił zdanie – oto ona.

Je connais gens de toutes sortes

Biographies & Memoirs

"Des instants. Quelques mots, quelques regards. Déjà, je tentais d'aborder des personnages réels comme des héros de romans, et déjà, narcissisme du romancier aidant, je me mettais parfois autant en scène que le sujet lui-même." François Mitterrand, Ernest Hemingway, André Malraux, Romain Gary, John Fitzgerald Kennedy... Au cours de ses années de journalisme, Philippe Labro a croisé la route de nombreuses personnalités qui ont marqué le XXᵉ siècle. De ces rencontres, il a signé une série de portraits publiés dans la presse entre les années 1970 et 1990, ici réunis et augmentés de "postfaces" inédites. À travers le recueil de ces textes fourmillant d'anecdotes et de réflexions intimes, c'est tout le talent d'observateur de l'écrivain qui se révèle.

Kurt Cobain: The Last Interview

Biographies & Memoirs

Kurt Cobain burst into American consciousness with a vengeance with the release of Nevermind, an instant classic that defined a sound and a generation. Three years later, he was dead of suicide, leaving a meteoric career and a cultural influence that would never wane.As the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain changed American music as few musicians ever have. His instantly identifiable raspy croon, his slash-and-burn guitar playing, and his corrosive and poetic lyrics made him a hero to a generation of lost souls. In interviews Cobain was funny, thoughtful, sarcastic, impassioned, and even kind. This collection of interviews provides a look at a man who was too often misunderstood.

8.8: el miedo en el espejo

Biographies & Memoirs

En la que sin duda es su crónica más emocionante, Juan Villoro cuenta cómo estuvo en condiciones de comparar la intensidad de dos de los terremotos más terribles que ha sufrido América Latina: el de 1985 en la ciudad de México y el de 2010 en Santiago de Chile. Convencido de que estos desastres deben contarse con las más representativas de las voces implicadas, Villoro tomó los relatos de sus compañeros de temblor y construyó un concierto de impresiones en el que no faltan el suspenso o el absurdo. Además de una arrebatadora narración coral sobre las distintas estrategias para sobrevivir al espanto, 8.8: El miedo en el espejo recurre al ensayo, al relato y al testimonio de otros escritores que, como Kleist, han narrado terremotos verdaderos o ficticios a fin de descubrir la dimensión literaria de una realidad movediza.Al otorgarle a Juan Villoro el Premio Internacional de Periodismo Rey de España a principios de 2010, el jurado destacó no sólo la calidad de la escritura, o la clarividencia en la elección del tema, sino las múltiples perspectivas plásticas, musicales, literarias, políticas y sociológicas "desde las que el autor ha analizado una realidad tan poliédrica". Saltando del espanto al humor de los testigos, el presente libro de Villoro renueva estas virtudes a la vez que busca averiguar cómo reacciona el ser humano cuando más teme por su vida.

To søstre

Biographies & Memoirs

Den norske journalist og forfatter Åsne Seierstads enestående evne til at komme helt tæt de personer, hun portrætterer, og samtidig beskrive en af samtidens store konflikter, foldes atter ud - nu i bogen TO SØSTRE. I den har Åsne Seierstad på nærmeste hold fulgt en norsk-somalisk families opløsning, da de to søstre i familien lader sig hverve som Jihad-brude i Kalifatet.En oktoberdag i 2013 forlader søstrene Ayan og Leila deres hjem i en lille norsk by. Da det sent om aftenen går op for familien, at døtrene ikke kommer hjem fra skole, er det for sent. Pigerne er på vej til Syrien. Deres far rejser efter pigerne i en desperat jagt på at finde dem.To søstre er en stærk familiefortælling om at prøve at finde sin egen identitet i en anden kultur. Det er samtidig et globalt samtidsportræt, hvor verdens kulturelle- og religiøse sammenstød mere og mere insisterende banker på døren, også i en lille norsk by.

I, Fellini

Biographies & Memoirs

Forged from the many conversations Charlotte Chandler conducted with the director of La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, and La Strada over the course of fourteen years, I, Fellini is a portrait of one of Italy's greatest filmmakers in his own words.

Dostoevsky By Zweig

Biographies & Memoirs

This is the third essay of Stefan Zweig’s Three Masters: Balzac, Dickens, Dostoevsky, written in the early 20th century. Part biography, part literary criticism, part cultural history, the essay offers a window onto how a Central European regarded the Russian master, who died in 1881, the year Zweig was born. Dostoevsky’s genius, in Zweig’s view, owed a debt to his illness, as Tolstoy’s did to his radiant health. Illness “enabled Dostoevsky to soar upward into a sphere of such concentrated feeling as is rarely experienced by normal men; it permitted him to penetrate into the underworld of the emotions, into the submerged regions of the psyche.” This essay is one of the best examples of Zweig’s psychologically-informed literary criticism.

Never a Dull Moment!

Biographies & Memoirs

This beautifully written, meticulously detailed, highly engaging book is a rare treat. It evokes a vanished world of railways that achieved extraordinary things logistically while using what is by modern standards distinctly old-fashioned technology. Lifelong railwayman Terry Collins takes the reader on a journey into the heart of what working on the railways between 1962 and 1996 was like, from the days of steam, to the dawn of the modern railway age. The book is also a real eye-opener about many of the behind-the-scenes incidents the public never hears about. ‘Never a Dull Moment’ is an absolutely unforgettable book As Terry himself says: ‘I really enjoyed working on the railways. We had our tragedies, sadly, but we also dealt with many other challenging incidents, including some bizarre ones, and when we won, against the odds, and got the trains and people moving again, it was a great feeling! I say “we” because this book is also very much about the many people in the signal boxes, Traffic Control, stations, yards and on the track, that I worked with, some of them “larger than life” characters, but almost without exception, determined to win. And we did!’

Behind the Seams

Biographies & Memoirs

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A beautiful celebration of Dolly Parton’s iconic sense of style through entertaining personal stories and 450 full-color photographs, including exclusive images from her private costume archiveIn Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world. Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton’s life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes—she shares them all. Along the way, Parton discusses memorable outfits from her past, from the clothes her mother would sew out of feed sacks (including her “Coat of Many Colors”) and the bold dresses and hairdos that shook up Nashville, to the bunny suit on the cover of Playboy, evening wear at Studio 54, costumes from her most famous film and TV roles, and the daring styles that continue to entertain and inspire today. Filled with candor, humor, and lots and lots of rhinestones, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones is a shining tribute to one of the most beloved musicians in history, a treasured keepsake for anyone who loves Dolly Parton, and an indispensable guide to forging your own path to beauty and confidence.

Where Did It All Go Right?

Biographies & Memoirs

Andrew Collins was born 37 years ago in Northampton. His parents never split up, in fact they rarely exchanged a cross word. No-one abused him. Nobody died. He got on well with his brother and sister and none of his friends drowned in a canal. He has never stayed overnight in a hospital and has no emotional scars from his upbringing, except a slight lingering resentment that Anita Barker once mocked the stabilisers on his bike. Where Did It All Go Right? is a jealous memoir written by someone who occasionally wishes life had dealt him a few more juicy marketable blows. The author delves back into his first 18 years in search of something - anything - that might have left him deeply and irreparably damaged. With tales of bikes, telly, sweets, good health, domestic harmony and happy holidays, Andrew aims to bring a little hope to all those out there living with the emotional after-effects of a really nice childhood. Andrew Collins kept a diary from the age of five, so he really can remember what he had for tea everyday and what he did at school, excerpts from his diary run throughout the book and it is this detail which makes his story so compelling.

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