Biographies & Memoirs - Books

Biography Of Chandrashekhar Azad

Biographies & Memoirs

"Chandrashekhar Azad’s short and chequered life of a revolutionary is remembered in the annals of the history of India’s freedom struggle not merely for his indomitability in the face of odds; but for the human values he cherished. In today’s world; with the edifice of every conceivable value crumbling all around us; Azad’s life offers a paradigm for the redemption of a generation resigned to shallow ideals. Adversity came a dime a dozen to this village youth born to poor parents rich in morality and humaneness. It’s the roots that determine the actions of a person and actions; his destiny. At a time when we seem to be taking our freedom for granted; Azad’s biography is a reminder of the blood and toil that went into securing it. The road to preservation of freedom must be hemmed with respect for what we have; for being fortunate to be able to breathe in free air. The crucial caveat embedded in Azad’s biography is that we face a far greater threat from the enemies within than from enemies without."

My Name Was Called

Biographies & Memoirs

This autobiography by Graham Redman takes a long hard look at life in Australia from the 40s through to today. A man who was raised in the Christian faith, who fell and failed, and yet, God picked him up, time and again, and proved His faithfulness through all of life's ups and downs. Come on a journey with Graham as he shares his failures and his triumphs and throughout it all, the never-ending love of God.

The Silver Tea Service

Biographies & Memoirs

A rich memoir about exploring a family mystery, and how a search for truth can yield unexpected outcomes.Eight years after the death of her mother, Judy reviews her family relics, including the antique tea service that belonged to her mother’s grandfather. Should she just sell the damn thing and buy new lounge furniture? It’s tempting.But she stops to read the inscription etched into the solid silver tray. It honours this man around whom hangs a century-old mystery. Prickling with a strange resentment towards her widely loved mother, she embarks on a journey to uncover the truth behind the story of grandeur and ruin her mother had promised, but never wrote.The author’s relentless research in dusty archives and neglected cemeteries across South Africa unravels an unexpected family history. The process draws her to revisit the darker corridors of her youth, and her sense of identity. She confronts the losses and complexities of her own life.The Silver Tea Service is a thought-provoking memoir of loss, redemption and belonging, of political injustices and the inescapable nuances of history in South Africa.

Братья Райт. Люди, которые научили мир летать

Biographies & Memoirs

Цитата 20 июля 1969 года Нил Армстронг, еще один американец, выросший в Западном Огайо, ступил на лунную поверхность. При себе он имел маленький кусочек парусины с крыла «Флайера» 1903 года, взятый в память о братьях Райт. О чем книга Дэвида Маккаллоу «Братья Райт. Люди, которые научили мир летать» В начале ХХ века человечество охватила «летная лихорадка» — страстное стремление воплотить, наконец, в жизнь многовековую мечту об управляемом полете. Правительства США и стран Европы тратили огромные суммы на программы по созданию первого летательного аппарата с мотором. А в это время в небольшом американском городке в штате Огайо два сына местного епископа на собственные небольшие средства строили свою летающую машину. История о том, как скромные владельцы велосипедной мастерской, не окончившие даже колледжа, сконструировали и испытали первый в мире управляемый самолет, рассказанная лауреатом Пулитцеровской премии, обладателем Национальной книжной премии США Дэвидом Маккаллоу. Орвилл и Уилбур Райт заинтересовались полетами после знакомства с детской французской игрушкой, похожей на «вертолет» с двумя пропеллерами и резиновой лентой. Любопытство, пытливость ума, чтение книг и страсть к полетам помогли братьям Райт сконструировать первый управляемый самолет. Из книги, полной биографических и исторических подробностей, читатель узнает, как братья Райт наблюдали за птицами и почему этот опыт оказался необходимым при испытании первых планеров в неприметном Китти Хок на Внешних отмелях, как неудачи только подтолкнули к окончательной решимости летать и как четыре полета на «Флайере» в декабре 1903 года изменили ход истории человечества. Почему книга «Братья Райт» достойна прочтения - содержит факты из жизни семьи Райт и сведения о главных мировых технических достижениях и патентах конца IХ – начала ХХ вв.; - в книге использованы письма, дневники, журналы, документы, собранные из Библиотеки Конгресса; - описана история авиастроения, приведены примеры экспериментов братьев Райт: как они конструировали первые летательные машины и что из этого получилось; - эта книга рассказывает об увлеченных людях, эпохе изобретений и о том, как одна мечта может перевернуть всю историю человечества; - бестселлер The New York Times и в разделе «История авиации» Amazon. Об авторе Дэвид Маккаллоу — американский писатель, автор свыше десяти книг, историк и лектор. Изучал английскую литературу в Йельском университете. Дважды был удостоен Пулитцеровской премии и дважды — Национальной книжной премии. Также получил за свои заслуги Президентскую медаль Свободы, высшую награду США для гражданских лиц.

C. H. Spurgeon's Autobiography

Biographies & Memoirs

As one of the most revered Baptist preachers of his time, Charles Haddon Spurgeon's eventful and prolific life and career offer outstanding inspiration for all Christians to this day. In the first volume of Spurgeon's autobiography, we witness his rise from modest obscurity, embarking on a long road toward fame and admiration as a representative of God on Earth. A lengthy, lively and detailed biography is helped by the fact that Spurgeon was an effusive and prolific talker and author of many documents: he would recount incidents of his life on paper and in speeches regularly. We find in this volume the famous instance in which the young Spurgeon encountered his call from God. When Spurgeon was aged fifteen, a violent snowstorm forced him from his route into a Methodist church where he felt the Lord beckon him to service. After this, he undertook parochial study with great fervor, and quickly became a respected teacher in his local Sunday School, gaining the nickname 'the boy-preacher of the Fens'. C. H. Spurgeon's rare gift for words and ability to speak movingly became obvious at the outset. Whilst still in his teenage years he commenced to write Gospel tracts, honing his keynote style and manner with audiences. Early on, his ability to encourage religious thought and contemplation of the divine in his listeners was realized by Christians of various denominations - he was earmarked for a bright future in the church. Yet Spurgeon lived in England at a difficult time; towards the end of this volume, we hear his account of the cholera epidemic which ravaged London in the 1850s. Witnessing the effect of this terrible disease was sobering for the young preacher; amid this grim scene, the comfort of God's assurance was in high demand - it fell to Spurgeon to offer such comfort to ever-larger crowds.

Briefe an Josephine

Biographies & Memoirs

In "Briefe an Josephine" entfaltet Napoleon Bonaparte seine tiefsten Emotionen und Gedanken in einem epistolaren Format, das sowohl intim als auch historisch aufgeladen ist. Die Briefe sind geprägt von einer poetischen Sprache und vermitteln die Leidenschaft und Komplexität einer Beziehung, die im Kontext der politischen Turbulenzen des späten 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhunderts blüht. Sie bieten Einblicke in Napoleons persönliche Welt, aus der sich die politische Karriere des mächtigen Herrschers speist, und illustrieren den Kontrast zwischen öffentlichem Ruhm und privatesten Gefühlen. Dieser literarische Stil verleiht den Texten eine emotionale Tiefe, die weit über die historischen Begebenheiten hinausgeht und den Leser in die Seele eines Mannes zieht, der das Schicksal Europas prägte. Napoleon Bonaparte, geboren 1769 auf Korsika, war nicht nur ein herausragender Militärführer, sondern offenbar auch ein sensibler Romantiker. Sein Schreiben an Josephine, zu der er leidenschaftlich verbunden war, reflektiert seine inneren Kämpfe und Ambitionen. Die Briefe entstanden vor, während und nach seinem Aufstieg zur Kaiserwürde, was einen von Gegensätzen geprägten Ausdruck seiner Persönlichkeit und seines Zeitgeistes offenbart. Sie sind nicht nur stark emotional gefärbt, sondern ergeben auch ein komplexes Bild des Charakters, der in einer Zeit des Umbruchs lebte. Lesern sei dieses Werk besonders ans Herz gelegt, da es nicht nur als romantisches Dokument fungiert, sondern auch als Schlüssel zum Verständnis der menschlichen Seite eines der bedeutendsten Führer der Geschichte. Die Briefe sind unverzichtbar für jeden, der sich für die Verflechtung von persönlichem Leben und historischer Macht interessiert. Sie bringen den Leser dazu, darüber nachzudenken, wie intime Beziehungen unsere Entscheidungen und die Welt um uns herum formen können.

Renegades

Biographies & Memoirs

Zwei langjährige Freunde im vertrauten, eindringlichen Gespräch – über das Leben, die Musik und ihre anhaltende Liebe zu Amerika mit all seinen Herausforderungen und Widersprüchen. Die exklusiv und besonders gestaltete Erweiterung des erfolgreichen Higher Ground Podcasts mit über 350 Fotografien, exklusiven Zusatzinhalten und noch nie zuvor gesehenem Archivmaterial."Renegades: Born in the USA" ist ein sehr persönlicher, aufschlussreicher und unterhaltsamer Dialog zwischen Ex-Präsident Barack Obama und der Rocklegende Bruce Springsteen. Die beiden erörtern alle möglichen Themen – über ihre Herkunft und die entscheidenden Momente ihres Lebens, über Familie und Vaterschaft bis hin zur polarisierenden Politik ihres Landes und der wachsenden Kluft zwischen dem amerikanischen Traum und der amerikanischen Realität. Das mit zahlreichen Farbfotografien und seltenem Archivmaterial gestaltete Buch ist ein fesselndes und wunderbar illustriertes Porträt zweier Außenseiter – der eine Schwarz, der andere weiß –, die, wie es im Titel "Renegades" anklingt, ihren ganz eigenen, unkonventionellen Weg gefunden haben, ihre persönliche Suche nach Sinn, Identität und Gemeinschaft mit der amerikanischen Erzählung zu verbinden.

On the Choice of Books

Biographies & Memoirs

There comes a time in the career of every man of genius who has devoted a long life to the instruction and enlightenment of his fellow-creatures, when he receives before his death all the honours paid by posterity. Thus when a great essayist or historian lives to attain a classic and world-wide fame, his own biography becomes as interesting to the public as those he himself has written, and by which he achieved his laurels.

Leadership

Biographies & Memoirs

An instant New York Times bestsellerHenry Kissinger, consummate diplomat and statesman, examines the strategies of six great twentieth-century figures and brings to life a unifying theory of leadership and diplomacy“An extraordinary book, one that braids together two through lines in the long and distinguished career of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger...In Leadership he presents a fascinating set of historical case studies and political biographies that blend the dance and the dancer, seamlessly.” - James Stavridis, The Wall Street Journal“Leaders,” writes Henry Kissinger in this compelling book, “think and act at the intersection of two axes: the first, between the past and the future; the second, between the abiding values and aspirations of those they lead. They must balance what they know, which is necessarily drawn from the past, with what they intuit about the future, which is inherently conjectural and uncertain. It is this intuitive grasp of direction that enables leaders to set objectives and lay down a strategy.” In Leadership, Kissinger analyses the lives of six extraordinary leaders through the distinctive strategies of statecraft, which he believes they embodied. After the Second World War, Konrad Adenauer brought defeated and morally bankrupt Germany back into the community of nations by what Kissinger calls “the strategy of humility.” Charles de Gaulle set France beside the victorious Allies and renewed its historic grandeur by “the strategy of will.” During the Cold War, Richard Nixon gave geostrategic advantage to the United States by “the strategy of equilibrium.” After twenty-five years of conflict, Anwar Sadat brought a vision of peace to the Middle East by a “strategy of transcendence.” Against the odds, Lee Kuan Yew created a powerhouse city-state, Singapore, by “the strategy of excellence.” And, though Britain was known as “the sick man of Europe” when Margaret Thatcher came to power, she renewed her country’s morale and international position by “the strategy of conviction.” To each of these studies, Kissinger brings historical perception, public experience and—because he knew each of the subjects and participated in many of the events he describes—personal knowledge. Leadership is enriched by insights and judgements that only Kissinger could make and concludes with his reflections on world order and the indispensability of leadership today.

Jeff Bezos

Biographies & Memoirs

What was the key to Jeff Bezos's success? This biography takes a deep-dive into his career and the decisions he made to become the world's most successful business magnate. Entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer Jeff Bezos is a success story of the business world. The executive chairman of Amazon and founder of Blue Origin, he became the first centibillionaire on the Forbes wealth index and one of the world's most recognisable names in modern history. This book explores his empire of achievement and how his vision and hands-on efforts have led him from a start-up in his garage to his legacy today. Featuring photographs which chronicle his rise to success, this book is fascinating read for aspiring entrepreneurs or anyone looking to build a successful business.

Bob Gibson

Biographies & Memoirs

Inspired by a meeting with Pete Seeger, a young Bob Gibson left behind a successful job to collect folk songs. His arrangements, songwriting, and musical innovations took his audiences by storm, lighting the fire that led to the full-blown folk-music revival of the late 1950s. He introduced Joan Baez in 1959, Judy Collins in 1960, and his songs have been recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kingston Trio, and many others. The book follows Bob Gibson through his meteoric rise to fame, his twenty-year struggle with drug addiction, and his never-ending process of reinventing himself to find new expressions for his art. Two years after his life-changing meeting with Pete Seeger, Gibson burst onto the music scene with an unprecedented joy for his music. He not only changed public perception of what folk music was, but he helped introduce a new format for the presentation of music, which became the coffeehouse circuit. His own arrangements of folk music, coupled with his original songs, began the trend of the 1950s and 1960s in which songwriters created their own modern day folk songs, giving expression to that turbulent era. Bob Gibson: I Come For To Sing includes the reminiscences and interviews with many musicians and songwriters including Gordon Lightfoot, Joan Baez, George Carlin, Judy Collins, and Odetta, as well as many others instrumental to the formulation of the folk-music revival of the 1960s.

LeBron

Biographies & Memoirs

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the #1 bestselling author of The Dynasty and Tiger Woods—the “definitive…fantastic” (Sports Illustrated) biography of basketball superstar LeBron James, based on three years of exhaustive research and more than 250 interviews.LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of the twenty-first century, and he’s in the conversation with Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. The reigning king of the game and the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, LeBron wears the crown like he was born with it. Yet his ascent has been anything but effortless and predetermined—the truth is vastly more interesting than that.What makes LeBron’s story so compelling is how he won his destiny despite overwhelmingly long odds, in a drama worthy of a Dickens novel. As a child, he was a scared and lonely little boy living a nomadic existence in Akron, Ohio. His mother, who had LeBron when she was sixteen, would sometimes leave him on his own. Destitute and fatherless, he missed close to one hundred days of school in the fourth grade. Desperate, his mother placed him with a family that gave him stability and put a basketball in his hands.“An absorbing chronicle of talent, character, pluck, and luck” (Wall Street Journal) LeBron tells the full, riveting saga of how a child adrift found the will to become a titan. Jeff Benedict, the most celebrated sports biographer of our time, paints a vivid picture of LeBron’s epic origin story, showing the gradual rise of a star who, surrounded by a tight-knit group of teenage friends and adult mentors, accelerated into a speeding comet during high school. Today LeBron produces Hollywood films and television shows, has a social media presence that includes more than one hundred million followers, engages in political activism, takes outspoken stances on racism and social injustice, and transforms lives through his visionary philanthropy. He went from a lost boy in Akron to a beloved hero who uses his fortune to educate underprivileged children and lift up needy families—and brought home Cleveland’s first NBA championship.But LeBron is more than just the origin story of a GOAT or a recap of his multi-championship, multi-MVP, gold medal–decorated career on the court. Benedict delves into LeBron’s relationship with fame and power: how he has cultivated it, harnessed it, suffered from it, and leveraged it. In these pages, we watch his evolution from a player who avoided politics and was widely criticized for not joining his teammates in protesting China’s role in the Darfur genocide to becoming an athlete who partnered with President Obama; campaigned for Hillary Clinton; became an advocate against gun violence, racism, and voter suppression; and openly clashed with President Trump, empowering other athletes to speak out against social injustice.To capture LeBron’s extraordinary life, Benedict conducted hundreds of interviews with the people who were involved with LeBron at different stages of his life. He also obtained thousands of pages of primary source documents and mined hundreds of hours of video footage. Destined to be the authoritative account of LeBron’s life, LeBron is a “masterful…propulsive” (Los Angeles Times) and unprecedented portrait of one of the world’s most captivating figures.

Logical Family

Biographies & Memoirs

"I fell in love with Maupin’s effervescent Tales of the City decades ago, and his genius turn at memoir is no less compelling. Logical Family is a must read."—Mary KarrIn this long-awaited memoir, the beloved author of the bestselling Tales of the City series chronicles his odyssey from the old South to freewheeling San Francisco, and his evolution from curious youth to ground-breaking writer and gay rights pioneer.Born in the mid-twentieth century and raised in the heart of conservative North Carolina, Armistead Maupin lost his virginity to another man "on the very spot where the first shots of the Civil War were fired." Realizing that the South was too small for him, this son of a traditional lawyer packed his earthly belongings into his Opel GT (including a beloved portrait of a Confederate ancestor), and took to the road in search of adventure. It was a journey that would lead him from a homoerotic Navy initiation ceremony in the jungles of Vietnam to that strangest of strange lands: San Francisco in the early 1970s.Reflecting on the profound impact those closest to him have had on his life, Maupin shares his candid search for his "logical family," the people he could call his own. "Sooner or later, we have to venture beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us," he writes. "We have to, if we are to live without squandering our lives." From his loving relationship with his palm-reading Grannie who insisted Maupin was the reincarnation of her artistic bachelor cousin, Curtis, to an awkward conversation about girls with President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office, Maupin tells of the extraordinary individuals and situations that shaped him into one of the most influential writers of the last century.Maupin recalls his losses and life-changing experiences with humor and unflinching honesty, and brings to life flesh-and-blood characters as endearing and unforgettable as the vivid, fraught men and women who populate his enchanting novels. What emerges is an illuminating portrait of the man who depicted the liberation and evolution of America’s queer community over the last four decades with honesty and compassion—and inspired millions to claim their own lives.Logical Family includes black-and-white photographs.

Crash and Burn

Biographies & Memoirs

Veteran comedian Artie Lange turns an unflinching eye and his signature wit on his perilous descent into drug addiction, life-threatening depression, and ultimately, his recovery, in the follow-up to his hilariously raw debut, the #1 New York Times bestseller Too Fat to Fish.At a high point in his career, Artie Lange played a sold-out show in Carnegie Hall and totally killed—yet during his standing ovation, all he could think of were the two bags of heroin in his pocket. In the midst of a deep, self-destructive depression, addicted to heroin and prescription drugs, he lashed out at everyone around him—from his fellow cast members on The Howard Stern Show, to celebrity guests, to his longtime friends, and even his own family.By turns dark and disturbing, hilarious and heartbreaking, and always drop-dead honest, the New York Times bestseller Crash and Burn lifts the curtain on Lange’s dangerous slide. For the first time, Artie reveals all: the full truth behind his now legendary Stern Show meltdown, his suicide attempt (which he relates in terrifying detail), surprising stints in rehab, and painful relapses. With the help and support of friends and family, Artie claws his way back, turning his life and career around. And despite his slip-ups, backslides, and permanent losses, Artie forges on.

Morgana - L'uomo ricco sono io

Biographies & Memoirs

"Una ragazza dovrebbe avere una stanza tutta per sé e una rendita di 500 sterline l'anno." Con questa frase politicamente rivoluzionaria e di cui purtroppo la memoria collettiva ha conservato solo la prima parte, Virginia Woolf lega strettamente il discorso sull'emancipazione femminile ai soldi, presentati come la premessa stessa della libertà. Il denaro è il vero tabù da violare quando si parla di donne perché è il potere più grande, quindi per definizione è stato per anni solo degli uomini. Ma allora perché tutt ә continuano a consigliare alle donne, oggi come allora, di sposarsi con un uomo ricco? Perché in molte famiglie si insiste a non insegnare alle ragazze a gestire il denaro, facendo loro credere che farsi procurare da qualcun altrә la sicurezza materiale sia un traguardo di vita? In queste pagine troverete imprenditrici scaltre e un po' corsare, che tra rispettare le leggi o se stesse non hanno mai avuto dubbi, artiste carismatiche che non hanno pensato nemmeno per un momento di dover essere protette dal patrimonio dei loro partner. Vedrete politiche convinte che il miglior modo per arrivare in alto è non farsi vedere mentre si sale, e mistiche per le quali è la natura delle intenzioni, non il denaro con cui le realizzi, a segnare il confine tra ciò che è bene e ciò che è male. Vi emozionerete per campionesse sportive che per vincere tutto hanno rischiato di perdere la sola cosa che contasse davvero, e vi innamorerete di intellettuali contraddittorie che con la loro creatività hanno fatto abbastanza soldi per dichiarare una guerra (e pazienza se era quella sbagliata). Sono donne alle quali la libertà è spesso costata cara, ma che non hanno mai smesso di pensare di potersela permettere, perché volere beni propri e volere il proprio bene spesso sono la stessa cosa. In ciascuna delle loro vite - Oprah Winfrey, Nadia Comaneci, Francesca Sanna Sulis, J.K. Rowling, Helena Rubinstein, Angela Merkel, Madame Clicquot, Beyoncé, Chiara Lubich e Asia Argento - risuona forte la frase fulminante e sovversiva di Cher che, quando sua madre le consigliava di smettere di cantare e trovarsi un uomo ricco, ebbe l'ironia di rispondere: "Mamma, l'uomo ricco sono io".

Lightning Down

Biographies & Memoirs

An American fighter pilot doomed to die in Buchenwald but determined to survive.On August 13, 1944, Joe Moser set off on his forty-fourth combat mission over occupied France. Soon, he would join almost 170 other Allied airmen as prisoners in Buchenwald, one of the most notorious and deadly of Nazi concentration camps. Tom Clavin's Lightning Down tells this largely untold and riveting true story.Moser was just twenty-two years old, a farm boy from Washington State who fell in love with flying. During the War he realized his dream of piloting a P-38 Lightning, one of the most effective weapons the Army Air Corps had against the powerful German Luftwaffe. But on that hot August morning he had to bail out of his damaged, burning plane. Captured immediately, Moser’s journey into hell began.Moser and his courageous comrades from England, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere endured the most horrific conditions during their imprisonment... until the day the orders were issued by Hitler himself to execute them. Only a most desperate plan would save them.The page-turning momentum of Lightning Down is like that of a thriller, but the stories of imprisoned and brutalized airmen are true and told in unforgettable detail, led by the distinctly American voice of Joe Moser, who prays every day to be reunited with his family.Lightning Down is a can’t-put-it-down inspiring saga of brave men confronting great evil and great odds against survival.

GANDHI. AUTOBIOGRAFIA. DZIEJE MOICH POSZUKIWAŃ PRAWDY

Biographies & Memoirs

Książka-drogowskaz, klasyczna autobiografia, która opowiada jego własnymi słowami historię życia Gandhiego.M.K.Gandhi to jedna z najbardziej inspirujących postaci dwudziestego wieku, propagator pacyfizmu jako środka walki politycznej i jeden z twórców współczesnej państwowości indyjskiej.Jest to klasyczna autobiografia, która opowiada jego własnymi słowami historię życia Gandhiego oraz tego, jak rozwijał swoją koncepcję niestosowania przemocy oraz biernego oporu, która utorowała Indiom drogę do niepodległości i stała się podstawą wielu ruchów niepodległościowych.

Autobiography of a Yogi (Complete Edition)

Biographies & Memoirs

Autobiography of a Yogi is at once a beautifully written account of an exceptional life and a profound introduction to the ancient science of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Profoundly inspiring, it is at the same time vastly entertaining, warmly humorous and filled with extraordinary personages. With engaging candor, eloquence, and wit, Paramahansa Yogananda tells the inspiring chronicle of his life: the experiences of his remarkable childhood, encounters with many saints and sages during his youthful search throughout India for an illumined teacher, ten years of training in the hermitage of a revered yoga master, and the thirty years that he lived and taught in America. Also recorded here are his meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Luther Burbank, the Catholic stigmatist Therese Neumann, and other celebrated spiritual personalities of East and West. The author clearly explains the subtle but definite laws behind both the ordinary events of everyday life and the extraordinary events commonly termed miracles. His absorbing life story becomes the background for a penetrating and unforgettable look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence. Selected as "One of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century", Autobiography of a Yogi has been translated into more than 30 languages, and is regarded worldwide as a classic of religious literature. Several million copies have been sold, and it continues to appear on best-seller lists after more than sixty consecutive years in print. Self-Realization Fellowship's editions, and none others, include extensive material added by the author after the first edition was published, including a final chapter on the closing years of his life.

Proust et le temps

Biographies & Memoirs

« Une heure n’est pas qu’une heure, c’est un vase rempli de parfums, de sons, de projets et de climats. » Tel est le temps pour le Narrateur d’À la recherche du temps perdu. Mais qu’en pensent les physiciens ou les mathématiciens à l’époque de l’horloge atomique ? Qu’en disent les géoscientifiques ou les neuroscientifiques ? Les linguistes et les artistes ? Quant au temps chronologique de l’historien, qu’a-t-il à voir avec celui de l’écrivain ? C’est à cette confrontation que nous convie le présent dictionnaire issu des travaux du collectif ProusTime : penser le temps avec Proust, des sciences humaines aux sciences exactes en passant par les arts. Traces neuronales et traces du land art, archives historiques et archives environnementales, histoire des sociétés humaines et histoire de l’univers… Dans ces pages se font jour autant de conceptions du temps et de la mémoire qui croisent celles de la Recherche. L’anachronisme y côtoie l’oubli, l’ellipse y voisine avec le progrès et une mystérieuse pelote de laine n’est pas loin d’une pédale de piano… Autant d’échappées belles avec le plus grand spécialiste du temps : Proust lui-même ! Avec la contribution des membres du groupe ProusTime : François Charru, Jean-Marc Devaud, Anne Le Draoulec, Gaël Le Roux, Marie-Paule Péry-Woodley, Isabelle Serça, Gérard Tiné et Colette Zytnicki et la participation exceptionnelle de Jérôme Bastianelli, David Bellos, Alain Connes, Francis Eustache, Maylis de Kerangal, Étienne Klein, Maryse Perrin, Nicolas Ragonneau et Jean-Yves Tadié Illustration de couverture originale par Stéphane Heuet

Mental Healers: Franz Anton Mesmer, Mary Baker Eddy, Sigmund Freud

Biographies & Memoirs

This Plunkett Lake Press eBook is produced by arrangement with Viking, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. “Health is natural; sickness is unnatural: at least so it seems to man,” is how Stefan Zweig begins his fascinating, often entertaining examinations of Franz Anton Mesmer, Mary Baker Eddy, and Sigmund Freud. “Bodily suffering is not assuaged by technical manipulation but through an act of faith.” Mental Healers is dedicated to Albert Einstein, the scientist who had won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. It first appeared in 1931 as Die Heilung durch den Geist, orHealing Through the Spirit, a title that anticipates our current interest in alternative medicine and the placebo effect. Zweig’s first healer, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), was a German physician who introduced “animal magnetism” to the world. Viewed by many as a charlatan, he died an outcast before he could properly understand and explain his discovery. Zweig’s second healer, Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), was a New England matron who found her vocation only in middle age. She established Christian Science, an American Protestant system of religious practice that rejects medical intervention, when she was almost 60. Zweig’s third healer, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), was the Viennese Jewish physician who founded psychoanalysis. Zweig, who knew Freud and delivered a eulogy at his funeral, describes Freud’s then-new ideas with the insight of an artist who lived in the same time and place. Fluently written and psychologically astute, Mental Healers is compelling cultural history and a valuable window onto the genesis of new ideas in healing. “Mesmer, Eddy and Freud were critical figures alerting the modern world to the influences of the mental and emotional on health and illness. Their impact was tremendous and Zweig's classic study provides a wonderful opportunity to engage with these significant innovators.” — Ted Kaptchuk, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

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