An immediate best-seller on publication,Ben Hur remains a dazzling achievement by any standards.A thoroughly xhilarating tale of betrayal,revenge and salvation,it is the only novel that ranks with Uncle Tom's Cabin as a genuine American folk possession. This was the book that finally overcame the inherent suspicion of fiction that still prevailed in much of America in the late nineteenth century. Wallace writes with a freshness and immediacy that brings every action-packed scene to life and illuminates the eography,ethnology and customs of the ancient world.

Marty Sklar was hired by The Walt Disney Company after hisjunior year at UCLA, and began his Disney career at Disneyland inJuly 1955, the month before the park opened. He spent his firstdecade at Disney as "the kid," the very youngest of the creativeteam Walt had assembled at WED Enterprises. But despite his youth,his talents propelled him forward into substantial responsibility:he became Walt's speech writer, penned Walt's and Roy's messages inthe company's annual report, composed most of the publicity andmarketing materials for Disneyland, conceived presentations for theU.S. government, devised initiatives to obtain sponsors to enablenew Disneyland developments, and wrote a twenty-four-minute filmexpressing Walt's philosophy for the Walt Disney World project andEpcot. He was Walt's literary right-hand man. Over the next forty years, Marty Sklar rose to become presidentand principal creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, andhe devoted his entire career to creating, enhancing, and expand

Armed with a camera and a fresh cache of film and bankrolled by a Guggenheim Foundation grant, Robert Frank crisscrossed the United States during 1955 and 1956. The photographs he brought back form a portrait of the country at the time and hint at its future. He saw the hope of the future in the faces of a couple at city hall in Reno, Nevada, and the despair of the present in a grimy roofscape. He saw the roiling racial tension, glamour, and beauty, and, perhaps because Frank himself was on the road, he was particularly attuned to Americans' love for cars. Funeral-goers lean against a shiny sedan, lovers kiss on a beach blanket in front of their parked car, young boys perch in the back seat at a drive-in movie. A sports car under a drop cloth is framed by two California palm trees; on the next page, a blanket is draped over a car accident victim's body in Arizona. Robert Frank's Americans reappear 40 years after they were initially published in this exquisite volume by Scalo. Each photograph (there are

David Beckham is the world's most famous football icon. In Maythis year he brought down the curtain on a hugely successfulplaying career that spanned two decades, during which he proudlywore the shirts of Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, ACMilan, Paris Saint-Germain, and England. He captained his countryon 58 occasions, winning 115 international caps in total, anEnglish record for an outfield player. His colourful and stellarcareer has been characterised by the emotional highs of great goalsand remarkable trophy successes around the world, as well as bymore than the occasional moment of set-back, disappointment anddespair, but through it all Beckham has emerged as a universallyadored figure, both inside and outside the game. Here, intimatelytalking us through 150 of his favourite images which define hisplaying days, he invites us behind the scenes of an incredible20-year footballing journey.

Manchester United:The Biography will do for the football team what Peter Ackroyd did for London in his huge biog of the same name. The book follows the club's extraordinary journey from its birth in the railway works of Newton Heath to its current status as Premier League and European champions. The key stages in United's history will, of course, be covered: the Munich Air Crash of 1958, which saw the best part of an entire team (the Busby Babes) being killed; becoming the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968 (with Bobby Charlton and George Best); the dominance of the club in the Premiership; the controversial sale to American tycoon Malcolm Glazer, right up to Moscow 2008. But by drawing on the recollections of everyone from players and managers to fans and backroom staff, Jim has unearthed enough new material to interest die-hard fans and casual supporters alike. A fascinating history of a remarkable football club, by one of Britain's best-known and most popular sports writers.

The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau burst unexpectedly ontothe eighteenth-century literary scene as a provocateur whose workselectrified readers. An autodidact who had not written anything ofsignificance by age thirty, Rousseau seemed an unlikely candidateto become one of the most influential thinkers in history. Yet thepower of his ideas is felt to this day in our political and sociallives. In a masterly and definitive biography, Leo Damrosch traces theextraordinary life of Rousseau with novelistic verve. He presentsRousseau's books -- The Social Contract, one of the greatest workson political theory; Emile, a groundbreaking treatise on education;and the Confessions, which created the genre of introspectiveautobiography -- as works uncannily alive and provocative eventoday. Jean-Jacques Rousseau offers a vivid portrait of thevisionary’s tumultuous life.

Of mixed race and cultures, Barack Obama struggled for years with his identity and place in society. Having found his niche in public service, he has made history as the fifth African American U.S. senator ever to be elected. Now “the skinny kid” continues his political journey and strives to become the nation’s first black president. From Hawaii to Chicago to Washington, D.C., Senator Obama’s life has been interesting and inspiring.

The Normandy Landings that took place on D-Day involved by far the largest invasion fleet ever known. The scale of the undertaking was simply awesome. What followed them was some of the most cunning and ferocious fighting of the war, at times as savage as anything seen on the Eastern Front. As casualties mounted, so too did the tensions between the principal commanders on both sides. Meanwhile, French civilians caught in the middle of these battlefields or under Allied bombing endured terrible suffering. Even the joys of Liberation had their darker side. The war in northern France marked not just a generation but the whole of the post-war world, profoundly influencing relations between America and Europe. Making use of overlooked and new material from over thirty archives in half a dozen countries, D-Day is the most vivid and well-researched account yet of the battle of Normandy. As with Stalingrad and Berlin, Antony Beevor's gripping narrative conveys the true experience of war. 作者简介： Anto

This book comes with a foreword by President Barack Obama. Nelson Mandela is one of the most inspiring and iconic figures of our age. Now, after a lifetime of taking pen to paper to record thoughts and events, hardships and victories, he has opened his personal archive, which offers an unprecedented insight into his remarkable life. "Conversations With Myself" gives readers access to the private man behind the public figure: from letters written in the darkest hours of Mandela's twenty-seven years of imprisonment to the draft of an unfinished sequel to "Long Walk to Freedom". Here he is making notes and even doodling during meetings, or recording troubled dreams on the desk calendar of his cell on Robben Island; writing journals while on the run during the anti-apartheid struggles in the early 1960s, or conversing with friends in almost seventy hours of recorded conversations. In these pages, he is neither an icon nor a saint; here he is like you and me. An intimate journey from the first stirrings of his pol

From bestselling author Walter Isaacson comes the landmarkbiography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. In Steve Jobs: TheExclusive Biography, Isaacson provides an extraordinary account ofJobs' professional and personal life. Drawn from three years ofexclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted withJobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs' family members, keycolleagues from Apple and its competitors, Steve Jobs: TheExclusive Biography is the definitive portrait of the greatestinnovator of his generation. The narrative of his personal life builds throughout the bookbeginning with one distinct chapter, then another, then another,until gradually his personal and professional lives becomeintertwined. There is material on his parents, on how he came to beadopted (and quite a bit, throughout the book, on his attitude tohis adoption), his influences during his childhood, his emergingattitude to life, his girlfriends, his wife and his children. Thereis new material in amongst all of th

With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, thelyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decadeshe lived the original rock and roll life: taking the chances hewanted, speaking his mind, and making it all work in a way that noone before him had ever done. Now, at last, the man himself tellsus the story of life in the crossfire hurricane. And what a life.Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records as achild in post-war Kent. Learning guitar and forming a band withMick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones' first fame andsuccess as a bad-boy band. The notorious Redlands drug bust andsubsequent series of confrontations with a nervous establishmentthat led to his enduring image as outlaw and folk hero. Creatingimmortal riffs such as the ones in 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'StreetFighting Man' and 'Honky Tonk Women'. Falling in love with AnitaPallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France,wildfire tours of the US, 'Exile on Main Street' and 'So

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM brilliantly re-creates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny. Emotive, compelling and uplifting, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story of hardship, resilience and ultimate triumph told with the clarity and eloquence of a born leader. 'Burns with the luminosity of faith in the invincible nature of human hope and dignity ...Unforgettable' Andre Brink 'Enthralling ...Mandela emulates the few great political leaders such as Lincoln and Gandhi, who go beyond mere consensus and move out ahead of their followers to break new ground' Donald Woods in the SUNDAY TIMES --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From the Back Cover The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political figure of our time, Long Walk to Freedom is the exhilarating story of Nelson Mandela's epic life; a story of hardship, resilience and ultimate triumph tol

first victims were a teenage couple, stalked and shot dead in a lovers' lane. After another slaying, he sent his first mocking note to authorities, promising he would kill more. The official tally of his victims was six. He claimed thirty-seve dead. The rea toll may have reached fifty. "A chilling, real-life detective story." -Savannah News-Press Robert Graysmith was on staff at the San Francisco Chror micle in 1968 when Zodiac first struck, triggering in the resolute reporter an unrelenting obsession with seeing the hooded killer broughtto justice. In this gripping account Zodiac's eleven-month reign of terror, Graysmith reveals hur dreds of facts previously unreleased, including the complete text of the killer's letters.

Michael Jackson was one of those rare human beings who can truly be described as a legend. As with Elvis and John Lennon, everyone will remember where they were when they heard about the death of Michael Jackson. He was just fifty when he died, yet had become a superstar by the time he was eleven, ensuring his music was part of the fabric of everyone's life. Though his days of greatest success were behind him, Jackson was standing on the threshold of what could well have been one of the biggest comebacks in showbiz history. It wasn't to be, but the music, sales figures and the number of current stars who queued to pay tribute to his influence underlined the fact that, for all his controversial personal quirks, Michael Jackson was indeed one of the greats. This picture-packed tribute charts the life of a legend, from his earliest days as a hyperactive child protege fronting family group the Jackson Five, to the assured superstar looking out from the cover of Thriller, still the best-selling album of all time.

Elizabeth ist Anfang dreisig und hat eine schmerzvolle Scheidung hinter sich. Sie steht vor dem Nichts und beschliest, alles, was sie bisher hatte, in New York zuruckzulassen und ein neues Leben zu beginnen. Sie verbringt vier Monate in Rom, lernt italienisch, geniest das Leben und vor allem das gute Essen. Es folgen vier weitere Monate in einem indischen Ashram, wo sie sich in endlosen Meditationen ubt. In Bali schlieslich erfahrt sie die gluckliche Balance zwischen innerem und auserem Gluck. Mit Selbstironie, Charme und Intelligenz erzahlt die Autorin von ihrer Reise durch die Welt und zu sich selbst. Eine ehrliche und bewegende Selbsterfahrungsgeschichte fur alle, die mutig Verantwortung fur sich selbst ubernehmen wollen.

This Bantam Classic edition presents us with a new,wide-ranging selection of Benjamin Franklin's writings that illuminates the complex and appealing character of that quintessential American, who rose to fame as a publisher, inventor, educator, bon vivant, and statesman.

Stop feeding me bullshit. Tell me the truth." --Lady Gaga, 2009 "I hate the truth. I hate the truth so much I prefer a giant doseof bullshit any day over the truth." --Lady Gaga, 2010 In little over a year, Stefani Germanotta, a struggling performerin New York's Lower East Side burlesque scene, has become theglobal demographic-smashing pop icon known as Lady Gaga. She is aonce-in-a-decade artist, a gifted singer, composer, designer, andperformance artist who mixes high and low culture, the avant-gardewith the accessible, authenticity with artifice. Who is Lady Gaga? She is a twenty-four-year-old woman whose stagemantra--"I'm a free bitch!"--is the polar opposite of who she isoffstage: isolated, insecure, and unable to be alone. She is anoutr? artist who wanted to be a sensitivesinger-songwriter, whose musical heroes include Britney Spears,Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen. She is a woman who says no mancan ever compete with her career, but who still isn't over theex-boyfr

Totally frank is the hard-hitting career autobiography of the England and Chelsea footballer,featuring a full account of his life on and off the pitch,including all the stories from World Cup 2006.

"They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies . . .' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the f**king things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night. It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty f**king years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at f**king two miles per hour. People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one o

She was, indeed, the People's Princess. She belonged to them,and was beloved by them. For some reason that cannot be pinneddown, this pretty young woman of the aristocracy, who married intoroyalty, connected with the common folk in a way that was uniqueand extraordinary. The people cared for and cared about Diana, andwhen she was killed in a tragic car accident in Paris, theoutpouring of grief-not just in England, but globally-wasoverwhelming. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of DianaSpencer's birth, LIFE has assembled a celebratory chronicle of hertoo short but constantly vibrant time in the public eye. In familyphotos, we re visit Diana's youth and then, quickly enough, thereis her courtship by Prince Charles. The Wedding of the Centuryreally was that, an opulent extravaganza at St. Paul's that seemeda fairy tale, even unto the Glass Coach. LIFE was on the job at thetime and in our pages appeared defining pictures from the day, aswell as behind the scenes shots taken by the royals themselves.Those

With the first publication, in this edition, of all thesurviving letters of Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), readers will forthe first time be able to follow the thoughts, ideas and actions ofone of the great literary figures of the twentieth century in hisown words. This first volume encompasses his youth, his experiencein World War I and his arrival in Paris. The letters reveal a morecomplex person than Hemingway's tough guy public persona wouldsuggest: devoted son, affectionate brother, infatuated lover,adoring husband, spirited friend and disciplined writer. Unguardedand never intended for publication, the letters record experiencesthat inspired his art, afford insight into his creative process andexpress his candid assessments of his own work and that of hiscontemporaries. The letters present immediate accounts of eventsand relationships that profoundly shaped his life and work. Adetailed introduction, notes, chronology, illustrations and indexare included.

"Be more Irish than Harvard," inscribed Robert Frost in the book of poetry he gave to John F. Kennedy at the 1961 presidential inauguration. With these simple words, Frost hit upon the experience that defined America's favorite political dynasty for over five generations: their Irish Catholicism. Drawing on groundbreaking research both here and abroad, acclaimed journalist Thomas Maier shows how their cultural background molded the Kennedy family to the core-both bolstering stunning successes and coloring spectacular tragedies. Casting new light on the Kennedys' struggles with race, anti-Semitism, the sexual mores of the Catholic Church, and even on John F. Kennedy's A Nation of Immigrants, the result is a revelatory glimpse at a remarkable intersection of private beliefs and public politics-and a spellbinding, uniquely American epic.

Michael Jackson was the undisputed King of Pop and his untimely death has provoked tributes from around the world. With a colourful life spanning from 1968 when Michael was a member of the Jackson 5 to his recent announcement of a final comeback tour at the O2 in London, nobody can dispute the achievements of the man who was arguably the greatest artist of the millenium. This fully illustrated book offers an insightful tribute to the man behind Thriller, the world's best selling album of all time. Including sections on Michael's early life and the Jackson 5, the making of Off the Wall and Thriller, and the troubled years leading right up to his announcement of a comeback tour, this will be a comprehensive and fitting tribute to a legendary pop star, the likes of which the world will never be seen again.