Prize-winning biographer Robert D. Richardson has written thedefinitive biography of the fascinating William James, whose lifeand writing put an indelible stamp on psychology, philosophy,teaching, and religion—and on modernism itself. A pivotal member ofthe Metaphysical Club, author of The Varieties of ReligiousExperience, and older brother of extraordinary siblings Henry andAlice, William emerges here as an immensely complex man.Richardson’s thought-provoking and utterly moving work, ten yearsin the making, draws on a vast number of unpublished letters,journals, and family records. Through impassioned scholarship,Richardson illuminates James’s hugely influential works: TheVarieties, Principles of Psychology, Talks to Teachers, andPragmatism. Finally, brought richly to life through Richardson’sbrilliant insights, James is given his due as a man whose influenceresonates in innumerable areas of modern life.

Michael J. Neufeld, curator and space historian at theSmithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, delivers a brilliantlynuanced biography of Wernher von Braun. Chief rocket engineer of the Third Reich and one of the fathersof the U.S. space program, Wernher von Braun is a source ofconsistent fascination. Glorified as a visionary and vilified as awar criminal, he was a man of profound moral complexities, whoseintelligence and charisma were coupled with an enormous and, somewould say, blinding ambition. Based on new sources, Neufeld'sbiography delivers a meticulously researched and authoritativeportrait of the creator of the V-2 rocket and his times, detailinghow he was a man caught between morality and progress, between hisdreams of the heavens and the earthbound realities of his life.

“Number One” was a phrase my father—and, for that matter, mymother—repeated time and time again. It was a phrase spoken by myparents’ friends and by their friends’ children. Whenever adultsdiscussed the great Chinese painters and sculptors from the ancientdynasties, there was always a single artist named as Number One.There was the Number One leader of a manufacturing plant, theNumber One worker, the Number One scientist, the Number One carmechanic. In the culture of my childhood, being best waseverything. It was the goal that drove us, the motivation that gavelife meaning. And if, by chance or fate or the blessings of thegenerous universe, you were a child in whom talent was evident,Number One became your mantra. It became mine. I never begged myparents to take off the pressure. I accepted it; I even enjoyed it.It was a game, this contest among aspiring pianists, and although Imay have been shy, I was bold, even at age five, when faced with afield of rivals. Born in China to parents whose mu

First U.S. Publication A major literary event--the complete, uncensored journals of SylviaPlath, published in their entirety for the first time. Sylvia Plath's journals were originally published in 1982 in aheavily abridged version authorized by Plath's husband, Ted Hughes.This new edition is an exact and complete tran*ion of thediaries Plath kept during the last twelve years of her life. Sixtypercent of the book is material that has never before been madepublic, more fully revealing the intensity of the poet's personaland literary struggles, and providing fresh insight into both herfrequent desperation and the bravery with which she faced down herdemons. The complete Journals of Sylvia Plath is essentialreading for all who have been moved and fascinated by Plath's lifeand work. First U.S. Publication A major literary event--the complete, uncensored journals of SylviaPlath, published in their entirety for the first time. Sylvia Plath's journals were originally published in 1982 in aheavily abridged ve

Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant. Cary Grant He is Hollywood s most fascinating and timeless star. Although he came to personify the debonair American, Cary Grant was born Archibald Leach on January 18, 1904, in the seaport village of Bristol, England. Combining the captivating beauty of silent-screen legend Rudolph Valentino with the masculine irresistibility of Clark Gable, Grant emerged as Hollywood s quintessential leading man. Today, the man from dream city, as critic Pauline Kael once described him, remains forever young, an icon of quick wit, romantic charm, and urbane sophistication, the epitome of male physical perfection. Yet beneath this idealized movie image was a conflicted man struggling to balance fame with a desire for an intensely private life separate from the Cary Grant persona celebrated by directors and movie studios. Exploring Grant s troubled childhood, ambiguous sexuality, and lifelong insecurities as well as the magical amalgam of characteristi

For Fauziya Kassindja, an idyllic childhood in Togo, WestAfrica, sheltered from the tribal practices of polygamy and genitalmutilation, ended with her beloved father's sudden death. Forcedinto an arranged marriage at age seventeen, Fauziya was told toprepare for kakia, the ritual also known as female genitalmutilation. It is a ritual no woman can refuse. But Fauziya daredto try. This is her story--told in her own words--of fleeing Africa justhours before the ritual kakia was to take place, of seeking asylumin America only to be locked up in U.S. prisons, and of meetingLayli Miller Bashir, a law student who became Fauziya's friend andadvocate during her horrifying sixteen months behind bars. Laylienlisted help from Karen Musalo, an expert in refugee law andacting director of the American University International HumanRights Clinic. In addition to devoting her own considerable effortsto the case, Musalo assembled a team to fight with her on Fauziya'sbehalf. Ultimately, in a landmark decision in imm

He was Nixon’s hatchet man. A jailed felon. And now, one ofthe most significant Christian leaders of our time. Here is hislife story. Charles Colson has become one of the most revered leaders of ourtime. His ministry outreach, Prison Fellowship, has swelled to40,000 volunteers working in 100 countries. His Angel TreeChristmas program provides presents to more than half a millionchildren of prison inmates every year. His daily radio broadcast,BreakPoint, airs daily on more than 1,000 radio outlets across thecountry. And his twenty books have sold more than five millioncopies in the U.S. But God had to work some mighty miracles to bring this unusualservant to this prominent place of service. After all, Colson wasknown as President Nixon’s “hatchet man.” His involvement in theWatergate conspiracy led him to prison–and then to a life-changingencounter with God. Now, noted author Jonathan Aitken has written the first biographythat compellingly presents a first-rate understanding

In the first in a new series of brief biographies, bestsellingauthor Peter Ackroyd brilliantly evokes the medieval world ofEngland and provides an incomparable introduction to the greatpoet’s works. Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400, lived a surprisingly eventfullife. He served with the Duke of Clarence and with Edward III, andin 1359 was taken prisoner in France and ransomed. Through hiswife, Philippa, he gained the patronage of John of Gaunt, whichhelped him carve out a career at Court. His posts includedController of Customs at the Port of London, Knight of the Shirefor Kent, and King's Forester. He went on numerous adventurousdiplomatic missions to France and Italy. Yet he was also indictedfor rape, sued for debt, and captured in battle. He began to write in the 1360s, and is now known as the father ofEnglish poetry. His Troilus and Criseyde is the firstexample of modern English literature, and his masterpiece, TheCanterbury Tales , the forerunner of the English novel,dominated th

After twenty years as a foreign correspondent in tumultuouslocales, Judith Matloff is ready to return to her native New YorkCity and start a family with her husband, John. Intoxicated by WestHarlem’s cultural diversity and, more important, its affordability,Judith impulsively buys a stately fixer-upper brownstone in theneighborhood–only to discover that this dream house was once acrack den and that calling it a “fixer upper” is an understatement.Thus begins the couple’s odyssey to win over brazen drug dealers,delinquent construction workers, and eccentric neighbors in one ofthe biggest drug zones in the country. It’s a far cry from utopia,but it’s a start, and Judith and John do all they can to carve outa comfortable life–and, over time, come to appreciate theneighborhood’s rough charms. A wry, reflective, and hugelyentertaining memoir, Home Girl is for anyone who has longedto go home, however complicated the journey.

Set in the cruel years of Hungary's Nazi occupation and subsequent Communist regime, SWIMMING ACROSS is the stunning childhood memoir of one of the leading thinkers of our time, the legendary Intel chairman. The story of Andris Grof-later to become Andy Grove-begins in the 1930s, on the banks of the Danube. Here, in Budapest, young Andris lives a middle-class existence with his secular Jewish parents. But he and his family will be faced with a host of staggering obstacles. After Andris nearly loses his life to scarlet fever at the age of four, his family is forced to deal with the Nazi occupation of Hungary. Fleeing the Germans, Andris and his mother find refuge with a Christian family in the outskirts of Budapest and then hide in cellars from Russian bombs. After the nightmare of war ends, the family rebuilds its business and its life, only to face a new trial with a succession of repressive Communist governments. In June 1956, the popular Hungarian uprising is put down at gunpoint. Soviet troo

He squared off against Caesar and was friends with youngBrutus. He advised the legendary Pompey on his somewhat botchedtransition from military hero to politician. He lambasted MarkAntony and was master of the smear campaign, as feared for his witas he was for exposing his opponents? sexual peccadilloes.Brilliant, voluble, cranky, a genius of political manipulation butalso a true patriot and idealist, Cicero was Rome?s most fearedpolitician, one of the greatest lawyers and statesmen of all times.Machiavelli, Queen Elizabeth, John Adams and Winston Churchill allstudied his example. No man has loomed larger in the politicalhistory of mankind. In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everittplunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancientRome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through hislegendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection ofunguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to lifein these pages as a witty and cunning political ope