Compiled from his own words, this history-making autobiographyIS Martin Luther King: the mild-mannered, inquisitive child andstudent who rebelled against segregation; the dedicated youngminister who constantly questioned the depths of his faith and thelimits of his wisdom; the loving husband and father who sought tobalance his family's needs with those of a growing nationwidemovement; and the reflective, world-famous leader who was fired bya vision of equality for people everywhere. Relevant andinsightful, this Autobiography offers King's seldom discussed viewson some of the world's greatest and most controversial figuresincluding John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi and RichardNixon. This book brings to life a remarkable man whose thoughts andactions speak to our most burning contemporary issues and stillinspire our desires, hopes and dreams.
The first major biography of America’s twenty-eighth presidentin nearly two decades, from one of America’s foremost WoodrowWilson scholars. A Democrat who reclaimed the White House after sixteen years ofRepublican administrations, Wilson was a transformativepresident—he helped create the regulatory bodies and legislationthat prefigured FDR’s New Deal and would prove central togovernance through the early twenty-first century, including theFederal Reserve system and the Clayton Antitrust Act; he guided thenation through World War I; and, although his advocacy in favor ofjoining the League of Nations proved unsuccessful, he nonethelessestablished a new way of thinking about international relationsthat would carry America into the United Nations era. Yet Wilsonalso steadfastly resisted progress for civil rights, while hisattorney general launched an aggressive attack on civilliberties. Even as he reminds us of the foundational scope of Wilson’sdomestic policy achievements, John Milton Cooper, Jr., r
A scandalously talented stage performer, a practiced seductressof both men and women, and the flamboyant author of some of thegreatest works of twentieth-century literature, Colette was ourfirst true superstar. Now, in Judith Thurman's Secrets of theFlesh, Colette at last has a biography worthy of her dazzlingreputation. Having spent her childhood in the shadow of anoverpowering mother, Colette escaped at age twenty into a turbulentmarriage with the sexy, unscrupulous Willy--a literary charlatanwho took credit for her bestselling Claudine novels. Weary ofWilly's sexual domination, Colette pursued an extremely publiclesbian love affair with a niece of Napoleon's. At forty, she gavebirth to a daughter who bored her, at forty-seven she seduced herteenage stepson, and in her seventies she flirted with the Nazioccupiers of Paris, even though her beloved third husband, a Jew,had been arrested by the Gestapo. And all the while, thisincomparable woman poured forth a torrent of masterpieces,including Gigi, Sido,
The mesmerizing autobiography of one of the most revered soul,jazz, and blues divas of our time-the late Nina Simone. A gorgeous,inimitable singer and songwriter, Nina Simone (1933-2003) changedthe face of both music and race relations in America. She struck achord with bluesy jazz ballads like "Put a Little Sugar in My Bowl"and powerful protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam" and "To BeYoung, Gifted, and Black," the anthem of the American Civil Rightsmovement. Coinciding with the re-release of her famous PhilipsRecordings, here are the reflections of the "High Priestess ofSoul" on her own life.
Leni Riefenstahl, the woman known as “Hitler’s filmmaker,”made some of the greatest and most innovative documentaries evermade. They are also insidious glorifications of Adolf Hitler andthe Third Reich. Now, Steven Bach reveals the truths and liesbehind Riefenstahl’s lifelong self-vindication as an apoliticalartist who claimed to know nothing of the Holocaust and denied hercomplicity with the criminal regime she both used andsanctified. A riveting and illuminating biography of one of the mostfascinating and controversial personalities of the twentiethcentury.
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguezwent to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid tothis war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–asdoctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practicalthan her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two fromMichigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon foundshe had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her professionbecame known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate fora good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proudtradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea wasborn. With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the KabulBeauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning butsometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers,overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challengesof a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her studentsto become their families’ breadwinners
The Outsider is an unsentimental yet profoundly moving look atone family’s experience with mental illness. In 1978, CharlesLachenmeyer was a happily married professor of sociology who livedin the New York suburbs with his wife and nine-year-old son,Nathaniel. But within a few short years, schizophrenia–adevastating mental illness with no known cure–would cost himeverything: his sanity, his career, his family, even the roof overhis head. Upon learning of his father’s death in 1995, Nathanielset out to search for the truth behind his father’s haunted,solitary existence. Rich in imagery and poignant symbolism, TheOutsider is a beautifully written memoir of a father’s struggle tosurvive with dignity, and a son’s struggle to know the father helost to schizophrenia long before he finally lost him todeath. The Outsider is a recipient of the Kenneth Johnson MemorialResearch Library Book Award and is the winner of the 2000 Bell ofHope Award, presented annually by the Mental Health Associatio
The God of Thunder returns in the New York Times Bestseller –Now in paperback and hotter than hell! * More insight from the Demon – Including the making of Destroyerand the truth behind the greatest rock band in the world * Look for all four special collector's covers * And more photos You wanted the truth, you got the truth—the hottest book in theworld! Fueled by an explosive mix of makeup, costumes, and attitude, KISSburst onto the music scene thirty years ago and has become a rockinstitution. The band has sold more than eighty million records,has broken every concert attendance record set by Elvis Presley andthe Beatles, stands behind the Beatles alone in number of goldrecords from any group in history, and has spawned more than 2,500licenses. There would have been no KISS without Gene Simmons, the outrageousstar whose superlong tongue, legendary sexual exploits, and demonicmakeup have made him a rock icon. KISS and Make-Up is the wild,shocking, unbelievable story, from the man himself, about how an
Robert Altman—visionary director, hard-partying hedonist,eccentric family man, Hollywood legend—comes roaring to life inthis rollicking oral biography. After an all-American boyhoodin Kansas City, a stint flying bombers in World War II, and jobsranging from dog tattoo entrepreneur to television director, RobertAltman burst onto the scene in 1970 with M*A*S*H . Hereinvented American filmmaking, and went on to produce suchmasterpieces as McCabe Mrs. Miller, Nashville , ThePlayer, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park . In RobertAltman , Mitchell Zuckoff has woven together Altman’s finalinterviews; an incredible cast of voices including Meryl Streep,Warren Beatty, Paul Newman, among scores of others; andcontemporary reviews and news accounts into a riveting tale of anextraordinary life.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the monumentalwork that assured T.E. Lawrence's place in history as "Lawrence ofArabia." Not only a consummate military history, but also acolorful epic and a lyrical exploration of the mind of a great man,this is one of the indisputable classics of 20th century Englishliterature. Line drawings throughout.
Based on ten years' astonishing new research, here is thethrilling story of how a charismatic, dangerous boy became astudent priest, romantic poet, gangster mastermind, prolific lover,murderous revolutionary, and the merciless politician who shapedthe Soviet Empire in his own brutal image: How Stalin becameStalin.
