A champion of Africa, legendary for his good looks, his charm,and his prowess as a soldier, lover, and hunter, Denys Finch Hattoninspired Karen Blixen to write the unforgettable Out of Africa. Nowesteemed British biographer Sara Wheeler tells the truth about thisextraordinarily charismatic adventurer. Born to an old aristocratic family that had gambled away most ofits fortune, Finch Hatton grew up in a world of effortless eleganceand boundless power. In 1910, searching for something new, hearrived in British East Africa and fell in love–with a continent,with a landscape, with a way of life that was about to changeforever. In Nairobi, Finch Hatton met Karen Blixen and embarked onone of the great love affairs of the twentieth century.Intellectual equals, Finch Hatton and Blixen were genuine pioneersin a land that was quickly being transformed by violence, greed,and bigotry. Ever restless, Finch Hatton wandered into a career asa big-game hunter and became an expert bush pilot. Mesmerized allhis li
Although his popularity is eclipsed by Rembrandt today, PeterPaul Rubens was revered by his contemporaries as the greatestpainter of his era, if not of all history. His undeniableartistic genius, bolstered by a modest disposition and a reputationas a man of tact and discretion, made him a favorite among monarchsand political leaders across Europe—and gave him the perfect coverfor the clandestine activities that shaped the landscape ofseventeenth-century politics. In Master of Shadows, Mark Lamster brilliantly recreates theculture, religious conflicts, and political intrigues of Rubens’stime, following the painter from Antwerp to London, Madrid, Paris,and Rome and providing an insightful exploration of Rubens’s art aswell as the private passions that influenced it.
波姬·小丝（Brooke Christa Shields）， 美国 著名 女演员 和 模特 ，1965年生于 纽约 城，拥有 意大利 、 法国 、 爱尔兰 和 英国 的贵族血统，其祖母是意大利公主Donna Marina Torlonia。小丝出生11个月就为香皂拍过广告，14岁就成为Vogue杂志封面年轻的时装模特；更是用家喻户晓的广告成就了Calvin Klein品牌牛仔装。13岁就在1978年的影片《漂亮宝贝》(Pretty Baby)中扮演一个童妓；1980年的《青春珊瑚岛/蓝色泻湖》(Blue Lagoon)中，出演因海上事故流落荒岛逐渐长大成为少年的两个孩子中的女孩，青春靓丽脱俗的形象让年仅15岁的波姬·小丝红极一时。
Book De*ion Isaac Newton was born in a stone farmhouse in 1642, fatherlessand unwanted by his mother. When he died in London in 1727 he wasso renowned he was given a state funeral—an unheard-of honor for asubject whose achievements were in the realm of the intellect.During the years he was an irascible presence at Trinity College,Cambridge, Newton imagined properties of nature and gave themnames—mass, gravity, velocity—things our science now takes forgranted. Inspired by Aristotle, spurred on by Galileo’s discoveriesand the philosophy of Descartes, Newton grasped the intangible anddared to take its measure, a leap of the mind unparalleled in hisgeneration. James Gleick, the author of Chaos and Genius, and one of the mostacclaimed science writers of his generation, brings the reader intoNewton’s reclusive life and provides startlingly clear explanationsof the concepts that changed forever our perception of bodies,rest, and motion—ideas so basic to the twenty-first century, it cant
Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of ourtime. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of hislife and how he developed his concept of active nonviolentresistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independenceand countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentiethcentury. In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bokurges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of tesingwhat will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot beadapted to new circumstances,"in order to bring about change in ourown lives and communities. All royalties earned on this book are paid to the NavajivanTrust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was the most famous American ofhis age. He claimed to have worked for the Pony Express when only aboy and to have scouted for General George Custer. But what was hisreal story? And how did a frontiersman become a worldwidecelebrity? In this prize-winning biography, acclaimed author Louis S. Warrenexplains not only how Cody exaggerated his real experience as anarmy scout and buffalo hunter, but also how that experienceinspired him to create the gigantic, traveling spectacle known asBuffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. A dazzling mix of Indians, cowboys,and vaqueros, they performed on two continents for three decades,offering a surprisingly modern view of the United States and aremarkably democratic version of its history. This definitivebiography reveals the genius of America’s greatest showman, and thestartling history of the American West that drove him and hisperformers to the world stage.
Politician, evangelist, and reformer William Jennings Bryanwas the most popular public speaker of his time. In this acclaimedbiography–the first major reconsideration of Bryan’s life in fortyyears–award-winning historian Michael Kazin illuminates hisastonishing career and the richly diverse and volatile landscape ofreligion and politics in which he rose to fame. Kazin vividlyre-creates Bryan’s tremendous appeal, showing how he won apassionate following among both rural and urban Americans, who sawin him not only the practical vision of a reform politician butalso the righteousness of a pastor. Bryan did more than anyone totransform the Democratic Party from a bulwark of laissez-faire tothe citadel of liberalism we identify with Franklin D. Roosevelt.In 1896, 1900, and 1908, Bryan was nominated for president, andthough he fell short each time, his legacy–a subject of greatdebate after his death–remains monumental. This nuanced andbrilliantly crafted portrait restores Bryan to an esteemed pla
Adored by many, loathed by some, General George S. Patton,Jr., was one of the most brilliant military strategists in history.War As I Knew It is the personal and candid account of hiscelebrated, relentless crusade across western Europe during WorldWar II. First published in 1947, this absorbing narrative draws onPatton's vivid memories of battle and his detailed diaries, fromthe moment the Third Army exploded onto the Brittany Peninsula tothe final Allied casualty report. The result is not only agrueling, human account of daily combat and heroic feats -including a riveting look at the Battle of the Bulge - but avaluable chronicle of the strategies and fiery personality of alegendary warrior. Patton's letters from earlier military campaignsin North Africa and Sicily, complemented by a powerfulretrospective of his guiding philosophies, further reveal a man ofuncompromising will and uncommon character, which made "Georgie" ahousehold name in mid-century America. With a new introduction.
Countless books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, yet fewhistorians and biographers have taken Lincoln seriously as athinker or attempted to place him in the context of majorintellectual traditions. In this refreshing, brilliantly arguedportrait, Michael Lind examines the ideas and beliefs that guidedLincoln as a statesman and shaped the United States in its time ofgreat crisis.In a century in which revolutions against monarchy anddictatorship in Europe and Latin America had failed, Lincolnbelieved that liberal democracy must be defended for the good ofthe world. During an age in which many argued that only whites werecapable of republican government, Lincoln insisted on theuniversality of human rights and the potential for democracyeverywhere. Yet he also held many of the prejudices of his time;his opposition to slavery was rooted in his allegiance to theideals of the American Revolution, not support for racial equality.Challenging popular myths and capturing Lincoln’s strengths andflaws, Lind offe
