A fascinating history--. Literate andauthoritative--.Marvelously exciting. --The New York Times BookReview Jonathan Weiner, winner of the Pulitzer Prizefor The Beak of the Finch, brings his brilliant reporting skills tothe story of Seymour Benzer, the Brooklyn-born maverick scientistwhose study of genetics and experiments with fruit fly genes hashelped revolutionize or knowledge of the connections between DNAand behavior both animal and human. How much of our fate is decided before we areborn? Which of our characteristics is inscribed in our DNA? Weinerbrings us into Benzer's Fly Rooms at the California Institute ofTechnology, where Benzer, and his asssociates are in the process offinding answers, often astonishing ones, to these questions. Partbiography, part thrilling scientific detective story, Time, Love,Memory forcefully demonstrates how Benzer's studies are changingour world view--and even our lives.
As a child in German-occupied Poland, Roma Ligocka was known forthe bright strawberry-red coat she wore against a tide of gatheringdarkness. Fifty years later, Roma, an artist living in Germany,attended a screening of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, andinstantly knew that “the girl in the red coat”—the only splash ofcolor in the film—was her. Thus began a harrowing journey into thepast, as Roma Ligocka sought to reclaim her life and put togetherthe pieces of a shattered childhood. The result is this remarkable memoir, a fifty-year chronicle ofsurvival and its aftermath. With brutal honesty, Ligocka recollectsa childhood at the heart of evil: the flashing black boots, thesudden executions, her mother weeping, her father vanished…then herown harrowing escape and the strange twists of fate that allowedher to live on into the haunted years after the war. Powerful,lyrical, and unique among Holocaust memoirs, The Girl in the RedCoat eloquently explores the power of evil to twist our liveslong
Steven Gerrard is a hero to millions, not only as the inspirational captain of Liverpool FC, but as a key member of the England team. Here, for the first time, he tells the story of his lifelong obsession with football, in an honest and revealing book which captures the extraordinary camaraderie, the soul-destroying tensions and the high-octane thrills of the modern game as never before. He speaks for the first time about the torturous will-he-won't-he Chelsea rumours and his undying passion for Liverpool. We experience first-hand the highs of winning in Istanbul and elsewhere, as well as the occasional lows of being parted from his much-loved family and friends. And of course, the book contains a full blow-by-blow account of England's world cup campaign in Germany 2006.
Through the lives of four xceptional sisters an intimate account of China in the last century…
Barack Obama is arguably the most dynamic political figure to grace the American stage since John F. Kennedy. His meteoric rise from promise to power has stunned even the cynics and inspired a legion of devout followers. For anyone who wants to know more about the man who would be president, David Mendell's Obama is essential reading. Mendell, who has covered Obama for the Chicago Tribune since the beginning of Obama's campaign for the Senate, had far-reaching access to the senator, the details of which he shares in this compelling biography. Positioning Obama as the savior of a fumbling Democratic party, Mendell shows how Obama conquered Illinois politics and paved the way brick by brick for a galvanizing, historic presidential run. With exclusive contributions by family members and advisers, and details on Obama's voting record, this is a complete, complex, and revealing portrait, a must read for anyone interested in American politics in general and Senator Barack Obama in particular.
In a book that is both biography and the most exciting form ofhistory, here are eighteen years in the life of a man, AlbertEinstein, and a city, Berlin, that were in many ways the definingyears of the twentieth century. Einstein in Berlin In the spring of 1913 two of the giants of modern sciencetraveled to Zurich. Their mission: to offer the most prestigiousposition in the very center of European scientific life to a manwho had just six years before been a mere patent clerk. AlbertEinstein accepted, arriving in Berlin in March 1914 to take up hisnew post. In December 1932 he left Berlin forever. “Take a goodlook,” he said to his wife as they walked away from their house.“You will never see it again.” In between, Einstein’s Berlin years capture in microcosm theodyssey of the twentieth century. It is a century that opens withextravagant hopes--and climaxes in unparalleled calamity. These aretumultuous times, seen through the life of one man who is at oncewitness to and architect of his day--and
Bankers, philanthropists, scholars, socialites, artists,and politicians, the Warburgs stood at the pinnacle of German (and,later, of German-American) Jewry. They forged economic dynasties,built mansions and estates, assembled libraries, endowed charities,and advised a German kaiser and two American presidents. But theirvery success made the Warburgs lightning rods for anti-Semitism,and their sense of patriotism became increasingly dangerous in aGermany that had declared Jews the enemy. Ron Chernow's hugely fascinating history is a groupportrait of a clan whose members were renowned for theirbrilliance, culture, and personal energy yet tragically vulnerableto the dark and irrational currents of the twentieth century. "Splendid.... Chernow does a wonderful job fleshing outthe lives of the major characters in this family drama."
In 1997, Tony Blair won the biggest Labour victory in history to sweep the party to power and end eighteen years of Conservative government. He has been one of the most dynamic leaders of modern times; few British prime ministers have shaped the nation's course as profoundly as Blair during his ten years in power, and his achievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come. Now his memoirs reveal in intimate detail this unique political and personal journey, providing an insight into the man, the politician and the statesman, and charting successes, controversies and disappointments with an extraordinary candour. "A Journey" will prove essential and compulsive reading for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of our global world. As an account of the nature and uses of power, it will also have a readership that extends well beyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challenges of leadership today.
The first account—prodigiously researched, richly detailed—ofthe last remarkable twenty-five years of the life and art of one ofAmerica’s greatest and most beloved musical icons. Much has been written about Louis Armstrong, but most of itfocuses on the early and middle stages of his long career. Now,Ricky Riccardi—jazz scholar and musician—takes an in-depth look atthe years in which Armstrong was often dismissed as a buffoon?ish,if popular, entertainer, and shows us instead the inventiveness anddepth of expression that his music evinced during this time. These are the years (from after World War II until his death in1971) when Armstrong entertained crowds around the world andrecorded his highest-charting hits, including “Mack the Knife” and“Hello, Dolly”; years when he collaborated with, among others, EllaFitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck; when he recorded withstrings and big bands, and, of course, with the All-Stars, hisprimary performing ensemble for more than
In his #1 New York Times bestseller, Jack Welch surveys his brilliant career at General Electric, reveals his personal business philosophy, and discusses his life post-retirement in a new afterword. They called him Neutron Jack. They called him the world's toughest boss. And then Fortune called him 'The Manager of the Century.' In his 20-year career at the helm of General Electric, Jack Welch defied conventional wisdom and turned an aging behemoth of a corporation into a lean, mean engine of growth and corporate innovation. In this remarkable autobiography-a classic business book and runaway New York Times bestseller now updated with a new afterword-Jack Welch takes us on the rough-and-tumble ride that has been his remarkable life.
Marine General Tony Zinni was known as the "Warrior Diplomat"during his nearly forty years of service. As a soldier, hiscredentials were impeccable, whether leading troops in Vietnam,commanding hair-raising rescue operations in Somalia, or-asCommander-in-Chief of CENTCOM-directing strikes against Iraq and AlQaeda. But it was as a peacemaker that he made just as great amark-conducting dangerous troubleshooting missions all over Africa,Asia, and Europe; and then serving as Secretary of State ColinPowell's special envoy to the Middle East, before disagreementsover the 2003 Iraq War and its probable aftermath caused him toresign. This is his story-and that of his beloved Marine Corps-from thecauldron of Vietnam to the realities of the post-9/11 military, astold by none other than Tom Clancy.
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.
One climbed to the very top of the social ladder, the otherchose to live among tramps. One was a celebrity at twenty-three,the other virtually unknown until his dying days. One wasright-wing and religious, the other a socialist and an atheist.Yet, as this ingenious and important new book reveals, at the heartof their lives and writing, Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell wereessentially the same man. Orwell is best known for "Animal Farm"and "1984," Waugh for "Brideshead Revisited" and comic novels like"Scoop" and "Vile Bodies." How ever different they may seem, thesetwo towering figures of twentieth-century literature are linked forthe first time in this engaging and unconventional biography, whichgoes beyond the story of their amazing lives to reach the core oftheir beliefs-a shared vision that was startlingly prescient aboutour own troubled times. Both Waugh and Orwell were born in 1903,into the same comfortable stratum of England's class-obsessedsociety. But at first glance they seem to have lived
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。
I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!) is Stephen Colbert's attempt to wedge his brain between hardback covers. In plain conversational language, not to mention the occasional grunt and/or whistle, Stephen explains his take on the most pressing concerns of our culture: Faith, Family, Politics...Hygiene.
Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-linedboulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking fa?ades around everycorner--in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured theAmerican imagination for as long as there have beenAmericans. In 1995, Adam Gopnik, his wife, and their infant son left thefamiliar comforts and hassles of New York City for the urbaneglamour of the City of Light. Gopnik is a longtime New Yorkerwriter, and the magazine has sent its writers to Paris fordecades--but his was above all a personal pilgrimage to the placethat had for so long been the undisputed capital of everythingcultural and beautiful. It was also the opportunity to raise achild who would know what it was to romp in the Luxembourg Gardens,to enjoy a croque monsieur in a Left Bank café--a child (andperhaps a father, too) who would have a grasp of that Parisiansense of style we Americans find so elusive. So, in the grand tradition of the American abroad, Gopnik walkedthe paths of the Tuileries, enjoy
Introducing the new Fisher Investment Series, comprised of engaging and informative titles written by renowned money manager and bestselling author Ken Fisher. This series offers essential insights into the worlds of investing and finance. Over the course of nearly two centuries, the innovations, mistakes, and scandals of different market participants have played an important role in shaping today's financial markets. Now, in 100 Minds That Made the Market, Ken Fisher delivers cameo biographies of these pioneers of American financial history. From Joe Kennedy's "sexcapades" to Jesse Livermore's suicide, this book details the drama, the dirt, and the financial principles of an amazingly inventive group of financial minds. Fisher digs deep to uncover the careers, personal lives, and contributions of these individuals, and leads you through the lessons that can be learned from each one. Here you have 100 of the best teachers -- some you already know, some you will feel you know, and some you may not have pre
In this extraordinary memoir, Nobel Prizewinning author GnterGrass remembers his early life, from his boyhood in a crampedtwo-room apartment in Danzig through the late 1950s, when The TinDrum was published. During the Second World War, Grass volunteeredfor the submarine corps at the age of fifteen but was rejected; twoyears later, in 1944, he was instead drafted into the Waffen-SS.Taken prisoner by American forces as he was recovering fromshrapnel wounds, he spent the final weeks of the war in an AmericanPOW camp. After the war, Grass resolved to become an artist andmoved with his first wife to Paris, where he began to write thenovel that would make him famous. Full of the bravado of youth, therubble of postwar Germany, the thrill of wild love affairs, and theexhilaration of Paris in the early fifties, Peeling the Onionwhichcaused great controversy when it was published in GermanyrevealsGrass at his most intimate.
Drawing on myriad sources from the Tudor era, bestsellingauthor Alison Weir provides the first book ever to examine, inunprecedented depth, the gripping story of Anne Boleyn’s finaldays. The Lady in the Tower explores the motives and intrigues ofthose who helped to seal the queen’s fate, unraveling the tragictale of Anne’s fall, from her miscarriage of the son who would havesaved her to the final, dramatic scene on the scaffold. Whatemerges is an extraordinary portrayal of a woman of great courage,tested to the extreme by the terrible plight in which she foundherself, a powerful queen whose enemies were bent on utterlydestroying her. Horrifying but captivating, The Lady in the Towerpresents the full array of evidence of Anne Boleyn’s guilt—andinnocence. Only in Alison Weir’s capable hands can readers learnthe truth about the fate of one of the most influential andfascinating figures in English history. Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and mor
"Authorized, intimate, and definitive, Ben Hogan: A Life isthe long-awaited biography of one of golf's greatest, mostenigmatic legends, narrated with the unique eloquence that has madeauthor James Dodson a critically acclaimed national bestseller. "One man is often credited with shaping the landscape of moderngolf. Ben Hogan was a short, trim, impeccably dressed Texan whosefierce work ethic, legendary steel nerves, and astonishing triumphover personal disaster earned him not only an army of adoring fans,but one of the finest careers in the history of the sport. Hogancaptured a record-tying four U.S. Opens, won five of six majortournaments in a single season, and inspired future generations ofprofessional golfers from Palmer to Norman to Woods. Yet for allhis brilliance, Ben Hogan was an enigma. He was an American herowhose personal life, inner motivation, and famed "secret" were thesource of great public mystery. As Hogan grew into a giant on thepro tour, the combination of his cool outward demeanor an
Masters of Doom is the amazing true story ofthe Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and JohnRomero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popularculture. And they provoked a national controversy. More thananything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream,escaping the broken homes of their youth to produce the mostnotoriously successful game franchises in history— Doom and Quake — until the games they made tore them apart. This is astory of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry—a powerfuland compassionate account of what it's like to be young, driven,and wildly creative.
Emily Dickinson, probably the most loved and certainly the greatest of American poets, continues to be seen as the most elusive. One reason she has become a timeless icon of mystery for many readers is that her developmental phases have not been clarified. In this exhaustively researched biography, Alfred Habegger presents the first thorough account of Dickinson s growth a richly contextualized story of genius in the process of formation and then in the act of overwhelming production.
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