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.

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

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

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

does eminem matter? On assignment for his first cover story for Rolling Stone, thevery first national cover story on Eminem, Anthony Bozza met ayoung blond kid, a rapper who would soon take the country by storm.But back in 1999, Eminem was just beginning to make waves amongsuburban white teenagers as his first single, “My Name Is,” wentinto heavy rotation on MTV. Who could have predicted that in a mere two years, Eminem wouldbecome the most reviled and controversial hip-hop figure ever? Orthat twelve months after that, Eminem would sit firmly at thepinnacle of American celebrity, a Grammy winner many times over andthe recipient of an Oscar. did eminem change or did america finally figure him out? Whatever You Say I Am attempts to answer this question and manymore. Since their first meeting, Bozza has been given a level ofaccess to Eminem that no other journalist has enjoyed. In WhateverYou Say I Am, original, never-before-published text from Bozza’sinterviews with Eminem a

An erudite history of medicine...a welcome addition to anymedical collection. -- Booklist How does medical science advance? Popular historians would have usbelieve that a few heroic individuals, possessing superhumantalents, lead an unselfish quest to better the human condition. Butas renowned Yale surgeon and medical historian Sherwin B. Nulandshows in this brilliant collection of linked life portraits, thetheory bears little resemblance to the truth. Through the centuries, the men and women Who have shaped theworld of medicine have been not only very human people but alsovery much the products of their own times and places. Presentingcompelling studies of great medical innovators and pioneers,Doctors gives us the extraordinary story of the development ofmodern medicine -- told through the lives of thephysician-scientists whose deeds and determination paved the way.Ranging from the legendary Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, toAndreas Vesalius, whose Renaissance masterwork on anatomy offeredinval

A comprehensive, authoritative, in depth andentertaining biography of one of the greatest and most influentialfantasy authors in modern time, J.R.R. Tolkien. In this informed an entertaining account, renowned biographerMichael White delves into the little-known life of one of the mosttreasured and enduring authors of our time, J.R.R. Tolkien. In absorbing and revealing detail, White describes Tolkien'slife -- from his childhood years and the tragic early death of hisparents; his burgeoning romance with Edith Brett; fighting on thefront lines in WWII; his many years as an Oxford academic, wherethe idea of the Hobbit struck him while marking a term paper; tohis friendship with C.S. Lewis and the founding of the group "TheInklings"; and why The Lord of the Rings became the mostinfluential book in the late sixties counter-culture, one of themost respected and most-read trilogies ever written, and the centerof a major film phenomenon. With 16 pages of black and white photos.

Succeeds more than any previous book in bringing Ali into focus. . . as a starburst of energy, ego and ability whose like willnever be seen again.-- The Wall Street Journal "Best Nonfiction Book of the Year"-- Time "Penetrating . . . reveal[s] details that even close followers of[Ali] might not have known. . . . An amazing story." -- The NewYork Times On the night in 1964 that Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay)stepped into the ring with Sonny Liston, he was widely regarded asan irritating freak who danced and talked way too much. Six roundslater Ali was not only the new world heavyweight boxing champion:He was "a new kind of black man" who would shortly transformAmerica's racial politics, its popular culture, and its notions ofheroism. No one has capturedAli--and the era that he exhilarated and sometimes infuriated--withgreater vibrancy, drama, and astuteness than David Remnick, thePulitzer Prize-winning author of Lenin's Tomb (and editor of The New Yorker ). In charting Ali's rise fro

Now in paperback: the third volume of John Richardson’smagisterial Life of Picasso. Here is Picasso at the height of his powers in Rome and Naples,producing the sets and costumes with Cocteau for Diaghilev’sBallets Russes, and visiting Pompei where the antique statuary fuelhis obsession with classicism; in Paris, creating some of his mostimportant sculpture and painting as part of a group that includedBraque, Apollinaire, Miró, and Breton; spending summers in theSouth of France in the company of Gerald and Sara Murphy,Hemingway, and Fitzgerald. These are the years of his marriage tothe Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova—the mother of his onlylegitimate child, Paulo—and of his passionate affair withMarie-Thérèse Walter, who was, as well, his model and muse. A groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of one of thegreatest artists of the twentieth century.

A gathering ofbrilliant and viciously funny recollections from one of thetwentieth century’s most famous literary enfants terribles. Written in 1980 but published here for the first time, thesetexts tell the story of the various farces that developed aroundthe literary prizes Thomas Bernhard received in his lifetime.Whether it was the Bremen Literature Prize, the Grillparzer Prize,or the Austrian State Prize, his participation in the acceptanceceremony—always less than gracious, it must be said—resulted inscandal (only at the awarding of the prize from Austria’s FederalChamber of Commerce did Bernhard feel at home: he received thatone, he said, in recognition of the great example he set forshopkeeping apprentices). And the remuneration connected with theprizes presented him with opportunities for adventure—of thenew-house and luxury-car variety. Here is a portrait of the writer as a prizewinner: laconic,sardonic, and shaking his head with biting amusement at the w

From October to December of 1888, Paul Gauguin shared a yellowhouse in the south of France with Vincent van Gogh. They were theodd couple of the art world -- one calm, the other volatile -- andthe denouement of their living arrangement was explosive. Makinguse of new evidence and Van Goghs voluminous correspondence, MartinGayford describes not only how these two hallowed artists paintedand exchanged ideas, but also the texture of their everyday lives.Gayford also makes a persuasive analysis of Van Goghs mentalillness -- the probable bipolar affliction that led him to commitsuicide at the age of thirty-seven. The Yellow House is a singularbiographical work, as dramatic and vibrant as the work of thesebrilliant artists.

This comprehensive, original portrait of the life and work ofone of America's greatest poets--set in the social, cultural, andpolitical context of his time--considers the full range of writingsby and about Whitman, including his early poems and stories, hisconversations, letters, journals, newspaper writings, and daybooks. of photos.

In The Cubist Rebel, 1907–1916 , the second volume of his Life of Picasso , John Richardson reveals the young Picassoin the Baudelairean role of “the painter of modern life”—a rolethat stipulated the brothel as the noblest subject for a modernartist. Hence his great breakthrough painting, Les Demoisellesd’Avignon , with which this book opens. As well as portrayingPicasso as a revolutionary, Richardson analyzes the morecompassionate side of his genius. The misogynist of posthumouslegend turns out to have been surprisingly vulnerable—more oftensinned against than sinning. Heartbroken at the death of hismistress Eva, Picasso tried desperately to find a wife. Richardsonrecounts the untold story of how his two great loves of 1915–17successively turned him down. These disappointments, as well as hishorror at the outbreak of World War I and the wounds it inflictedon his closest friends, Braque and Apollinaire, shadowed hispainting and drove him off to work for the Ballets Russes in Romeand Naples—

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。

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.

In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island ofSri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat andintoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India,"Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of hisDutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and familymemoir by an exceptional writer.

Fidel Castro is perhaps the most charismatic and controversialhead of state in modern times. A dictatorial pariah to some, he hasbecome a hero and inspiration for many of the world's poor,defiantly charting an independent and revolutionary path for Cubaover nearly half a century. Numerous attempts have been made to get Castro to tell his ownstory. But only now, in the twilight of his years, has he beenprepared to set out the details of his remarkable biography for theworld to read. This book is nothing less than his living testament.As he told reporters, his desire to finish checking its text wasthe one thing that kept him going through his recent illness. Hepresented a copy of the book in its Spanish edition to his compadrePresident Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. In these pages, Castro narrates a compelling chronicle thatspans the harshness of his elementary school teachers; the earlyfailures of the revolution; his intense comradeship with CheGuevara and their astonishing, against-all-odds victory over thedic

Warren Buffett is the most successful investor of all time. His ability to consistently find undervalued companies has made him one of the world's richest men. Yet while his track record is hard to argue with, the Buffett way isn't the only way, nor is it always the best way, to invest. Even Buffett Isn't Perfect dispels many myths about Buffett and his "solid as a rock" style. It shows readers how to learn from the master's best moves while avoiding strategies that don't apply to small investors -- and avoiding Buffett's mistakes, such as sometimes riding his winners too long.

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.

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