The 22-year old James Boswell first met Johnson, who was then aged 54, in 1763. Nine years later he wrote in his journal of his 'constant plan to write the life of Mr Johnson'. Boswell was tireless in his search for authenticated proof, and his training as a lawyer helped him sift the evidence of friends and to operate forensically on Johnson himself. Boswell drew him out as no one else could, and although three-quarters of the book concerns the last twenty years of Johnson's life, his skill in constructing the early years is remarkable. The text of this complete and unabridged edition is that of the 1791 first edition, and it remains, by common consent, the greatest biography in the English language. Johnson's centrality in 18th century letters is established not only by Boswell's record of his life and conversations, but also by the success of the work in placing him in a literary and cultural context. James Boswell (1740-95) was educated at Edinburgh and Glasgow universities as a lawyer. He moved to

"Franklin''s is one of the greatest autobiographies inliterature, and towers over other autobiographies as Franklintowered over other men." -William Dean Howells

Since his release from prison in 1990, Nelson Mandela hasemerged as the world's most significant moral leader since Gandhi.As president of the African National Congress and spiritualfigurehead of the anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental inmoving South Africa towards black-majority rule. He is reveredthroughout the world as a vital force for human rights and racialequality. Mandela's riveting memoirs, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM , werefirst published in 1994 to universal acclaim. This excitingillustrated edition now portrays his life in words and pictures.Vivid de*ions of his childhood environment, earlyJohannesburg, life in the townships, Robben Island and the events,protests, historic trials and acts of vengeance that forged hisdestiny are now accompanied by haunting and dramatic photographsthat illuminate his story in an unforgettable way.

Modern views of Columbus are overshadowed by guilt about pastconquests. Credit for discovering the New World, we are told,belongs to its original inhabitants rather than any European, andColumbus gave those inhabitants nothing apart from death, diseaseand destruction. Yet for the Old World of Europe the four voyagesof Columbus brought revelation where before there had been onlymyths and guesswork. People had thought it was only the greatdistance that made it impossible to reach Asia sailing west fromSpain. No one had predicted that a vast continent stood in the way.And indeed, for Columbus himself, the revolution of understandingwas too much to comprehend. He had counted on a new route to Asiathat would bring him glory, riches and titles, and the thought ofan unknown and undeveloped continent held no attractions. Thetrials and disappointments of the great explorer are graphicallydetailed in this biography first published in 1828, when WashingtonIrving was America's most famous writer.

Eva was arrested by the Nazis on her fifteenth birthday andsent to Auschwitz. Her survival depended on endless strokes ofluck, her own determination and the love and protection of hermother Fritzi, who was deported with her. When Auschwitz was liberated, Eva and Fritzi began the longjourney home. They searched desperately for Eva's father andbrother, from whom they had been separated. The news came somemonths later. Tragically, both men had been killed. Before the war, in Amsterdam, Eva had become friendly with ayoung girl called Anne Frank. Though their fates were verydifferent, Eva's life was set to be entwined with her friend's forever more, after her mother Fritzi married Anne's father Otto Frankin 1953. This is a searingly honest account of how an ordinary personsurvived the Holocaust. Eva's memories and de*ions areheartbreakingly clear, her account brings the horror as close as itcan possibly be. But this is also an exploration of what happened next, of Eva'sstruggle to live with herself after t

Revered for his strength of character when Britain stood aloneagainst Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill is painted as one of WorldWar II's most heroic figures-a characterization that overshadowshis faults, which have had their own devastating legacy. This book examines the decisions and policies of Churchillbetween June 1940 and December 1941 that actually hindered theAllied cause, extended the conflict, and even destabilized severalregions that remain in chaos to this day. With profound insight into Churchill's early colonial experiencesas well as his first tenure as First Lord of the Admiralty,Christopher Catherwood offers an honest appraisal of Churchill'sstrategies in a unique and fascinating perspective that separatesthe myth from the man.

With the passing of this great movie star, philanthropist,and-bona fide, in her day-living legend, it is our pleasure as muchas our duty to celebrate her glorious life. Our cameras weretrained on Liz since National Velvet, and our splendid archive ofphotography needs to be seen-by you, her fans, right now, in thismoment. Elizabeth first appeared on LIFE's cover when she was barely ateenager, and last graced the cover when she trusted LIFE to tellthe story of her late-in-life brain surgery with taste andaccuracy. In between there was all the rest: the child-star days,the early marriages, the sensational movies, the incredible dramathat was "Liz and Dick," the later success on the Broadway stage,the transition to regal presence: benefactor, Dame Commander of theOrder of the British Empire, American icon. It is all in the pages of this special commemorative book.

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.

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.

A PRESIDENTIAL DYNASTY. AN ARAB TERRORIST ATTACK. DEMOCRACYUNDER SIEGE. Mario Puzo envisioned it all in his eerily prescient1991 novel, The Fourth K. President Francis Xavier Kennedy is elected to office, in largepart, thanks to the legacy of his forebears–good looks, privilege,wealth–and is the very embodiment of youthful optimism. Too soon,however, he is beaten down by the political process and, disabusedof his ideals, he becomes a leader totally unlike what he has beenbefore. When his daughter becomes a pawn in a brutal terrorist plot,Kennedy, who has obsessively kept alive the memory of his uncles’assassinations, activates all his power to retaliate in a series ofviolent measures. As the explosive events unfold, the world andthose closest to him look on with both awe and horror.

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.

The outrageous exploits of one of this century's greatestscientific minds and a legendary American original. In thisphenomenal national bestseller, the Nobel Prize-winning physicistRichard P. Feynman recounts in his inimitable voice his adventurestrading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas ongambling with Nick the Greek, painting a naked female toreador,accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums and much else of aneyebrow-raising and hilarious nature. A New York Times bestseller; more than 500,000 copies sold.

Sometimes it seems as though I've waited my entirelife to bephotographed by Terry Richardson. With Terry,the relationshipextends beyond the photograph, andif you're really lucky he willteach you something trulyprofound about yourself. I have discoveredthrough himthat "shame" is an obsolete notion and "apology"is aninjustice to any performance. Perhaps it is hiskind eyes behindthose famous glasses, or the gigglingnoise he makes at 4:30 in themorning when he's caughtme in bed. Click, giggle, click, click,click, "beautiful." To sayhe is a free spirit is a tremendousunderstatement, andto say that he (or I) make people uncomfortable,is spot on.We share these things in common. However, it is uniquetoTerry and his subjects that there are no limitations.At all. Hisheart is too wide. He makes me wantto widen my own.

Internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander always considered himself a man of science. His unwavering belief in evidence-based medicine fuelled a career in the top medical institutions of the world. But all this was set to change. One morning in 2008 he fell into a coma after suffering a rare form of bacterial meningitis. Scans of his brain revealed massive damage. Death was deemed the most likely outcome. As his family prepared themselves for the worst, something miraculous happened. Dr Alexander's brain went from near total inactivity to awakening. He made a full recovery but he was never the same. He woke certain of the infinite reach of the soul, he was certain of a life beyond death. In this astonishing book, Dr Alexander shares his experience, pieced together from the notes he made as soon as he was able to write again. Unlike other accounts of near-death experiences, he is able to explain in depth why his brain was incapable of fabricating the journey he experienced.

In this elegant collection of essays, one of modernliterature's most enchanting masters reminisces about Italy'santifascist resistance and the whirl of ideas that blossomed in thepost-war era. In America, Calvino follows Nixon's election hopeswhile marvelling at colour television and American cars, butdescribes with loathing his first experience of mass racism, whenhe is lucky enough to meet Martin Luther King in Alabama. He alsowrites brilliant short pieces on his Italian dialect, the final dayof the Second World War, and the rich joys of living inParis. A stylish assortment of memoir and wit, Hermit in Paris includesthe very finest of Calvino's superb work.

As Angus Calder states in his introduction to this edition, 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the major statements about the fighting experience of the First World War'. Lawrence's younger brothers, Frank and Will, had been killed on the Western Front in 1915. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, written between 1919 and 1926,tells of the vastly different campaign against the Turks in the Middle East - one which encompasses gross acts of cruelty and revenge and ends in a welter of stink and corpses in the disgusting 'hospital' in Damascus. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is no Boys Own Paper tale of Imperial triumph, but a complex work of high literary aspiration which stands in the tradition of Melville and Dostoevsky, and alongside the writings of Yeats, Eliot and joyce.

So much has how been said and written about the life andcareer of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible todisentangle the man from the myth. This book is the fruit of over30 years of research and hundreds of exclusive interviews with aremarkable level of access to the very closest circles of theJackson family - including Michael himself. Cutting through tabloidrumours, J. Randy Taraborrelli traces the real story behind MichaelJackson, from his drilling as a child star through the blooming ofhis talent to his ever-changing personal appearance and bizarrepublicity stunts. This major biography includes thebehind-the-scenes story to many of the landmarks in Jackson's life:his legal and commercial battles, his marriages to Lisa MariePresley and Debbie Rowe, his passions and addictions, his children.Objective and revealing, it carries the hallmarks of all ofTaraborrelli's best-sellers: impeccable research, brilliantstorytelling and definitive documentation.

At the end of herbestselling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love", Elizabeth Gilbert fell inlove with Felipe -- a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenshipwho'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling inAmerica, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but alsoswore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married.(Both survivors of difficult divorces. Enough said.) But providenceintervened one day in the form of the U.S. government, who -- afterunexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing --gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipewould never be allowed to enter the country again. Having beeneffectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriageby delving completely into this topic, trying with all her might todiscover (through historical research, interviews and much personalreflection) what this stubbornly enduring old institution actuallyis. The result is "Committed" - a witty and intelligentcontemplation of marriage that de

Isaacson, assistant managing editor of Time , has produced much more than another unauthorized biography, giving extensive insights into the younger years of Heinz Kissinger in Bavaria and how they shaped his character, his style in dealing with others, and his worldview. Over 150 interviews with Kissinger intimates, enemies, subordinates, and the man himself generate a less-than-flattering portrayal of the man behind the intellect and the myths. Isaacson covers Kissinger's Americanization, his use of Harvard ties to enhance his career, his forays into the stratosphere of the Council on Foreign Relations (NY), and his Washington years and exploits. He also examines Kissinger's ill-fated negotiations with the North Vietnamese, empire building as national security assistant, shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, arms control efforts, and later years as private citizen and consultant. While there are other excellent Kissinger biographies (Stephen Graubard's Kissinger , LJ 6/1/73; John Stoessinger's Henry Kissing

In her acclaimed collections Happy Family and Music Minus One,Jane Shore traced her life from childhood to coming of age toparenthood. Now, in A Yes-or-No Answer, Shore etches thepersistence of the past in a life that has moved into a mature newphase as a member of the baby boom generation. Recalling her Jewishchildhood in New Jersey, living in the apartment above the family'sclothing store, Shore lovingly imagines her parents, now gone,reunited with relatives over a Scrabble board in the afterlife. Thepoet's teenage daughter sorts through the "vintage" clothes of hermother's own hippie days. Cherished items left behind -- an addressbook, a piano, an easy chair, a favorite doll -- continue to hauntthe living. The poems in A Yes-or-No Answer dignify memory throughprecise detail, with a voice that will resonate for a generation ata crossroads.

Elizabeth Taylor passed away on March 23, 2011 in Los Angelesat the age of 79. For decades, Elizabeth Taylor has been a part of our lives. Nowacclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli looks past the tabloidversion of Elizabeth's life and offers the first‐ever fullyrealized portrait of this American icon. You'll meet hercontrolling mother who plotted her daughter's success from birth,see the qualities that catapulted Elizabeth to stardom in 1940sHollywood, understand the psychological and emotional underpinningsbehind the eight marriages, and, finally, rejoice in Elizabeth'smost bravura performance of all: the new success in family,friendships, and philanthropy she achieved despite substance abuseand chronic illness. It's the story of the woman you thought youknew, and now can finally understand.