ON THE WAY home from a conference, Don Piper's car was crushed by a semi that crossed into his lane. Medical personnel said he died instantly. While his body lay lifeless inside the ruins of his car, Piper experienced the glories of heaven, awed by its beauty and music. Ninety minutes after the wreck, while a minister prayed for him, Piper miraculously returned to life on earth with only the memory of inexpressible heavenly bliss. His faith in God was severely tested as he faced an uncertain and grueling recovery. Now he shares his life-changing story with you. 9o Minutes in Heaven offers a glimpse into a very real dimension of God's reality It encourages those recovering from serious injuries and those dealing with the loss of a loved one. The experience dramatically changed Piper's life,and it will change yours too. 作者简介：Don Piper has been an ordained minister since 1985 and has served in several capacities on church staffs, including six years as a senior pastor. Don has appeared on

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.

From Hermione Lee, the internationally acclaimed, award-winningbiographer of Virginia Woolf and Willa Cather , comesa superb reexamination of one of the most famous American women ofletters. Delving into heretofore untapped sources, Lee does away with theimage of the snobbish bluestocking and gives us a new EdithWharton-tough, startlingly modern, as brilliant and complex as herfiction. Born into a wealthy family, Wharton left America as anadult and eventually chose to create a life in France. Her renownednovels and stories have become classics of American literature, butas Lee shows, Wharton's own life, filled with success and scandal,was as intriguing as those of her heroines. Bridging two centuriesand two very different sensibilities, Wharton here comes to life inthe skillful hands of one of the great literary biographers of ourtime.

Sir Alex announced his retirement as manager of ManchesterUnited after 27 years in the role. He has gone out in a blaze ofglory, with United winning the Premier League for the 13th time,and he is widely considered to be the greatest manager in thehistory of British football. Over the last quarter of a century there have been seismicchanges at Manchester United. The only constant element has beenthe quality of the manager's league-winning squad and United's runof success, which included winning the Champions League for asecond time in 2008. Sir Alex created a purposeful, but welcoming,and much envied culture at the club which has lasted the test oftime. Sir Alex saw Manchester United change from a conventionalfootball club to what is now a major business enterprise, and henever failed to move with the times. It was directly due to hisvision, energy and ability that he was able to build teams both onand off the pitch. He was a man-manager of phenomenal skill, andincreasingly he had to deal with global stars.

Michael Jackson was one of those rare human beings who can truly be described as a legend. As with Elvis and John Lennon, everyone will remember where they were when they heard about the death of Michael Jackson. He was just fifty when he died, yet had become a superstar by the time he was eleven, ensuring his music was part of the fabric of everyone's life. Though his days of greatest success were behind him, Jackson was standing on the threshold of what could well have been one of the biggest comebacks in showbiz history. It wasn't to be, but the music, sales figures and the number of current stars who queued to pay tribute to his influence underlined the fact that, for all his controversial personal quirks, Michael Jackson was indeed one of the greats. This picture-packed tribute charts the life of a legend, from his earliest days as a hyperactive child protege fronting family group the Jackson Five, to the assured superstar looking out from the cover of Thriller, still the best-selling album of all time.

By the end of the First World War, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel hadrevolutionised women's dress. But dress was the most visible aspectof more profound changes she helped to bring about. During thecourse of her extraordinary and unconventional journey - fromabject poverty to a new kind of glamour - Chanel would help forgethe very idea of modern woman.Unearthing an astonishing life, thisremarkable biography shows how the most influential designer of hercentury became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style.Her numerous liaisons, whose most poignant details have eluded allprevious biographers, were the stuff of legend. Witty, strange,mesmerizing, Chanel became muse, patron or mistress to some of thecentury's most celebrated artists, including Stravinsky, Picassoand Dali.Drawing on newly discovered love-letters, police records,and interviews, Lisa Chaney reveals the truth about Chanel's drughabit and lesbian affairs.She also answers definitively thelong-running question about Chanel's German lover: w

Since turning pro after a short stint at Stanford University,no one athlete has dominated their sport as Tiger Woods hasdominated the world of golf. His list of achievements andchampionships would fill pages. But how does he do it? In HOW I PLAY GOLF, through fabulous colorphotos, slow-motion photography, and plenty of text, Tiger talksabout his drives, his putting, his chip shots, his mental approachto the game, and much more more. This is the complete instructionalon how Tiger plays the game of golf. Tiger shares his thoughts on what he calls the game for alifetime. He reveals the five secrets he believes are responsiblefor his success -- a combination of physical, metaphysical, andpsychological practices he uses daily to keep his game in top shapeand to help him to transcend all the ups and downs of golf. Not many can play golf as well as Tiger does, but at least we canread how we can try to improve our game. This one singular volumecontains all the golf instruction that anyone wou

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral andpolitical leader of our time, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM brilliantlyre-creates the drama of the experiences that helped shape NelsonMandela's destiny. Emotive, compelling and uplifting, A LONG WALKTO FREEDOM is the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story ofhardship, resilience and ultimate triumph told with the clarity andeloquence of a born leader. 'Burns with the luminosity of faith inthe invincible nature of human hope and dignity ...Unforgettable'Andre Brink 'Enthralling ...Mandela emulates the few greatpolitical leaders such as Lincoln and Gandhi, who go beyond mereconsensus and move out ahead of their followers to break newground' Donald Woods in the SUNDAY TIMES

When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now. In this groundbreaking book, Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress' life, including her mother, her foster mother, and her legal guardian. He also reveals, for the first time, the shocking scope of Marilyn's own mental illness, the identity of Marilyn's father and the half-brother she never knew, and new information about her relationship with the Kennedy's-Bobby, Jack, and Pat Kennedy Lawford. Explosive, revelatory, and surprisingly moving, this is the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the 20th Century.

David Beckham is the world's most famous football icon. In Maythis year he brought down the curtain on a hugely successfulplaying career that spanned two decades, during which he proudlywore the shirts of Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, ACMilan, Paris Saint-Germain, and England. He captained his countryon 58 occasions, winning 115 international caps in total, anEnglish record for an outfield player. His colourful and stellarcareer has been characterised by the emotional highs of great goalsand remarkable trophy successes around the world, as well as bymore than the occasional moment of set-back, disappointment anddespair, but through it all Beckham has emerged as a universallyadored figure, both inside and outside the game. Here, intimatelytalking us through 150 of his favourite images which define hisplaying days, he invites us behind the scenes of an incredible20-year footballing journey.

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

Thirty years ago, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt won both thePulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. A collector’s item inits original edition, it has never been out of print as apaperback. This classic book is now reissued in hardcover, alongwith Theodore Rex, to coincide with the publication of ColonelRoosevelt, the third and concluding volume of Edmund Morris’sdefinitive trilogy on the life of the twenty-sixth President. Although Theodore Rex fully recounts TR’s years in the WhiteHouse (1901–1909), The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt begins with abrilliant Prologue describing the President at the apex of hisinternational prestige. That was on New Year’s Day, 1907, when TR,who had just won the Nobel Peace Prize, threw open the doors of theWhite House to the American people and shook 8,150 hands, more thanany man before him. Morris re-creates the reception with suchauthentic detail that the reader gets almost as vivid an impressionof TR as those who attended. One visitor remarked

One of the most popular and mysterious figures in Americanliterary history, J. D. Salinger eluded fans and journalists formost of his life. Now comes a new biography that Peter Ackroyd inThe Times of London calls “energetic and magnificentlyresearched”—a book from which “a true picture of Salinger emerges.”Filled with new information and revelations—garnered from countlessinterviews, letters, and public records—J. D. Salinger presents anextraordinary life that spanned nearly the entire twentiethcentury. Kenneth Slawenski explores Salinger’s privileged youth, longobscured by misrepresentation and rumor, revealing the brilliant,sarcastic, vulnerable son of a disapproving father and dotingmother and his entrance into a social world where Gloria Vanderbiltdismissively referred to him as “a Jewish boy from New York.” Heretoo are accounts of Salinger’s first broken heart—Eugene O’Neill’sdaughter, Oona, left him for the much older Charlie Chaplin—and thedevastating World W

1956 was the year Elvis released his first record, made hisfirst television appearance, and started his movie career. It wasthe year he became a star. Alfred Wertheimer, then a youngfreelance photojournalist, was there to document the extraordinarytransition. "Elvis 1956" features images that are a nationaltreasure, including photographs of Elvis never before published: aunique visual record of one of the most exciting performers of histime, one of the most influential of all time, the first true iconof rock 'n' roll. Here is the first and last unguarded look atElvis, featuring images of him in every aspect of his life - fromperformance and with the fans, to the recording studio and at homewith his family. "Elvis 1956" serves as the catalogue for anationally traveling exhibition exhibition developedcollaboratively by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling ExhibitionService, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, and theGovinda Gallery to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the legendaryrock star's b

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lived the darkest and mostdangerous life of any of the great painters. The worlds of Milan,Rome and Naples through which Caravaggio moved and which AndrewGraham-Dixon describes brilliantly in this book, are those ofcardinals and whores, prayer and violence. On the streetssurrounding the churches and palaces, brawls and sword fights wereregular occurrences. In the course of this desperate lifeCaravaggio created the most dramatic paintings of his age, usingordinary men and women - often prostitutes and the very poor - tomodel for his depictions of classic religious scenes. AndrewGraham-Dixon's exceptionally illuminating readings of Caravaggio'spictures, which are the heart of the book, show very clearly how hecreated their drama, immediacy and humanity, and how completely hedeparted from the conventions of his time.

The author has condensed his memoirs into six chaptersconcerning, his psoriasis, his stuttering, the Vietnam War, hisancestors, religion and his sense of self. His books include"Rabbit is Rich", the 1982 Pulitzer Prize winner and "The Witchesof Eastwick" which was made into a feature film.

Shortlisted for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs BusinessBook of the Year Prize 2008 The Snowball is the first and will bethe only biography of the world's richest man, Warren Buffett,written with his full cooperation and collaboration. Combining aunique blend of "The Sage of Omaha's" business savvy, life storyand philosophy, The Snowball is essential reading for anyonewishing to discover and replicate the secrets of his business andlife success. Warren Buffett is arguably the world's greatestinvestor. Even as a child he was fascinated by the concept of riskand probability, setting up his first business at the age of six.In 1964 he bought struggling Massachusetts textile firm BerkshireHathaway and grew it to be the 12th largest corporation in the USpurely through the exercise of sound investing principles - a featnever equalled in the annals of business. Despite an estimated networth of around US$62 billion, Buffett leads an intriguingly frugallife taking home a salary of only GBP50,000 a year. Hi

The #1 New York Times bestseller! Michael Jackson’s one and only autobiography – his life, in his words. With original Foreword by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a new Introduction by Motown founder Berry Gordy, and an Afterword by Michael Jackson’s editor and publisher, Shaye Areheart. “I’ve always wanted to be able to tell stories, you know, stories that came from my soul. I’d like to sit by a fire and tell people stories – make them see pictures, make them cry and laugh, take them anywhere emotionally with something as deceptively simple as words. I’d like to tell tales to move their souls and transform them. I’ve always wanted to be able to do that. Imagine how the great writers must feel, knowing they have that power. I sometimes feel I could do it. It’s something I’d like to develop. In a way, songwriting uses the same skills, creates the emotional highs and lows, but the story is a sketch. It’s quicksilver. There are very few books written on the art of storytelling, how to gri

Starred Review. In 1975, photographer Tannenbaum met John Lennon and Yoko Ono while covering the taping of what would be Lennon's final public performance. Tannenbaum eventually began a comfortable working relationship with Lennon and Ono as they emerged from years of seclusion to promote their album Double Fantasy, the release of which would presage Lennon's Dec. 8, 1980 murder by mere weeks. This volume collects Tannenbaum's images from that time, many never before published, providing breathtaking, borderline-voyeuristic peeks into one of rock's most enigmatic couples. Most photos here were taken in November and December 1980, including a Central Park stroll, working in the home office and an intimate, dreamlike series featuring the couple undressing and in bed in an all-white gallery exhibition space. A chapter on Lennon's death captures the despair of a city as word of the murder spread. Tannenbaum (New York in the 70s) introduces each chapter with an eloquent personal narrative, but these narrow slices

The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful,dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracyand set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by thebestselling author of The First American. The most famous American of his time, Andrew Jackson is a seminalfigure in American history. The first “common man” to rise to thepresidency, Jackson embodied the spirit and the vision of theemerging American nation; the term “Jacksonian democracy” isembedded in our national lexicon. With the sweep, passion, and attention to detail that made TheFirst American a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a national bestseller,historian H.W. Brands shapes a historical narrative that’s asfast-paced and compelling as the best fiction. He follows AndrewJackson from his days as rebellious youth, risking execution tofree the Carolinas of the British during the Revolutionary War, tohis years as a young lawyer and congressman from the newly settledfrontier state of Tennessee

This is the definitive biography of Michael Jackson by acclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, now updated. So much has now been said and written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth. This book is the fruit of over 35 years of research and hundreds of exclusive interviews with a remarkable level of access to the very closest circles of the Jackson family - including Michael himself. It is the definitive Michael Jackson biography, and has now been fully updated to include the last five years of his life, and the emerging story of his death. Cutting through tabloid rumours, J. Randy Taraborrelli traces the real story behind the Michael Jackson we see and hear today, from his drilling as a child star through the blooming of his talent to his ever-changing personal appearance and his bizarrely public downward spiral. This major biography includes the behind-the-scenes story to many of the landmarks in Jackson's life: his legal a

Told by the band themselves and manager Paul McGuinness, withpictures from their own archives, this story of U2 allows accessinto the inner life of one of the greatest rock bands. It presentsworse hangovers, prayer meetings and wild parties, encounters withPresidents and Popes, and intimate accounts of the creation oftheir classic songs.

The first dual biography of two of the world’s most remarkablewomen—Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots—by one ofBritain’s “best biographers” ( The Sunday Times ). In a rich and riveting narrative, Jane Dunn reveals theextraordinary rivalry between the regal cousins. It is the story oftwo queens ruling on one island, each with a claim to the throne ofEngland, each embodying dramatically opposing qualities ofcharacter, ideals of womanliness (and views of sexuality) anddivinely ordained kingship. As regnant queens in an overwhelmingly masculine world, they weredeplored for their femaleness, compared unfavorably with each otherand courted by the same men. By placing their dynamic andever-changing relationship at the center of the book, Dunnilluminates their differences. Elizabeth, inheriting a weak,divided country coveted by all the Catholic monarchs of Europe, isrevolutionary in her insistence on ruling alone and inspired in heruse of celibacy as a political tool—yet also possessed of