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.
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
From the author of the national best seller Chaos comes an outstanding biography of one of the most dazzling and flamboyant scientists of the 20th century that "not only paints a highly attractive portrait of Feynman but also . . . makes for a stimulating adventure in the annals of science." ( The New York Times ).
Plutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the secondcentury A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world byone of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In whatis by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch revealsthe character and personality of his subjects and how they ledultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full ofdetail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus andTheseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many morepowerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome. The present translation, originally published in 1683 inconjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes andpreface are also included in this edition.
Frédéric Chopin’s reputation as one of the Great Romanticsendures, but as Benita Eisler reveals in her elegant and elegiacbiography, the man was more complicated than his iconicimage. A classicist, conservative, and dandy who relished his conquestof Parisian society, the Polish émigré was for a while blessed withgenius, acclaim, and the love of Europe’s most infamous womanwriter, George Sand. But by the age of 39, the man whose brilliantcompositions had thrilled audiences in the most fashionable salonslay dying of consumption, penniless and abandoned by his lover. Inthe fall of 1849, his lavish funeral was attended by thousands—butnot by George Sand. In this intimate portrait of an embattled man, Eisler tells thestory of a turbulent love affair, of pain and loss redeemed by art,and of worlds—both private and public—convulsed by momentouschange.
Gothic, mysterious, theatrical, fatally flawed, and dazzling,the life of Edgar Allan Poe, one of America’s greatest and mostversatile writers, is the ideal subject for Peter Ackroyd. Poewrote lyrical poetry and macabre psychological melodramas; inventedthe first fictional detective; and produced pioneering works ofscience fiction and fantasy. His innovative style, images, andthemes had a tremendous impact on European romanticism, symbolism,and surrealism, and continue to influence writers today. In this essential addition to his canon of acclaimed biographies,Peter Ackroyd explores Poe’s literary accomplishments and legacyagainst the background of his erratic, dramatic, and sometimessordid life. Ackroyd chronicles Poe’s difficult childhood, hisbumpy academic and military careers, and his complex relationshipswith women, including his marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin.He describes Poe’s much-written-about problems with gambling andalcohol with sympathy and insight, showing their connections toP
With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, thelyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decadeshe lived the original rock and roll life: taking the chances hewanted, speaking his mind, and making it all work in a way that noone before him had ever done. Now, at last, the man himself tellsus the story of life in the crossfire hurricane. And what a life.Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records as achild in post-war Kent. Learning guitar and forming a band withMick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones' first fame andsuccess as a bad-boy band. The notorious Redlands drug bust andsubsequent series of confrontations with a nervous establishmentthat led to his enduring image as outlaw and folk hero. Creatingimmortal riffs such as the ones in 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'StreetFighting Man' and 'Honky Tonk Women'. Falling in love with AnitaPallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France,wildfire tours of the US, 'Exile on Main Street' and 'So
"A dazzling portrait. . . . Written with energy, daring, andartful intelligence." --San Francisco Chronicle
In this fascinating and meticulously researched book,bestselling historian Arthur Herman sheds new light on two of themost universally recognizable icons of the twentieth century, andreveals how their forty-year rivalry sealed the fate of India andthe British Empire. They were born worlds apart: Winston Churchill to Britain’s mostglamorous aristocratic family, Mohandas Gandhi to a piousmiddle-class household in a provincial town in India. Yet ArthurHerman reveals how their lives and careers became intertwined asthe twentieth century unfolded. Both men would go on to lead theirnations through harrowing trials and two world wars—and becomelocked in a fierce contest of wills that would decide the fates ofcountries, continents, and ultimately an empire. Here is a sweepingepic with a fascinating supporting cast, and a brilliant narrativeparable of two men whose great successes were always haunted bypersonal failure—and whose final moments of triumph wereovershadowed by the loss of what they held
Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning actor with the legendary blueeyes, achieved superstar status by playing charismatic renegades,broken heroes, and winsome antiheroes in such revered films as TheHustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, TheVerdict, The Color of Money, and Nobody’s Fool. But Newman was alsoan oddity in Hollywood: the rare box-office titan who cared aboutthe craft of acting, the sexy leading man known for the stayingpower of his marriage, and the humble celebrity who madephilanthropy his calling card long before it was cool. The son of a successful entrepreneur, Newman grew up in aprosperous Cleveland suburb. Despite fears that he would fail tolive up to his father’s expectations, Newman bypassed the familysporting goods business to pursue an acting career. Afterstruggling as a theater and television actor, Newman saw his starrise in a tragic twist of fate, landing the role of boxer RockyGraziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me when James Dean was killedin a car a
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.
In 1997, Tony Blair won the biggest Labour victory in history tosweep the party to power and end eighteen years of Conservativegovernment. He has been one of the most dynamic leaders of moderntimes; few British prime ministers have shaped the nation's courseas profoundly as Blair during his ten years in power, and hisachievements and his legacy will be debated for years to come. Nowhis memoirs reveal in intimate detail this unique political andpersonal journey, providing an insight into the man, the politicianand the statesman, and charting successes, controversies anddisappointments with an extraordinary candour. A Journey will proveessential and compulsive reading for anyone who wants to understandthe complexities of our global world. As an account of the natureand uses of power, it will also have a readership that extends wellbeyond politics, to all those who want to understand the challengesof leadership today.
The intimacy between Nin and Miller, first disclosed in Henryand June, is documented further in this impassioned exchange ofletters between the two controversial writers. Edited and with anIntroduction by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index.
Marty Sklar was hired by The Walt Disney Company after hisjunior year at UCLA, and began his Disney career at Disneyland inJuly 1955, the month before the park opened. He spent his firstdecade at Disney as "the kid," the very youngest of the creativeteam Walt had assembled at WED Enterprises. But despite his youth,his talents propelled him forward into substantial responsibility:he became Walt's speech writer, penned Walt's and Roy's messages inthe company's annual report, composed most of the publicity andmarketing materials for Disneyland, conceived presentations for theU.S. government, devised initiatives to obtain sponsors to enablenew Disneyland developments, and wrote a twenty-four-minute filmexpressing Walt's philosophy for the Walt Disney World project andEpcot. He was Walt's literary right-hand man. Over the next forty years, Marty Sklar rose to become presidentand principal creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, andhe devoted his entire career to creating, enhancing, and expand
There is a superstition that if an emptied theater is ever leftcompletely dark, a ghost will take up residence. To prevent this, asingle "ghost light" is left burning at center stage after theaudience and all of the actors and musicians have gone home. FrankRich's eloquent and moving boyhood memoir reveals how theateritself became a ghost light and a beacon of security for a childfinding his way in a tumultuous world. Rich grew up in the small-townish Washington,D.C., of the 1950s and early '60s, a place where conformity seemedthe key to happiness for a young boy who always felt different.When Rich was seven years old, his parents separated--at a timewhen divorce was still tantamount to scandal--and thereafter he andhis younger sister were labeled "children from a broken home."Bouncing from school to school and increasingly lonely, Rich becameterrified of the dark and the uncertainty of his future. But therewas one thing in his life that made him sublimely happy: theBroadway theater. Rich's parents w
As a singer and songwriter, Gram Parsons stood at the nexus ofcountless musical crossroads, and he sold his soul to the devil atevery one. His intimates and collaborators included Keith Richards,William Burroughs, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Fonda, Roger McGuinn,and Clarence White. Parsons led the Byrds to create the seminalcountry rock masterpiece Sweetheart of the Rodeo, helped to guidethe Rolling Stones beyond the blues in their appreciation ofAmerican roots music, and found his musical soul mate in EmmylouHarris. Parsons’ solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel, are nowrecognized as visionary masterpieces of the transcendentaljambalaya of rock, soul, country, gospel, and blues Parsons named“Cosmic American Music.” Parsons had everything–looks, charisma,money, style, the best drugs, the most heartbreaking voice–andthrew it all away with both hands, dying of a drug and alcoholoverdose at age twenty-six. In this beautifully written, raucous, meticulously researchedbiography, David N. Meyer gi
An absorbing biography of the great leaderwho was the bridge between ancient and modern Europe — the firstmajor study in more than twenty-five years. Charlemagne was an extraordinary figure: aningenious military strategist, a wise but ruthless leader, acunning politician, and a devout believer who ensured the survivalof Christianity in the West. He also believed himself above therules of the church, siring bastards across Europe, and coldlyordering the execution of 4,500 prisoners. Derek Wilson shows howthis complicated, fascinating man married the military might of hisarmy to the spiritual force of the Church in Rome, thereby forgingWestern Christendom. This is a remarkable portrait of Charlemagneand of the intricate political, religious, and cultural world hedominated.
Translated by Audie E. Bock. "A first rate book and a joy to read.... It's doubtful that acomplete understanding of the director's artistry can be obtainedwithout reading this book.... Also indispensable for buddingdirectors are the addenda, in which Kurosawa lays out his beliefson the primacy of a good *, on *writing as an essentialtool for directors, on directing actors, on camera placement, andon the value of steeping oneself in literature, from great novelsto detective fiction." -- Variety "For the lover of Kurosawa's movies...this is nothing short of mustreading...a fitting companion piece to his many dynamic andabsorbing screen entertainments." -- Washington Post Book World
With the utterance of a single line—“Doctor Livingstone, Ipresume?”—a remote meeting in the heart of Africa was transformedinto one of the most famous encounters in exploration history. Butthe true story behind Dr. David Livingstone and journalist HenryMorton Stanley is one that has escaped telling. Into Africa is anextraordinarily researched account of a thrilling adventure—definedby alarming foolishness, intense courage, and raw humanachievement. In the mid-1860s, exploration had reached a plateau. The seasand continents had been mapped, the globe circumnavigated. Yet onevexing puzzle remained unsolved: what was the source of the mightyNile river? Aiming to settle the mystery once and for all, GreatBritain called upon its legendary explorer, Dr. David Livingstone,who had spent years in Africa as a missionary. In March 1866,Livingstone steered a massive expedition into the heart of Africa.In his path lay nearly impenetrable, uncharted terrain, hostilecannibals, and deadly predators. W
