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.
“The most comprehensive and authoritative study ofWashington’s military career ever written.” –Joseph J. Ellis, author of His Excellency: GeorgeWashington Based largely on George Washington’s personal papers, thisengrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of Washington thesoldier. An expert in military history, Edward Lengel demonstratesthat the “secret” to Washington’s excellence lay in hiscompleteness, in how he united the military, political, andpersonal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace.Despite being an “imperfect commander”–and at times even atactically suspect one–Washington nevertheless possessed therequisite combination of vision, integrity, talents, and goodfortune to lead America to victory in its war for independence. Atonce informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-openingrevelations about Washington, the American Revolution, and the verynature of military command, General George Washington is a bookthat reintroduces reader
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
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.
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
In Franklin and Lucy, acclaimed author and historian Joseph E.Persico explores FDR’s romance with Lucy Rutherfurd. Persico’sprovocative conclusions about their relationship are informed by arevealing range of sources, including never-before-publishedletters and documents from Lucy Rutherfurd’s estate that attest tothe intensity of the affair, which lasted much longer than waspreviously acknowledged. FDR’s connection with Lucy also creates anopportunity for Persico to take a more penetrating look at theother women in FDR’s life. We come to see more clearly how FDR’sinfidelity contributed to Eleanor Roosevelt’s eventualtransformation from a repressed Victorian to perhaps the greatestAmerican woman of her century; how FDR’s strong-willed motherhelped to strengthen his resolve in overcoming personal and publicadversity; and how both paramours and platonic friends completedthe world that FDR inhabited. In focusing on Lucy Rutherfurd andthe other women who mattered to Roosevelt, Persico renders
"A dazzling portrait. . . . Written with energy, daring, andartful intelligence." --San Francisco Chronicle
Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-olddaughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir toEngland’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds betweenthe two countries, and in the years that followed, she would becomean important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influencewould come to last centuries. But Queen Isabella’s politicalmachinations led generations of historians to malign her, earningher a reputation as a ruthless schemer and an odious nickname, “theShe-Wolf of France.” Now the acclaimed author of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alison Weir,reexamines the life of Isabella of England, history’s othernotorious and charismatic medieval queen. Praised for her fairlooks, the newly wed Isabella was denied the attentions of EdwardII, a weak, sexually ambiguous monarch with scant taste for hisroyal duties. As their marriage progressed, Isabella was neglectedby her dissolute husband and slighted by his favored malecourtiers. Humiliated and deprived of
As the first European to travel extensively throughout Asia,Marco Polo was the earliest bridge between East and West. Hisfamous journeys took him across the boundaries of the known world,along the dangerous Silk Road, and into the court of Kublai Kahn,where he won the trust of the most feared and reviled leader of hisday. Polo introduced the cultural riches of China to Europe,spawning centuries of Western fascination with Asia. In this lively blend of history, biography, and travelogue,acclaimed author Laurence Bergreen separates myth from history,creating the most authoritative account yet of Polo's remarkableadventures. Exceptionally narrated and written with a discerningeye for detail, Marco Polo is as riveting as the life itdescribes.
Book De*ion Admired and beloved by movie audiences for over sixty years,four-time Academy Award-winner Katharine Hepburn is an Americanclassic. Now Miss Hepburn breaks her long-kept silence about herprivate life in this absorbing and provocative memoir.A NEW YORKTIMES Notable Book of the YearA Book-of-the-Month-Club MainSelection Amazon.com From Publishers Weekly Beloved actress Hepburn's episodic autobiography spent 24 weekson PW 's hardcover bestseller list and was a BOMC main selection incloth. From Booklist From School Library Journal Katherine Hepburn is, at 84, still the positive, feisty,upper-class lady she portrayed in The Philadelphia Story . Herautobiography, clearly not ghostwritten, tells some stories of herlife but not all--she comes from a class that didn't let it allhang out. Her 27-year affair with Spencer Tracy is discussed withfond memories (the years together were to her ``absolutebliss'')--the idea that it was scandalous at the time doesn't
Jimmy Stewart’s all-American good looks, boyish charm, anddeceptively easygoing style of acting made him one of Hollywood’sgreatest and most enduring stars. Despite the indelible image heprojected of innocence and quiet self-assurance, Stewart’s life wasmore complex and sophisticated than most of the characters heplayed. With fresh insight and unprecedented access, bestsellingbiographer Marc Eliot finally tells the previously untold story ofone of our greatest screen and real-life heroes. Born into a family of high military honor and economic successdominated by a powerful father, Stewart developed an interest intheater while attending Princeton University. Upon graduation, heroomed with the then-unknown Henry Fonda, and the two began afriendship that lasted a lifetime. While he harbored a secretunrequited love for Margaret Sullavan, Stewart was paired with manyof Hollywood’s most famous, most beautiful, and most alluringleading ladies during his extended bachelorhood, among them GingerRogers, Olivi
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.
Where Justin Bieber goes, screaming girls follow! This hot young heartthrob is taking the world by storm, and Justin Bieber: Me You explains how he got his big break and what he has planned for the future. Filled with fun quizzes, all the latest gossip, gorgeous photos, and even a pull-out poster, this must-have scrapbook brings Justin's favorite girls closer to their idol than ever before!
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.
