In Listening to Whales, Alexandra Morton shares spellbindingstories about her career in whale and dolphin research and what shehas learned from and about these magnificent mammals. In the late1970s, while working at Marineland in California, Alexandrapioneered the recording of orca sounds by dropping a hydrophoneinto the tank of two killer whales. She recorded the variedlanguage of mating, childbirth, and even grief after the birth of astillborn calf. At the same time she made the startling observationthat the whales were inventing wonderful synchronized movements, abehavior that was soon recognized as a defining characteristic oforca society. In 1984, Alexandra moved to a remote bay in British Columbia tocontinue her research with wild orcas. Her recordings of the whaleshave led her to a deeper understanding of the mystery of whaleecholocation, the vocal communication that enables the mammals tofind their way in the dark sea. A fascinating study of the profoundcommunion between humans and whales

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

When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked'What is a hero?' I remember the glib response I repeated somany times. My answer was that a hero is someone who commitsa courageous action without considering the consequences--a soldierwho crawls out of a foxhole to drag an injured buddy tosafety. And I also meant individuals who are slightly largerthan life: Houdini and Lindbergh, John Wayne, JFK, and JoeDiMaggio. Now my definition is completely different. Ithink a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength topersevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles: afifteen-year-old boy who landed on his head while wrestling withhis brother, leaving him barely able to swallow or speak; TravisRoy, paralyzed in the first thirty seconds of a hockey game in hisfreshman year at college. These are real heroes, and so arethe families and friends who have stood by them." The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggledfor life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the

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—

How does he assess the information that is brought to him? Howdoes his personal or political philosophy, or a moral sense,sustain him? How does he draw inspiration from those around him?How does he deal with setbacks and disasters? In this brilliantclose-up look at Winston Churchill's leadership during the SecondWorld War, Gilbert gets to the heart of the trials and strugglesthat have confronted the world's most powerful leaders, even up tocurrent politicians such as George Bush and Tony Blair. Basing the book on his intimate knowledge of Churchill's privateand official papers, Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill’s officialbiographer, looks at the public figure and wartime propaganda, toreveal a very human, sensitive, and often tormented man, whonevertheless found the strength to lead his nation forward from thedarkest and most dangerous of times.

This major study of the composer's life and work follows thecourse of Bach's career in rich detail - from his humble beginningsas an organ tuner and self-taught musician, to his role asKapellmeister and cantor of St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig. Itexplores Bach's relations with the German aristocracy, the Churchand contemporary theological debates, his perfectionism, and hisrole as the devoted head of a large family. The author alsocarefully analyses Bach's innovations in harmony and counterpoint,placing them in the context of European musical and socialhistory.

SS Kommandant Rudolph Hss (19001947) was history's greatest mass murderer, personally supervising the extermination of approximately two million people, mostly Jews, at the death camp in Auschwitz, Poland. Death Dealer is a new, unexpurgated translation of Hsss autobiography, written before, during, and after his trial. This edition includes rare photos, the minutes of the Wannsee Conference (where the Final Solution was decided and coordinated), original diagrams of the camps, a detailed chronology of important events at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Hss's final letters to his family, and a new foreword by Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi. Death Dealer stands as one of the most importantand chillingdocuments of the Holocaust.

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 majestic literary biography, a truly new, surprisingly freshportrait. -- Newsday A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice National Book Critics Circle Award finalist A biography wholly worthy of the brilliant woman it chronicles. .. . It rediscovers Virginia Woolf afresh." --The Philadelphia Inquirer While Virginia Woolf--one of our century's most brilliant andmercurial writers--has had no shortage of biographers, none hasseemed as naturally suited to the task as Hermione Lee. Subscribingto Virginia Woolf's own belief in the fluidity and elusiveness ofidentity, Lee comes at her subject from a multitude ofperspectives, producing a richly layered portrait of the writer andthe woman that leaves all of her complexities and contradictionsintact. Such issues as sexual abuse, mental illness, and suicideare brought into balance with the immensity of her literaryachievement, her heroic commitment to her work, her generosity andwit, and her sanity and strength. It

Theodore Rex is the story—never fully toldbefore—of Theodore Roosevelt’s two world-changing terms asPresident of the United States. A hundred years before thecatastrophe of September 11, 2001, “TR” succeeded to power in theaftermath of an act of terrorism. Youngest of all our chiefexecutives, he rallied a stricken nation with his superhumanenergy, charm, and political skills. He proceeded to combat theproblems of race and labor relations and trust control while makingthe Panama Canal possible and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Buthis most historic achievement remains his creation of a nationalconservation policy, and his monument millions of acres ofprotected parks and forest. Theodore Rex ends with TRleaving office, still only fifty years old, his future reputationsecure as one of our greatest presidents.

Clint Eastwood is not only a man. He is a namelessvigilante, a vengeful detective, a bare-knuckle boxer, a SecretService agent, and countless other definitive screen archetypes nowembedded in our shared pop-culture consciousness. However youdefine him, Clint Eastwood has a powerful and extremelyrecognizable image that exists as something beyond the narrativesof his films. Clint Eastwood ICON presents an unprecedented collection offilm art surrounding the legendary actor. This comprehensive trovegathers together poster art, lobby cards, studio ads, and esotericfilm memorabilia from around the world. From his early roles as thenameless gunslinger in Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, to thevigilante films of the 1970s and 1980s, through his directorialroles and latest releases, Clint Eastwood ICON captures thepowerful presence and quiet intensity that turned Eastwood into thedefinitive American hero.

Charles I waged civil wars that cost one in ten Englishmentheir lives. But in 1649 Parliament was hard put to find a lawyerwith the skill and daring to prosecute a king who claimed to beabove the law. In the end, they chose the radical lawyer JohnCooke, whose Puritan conscience, political vision, and love ofcivil liberties gave him the courage to bring the king to trial. Asa result, Charles I was beheaded, but eleven years later Cookehimself was arrested, tried, and executed at the hands of CharlesII. Geoffrey Robertson, a renowned human rights lawyer, provides avivid new reading of the tumultuous Civil War years, exposinglong-hidden truths: that the king was guilty, that his executionwas necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament, that theregicide trials were rigged and their victims should be seen asnational heroes. Cooke’s trial of Charles I, the first trial of ahead of state for waging war on his own people, became a forerunnerof the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic

Drawing on an exceptional combination of skills as literarybiographer, novelist, and chronicler of London history, PeterAckroyd surely re-creates the world that shaped Shakespeare--andbrings the playwright himself into unusually vivid focus. Withcharacteristic narrative panache, Ackroyd immerses us insixteenth-century Stratford and the rural landscape–the industry,the animals, even the flowers–that would appear in Shakespeare’splays. He takes us through Shakespeare’s London neighborhood andthe fertile, competitive theater world where he worked as actor andwriter. He shows us Shakespeare as a businessman, and as a constantreviser of his writing. In joining these intimate details withprofound intuitions about the playwright and his work, Ackroyd hasproduced an altogether engaging masterpiece.

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