Collection: Biography & Memoir

As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was often scolded forconducting "useless" experiments. Yet his passion for the natural world was so strong that he suffered through terrible seasickness during his five-year voyage aboard The Beagle. Darwin collected new creatures from the coasts of Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands, and expanded his groundbreaking ideas that would change people's understanding of the natural world. About 100 illustrations and a clear, exciting text will make Darwin and his theory of evolution an exciting discovery for every young reader.

A renowned activist recalls his childhood years in an Indian boarding school

Best known as a leader of the Indian takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1969, Adam Fortunate Eagle now offers an unforgettable memoir of his years as a young student at Pipestone Indian Boarding School in Minnesota. In this rare firsthand account, Fortunate Eagle lives up to his reputation as a "contrary warrior" by disproving the popular view of Indian boarding schools as bleak and prisonlike.

Fortunate Eagle attended Pipestone between 1935 and 1945, just as Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier's pluralist vision was reshaping the federal boarding school system to promote greater respect for Native cultures and traditions. But this book is hardly a dry history of the late boarding school era. Telling this story in the voice of his younger self, the author takes us on a delightful journey into his childhood and the inner world of the boarding school. Along the way, he shares anecdotes of dormitory culture, student pranks, and warrior games. Although Fortunate Eagle recognizes Pipestone's shortcomings, he describes his time there as nothing less than "a little bit of heaven."

Were all Indian boarding schools the dispiriting places that history has suggested? This book allows readers to decide for themselves.

A New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Orbis Pictus Award
A People Magazine Best Children's Book
A Washington Post Best Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Award Honor recipient

Caldecott Honor winner Sweet mixes White's personal letters, photos, and family ephemera with her own exquisite artwork to tell the story of this American literary icon. Readers young and old will be fascinated and inspired by the journalist, New Yorker contributor, and children's book author who loved words his whole life. This authorized tribute, a New York Times bestseller, includes an afterword by Martha White, his granddaughter.

Karl Marx is one of the most influential philosophers of all time, whose theories have shaped and directed political, economic, and social thought for 150 years. Considering Marx's life and impact, renowned philosopher Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. Presenting Marx as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist, Singer explains Marx's key ideas on alienation, historical materialism, and the economic theory of Capital, in plain English.

In this new edition, Singer explores whether Marx remains relevant to the twenty-first century, and if so, how. Does the fact that eight billionaires now own as much as the bottom half of the world's population give support to Marxist thinking? Does the ease with which conservative politicians can win over working class voters by appealing to nationalism undermines Marx's view of class struggle and the inevitability of victory for the proletariat? Singer ponders key questions such as these, and also discusses the place of the internet as a "productive force" when analyzed in Marxist theory. He concludes with an assessment of Marx's legacy, asking if there is any realistic prospect of replacing capitalism with a better system of production and distribution in the twenty-first century.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

First published in the US in 1959 by Bernard Geis Associates, New York.

The "Me" in the title is a comparatively unknown Marx named Julius (1895-1977), who, under the nom de plume of Groucho, enjoyed a sensational career on Broadway and in Hollywood with such comedy classics as Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera, and A Day at the Races. His solo career included work as a film actor, television game show emcee, and author of The Groucho Letters, Memoirs of a Mangy Lover, and his classic autobiography, Groucho and Me.

With impeccable timing, outrageous humor, irreverent wit, and a superb sense of the ridiculous, Groucho tells the saga of the Marx Brothers: the poverty of their childhood in New York's Upper East Side; the crooked world of small-time vaudeville (where they learned to carry blackjacks); how a pretzel magnate and the graceless dancer of his dreams led to the Marx Brothers' first Broadway hit, I'll Say She Is!, how the stock market crash in 1929 proved a godsend for Groucho (even though he lost nearly a quarter of a million dollars); the adventures of the Marx Brothers in Hollywood, the making of their hilarious films, and Groucho's triumphant television series, You Bet Your Life!. Here is the life and lunatic times of the great eccentric genius, Groucho, a.k.a. Julius Henry Marx.

"The book is never less than readable and its glimpses of American show business at its least glamorous are simple, true and sometimes rather touching."-Times Literary Supplement

"My advice is to ration yourself to a chapter a night-it's that delectable."-Chicago Sunday Tribune

The career of William Marshal (1146/7-12), who rose from being the penniless, landless younger son of a middle-ranking nobleman to be regent of England in the minority of Henry III, is one of the most extraordinary stories of theMiddle Ages. His biography was completed shortly after his death by a household minstrel and we are fortunate that it survives to give a unique portrait of a twelfth-century knight's life in the early days of tournaments and chivalry as well as his career in warfare and politics.

The History of William Marshal is the earliest surviving biography of a medieval knight - indeed it is the first biography of a layman in the vernacular in European history. Composed in verse in the 1220s just a few years after his death, it is a major primary source not simply for its subject's life but for the exceptionally stormy period he had had to navigate. It could hardly be other than major, given that its subject was regarded as the greatest knight who ever lived and that he rose in the course of his long life to be a central figure in the reigns of no fewer than four kings: Henry II, Richard Lionheart, John and Henry III. This remarkable biography was brought to light in the late nineteenth century thanks to a determined hunt for the manuscript by its first editor, the eminent French scholar Paul Meyer. It gives a vigorous account of events, full of vivid detail and passionate comment and frequent flashes of humour. And it gives revelatory insights into the attitudes and perceptions of the time, especially into the experience and nature of warfare in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.
But while its quality and value have been long acknowledged, the poem has sometimes been deemed less than impartial and objective. Commissioned as it was by Marshal's own son, and intended not least for his family's fond enjoyment, it is littlesurprise that the poem's adulation of its subject is rarely qualified by regrets for failings or what are nowadays referred to as "errors of judgement". Marshal is presented as - to all intents and purposes - flawless: not simply a magnificent warrior, supreme in tournaments and battles alike, but a paragon of the key chivalric virtues of prowess, largesse and unfailing loyalty. But this is not surprising: the idea of the fallible hero is a modern invention, and the writer of this work - like Marshal himself - was steeped in the old ideals of the chansons de geste as well as the more recent ideology of chivalry. In any case, there can be no denying that Marshal's achievements -and sometimes his behaviour - were by any standards extraordinary and seen as such by his contemporaries, and the poem corresponds with what we know of his life from other sources.
Few other medieval biographies have the immediacy of this celebration of Marshal's career, based not least on stories told by Marshal himself and those close to him, and it is made available here for the first time in a modern prose translation.

In the tradition of Blood in the Garden and Three-Ring Circus comes a bold narrative history of the iconic UCLA Bruins championship teams led by legendary coach John Wooden--an incredible true story about the messy, never-easy pursuit of perfection set against the turmoil of American culture in the 1960s and 70s.

Few basketball dynasties have reigned supreme like the UCLA Bruins did over college basketball from 1965-1975 (seven consecutive titles, three perfect records, an eighty-eight-game winning streak that remains unmatched). At the center of this legendary franchise were the now-iconic players Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton, naturally reserved personalities who became outspoken giants when it came to race and the Vietnam War. These generational talents were led by John Wooden, a conservative counterweight to his star players whose leadership skills would transcend the game after his retirement. But before the three of them became history, they would have to make it--together.

Los Angeles native and longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, Scott Howard Cooper draws on more than a hundred interviews and extensive access to many of the principal figures, including Wooden's family to deliver a rich narrative that reveals the turmoil at the heart of this storied college basketball program. Making the eye-opening connections between UCLA and the Nixon administration, Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, and others, Kingdom on Fire puts the UCLA basketball team's political involvement and influence in full relief for the first time. The story of UCLA basketball is an incredible slice of American history that reveals what it truly takes to achieve and sustain greatness while standing up for what you believe in.

Who was Marguerite Henry before she was a famous author?
What was her secret for writing unforgettable books?
Why was Misty (the book and the real-life pony) so special?

Uncover the captivating backstory of Marguerite Henry, author of Misty of Chincoteague and dozens of beloved books about animals in this heartfelt memoir, Marguerite, Misty and Me. Join passionate horse lover Susan Friedland on a cross-country adventure as she delves into the hidden history of Marguerite, the Newbery Medal-winning author and literary legend. From a kayak in the waves off Chincoteague Island and an underground archive in Minnesota, to a dreamlike ride aboard a Chincoteague Pony, Friedland unearths clues while forging deep connections with fellow Misty fans and those who knew her best. Saddle up for an enchanting ride that explores the legacy of Marguerite Henry and celebrates not just Chincoteague Ponies, but horses everywhere, as well as the people who love them.

NAACP Image Awards Winner - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

The life story of Vivien Thomas, an African American surgical technician who developed the first procedure used to perform open-heart surgery on children.

Vivien Thomas's greatest dream was to attend college to study medicine. But after the stock market crashed in 1929, Vivien lost all his savings. Then he heard about a job opening at the Vanderbilt University medical school under the supervision of Dr. Alfred Blalock. Vivien knew that the all-white school would never admit him as a student, but he hoped working there meant he was getting closer to his dream.

As Dr. Blalock's research assistant, Vivien learned surgical techniques. In 1943, Vivien was asked to help Dr. Helen Taussig find a cure for children with a specific heart defect. After months of experimenting, Vivien developed a procedure that was used for the first successful open-heart surgery on a child. Afterward, Dr. Blalock and Dr. Taussig announced their innovative new surgical technique, the Blalock-Taussig shunt. Vivien's name did not appear in the report.

Overcoming racism and resistance from his colleagues, Vivien ushered in a new era of medicine--children's heart surgery. Tiny Stitches is the compelling story of this incredible pioneer in medicine.

One flew east, one flew west, one stayed thirty years in the cuckoo's nest. This is his story.

Kevin O'Hara worked for three decades as a psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There he brought to his patients the same warmth and humor that won him acclaim for his first two memoirs, the beloved Irish travel saga Last of the Donkey Pilgrims, and A Lucky Irish Lad, his precise and witty evocation of growing up as an Irish Catholic immigrant in the 1950s and 60s.Now he tells the stories of the many colorful characters he encountered on the locked ward over all those years, and of the camaraderie of hospital workers. Though intended to be entertaining -- rollicking even - Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward has much to say about changes in the medical profession and mental health treatment over those years.Set within the framework of a transformative week near the end of his career, O'Hara careens freely through the years to tell his story (and those of others) with characteristic energy, unbridled humor, and feeling for detail. Storytelling is the essence, both of the book and of his therapeutic practice.Ins and Outs of a Locked Ward is a celebration of the helping professions, and an implicit exploration of what it means to be human. Darn funny too. Join Nurse Lite and his merry band for a marvelous series of adventures, some happy, some sad, but always moving.

The Minnesota Humanities Center presents Minnesota Native American Lives, three stories of exceptional individuals across sports, language, and government!

Peggy Flanagan is the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. This is the second-highest office in the state. She is the first Native woman to hold such a high elected statewide office in the United States. Her whole life she knew that the school system doesn't tell American Indian stories in a true way. Peggy is working hard to change how Native peoples' stories are told and to make life better for all Minnesotans. Her story is a Minnesota Native American life.

The Minnesota Native American Lives Series includes biographies of Charles Albert Bender, Ella Cara Deloria, and Peggy Flanagan. Read all three!

Winner of the Neumann Prize for the History of Mathematics

"We owe Claude Shannon a lot, and Soni & Goodman's book takes a big first step in paying that debt." --San Francisco Review of Books

"Soni and Goodman are at their best when they invoke the wonder an idea can instill. They summon the right level of awe while stopping short of hyperbole." --Financial Times

"Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman make a convincing case for their subtitle while reminding us that Shannon never made this claim himself." --The Wall Street Journal

"A charming account of one of the twentieth century's most distinguished scientists...Readers will enjoy this portrait of a modern-day Da Vinci." --Fortune

In their second collaboration, biographers Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman present the story of Claude Shannon--one of the foremost intellects of the twentieth century and the architect of the Information Age, whose insights stand behind every computer built, email sent, video streamed, and webpage loaded. Claude Shannon was a groundbreaking polymath, a brilliant tinkerer, and a digital pioneer. He constructed the first wearable computer, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots. He also wrote the seminal text of the digital revolution, which has been called "the Magna Carta of the Information Age." In this elegantly written, exhaustively researched biography, Soni and Goodman reveal Claude Shannon's full story for the first time. With unique access to Shannon's family and friends, A Mind at Play brings this singular innovator and always playful genius to life.

In the 1930s, iconic American author Ernest Hemingway spent five summers at a ranch on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Here he did some of his best writing, and his experiences in the mountains are connected to twelve of his most famous works, including For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway declared that the ranch near the small, wilderness town of Cooke City, Montana, on the edge of Yellowstone, was one of his favorite places to write in the world, on par with Paris and Madrid. Yet Hemingway's time in the Yellowstone High Country has never been thoroughly examined--until now. After years of painstaking research, author Chris Warren takes readers on an astonishing journey into one of the most important periods in the life of one of the world's most important writers. Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Hemingway was at his best--as a man, father, and writer--when he was in the Yellowstone High Country, and in this fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable book, Warren examines what Hemingway did here, what he wrote here, and how his experiences and the people he met here shaped his life and work. This is a Hemingway that few readers knew existed, living in a place that few scholars knew was so essential to his writing. Author Chris Warren, a resident of Cooke City, Montana, has spent years researching Hemingway's connection to the area. In 2018 he presented a paper on Hemingway's final short story, which was set in Cooke City, to the Hemingway Society in Paris, France. Warren's research was instrumental in bringing the society's biennial conference to Cooke City, Montana, and Sheridan, Wyoming, in 2020.

The Year of Less In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy--only keeping her from meeting her goals--she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.The Year of Less documents Cait's life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt.The challenge became a lifeline when, in the course of the year, Cait found herself in situations that turned her life upside down. In the face of hardship, she realized why she had always turned to shopping, alcohol, and food--and what it had cost her. Unable to reach for any of her usual vices, she changed habits she'd spent years perfecting and discovered what truly mattered to her.Blending Cait's compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you're holding on to in your own life--and, quite possibly, lead you to find your own path of less.

A fascinating, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting tale of self-discovery from the beloved actress who earned a permanent place in the hears of millions for her role in Little House on the Prarie when she was just a child.

To fans of the hugely successful television series Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert grew up in a fantasy world with a larger-than-life father, friends and family she could count on, and plenty of animals to play with. Children across the country dreamed of the Ingalls' idyllic life--and so did Melissa.

With candor and humor, the cherished actress traces her complicated journey from buck-toothed Laura "Halfpint" Ingalls to Hollywood starlet, wife, and mother. She partied with the Brat Pack, dated heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and bad boys like Billy Idol, and began a self-destructive pattern of addiction and codependence. She eventually realized that her career on television had earned her popularity, admiration, and love from everyone but herself.

Through hard work, tenacity, sobriety, and the blessings of a solid marriage, Melissa has accepted her many different identities and learned to laugh, cry, and forgive in new ways. Women everywhere may have idolized her charming life on Little House on the Prairie, but Melissa's own unexpectedly honest, imperfect, and down-to-earth story is an inspiration.