Collection: Biography & Memoir

A candid and insightful look at an era and a life through the eyes of one of the most remarkable Americans of the twentieth century, First Lady and humanitarian Eleanor Roosevelt.

The daughter of one of New York's most influential families, niece of Theodore Roosevelt, and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt witnessed some of the most remarkable decades in modern history, as America transitioned from the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, and the Depression to World War II and the Cold War.

A champion of the downtrodden, Eleanor drew on her experience and used her role as First Lady to help those in need. Intimately involved in her husband's political life, from the governorship of New York to the White House, Eleanor would become a powerful force of her own, heading women's organizations and youth movements, and battling for consumer rights, civil rights, and improved housing. In the years after FDR's death, this inspiring, controversial, and outspoken leader would become a U.N. Delegate, chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, a newspaper columnist, Democratic Party activist, world-traveler, and diplomat devoted to the ideas of liberty and human rights.

This single volume biography brings her into focus through her own words, illuminating the vanished world she grew up, her life with her political husband, and the post-war years when she worked to broaden cooperation and understanding at home and abroad.

Numbering 4,000 select officers and men, Combat Team 370 was part of n Europe during World War II the 92nd Infantry Division, the only all-Negro division to fight in Europe during World War II. In Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II, author Ivan J. Houston recounts his experiences, when, as a nineteen-year-old California college student, he entered the US Army and served with the 3rd Battalion, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division of the US Fifth Army from 1943 to 1945.

Drawn from minute-by-minute records of the unit's activities compiled by Houston during his deployment in Italy, this account describes both the historic encounters and the achievements of his fellow black soldiers during this breakthrough period in American military history. It tells of how the Buffalo Soldiers fought alongside other American troops, including Japanese Americans and soldiers from Great Britain, Brazil, South Africa, and India.

With photos and maps included, Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II provides a compelling, firsthand account of the segregated Buffalo Soldiers' experiences while they fought not only the power of the Nazi war machine but also racism and the widely held belief they were not up to the task. Their achievements prove otherwise.

Isaac Newton was always a loner, preferring to spend his time contemplating the mysteries of the universe. When the plague broke out in London in 1665 he was forced to return home from college. It was during this period of so much death, that Newton gave life to some of the most important theories in modern science, including gravity and the laws of motion.

From the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour, and The Two Popes comes the fascinating account of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's friendship--one of the most impactful relationships in history, and the basis of an upcoming play and film.

Few friendships have had such far-reaching implications for the world--from finance to technology to philanthropy--than that between Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. After meeting at a party in 1991, the two played cards and golf, shared jokes, swapped trade secrets, ate junk food, talked and listened. Their growing friendship would impact each man and lead to change on a grander scale, culminating in the development of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which holds nearly $50 billion in assets.

How did such an unusual union blossom? In what ways specifically did each man begin to influence the other? How did these two avid wealth accumulators jointly decide to address some of the world's most critical problems--poverty, disease, inequality--by giving their wealth away? And what, finally, does their giga-wealthy partnership mean for the rest of us in an age of great wealth--and great inequality? This book gives the fullest account yet of this extraordinary relationship and explores how it has transformed these two men--and is changing the world for the better for all of us.

Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter. One of the world's leading contemporary recording artists, she is known for narrative songs about her personal life, which have received widespread media coverage. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 14 to pursue a career in country music. She signed with the label Big Machine Records and became the youngest artist ever signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. Her 2006 self-titled debut album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and spent the most weeks on the chart in the 2000s. The album's third single, "Our Song", made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart. Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the success of pop crossover singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless became the best-selling album of 2009 in the US. The album won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest Album of the Year winner. Swift was the sole writer of her 2010 album, Speak Now. It debuted at number one in the United States and the single "Mean" won two Grammy Awards. Her fourth album, Red (2012), yielded the successful singles "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble". For her fifth album, the pop-focused 1989 (2014), she received three Grammys, and became the first woman and fifth act overall to win Album of the Year twice. Its singles "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", and "Bad Blood" reached number one in the US, Australia, and Canada. The 2015 concert tour for 1989 became one of the highest-grossing of the decade. Swift's sixth album, Reputation (2017) and its lead single "Look What You Made Me Do" topped the UK and US charts; with the former, she became the first act to have four albums sell one million copies within one week in the US. As a songwriter, Swift has received awards from the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and was included in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time in 2015. She is also the recipient of 10 Grammys, six Guinness World Records, one Emmy Award, 23 Billboard Music Awards, and 12 Country Music Association Awards. Swift is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums-including 27.8 million in the US-and 130 million single downloads. She has appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world (2010 and 2015), Forbes' top-earning women in music (2011-2015), Forbes' 100 most powerful women (2015), and Forbes Celebrity 100 (2016). Her inclusion in the third of these made her the youngest woman on the list, and she ranked first in Celebrity 100.

Vivian Gornick's Fierce Attachments--hailed by the New York Times for the renowned feminist author's "mesmerizing, thrilling" truths within its pages--has been selected by the publication's book critics as the #1 Best Memoir of the Past 50 Years.

In this deeply etched and haunting memoir, Vivian Gornick tells the story of her lifelong battle with her mother for independence. There have been numerous books about mother and daughter, but none has dealt with this closest of filial relations as directly or as ruthlessly. Gornick's groundbreaking book confronts what Edna O'Brien has called "the principal crux of female despair" the unacknowledged Oedipal nature of the mother-daughter bond.

Born and raised in the Bronx, the daughter of "urban peasants," Gornick grows up in a household dominated by her intelligent but uneducated mother's romantic depression over the early death of her husband. Next door lives Nettie, an attractive widow whose calculating sensuality appeals greatly to Vivian. These women with their opposing models of femininity continue, well into adulthood, to affect Gornick's struggle to find herself in love and in work.

As Gornick walks with her aged mother through the streets of New York, arguing and remembering the past, each wins the reader's admiration: the caustic and clear-thinking daughter, for her courage and tenacity in really talking to her mother about the most basic issues of their lives, and the still powerful and intuitively-wise old woman, who again and again proves herself her daughter's mother.

Unsparing, deeply courageous, Fierce Attachments is one of the most remarkable documents of family feeling that has been written, a classic that helped start the memoir boom and remains one of the most moving examples of the genre.

"[Gornick] stares unflinchingly at all that is hidden, difficult, strange, unresolvable in herself and others--at loneliness, sexual malice and the devouring, claustral closeness of mothers and daughters...[Fierce Attachments is] a portrait of the artist as she finds a language--original, allergic to euphemism and therapeutic banalities--worthy of the women that raised her."--The New York Times

A rich and revelatory memoir of a young woman confronting her fears and finding home in the North.

Blair Braverman fell in love with the North at an early age: By the time she was nineteen, she had left her home in California, moved to Norway to learn how to drive sled dogs, and worked as a tour guide on a glacier in Alaska.

By turns funny and sobering, bold and tender, Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube charts Blair's endeavor to become a "tough girl"--someone who courts danger in an attempt to become fearless. As she ventures into a ruthless arctic landscape, Blair faces down physical exhaustion--being buried alive in an ice cave, and driving a dogsled across the tundra through a whiteout blizzard in order to avoid corrupt police--and grapples with both love and violence as she negotiates the complex demands of being a young woman in a man's land.

Brilliantly original and bracingly honest, Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube captures the triumphs and the perils of the journey to self-discovery and independence in a landscape that is as beautiful as it is unforgiving.

Former NFL player Jason Brown is a recruiter and college football coach. Coach Brown became widely known as the no-nonsense coach on Seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix's smash hit Last Chance U. He currently resides in San Diego, CA with his best friend, Stogie.

"Coach Brown is 1 of 1. A total original. Watching him on Last Chance U was the most interesting thing on TV since The Sopranos. He's the Tony Soprano of football." -- Michael Rapaport, Actor/Comedian

"JB was the first QB I coached at Compton College. Jason's father came to me to make sure I would look after him and I took that task on head first and with honor. Jason not only became my first All-American QB, he went on and did everything he said he would. This book epitomizes who he is: straightforward, driven, emotional, and 100% invested in the WIN." -- Coach Cornell Ward, Former Head Coach, Compton Community College

"I did not have a single college scholarship offer coming out of high school. Jason Brown saw potential in me when no one else did. He helped teach and mold me into a future NFL QB." -- Brad Sorensen, Quarterback, San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings

"Jason and I have known each other for twenty years. I coached against Jason while he was a player and together on the same staff. The general public does not know how caring and committed he is to the well-being of his players. Many outside of his circle fail to ascertain this quality in him but once you get to know JB, you will appreciate Jason Brown." -- Marguet Miller, Head Football Coach, West Los Angeles College

In Saved by A Blonde & A Chicken Pot Pie, restaurateur Bob Spivak recounts growing up in the restaurant business, how athletics and ingenuity helped him succeed despite living with dyslexia, and the lunch meeting that changed the course of his life, personally and professionally.

Bob Spivak is the past chairman of the California Restaurant Association, a Director for the California Culinary Academy, and the recipient of many awards, including Restaurateur of The Year from the California Restaurant Association.

Guy Fieri - Chef & Restaurateur

"They say you can't judge a book by its cover but maybe now you can by its title. 'Saved By A Blonde & A Chicken Pot Pie' is as entertaining as it is inspirational through the life and lessons of legendary restaurant man, Bob Spivak. From creating the ultimate Hollywood power lunch spot to selflessly serving the restaurant business community, Bob's life story is one of hard work, passion and giving back...and it's a story worth reading."

Jot Condie - President and CEO of the California Restaurant Association

"A powerful memoir that chronicles the life's journey of an iconic restaurateur. This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever faced adversity, hardship, or struggle. Bob Spivak shares his inspiring story that is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit - from a young man with a learning disability to the founder of a restaurant empire."

Richard Melman - Founder and Chairman, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants

"I've always had a lot of respect for Bob as a person and a businessman. This is a wonderful book for young restaurateurs who want to learn about all the trials and tribulations of getting started in business. The Grill on the Alley was always one of my favorite restaurants in LA - so this book is worth it, not just for Bob's story, but also for the crave-able recipes that Bob shares."

Susan Feniger - Award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality from the Food Network's cooking show Too Hot Tamales

"There is no one in the restaurant business who is more supportive, more humble, or more respectful of people and the business itself than Bob Spivak. In the 30 years I've known him he continues to be the epitome of what it takes to be successful: honest, straightforward, down-to-earth, and loving."

Richard Pink - Co-Owner of Pink's Hot Dogs, A Hollywood Landmark since 1939

"Throughout the years, I have witnessed Bob Spivak's unwavering dedication to the creation of a culinary empire. From humble beginnings, Bob embarked on a path that touched the lives and taste buds of countless individuals. Bob has always conducted himself with the utmost integrity, treating his staff, guests, and chefs with great respect. Bob's legendary story is of his passion, talent, and integrity that resulted in not only a truly remarkable dining experiences at his many restaurants, but also inspired countless aspiring restaurateurs to follow in his footsteps."

Discover the story behind José Guadalupe Posada's iconic Día de Muertos skeletons in this fascinating picture book from award-winning creator Duncan Tonatiuh.

A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year
A Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner
A Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book
An ALA/ALSC Notable Children's Book

Funny Bones tells the story of how calaveras came to be. The amusing figures are the creation of Mexican artist José Guadalupe (Lupe) Posada (1852-1913). Lupe learned the art of printing at a young age and soon had his own shop. In a country that was not known for freedom of speech, he drew political cartoons, much to the amusement of the local population but not to the politicians.

While he continued to draw cartoons, he is best known today for his calavera drawings. They have become synonymous with Mexico's Día de Muertos festival. Calaveras are skeletons performing all sorts of activities, both everyday and festive: dancing in the streets, playing instruments in a band, pedaling bicycles, promenading in the park, and even sweeping the sidewalks.

They are not intended to be frightening, but rather to celebrate the joy of living and provide humorous observations about people. Author and illustrator Tonatiuh relates the pivotal moments of Lupe's life and explains the different artistic processes he used.

Juxtaposing his own artwork with Lupe's, Tonatiuh brings to light the remarkable life and work of a man beloved by many but whose name has remained in obscurity.

"Playful but informative . . . a fascinating introduction to the artist and his work." ―Booklist (Starred Review)

"Artistically beautiful and factually accessible . . . effectively blends artistic and political content for young readers." ―Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

A shimmering jewel of a book about writing from two-time Booker Prize finalist Deborah Levy, to publish alongside her new work of nonfiction, The Cost of Living.

Blending personal history, gender politics, philosophy, and literary theory into a luminescent treatise on writing, love, and loss, Things I Don't Want to Know is Deborah Levy's witty response to George Orwell's influential essay "Why I Write." Orwell identified four reasons he was driven to hammer at his typewriter--political purpose, historical impulse, sheer egoism, and aesthetic enthusiasm--and Levy's newest work riffs on these same commitments from a female writer's perspective.

As she struggles to balance womanhood, motherhood, and her writing career, Levy identifies some of the real-life experiences that have shaped her novels, including her family's emigration from South Africa in the era of apartheid; her teenage years in the UK where she played at being a writer in the company of builders and bus drivers in cheap diners; and her theater-writing days touring Poland in the midst of Eastern Europe's economic crisis, where she observed how a soldier tenderly kissed the women in his life goodbye.

Spanning continents (Africa and Europe) and decades (we meet the writer at seven, fifteen, and fifty), Things I Don't Want to Know brings the reader into a writer's heart.

A highly entertaining account of a young woman who went straight from her college sorority to the CIA, where she hunted terrorists and WMDs

"Reads like the show bible for Homeland only her story is real." --Alison Stewart, WNYC

"A thrilling tale...Walder's fast-paced and intense narrative opens a window into life in two of America's major intelligence agencies" --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

When Tracy Walder enrolled at the University of Southern California, she never thought that one day she would offer her pink beanbag chair in the Delta Gamma house to a CIA recruiter, or that she'd fly to the Middle East under an alias identity.

The Unexpected Spy is the riveting story of Walder's tenure in the CIA and, later, the FBI. In high-security, steel-walled rooms in Virginia, Walder watched al-Qaeda members with drones as President Bush looked over her shoulder and CIA Director George Tenet brought her donuts. She tracked chemical terrorists and searched the world for Weapons of Mass Destruction. She created a chemical terror chart that someone in the White House altered to convey information she did not have or believe, leading to the Iraq invasion. Driven to stop terrorism, Walder debriefed terrorists--men who swore they'd never speak to a woman--until they gave her leads. She followed trails through North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, shutting down multiple chemical attacks.

Then Walder moved to the FBI, where she worked in counterintelligence. In a single year, she helped take down one of the most notorious foreign spies ever caught on American soil. Catching the bad guys wasn't a problem in the FBI, but rampant sexism was. Walder left the FBI to teach young women, encouraging them to find a place in the FBI, CIA, State Department or the Senate--and thus change the world.

First you march, then you run. From the #1 bestselling, award-winning team behind March--Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell--comes the first book in their new, groundbreaking graphic novel series, Run: Book One.

Run, the Eisner Award-Winner for Best Graphic Memoir, is one of the most heralded books of the year including being named a:
New York Times Top 5 YA Books of the Year - Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens (Young Adult Library Services Association) - Washington Post Best Books of the Year - Variety Best Books of the Year - School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

"In sharing my story, it is my hope that a new generation will be inspired by Run to actively participate in the democratic process and help build a more perfect Union here in America."--Congressman John Lewis

"Run recounts the lost history of what too often follows dramatic change--the pushback of those who refuse it and the resistance of those who believe change has not gone far enough. John Lewis's story has always been a complicated narrative of bravery, loss, and redemption, and Run gives vivid, energetic voice to a chapter of transformation in his young, already extraordinary life." --Stacey Abrams

The sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series March--the continuation of the life story of John Lewis and the struggles seen across the United States after the Selma voting rights campaign.

To John Lewis, the civil rights movement came to an end with the signing of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. But that was after more than five years as one of the preeminent figures of the movement, leading sit-in protests and fighting segregation on interstate busways as an original Freedom Rider. It was after becoming chairman of SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and being the youngest speaker at the March on Washington. It was after helping organize the Mississippi Freedom Summer and the ensuing delegate challenge at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. And after coleading the march from Selma to Montgomery on what became known as "Bloody Sunday." All too often, the depiction of history ends with a great victory.

But John Lewis knew that victories are just the beginning. In Run: Book One, John Lewis and longtime collaborator Andrew Aydin reteam with Nate Powell--the award-winning illustrator of the March trilogy--and are joined by L. Fury--making an astonishing graphic novel debut--to tell this often-overlooked chapter of civil rights history.

Part of the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the incredible life of Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad conductor who "never lost a single passenger."

Little Harriet was born into slavery on a plantation in Maryland. Though life was hard, Harriet persisted. She used all of her strength and bravery to escape slavery and journey north on the Underground Railroad. Harriet made the dangerous mission back to the South many times, fighting her whole life to bring others with her to freedom. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the abolitionist's life.

Little People, BIG DREAMS is a best-selling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.

Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

This beautiful Spanish-language book, translated from the hugely popular Little People, BIG DREAMS series, can be enjoyed by fluent Spanish speakers and those learning the language, whether at home or in the classroom.

En este libro de la serie Little People, BIG DREAMS, aclamada por la crítica y superventas con millones de ejemplares, descubre la vida de Pelé, el rey del fútbol de todos los tiempos de Brasil.

Con un calcetín lleno de trapos por pelota, Pelé perfeccionó sus habilidades en un barrio pobre de Brasil. Creía que, algún día, llevaría a su país a la victoria en la Copa del Mundo, y tenía razón! Con Pelé y sus súper habilidades en el equipo, Brasil levantó el trofeo tres veces. Hoy en día, es ampliamente considerado como el mejor futbolista que jamás haya existido, y también un héroe fuera del campo, que usa su voz para ayudar a las personas que más lo necesitan. Este libro inspirador presenta ilustraciones elegantes y extravagantes y datos adicionales en la parte posterior, incluida una cronología biográfica con fotos históricas y un perfil detallado de la vida del Rey.

Little People, BIG DREAMS es una serie de libros y juegos educativos superventas que exploran la vida de personas destacadas, desde diseñadores y artistas hasta científicos y activistas. Todos lograron cosas increíbles, pero cada uno comenzó su vida como un niño con un sueño.

Esta serie de empoderamiento ofrece mensajes inspiradores para niños de todas las edades, en una variedad de formatos. Los libros de cartón se cuentan en oraciones simples, perfectos para leer en voz alta a bebés y niños pequeños. Las versiones de tapa dura presentan historias ampliadas para lectores principiantes. Los juegos de regalo en caja le permiten recopilar una selección de libros por tema. Las muñecas de papel, las tarjetas de aprendizaje, los juegos de combinación y otras divertidas herramientas de aprendizaje brindan aún más formas de hacer que las vidas de estos modelos a seguir sean accesibles para los niños.

Inspira a la próxima generación de personas destacadas que cambiarán el mundo con Little People, BIG DREAMS!

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Pelé, Brazil's all-time King of Soccer.

With a sock full of rags for a ball, Pelé honed his skills in a poor neighborhood in Brazil. He believed that, one day, he would lead his country to World Cup victory--and he was right! With Pelé and his super skills on the team, Brazil lifted the trophy three times. Today, he is widely regarded as the greatest soccer player who ever lived--and a hero off the pitch, too, using his voice to help the people who need it most. This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of The King's life.

Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

This intricate visual celebration of the world's most celebrated composers tells the fascinating stories of their lives and works.

Whether you have an interest in classical music and opera or you are a music student or musician, this book would be great for you. Composers Who Changed History places well-known composers in their historical and cultural context, allowing you to see how they came to influence music.

In this edition, you can find:

-An overview of the lives and works of around 80 of the world's most important composers - from the Middle Ages to the present
-Eight pages of brand-new content with 12 new entries, including Joseph Bologne and Margaret Bonds
-Lavishly illustrated with portraits of each composer, alongside photographs of their homes and studios, and original musical scores and personal correspondence

Each composer is Introduced with a realistic portrait and biographical entries which trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired and influenced them. Composers Who Changed History provides revealing insights into what drove each individual to create the musical masterpieces - symphonies, concertos and operatic scores - that changed the direction of classical music. Making the perfect gift for any classical music enthusiast or musician.