Collection: Biography & Memoir

The bestselling coauthor of The Moscow Rules and Argo tells her riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the height of the Cold War

Jonna Hiestand Mendez began her CIA career as a "contract wife" performing secretarial duties for the CIA as a convenience to her husband, a young officer stationed in Europe. She needed his permission to open a bank account or shut off the gas to their apartment. Yet Mendez had a talent for espionage, too, and she soon took on bigger and more significant roles at the Agency. She parlayed her interest in photography into an operational role overseas, an unlikely area for a woman in the CIA. Often underestimated, occasionally undermined, she lived under cover and served tours of duty all over the globe, rising first to become an international spy and ultimately to Chief of Disguise at CIA's Office of Technical Service.

In True Face recounts not only the drama of Mendez's high-stakes work--how this savvy operator parlayed her "everywoman" appeal into incredible subterfuge--but also the grit and good fortune it took for her to navigate a misogynistic world. This is the story of an incredible spy career and what it took to achieve it.

A powerful, lush memoir about a Hawaiian woman who ran away from paradise to discover who she is and where she belongs.

Born and raised in Hawai'i by a father whose ancestors are indigenous to the land and a mother from the American South, Jessica Machado wrestles with what it means to be "local." Feeling separate from the history and tenets of Hawaiian culture that have been buried under the continental imports of malls and MTV, Jessica often sees her homeland reflected back to her from the tourist perspective--as an uncomplicated paradise. Her existence, however, feels far from that ideal. Balancing her parents' divorce, an ailing mother, and growing anxiety, Jessica rebels. She moves to Los Angeles, convinced she'll leave her complicated family behind and define herself. Instead, her isolation only becomes more severe, and her dying mother follows her to California. For Jessica, the only way to escape is a reckless downward spiral.

Interwoven with a rich and nuanced exploration of Hawaiian history and traditions, Local is a personal and moving narrative about family, grief, and reconnecting to the land she tried to leave behind.

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Aretha Franklin, "The Queen of Soul."

The fourth of five children, Aretha was born in Tennessee and took the stage at an early age in her father's church choir. She went on to become the best-selling rhythm and blues singer of all time, and the first woman to be installed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 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 broadcaster'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!

Peter Lance, author of HOMICIDE AT ROUGH POINT, debunks Doris Duke's claim that she accidentally killed Eduardo Tirella. - NY Post

In the fall of 1966, Eduardo Tirella, close confidant of billionaire Doris Duke, informed the possessive and vindictive heiress that he was leaving her employ as chief designer and art curator to return to Hollywood where his career as a set designer was just catching fire.

Minutes later, she crushed him to death under the wheels of a two-ton station wagon as they were leaving Rough Point, her Bellevue Avenue estate in Newport, RI, the storied resort.

In a murderous quid-pro-quo, the local police quickly ruled the incident "an unfortunate accident" and Doris began giving a fortune to Newport, restoring 70 colonial-era homes that quickly turned it into a tourist Mecca. In 2018, Lance, who started his career as a cub reporter for The Newport Daily News eight months after Tirella's death, began a re-examination of the case and proved that the mercurial tobacco heiress got away with murder.

In a riveting, doggedly researched book with 105 illustrations -- including never-before seen forensic files -- Lance, a five-time Emmy winner, rewrites history and finally restores the reputation of Eduardo Tirella, a gay Renaissance man and war hero whom Duke went to great lengths to erase from the history of her troubled life.

Praise for HOMICIDE AT ROUGH POINT:

"In his meticulous new tome, Lance tells the untold story of how Doris Duke, the richest woman in America got away with murdering a gay man, her designer and art curator Eduardo Tirella." - Diane Anderson-Minshall, CEO Pride Media in The Advocate.

"This book has rocked the world of publishing, it's rocked the world of journalism and true crime junkies are talking about it from Coast to Coast." - Frank Morano WABC RADIO

"A page turning look into the world of elite influence, true crime and a systemic coverup that has rocked a New England summer resort city" - Bartholomewtown Podcast

"Homicide at Rough Point is a page-turning epic for our time. Proof that when a narcissistic billionaire assumes, they can get away with murder, there's a reporter out there willing and able to expose them." - Nicholas Pileggi, author of Goodfellas and Casino

"HOMICIDE is the best true crime book I've read in years; solving the horrific cold case murder of Eddie Tirella, a gifted Italian-American war hero who didn't deserve to die. Peter Lance is the most tenacious reporter I know. A must read!" - John A. "Junior" Gotti

Praise for Peter Lance's HarperCollins Mafia bio DEAL WITH THE DEVIL:

"The perfect mix of thorough research and gripping storytelling." (NPR)

"[A] thrilling account. . . This scrupulously investigated tale. . . will have true crime fans on the edge of their seats (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"A meticulously researched and frightening account of the long term relationship between the FBI and vicious Mafia thug Gregory Scarpa Sr. . . Stunning revelations." (Booklist)

Comedian Ian Karmel, with help from his sister, Dr. Alisa Karmel, opens up about the daily humiliations of being fat and why it's so hard to talk about something so visible.

Ian Karmel has weighed eight pounds and he has weighed 420 pounds and right now he's almost exactly in between the two, but this book is not a weight-loss book. It's about being a fat person in a skinny world. It's about gym class and football practice, about chicken wings and juice cleanses, about airplane seats and roller coasters, about fat jokes and Jabba the Hutt, about crying in the Big and Tall section and the joys of being a sneakerhead, about prediabetes and gout, and about realizing that you actually don't want to eat yourself to death and hoping it's not too late.

This book also includes a "What Now?" section from Ian's sister, Alisa, who herself cycled through so many fad diets that she eventually pursued a master's in nutrition and a doctorate in psychology with the goal of changing the contemporary narrative around fatness.

Ian and Alisa Karmel grew up fat. As kids, they never talked about it. They were too busy fighting over the last SnackWell's Devil's Food cookie. Now, decades later, having both turned into fat adults who eventually figured out how to get their health under control, they are finally ready to unpack the impact that their weight has had on them.

For them, the T-Shirt Swim Club is meant to be a place of support for anyone who struggles with weight issues. A place of care and candor, free of shame. A place to not deny or avoid the emotions you feel, the experiences you go through, the embarrassment, the anger, the resentment. T-Shirt Swim Club is about being a fat person and how the world treats fat people--but also an acknowledgment that maybe it doesn't always have to feel quite so lonely.

Going Somewhere is a dynamic autobiographical narrative about Andrew Marino's career in science. With a depth and drama that arise from personal involvement, the book explores an exceptionally wide range of science-related matters: the relation between electrical energy and life; the influence of corporate and military power on science; the role of self-interest on the part of federal and state agencies that deal with human health, especially the NIH and the FDA; the importance of cross-examining scientific experts in legal hearings; the erroneous view of nature that results when the perspective of physics is extended into biology; the pivotal role of deterministic chaos theory in at least some cognitive processes. These matters arise in the long course of the author's scientific and legal activities involving the complex debate over the health risks of man-made environmental electromagnetic fields. The book offers far more than a solution to the contentious health issue. The story provides a portal into how science actually works, which you will see differs dramatically from the romantic notion of an objective search for truth. You will understand that science is a human enterprise, all too human, inescapably enmeshed in uncertainty. This realization has the potential to change your life because it will likely affect whom you choose to believe, and with what degree of confidence.

How did the Joshua Tree National Park in California come to be? Meet Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, an artist, activist, and environmentalist, whose determination saved the desert and helped to create the park, in this STEAM picture book.

Long before she became known as the Cactus Queen, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt found solace in the unexpected beauty of the Mojave Desert in California. She loved the jackrabbits and coyotes, the prickly cacti, and especially the weird, spiky Joshua trees.

However, in the 1920s, hardly anyone else felt the same way. The desert was being thoughtlessly destroyed by anyone and everyone. Minerva knew she needed to bring attention to the problem. With the help of her gardening club, taxidermists, and friends, she took the desert east and put its plants and animals on display. The displays were a hit, but Minerva needed to do much more: she wanted to have the desert recognized as a national park. Although she met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and won him over, Minerva still had to persuade politicians, scientists, teachers, and others to support her cause. And, it worked! Minerva's efforts led to what came to be known as Joshua Tree National Park in California, and saved hundreds of thousands of plants and animals. Now, the millions of people who visit each year have learned to love the desert, just as Minerva did.

From Dara McAnulty, a globally renowned figure in the youth climate activist movement, comes a memoir about loving the natural world and fighting to save it.

Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of a year in Dara's Northern Ireland home patch. Beginning in spring--when "the sparrows dig the moss from the guttering and the air is as puffed out as the robin's chest"--these diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world are vivid, evocative, and moving.

As well as Dara's intense connection to the natural world, Diary of a Young Naturalist captures his perspective as a teenager juggling exams, friendships, and a life of campaigning. We see his close-knit family, the disruptions of moving and changing schools, and the complexities of living with autism. "In writing this book," writes Dara, "I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child's eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere."

Winner of the Wainwright Prize for UK nature writing and already sold into more than a dozen territories, Diary of a Young Naturalist is a triumphant debut from an important new voice.

You've seen the building. Now meet the man whose life went into it.

Philip Freelon's grandfather was an acclaimed painter of the Harlem Renaissance. His father was a successful businessman who attended the 1963 March on Washington. When Phil decided to attend architecture school, he created his own focus on African American and Islamic designers. He later chose not to build casinos or prisons, instead concentrating on schools, libraries, and museums--buildings that connect people with heritage and fill hearts with joy. And in 2009, Phil's team won a commission that let him use his personal history in service to the country's: the extraordinary Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon celebrates a contemporary black STEAM role model, a man whose quiet work enabled the creation of an iconic building reflecting America's past and future. With a stirring text by Kelly Starling Lyons, vibrant pictures by Laura Freeman, and an afterword from Philip Freelon himself, it is sure to inspire the next generation of dreamers and builders.

"I am an ordinary person with an extraordinary past."

In this true and moving story, Alter Wiener, a teen Holocaust survivor of five Nazi prison camps during World War II, transports young readers back in time when an unexpected person demonstrated moral courage in repeated acts of kindness toward him.

From nationally acclaimed author and speaker Trudy Ludwig and award-winning illustrator Craig Orback, Gifts from the Enemy shows how acts of social justice and kindness can change lives. Parents and teachers will find this story a valuable and timely resource to help children understand in an age-appropriate way about the Holocaust and the dangers of hatred, stereotyping, and prejudice. The back matter includes a note from Holocaust survivor Alter Wiener to readers, discussion questions, activities to promote kindness, and more!

Gifts from the Enemy is based on From a Name to a Number: A Holocaust Survivor's Autobiography self-published by Alter Wiener in 2007.

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the true story of Helen Keller.

Little Helen was curious and eager to learn about the world. After contracting an illness during childhood, she became deaf and blind at the age of one and was unable to talk. Helen and her family found ways to connect with each other, such as hand-signing.

But when Anne Sullivan, a teacher, came into her life, Helen discovered more ways to communicate with the wider world, learning finger-spelling and how to talk. This saw her become the first deaf-blind person to earn a university degree, and led her to tour the world advocating for the rights of disabled people.

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 this amazing woman'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!

Moments of Being is "the single most moving and beautiful thing that Virginia Woolf ever wrote about her own life" (The New York Times) and her only autobiographical writing, published years after her death.
This collection of five pieces written for different audiences spanning almost four decades reveals the remarkable unity of Virginia Woolf's art, thought, and sensibility.?
"Reminiscences," written during her apprenticeship period, exposes the childhood shared by Woolf and her sister, Vanessa, while "A Sketch of the Past" illuminates the relationship with her father, Leslie Stephens, who played a crucial role in her development as an individual a writer. Of the final three pieces, composed for the Memoir Club, which required absolute candor of its members, two show Woolf at the threshold of artistic maturity and one shows a confident writer poking fun at her own foibles.

Bob Harig's latest deep-dive into Tiger Woods' thrilling career, as seen through his iconic 2019 Masters comeback and win.

In April of 1997, the world of golf was forever changed. At the age of 21, a young Tiger Woods won the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, the Masters, by a record of 12 strokes. Woods became the youngest golfer ever to win the Masters and the first African or Asian-American player to win a major. History had been made - and would continue to be made over the next 15 years.

Woods transformed the game, turning golf geeks into keen observers, casual golf fans into ardent followers and even indifferent sports fans into curiosity mavens. He will undoubtedly be known for the raw numbers: 82 PGA Tour titles, 15 major championships, and according to Forbes, a billionaire who amassed more than $110-million in official PGA Tour earnings. Woods has proven to be a complicated figure through his decades in the spotlight. Plagued by marital scandal, a DUI arrest, and severe back injuries that resulted in what even he believed would be a career-ending spinal fusion surgery in 2017, Woods' career finally seemed to be coming to an end. That all changed through 2018 and into 2019 as Woods returned slowly from the surgery. In 2019, on the same course where he won for the first time in 1997, Tiger Woods made history once again, winning the Masters one final time. The 2019 Masters brought together all the qualities that ultimately make up someone who has been an enduring figure for 30 years.

In this captivating and emotional portrait of one of the most famous figures in sports, Bob Harig brings readers the true story of the grit and perseverance of Tiger Woods in the final years of his career. Drive will show that Woods' true legacy is one of resolve and redemption.

Winner of the 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
Winner of the 2022 Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize
Shortlisted for the 2023 Plutarch Award

A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Best Book of 2022
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, Times Literary Supplement, and Literary Hub

From the standout scholar Katherine Rundell, Super-Infinite presents a sparkling and very modern biography of John Donne: the poet of love, sex, and death.

Sometime religious outsider and social disaster, sometime celebrity preacher and establishment darling, John Donne was incapable of being just one thing.

He was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, a priest, a member of Parliament--and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language. He converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, was imprisoned for marrying a sixteen-year-old girl without her father's consent, struggled to feed a family of ten children, and was often ill and in pain. He was a man who suffered from surges of misery, yet expressed in his verse many breathtaking impressions of electric joy and love.

In Super-Infinite, Katherine Rundell embarks on a fleet-footed act of evangelism, showing us the many sides of Donne's extraordinary life, his obsessions, his blazing words, and his tempestuous Elizabethan times--unveiling Donne as the most remarkable mind and as a lesson in living.

This tenth book in the New York Times bestselling biography series profiles Jane Goodall, the scientist and conservationist who is famous for her work with chimpanzees. (Cover may vary)

After receiving a stuffed animal chimpanzee for her first birthday, Jane Goodall's love of animals only grew. She saw what humans and animals had in common, not what makes us different, and used that to advocate for animal rights everywhere, becoming famous for her work with chimpanzees.

This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big. Included in each book are:

- A timeline of key events in the hero's history
- Photos that bring the story more fully to life
- Comic-book-style illustrations that are irresistibly adorable
- Childhood moments that influenced the hero
- Facts that make great conversation-starters
- A virtue this person embodies: Jane Goodall's empathy is celebrated in this biography.

You'll want to collect each book in this dynamic, informative series!

For the first time, these two works attributed to the great Jesse Livermore are presented together in one volume with a new foreword by Juliette Rogers. Both contain interesting insights into Livermore's life and times as well as the reasons for his success. They remain classics and must reads for every new aspirant in the world of speculation.

The two books in this volume were written in the early 1920s, when Livermore was already famous but still ascending to the peak of his wealth. The nightmare of World War I was fading, and the United States had successfully transitioned from a wartime economy into a peacetime powerhouse. Americans became enamored of cars, telephones, radios, and movies. A newfound fascination with celebrities extended beyond film stars and athletes to the rich and powerful. People wanted to know how Wall Street wizards like Jesse Livermore spun their magic.

The first book, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre, offers keen insight while at the same time adding to the Livermore enigma. Reminiscences is the first-person narrative of a fictional speculator named Larry Livingston, whose life events happen to match precisely those of Jesse Livermore. As a financial journalist, biographer, and novelist, Edwin Lefèvre gave his readers their much-desired glimpse into the lofty world of Wall Street elites. He wrote eight other books, but none matched the success of Reminiscences, which has remained in print since 1923 and been translated into numerous languages. Even the understated former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan once called it "a font of investing wisdom."

In true Livermore fashion, the book itself remains something of a mystery. Specifically, over the decades many readers have wondered if the book's author was not Lefèvre, but none other than Jesse Livermore. The two men were long acquainted and may have traded useful information over the years. A 1967 biography claims that Livermore, shortly before his death, acknowledged writing Reminiscences with guidance from Lefèvre, who served as "editor and coach." This revelation came to the biographer secondhand and without confirmation, so the mystery continues. However, attentive readers may note the narrator's especially gleeful tone whenever windfalls are made or old scores are settled, suggesting a connection more personal than professional.

In the years following these publications, Livermore continued to burnish his legend. A 1924 run-up in wheat prices squeezed him out of $3 million, but the following year he recovered his losses and added tremendous profit when the wheat market collapsed. Of course, in this era of modest regulation, markets were vulnerable to manipulation and Livermore--by now nicknamed the "Great Bear of Wall Street"--did not eschew such tactics.