Collection: Biography & Memoir

From a fearless, internationally acclaimed activist, an impassioned memoir about an indigenous childhood, a clash of cultures, and the fight to save the Amazon rainforest and protect her people

Born into the Waorani tribe of Ecuador's Amazon rainforest--one of the last to be contacted by missionaries in the 1950s--Nemonte Nenquimo had a singular upbringing. She was taught about plant medicines, foraging, oral storytelling, and shamanism by her elders. She played barefoot in the forest and didn't walk on pavement, or see a car, until she was a teenager and left to study with an evangelical missionary group in the city. But after Nemonte's ancestors began appearing in her dreams, pleading with her to return and embrace her own culture, she listened.

Nemonte returned to the forest and traditional ways of life and became one of the most forceful voices in climate change activism. She spearheaded an alliance of indigenous nations across the Upper Amazon and led her people to a landmark victory against Big Oil, protecting over a half million acres of primary rainforest.

We Will Be Jaguars is an astonishing memoir by an equally astonishing woman. Nenquimo digs into generations of oral history, uprooting centuries of conquest, and hacking away at racist notions of Indigenous peoples. Ultimately, she reveals a life story as rich, harsh, and vital as the Amazon rainforest herself.

Foreword by Debbie Harry
"A Downtown Memory" by Romy Ashby

Debbie Harry defined iconic band Blondie's look. Chris Stein--her performing partner, lover, and lifelong friend--was its architect and defined its sound. "Parallel Lines", their third album, catapulted to #1, sold 20 million copies, and launched singles like "Heart of Glass", "Rapture," and "One Way or Another", providing the beat when Bianca Jagger and Halston danced at Studio 54 and the soundtrack to every 1970's punk-soundtracked romance.

Chris Stein knows how to tell a story. Under A Rock is his nothing-spared autobiography. It's about the founding of the band, ascending to the heights of pop success, and the hazards of fortune.

Famous names march through these pages--Warhol, Bowie, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more-but you can get famous names anywhere. What you can't get anywhere else is a plunge into the moments that made a giant 1980's artistic sensation. Stein takes us there in this revelatory, propulsive, distinctive memoir.

THE FUNNIEST, MOST POPULAR KID IN SCHOOL, Charles Aubrey Rogers suffered from depression and later addiction, then ultimately died by suicide.

Diary of a Broken Mind focuses on the relatable story of what led to his suicide at age twenty and answers the why behind his addiction and this cause of death, revealed through a mother's story and years of Charles' published and unpublished song lyrics. The closing chapters focus on hope and healing-and how the author found her purpose and forgave herself.

Diary of a Broken Mind is a poignant and powerful story written with telling detail and searing honesty-and hope. It is an inside look at the issues of depression, addiction, and suicide affecting so many families. It is a book that won't easily be forgotten.

Within the pages of this book you will take a journey through the life of a man who rejected God's call, cheated death many times, lived as an international fuguitive, suffered years of imprisonment, witnessed miracles, and eventually surrendered to God and wrote a series of inspired literature pertaining to His word.

The book begins with the gripping life story of the author, Scott Bernard, followed by a series of Bible devotions written by him while locked away during his years of imprisonment. Each devotion is derived from the literal wording of the Holy Bible - King James Version, and is designed to help new and mature Christians alike.

As a new Christian this book will help you know and understand the Bible. The goal is to provide truthful information about who God is, and ultimately draw you closer to Him by teaching you His word and answering many questions you may have regarding Him, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

And, for mature Christians this book will provide tools you can use when leading others to Christ. The devotions are easily worded, very informative, and every statement is followed by scripture references which validate its credibility.

May you find this book to be a valuable resource you can use when learning about and promoting the kingdom of God.

Matthew 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."

A magisterial journey through the epic life and transformative times of John Quincy Adams

In this masterful biography, historian Randall B. Woods peels back the many layers of John Quincy's long life, exposing a rich and complicated family saga and a political legacy that transformed the American Republic.

Born the first son of John and Abigail Adams, he was pressured to follow in his father's footsteps in both law and politics. His boyhood was spent amid the furor of the American Revolution, and as a teen he assisted his father on diplomatic missions in Europe, hobnobbing with monarchs and statesmen, dining with Ben Franklin, sitting by Voltaire at the opera. He received a world-class education, becoming fluent in Latin, Greek, German, and French. His astonishing intellect and poise would lead to a diplomatic career of his own, in which he'd help solidify his fledgling nation's standing in the world.

He was intertwined with every famous American of his day, from Washington to Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, Jackson, Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. He was on stage, frequently front and center, during the Revolutionary Era, the fractious birth of American party politics, the War of 1812, the Era of Good Feelings, and the peak of Continental Expansion. It was against this backdrop that he served as an ambassador, senator, secretary of state, and, unhappily, as president. The driving force behind both the Transcontinental Treaty and the Monroe Doctrine, this champion of Manifest Destiny spent the last years of his life fighting against the annexation of Texas because it would facilitate the spread of slavery.

This deeply researched, brilliantly written volume delves into John Quincy's intellectual pursuits and political thought; his loving, yet at times strained, marriage to Louisa Catherine Johnson, whom he met in London; his troubling relationships with his three sons; and his fiery post-presidency rebirth in Congress as he became the chamber's most vocal opponent of slavery.

The Lives of the Caesars include the biographies of Julius Caesar and the eleven subsequent emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitelius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian. Suetonius composed his material from a variety of sources, without much concern for their reliability. His biographies consist of the ancestry and career of each emperor in turn; however, his interest is not so much analytical or historical, but anecdotal and salacious which gives rise to a lively and provocative succession of portraits. For example, the account of Julius Caesar does not simply mention his crossing of the Rubicon and his assassination, but draws attention to his dark piercing eyes and attempts to conceal his baldness. The life of Caligula presents a vivid picture of the emperor's grotesque appearance, his waywardness, and his insane cruelties.

The format and style of Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars was to set the tone for biography throughout western literature--his work remains thoroughly readable and full of interest. Indeed, it was Robert Graves's primary reference source when he was writing I, Claudius, and those who have read his book will enjoy the original accounts as set down here.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

'A scrupulous biography' -- Publishers Weekly

'Fresh, incisive, and uplifting' -- Kirkus

'If you want to know the real Baldwin, this is the book to read' -- Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk

James Baldwin is an icon of liberation who created some of the most important literary works of his time, including the novels Go Tell It on the Mountain and If Beale Street Could Talk. Here, Bill V. Mullen celebrates the life of the great African-American writer and activist.

As a lifelong anti-imperialist, black queer advocate, and feminist, James Baldwin was a passionate chronicler of the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, the US war against Vietnam, the Palestinian liberation struggle, and the rise of LGBTQ+ rights.

Mullen pays homage to Baldwin's truly radical approach to his life, writing and activism. Constantly in struggle for an anti-racist, emancipated world, Baldwin's philosophy and politics were ahead of their time, predicting many of today's movements such as Black Lives Matter.

Bill V. Mullen is Professor of American Studies at Purdue University. He is the author of W.E.B. Du Bois: Revolutionary Across the Color Line, amongst other books.

"Thompson-Hernández's portrayal of Compton's black cowboys broadens our perception of Compton's young black residents, and connects the Compton Cowboys to the historical legacy of African Americans in the west. An eye-opening, moving book."-- Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures

"Walter Thompson-Hernández has written a book for the ages: a profound and moving account of what it means to be black in America that is awe inspiring in its truth-telling and limitless in its empathy. Here is an American epic of black survival and creativity, of terrible misfortune and everyday resilience, of grace, redemption and, yes, cowboys."-- Junot Díaz, Pulitzer prize-winning author of This is How You Lose Her

A rising New York Times reporter tells the compelling story of The Compton Cowboys, a group of African-American men and women who defy stereotypes and continue the proud, centuries-old tradition of black cowboys in the heart of one of America's most notorious cities.

In Compton, California, ten black riders on horseback cut an unusual profile, their cowboy hats tilted against the hot Los Angeles sun. They are the Compton Cowboys, their small ranch one of the very last in a formerly semirural area of the city that has been home to African-American horse riders for decades. To most people, Compton is known only as the home of rap greats NWA and Kendrick Lamar, hyped in the media for its seemingly intractable gang violence. But in 1988 Mayisha Akbar founded The Compton Jr. Posse to provide local youth with a safe alternative to the streets, one that connected them with the rich legacy of black cowboys in American culture. From Mayisha's youth organization came the Cowboys of today: black men and women from Compton for whom the ranch and the horses provide camaraderie, respite from violence, healing from trauma, and recovery from incarceration.

The Cowboys include Randy, Mayisha's nephew, faced with the daunting task of remaking the Cowboys for a new generation; Anthony, former drug dealer and inmate, now a family man and mentor, Keiara, a single mother pursuing her dream of winning a national rodeo championship, and a tight clan of twentysomethings--Kenneth, Keenan, Charles, and Tre--for whom horses bring the freedom, protection, and status that often elude the young black men of Compton.

The Compton Cowboys is a story about trauma and transformation, race and identity, compassion, and ultimately, belonging. Walter Thompson-Hernández paints a unique and unexpected portrait of this city, pushing back against stereotypes to reveal an urban community in all its complexity, tragedy, and triumph.

The Compton Cowboys is illustrated with 10-15 photographs.

"It raises the standard of nature writing. This is both radical manifesto and activism in book form." --Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean

"Defiant and dazzling." --Freya Bromley, author of The Tidal Year

"Essential reading." --Jessica J. Lee, author of Turning

"Long before I knew I was sick, I knew I was breakable..."

After years of unexplained health problems, Polly Atkin's perception of her body was rendered fluid and disjointed. When she was finally diagnosed with two chronic conditions in her thirties, she began to piece together what had been happening to her- all the misdiagnoses, the fractures, the dislocations, the bone-crushing exhaustion, and on top of it all, not being believed by the very people who were meant to listen.

Some of Us Just Fall combines memoir, pathography and nature writing to trace a journey through illness- a journey which led Atkins to her cottage in England's Lake District, where every day she turns to the lakes and land that inspire poets old and new to help manage, and purportedly cure, her chronic illness.

Join her as she delves into shimmering waters, selkie dreams, and the history of her two genetic conditions to uncover and learn from how they were managed (or not) in times gone by. Beautiful and deeply personal, Some of Us Just Fall is essential reading on the cost of medical misogyny and gaslighting, the illusion of 'the nature cure', and the dangers of ableism both systematic and internalized.

This is not a book about getting better. This is a book about living better with illness.

Raechel Anne Jolie's early life in a working-class Cleveland exurb was full of race cars, Budweiser-drinking men covered in car grease, and the women who loved them. After her father came home from his third-shift job, took the garbage out to the curb and was hit by a drunk driver, her life changed. Raechel and her mother struggled for money: they were evicted, went days without utilities, and took their trauma out on one another. Raechel escaped to the progressive suburbs of Cleveland Heights, leaving the tractors and ranch-style homes home in favor of a city with vintage marquees, music clubs, and people who talked about big ideas. It was the early 90s, full of Nirvana songs and chokers, flannel shirts and cut-off jean shorts, lesbian witches and local coffee shops. Rust Belt Femme is the story of how these twin foundations--rural Ohio poverty and alternative 90s culture--made Raechel into who she is today: a queer femme with PTSD and a deep love of the Midwest.

What do you do when you are born as one gender, but feel yourself to be another? Gender dysphoria affects thousands of people worldwide, but has been ignored or ridiculed in our culture. With this graphic novel, Corey Maison boldly shares her story of transitioning, so that other kids with gender dysphoria and related conditions will no longer feel so isolated, hopeless, or lost.

Corey Maison was born a girl, trapped in a boy's body. Growing up, Corey was more interested in dolls than trucks; in dresses than jeans. Everything about Corey was female . . . except her physicality.

Known as gender dysphoria, this condition is devastating if not acknowledged. But society is slow to be sympathetic to the idea that a person's gender is not entirely based on physiology, but instead is fluid, and a combination of emotional and psychological self-awareness along with, or sometimes more importantly, physical characteristics.

IDENTITY tells the complex and moving tale of a young person who knows that their true gender is not the one they were assigned at birth. With unconditional love and support from her mother, Corey successfully starts the transition process with hopes of being comfortable in her own skin, being accepted by others, and raising awareness of young people who wish to transition. At 16-years-old, Corey has become a voice for other trans teens, battling bullies and helping others who are on their own individual journeys of identity.

Fearless Trailblazers,11 Latinos who made U.S. History, Pioneros Audaces, 11 Latinos que hicieron historia en Los Estados Unidos, is a bilingual book that highlights 11 Latinos who excelled in their professional careers and made U.S. history by accomplishing something that hadn't been done before in their respective fields which include science, sports, the arts and politics. By presenting the true biographical stories of these outstanding Latinos in rhyming verses, young readers will easily follow their journey to success. Each persons biographical story is written in both Spanish and English to encourage and promote bilingual literacy. Some of the men highlighted include Cesar Chavez (Activist), Jose Hernandez(Astronaut), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Playwright), Jean-Michel Basquiat (Artist), Julian Castro (Politician) and more

Portraits of women throughout history who have defied society's expectations of feminine behavior and appearance in order to live a more authentic life. These short vignettes combine biographical sketches with evocative illustrations for an impact that is as bold, powerful, and inspirational as the brilliant artists, writers, and musicians they represent. The notable people profiled in this book include Audre Lorde (activist and poet), JD Sampson (artist, and musician known for Le Tigre and MAN), Jenny Shimizu (model and actress), Claude Cahun (photographer, performer, and writer who defied all gender expectations and wasn't any gender), Esther Eng (director), Gladys Bentley (singer and performer), Gertrude Stein (author and poet), Martina Navratilova (tennis champion), and Gloria Anzaldúa (scholar). Author and artist Eloisa Aquino presents these icons against heteronormativity in a good-humored homage, showing how the courage to be true to yourself can spark the sort of work that changes the world.

Ten Days In a Mad-House (1887) by Nellie Bly. Nellie Bly, whose given name was Elizabeth Jane Cochran, was a pio-neer of investigative journalism. She died in 1922. Of her many exposé assignments for Joseph Pulitzer's NEW YORK WORLD, her voluntary (and undercover) journey into the "lunatic asylum" on Blackwell's (now Roosevelt) Island is perhaps the most well known. In previous chapters of the series, she has (without much difficulty) fooled various doctors and authorities into deeming her insane and admitting her tothe asylum, which is located on an island just east of Manhattan. "SINCE my experiences in Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum were published in the World I have received hundreds of letters in regard to it. The edition containing my story long since ran out, and I have been prevailed upon to allow it to be published in book form, to satisfy the hundreds who are yet asking for copies."

Cowman Mayer Halff rode a long, busy trail that few men could have followed. It carried him from 1850s France to Texas and across 1,500 miles of wild western country waiting to be tamed. Throughout his life, he was at ease whether dining with a U.S. President at a plush metropolitan banquet or squatting across a campfire from a dirt-streaked cowboy in some forsaken cow camp. Immigrating as a fourteen-year-old, Halff began as a foot peddler. He quickly built the largest dry goods business in the Southwest and by 1861 was pursuing his passion-cattle ranching. He founded several of Texas' famous ranches: the JM Ranch on the Pecos River, the Quien Sabe in the Midland region, the Circle Dot in the Big Bend, the Mallet on the South Plains, and the Schreiner and Halff in South Texas. He eventually controlled almost a million acres. Patrick Dearen, a Spur Award finalist and author of nine other books, carefully weaves Halff's story against the backdrop of the Texas cattle industry. The droughts, the drives, the drifts, the die-ups-they all bolt through these pages like stampeding cattle across a stormy plain.