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Biography / Autobiography
In June 1938, Future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill published a book entitled "Arms and the Covenant". It was then published in the US in September 1938 as "While England Slept; a Survey of World Affairs, 1932-1938". It highlighted the United Kingdom's lack of military preparation.
At that time the war was looming but had not started yet. The majority in England wanted to stay out of the war and to rely in England's natural barriers. However, the views of Churchill ultimately prevailed and it was largely on the strength on this book that Churchill was elected Prime Minister.
In 1940, future President John F. Kennedy, then a student in his senior year at Harvard University, found he did not agree with the analysis by Churchill of the reasons for the war, so he wrote a book with almost the same title. Kennedy wrote this essentially as a critique and a rebuttal. In it, he in he examined the reasons for the UK's lack of preparation.
Why England Slept by John F. Kennedy was first published in 1940 and went through at least five reprintings. It has become a rare book, virtually impossible to get, because of the fame of the author, until this reprinting by Ishi Press.
A seasoned Silicon Valley watcher tells us why Steve Jobs remains one of our most important cultural icons
Steve Jobs changed our world. In "Why Steve Jobs Matters," Alan Deutschman explores the astonishing impact Jobs continues to have one year after his untimely death. From the creation of the earliest Apple computers to the latest iPhone, Jobs's creations forced seismic changes in the way we communicate, do business, seek out entertainment, and interact with others. His enduring influence as the patron saint of The Creative Class cuts even deeper: In his single-minded control of Apple, Jobs was an example of the successful entrepreneur tycoon who pushed many members of the Silicon Valley creative class to greater heights. Without his example, many people of his generation inside of and outside of Silicon Valley may not have been so driven. Alan Deutschman's thoughtful consideration of Jobs as a cultural and technological pioneer who, like others before him such as Thomas Edison, changed the way we live forever."
What would happen if women ruled the world?
Everything could change, according to former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers. Politics would be more collegial. Businesses would be more productive. And communities would be healthier. Empowering women would make the world a better place--not because women are the same as men, but precisely because they are different.
Blending memoir, social history, and a call to action, Dee Dee Myers challenges us to imagine a not-too-distant future in which increasing numbers of women reach the top ranks of politics, business, science, and academia.
Reflecting on her own tenure in the Clinton administration and her work as a political analyst, media commentator, and former consultant to NBC's The West Wing, Myers assesses the crucial but long-ignored strengths that female leaders bring to the table. Women tend to be better communicators, better listeners, better at forming consensus, Myers argues. In a highly competitive and increasingly fractious world, women possess the kind of critical problem-solving skills that are urgently needed to break down barriers, build understanding, and create the best conditions for peace.
Myers knows firsthand the responsibilities and rewards of taking on leadership roles traditionally occupied by men. At thirty-one, she was appointed White House press secretary to President Bill Clinton--the first woman ever to hold the job. In a candid look at her years in Washington's political spotlight, she recalls the day-to-day challenge of confronting a press corps obsessed with more than just the president's policies. Virtually every story written about me included observations about my earrings, my makeup, my clothes, my shoes. And then there was my hair.
Recalling the pressures--both invited and imposed--of her West Wing years, Myers offers a hard-hitting look at the challenges women must overcome and the traps they must avoid as they travel the path toward success. From pioneering research in the laboratory, to innovations in business, entertainment, and media, to friendships that transcend partisanship in the U.S. Senate, she describes how female participation in public life has already transformed the world in which we live.
Everybody knows the face of Franz Kafka, whether they have read any of his works or not. And that brooding face carries instant images: bleak and threatening visions of an inescapable bureaucracy, nightmarish transformations, uncanny predictions of the Holocaust. But while Kafka's genius is beyond question, the image of a mysterious, sickly, shadowy figure who was scarcely known in his own lifetime bears no resemblance to the historical reality. Franz Kafka was a popular and well-connected millionaire's son who enjoyed good-time girls, brothels, and expensive porn, who landed a highly desirable state job that pulled in at least $90,000 a year in today's dollars for a six-hour day, who remained a loyal member of Prague's German-speaking Imperial elite right to the end, and whose work was backed by a powerful literary clique.
Here are some of the prevalent Kafka myths:
*Kafka was the archetypal genius neglected in his lifetime.
*Kafka was lonely.
*Kafka was stuck in a dead-end job, struggling to find time to write.
*Kafka was tormented by fear of sex.
*Kafka was unbendingly honest about himself to the women in his life - "too" honest.
*Kafka had a terrible, domineering father who had no understanding of his son's needs.
*Kafka's style is mysterious and opaque.
*Kafka takes us into bizarre worlds.
James Hawes wants to tear down the critical walls which generations of gatekeepers---scholars, biographers, and tourist guides---have built up around Franz Kafka, giving us back the real man and the real significance of his splendid works. And he'll take no prisoners in the process.
When we think of the queen, we probably picture a serious, dignified personage complete with majestic hat and matching handbag. But The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II reveals a side of the monarch the public rarely sees, her healthy sense of humor: sometimes silly, sometimes sarcastic--and occasionally unintentional (to guitar legend Eric Clapton: "Have you been playing long?")! This is a delightful celebration of the queen's humor revealed through her own words on topics from family and travel to pets and hobbies, as well as stories from the royal household of Britain's longest-serving monarch. In addition to the queen, other royals get in their two cents, including the famously filterless Prince Philip and the acerbic Princess Margaret, as well as Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
New York City in the 1980s was a mesmerizing, wild place. A hotbed for hip hop, underground culture, and unmatched creative energy, it spawned some of the most significant art of the 20th century. It was where Jean-Michel Basquiat became an avant-garde street artist and painter, swiftly achieving worldwide fame. During the years before his death at the age of 27, he shared his life with his lover and muse, Suzanne Mallouk. A runaway from an unhappy home in Canada, Suzanne first met Jean-Michel in a bar on the Lower East Side in 1980. Thus began a tumultuous and passionate relationship that deeply influenced one of the most exceptional artists of our time. In emotionally resonant prose, award-winning author Jennifer Clement tells the story of the passion that swept Suzanne and Jean-Michel into a short-lived, unforgettable affair. A poetic interpretation like no other, Widow Basquiat is an expression of the unrelenting power of addiction, obsession and love.
The Widow Clicquot is the New York Times bestselling business biography of the visionary young widow who built a champagne empire, became a legend in her tumultuous times, and showed the world how to live with style.
Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life the woman behind the label, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, in this utterly intoxicating book that is as much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered and fascinating woman.
Unlike anything Joyce Carol Oates has written before, A Widow's Story is the universally acclaimed author's poignant, intimate memoir about the unexpected death of Raymond Smith, her husband of forty-six years, and its wrenching, surprising aftermath. A recent recipient of National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, Oates, whose novels (Blonde, The Gravedigger's Daughter, Little Bird of Heaven, etc.) rank among the very finest in contemporary American fiction, offers an achingly personal story of love and loss. A Widow's Story is a literary memoir on a par with The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and Calvin Trillin's About Alice.
On September 11, 2001, Marian Fontana lost her husband, Dave, a firefighter from the elite Squad 1 in Brooklyn, in the World Trade Center attack. "A Widow's Walk" begins that fateful morning, when Marian, a playwright and comedienne, became a widow, a single mother, and an unlikely activist.
Two weeks after 9/11, the city attempted to close Squad 1, which had suffered the loss of twelve men. Known for her feisty spirit and passionate loyalty, Marian, who was still reeling from her profound loss, began to mobilize the neighborhood to keep the firehouse open. From this unlikely platform the 9/11 Widows and Victims' Families Association grew. Over the next twelve months, Marian struggled with the tragedy's endless ripple effects, from the minute and deeply personal -- she wonders who will play Star Wars with her son, Aidan, and carry him on his shoulders -- to the political. She works to get families and widows necessary information about the recovery effort and attends private meetings with Governor Pataki, Mayor Giuliani, Senator Clinton, and Mayor Bloomberg.
Through it all, Marian's irrepressible humor is her best armor and evidence of her buoyant strength. Written with great heart and humanity, A Widow's Walk is a timely opportunity for remembrance and a timeless testament to love's loss and the resilience of the human spirit.