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Call Her Miss Ross: The Unauthorized Biography of Diana Ross

This explosive, definitive biography of Diana Ross was penned from over 400 interviews with her family and friends.

Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates

The legends that die hardest are those of the romantic outlaw, and those of swashbuckling pirates are surely among the most durable. Swift ships, snug inns, treasures buried by torchlight, palm-fringed beaches, fabulous riches, and, most of all, freedom from the mean life of the laboring man are the stuff of this tradition reinforced by many a novel and film. It is disconcerting to think of such dashing scoundrels as slaves to economic forces, but so they were—as Robert Ritchie demonstrates in this lively history of piracy. He focuses on the shadowy figure of William Kidd, whose career in the late seventeenth century swept him from the Caribbean to New York, to London, to the Indian Ocean before he ended in Newgate prison and on the gallows. Piracy in those days was encouraged by governments that could not afford to maintain a navy in peacetime. Kidd’s most famous voyage was sponsored by some of the most powerful men in England, and even though such patronage granted him extraordinary privileges, it tied him to the political fortunes of the mighty Whig leaders. When their influence waned, the opposition seized upon Kidd as a weapon. Previously sympathetic merchants and shipowners did an about-face too and joined the navy in hunting down Kidd and other pirates. By the early eighteenth century, pirates were on their way to becoming anachronisms. Ritchie’s wide-ranging research has probed this shift in the context of actual voyages, sea fights, and adventures ashore. What sort of men became pirates in the first place, and why did they choose such an occupation? What was life like aboard a pirate ship? How many pirates actually became wealthy? How were they governed? What large forces really caused their downfall? As the saga of the buccaneers unfolds, we see the impact of early modern life: social changes and Anglo-American politics, the English judicial system, colonial empires, rising capitalism, and the maturing bureaucratic state are all interwoven in the story. Best of all, Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates is an epic of adventure on the high seas and a tale of back-room politics on land that captures the mind and the imagination.

Cezanne's Early Imagery

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1989.

Charlie Rangers

They were the biggest Ranger company in Vietnam, and the best. For eighteen months, John L. Rotundo and Don Ericson braved the test of war at its most bloody and most raw, specializing in ambushing the enemy and fighting jungle guerillas using their own tactics. From the undiluted high of a "contact" with the enemy to the anguished mourning of a fallen comrade, they experienced nearly every emotion known to man--most of all, the power and the pride of being the finest on America's front lines.From the Paperback edition.

Chester A. Arthur: 21st President Of The United States

Follows the life of the twenty-first president from birth to death, examining his childhood, education, employment, and political career.

Child At War: The True Story of Hortense Daman

At the age of fifteen Hortense Daman embarked on a secret career. In her German-occupied hometown of Louvain, Belgium, she joined the resistance, first as a courier, then as a fighter. She ran terrifying risks, smuggling explosives in her bicycle pannier past German soldiers and helping allied airmen to safety. It couldn't last; and it didn't. She was later betrayed, imprisoned and condemned to death. Separated from her family, she - and later her mother - was sent to the 'women's inferno' - Ravensbruck concentration camp. Subjected to horrific medical experiments, she endured starvation, illness, freezing temperatures, and she watched helplessly as thousands died around her. Yet, against unimaginable odds, she survived. Child at War is the true, extraordinary and often shocking account of the years that saw Hortense change from the innocent schoolgirl to freedom fighter and ultimately to survivor of the most atrocious regime the world has ever seen.

Child At War: The True Story of Hortense Daman

At the age of fifteen Hortense Daman embarked on a secret career. <P><P> In her German-occupied hometown of Louvain, Belgium, she joined the resistance, first as a courier, then as a fighter. She ran terrifying risks, smuggling explosives in her bicycle pannier past German soldiers and helping allied airmen to safety. It couldn't last; and it didn't. <P>She was later betrayed, imprisoned and condemned to death. Separated from her family, she - and later her mother - was sent to the 'women's inferno' - Ravensbruck concentration camp. Subjected to horrific medical experiments, she endured starvation, illness, freezing temperatures, and she watched helplessly as thousands died around her. Yet, against unimaginable odds, she survived. <P>Child at War is the true, extraordinary and often shocking account of the years that saw Hortense change from the innocent schoolgirl to freedom fighter and ultimately to survivor of the most atrocious regime the world has ever seen.

China Journal 1889-1900: An American Missionary Family During the Boxer Rebellion

Biography of an American family in China during the Boxer Rebellion, based on letters and diaries from the author.

Christmas Gift!

In this timeless, touching holiday memoir drawing on his own experiences as a child of the Depression, master storyteller Ferrol Sams rekindles the sentiment and spirit of the Christmas season in a book that will capture the hearts of generations to come. Image descriptions present.

Christopher Columbus: The Intrepid Mariner

The life and times of one of the world's greatest navigators. Join Columbus on his famous voyage as he struggles against muddled maps, mutiny, his sailors' fear of sea monsters, and the common belief that the world was flat and that he and his crew were going to "sail over the edge".From the Trade Paperback edition.

Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds (Oxford World's Classics)

This narrative of events between the years 1173 and 1202--as recorded by Jocelin of Brakelond, a monk who lived in the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, in the region of West Suffolk--affords many unique insights into the life of a medieval religious community. It depicts the daily worship in the abbey church and the beliefs and values shared by the monks, as well as the whispered conversations, rumors, and disagreements within the cloister--and the bustling life of the market town of Bury, just outside the abbey walls. This edition offers the first modern translation from Latin to appear since 1949. <p><p>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.

Climbers: A Novel (W&N Essentials)

One of M. John Harrison's most acclaimed novels in a career of near universal acclaim, CLIMBERS is, perhaps, the least fantastical of his novels. Yet it carries life-changing moments, descriptions of landscape bordering on the hallucinogenic and flights of pure fictive power that leave any notion of the divide between realistic and unrealistic fiction far behind. First published in 1989, CLIMBERS has remained a strong favourite with fans and reviewers alike.A young man seeks to get a grip on his life by taking up rock-climbing. He hopes that by engaging with the hard realities of the rock and the fall he can grasp what is important about life. But as he is drawn into the obsessive world of climbing he learns that taking things to the edge comes with its own price.Retreating from his failed marriage to Pauline, Mike leaves London for the Yorkshire moors, where he meets Normal and his entourage, busy pursuing their own dreams of escape. Travelling from crag to crag throughout the country, they are searching for the unattainable: the perfect climb. Through rock-climbing, Mike discovers an intensity of experience - a wash of pain, fear and excitement - that obliterates the rest of his world. Increasingly addicted to the adrenaline, folklore and camaraderie of the sport, he finds, for a time, a genuine escape. But it is gained at a price...This dark, witty and poetic novel is full of the rugged beauty of nature, of the human drive to test oneself against extremes, and of the elation such escape can bring.CLIMBERS was featured on BBC Radio 4's A GOOD READ in February 2021. Poet Helen Mort called it "a poetic portrait of the strange and fascinating, very niche world of rock climbing" and Harriett Gilbert called the writing "like prose poetry, it's beautiful."

Coleridge: Early Visions, 1772-1804

Upon its publication ten years ago, the first volume of Richard Holmes's life of Coleridge was hailed by Michael Holroyd as "a modern masterpiece, a book that marks a climax in the golden age of modern biography. " The romantic writer who emerges from these pages is unforgettably vivid and unexpected. Holmes gives us a true portrait of unfolding genius -- a man who learns as much from children's games as from philosophic treatises, as much from bird flight as from theology. Unavailable for the last five years, this award-winning biography is being reissued to coincide with the hardcover publication of the concluding volume. The two books represent the pinnacle of Holmes's literary achievement.

Collaborators for Emancipation: Abraham Lincoln and Owen Lovejoy

Few expected politician Abraham Lincoln and Congregational minister Owen Lovejoy to be friends when they met in 1854. One was a cautious lawyer who deplored abolitionists' flouting of the law, the other an outspoken antislavery activist who captained a stop on the Underground Railroad. Yet the two built a relationship that, in Lincoln's words, "was one of increasing respect and esteem." In Collaborators for Emancipation: Abraham Lincoln and Owen Lovejoy, the authors examine the thorny issue of the pragmatism typically ascribed to Lincoln versus the radicalism of Lovejoy, and the role each played in ending slavery. Exploring the men's politics, personal traits, and religious convictions, the book traces their separate paths in life as well as their frequent interactions. Collaborators for Emancipation shows how Lincoln and Lovejoy influenced one another and analyzes the strategies and systems of belief each brought to the epic controversies of slavery versus abolition and union versus disunion. Moore and Moore, editors of a previous volume of Lovejoy's writings, use their deep knowledge of his words and life to move beyond mere politics to a nuanced perspective on the fabric of religion and personal background that underlay the minister's worldview. Their multifaceted work of history and biography reveals how Lincoln embraced the radical idea of emancipation, and how Lovejoy shaped his own radicalism to wield the pragmatic political tools needed to reach that ultimate goal.

Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself

“Thurber is. . . a landmark in American humor. . . he is the funniest artist who ever lived.” — New RepublicJames Thurber spent most of his career at the New Yorker magazine, drawing cartoons and writing essays and stories. Collecting Himself is a one-of-a-kind compilation of James Thurber's vintage writings, featuring previously unanthologized articles, essays, interviews, reviews, cartoons, parodies, as well as Thurber's reflections on his work in theater and at the New Yorker. An eclectic body of work that offers a glimpse into Thurber the man, the philosopher, and the critic.

Composing a Life

Bateson, an anthropologist among many other roles, analyzes her life and those of 4 other women. She finds that they must constantly improvise and change their ways of living as their environments, their employment, their relationships all evolve over time. Nothing is constant for a lifetime and radical changes do take place. Sometimes they are sought after, sometimes inflicted. There are many gems to be found in this book, regardless of its age.

Confessions of an S. O. B.

The millionaire publisher tells how he stopped at nothing to rise from a newspaper delivery boy making twelve cents a week to the nation's most successful media mogul

Crystal Horizon: Everest: The First Solo Ascent

On August 20, 1980, Reinhold Messner, the world-renowned master of alpine-style climbing, became the first person to reach the summit of Everest solo and without supplemental oxygen. A vivid account of Messner's expedition, The Crystal Horizon also reflects on how he explored his innermost thoughts while facing the most extreme physical challenge he had ever encountered. The furthest point for mind and body he calls his crystal horizon. <p><p> Inspired by the legendary mountaineers George Mallory and Maurice Wilson, Messner embarked on a year-long journey through Tibet to the glittering light and rarified air at the roof of the world. More than an adventure story, this is Messner's profound reflection on his emotional reactions to Tibet, the challenges he faced, and the explorations of self inspired by this amazing journey.

Da Vinci (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists)

A simple biography of Leonardo de Vinci for younger readers

David Halberstam on Sports: Summer of ’49, October 1964, The Amateurs, Playing for Keeps

Four New York Times bestsellers by a “remarkable” Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist capture and celebrate America’s passion for sports (The Seattle Times). Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Halberstam, preeminent chronicler of the American experience, focuses his meticulous narrative gifts on some of Major League Baseball’s most iconic moments, training for the Olympics, and a remarkable profile of hoops legend Michael Jordan. Summer of ’49: In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Halberstam brings to stirring life the unforgettable season that cemented baseball as America’s pastime. A nation in transition is gripped by a pennant race for the ages: the Boston Red Sox, led by Ted Williams’s unearthly bat skills, versus the New York Yankees and Joe DiMaggio’s legendary heroics. Every hit on and off the field crackles across the page “in such an enjoyable, interesting, and informative manner that a reader needn’t be a baseball fan to appreciate the book” (Library Journal). October 1964: The 1964 World Series pitted the established Yankees against the upstart St. Louis Cardinals in an epic, seven-game seesaw battle that seemed to reflect the tensions of a nation in turmoil. The barnburner included a cast of legends—Mantle, Maris, Ford, Gibson, Brock—and enough game-changing plays to last a lifetime. Halberstam captures every moment with “a fluidity of writing that make[s] the reading almost effortless. . . . Absorbing” (San Francisco Chronicle). The Amateurs: This inspirational bestseller focuses Halberstam’s brilliant reportage on the travails and triumphs of Olympic rowing. Introducing us to a cast of highly driven athletes at the 1984 single sculls trials in Princeton, Halberstam delves deep into their struggles, motivations, and failures—but in the end only one will represent the United States at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Informative and compelling, Halberstam “maintains the suspense to the very last stroke” (Sports Illustrated). Playing for Keeps: A wildly entertaining and revealing portrait of global icon Michael Jordan and the rise of the NBA. With his usual impeccable research and gripping storytelling, Halberstam covers the whole court, from the transformative rivalry of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to the invention of ESPN to Spike Lee’s Nike commercials to every unforgettable playoff game that built Jordan’s legend. “Filled with salty, informed hoops talk” (Publishers Weekly), this “remarkable book . . . [is] a must-read for basketball fans, admirers of Jordan, and anyone who seeks to understand sports in America today” (Bill Bradley).

Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho

From the author of &“top-drawer true crime&” (Booklist) books comes the definitive account of Ed Gein—the man whose shocking crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. The year was 1957. To his Wisconsin neighbors, Ed Gein was a slight, Midwestern farmhand with a twisted little smile. To an unsuspecting nation, he would become one of the most notorious crime figures in history, having lived for ten years in his own secret world of brutal murder and unthinkable depravity. Here is the grisly true story of &“the Butcher of Plainfield,&” a deranged killer whose fiendish fantasies inspired such works as Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. More horrifying than any movie or novel however, Deviant dares to explore in chilling detail the life and times of one of the most twisted madmen in the annals of true crime—one who still haunts us to this day—and how he transformed his small, nondescript farmhouse in the American heartland into his own private and inescapable domain of ghoulishness and blood.

Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball

One of America's finest poets joins forces with one of baseball's most outrageous pitchers to paint a revealing portrait of our national game. Donald Hall's forceful, yet elegant, prose brings together all the elements of Dock Ellis's story into a seamless whole. The two of them, the pitcher and the poet, give us remarkable insight into the customs and culture of this closed clannish world. Dock's keen vision, filtered through Hall's extraordinary voice, shows us the hardships and problems of the thinking athlete in an unthinking world.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot: The Autobiography of a Dangerous Man

John Callahan in this moving biography tells in frank detail about his childhood, his alcoholism, his accident that left him a quadriplegic and his growth as a cartoonist. Funny and humorous, tragic and frightening this is a frank and serious look at the life of a "Dangerous man"

Douglas Macarthur: The Far-Eastern General

Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times

Dracula, Prince of Many Faces reveals the extraordinary life and times of the infamous Vlad Dracula of Romania (1431 - 1476), nicknamed the Impaler. Dreaded by his enemies, emulated by later rulers like Ivan the Terrible, honored by his countrymen even today, Vlad Dracula was surely one of the most intriguing figures to have stalked the corridors of European and Asian capitals in the fifteenth century.