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The Emperor Commodus: God and Gladiator
by John S. McHughThis historical biography goes beyond popular legend to present a nuanced portrait of the first century Roman emperor.Commodus, who ruled over Rome from 177 to 192, is generally remembered as a debaucherous megalomaniac who fought as a gladiator. Ridiculed and maligned by historians since his own time, modern popular culture knows him as the patricidal villain in Ridley Scott’s film Gladiator. Much of his infamy is clearly based on fact, but John McHugh reveals a more complex story in the first full-length biography of Commodus to appear in English. McHugh sets Commodus’s twelve-year reign in its historical context, showing that the ‘kingdom of gold’ he supposedly inherited was actually an empire devastated by plague and war. Openly autocratic, Commodus compromised the privileges and vested interests of the senatorial clique, who therefore plotted to murder him. Surviving repeated conspiracies only convinced Commodus that he was under divine protection, increasingly identifying himself as Hercules reincarnate. This and his antics in the arena allowed his senatorial enemies to present Commodus as a mad tyrant—thereby justifying his eventual murder.
The Emperor Nero: A Guide to the Ancient Sources
by John C. Yardley Anthony A. Barrett Elaine FanthamNero's reign (AD 54-68) witnessed some of the most memorable events in Roman history, such as the rebellion of Boudica and the first persecution of the Christians--not to mention Nero's murder of his mother, his tyranny and extravagance, and his suicide, which plunged the empire into civil war. The Emperor Nero gathers into a single collection the major sources for Nero's life and rule, providing students of Nero and ancient Rome with the most authoritative and accessible reader there is.The Emperor Nero features clear, contemporary translations of key literary sources along with translations and explanations of representative inscriptions and coins issued under Nero. The informative introduction situates the emperor's reign within the history of the Roman Empire, and the book's concise headnotes to chapters place the source material in historical and biographical context. Passages are accompanied by detailed notes and are organized around events, such as the Great Fire of Rome, or by topic, such as Nero's relationships with his wives. Complex events like the war with Parthia--split up among several chapters in Tacitus's Annals--are brought together in continuous narratives, making this the most comprehensible and user-friendly sourcebook on Nero available.Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.
Emperor of China
by Jonathan D. SpenceA remarkable re-creation of the life of K'ang-hsi, emperor of the Manchu dynasty from 1661-1772, assembled from documents that survived his reign. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.
Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912
by Donald KeeneThe renowned Japanese scholar &“brings us as close to the inner life of the Meiji emperor as we are ever likely to get&” (The New York Times Book Review). When Emperor Meiji began his rule in 1867, Japan was a splintered empire dominated by the shogun and the daimyos, cut off from the outside world, staunchly antiforeign, and committed to the traditions of the past. Before long, the shogun surrendered to the emperor, a new constitution was adopted, and Japan emerged as a modern, industrialized state. Despite the length of his reign, little has been written about the strangely obscured figure of Meiji himself, the first emperor ever to meet a European. But now, Donald Keene sifts the available evidence to present a rich portrait not only of Meiji but also of rapid and sometimes violent change during this pivotal period in Japan&’s history. In this vivid and engrossing biography, we move with the emperor through his early, traditional education; join in the formal processions that acquainted the young emperor with his country and its people; observe his behavior in court, his marriage, and his relationships with various consorts; and follow his maturation into a &“Confucian&” sovereign dedicated to simplicity, frugality, and hard work. Later, during Japan&’s wars with China and Russia, we witness Meiji&’s struggle to reconcile his personal commitment to peace and his nation&’s increasingly militarized experience of modernization. Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest. &“Utterly brilliant . . . the best history in English of the emergence of modern Japan.&”—Los Angeles Times
Emperor of Liberty
by Francis D. CoglianoThis book, the first in decades to closely examine Thomas Jefferson’s foreign policy, offers a compelling reinterpretation of his attitudes and accomplishments as a statesman during America’s early nationhood. Beginning with Jefferson’s disastrous stint as wartime governor of Virginia during the American Revolution, and proceeding to his later experiences as a diplomat in France, Secretary of State, and U. S. Vice President, historian Francis Cogliano considers how these varied assignments shaped Jefferson’s thinking about international relations. The author then addresses Jefferson’s two terms as President#151;his goals, the means he employed to achieve them, and his final record as a statesman. Cogliano documents the evolution of Jefferson’s attitudes toward the use of force and the disposition of state power. He argues that Jefferson, although idealistic in the ends he sought to achieve, was pragmatic in the means he employed. Contrary to received wisdom, Jefferson was comfortable using deadly force when he deemed it necessary and was consistent in his foreign policy ends#151;prioritizing defense of the American republic above all else. His failures as a statesman were, more often than not, the result of circumstances beyond his control, notably the weakness of the fledgling American republic in a world of warring empires.
Emperor of Rome: Ruling The Ancient Roman World
by null Mary BeardINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Best Books of 2023: New Yorker, The Economist, Smithsonian Most Anticipated Books of Fall: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, TODAY, Literary Hub, and Publishers Weekly "A vivid way to re-examine what we know, and don’t, about life at the top.... Emperor of Rome is a masterly group portrait, an invitation to think skeptically but not contemptuously of a familiar civilization." —Kyle Harper, Wall Street Journal A sweeping account of the social and political world of the Roman emperors by “the world’s most famous classicist” (Guardian). In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome, from its slightly shabby Iron Age origins to its reign as the undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean. Now, drawing on more than thirty years of teaching and writing about Roman history, Beard turns to the emperors who ruled the Roman Empire, beginning with Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) and taking us through the nearly three centuries—and some thirty emperors—that separate him from the boy-king Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Yet Emperor of Rome is not your typical chronological account of Roman rulers, one emperor after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Instead, Beard asks different, often larger and more probing questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained? What kind of jokes did Augustus tell? And for that matter, what really happened, for example, between the emperor Hadrian and his beloved Antinous? Effortlessly combining the epic with the quotidian, Beard tracks the emperor down at home, at the races, on his travels, even on his way to heaven. Along the way, Beard explores Roman fictions of imperial power, overturning many of the assumptions that we hold as gospel, not the least of them the perception that emperors one and all were orchestrators of extreme brutality and cruelty. Here Beard introduces us to the emperor’s wives and lovers, rivals and slaves, court jesters and soldiers, and the ordinary people who pressed begging letters into his hand—whose chamber pot disputes were adjudicated by Augustus, and whose budgets were approved by Vespasian, himself the son of a tax collector. With its finely nuanced portrayal of sex, class, and politics, Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman fantasies (and our own) about what it was to be Roman at its richest, most luxurious, most extreme, most powerful, and most deadly, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.
The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession
by Chandler BurrThe Emperor of Scent tells of the scientific maverick Luca Turin, a connoisseur and something of an aesthete who wrote a bestselling perfume guide and bandied about an outrageous new theory on the human sense of smell. Drawing on cutting-edge work in biology, chemistry, and physics, Turin used his obsession with perfume and his eerie gift for smell to turn the cloistered worlds of the smell business and science upside down, leading to a solution to the last great mystery of the senses: how the nose works.
The Emperor of Sound: A Memoir
by Timbaland Veronica ChambersThe long-anticipated inside look at the extraordinary career of the man who brought Sexy Back, the legendary producer in the pantheon of music greats as influential and groundbreaking as Motown’s Berry Gordy and a memoir of the creative process.Hailed by the New Yorker as “the eminence grise behind half of what is great in the Top Forty these days,” world-renowned producer Timbaland has been a fixture on the pop charts, with more top-ten hits than Elvis or the Beatles. An artist whose fans are multi-racial and multi-generational, Timbaland works with the hottest artists, from Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott to Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Madonna, and his childhood friend, Pharrell Williams. Yet this celebrity is a uniquely private man who shuns parties, stays out of gossip columns, and rarely gives interviews. Deliberately choosing to tour by bus and conspicuously bling-free, he maintains a low-key lifestyle. If he’s not at the recording studio, he is at home with his family.In The Emperor of Sound, Timbaland offers fans an unprecedented look into his life and work. Completely uncensored and totally honest, he reveals the magic behind the music, sharing the various creative impulses that arise while he’s producing, and the layering of sounds that have created dozens of number one hits. Cinematically written, full of revealing anecdotes and reflections from today’s most popular music icons, The Emperor of Sound showcases this master’s artistry and offers an extraordinary glimpse inside this great musical mind.
Emperor Septimius Severus: The Roman Hannibal
by Ilkka SyvänneOne ancient source called Severus the most warlike of all men who had lived up to that moment in time. The rise of Septimius Severus to power started the dominance of the military in Roman affairs and it was because of this that Septimius’s advice for his sons was nothing less than: 'Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men!' Ilkka Syvanne explains in detail how the African Septimius Severus achieved his position, how he won his wars and battles and how he used his newly gained power to secure his family’s position. He reveals how he reformed the state and its military, and how he used these remodeled forces in wars of conquest to prove his worth as emperor to both the soldiers and the populace. This biography offers the first complete overview of the policies, events and military campaigns of Severus' reign in the fullest detail allowed by the sources. It also explains how and why these contributed to the military crisis of the third century and discusses the legacy he left for his son, Caracalla, who followed him in both his good and bad traits.
The Emperor Who Never Was: Dara Shukoh in Mughal India
by Supriya GandhiDara Shukoh was the heir-apparent to the Mughal throne in 1659, when he was executed by his brother Aurangzeb. Today Dara is lionized in South Asia, while Aurangzeb, who presided over the beginnings of imperial disintegration, is scorned. Supriya Gandhi’s nuanced biography asks whether the story really would have been different with Dara in power.
Emperors in Lilliput: Clem Christesen of Meanjin and Stephen Murray-Smith of Overland
by Jim Davidson'Lilliput', in this dual biography, is the world of literary magazines in Australia between the 1940s and the 1980s. Here Clem Christesen and Stephen Murray-Smith, of the journals Meanjin and Overland, were determined, driven visionaries. Both were very human-and occasionally bruised-believers in and workers for a better nation. The book ranges from before the Menzies era and the Cold War, through the Whitlam period and beyond to the challenges of the 1980s. It shows how the editors constantly aimed for a culture more liberal, diverse and developed than the one then prevailing. Their publications may have lacked resources and economic return, but they nonetheless possessed authority, regularly providing stimulation for their readers and for the nation. In finely wrought detail, Jim Davidson-the second editor of Meanjin-traces the commitment of Christesen and Murray-Smith to this ambitious cultural project and how it attracted many of the key writers and thinkers of those years. There are pen portraits of many of them, as the reader is taken behind the scenes. Emperors in Lilliput exhibits the enlightened creative spirit animating these journals at their best. It is at once captivating biography and rich social history.
The Emperors of Chocolate: The Secret Worlds of Hershey and Mars
by Joël Glenn BrennerThe author traces the history and rivalry between Hershey Foods and Mars Inc. And their contributions to the chocolate candy industry.
Emperors of Rome: From Tiberius to Theodora, AD 14–548 (History Of Terror Ser.)
by Paul ChrystalAs with everything else, there were good and bad Roman emperors. The good, like Trajan (98117), Hadrian (117138), Antoninus Pius (138161) and Marcus Aurelius (161180) were largely civilized and civilizing. The bad, on the other hand, were sometimes nothing less than monsters, exhibiting varying degrees of corruption, cruelty, depravity and insanity. It is a sobering thought that these ogres were responsible for governing the greatest civilization in the world, simultaneously terrorizing, brutalizing and massacring. Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Commodus, Caracella, Elagabalus, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, Maximinus Thrax, Justinian and Theodora all had more bad days than good; they are all covered in this book.Their exploits have, of course, been well documented since classical times but much of the coverage can only be called gratuitous, sensationalist or tabloid. This book is different because it is based on primary sources and evidence and attempts to balance out the shocking with any mitigating aspects in each of their lives. Many of our monsters have some redeeming factors and it is important that these are exposed if a true record of their lives is to be conveyed. The book also examines how each of the twelve has been treated for posterity in literature, theatre and film, and the lessons intended to be drawn from popular culture through the ages.
The Emperor's Sword: Japan vs. Russia in the Battle of Tsushima
by Noel F. Busch"On this one battle rests the fate of our nation. Let every man do his utmost." From the bridge of his flagship, Mikasa, Admiral Togo signaled the beginning of the battle, standing near the forward rail, his body thrust forward in the determined stance of some classic Japanese war god. A tiny, Napoleonic figure-barely five feet, three inches tall, and weighing less than 130 pounds -Togo carried his Zeiss binoculars(one of three pairs in Japan) and wore his magnificent ceremonial sword, its gold-encrusted scabbard nearly touching the deck. The sword was a gift from Togo's deified Emperor, and symbolized Japan's new drive to world power by domination of the Eastern seas. The Japanese Fleet was drawn up in the Strait of Tsushima between Japan and Korea. A long smudge of smoke on the southern horizon signaled the approach of the Imperial Russian Ships. On the outcome of the Battle of Tsushima depended the fate of Japan and-ultimately-the fate of the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor. One hundred years after Trafalgar, on May 27, 1905, Togo met Rozhdestvensky, Imperial Russia against Imperial Japan, with most of the long- range firepower and weight on the Russian side. This battle would decide world policy in the Pacific for decades to come. The Emperor's Sword is a violent chronicle of war and death at sea, of diplomatic intrigue, heroism, cowardice, stupidity, international politics, and individual tragedy. The backbone of the Russian Second Pacific Squadron were four new battleships, top-heavy and slow. The armada totaled forty-two vessels. Many if not most of the seamen were bitterly hostile to their officers; the crews were untrained conscripts. When Rozhdestvensky lined up his squadron to face Togo, he had already survived an eighteen-thousand-mile journey, mutiny, lack of fuel, a shortage of ammunition, and a series of mishaps that had won his armada the name of "the mad dog fleet." Noel Busch weaves the complex strands of history into a gripping, absorbing narrative of The Emperor's Sword. As history, as adventure tale, and as sobering analysis of the part played by hazard in deciding defeat or victory, The Emperor's Sword is a fascinating chronicle by a master historian- storyteller.
Empieza, sigue o déjalo / Start, Stay or Leave
by Trey GowdyEl presentador de televisión y autor bestseller del New York Times comparte su confiable método de toma de decisiones, nos cuenta la historia de su vida y las elecciones que ha hecho. "La mejor guía que he leído para ayudar a las personas a analizar, tomar y asumir sus decisiones... Toma una gran decisión y lee este libro" —Dana Perino, presentadora de Fox News, exsecretaria de prensa de la Casa Blanca En la vida surgen momentos en los que tienes que decidir tu próximo paso: aceptar un nuevo trabajo, comprar una casa o comenzar una relación, ¿cómo decides qué dirección tomar? Trey Gowdy ha descubierto que la mayoría de las decisiones más importantes se reducen a tres opciones simples: Empezar, seguir o dejarlo.Gowdy desarrolló esta herramienta de toma de decisiones por primera vez en el tribunal durante un juicio federal por asesinato, y desde entonces ha guiado su vida. Este marco práctico le ha ayudado a decidir dónde criar a su familia, cuándo dejar su trabajo soñado, si postularse al Congreso y cuándo alejarse de la vida política. A lo largo de los años, Gowdy ha tomado algunas decisiones excelentes y otras pésimas (admite ambas). En Start, Stay, or Leave (Empieza, sigue o déjalo) comparte su sabiduría ganada con esfuerzo. Lleno de ideas y preguntas sorprendentes, este manual personal te enseña cómo: • Crear tu visión única del éxito.• Consultar tus sueños con sabiduría (y saber cuándo revisarlos). • Evaluar el precio que vale la pena pagar para alcanzar tus metas. • Equilibrar la lógica, la emoción y el miedo al enfrentar un nuevo desafío. • Seguir el consejo adecuado de las personas correctas (y bloquear a todos los demás). • Trazar el rumbo de tu vida con el objetivo final en mente. Leer Start, Stay, or Leave (Empieza, sigue o déjalo) es como sentarse en el porche trasero de una granja y charlar con un amigo sabio. Lleno de humor, desamor, consejos prácticos una historia de vida, este libro te enseñará cómo abordar decisiones que cambian la trayectoria con confianza y con el conocimiento de que, pase lo que pase, has tomado la mejor elección posible.
Empire: The Life and Legacy of Pioneering Publishing Magnate: The House that John H. Johnson Built
by Margena A. ChristianAfrican-American stories were overlooked by mainstream media until John H. Johnson showed the world the value of black life. In his magazines EBONY and JET, the publisher and businessman presented never-before-told accounts and used captivating, memorable images to share stories of black people. Margena A. Christian conducts extensive archival research, drawing upon rare sources and a personal decade-long relationship as an employee under the direct tutelage of Johnson. She meticulously constructs the complex story of what made the founder of these magazines become one of history's greatest publishers and businessmen. He went on to become the first black person named to the Forbes 400 richest Americans and amassed an empire, ranging from publishing, cosmetics, travel, radio stations, TV shows, hair care products, and the world's largest traveling fashion show.
Empire and Ireland: The Transatlantic Career of the Canadian Imperialist Hamar Greenwood, 1870-1948
by Roy MaclarenIn Empire and Ireland, Roy MacLaren recounts the life and political career of Hamar Greenwood, a young man from rural Canada who reached the imperial pinnacle of the British cabinet. Greenwood’s arduous route was first beset by conservative opposition to his liberal convictions and later by hostility towards his role as chief secretary for Ireland under British prime minister Lloyd George during the tumultuous years of 1920 to 1922. A long-time advocate of Home Rule for Ireland, Greenwood endeavoured to provide Ireland with the same Dominion status as Canada. Dominion Home Rule, however, was not enough for Irish Republicans, who blamed him for the "Black and Tan” reprisals carried out by the British, and too much for Conservative Unionists, who believed he was insufficiently hard line. Eventually abandoning the divided Liberals for the Conservatives, he entered the House of Lords as Viscount Greenwood. By then Britain could no longer sustain an empire which, in his eyes, had been a cradle for justice, liberty, and development. The first biography of Hamar Greenwood, MacLaren’s thought-provoking work also illuminates the meaning of liberal imperialism, a significant factor in political thinking and policy formation throughout the global empire in Greenwood’s time, which still has resonance today.
Empire and Ireland: The Transatlantic Career of the Canadian Imperialist Hamar Greenwood, 1870–1948
by Roy MacLarenIn Empire and Ireland, Roy MacLaren recounts the life and political career of Hamar Greenwood, a young man from rural Canada who reached the imperial pinnacle of the British cabinet. Greenwood’s arduous route was first beset by conservative opposition to his liberal convictions and later by hostility towards his role as chief secretary for Ireland under British prime minister Lloyd George during the tumultuous years of 1920 to 1922. A long-time advocate of Home Rule for Ireland, Greenwood endeavoured to provide Ireland with the same Dominion status as Canada. Dominion Home Rule, however, was not enough for Irish Republicans, who blamed him for the “Black and Tan” reprisals carried out by the British, and too much for Conservative Unionists, who believed he was insufficiently hard line. Eventually abandoning the divided Liberals for the Conservatives, he entered the House of Lords as Viscount Greenwood. By then Britain could no longer sustain an empire which, in his eyes, had been a cradle for justice, liberty, and development. The first biography of Hamar Greenwood, MacLaren’s thought-provoking work also illuminates the meaning of liberal imperialism, a significant factor in political thinking and policy formation throughout the global empire in Greenwood’s time, which still has resonance today.
Empire and Revolution
by Richard BourkeEdmund Burke (1730-97) lived during one of the most extraordinary periods of world history. He grappled with the significance of the British Empire in India, fought for reconciliation with the American colonies, and was a vocal critic of national policy during three European wars. He also advocated reform in Britain, pressed for constitutional change in Ireland, and became a central protagonist in the great debate on the French Revolution. Drawing on the complete range of printed and manuscript sources, Empire and Revolution offers a vivid reconstruction of the major concerns of this outstanding statesman, orator, and philosopher.In restoring Burke to his original political and intellectual context, this book strips away the accumulated distortions that have marked the reception of his ideas. In the process, it overturns the conventional picture of a partisan of tradition against progress. In place of the image of a backward-looking opponent of popular rights, it presents a multifaceted portrait of one of the most captivating figures in eighteenth-century life and thought. While Burke was a passionately energetic statesman, he was also a deeply original thinker. Empire and Revolution depicts him as a philosopher-in-action who evaluated the political realities of the day through the lens of Enlightenment thought, variously drawing on the ideas of such figures as Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Hume.A boldly ambitious work of scholarship, this book challenges us to rethink the legacy of Burke and the turbulent era in which he played so pivotal a role.
Empire Builder: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego
by Dr. Sandra BonuraEmpire Builder is the previously untold story of a pioneer who almost single-handedly transformed the bankrupt village of San Diego into a thriving city. When he first dropped anchor in San Diego Bay on a warm June day in 1887, John Diedrich Spreckels set into motion a series of events that later defined the city. Within just a few years, this son of the German immigrant Claus Spreckels, known as the &“Sugar King,&” owned and controlled the majority of San Diego&’s industry by demanding advanced techniques of building construction, water supply management, and energy production, as well as improvements in transportation—particularly by ship, rail, electric streetcar, and automobile. After successfully building empires in sugar, shipping, and transportation and building development up and down the coast of California and across the Pacific, Spreckels rubbed shoulders with world leaders, bailed out royalty, and even successfully sued the U.S. government twice, all while contributing to numerous educational, charitable, and cultural institutions in San Diego and San Francisco. Despite the fact that Spreckels created and owned much of San Diego&’s early twentieth-century infrastructure, his name is unknown to many contemporary San Diegans. Nobody, especially not Spreckels himself, could have foreseen that his empire would be all but forgotten in so short a time. Sandra E. Bonura strives to correct this oversight by providing a behind-the-scenes look into the Spreckels family and its role in business and into the man himself. This deeply researched biography, which includes newly discovered family documents and photos, paints a realistic portrait of cultural, economic, and political aspects of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century California.
Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign
by Stephan TaltyHenry Morgan, a twenty-year-old Welshman, arrived in the New World in 1655, hell-bent on making his fortune. Over the next three decades, his exploits in the Caribbean in the service of the English became legend. His daring attacks on the mighty Spanish Empire on land and sea changed the fates of kings and queens. His victories helped shape the destiny of the New World. Morgan gathered disaffected English and European sailors and soldiers, hard-bitten adventurers, runaway slaves, cutthroats and sociopaths and turned them into the fiercest and most feared army in the Western Hemisphere. Sailing out from the English stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica, 'the wickedest city in the New World', Morgan and his men terrorised Spanish merchant ships and devastated the cities where great riches in silver, gold, and gems lay waiting to be sent to the King of Spain. His last raid, a daring assault on the fabled city of Panama, helped break Spain's solitary hold on the New World for ever. Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler, EMPIRE OF BLUE WATER brilliantly re-creates the passions and the violence of the age of exploration and empire. What's more, it chillingly depicts the apocalyptic natural disaster that finally ended the pirates' dominion.
The Empire of Business
by Andrew CarnegieThis book contains several articles and speeches by Andrew Carnegie, one of the most important industrialists of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century in the United States; the man who would later inspire Napoleon Hill to write "Think and Grow Rich". His ideas on How to win fortune, the importance of wealth, and how young people can succeed, inspired generations. In his philanthropic work, he created and funded a network of public libraries in the United States, and funded places for culture as the Carnegie Hall in New York. A great man, with timeless ideas and wisdom that we can now enjoy.-Print ed.
Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille
by Scott EymanBEST KNOWN AS THE DIRECTOR of such spectacular films as The Ten Commandments and King of Kings, Cecil B. DeMille lived a life as epic as any of his cinematic masterpieces. As a child DeMille learned the Bible from his father, a theology student and playwright who introduced Cecil and his older brother, William, to the theater. Tutored by impresario David Belasco, DeMille discovered how audiences responded to showmanship: sets, lights, costumes, etc. He took this knowledge with him to Los Angeles in 1913, where he became one of the movie pioneers, in partnership with Jesse Lasky and Lasky’s brother-in-law Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn). Working out of a barn on streets fragrant with orange blossom and pepper trees, the Lasky company turned out a string of successful silents, most of them directed by DeMille, who became one of the biggest names of the silent era. With films such as The Squaw Man, Brewster’s Millions, Joan the Woman, and Don’t Change Your Husband, he was the creative backbone of what would become Paramount Studios. In 1923 he filmed his first version of The Ten Commandments and later a second biblical epic, King of Kings, both enormous box-office successes. Although his reputation rests largely on the biblical epics he made, DeMille’s personal life was no morality tale. He remained married to his wife, Constance, for more than fifty years, but for most of the marriage he had three mistresses simultaneously, all of whom worked for him. He showed great loyalty to a small group of actors who knew his style, but he also discovered some major stars, among them Gloria Swanson, Claudette Colbert, and later, Charlton Heston. DeMille was one of the few silent-era directors who made a completely successful transition to sound. In 1952 he won the Academy Award for Best Picture with The Greatest Show on Earth. When he remade The Ten Commandments in 1956, it was an even bigger hit than the silent version. He could act, too: in Billy Wilder’s classic film Sunset Boulevard, DeMille memorably played himself. In the 1930s and 1940s DeMille became a household name thanks to the Lux Radio Theater, which he hosted. But after falling out with a union, he gave up the program, and his politics shifted to the right as he championed loyalty oaths and Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anticommunist witch hunts. As Scott Eyman brilliantly demonstrates in this superbly researched biography, which draws on a massive cache of DeMille family papers not available to previous biographers, DeMille was much more than his clichéd image. A gifted director who worked in many genres; a devoted family man and loyal friend with a highly unconventional personal life; a pioneering filmmaker: DeMille comes alive in these pages, a legend whose spectacular career defined an era.
An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science (Playaway Adult Nonfiction Ser.)
by Edward J. LarsonA Pulitzer Prize–winning author examines South Pole expeditions, &“wrapping the science in plenty of dangerous drama to keep readers engaged&” (Booklist). An Empire of Ice presents a fascinating new take on Antarctic exploration—placing the famed voyages of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, his British rivals Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and others in a larger scientific, social, and geopolitical context. Recounting the Antarctic expeditions of the early twentieth century, the author reveals the British efforts for what they actually were: massive scientific enterprises in which reaching the South Pole was but a spectacular sideshow. By focusing on the larger purpose of these legendary adventures, Edward J. Larson deepens our appreciation of the explorers&’ achievements, shares little-known stories, and shows what the Heroic Age of Antarctic discovery was really about. &“Rather than recounting the story of the race to the pole chronologically, Larson concentrates on various scientific disciplines (like meteorology, glaciology and paleontology) and elucidates the advances made by the polar explorers . . . Covers a lot of ground—science, politics, history, adventure.&” —The New York Times Book Review
Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk
by Buddy LevyNational Outdoor Book Awards WinnerThe true, harrowing story of the ill-fated 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition and the two men who came to define it.In the summer of 1913, the wooden-hulled brigantine Karluk departed Canada for the Arctic Ocean. At the helm was Captain Bob Bartlett, considered the world’s greatest living ice navigator. The expedition’s visionary leader was a flamboyant impresario named Vilhjalmur Stefansson hungry for fame.Just six weeks after the Karluk departed, giant ice floes closed in around her. As the ship became icebound, Stefansson disembarked with five companions and struck out on what he claimed was a 10-day caribou hunting trip. Most on board would never see him again.Twenty-two men and an Inuit woman with two small daughters now stood on a mile-square ice floe, their ship and their original leader gone. Under Bartlett’s leadership they built make-shift shelters, surviving the freezing darkness of Polar night. Captain Bartlett now made a difficult and courageous decision. He would take one of the young Inuit hunters and attempt a 1000-mile journey to save the shipwrecked survivors. It was their only hope.Set against the backdrop of the Titanic disaster and World War I, filled with heroism, tragedy, and scientific discovery, Buddy Levy's Empire of Ice and Stone tells the story of two men and two distinctively different brands of leadership—one selfless, one self-serving—and how they would forever be bound by one of the most audacious and disastrous expeditions in polar history, considered the last great voyage of the Heroic Age of Discovery.