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A Larger Memory: A History of Our Diversity, with Voices
by Ronald T. TakakiOne of the country's premier multi-culturalist scholars, Takaki eschews the angry, jargon-ridden ideological polemics that make up the usual artillery of the curriculum wars, opting instead to let America's diverse peoples speak for themselves in excerpts that are both informative and moving. While a few pieces are by familiar figures such as Frederick Douglass and Black Elk, most are by "ordinary" people -- African, Latino, Native American, Irish, Chinese, Jewish, Japanese, Polish, Mexican, Italian, Caribbean, Indian, Puerto Rican, Korean -- who recount their struggles and aspirations eloquently and with dignity.
Larger than Life: President Lyndon B. Johnson And The Passing Of The Voting Rights Act
by Anne QuirkAn accessible, informed, and timely biography of Lyndon Johnson that centers his life and presidency around the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Keenly known for both his triumphs and his failures, Lyndon B. Johnson was one of the most complex and compelling presidents in US history. Anne Quirk’s biography alternates between chapters that follow LBJ’s childhood in rural Texas learning politics from his parents, his time teaching Mexican American students at a small-town school, and his days in Congress as majority leader and as vice president; and chapters that cover his work alongside civil rights leaders and the passage of the Voting Rights Act. An epilogue discusses the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling that struck down key portions of the act. With engaging storytelling, Quirk paints a rich portrait of Johnson’s presidency, celebrating the accomplishments of his Great Society programs while refusing to shy away from his catastrophic decisions regarding Vietnam and the summer riots of 1967. Larger Than Life presents striking parallels to today’s political arena: an outsize character presiding over a divided nation—but to different ends.
Larger Than Yourself: Reimagine Industries, Lead with Purpose & Grow Ideas into Movements
by Thibault ManekinDARE TO CHANGE THE WORLD Why do some great ideas take off and soar, while others never get off the ground? Where does that elusive sense of being part of something larger than ourselves come from? How can each of us harness that feeling to help fuel the world’s best ideas and turn them into movements? In Larger Than Yourself, Thibault Manekin tells gripping stories about inspirational people and pivotal moments that answer these questions at a time when social entrepreneurship is no longer a buzzword but a global necessity. He shares his experiences helping to bridge social divides in war-torn countries through sports and reimagining the real estate industry so that buildings empower communities and unite cities, illustrating how we all can turn ideas into movements. The seven distinct lessons that emerge become actionable principles for the doers and dreamers of today, inspiring you with takeaways to assist in the pursuit of your own endeavors.
Largo Caballero: El tesón y la quimera
by Julio ArosteguiLa biografía definitiva de un líder político fundamental del siglo XX español. Francisco Largo Caballero (Madrid, 15 de octubre de 1869 - París, 23 de marzo de 1946), «el Lenin español», fue un sindicalista y político, histórico dirigente del Partido Socialista Obrero Español y la Unión General de Trabajadores. Aunque el socialismo español siempre ha reservado un lugar de honor a Pablo Iglesias, su fundador, Francisco Largo Caballero fue el dirigente obrero más relevante e influyente en la España del siglo pasado. Largo Caballero apareció como el auténtico heredero de Iglesias. Arquetipo de dirigente de masas, sindicalista, político, ministro y presidente del Gobierno, promotor y mantenedor de proyectos societarios durante cincuenta años de militancia, el momento culminante de su trayectoria llegó en los años treinta, ya a una edad avanzada. La personalidad y la actuación de Largo Caballero fueron siempre complejas, poliédricas e incluso contradictorias. Le tocó vivir tiempos convulsos en primera línea de la política: la dictadura de Primo de Rivera, la República y la guerra civil. Su liderazgo y sus decisiones han sido muy criticados y su figura, tergiversada con frecuencia, ha concitado a menudo opiniones adversas, con pocas aunque notables excepciones. Este libro no es una reivindicación de su papel histórico ni una hagiografía. Pero una historia rigurosa no puede basarse sino en los instrumentos auténticos de la historiografía: documentación y argumentación. Esa ha sido la extraordinaria tarea de Julio Arostegui: despejar los mitos y los prejuicios y buscar la verdad histórica. El resultado es «otro» Largo Caballero bien distinto del que ha presentado la literatura al uso y uno de los retratos más fieles de una figura fundamental para la historia del siglo XX. Porque para entender el presente hay que estudiar el pasado.
El largo camino hacia la libertad: La autobiografía de Nelson Mandela (El\nuevo Siglo Ser.)
by Nelson MandelaLa autobiografía de Nelson Mandela escrita de su puño y letra. La vida un hombre extraordinario, un héroe internacional, uno de los grandes líderes morales y políticos de nuestro tiempo. El largo camino hacia la libertad es la estimulante historia de la vida épica de Nelson Mandela, una historia de adversidades, resistencia y triunfo final narrada con la claridad y elocuencia de un líder nato. Nelson Mandela representa para millones de personas el triunfo de la dignidad y de la esperanza sobre la desesperación y el odio, de la autodisciplina y el amor sobre la persecución y la ignominia. Su extraordinaria vida consagrada a la lucha contra la opresión racial lo hizo merecedor del Premio Nobel de la Paz y lo alzó a la presidencia de su país. Desde su triunfal puesta en libertad en 1990 se convirtió en el centro del acontecimiento político más complejo y alentador de los últimos tiempos. En El largo camino hacia la libertad Nelson Mandela recorre el sendero de su extraordinaria vida. Descubriremos sus primeros pasos como estudiante y pasante en Johannesburgo, el lento despertar de su conciencia política, la ruptura de su primer matrimonio, la dolorosa separación de sus hijos, los veintisiete años que estuvo en prisión -repletos de acontecimientos-, su libertad y la instauración definitiva en Sudáfrica de una democracia multirracial. Una obra magistral destinada a ocupar un lugar de honor entre las memorias de las figuras más importantes de la historia. Las palabras de Mandela:«No nací con hambre de libertad, nací libre en todos los aspectos que me era dado conocer. [...] Solo cuando empecé a comprender que mi libertad infantil era una ilusión, cuando descubrí, siendo joven, que mi libertad ya me había sido arrebatada, fue cuando empecé a añorarla.» «Me gustan los amigos que tienen pensamientos independientes, porque suelen hacerte ver los problemas desde todos los ángulos». «Debemos usar el tiempo sabiamente y darnos cuenta de que siempre es el momento oportuno para hacer las cosas bien». La crítica ha dicho:«Uno de los libros más positivos que leerás.»GQ «Indispensable... La historia de un vida única.»Anthony Sampson «Brilla con la luminosidad de la fe en la invencible naturaleza de la esperanza y la dignidad humanas. Inolvidable...»Andri Brink «Una historia épica de lucha y aprendizaje y crecimiento. Narra la vida de un hombre cuyo idealismo y esperanza inspiraron a un mundo propenso al cinismo. Debería ser una lectura obligada.»Mary Benson, Daily Telegraph «Un trozo de historia reciente y un ejemplo para quienes se ahogan en las pequeñas miserias diarias.»Interviú
Larra: Biografía de un hombre desesperado
by Jesús Miranda de LarraBiografía revisada sobre Larra, escrita por uno de sus descendientes, llena de documentos testimoniales que ponen de relieve la tormentosa vida de uno de los escritores españoles más importantes del XIX, padre del periodismo actual. Mariano José de Larra deambula por las frías calles de un Madrid en máscaras, desengañado con el tiempo que le ha tocado vivir. Ni su literatura ni su inteligencia ni sus esperanzas son capaces de salvarlo del vacío. Ni siquiera el amor... esa débil llama que por unos minutos ha alentado su corazón. En ese instante sabe que el momento que había imaginado e incluso deseado en horas pasadas ha llegado. Consciente de que no existe un más allá, quiere acabar con la pesadilla que lo atormenta y se dirige a su casa. Una vez allí, mientras observa la desesperación «su propio rostro» en el espejo, espera la visita de Dolores Armijo como última posibilidad de salvación, pero al fin siente el frío aliento del revólver y el mudo sonido del gatillo. Con motivo del bicentenario de Larra, aparece una biografía completa sobre su figura, escrita por uno de sus descendientes, llena de documentos testimoniales -algunos de ellos inéditos- que ponen de relieve la tormentosa vida de uno de los escritores españoles más importantes del siglo XIX, padre del periodismo actual. Un homenaje que permite mantener viva la figura de Larra, amante de la libertad y de la justicia, adelantado generador de ideas y excelso prosista. Su obra es un toque de atención permanente y angustiado. Una llamada comprometida que le causó un gran conflicto interior. Por ello tiene un interés especial en nuestro tiempo y es interesante destacar su visión como la de un pensador moderno, e incluso posmoderno, que utilizó el periodismo como el mejor medio para hacer llegar sus ideas al mayor número de personas.
Larry Brown: A Writer's Life (Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography)
by Jean W. CashLarry Brown (1951–2004) was unique among writers who started their careers in the late twentieth century. Unlike most of them—his friends Clyde Edgerton, Jill McCorkle, Rick Bass, and Kaye Gibbons, among others—he was neither a product of a writing program, nor did he teach at one. In fact, he did not even attend college. His innate talent, his immersion in the life of north Mississippi, and his determination led him to national success. Drawing on excerpts from numerous letters and material from interviews with family members and friends, Larry Brown: A Writer's Life is the first biography of a landmark southern writer. Jean W. Cash explores the cultural milieu of Oxford, Mississippi, and the writers who influenced Brown, including William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Harry Crews, and Cormac McCarthy. She covers Brown's history in Mississippi, the troubled family in which he grew up, and his boyhood in Tula and Yocona, Mississippi, and in Memphis, Tennessee. She relates stories from Brown's time in the Marines, his early married life—which included sixteen years as an Oxford fireman—and what he called his “apprenticeship” period, the eight years during which he was teaching himself to write publishable fiction. The book examines Brown's years as a writer: the stories and novels he wrote, his struggles to acclimate himself to the fame his writing brought him, and his many trips outside Yocona, where he spent the last thirty years of his life. The book concludes with a discussion of his posthumous fame, including the publication of A Miracle of Catfish, the novel he had nearly completed just before his death. Brown's cadre of fans will relish this comprehensive portrait of the man and his work.
Larry Doby in Black and White: The Story of a Baseball Pioneer
by Jerry IzenbergWhen people think of baseball trailblazers, their minds immediately go to Jackie Robinson. He was the man who broke the color barrier, appearing in 1947 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and would go on to a Hall of Fame career. His number 42 is retired throughout baseball, and every year MLB holds "Jackie Robinson Day" across the league. But he was far from the only trailblazer. That same year, a twenty-three-year-old Larry Doby appeared in a game for the Cleveland Indians. He is essentially known as the second African American to break the color barrier, and was the first to appear in the American League (as the Dodgers are in the National League). While Robinson is always the one to be spoken about, Doby was just as good in the field and at the plate. In fact, he was a 9x All-Star, a World Series champion (being the first African American, along with teammate Satchel Paige, to win a World Series), home run and batting champ, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 after an incredible 13-year MLB career. He is, and will always be, one of the greatest players in baseball history. Beginning his professional baseball career at the tender age of eighteen, he would play five years for the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues. In between, he spent two years out of baseball, defending his country in World War II as a member of the US Navy. While Robinson had instant success with the Dodgers, Doby struggled off the bat. Having to endure immense racism (from fans, other ballplayers, and even teammates), disrespect, and threats on his life (and that of his family), it did not take until the following year, 1948, before he truly emerged as one of the best players in the game. Written by esteemed author Jerry Izenberg--who saw Doby play with the Eagles as a youngster and would build a lifelong friendship with the ballplayer--Larry Doby is the real, raw story of perseverance and determination in the face of immense hatred. Including in-depth research, to go along with personal accounts and numerous one-on-one interviews, Izenberg delivers an incredible tale that gives Doby his due as one of the all-time greats, while also sharing the struggles, trials, and tribulations of being a black man in a white country. With Major League Baseball finally incorporating the records and stats of those in the Negro Leagues, Doby's story is one that is long-overdo, shedding light on what it was like playing baseball and being black in the 1940s and '50s, and how hard work and determination was key to rising above all the hate and becoming one of the greatest to ever play the game
Larry Hama: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists Series)
by Christopher IrvingLarry Hama (b. 1949) is the writer and cartoonist who helped develop the 1980s G.I. Joe toy line and created a new generation of fans from the tie-in comic book. Through many interviews, this volume reveals that G.I. Joe is far from his greatest feat as an artist. At different points in his life and career, Hama was mentored by comics legends Bernard Krigstein, Wallace Wood, and Neal Adams. Though their impact left an impression on his work, Hama has created a unique brand of storytelling that crosses various media. For example, he devised the character Bucky O'Hare, a green rabbit in outer space that was made into a comic book, toy line, video game, and television cartoon—with each medium in mind. Hama also discusses his varied career, from working at Neal Adams and Dick Giordano’s legendary Continuity to editing a humor magazine at Marvel, developing G.I. Joe, and enjoying a long run as writer of Wolverine. This volume also explores Hama's life outside of comics. He is an activist in the Asian American community, a musician, and an actor in film and stage. He has also appeared in minor roles on the television shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live and on Broadway. Editor and historian Christopher Irving compiles six of his own interviews with Hama, some of which are unpublished, and compiled others that range through Hama’s illustrious career. The first academic volume on the artist, this collection gives a snapshot of Hama’s unique character-driven and visual approach to comics’ storytelling.
Larry McMurtry: A Life
by Tracy Daugherty*Pulitzer Prize Finalist*A biography of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry from New York Times bestselling author Tracy Daugherty.In over forty books, in a career that spanned over sixty years, Larry McMurtry staked his claim as a superior chronicler of the American West, and as the Great Plains’ keenest witness since Willa Cather and Wallace Stegner. Larry McMurtry: A Life traces his origins as one of the last American writers who had direct contact with this country’s pioneer traditions. It follows his astonishing career as bestselling novelist, Pulitzer-Prize winner, author of the beloved Lonesome Dove, Academy-Award winning screenwriter, public intellectual, and passionate bookseller. A sweeping and insightful look at a versatile, one-of-a-kind American writer, this book is a must-read for every Larry McMurtry fan.
Larry's Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China with My Black Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant—and Save His Life
by Daniel Asa Rose“One of the funniest, most touching and bizarre nonfiction books I’ve read.”—Boston GlobeLarry’s Kidney is Daniel Asa Rose’s wild-and-crazy memoir about his trip to Beijing, China, to help his black-sheep cousin Larry receive an illegal kidney transplant, collect a mail-order bride, and stop a hit-man from killing their uncle. An O. Henry Prize winner, a two-time recipient of PEN Fiction Awards, and a 2006 National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellow, Rose has written “a surprisingly fun, and moving, book with resonance” (Chicago Tribune).
Las Mamis
by Esmeralda Santiago Joie DavidowA marvelous new anthology from the editors of Las Christmas in which our most admired Latino authors share memories of their mothers. The women lovingly portrayed in Las Mamis represent a cross section of Latino life and culture. They come from rich families in the big cities of Latin America, from rural immigrant families, and from the worlds in between-and they share an extraordinary inner strength, often maintained against incredible odds. Pressed by conflicting cultural expectations, circumstance, and religion, they have managed the challenges of motherhood, leaving enduring legacies for their children. Now, in these vivid, poignant, and sometimes hilarious reminiscences--all of them infused with distinct sabor latino--Las Mamis celebrates the universality of family love and the special bond between mothers and children.Contributors include: Esmeralda Santiago, Piri Thomas, Marjorie Agosin, Junot Diaz, Alba Ambert, Liz Balmaseda, Mandalit del Barco, Gioconda Belli, Maria Escandon, Dagoberto Gilb, Francisco Goldman, Jaime Manrique, Gustavo Perez-Firmat, Ilan Stavans.
Lasagna
by Ronald Cross Hélène SévignyThe events at Oka in 1990 saw the Canadian Armed Forces confront some 40 armed Mohawk "Warriors" who were defending their community's resistance against a further colonial encroachment on their native lands. "Lasagna," one of the Mohawk leaders, was "unmasked" as Ronald Cross. This is his story - and the story of the ongoing struggles of Native nations in land disputes.
Laser: The Inventor, the Nobel Laureate, and the Thirty-Year Patent War
by Nick TaylorIn 1957 Gordon Gould, then an obscure physicist and perennial graduate student, conceived one of the revolutionary inventions of the twentieth century -- the laser. But before he could submit a patent application, a prominent professor of physics whose office was next door to Gould's filed his own laser patent claims. Gould fought to reclaim the rights to his work, beginning a battle that would last nearly thirty years. Many millions of dollars, as well as the integrity of scientific claims, were at stake in the litigation that ensued. Laseris Gould's story -- and an eye-opening look at the patent process in America, the nexus of the worlds of business and science. Gould was struggling to finish his Ph. D. thesis when he struck upon the concept for the laser, or Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Light waves, Gould realized, would form a single concentrated beam when reflected between two mirrors inside a gas-filled chamber. Even as he was sketching his invention, Gould foresaw the tremendous potential of the laser in industry, communications, and the military. For three days he feverishly documented his ideas in a notebook, which he had notarized in a candy store near his Bronx apartment. A small technology firm took a great interest in Gould's laser and soon won a Defense Department contract to develop lasers for the military. Ironically, Gould was denied a security clearance because of his past communist associations, and so was unable to work on his own invention. He could only watch from the sidelines as colleagues tried to build a working laser in a desperate race with larger, better-funded research labs. Meanwhile, Gould's rival, Charles Townes, had everything that Gould lacked, most notably important academic and government appointments and esteem in the scientific community. In the dispute between the two men, few doubted Townes's word, while nearly everyone scoffed at Gould's claims. But Gould's determination was unyielding, and he fought everyone who stood in his way, including the U. S. Patent Office, major corporations, and the entire laser industry, until he finally won. Gordon Gould, the courts ruled, had invented the laser. Laseris a grand story of technology and law. Nick Taylor has extensively interviewed Gould as well as other key participants in the battle over the laser's invention and patents. In this riveting account of genius, rivalry, and greed, he shows just how difficult it is for the legendary lone inventor to prevail when the license to a valuable invention is at stake.
The Laser Inventor
by Theodore H. MaimanIn these engaging memoirs of a maverick, Theodore H. Maiman describes the life events leading to his invention of the laser in 1960. Maiman succeeded using his expertise in physics and engineering along with an ingenious and elegant design not anticipated by others. His pink ruby laser produced mankind's first-ever coherent light and has provided transformational technology for commerce, industry, telecom, the Internet, medicine, and all the sciences. Maiman also chronicles the resistance from his employer and the ongoing intrigue by competing researchers in industry and academia seeking to diminish his contribution in inventing the first laser. This work will appeal to a wide readership, from physicists and engineers through science enthusiasts to general readers. The volume includes extensive photos and documentary materials related to Maiman's life and accomplishments never before published. "No one beat Maiman to the laser. How important is the laser? How important are all lasers? That is how important we have to regard Maiman's contribution. He and the laser changed all of our lives, everyone's!" Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr. , Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics, University of Illinois at Champaigne-Urbana, and inventor of the light-emitting diode (LED) and co-inventor of the transistor laser "More than five decades later, we can safely conclude that Theodore Maiman's groundbreaking discovery changed the world. Our modern life just as scientific research would be quite different without the laser. " Dr. Ferenc Krausz, Director, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany, and Professor of Physics, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, and pioneer in attosecond lasers and attophysics "Maiman had the stroke of genius needed to take a different approach [from his competitors]. The sheer elegance and simplicity of his design belies the intellectual achievement it represents. If his invention seems obvious to some today, it was far from obvious in 1960. " Jeff Hecht, authoritative science writer on the historical development of the laser, author of books on lasers and fiber optics
Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks
by Mark Woods"In this remarkable journey, Mark Woods captures the essence of our National Parks: their serenity and majesty, complexity and vitality--and their power to heal." --Ken BurnsMany childhood summers, Mark Woods piled into a station wagon with his parents and two sisters and headed to America's national parks. Mark’s most vivid childhood memories are set against a backdrop of mountains, woods, and fireflies in places like Redwood, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon national parks. On the eve of turning fifty and a little burned-out, Mark decided to reconnect with the great outdoors. He'd spend a year visiting the national parks. He planned to take his mother to a park she'd not yet visited and to re-create his childhood trips with his wife and their iPad-generation daughter. But then the unthinkable happened: his mother was diagnosed with cancer, given just months to live. Mark had initially intended to write a book about the future of the national parks, but Lassoing the Sun grew into something more: a book about family, the parks, the legacies we inherit and the ones we leave behind.
The Last 100 Days: FDR at War and at Peace
by David B. WoolnerA revealing portrait of the end of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's life and presidency, shedding new light on how he made his momentous final policy decisionsThe first hundred days of FDR's presidency are justly famous, often viewed as a period of political action without equal in American history. Yet as historian David B. Woolner reveals, the last hundred might very well surpass them in drama and consequence.Drawing on new evidence, Woolner shows how FDR called on every ounce of his diminishing energy to pursue what mattered most to him: the establishment of the United Nations, the reinvigoration of the New Deal, and the possibility of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. We see a president shorn of the usual distractions of office, a man whose sense of personal responsibility for the American people bore heavily upon him. As Woolner argues, even in declining health FDR displayed remarkable political talent and foresight as he focused his energies on shaping the peace to come.
Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan
by Craig Shirley Lou CannonHis name in American politics is more cited than any other president. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are radically different today, mainly as a result of Ronald Reagan and the force of his ideas. No twentieth century president shaped the American political landscape so profoundly. Craig Shirley's Last Act is the important final chapter in the life of Reagan that no one has thus far covered. It's the kind of book that widens our understanding of American history and of the presidency and the men who occupied it. To tell Reagan's story, Craig has secured the complete, exclusive, and enthusiastic support of the Reagan Foundation and Library and spent considerable time there reviewing sealed files and confidential information. Cast in a grand and compelling narrative style, Last Act contains interesting and heretofore untold anecdotes about Reagan, Mrs. Reagan, their pleasure at retirement, the onslaught of the awful Alzheimer's and how he and Mrs. Reagan dealt with the diagnosis, the slow demise, the extensive plans for a state funeral, the outpouring from the nation, which stunned the political establishment, the Reagan legacy, and how his shadow looms more and more over the Republican Party, Washington, the culture of America, and the world.
The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage
by Nick de SemlyenThe behind-the-scenes story of the action heroes who ruled 1980s and &’90s Hollywood and the beloved films that made them stars, including Die Hard, First Blood, The Terminator, and more.&“This book takes you so close to the action that you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life.&”—Paul ScheerThe Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat—Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger&’s head, and the body count in Schwarzenegger&’s Commando was increased so the film would &“have a bigger dick than Rambo&”—the world&’s biggest action stars have at last made peace.In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger&’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan&’s America and the Cold War. He also reveals fascinating untold stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake: high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis. But as time rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day began to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger&’s Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho men—and the vision of masculinity they celebrated—were officially over.Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.
The Last Alchemist: Count Cagliostro, Master of Magic in the Age of Reason
by Iain McCalmanFreemason ... Shaman ... Prophet ... Seducer ... Swindler ... Thief ... HereticWho was the mysterious Count Cagliostro?Depending on whom you ask, he was either a great healer or a dangerous charlatan. Internationally acclaimed historian Iain McCalman documents how Cagliostro crossed paths -- and often swords -- with the likes of Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, and Pope Pius VI. He was a muse to William Blake and the inspiration for both Mozart's Magic Flute and Goethe's Faust. Louis XVI had him thrown into the Bastille for his alleged involvement in what would come to be known as "the affair of the necklace." Yet in London, Warsaw, and St. Petersburg, he established "healing clinics" for the poorest of the poor, and his dexterity in the worlds of alchemy and spiritualism won him acclaim among the nobility across Europe.Also the leader of an exotic brand of Freemasonry, Count Cagliostro was indisputably one of the most influential and notorious figures of the latter eighteenth century, overcoming poverty and an ignoble birth to become the darling -- and bane -- of upper-crust Europe.
The Last Amateur: The Life of William J. Stillman (Excelsior Editions)
by Stephen L. DysonFinalist for the 2014 ForeWord IndieFab Book of the Year Award in the Biography CategoryThis fascinating biography tells the story of William J. Stillman (1828–1901), a nineteenth-century polymath. Born and raised in Schenectady, New York, Stillman attended Union College and began his career as a Hudson River School painter after an apprenticeship with Frederic Edwin Church. In the 1850s, he was editor of The Crayon, the most important journal of art criticism in antebellum America. Later, after a stint as an explorer-promoter of the Adirondacks, he became the American consul in Rome during the Civil War. When his diplomatic career brought him to Crete, he developed an interest in archaeology and later produced photographs of the Acropolis, for which he is best known today. In yet another career switch, Stillman became a journalist, serving as a correspondent for The Times of London in Rome and the Balkans. In 1871, he married his second wife, Marie Spartali, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, and continued to write about history and art until his death. One of the later products of the American Enlightenment, he lived a life that intersected with many strands of American and European culture. Stillman can indeed be called "the last amateur."
The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams
by David S. BrownA &“marvelous…compelling&” (The New York Times Book Review) biography of literary icon Henry Adams—one of America&’s most prominent writers and intellectuals, who witnessed and contributed to the United States&’ dramatic transition from a colonial society to a modern nation.Henry Adams is perhaps the most eclectic, accomplished, and important American writer of his time. His autobiography and modern classic The Education of Henry Adams was widely considered one of the best English-language nonfiction books of the 20th century. The last member of his distinguished family—after great-grandfather John Adams, and grandfather John Quincy Adams—to gain national attention, he is remembered today as an historian, a political commentator, and a memoirist. Now, historian David Brown sheds light on the brilliant yet under-celebrated life of this major American intellectual. Adams not only lived through the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution but he met Abraham Lincoln, bowed before Queen Victoria, and counted Secretary of State John Hay, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, and President Theodore Roosevelt as friends and neighbors. His observations of these powerful men and their policies in his private letters provide a penetrating assessment of Gilded Age America on the cusp of the modern era. &“Thoroughly researched and gracefully written&” (The Wall Street Journal), The Last American Aristocrat details Adams&’s relationships with his wife (Marian &“Clover&” Hooper) and, following her suicide, Elizabeth Cameron, the young wife of a senator and part of the famous Sherman clan from Ohio. Henry Adams&’s letters—thousands of them—demonstrate his struggles with depression, familial expectations, and reconciling with his unwanted widower&’s existence. Offering a fresh window on nineteenth century US history, as well as a more &“modern&” and &“human&” Henry Adams than ever before, The Last American Aristocrat is a &“standout portrait of the man and his era&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
The Last American Hero: The Remarkable Life of John Glenn
by Alice L. GeorgeOn February 20, 1962, John Glenn became a national star. That morning at Cape Canaveral, a small-town boy from Ohio took his place atop a rocket and soared into orbit to score a victory in the heavily contested Cold War. The television images were blurry black-and-white phantoms. The cameras shook as the rocket moved, but by the end of the day, one thing was clear: a new hero rode that rocket and became the center of the world's attention for the four hours and fifty-five minutes of his flight. He became celebrated in all corners of the world as not just the first American to orbit the Earth, but as the first space traveler to take the human race with him. From that day forward, Glenn restively wore the hero label. Wherever he went, people knew his name and what he had done. Refusing to let that dramatic day define his life, he went on to become a four-term US senator—and returned to space at the age of seventy-seven. The Last American Hero examines the many layers that formed the man and unravels the reasons for his singular role. He was a creation of the media, in some ways, but he was also a product of the Cold War. Not even Glenn himself seemed to fully understand his celebrity. He was a war hero, a two-time astronaut, a veteran senator, a devoted husband, a father, and much more. At a time when increasingly cynical Americans need heroes, his aura burns brightly in American memory.
The Last American Man
by Elizabeth Gilbert<P>In this rousing examination of contemporary American male identity, acclaimed author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert explores the fascinating true story of Eustace Conway. <P>In 1977, at the age of seventeen, Conway left his family's comfortable suburban home to move to the Appalachian Mountains. <P>For more than two decades he has lived there, making fire with sticks, wearing skins from animals he has trapped, and trying to convince Americans to give up their materialistic lifestyles and return with him back to nature. <P>To Gilbert, Conway's mythical character challenges all our assumptions about what it is to be a modern man in America; he is a symbol of much we feel how our men should be, but rarely are. <P><b>Finalist for the National Book Award 2002</b>
The Last Asylum: A Memoir of Madness in Our Times
by Barbara TaylorIn the late 1970s, Barbara Taylor, then an acclaimed young historian, began to suffer from severe anxiety. In the years that followed, Taylor’s world contracted around her illness. Eventually, her struggles were severe enough to lead to her admission to what had once been England’s largest psychiatric institution, the infamous Friern Mental Hospital in North London.The Last Asylum is Taylor’s breathtakingly blunt and brave account of those years. In it, Taylor draws not only on her experience as a historian, but also, more importantly, on her own lived history at Friern— once known as the Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum and today the site of a luxury apartment complex. Taylor was admitted to Friern in July 1988, not long before England’s asylum system began to undergo dramatic change: in a development that was mirrored in America, the 1990s saw the old asylums shuttered, their patients left to plot courses through a perpetually overcrowded and underfunded system of community care. But Taylor contends that the emptying of the asylums also marked a bigger loss, a loss of community. She credits her own recovery to the help of a steadfast psychoanalyst and a loyal circle of friends— from Magda, Taylor’s manic-depressive roommate, to Fiona, who shares tips for navigating the system and stories of her boyfriend, the “Spaceman,” and his regular journeys to Saturn. The forging of that network of support and trust was crucial to Taylor’s recovery, offering a respite from the “stranded, homeless feelings” she and others found in the outside world. A vivid picture of mental health treatment at a moment of epochal change, The Last Asylum is also a moving meditation on Taylor’s own experience, as well as that of millions of others who struggle with mental illness.