|
|
Biography & Autobiography | - 42 items found in your search |
Click on Title to view full description |
|
|
|
1 |
Abbey, Edward Confessions of a Barbarian: Selections from the Journals of Edward Abbey 1951-1989
Back Bay Books March 1996 0316004162 / 9780316004169 Paperback
Editorial Reviews&newline;Amazon.com Review&newline;Few have cared more about American wilderness than the irascible Cactus Ed. Author of eco-classics such as The Monkey Wrench Gang and Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey reveals all his rough-hewn edges and passionate beliefs in this witty, outspoken, maddening, and sometimes brilliant selection of journal entries that takes the writer from his early years as a park ranger and would-be literary author up to his death in 1989. &newline;&newline;From Publishers Weekly&newline;Ending with an entry written 12 days before his 1989 death at age 60, the diaries of the late environmentalist and novelist (The Monkeywrench Gang) are adolescent in spirit, with all the virtues and vices that word implies. Abbey is capable of startling self-righteousness; his fulminations against writers he considers second-rate seem to be motivated as much by jealousy as by genuine bewilderment at his rivals' success. Yet such moments are cut with welcome self-mockery: He calls himself &doublequote;E. Abbey, famous unknown author.&doublequote; Though he traveled over the world, he finds his spiritual home in the American Southwest, and some of his most moving writing here pays lush homage to the austere landscape or lashes out at those poised to destroy it. Abbey the lover is as vocal as the moralist: exuberantly priapic tributes to one woman after another fill these pages. Petersen, a freelance writer and environmentalist, was a longtime friend of &doublequote;Cactus Ed.&doublequote; Illustrated with Abbey's drawings. &newline;Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 4.0 Stars
Price:
1.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
Aldrin, Buzz Men from Earth
New York Bantam June 1, 1989 0553053744 / 9780553053746 Hardcover
Library Journal&newline;To coincide with the 20th anniversary this July of the first manned lunar landing, these books provide intimate accounts of how NASA accomplished the national goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade. In his book, Aldrin, the second man on the moon, interweaves the story of U.S. and Soviet efforts to reach the moon with his first-hand experience flying both the Gemini and Apollo missions during the height of the space race. His recounting of his two space flights is compelling, especially the account of the nearly aborted Apollo 11 lunar landing. In contrast to Aldrin's astronaut's point of view, Murray and Cox's book tells the Apollo story through the eyes of the NASA managers who guided the men and machines from the early days of the Space Task Group to the Apollo lunar missions. The result is the best account to date of how the enormous program was successfully accomplished. Full of insiders' anecdotes, this book truly humanizes the lunar landing story that too often has been told only in technological and bureaucratic terms. Relying heavily on interviews with the people behind the scenes, the authors vividly capture the spirit of Apollo, its triumphs and tragedies, and its ultimate success. When considering the likely demand for Apollo histories surrounding the anniversary, Aldrin's account may be considered complementary to his Apollo 11 crewmate Michael Collins's recent space history, Liftoff ( LJ 8/88). A review of Douglas MacKinnon and Joseph Baldanza's Footprints: The 12 Men Who Walked on the Moon Reflect on Their Flights, Their Lives and the Future , to be published by Acropolis in July, is scheduled to appear in our next issue.-- Ed. But for libraries considering only one title, Murray and Cox's book should be considered the essential purchase.-- Thomas J. Frieling, Bainbridge Coll., Cal. 4.0 Stars
Price:
0.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
Armstrong, Lance It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life
New York Putnam Adult May 22, 2000 0399146113 / 9780399146114 Hardcover
From Barnes & Noble&newline;Multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is a winner in the game of life itself: He has survived cancer, found love, and become a father. In the pages of his memoir, Armstrong tells his own moving and inspiring story, writing in his signature down-to-earth Texas style. This is an amazing tale of recovery in the face of tragedy and victory against overwhelming odds.&newline;&newline;From the Publisher&newline;The #1 New York Times bestseller with legs as strong as its author's. &newline;&newline;Lance Armstrong is one of the most talked about- and inspirational-sports figures of all time. He was Sports Illustrated 's 2002 Sportsman of the Year-and now, after his record-shattering string of Tour de France victories, some are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of all time. &newline;&newline;This is the book in which he shares his journey through triumph, tragedy, transformation, and transcendence. It is the story of a world-famous cyclist and his fight against cancer.&newline;&newline;USA Today&newline;Among cancer survivors, it is known simply as The Book.&newline;&newline;Denver Post&newline;Absolutely absorbing.&newline;&newline;Buffalo News&newline;Stirring.&newline;&newline;St. Petersburg Times&newline;Gripping.&newline;&newline;KLIATT&newline;Lance Armstrong presents a poignant, direct view of competition, determination, and satisfaction (both personal and professional) in this autobiographical sketch of bike racing and cancer survival. Armstrong's cocky, often tongue-in-cheek writing style mirrors his success as one of the world's best Grand Prix cyclists. He speaks candidly about his recovery from testicular cancer (which had migrated into his lymph glands and abdomen). He gives credit to his family (including his mother, wife, and newborn son) as well as his inner strength as an athlete for his recovery and continued vitality. It's Not About the Bike would be an effective addition to any contemporary literature course or in a health class context (i.e., good medical descriptions). Also, life skills classes could benefit from the motivational messages Armstrong presents throughout the book. Category: Biography & Personal Narrative. KLIATT Codes: JSA-Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Berkley, 289p. illus., Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Tom Adamich; Tech. Serv., Stetson Univ., College of Law, S. Pas&newline;&newline;Library Journal&newline;Armstrong is a champion American cyclist who was stricken with cancer in his twenties and given little chance to live. However, he not only survived but won the rigorous Tour de France two years later. As the title indicates, this book is much less about Armstrong's triumphs on two wheels than about his successful struggle with cancer and its aftermath. Armstrong sees cancer as a part of life that is meant to improve us by making us focus on our difficulties with courage and indominability of spirit. His writing style is vibrant and immediate whether he is detailing events from childhood, racing challenges, the demands of cancer treatment, the in vitro fertilization process, or the joy of becoming a father. This should appeal to more than just cycling fans. Highly recommended.--John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\u005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu005cu000a&newline;School Library Journal&newline;Adult/High School-When Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer, the prognosis was not encouraging. When it spread to his lungs and brain, most medical professionals gave up hope for his recovery. But not Lance. He studied his disease, interviewed doctors, chose a treatment, and fought for his life. This isn't a book for the squeamish as it spares few medical details but it isn't just about cancer. It's the story of the athlete as a young boy and his relationship with his single mother, his success as a world-class cyclist and his friends in that world, and his financial backers who supported him emotionally as we 4.5 Stars
Price:
0.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 |
Black, Shirley Temple Child Star
Grand Central Publishing October 1, 1989 0446357928 / 9780446357920 Mass Market Paperback
Annotation&newline;This critically acclaimed, bestselling autobiography of Shirley Temple black is a star-studded account filled with choice Hollywood anecdotes. 4.5 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
Blackford, W. W. War Years With Jeb Stuart
Baton Rouge Louisiana State University Press September 1993 080711880X / 9780807118801 Paperback
Editorial Reviews&newline;Product Description&newline;War Years With Jeb Stuart War Years with Jeb Stuart By LIEUT. COLONEL . W. Blackford New York CHARLES SCRIBNERS SONS 1946 Illustrations William Willis Blackford 1831-1905 Frontispiece Facing Page James Ewell Brown Stuart 16 Major John Pelham 90 The Bower 154 A Street in Fredericksburg after the Battle of December 13, 1862 194 Major Heros von Borcke 220 Jeb Stuart 252 The Meadows 283 Introduction Every line of this narrative by Lieut. Col. William Willis Blackford has the feel of the cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Authenticity is stamped on each paragraph. The historical evidence is that of an eye-witness. First as Adjutant of Jeb Stuarts command and then as chief engineer and a member of the staff at cavalry headquarters, Blackford observed from his commanders side nearly all the operations of the mounted troops from June, 1861, to the end of January, 1864. He had Stuarts full confidence and he probably knew more of what prompted the moves of the Beau Sabreur than did any other staff officer who ever wrote of Stuart except H. B. McClellan and John Esten Cooke. In some respects, Blackford was a closer witness than either of these men. McClellan, an invaluable historical authority, did not join the staff until April, 1863. Cooke was a professional writer whose sketches of Stuart in Wearing of the Gray are the accepted, full-length literary portrait, but Cookes duties as inspector frequently kept him away from headquarters when events of interest were occurring. Besides, Colonel Blackford loved the life of a soldier. Cooke did not, and in his diary said so with complete and characteristic honesty. If, then, a reader wishes a sympathetic and intelligent close-up of Stuart and the interesting young men around him, here it is in Blackfords memoirs. Regret will be felt, of course, that Blackford was not with Stuart at Yellow Tavern, when Lees most renowned cavalryman fought his last battle. Compensation for this is offered by the transfer of Blackford to most important service as second in command of the First Virginia Engineer troops. His immediate superior became Col. T. M. R. Talcott, a former member of the personal staff of Gen. R. E. Lee, and a son of Andrew and Harriet Hackley Talcott, the beautiful Talcott of Lees early x INTRODUCTION days as an officer in the United States Army. Under the admir able leadership of Talcott and Blackford, the regiment deserved all that Colonel Blackford said of it His narrative, in fact, is the only one that describes by examples and day-by-day report what the Engineer Troops accomplished. Colonel Talcott wrote in the Photographic History of the Civil War a brief account of the countermining at Petersburg but the Colonel devoted most of his other articles to the defense of his great captain Lee and not to the glorification of his regiment or of his own service. Colonel Talcott long outlived his Lieutenant Colonel and did not come to the end of his days until 1920. In his old age he was a beautiful figure of gentility and modest scholarship. Of his relations with Colonel Talcott, the author of these memoirs writes appreciatively. That was characteristic of him and of his able family. Colonel Blackford was one of five brothers in the Confederate service. They inherited capacity and had from youth the environment that shaped firmly their character. Their father was William M. Blackford, one-time editor of the Lynchburg Virginian and later cashier of the Exchange Bank of that city, a man of solid strength and de pendable judgment. Mrs. Blackford was born Mary Berkeley Minor, daughter of Gen. John Minor of Fredericksburg, an officer of the Virginia Line in the War of 1812 and an eloquent, efficient lawyer. Nearly all the Minors of this line were excep tional in capacity and in diligence. The best known of them, a cousin of Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford, was John B... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. 3.0 Stars
Price:
4.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
Brownmiller, Susan In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution
The Dial Press November 7, 2000 0385318316 / 9780385318310 Paperback
Editorial Reviews&newline;&newline;Amazon.com Review&newline;Susan Brownmiller was a Gucci-clad, 33-year-old writer grappling privately with the decidedly masculine preserve of feature journalism when she attended her first consciousness-raising session in 1968. Her first impression? Oh, brother! But as other women around the room told their stories, they resonated with something deep in Brownmiller's psyche, and when it was time to tell her own--&doublequote;I've had three illegal abortions&doublequote;--the ambitious reporter experienced something akin to a road-to-Damascus conversion.&newline;&newline;Brownmiller's 1975 classic, Against Our Will, changed the nation's perception of rape and turned her into a feminist icon overnight. In Our Time, though, is less an argument for transformation than an encyclopedic look at the forces that shaped the social movement of late-20th-century feminism, from occasional clashes of colorful personalities like Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Germaine Greer (who, 30 years later, have a tendency to seem larger than life) to the methodical, often unexciting, day-by-day planning behind the landmark sit-ins, lawsuits, and other headline events. Sisterhood's call to arms was most persuasive when the enemy was economic oppression and the battle cry &doublequote;equal pay for equal work!&doublequote; Solidarity was harder to muster, Brownmiller reports, when it came to targeting social injustices, particularly those pertaining to sex. Were Clarence Thomas's raunchy remarks to Anita Hill business as usual or a type of harassment? Was pornography a male counterreaction intended to degrade newly liberated women or an effort to make sexual pleasure available to fantasists of all persuasions? These arguments persist today--and In Our Time reminds us that they must be viewed in historical context. --Patrizia DiLucchio --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.&newline;&newline;From Publishers Weekly&newline;Here is a gossipy account of women's liberation by a New York journalist who was in the thick of many movement controversiesAfrom the pornography wars to accusations of elitism. A freelance magazine and TV news writer, Brownmiller went to her first women's liberation meeting in the fall of 1968. After her feminist &doublequote;click,&doublequote; she almost single-handedly redefined Americans' views of rape when she wrote Against Our Will in 1975. Brownmiller chronicles the movement's rise out of civil rights and anti-Vietnam War activism; the heady days of demonstrating at the Miss America pageant, in the offices of Ladies' Home Journal and on the streets; the struggle for abortion rights and to define rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment as discrimination against women; and the rise of feminist newspapers, magazines and publications such as Our Bodies, Ourselves. She also covers writers Marilyn French, Shere Hite and a host of other feminist theorists then on the edge and now part of the mainstream. Her memoir concludes with what she views as the final demise of the radical feminist movement, when feminists started to shred one another in the porn wars of the 1980s. For those seeking a narrative rather than analytical history, Brownmiller offers an enthralling mix of lively stories about her own activities (although she doesn't delve into her own background as much as some readers might wish) and interviews with other participants in one of the most influential social movements of our time. Agent, Frances Goldin.&newline;Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 4.5 Stars
Price:
0.76 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
Cheetham, Anthony The Life and Times of Richard III
Welcome Rain Publishers October 25, 1998 1566490383 / 9781566490382 Paperback
Editorial Reviews&newline;Product Description&newline;Richard III, the last of the Plantagenets, died on Bosworth Field. The author aims to cut through the legend and propaganda and asks some important questions: what happened to the princes in the tower? Why did he seize the throne? Did he really believe his brother and nephews were illegitimate? --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 4.0 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
Conway, Jill Ker True North: A Memoir
Vintage August 15, 1995 0679744614 / 9780679744610 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;Conway's The Road from Coorain presents a vivid memoir of coming of age in Australia. In 1960, however, she had reached the limits of that provincial--and irredeemably sexist--society and set off for America. True North--the testament of an extraordinary woman living in an extraordinary time--te lls the profound story of the challenges that confronted Conway, as she sought to establish her public self.&newline;&newline;Publishers Weekly&newline;Conway continues her autobiography in this follow up to The Road from Coorain, picking up with her arrival in the U.S. to begin graduate studies at Harvard, and culminating with her being named the first woman president of Smith College in 1975. (Aug.)&newline;&newline;Library Journal&newline;Conway's memoir picks up where her best-selling The Road from Corain left off.&newline;&newline;School Library Journal&newline;YA-Following The Road from Coorain (Knopf, 1989), Conway leaves Australia to discover the freedom of open inquiry at Harvard University, and to break away from her mother's oppressive demands. For the first time, she forms true friendships with other women and develops a sense of confidence and happiness that becomes almost complete when she marries Professor John Conway, her ``true north'' (compass point). The Conways face serious challenges as they move to Canada where the author teaches history and later becomes vice president of Toronto University. As the book ends, she is president of Smith College. Conway writes in a clear, brisk, literary style that is readable, engaging, and sometimes lyrical. She details successes and pleasures as well as personal sorrows and disappointments that require background knowledge from the earlier title. The final third of the book is a technical discussion of university-administration issues and of less general appeal, but good for readers interested in academic careers. Mature YAs seeking biography or women's studies will find Conway's continuing journey a fascinating one.-Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA 4.0 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
Cooper Jr., John Milton The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press October 15, 1985 0674947517 / 9780674947511 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;The colossal figures who shaped the politics of industrial America emerge in full scale in this engrossing comparative biography. In both the depth and sophistication of intellect that they brought to politics and in the titanic conflict they waged with each other, Roosevelt and Wilson were, like Hamilton and Jefferson before them, the political architects for an entire century.&newline;&newline;What People Are Saying&newline;&newline;A book that should become a classic in the field. The comparative perspective really works. The two men had enough in common, yet were sufficiently distinctive, for the comparative perspective to add significantly to our understanding of each person. 4.0 Stars
Price:
1.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
Craig, William T. Lifer!
New York Ballantine Books June 1, 1994 0804106886 / 9780804106887 Mass Market Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;He never thought he'd be a &doublequote;lifer&doublequote;-someone who says in the army forever. He hated the military, was a barroom brawler, and saw his father suffer under the army's rigid caste system. But a &doublequote;lifer&doublequote; he became. This is Craig's warts-and-all story: fighting the North Koreans and Chinese along the 38th parallel, fighting the police and MPs just about everywhere, moving on for several years of the secret war in Laos, and finally battling the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. And Bill Craig did it all his way.... 5.0 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
Downs, Frederick The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War
Berkley March 15, 1987 0425104362 / 9780425104361 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;Among the best books ever written about men in combat, The Killing Zone tells the story of the platoon of Delta One-six, capturing what it meant to face lethal danger, to follow orders, and to search for the conviction and then the hope that this war was worth the sacrifice. The book includes a new chapter on what happened to the platoon members when they came home. 4.0 Stars
Price:
1.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
Durrell, Gerald My Family and Other Animals
Penguin June 29, 2004 0142004413 / 9780142004418 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell's family's experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home. 4.5 Stars
Price:
4.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
Evans Jr., Daniel E. Doc: Platoon Medic
Pocket January 1, 1998 0671560581 / 9780671560584 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;Here, in his own words, is the riveting true story of Daniel Evans, Jr., the highly decorated soldier whom the men of First Platoon, Bravo Company, called the &doublequote;fighting medic&doublequote;. Whether skimming the treetops in a MEDEVAC chopper or slogging through the mangrove swamps with an M-16 in one hand and an aid kit in the other, it was Evan's job to treat the wounded amid the mud and blood and bullets, or die trying. Charles Sasser served as a combat medic with the Green Berets. Photo insert. 4.5 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
16 |
Evans Jr., Daniel E. Doc: Platoon Medic
Pocket January 1, 1998 0671560581 / 9780671560584 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;Here, in his own words, is the riveting true story of Daniel Evans, Jr., the highly decorated soldier whom the men of First Platoon, Bravo Company, called the &doublequote;fighting medic&doublequote;. Whether skimming the treetops in a MEDEVAC chopper or slogging through the mangrove swamps with an M-16 in one hand and an aid kit in the other, it was Evan's job to treat the wounded amid the mud and blood and bullets, or die trying. Charles Sasser served as a combat medic with the Green Berets. Photo insert. 4.5 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
17 |
Fuentes, Carlos This I Believe: An A to Z of a Life
Random House February 1, 2005 1400062462 / 9781400062461 Hardcover
Editorial Reviews&newline;&newline;From Publishers Weekly&newline;Starred Review. &doublequote;I hope that the reader of this book will discover the various kinds of love... contained in each chapter of my personal alphabet,&doublequote; acclaimed Mexican novelist Fuentes (The Old Gringo; Inez; etc.) declares in this lovingly crafted abecedary of his life. In his characteristically luminous prose, Fuentes traces the power of love to transform and to endure through his relationships with his children, his writing, his favorite writers and film directors, and his encounters with the devastation and hope of revolution. Meditations of several pages each range over topics from globalization and revolution to Balzac, sex and God.In a profound exploration of the novel, Fuentes writes that while it may criticize the world, it must not be dogmatic: &doublequote;Politics can be dogmatic. The novel can only be enigmatic.&doublequote; Writing of cinema, Fuentes offers a paean to beauty as reflected in the faces of film's leading actresses: &doublequote;[W]hat would our... lives be without the beauty, illusion, and passion granted us by the faces of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, Louise Brooks and Audrey Hepburn, Gene Tierney and Ava Gardner?&doublequote; Meditating on the ecstasies of sex, he declares that the end of a sexual relationship was the time when sex could be transformed into literature. &doublequote;A body of words crying out for the closeness of another body of words.&doublequote;Elegant and lyrical (and beautifully translated), Fuentes's lush memoir guides us on an exhilarating journey through his life--and into the world at large.&newline;Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.&newline;&newline;From The Washington Post&newline;As a title, This I Believe sounds a rather Lutheran note, and the innocent may well anticipate a ringing declaration of Christian faith. Rest assured: Mexico's greatest living novelist here offers instead a series of meditative essays on the great passions and ideals of his life. Arranged alphabetically, these themes reveal an urbane and cosmopolitan sensibility, above all a man who adores women, values democratic principles, reveres artistic genius, looks with a cold eye at Time and Death, and loves this restless, fallen world in all its tawdry and sometimes glorious splendor.&newline;&newline;This I Believe is just the sort of book that mature readers like best -- personal, idiosyncratic, packed with fresh anecdotes and illustrative quotations, digressive, lyrical, sexy, at once surprising and wise. Fuentes's reflections on beauty and friendship, on Balzac, Faulkner and Kafka, on happiness and the cinema, on history and Mexico generally shoot off into the autobiographical but then gradually settle back into the mildly philosophical. Again and again, there are sentences and paragraphs one reads, then rereads, then finally copies into a notebook:&newline;&newline;&doublequote;Experience itself -- good or bad -- makes sure to remind us that, time and again, we will fail to rise to the opportunity of the day. We will turn our backs on those who need our attention, we will not even listen to ourselves. Time and again, what we thought to be permanent will prove to be fleeting. Time and again, what we imagined to be repeatable will never occur again.&doublequote;&newline;&newline;Throughout its history the moral essay obsesses about the &doublequote;big questions&doublequote;: love, experience, friendship, education, courage in the face of sorrow, civic life, marriage, death, God. These Fuentes takes up with a finesse that recalls such masters as Montaigne, Simone Weil, E.M. Cioran. Let me quote a clutch of examples:&newline;&newline;&doublequote;A couple begin to know each other because, first and foremost, they know so little of each other. Everything is surprise. When there are no surprises left, love can die. Sometimes love yearns to recover the wonder of its earliest moments but inevitably comes to realize that the second time around the wonder is nothing more than nostalgia.&doublequote;&newline;&newline;&doublequote;[W]e remain decrepit, ruined prisoners of the last great cultural revolution, which was Romanticism . . . .&doublequote;&newline;&newline;&doublequote;Perhaps we will die knowing all the things that there are to know in the world, but from then on, we will only be a thing. We 5.0 Stars
Price:
0.99 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
19 |
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders
Laurel Leaf October 15, 1968 0440967694 / 9780440967699 Mass Market Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;The Outsiders is a book that delves deeply into the hearts, minds, and stories of a group that had no voice before S. E. Hinton gave them one. She began writing the book at age 15, spurred on by the disturbing trend she saw growing in her high school towards division between groups. &doublequote;I was worried and angered by the social situation,&doublequote; Hinton writes. &doublequote;I saw two groups at the extreme ends of the social scale behaving in an idiotic fashion -- one group was being condemned and one wasn't.... When a friend of mine was beaten up for no other reason than that some people didn't like the way he combed his hair, I took my anger out by writing about it.&doublequote; &newline;&newline;Thirty years after it was first published, The Outsiders still carries the same frightening and unifying messages for teens (and readers of all ages). The ruthlessly realistic and violent story of the Greasers and the Socs, rival gangs from very different sides of the railroad tracks, is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a smart, sensitive kid who has grown to become one of the most recognizable figures in the history of young adult literature. Any teen who has ever felt isolated or different can identify with Ponyboy, a kid forced to be tough on the outside, but who underneath is just as scared and needy as anyone. Hinton herself has said that she has never written a character as close to her own self as Ponyboy is. Young Adult fiction was shaped and defined by Susan Eloise Hinton, and the realism she attached to the genre became the norm, enabling later writers like Robert Cormier and Judy Blume to find characters and voices that actually spoke to adolescents. Since 1967, Ponyboy has become the hero for countless teenagers nationwide as The Outsiders stands to influence an entire new legion of adolescents who need Ponyboy as much as ever. 4.5 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 |
James, P.D. Time to Be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography
New York, NY Ballantine Books February 27, 2001 0345442121 / 9780345442123 Paperback
From the Publisher&newline;The great British mystery novelist P. D. James, otherwise known as the Queen of Crime, has redefined the genre over a career spanning close to forty years. TIME magazine called her the &doublequote;reigning mistress of murder,&doublequote; whose vivid and compelling novels have made her one of the world's leading crime writers. Biographers have urged her to allow them to write about her life, but she has always kept them at bay, valuing her privacy.&newline;&newline;However, at the age of seventy-seven, P. D. James decided for the first time in her life to keep a diary for one year, foremost as a record of her thoughts and memories for her family and herself, but also as a &doublequote;fragment of autobiography&doublequote; for publication. As she beautifully describes the salient events of a dizzying year full of publicity duties, giving lectures and fulfilling other public commitments, she lets the memories flow, wandering back and forth through the years to illuminate an extraordinary life and to give striking insights into the craft of writing. The book became a New York Times bestseller – as have all of her recent books – and does more than simply satisfy the curiosity of her many fans.&newline;&newline;Mystery author Eric Wright wrote in The Globe and Mail that &doublequote;The final effect is not of a fragment, but of a finished miniature portrait of the artist in her 77th year. ... The form she has invented, a kind of public diary, creates an intimacy that a major autobiography would never achieve. ...a revealing portrait of a gifted human being, full of common sense and humour, someone we would like to know.&doublequote;&newline;&newline;In the book, James comments on everything fromarchitecture to literature to fox hunting to the decline of moral values in modern Britain, and shares with us her love of reading and the joys of family life (she has two daughters, who live in the United States, and several grandchildren). However, she refuses to delve too deeply into the painful areas of her personal life now well in the past, though she has clearly experienced some hard times. &doublequote;They are over and must be accepted, made sense of and forgiven, afforded no more than their proper place in a long life in which I have always known that happiness is a gift, not a right.&doublequote; Readers have found this reservation admirable and elegantly refreshing in a time of &doublequote;self-rummaging, self-serving autobiography&doublequote; (Joan Barfoot, The London Free Press). Still, hints of pain slip in, and we may sometimes read between the lines.&newline;&newline;Time to Be in Earnest is a privileged and engrossing look into the life and mind of one of the great mystery writers alive today, one who has earned comparisons with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers. James is also deeply thoughtful, a remarkable woman who witnessed much over the course of the twentieth century. Whether describing motherhood in London during the bombardments of the Second World War, her fine career as a civil servant in the British Home Office, or her later life as a formidably successful writer, she sheds light on a lifetime of exceptional achievements.&newline;&newline;Library Journal&newline;In 1997, on the eve of her 77th birthday, noted mystery novelist James (A Certain Justice) decided to keep a diary for the first time ever, recording one year in her life. The result is this &doublequote;fragment of autobiography,&doublequote; a mix of memoir, ruminations on everything from her writing career to Princess Diana's death, and literary criticism (James is a passionate admirer of Jane Austen and includes in an appendix a speech she gave to the Jane Austen Society on &doublequote;Emma Considered as a Detective Story&doublequote;). While James confesses to loving gossip in other people's diaries, she admits that her own has &doublequote;little to offer in the way of titillating revelations.&doublequote; Although her discretion about the painful periods in her life (in particular, her husband's mental illness) is admirable in this Age of Indecent Exposure, it also makes for an impersonal and rather dull diary. The reader never gets a sense of the true James and the events that shaped her as a writer and human being. For larger collections.[Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4.0 Stars
Price:
0.75 USD
|
|
Add to Shopping Cart
|
|
|
|
