Showing titles in Biographies & Memoirs

Work, love, family, sex, and politics - all of these topics have been grist for the mills of some of this century's finest women writers. On this recording a remarkable company of women deliver individual perspectives on feminine passions.

We think of Lincoln as a great president, but he was also an eloquent and expressive writer and speaker. The superb performance by George Vail conveys Lincoln's depth of thought and feeling through these extraordinary pieces of literature.

Fred C. Kelly, a former newspaperman, author, and an old friend of the Wrights, tells the story of the 2 brilliant, dedicated, flight-obsessed bicycle mechanics from Ohio who first realized mankind's age-old dream of conquering the skies. Long considered the definitive Wright Brothers biography (the manuscript was read and approved by Orville Wright), Kelly's work recounts the Wrights' early history and the complete behind-the-scenes story of how they designed, built, tested, and flew the first "Flyer."

From Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce to Jim Carey and David Letterman, Jerry Lewis has influenced generations of great comedians. He has raised over a billion dollars for charity, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. Author/film critic Shawn Levy interviews Lewis and many of his contemporaries, friends, and enemies to paint a realistic portrait of a complicated genius.

"Plato sucks because the ideal world pales in comparison with the mysterious complexity of the real one." So writes Andrei Codrescu in this kaleidoscope of riffs and rants about the passions and nightmares of a poet at millennium's end. What does the collapse of communism and rise of nationalism in Eastern Europe look like from the perspective of this reporter who experienced it firsthand? How does a ceramicist and child of photographers view the origin myths of pottery and photography?

Hear the stories of the scientists who have shaped the past 2,000 years. This audiobook provides an absorbing and intimate account of the lives of 20 eminent scientists who reached the heights of human achievement, including Archimedes, Bacon, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and more.

One of Hollywood's biggest players for almost 50 years, Darryl F. Zanuck presided over Twentieth Century-Fox during its most glorious era. These were the studio's golden days, with stars like Marilyn Monroe and Henry Fonda, directors like John Ford and Elia Kazan, and blockbusters like All About Eve and The Grapes of Wrath.

What is it about humans that causes us to defy genetic programming and so often live in hope, despite all that's terrible about existence? In this audio program, Diane Ackerman shares what she has learned about human survival from working at a crisis hotline. Full of insight, drama, and self-revelation, her wisdom draws from all human knowledge - from the natural and social sciences to the insights of great artists - to show how humans, like animals, cope with stress, and to illumine the tenuous but gorgeous thread by which we all cling.

Honor's Voice provides a revealing look at how Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States and one of the greatest men of his time. Douglas Wilson traces the development of this great leader from an insecure country boy full of ambition to schoolboy, storekeeper, riverboat man, and, finally, politician. The author returns to original sources, including friends and acquaintances in the Illinois of the 1830s and '40s and exposes truths about Lincoln never before revealed.

Discover the many sides of Pablo Picasso - a brilliant painter and sculptor, a sexual sadist, a loyal Communist, a seducer, a father, and, ultimately, a tragic figure. Audio portraits of him and other creative geniuses are collected in Lives of the Artists.

Accomplished poet and writer Jerome Washington offers an unforgettable glimpse of prison life. You'll meet Cleanhead: thief, con artist, and disciple of Dale Carnegie; Shing-a-Ling, a pimp on a mission to become literate; Sugar-Ditch Pearl and his lover Rex, who are spending their honeymoon in the exercise yard lifting weights; and Juanito, caught in a laughing jag while being bludgeoned to death by the guards. Iron House is a portrait of a culture where brutality is the norm and moments of kindness are few and treasured.

Why we think it’s a great listen: There’s no gentle way to put this – Frank McCourt’s performance of Angela’s Ashes is just better than the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Frank McCourt shares his sometimes heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking story of growing up poor, Irish, and Catholic in the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes.

Danish countess Karen Blixon, known as Isak Dineson, ran a coffee plantation in Kenya in the years when Africa remained a romantic and formidable continent to most Europeans. Out of Africa is her account of her life there, with stories of her respectful relationships with the Masai, Kikuyu, and Somali natives who work on her land; the European friends who visit her; and the imposing permanence of the wild, high land itself.

This magnificent story of 1,000 years of English history is told through the lives and deeds of Kings and Queens, from the Normans to the Windsors. Understand how the power of the crown has changed as a result of both the character and ability of each monarch and evolving historical circumstances. Eight specialist contributors depict the whole spectrum of royal life in a succinct and fascinating way. Newly revised in 1998, this edition offers expanded coverage of the House of Windsor, including recent events that have greatly affected the Royal Family.

Peter Lynch, one of the most successful investors of all time, shows you how to use what you already know to make money in the market. You'll discover why smart money is not so smart - and why you may be a better stock picker than the pros, how to follow your hunches and back them up with facts, how to disregard reports on the economy and pick your own time to buy and sell, and how to determine which types of stocks are right for you. Lynch is the former manager of the $9 billion Fidelity Magellan Fund, where he earned investors a $190,000 return on a $10,000 investment.

A brilliant Greek writer and philosopher, Plutarch wrote detailed biographies of 46 legendary Greek and Roman figures, four of whom are included in this important collection. He profiles one of his contemporaries, Marc Antony, who followed Caesar and seduced Cleopatra.

This collection of humorous anecdotes, voiced by the gifted impersonator John Byner, is an enduring testament to George Burns' wit and charm.

As a 2-year-old, Helen Keller was stricken with a mysterious illness which left her blind and deaf. It wasn't until she was 6, and a teacher, Miss Sullivan, entered her life, that she was able to communicate with her family. In her unforgettable autobiography, Helen shares her struggle with, and ultimate triumph over, her disability. When it was first published in 1902, her story gained the attention of some of the most famous people of her day and it was later popularized by stage play and movie.

Born dirt poor, Jennings went from country disc jockey to country superstar, leading the revolution in country music with his platinum album The Outlaws. Through his eyes we see the Nashville scene in the early days, and through his honest, no-holds-barred storytelling, we follow his struggle to overcome drugs and impending bankruptcy to establish himself as one of the living legends of country music.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a leader and visionary of the civil rights movement, was first and foremost a preacher. This unique collection features a selection of Dr. King's best sermons - some not heard since he first delivered them!