Art Biography

In 2015, an aspiring young journalist named Shiori Ito charged prominent reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi with rape. After meeting up for drinks and networking, Ito remembers regaining consciousness in a hotel room while being assaulted. But when she went to the police, Ito was told that her case was a “black box”—untouchable and unprosecutable. Upon publication in 2017, Ito’s searing account foregrounded the #MeToo movement in Japan and became the center of an urgent cultural and legal shift around recognizing sexual assault and gender-based violence.

In 1958 Jean Ellroy was murdered, her body dumped on a roadway in a seedy L.A. suburb. Her killer was never found, and the police dismissed her as a casualty of a cheap Saturday night. James Ellroy was ten when his mother died, and he spent the next thirty-six years running from her ghost and attempting to exorcize it through crime fiction. In 1994, Ellroy quit running. He went back to L.A., to find out the truth about his mother--and himself.

Lost in the depths of a devastating depression, Kevin Hines did the unthinkable and jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge. He is one of only four to ever have survived that jump with his full health and mobility intact. Hines then went on to accomplish what had formerly seemed impossible: he has dedicated his life to suicide prevention, reaching audiences well into the millions. With the help of his wife and family, he has spread his message of compassion and fighting to “be here tomorrow.”

In his time, the Austrian American composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) was an international icon. His twelve-tone system was considered the future of music itself. Today, however, leading orchestras rarely play his works, and his name is met with apathy, if not antipathy. With this interpretative account, the acclaimed biographer of Toscanini finally restores Schoenberg to his rightful place in the canon, revealing him as one of the twentieth century's most influential composers and teachers.

A 13th-century toxic jungle, a bathhouse for tired gods, a red haired fish girl, and a furry woodland spirit - what do these have in common? They all spring from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest living animators, known worldwide for films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. Japanese culture and animation scholar Susan Napier explores the life and art of this extraordinary Japanese filmmaker to provide a definitive account of his oeuvre.

In the World is the second instalment of Maxim Gorky’s autobiographical trilogy. Published in 1916, the book depicts Gorky’s experiences as a young adult, portraying his encounters with an array of characters from different social classes and conveying his observations of society at large. Gorky skilfully depicts the struggles, dreams and complexities of the lower classes, highlighting the social inequalities prevalent in Russia during the later 19th century.

Over more than five decades, legendary architect Moshe Safdie has built some of the world's most influential and memorable structures. Safdie always refers to the "silent client" an architect must ultimately serve: the people who live in, work in, or experience a building. If Walls Could Speak takes listeners behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Safdie's own experiences how an architect thinks and works.

Mystery and horror. Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights. Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces.

First biography of the great actress in a brilliant interpretation of Danuta Stenka. One-hundred-two years of fascinating life, turbulent career, and dramatic turns in history. Gabriel Michalik paints a subtle portrait of the legend of the theatre and cinema, the people she met, and the era through which she lived with natural elegance, grace, and unusual cheerfulness, in spite of dramatic obstacles.

Stan Lee was one of the most famous and beloved entertainers to emerge from the twentieth century. He served as head editor of Marvel Comics for three decades and, in that time, became known as the creator of more pieces of internationally recognizable intellectual property than nearly anyone: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Black Panther, the Incredible Hulk . . . the list goes on. His carnival-barker marketing prowess helped save the comic-book industry and superhero fiction.

When Belle Boggs' "The Art of Waiting" was published in Orion in 2012, it went viral, leading to republication in Harper's Magazine and an interview on NPR's The Diane Rehm Show. In that heartbreaking essay, Boggs eloquently recounts her realization that she might never be able to conceive. She searches the apparently fertile world around her - the emergence of 13-year cicadas, the birth of eaglets near her rural home, and an unusual gorilla pregnancy at a local zoo - for signs that she is not alone.

The Merchant of Venom traces Don Rickles's career from his rise in the 1950s to a late-in-life resurgence thanks to the Toy Story franchise, his role in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and scores of TV appearances from Carson to Seth Meyers. In the intervening decades, Rickles conquered every medium he worked in, including film, television, and on stage. He was idolized by a generation of younger comedians including Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Jay Leno, and performed in the shadow of a shocking open secret: he was the nicest man in town.

A groundbreaking book exploring the breadth of history of recorded music by and for the LGBT community and how those records influenced the evolution of the music we listen to today. From Sia to Elton John, from Billie Holiday to David Bowie, LGBT musicians have changed the course of modern music. But before their music - and the messages behind it - gained understanding and a place in the mainstream, how did the queer musicians of yesteryear fight to build foundations for those who would follow them?

In 1937, as the Nazis gained control and anti-Semitism spread in the Free City of Danzig, a majority German city on the Baltic Sea, 16-year-old Justus Rosenberg was sent to Paris to finish his education in safety. Three years later, France fell to the Germans. Alone and in danger, penniless and cut off from contact with his family in Poland, Justus fled south.

Kevin Pollak rose through the comedy club ranks at the feet of Don Rickles and Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson, and George Carlin. Named one of Comedy Central’s Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians of All Time, he’s a killer impressionist — Falk, Shatner, Walken, Nicholson — a versatile actor with one of the most respected filmographies around, and an Internet pioneer. He’s done it all, and now he’s ready to spill the beans.

Lord Byron was the most celebrated of all the Romantic poets. Troubled, handsome, sexually fluid, disabled, and transgressive, he wrote his way to international fame—and scandal—before finding a kind of redemption in the Greek Revolution. He also left behind the vast trove of thrilling letters (to friends, relatives, lovers, and more) that form the core of this remarkable biography.

Au tournant des années 1980, Marguerite Yourcenar est la première femme à entrer à l’Académie française. Tous les yeux sont rivés sur celle qui fait désormais figure de symbole. Pourtant, que sait-on d’elle ? Qu’elle vit sédentaire sur une île de la Côte Nord-Est des États-Unis. Et qu’elle vient de perdre sa compagne de quatre décennies, Grace Frick, traductrice en langue anglaise de Mémoires d’Hadrien. À près de soixante-seize ans, Yourcenar semble ne plus rien avoir à attendre de la vie.

Whether as part of the iconic S Club 7 or as a successful solo artist, Rachel Stevens was in the eye of the 00s pop storm. Catapulted to fame at 18, her life took a whole new direction, and the whirlwind began. Constantly stereotyped and controlled within the industry, she has privately struggled with her self-worth and mental health, and has since gone on a journey of personal growth. Following a personal break-up and an S Club reunion – and having found her confidence and voice – Rachel is ready to be completely open and honest for the very first time.

For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading role in the popular culture of the 20th century, reigning as an admired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of the modern American woman. She also remained one of the most private of all the public figures of her time.

ليس هناك من لم يسمع باسم الصحفي ورئيس تحرير صحيفة الأهرام الشهيرة لمدة سبعة عشر عاماً الكاتب والصحفي محمد حسنين هيكل، فهو من أبرز الصحفيين العرب في القرن العشرين، وهو يكتب ويحلل في السياسة منذ أيام الرئيس الراحل جمال عبد الناصر وحتى أيام حسني مبارك، وهو المطلع على الكثير من التفاصيل والدهاليز التي لا يعرفها الجميع، وهو الخبير في اللعبة السياسية، وقد أنشأ مجموعة المراكز المتخصصة للأهرام وهي مركز الدراسات السياسية والإستراتيجية ومركز الدراسات الصحفية ومركز توثيق تاريخ مصر المعاصر.