Biographies Power

Barbra Streisand has been called the “most successful...talented performer of her generation” by Vanity Fair, and her voice, said pianist Glenn Gould, is “one of the natural wonders of the age.” Streisand scaled the heights of entertainment—from a popular vocalist to a first-rank Broadway star in Funny Girl to an Oscar-winning actress to a producer and director. But she has also become a cultural icon who has transcended show business.

Cleopatra: su nombre resuena en la historia como la reina de Egipto, la seductora de Julio César y Marco Antonio, y el símbolo definitivo del poder y el atractivo femeninos. Pero, ¿quién era la mujer que se ocultaba tras la leyenda? En esta biografía definitiva, el historiador Joaquín de la Sierra profundiza en la vida y la época de Cleopatra, separando los hechos de la ficción para revelar un vívido retrato de una de las figuras más fascinantes y enigmáticas del mundo antiguo.

As the Confederacy felt itself slipping beneath the Union juggernaut in late 1864, the South launched a desperate counteroffensive to force a standoff. Its secret weapon? A state-of-the-art raiding ship whose mission was to sink the U.S. merchant fleet. The raider's name was Shenandoah, and her executive officer was Conway Whittle, a 24-year-old warrior.

Tyrone Power was as versatile in life as he was on the screen. He was a multifaceted man and was the last idol created by the vast star-making machine 20th Century Fox. Coming from a family of multi-generational actors, Tyrone Power broke the proverbial mold. His on-screen charisma in the 30s and 40s propelled him to the forefront of must-have actors. His on-screen accomplishments were many, yet he did not hesitate to enter the military when his country went to war. After the war, he continued in his career, but the years took their toll.

In 1940, the 4th most popular star in the US was a foreign actor from Australia, and unlike other movie stars, he was more notorious for his pursuits off the screen than on it. In an era long before social media, Errol Flynn represented the epitome of a swashbuckling playboy, with enough mystery and intrigue surrounding him and his background to fascinate even those who didn’t see his movies.

In a follow-up to Free to Be Me, DOM&INK returns with a collection of essays that highlight modern-day LGBTQIA+ pioneers who have changed the world—from well-known public figures and allies to up-and-comers you'll wish you'd heard of earlier.

Lucetta Zaytoun's ability to bounce back from tragedy time and time again is uncanny. After raising six kids, yet another life earthquake hit. This one led her to put everything she owned in storage, sell her car, shut down her phone and travel in developing countries by herself for one year. Lucetta's precarious, intrepid and fascinating runaway journey took her to places she never imagined.

In his outrageous memoir, McSweeney's contributor Kennedy chronicles his misadventures at a major record label. Whether he's directing a gangsta rapper's commercial or battling his punk roots to create an ad campaign celebrating the love songs of Phil Collins, Kennedy's in way over his head. And from the looks of those sitting around the boardroom, he's not alone.

Michael Bloomberg is not only New York City's 108th mayor; he is a business genius and self-made billionaire. He has run the toughest city in America with an independence and show of ego that first brought him great success and eventually threatened it. Yet while Bloomberg is internationally known and admired, few people know the man behind the carefully crafted public persona.

In 1964, as a 22-year-old Ohio State graduate with working-class Cleveland roots and a family to support, Len Downie landed an internship with the Washington Post. He would become a pioneering investigative reporter, news editor, foreign correspondent, and managing editor, before succeeding the legendary Ben Bradlee as executive editor.

In this engaging and highly accessible compendium for young listeners and aspiring power brokers, Virginia Senator Janet Howell and her daughter-in-law Theresa Howell spotlight the careers of fifty American women in politics - and inspire listeners to make a difference.

At stake in 1896 was the new idea that some landscapes should be collectively, permanently owned by a democratic government. Although many people today think of public lands as an American birthright, their very existence was then in doubt and dependent on a merger of the talents of these two men. Natural Rivals examines a time of environmental threat and political dysfunction not unlike our own and reveals the complex dynamic that gave birth to America’s rich public lands legacy.

Many fantasize about dramatically changing their lives - living in accordance with their ideals rather than the exigencies of job, bills, and possessions. William Powers actually does it. Here, his family, with baby in tow, searches for balance, community, and happiness in a small town in Bolivia. They build an adobe house, plant a prolific orchard and organic garden, and weave their life into a community of permaculturists, bio-builders, artists, and creative businesspeople. Can this Transition Town succeed in the face of encroaching North American capitalism?

Boyhood in the 1960s and ‘70s was a time for exploration and mischief. Author Michael Tougias found more than his share of misadventures in the woods and on the water: some life-threatening, but others innocently hilarious. Over time - and after reading a multitude of adventure books - these experiences took shape in his quest to be a mountain man, owning a cabin in the forest and living off the land. Part of that dream would come true, but only after a family tragedy that shook his world and forced changes in his life.

Durante los últimos 20 años, Melinda Gates se ha dedicado a buscar soluciones para las personas de cualquier lugar con mayores necesidades. Durante esa época, fue comprendiendo que, si queremos que la sociedad despegue, hay que dejar de oprimir a las mujeres. En este audiolibro conmovedor y convincente, Melinda comparte las lecciones que ha aprendido de las personas que la han inspirado y a quienes ha conocido en su trabajo y viajes por todo el mundo.

This book tells the story of one man's life journey into the heart of the struggle to reform the nation's schools. Fuller has always believed that it is important for poor and working class Black people to gain access to the levers of power dictating their lives. He believes that those of us who are educated and resourceful have a moral and historical responsibility to help them, and that is what he has always tried to do. Early in his life he found truth in the words of the great Frederick Douglass: "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will."

The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age 24 by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was "too disabled". Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life.

In 1999, Sierra Leone was in the midst of a brutal civil war where mindless violence, vicious amputation and the rape of young enslaved women were the everyday weapons of bloody conflict. It was also where rebel soldiers snatched the young Aminata Conteh-Biger from her father's arms, then held her captive for months. After she was released, the UNHCR recognised that her captors still posed a serious threat to her safety. So, still in her teens, she was put on a plane and flown to Australia to start afresh as a refugee in a land she knew nothing about.

Exploring the use of privilege and power by people who identify as White or Black to address the perennial challenge of our time, this book challenges listeners to do the deep introspective work to examine privilege and harness power to fight back against white supremacy. As people from different backgrounds seek to discover ways to eradicate racism while understanding their own biases, When White Supremacy Knocks, Fight Back provides practical guidance that everyone can use to make their voices and actions create the change that they want to see.

On the Road Not Taken is a memoir about the transformational power of music. It begins with a boy growing up in a small town on the Kent coast in the 1970s who learns to play the guitar and dreams of heading out on the open road with a head full of songs. But when the moment comes to make the choice, he is not brave enough to give it a go.