Biographies Power

The lives of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine are the stuff of legend. Her daughters, however, are less well known, and the fascinating personalities of her daughters-in-law have been almost entirely overlooked, as have those of the daughters she bore Louis VII of France. The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine redresses this balance and showcases the lives, travels, and careers of these ten very different women, who formed a great international network of political alliances that linked their parents, siblings, husbands, and children all across Europe and the Holy Land.

The Washington War is the story of how the Second World War was fought and won in the capital’s halls of power - and how the United States, which in December 1941 had a nominal army and a decimated naval fleet, was able in only 30 months to fling huge forces onto the European continent and shortly thereafter shatter Imperial Japan’s Pacific strongholds. Three quarters of a century after the overwhelming defeat of the totalitarian Axis forces, the terrifying, razor-thin calculus on which so many critical decisions turned has been forgotten....

In this poignant memoir of personal transformation, Jill Soloway takes us on a patriarchy-toppling emotional and professional journey. When Jill’s parent came out as transgender, Jill pushed through the male-dominated landscape of Hollywood to create the groundbreaking and award-winning Amazon TV series Transparent. Exploring identity, love, sexuality, and the blurring of boundaries through the dynamics of a complicated and profoundly resonant American family, Transparent gave birth to a new cultural consciousness.

In this multi-biographical history of a family in India, Shantaben enters an arranged marriage at age 14. Before she can join her husband in Africa, she must serve his family for several years. Arriving in Kenya, Shantaben dreams of having her own family. But she finds no community, no support, and no medical resources. Their first year together claims the life of their child and nearly ends Shantaben’s. Sustained by her culture and faith, she survives.

King Solomon had all the fame and fortune that any man could want. He was the world's wisest and wealthiest king. And yet, tragically, he threw it all away for the love of money, the pleasures of sex, and the powers of an earthly kingdom. In studying the life of Solomon, we see both the true greatness and the tragic failure of our own humanity - from godly devotion to self-serving excess. Philip Graham Ryken tells us how, by the grace of God, to prevent those downfalls and to seek God's glory amid earthly temptations through this rich, Christ-centered study of the life of Solomon.

From three-time Olympian and Olympic champion Kyle Shewfelt, this is the inside story of his pursuit of gymnastics glory, his courageous comeback from two broken legs, and how the difference makers in his life guided him along the way.

Slowly the boat pushed us forward, away from certain shipwreck, and gained the upper hand in its struggle against the surging current. The victory did not spark spontaneous celebration; rather, we spent the next moments in a trembling recovery. Kent, an American, and Josephine, an Australian, journeyed to an unfamiliar continent and set out to live on a riverboat deep in the jungle. With their four young children and ministry team, they served on the Purus River in the Amazon, bringing education, health care, and the love of God to remote communities

Collecting deeply personal conversations with inspirational LGBTQ+ trailblazers (from Troye Sivan to Margaret Cho) about how they leveraged the challenges and insights they had as relative outsiders to succeed in the worlds of business, tech, politics, Hollywood, sports and beyond, Andrew Gelwick’s The Queer Advantage celebrates the unique power of queer identity. Their stories brim with the hard-won lessons gained over their careers.

Katie Roiphe, culture writer and author of The Morning After, shares a “beautifully written” (The New York Times Book Review) “astute memoir [that] reverberates with rich prose, crisp pacing, and self-compassion” (Publishers Weekly) and an essential discussion of how strong women experience their power. Told in a series of notebook entries, Roiphe weaves her often fraught personal experiences with divorce, single motherhood, and relationships with insights into the lives and loves of famous writers such as Sylvia Plath and Simone de Beauvoir.

Like all great dreamers and planners, Marcus Garvey dreamed and planned ahead of his time and his peoples' ability to understand the significance of his life's work. A set of circumstances, mostly created by the world colonial powers, crushed this dreamer, but not his dreams. Due to persistence and years of sacrifice of Mrs. Amy Jacques Garvey, widow of Marcus Garvey, a large body of work by and about this great nationalist leader has been preserved and can be made available to a new generation of Black people who have the power to turn his dreams into realities.

When they married Emperors Franz Joseph and Napoleon III, respectively, Elisabeth of Austria and Eugénie of France became two of the most famous women on the planet. Not only were they both young and beautiful—becoming cultural and fashion icons of their time—but they played a pivotal role in ruling their realms during a tempestuous era characterized by unprecedented political and technological change. Fearless, adventurous, and independent, Elisabeth and Eugénie represented a new kind of empress—one who rebelled against tradition and anticipated and embraced modern values.

Elegant palaces, dazzling power plays, shimmering jewels, and the grandest of all-or-nothing gambles—nothing can top real-life love among the royalty. Louis XIV defied God and law, permitting his married mistress Madame de Montespan to usurp the role of Queen of France, then secretly wed her successor. And the union of Prince William and the former Kate Middleton continues to enthrall the world. Full of marvelous tales, unforgettable scandals, and bedazzled nobles who refused to rule their hearts, this delightfully insightful book is what the sweetest royal dreams are made of.

In It's Your Universe, Ashley Eckstein shares her own life lessons, as well as lessons from iconic Disney characters, as a way to inspire girls to create big dreams and work to make them a reality. Ashley Eckstein grew up inspired by all things Disney. She launched Her Universe, an apparel company catering to fan girls, which has become a preferred partner for Disney and their girl-power initiative. In It's Your Universe, Ashley tells her story of being a little girl dreaming of being on a Disney stage, voicing the first female Jedi, and starting Her Universe.

This book is an exhilaration search-and-destroy mission on the higher slopes of our political culture. By turns comic and deeply serious, it is the most acute assessment so far of the Kennedy phenomenon.

Organized crime - the Italian American kind - has long been a source of popular entertainment and legend. Now Thomas Reppetto provides a balanced history of the Mafia's rise - from the 1880s to the post-World War II era - that is as exciting as it is authoritative. Structuring his narrative around a series of case histories featuring such infamous characters as Lucky Luciano and Al Capone, Reppetto draws on a lifetime of field experience and access to unseen documents to show us a locally grown Mafia.

This historic mission of this remarkable but little-known organization, the US National Intelligence Council (NIC), now 40 years old, is strategic intelligence assessment in service of senior American foreign policymakers. Its signature inside products, National Intelligence Estimates, are now accompanied by the NIC's every-four-years Global Trends. Unclassified, Global Trends has become a noted NIC brand, its release awaited by officials, academics, and private sector managers around the world.

Limitless is the inspirational story of a young man’s journey of healing after more than ten years of depression and addiction. The downward spiral culminates in a severe car crash in August 2007 where he almost loses his life. In the face of extraordinary odds, Damien reinvents his life through meditation and an unwavering determination to change. Damien shares his powerful journey, the highs and the lows, in the hope that you can find what you need to heal your life. His remarkable story proves that we all have the power to heal and return to a place of self-love.

The career of Stefanie Powers is one of so many stage, screen, and television credits that her name alone recalls memories as varied as her roles-on screen and off. From movie roles including John Wayne's daughter in McLintock! and Lana Turner's rival in Love Has Many Faces, to being terrorized by Tallulah Bankhead in Die, Die My Darling and befriending a Volkswagen in Herbie Rides Again.

For years, hedge-fund tycoon George Soros has been demonized by GOP politicians, fringe outlets, and right-wing media personalities, who claim Soros often manipulates the global economy and masterminds the radical left. He has been accused of using his billions to foment violence, support “white genocide”, and pay migrants to seek asylum in the United States. Right-wing media personalities have described him as working to hijack our democracy and undermining sovereignty.

From its beginnings in the 1890s, Miami Beach has been a place made by visionaries and hustlers. During Prohibition, Al Capone had to muscle into its bootlegging and gambling businesses. After December 1941, when the Beach was the training ground for half a million army recruits, even the war couldn't stop the party. After a short postwar boom, the city's luck gave out. But in 1981, 125,000 Cubans arrived by the boatload.