Diary Biography

From homelessness to humanity, this is a memoir from the heart.

Digging into one's family history can reveal unusual surprises. In my case, I recently discovered my great grandfather, Jesse C. Davisson's first-hand account of his 25-year military experience during an epic period in American history. Jesse was no angel when he first joined the Army in 1893, as an ordinary young man in Philadelphia. His diary follows his subsequent adventures - from learning to ride a horse with the 7th Cavalry, and befriending Indian Scouts, to surviving ambushes, and water-boarding prisoners - all while serving in the American Indian Wars.

This is the diary of the author's tumultuous journey from childhood to adulthood. The road she has traveled has been full of many unexpected twists, turns, detours, and cliff-hangers. Her trip itinerary has included poverty, sickness, molestation, rejection, domestic violence, betrayals, divorces, single-parenthood, being a first lady, and many other treks. I believe that you will be captivated by the author's many excursions, some self-directed and some led by others, some good and some not so good.

The Diary of a Black Railroad Pioneer shares the exceptional journey of Jennette Spencer, the first African American woman Signal Maintainer (Engineer Department) in the United States, a profession historically governed by men yet boldly dominated by a determined female pioneer. In The Diary of a Black Railroad Pioneer, Spencer’s impact on the countless railroad workers she encountered is immeasurable, yet her mission is to reach the masses through her story of perseverance and dedication illustrates a life unlike any other.

Lana Turner was the last of the great screen goddesses. A legendary blonde bombshell, Turner led a fairy-tale life that turned into a nightmare following the bizarre murder of her gangster lover, Johnny Stompanato, in 1958. This detailed, honest, heartwarming account reveals the real woman behind the Hollywood facade, as well as a tender friendship that endured both heaven and hell for 25 years.

Fearless: Diary of a Badass Reporter is the narrative of a most uncommon and astonishing life - where even as a teenager Julie Blacklow displayed qualities that marked her as a natural for reporting. Courage, tenacity, and a willingness to get in anyone's face if it served her mission to help people were in her DNA. Her intolerance of injustice made her especially popular - or unpopular depending on which side of the fence you sat. Blacklow was among the first women in television news in America.

Diario de una ninfómana es el conmovedor relato de una mujer francesa, de buena familia, licenciada en dirección de empresas, que narra su evolución vital a través de las relaciones sexuales que va teniendo: con los sepultureros de un cementerio, con un árabe muy aficionado a la Coca-Cola, con un policía sin escrúpulos, con desconocidos en lugares imprevistos... Multitud de vivencias que asume con la máxima libertad que tiene cualquier persona: la que uno se concede a sí mismo y no la que se ve obligado a tener.

Doormen & Divas is the fourth and final book in Stu Armstrong’s highly successful The Diaries of a Doorman series of books. Once again, Armstrong is back with his unique and humorous writing style as he recalls more tales from his life as a bouncer. Gritty, truthful, funny, sad, tragic, and bizarre stories are recounted by Armstrong that will have you gripping the edge of your seat one minute and fall off of it laughing the next. As a doorman for over 20 years, Stu has seen a lot - maybe too much!

1916-1919: Rosa Luxemburg, Frau ihrer Zeit- gebildet, erkennend, störend, verurteilt, eingesperrt, ermordet. Ihre Briefe schreibt sie an ihre Freundin Sophie - über Vögel, Büffel und Insekten. Über Schmerzen, Leichtigkeit und Lebensmut. Ihre Ohnmacht und ihr Mitgefühl, ja ihre Lebenslust, spiegeln sich in jedem ihrer Briefe. Sie führen in die Welt einer Gefangenen, die über ihr politisches Denken nicht schreiben darf.

This is the true story of a young dancer, whose naïve dream of working in the Far East turns into a nightmare. She finds herself in a plethora of situations, which she is ill-equipped to deal with. Dancing her way across South Korea with two friends, she is propositioned by the Mafia, turned away by the British Embassy, caught in a student riot, and taken to Korean brothels.

The City of Angels has played a distinct role in the hearts, minds, and imaginations of millions of people, who see it as the ultimate symbol of the American Dream. David Kipen, a cultural historian and avid scholar of Los Angeles, has scoured libraries, archives, and private estates to assemble a kaleidoscopic view of a truly unique city. From the Spanish missionary expeditions in the early 1500s to the Golden Age of Hollywood to the strange new world of social media, this collection is a slice of life in L.A. through the years.

Ein Glücksfall für die Historiker: Harry Graf Kessler (1868 - 1937) beschreibt das Zeitgeschehen im Jahr 1926. Josephine Baker trifft im Februar in Berlin ein. Mit ihr und um sie herum werden die Zwanziger Jahre in Berlin wild und golden. Viele Berichte zu spätnächtlichen Vergnügungen unter Künstlern und anderen "halbseidenen" Persönlichkeiten (einschließlich Politikern). Dagegen ist das von einem faszinierten Graf Kessler beschriebene Portrait Elsa Brandströms ein angenehmer hoher Ruhepunkt.

Have you ever wanted to go to prison? Of course not. What normal person would? But haven't you wondered what it would be like? To be locked up? To do hard time? What is it really like? Is it as bad as the movies? It can't be, can it? Spoiler alert: It is! How did I cope with it? By making jokes out of the situation, which was easier said than done some days. I wanted to write something unique, something different from anything you have ever seen before.

Charles Edward Wells deployed to France, and we join him there in the summer of 1918, following a vicious attack wherein he lost his first diary. We then see the full scale of war through his eyes. Not only the mortal danger of combat, but also a good bit of what happens to a soldier when he's not on the front line.

Nelson Algren’s two travel writing books describe his journeys through the seamier sides of great American cities and the international social and political landscapes of the mid-1960s. Algren at Sea brings them together in one volume. Notes from a Sea Diary offers one of the most remarkable appraisals of Ernest Hemingway ever written. Who Lost an American? is a whirlwind spin through Paris and Playboy clubs, New York publishing and Dublin pubs, Crete, and Chicago.

This is the first full-length look at Zapple - The Beatles' label for experimental music and spoken word recordings, and the most ambitious expression of the group's determination to be leading members of the counterculture movement in the late 1960s. Barry Miles, the acclaimed author, was the Zapple label manager and has written an engaging and slightly gossipy you-are-there review of this fascinating period in Beatles history.

Pete Crighton came of age in the early/mid 1980s in the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Growing up in Toronto, he was terrified that his friends and schoolmates would find out that he was “different” at a time when being gay felt like a death sentence. His only comfort was music, the songs a balm to his painful adolescence. Struggling to make sense of his sexuality and fear of the disease stifled Crighton as a sexual being. Instead of exploring sex, he began curating a massive music library.

Sarah's diary was discovered in a home amongst the gruesome carnage of three badly decomposed bodies. She was nowhere to be found. Many years have passed since those horrible murders took place, and now, her story has been released to the public for review. The accounts of the diary have not been confirmed to be fiction or truth. Some question if Sarah Brown is real. Some question the accounts detailed in the diary.

Napoleon famously observed that "history is a set of lies agreed upon", and Edward Steers Jr. investigates six of the most amazing frauds ever to gain wide acceptance in this engrossing book. The controversies that Steers presents show that there are two major factors involved in the success of a hoax or forgery - greed and the desire to believe.

My book details the life, both early and later, of Pat Welsh, who found fame in 1982 as the voice of E.T. in Steven Spielberg’s immortal film classic about an alien who was left behind on Earth. The narrative includes entries from Pat’s personal diary (written in 1931, at the age of sixteen), stories of an adult Pat, and contemporary perspectives. The diary provides the framework for the book, and beginning with New Year’s Day, 1931, Pat writes with beauty and clarity about many aspects of her life.