Nonfiction Biography

While we can all recall Martin Luther King Jr. giving his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short weeks: Bayard Rustin. This was far from Rustin's first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi's protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King.

Frieda "Fritizie" Mann had several identities during her brief life, and the mysterious circumstances of her death raise as many questions as they do answers. She was born in 1903 near the present border between Poland and Ukraine. And in the last year of her life, Mann became locally famous. She had reinvented herself as a flapper and "Oriental" dancer. She claimed to have friends in Hollywood and a movie contract. On the night of her murder, she said she was going to a party to meet her Hollywood friends; instead she traveled to an isolated roadside hotel where she met her death.

When she was just a tiny baby, something terrible happened to Lexi. It left her with an out-of-control body and without a voice. Now, as a precocious, superhero-obsessed thirteen-year-old, Lexi is counting down the final 24 hours to a risky brain surgery that might help her talk or—dare she dream it?—to walk and use her hands. As surgery grows closer, Lexi finds an urgent, relentless need to share the story of the year in her life she calls The Year of the Buttered Cat. That year, on the verge of shutting out the rest of the world, Lexi began a solitary quest to find her "missing" body.

Heirs to the renowned German-American Bergdoll Beer fortune at a young age, the Bergdoll boys used their millions to become champion race car drivers and pioneer aviation heroes in the early 1900s. Grover, the most notorious, is celebrated for his daring record-setting flights in a Wright Brothers airplane. Erwin drives a powerful Benz to win a prestigious motor car race, the equivalent of the Daytona 500. Then they're snared by vengeful local military draft officials.

Jason Sommer's father, Jay, is ninety-eight years old and losing his memory. More than seventy years after arriving in New York from WWII-torn Europe, he is forgetting the stories that defined his life, the life of his family, and the lives of millions of Jews who were affected by Nazi terror. Observing this loss, Jason vividly recalls the trip to Eastern Europe the two took together in 2001.

Citizen-soldier Strong Vincent was many things: Harvard graduate, lawyer, political speaker, descendant of pilgrims and religious refugees, husband, father, brother. But his greatest contribution to history is as the savior of the Federal left on the second day at Gettysburg, when he and his men held Little Round Top against overwhelming Confederate numbers. Forgotten by history in favor of his subordinate, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Vincent has faded into relative obscurity in the decades since his death.

Never Forget Our People Were Always Free illuminates for each of us how the path to healing America’s broken heart starts with each of us having the courage to heal our own.

The revered civil rights activist and pioneering member of Congress chronicles her groundbreaking 1972 run for President as the first woman and person of color—a work of immense historical importance that both captures and transcends its times, newly reissued to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of her campaign.

The fifth book in the Making of America series examines the life of America’s 32nd president: his birth into one of America’s elite families, his domineering mother, his marriage to Eleanor Roosevelt, his struggle with polio, and his political career. A Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) won a record four presidential elections and is the longest-serving US president. During his time in office, he led the country through the Great Depression and World War II. He helped to redefine the role of the US government with the New Deal.

Born in a cabin deep in the backwoods of Kentucky and growing up in a family considered the poorest of the poor, Abraham Lincoln rose to become the 16th president of the United States. As president, he guided the United States through the Civil War, helped end slavery in America, and strengthened the federal government. This third installment in the Making of America series continues the story of the first 100 years of America's constitutional history, a story that began with Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson.

Double Luck is filled with examples of how the human spirit can triumph over adversity. In the Chinese language, the word crisis is written with two symbols: one meaning "danger" and the other meaning "opportunity". Although Chi Fa's childhood was filled with crisis, he always looked for opportunity. His successful triumph over crisis after crisis is an inspiration for all who seek hope in the face of great challenges.

Three books in one bundle! Learn all about - Ada Lovelace and the world's first computer program - Helen Keller and how she overcame her disabilities - Harriet Tubman's inspirational life and work - in this children's biography.

The youngest daughter of an eccentric engineer and a musical theater fanatic, Helen Brown grew up in the New Zealand coastal town of New Plymouth in a crumbling castle overrun by nature, and overshadowed by nearby, beautiful Mount Taranaki. It's 1966, the Pacific islands are being used for atomic bomb testing, and her parents and siblings are swept up in their own lives. Twelve years old, struggling in school, and facing eye surgery-for the second time-Helen feels lonely and lost . . .

Daniel vive a Quarto Oggiaro, periferia di Milano. In famiglia il clima è teso, pochi soldi e continui litigi. Cresce nei cortili delle case popolari, ama il calcio e in campo è il più forte, tanto che a dieci anni gioca con la maglia dell’Inter. Le aspettative su di lui sono altissime, e non vuole deluderle. Ma quando, durante una partita, Daniel manca il goal decisivo, il sogno di diventare un calciatore famoso è infranto per sempre. Alle medie Daniel è un bullo temuto da tutti, carico di rabbia e aggressività.

Boy es una compilación de relatos de la infancia del propio Roald Dahl, el gran autor de literatura infantil. En este libro, momentos familiares maravillosos de la infancia de Roald Dahl se mezclan con otros más amargos, y aventuras llenas de peligro siguen a otras desternillantes. La pérdida de su padre y su hermana, el gran complot de los ratones, las vacaciones en una remota isla, los castigos en el colegio y el paseo que casi le cuesta la nariz..., son solo algunos ejemplos de los inolvidables episodios que contiene este libro lleno de aventuras.

Let’s learn from the story of Sir Frederick Banting, who was never satisfied with knowledge. It was Sir Frederick who first mentioned a bodily substance that might be the cure for diabetes. He spent years looking for an answer until he, together with his lab partners, discovered insulin. Sir Frederick’s story is that of an unrelenting pursuit for knowledge. Listen to his story today.

The abolitionist legacies of Orville Brown and his son, Spencer, live on in this historic and daring 19th-century account. Journeying apart from each other, but with similar passion, Orville and Spencer's stories span virtually every major abolitionist event: from the battles of Bleeding Kansas and the establishment of the free-soil movement to the river wars of Memphis, Vicksburg, and Shiloh. Listeners will follow Orville west as he strikes out for Kansas Territory to help ensure its entry as a free state.

1776. The early days of the Revolutionary War. It supposedly began with Thomas Hickey, a private in the Continental Army, and New York governor William Tryon. In an astonishing power grab, they plotted to kill Hickey's boss: a man by the name of George Washington. In the end, Hickey was caught, brought to trial, and found guilty. It would seem he became the first person in the new nation to be executed for treason.

Sometimes, living a life of impact seems just out of reach. "What can I possibly do?" we ask. Amy Wolff often felt this way - that her personal grief and comfortable life made her unqualified to connect and uplift others. But one day she decided to do something - and that something sparked a nationwide and worldwide movement of encouragement. Signs of Hope is an intimate account of the yard signs with encouraging messages she created with her family and placed around their city, and how that act of love has sparked a new journey - helping you find your way to make a difference.

Normal. Who is to say what this word means? For Magda Newman, it was a goal. She wanted her son Nathaniel to be able to play on the playground, swim at the beach, enjoy the moments his friends took for granted. But Nathaniel’s severe Treacher Collins syndrome - a craniofacial condition - meant that other concerns came first. Could he eat without the aid of a gastrointestinal tube? Could he hear? Would he ever be able to breathe effortlessly? But Nathaniel looks at “normal” from a completely different perspective.