Western Biography

On a cold November day in Amsterdam in 2004, the celebrated and controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was shot and killed by an Islamic extremist for making a movie that "insulted the prophet Mohammed." The murder sent shock waves across Europe and around the world. Shortly thereafter, Ian Buruma returned to his native land to investigate the event and its larger meaning as part of the great dilemma of our time.

From the award-winning historian: the remarkable life of "the most beautiful woman of 19th-century Baltimore", whose marriage in 1803 to Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon, became inextricably bound to the diplomatic and political 19th-century histories of the United States, France, and England.

The era of the gunfighter in the Wild West began during James Butler Hickok's life. Better known as "Wild Bill," he was the first and most famous gunfighter. A man without equal, he was said to have killed hundreds of outlaws in valiant and bloody struggles to the death, from which he invariably emerged the victor and the hero. Hickok himself was not above adding embellishments to the stories about himself to any reporter who sought him out.

Once he was a young, happily married businessman. Then he lost his wife to human madness and that young man was gone, replaced by the Loner, the wandering son of legendary gunfighter Frank Morgan, and now the current occupant of a cell in the brutal and unforgiving Hell Gate prison. The Kid's crime? He looked too much like an outlaw who escaped from this very prison. So the Kid teams up with a fellow inmate with an escape plan, vowing to hunt down a look-alike killer on the loose.

National Book Award finalist Ivan Doig had only a vague memory of his mother until he discovered a cache of her letters. They revealed a passionate, can-do woman who loved the lilting rhythm of words. A moving prequel to his acclaimed memoir This House of Sky, Doig’s Heart Earth highlights his childhood before his mother’s death and eloquently captures the texture of the American West, the fortunes of a family, and one woman’s indomitable spirit.

Here is a tale that concerns the incredible power of friendship. The movie Tennessee's Partner (1955), starring John Payne and Ronald Reagan, was based on this story.

The dream of capturing and organizing knowledge is as old as history. From the archives of ancient Sumeria and the Library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress and Wikipedia, humanity has wrestled with the problem of harnessing its intellectual output. The timeless quest for wisdom has been as much about information storage and retrieval as creative genius. In Cataloging the World, Alex Wright introduces us to a figure who stands out in the long line of thinkers and idealists who devoted themselves to the task.

Mungo Park was an explorer of the real kind. In 1795, only aged 24, he left Gambia for the uncharted interior of Africa, in a journey that would be filled with tragedy, heroism, and adventure. Park was the first European to ever reach the river Niger and the legendary city of Timbuctoo, thus resolving, once and for all, a century-old geographic debate. He travelled with local guides and later entirely alone, through warring kingdoms, robberies, imprisonment, and extreme duress. By the time he returned to Gambia, he had long been given up for dead.

The year 2021 marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri. His, like ours, was a world of moral uncertainty and political violence, all of which made not only for the agony of exile but for an ever deeper meditation on the nature of human happiness. In Why Dante Matters, John Took offers - by way of three of Dante’s works in particular - an account, not merely of Dante’s development as a poet and philosopher, but of his continuing presence to us as a guide to man’s wellbeing as man.

Edward Zane Carroll Judson aka Ned Buntline (1821-1886) was responsible for creating a highly romantic and often misleading image of the American West, albeit one that the masses found irresistible in the mid-to-late 19th century. Some scholars estimate that he wrote at least 400 dime novels over his lifetime and perhaps as many as 600. The Notorious Life of Ned Buntline is an open-eyed look at the man who sparked an American legend but whose own scandalous life somehow escaped history's limelight.

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.

The Bohemians begins in 1860s San Francisco. The Gold Rush has ended; the Civil War threatens to tear apart the country. The bards of the moment are the Bohemians: a young Mark Twain, fleeing the draft and seeking adventure; literary golden boy Bret Harte; struggling gay poet Charles Warren Stoddard; and beautiful, haunted Ina Coolbrith, poet and protectorate of the group.

Well, Jay. Last summer your mother asked me to write some of my memories of childhood. Here they are. Some are pure memories, some have been told to me, and some are simply my childhood daydreams. Some of the experiences made profound impressions on my memory and influenced my values as an adult. Others simply produce a smile over a pleasant memory. I hope they will do the same for you and others who listen to them. Your mother and grandmother read these after they were written and made some comments.

Don't form a personal opinion and don't get involved. The editors recommended a 'just the facts' focus for this cub reporter...For his first few years on the job, journalist Tom Rivers did his best to heed that advice. But living and working in a small town, it's hard to stay out of the story. So when the editors offered him a bi-weekly column 10 years ago, Rivers jumped at the chance to share some his own ideas, adventures, and the occasional off-beat story that just didn't fit the news-article form.

At 43, Ninya was depressed, out of shape, and filled with crippling anxiety after addiction, cancer, and divorce had destroyed nearly everything. One day, she received a message from a stranger. This woman offered to lead her on a self-healing trip hiking through the Scottish highlands. In this memoir, an introverted Pollyanna is paired up with her opposite, a steamrolling, abrasive female with unorthodox healing methods. As they barrel through the winding roads in a rental car, a series of events forces Ninya to find the strength to heal in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Undoubtedly, Napoleon, the French revolutionist and emperor, has left his mark on European history. His vast empire stretched all over the continent, and his unique image and posture have been emulated by many. In this comprehensive guide, we will take a look at some of the greatest achievements of Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as his virtues and vices, personal background, politics, exile, and death. You will gain a greater comprehension of his motives, the problems he faced, and how he solved said problems in his own way.

Zwei Männer auf einem epischem Roadtrip durch Schottland. Die beiden "Outlander"-Stars und langjährigen Freunde Sam Heughan und Graham McTavish begeben sich auf eine abenteuerliche Reise, um ihre Heimat Schottland neu zu entdecken. Clanlands erzählt davon, wie die beiden Schauspieler mit dem Wohnmobil, dem Kajak, Fahrrad und Motorrad von der Küste bis zu den Seen und von den Gipfeln bis zu den Tälern reisen und dabei tief in die Geschichte und Kultur des Landes eintauchen.

In de jaren zestig groeit Harm Edens op in een gezin met Groningse roots waarin hij vaak het gevoel heeft dat hij er niet bij hoort. Hij lacht om dingen waar niemand de humor van inziet, ziet dingen die niemand ziet en zegt dingen die niemand begrijpt. Totdat hij kennismaakt met Groot-Brittannië en zijn inwoners. Aan de hand van een twintigtal bijzondere ontmoetingen probeert Harm te achterhalen waarom hij zich zo thuis voelt op de Britse eilanden. Harm neemt de lezer mee op reis van het zuidelijkste puntje van Ierland tot de meest westelijke eilanden van Schotland naar Sint Kilda.

Lacing his vivid narration with poetic interludes, Doig masterfully crafts a remarkable memoir. This House of Sky speaks many truths about family, love, loss, and the landscapes that mold us all.

A powerful meditation on identity and belonging, Sejal Shah explores the tension of being both invisible and hyper-visible in a country that struggles with race. The daughter of immigrants from India and Kenya, Shah wrestles with her experiences growing up in—and returning to—western New York, an area of stark racial and socioeconomic segregation. Her work illuminates how we are all marked by family and place; by the limits of our bodies; by our losses and regrets; by who and what we love; by our ambivalences and our silences.