Biografier

A selection of Mozart's letters, translated into English, complete with notes, linking commentary and chronology.

Richard Rose's memoir vividly describes first-hand experience of the transformation of politics in Europe and the United States since 1940. He has been teargassed in Chicago, seen walls go up in Belfast and come down in Berlin. The author's education in the streets and in the corridors of political power give a unique perspective on discrimination by race, religion and class, and the world in which political scientists live today. Rose has distilled a 500-page book into a three-minute Oval Office explanation to George W Bush of why America's intervention in Iraq was a disaster. He gives practical advice to political scientists about how to make words into concepts and communicate what you know to others inside and outside universities. The book's photographs show memorials to the dead, and living evidence of how election forecasting has changed since Delphi. Using skills developed since teaching himself to type at the age of eight, Rose describes his 20 years of working in newspapers, radio and television before publishing his first book. Since then he has combined social science methodology, along with the methodologies of comparative drama and the applied arts, to write many innovative books. This is the latest.

When Bobby Fischer died in January 2008, he left behind a confounding legacy. Everyone knew the basics of his life: he began as a brilliant youngster, then became the pride of American chess, then took a sharp turn, struggling with paranoia and mental illness. But nobody truly understood him. What motivated him from such a young age, and what was the source of his remarkable intellect? How could a man so ambivalent about money and fame be so driven to succeed? What drew this man of Jewish descent to fulminate against Jews, and how was it that a mind so famously disciplined could unravel so completely? From his meteoric rise, to an utterly dominant prime, to his eventual descent into madness, the book draws upon hundreds of newly discovered documents and recordings, and numerous firsthand interviews conducted with those who knew Fischer best, to paint, for the very first time, a complete picture of one of the most enigmatic icons. This is the definitive account of a fascinating man and an extraordinary life, one that at last reconciles Fischer's deeply contradictory legacy and answers the question: 'Who was Bobby Fischer?'

A revealing and unusal memoir by the bestselling author of What I Loved, an account of her search for the source of her mysterious nervous disorder which offers a fascinating exploration of the mind and its connection with the body 'provocative but often funny, encyclopedic but down to earth' Oliver Sacks.While speaking at a memorial event for her father, Siri Hustvedt suffered a violent seizure from the neck down. She managed to finish her talk and the paroxysms stopped, but not for good. Again and again she found herself a victim of the shudders. What had happened?Chronicling her search for the shaking woman, Hustvedt takes the reader on a journey into contemporary psychiatry, neurology and psychoanalysis. She unearths stories and theories from the annals of medical history, literature and philosophy, and delves into her own past. In the process, she raises fundamental questions: what is the relationship between mind and body? How do we remember? What is the self?In a seamless synthesis of personal experience and extensive research, Hustvedt conveys the often frightening mysteries of illness and the complexities of diagnosis. As engaging as it is thought-provoking, The Shaking Woman brilliantly illuminates the age-old dilemma of the mental and the physical, and what it means to be human.

During the German occupation of Rome from 1942 to 1944, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty ran an escape organisation for Allied POWs and civilians, including Jews. Safe within the Vatican state, he regularly ventured out in disguise to continue his mission, which earned him the nickname 'the Pimpernel of the Vatican'. Kappler, the Gestapo chief in Rome, ordered him captured or killed. When the Allies entered Rome, Monsignor O'Flaherty and his colleagues had saved over 6,500 lives.

Published to coincide with the release of the film Bright Star, written and directed by Oscar Winner Jane Campion (The Piano, In the Cut), starring Abbie Cornish (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Ben Whishaw (Brideshead Revisited, Perfume)John Keats died aged just twenty-five. He left behind some of the most exquisite and moving verse and love letters ever written, inspired by his great love for Fanny Brawne. Although they knew each other for just a few short years and spent a great deal of that time apart - separated by Keats' worsening illness, which forced a move abroad - Keats wrote again and again about and to his love, right until his very last poem, called simply 'To Fanny'. She, in turn, would wear the ring he had given her until her death. So Bright and Delicate is the passionate, heartrending story of this tragic affair, told through the private notes and public art of a great poet.

In this gripping memoir, John F. Kennedy's closest advisor recounts in full for the first time his experience counseling Kennedy through the most dramatic moments in American history.Sorensen returns to January 1953, when he and the freshman senator from Massachusetts began their extraordinary professional and personal relationship. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book Profiles in Courage. Sorensen encouraged the junior senator's political ambitionsfrom a failed bid for the vice presidential nomination in 1956 to the successful presidential campaign in 1960, after which he was named Special Counsel to the President.Sorensen describes in thrilling detail his experience advising JFK during some of the most crucial days of his presidency, from the decision to go to the moon to the Cuban Missile Crisis, when JFK requested that the thirty-four-year-old Sorensen draft the key letter to Khrushchev at the most critical point of the world's first nuclear confrontation. After Kennedy was assassinated, Sorensen stayed with President Johnson for a few months before leaving to write a biography of JFK. In 1968 he returned to Washington to help run Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. Through it all, Sorensen never lost sight of the ideals that brought him to Washington and to the White House, working tirelessly to promote and defend free, peaceful societies.Illuminating, revelatory, and utterly compelling, Counselor is the brilliant, long-awaited memoir from the remarkable man who shaped the presidency and the legacy of one of the greatest leaders America has ever known.

A remarkable memoir from the legendary drummer with The Police.Stewart Copeland is a genuine rock legend. As the drummer with The Police he was part of the biggest rock band in the world. They sold over 50 million records, won 2 Brits and 6 Grammys and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When they reformed in 2007 they played to nearly 4 million fans on a record-breaking world tour which grossed over $400m.But his time with The Police is just a tiny part of his story.Growing up in Lebanon, unaware that his dad was a major US spy. Being best friends with Kim Philby's son. Singing in the choir in Wells Cathedral. Performing arts college in San Diego. Drumming with prog-rock gods Curved Air. Appearing on TOTP as Klark Kent in full camoflage make-up. Spray painting The Police logos around London at night. Rock stardom and fan obsessions. Filming experimental movies with a pygmy tribe. Playing polo against Prince Charles. Recording the score to Rumblefish with Francis Ford Coppola looking on. Composing operas. Reforming the band. Arguing with Sting. Embarking on one of the biggest tours of all time as he approaches sixty.These are just a few of the episodes covered in this revelatory autobiography. It is destined to be a must-read for thousands of Police fans and music enthusiasts.Strange Things Happen is an unforgettable memoir from a musician who has earned his place in rock history.

Bon Voyage Travel Notebook: A Journal For Those Who Love To Travel The WorldWhether you are ready to backpack across the country, jet off to Europe, head out on an African safari or set sail around the world, this is the perfect notebook to record all your travel memories. Large enough that you'll have plenty of room to write yet small enough to slide in your backpack or purse. Filled with 120 pages (60 sheets) of bright white lined paper Perfect for story writing, poetry, journaling, note taking and more Enjoy the therapeutic value of journaling while you travel A great travel book to record their thoughts, feelings and memories This fun notebook could even be great as a daily travel diary Or used for charting and planning your trips, personal goals and dream vacations. Other uses include: gratitude journal, fitness journal, food journal, idea journal, reading journal, project journal, poetry journal, prayer journal, and the list goes onAdd this fun Bon Voyage Travel Notebook to your cart now or save it to your wish list for later.A great Bon Voyage travel gift for anyone about to take a trip.Be sure to check out the other fun journal and notebook designs by this author.

The author shares a charming and eloquent account of a return to noticing, to rediscovering a perspective on the world that had somehow been lost to her for decades, and to reconnecting with the natural world. With special care and attention to the plight of pollinators, including honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees, she shares fascinating details of the lives of flora and fauna.

'Totally gripping'-- Simon Sebag Montefiore Pilecki is perhaps one of the greatest unsung heroes of the second world war ... this insightful book is likely to be the definitive version of this extraordinary life -- EconomistWould you sacrifice yourself to save thousands of others?In the Summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interned at a new concentration camp on the border of the Reich. His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising. The name of the detention centre -- Auschwitz.It was only after arriving at the camp that he started to discover the Nazi s terrifying plans. Over the next two and half years, Witold forged an underground army that smuggled evidence of Nazi atrocities out of Auschwitz. His reports from the camp were to shape the Allies response to the Holocaust - yet his story was all but forgotten for decades. This is the first major account to draw on unpublished family papers, newly released archival documents and exclusive interviews with surviving resistance fighters to show how he brought the fight to the Nazis at the heart of their evil designs.The result is an enthralling story of resistance and heroism against the most horrific circumstances, and one man s attempt to change the course of history.

Known from his collaboration on the Netflix documentary Age of Samurai, historian William de Lange returns to what he does best: highly anecdotal stories from one of the most exciting episodes in Japanese history: the Warring States period.De Lange takes the reader right back to the 16th century's closing decades. In the course of the ensuing journey we witness the major battles fought by the country's three great unifiers: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.Quoting directly and at length from a wide range of contemporary sources, De Lange paints events and figures like no other, 'so richly rendered,' according to one critic, 'that you'd swear De Lange was present at the time, taking notes.'Samurai Battles is an epic account of a dramatic period in Japanese history-a period in which the whole country was consumed by the fire of civil strife that raged hardest on the field of battle.

Growing up loving to hunt, Bruce LaChance decided to seek his greatest adventure yet: to hunt a giant brown bear on his own. What followed was a tale not only of adventure but of tragedy and redemption through faith.On leave from his US Navy base on Kodiak Island, twenty-year-old LaChance set out in late September 1964 for the extreme danger of the Alaskan wilderness. He struggled alone for nearly two weeks, during which he lost thirty pounds and an inch in height. Along the way, he never lost faith in himself, however. Later in life, he would again find himself lost but in a different kind of wilderness, though one every bit as deadly--that of alcoholism. Only through belief in a Higher Power was he able to survive both wildernesses, and in so doing, find contentment, faith, and true love.Lost and Found in Alaska: A True Story of Survival and Miracles on Kodiak Island...and Elsewhere will help every reader become aware of his or her Higher Power. That Power resides within them, and always has, and if they are willing to surrender to it, they can find serenity.

'Tommy' Lascelles was Private Secretary to four monarchs - and depicted in the Netflix hit The Crown. These diaries reveal the inside story of the royal household during the abdication crisis, the second world war and the Princess Margaret-Peter Townsend affair'Brilliantly entertaining and historically priceless' Spectator

Three of the greatest football clubs: Celtic, Liverpool and Manchester United. Their three greatest managers: Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Matt Busby.

A provocative and timely examination of the royal family's role in contemporary Britain, covering their finances and constitutional role.

The Evidence of Things Not Seen is the W.H. Murray's award-winning autobiography. Murray recounts his extraordinary life, from his involvement in WWII to exploratory climbs in the Himalaya.

No one expected the San Francisco 49ers to be in the 2019 Super Bowl. This book tells the gripping story of a a bunch of humble, hard-working and tough-minded overachievers who came together to form a brutal defense and explosive offense, through a 13-3 season and an astounding playoff run.A collective of eight 49ers sportswriters looks at the team's history, roster building, offensive and defensive schemes, and the many characters and stories that these season featured. Nick Bosa planting the flag in Cleveland and skidding on his belly across a soggy Washington field. Kwon Alexander's dominating linebacker play, his torn pectoral muscle and "Legendary" recovery. Raheem Mostert's rise from a punt returner discarded by 6 teams to a dominating running back who gained 220 yards in a single playoff game. Cornerback Richard Sherman's return to his future Hall of Fame form, as he led a group of unknown defensive backs to form the the most dominant secondary in the NFL. Rookie Dre Greenlaw's heroics in both games against Seattle, intercepting Russell Wilson in overtime, then stoning tight end Jacob Hollister at the goal line on 4th down to win first seed in the playoffs. Playoff dominance, leading 27-0 against Green Bay at halftime of the NFC Championship Game, and rushing the Minnesota with six sacks on Kirk Cousins, who had been sacked only 26 times in the previous 16 games.The stories are epic, funny, and unexpected. The 2019 49ers took a wild ride that fans will want to revisit again and again over the years. This book takes you along on that ride.

Giuseppe Garibaldi was praised for his military genius, his courage, and his charisma. In this landmark biography, Christopher Hibbert reveals how this iconic figure and architect of Italian unification earned the adulation of not only his fellow Italians, but people across the globe.

In this volume, based on the series of Alexander Lectures she delivered at the University of Toronto, Julia Kristeva explores the philosophical aspects of Hannah Arendt's work: her understanding of such concepts as language, self, body, political space, and life. Kristeva's aim is to clarify contradictions in Arendt's thought as well as correct misapprehensions about her political and philosophical views.The first two chapters describe how Arendt followed an original conception of human narrative, such that life, action, and even thought, are only human when they can be narrated and thus shared with other persons who, through the evocation of memory, complete the story and make history into a condensed sign, into a revelation of the 'who.' The third chapter concentrates on Arendt's work in relation to her twentieth-century contemporaries, especially Isak Dinesen, Brecht, Kafka, and Nathalie Sarraute. In the last two chapters, on the body and the Kantian concept of judgment, Kristeva offers a subtle critical exploration of Arendt's ignoring of the world of the unconscious opened up by psychoanalysis, an exploration that, paradoxically, reveals the political force of Arendt's acceptance of herself as woman and Jew.Kristeva's account of Arendt's 'philosophy of narrative' is clear, coherent, forceful, and often impassioned. Much has been written in North America about Arendt's political work, but little about her more philosophical endeavours. Hannah Arendt: Life Is a Narrative makes a compelling case that Arendt may be the twentieth century's only true political philosopher.

The son of white captive Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker rose from able warrior to tribal leader on the Comanche reservation. In this crisp and readable biography, William Hagan presents a well-balanced portrait of Quanah Parker, the chief, and Quanah, the man torn between two worlds.

**A Sunday Times Book of the Year**The closest you'll ever get to the most infamous drug kingpin in modern history, told by the person who stood by his sideThe story of Pablo Escobar, one of the wealthiest, powerful and violent criminals of all time has fascinated the world.