The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the New York Times bestselling author of The Storm of War Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo: his battles are among the greatest in history, but Napoleon Bonaparte was far more than a military genius and astute leader of men. Like George Washington and his own hero Julius Caesar, he was one of the greatest soldier-statesmen of all times. Andrew Roberts's Napoleon is the first modern biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, he understood the strategic importance of telling his own story, and his memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, became the single bestselling book of the nineteenth... Views: 62
Celebrated for bringing a personal touch to history in her Pulitzer Prize--winning epic The Guns of August and other classic books, Barbara W. Tuchman reflects on world events and the historian's craft in these perceptive, essential essays. From thoughtful pieces on the historian's role to striking insights into America's past and present to trenchant observations on the international scene, Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. Spanning more than four decades of writing in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Harper's, The Nation, and The Saturday Evening Post, Tuchman weighs in on a range of eclectic topics, from Israel and Mao Tse-tung to a Freudian reading of Woodrow Wilson. This is a splendid body of work, the story of a lifetime spent "practicing history." Praise for Practicing History "Persuades and enthralls . . . I can... Views: 62
A deeply reported history of the business of hip-hop, and a blueprint for the careers of its three most dynamic stars: Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-ZBeing a successful musician was simply never enough for the three kings of hip-hop. With a combined net worth of well over $2 billion, Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z lifted themselves from childhood adversity into tycoon territory, amassing a level of fame and wealth that not only outshone all other contemporary hip-hop artists, but currently makes them the three richest American musicians, period. Yet their fortunes have little to do with selling their own albums: between Diddy's Ciroc vodka, Dre's $3 billion sale of his Beats headphones to Apple, and Jay-Z's Tidal streaming service and other assets, these artists have transcended pop music fame to become lifestyle icons and moguls.Hip-hop is no longer just a musical genre; it's become a way of life that encompasses fashion, film, food, drink, sports, electronics and more - one... Views: 62
When we went to the Palace to get The Beatles their OBEs. John Lennon had some acid with him. 'I'm gonna slip it into the Queen's tea,' he told me. 'I want to open her mind and try to get her to declare war on somewhere nice and warm so we can all go and fight on the beaches.' After Jane Asher dumped Paul McCartney he literally used to cry on my shoulder. We hit the bottle together. Hard. 'I had everything and I threw it all away,' he would say. Alistair Taylor was with The Beatles from the moment they signed with Brian Epstein. In fact, apart from the signatures of each of the Fab Four, his is the only other name on the contract. From the very beginning he travelled, ate, partied, and even holidayed with them, right up until the beginning of the group's spectacular break up. As the group's 'Mr Fixit' he settled paternity cases, bought islands, houses and estates, and took care of John, Paul, George and Ringo when their lifestyles became a little too lively. Alistair... Views: 61
No president looms larger in twentieth-century American history than Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and few life stories can match his for sheer drama. He was a man of large personality and a president of vast and enduring accomplishments. Yet, as the distinguished historian Alonzo Hamby argues, FDR's record as president was more mixed than we are often led to believe. Roosevelt was a great politician and war leader, but the New Deal, his most famous legacy, failed to achieve its goal of reviving the nation's economy, in no small measure because of FDR's hostility toward the business and financial communities.Hamby is no less perceptive about FDR's private life. Drawing on overlooked sources, he documents the president's final months in intimate detail, claiming that his perseverance despite his serious illness must be counted as one of the twentieth century's great feats of endurance. Man of Destiny is a measured account of the life, both personal... Views: 61
Product DescriptionDave Weinstein is angry. He is frustrated, confused, baffled, and quite frequently, very funny. He is also a general practitioner. These are his confessions. A woman troubled by pornographic dreams about Tom Jones. An 80 year-old man who can't remember why he's come to see the doctor. A woman with a common cold demanding (but not receiving) antibiotics. A man with a sore knee. A young woman who has been trying to conceive for a while but now finds herself pregnant and isn't sure she wants to go through with it. A 7-year-old boy with "tummy aches" that don't really exist. These are his patients. A witty insight into the life of a family doctor, this funny and moving account will change the way you look at your doctor next time you pop in with the sniffles.About the AuthorDr Benjamin Daniels is a GP. That is about as much as we can reveal about him. Views: 61
The stormy tale of a wife trapped in the antiquated ways of the past, and of two brothers who have fought on opposing sides of the Civil WarLucinda Delaney is a southern belle ruled by a vision of life that no longer exists. The Civil War has come and gone and her side has lost, yet she is determined to proceed as if nothing has changed—a denial that stokes the flames of her irrational angers. Despite her returned husband's devotion, Lucinda is sure he is having an affair with one of their slaves. After all, his Union-sympathizing brother, Tom, did just that, scandalously running away with the woman and settling into contented family life in Philadelphia. Over the years, her racist feelings and fears only intensify, and when it's time for her own daughter to marry, her chief concern is the color of the children. The Angry Wife is a memorable and impassioned dissection of prejudice, as well as a riveting portrait of post–Civil War America. This ebook features an... Views: 61
Scott Ian, rhythm guitarist and cofounder of Anthrax and author of I'm the Man, collects all of his craziest hard rock stories into one balls-to-the-wall volume. Access All Areas has tales of humor, excess, fun, debauchery, food, booze, and mayhem from Scott's many years on the road as well as his encounters with celebrities like Dimebag Darrell, Trent Reznor/NIN, Madonna, Lemmy Kilmister, John Carpenter, Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Slayer, David Lee Roth, and many more.In recent years, Scott Ian's "Speaking Words" club tours have drawn a devoted crowd of metal fans who love a good rock story. Ian has perfected his delivery, comic timing, and ability to highlight where the ridiculous meets the sublime. Best of all, Ian seems to lack the ability to be embarrassed, rendering Access All Areas howlingly funny, self-deprecating, and every bit as brash and brazen as one would expect from one of the original architects of speed metal. Views: 61
The “technically and emotionally heart-stopping poems” ( Spectator ) of Clive James are collected in this decades-spanning volume.
The poetry of Clive James has been delighting readers and winning awards for decades. His recent poems looking back over his extraordinarily rich life have brought him an even wider readership; some, such as “Japanese Maple” (first published in The New Yorker ), became global news events upon their publication. In this first collected volume of poetry, James makes his own selection from over fifty years’ work in verse: from his early satires to his late poems of valediction, he proves himself to be as well-suited to the intense demands of the short lyric as to those of the comic excursion. Collected Poems places James’s effortless fluency, his breath-taking thematic range, and his emotional power on full display―and will burnish his reputation as one of the most accomplished of our contemporary poets. ** Views: 61
A book about the life of Betty MacDonald Views: 61
A powerful account of a surprisingly forgotten tragedy of the Civil WarA stunning wartime account of human endurance and adventure, and an exploration of just how much the human body and mind can take, Sultana follows several young Union soldiers through the Civil War and what was, for them, its unimaginably disastrous aftermath. We see them enlist and then almost immediately be plunged into a cascading series of wartime horrors: Battle, trauma, prison camp, and, finally, the sinking of the Sultana, the steamboat that was taking them back home.On an April night in 1865, the Sultana slowly moved up the dark Mississippi, its overtaxed engines straining under the weight of a human cargo that included an estimated twenty-four hundred passengers — more than six times the number it was designed to carry. Most were weak, emaciated Union soldiers, recently paroled from Confederate prison camps, on their way home after enduring the violence of war. At two a.m... Views: 61
