previews & reviews
for Spring 2001
selected reviews...
- New Books about CLASSICAL MUSIC topics
- New BOOK REVIEWS
- Books Home Page
- Bestsellers
- Art, Architecture & Photography
- ART and Photography Books
- Audiobooks
- BIOGRAPHICAL BOOKS
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- New Children's Books
- MUSIC BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
- CHILDREN's BOOK REVIEWS
- Libros para Niños en Español
- Christian Books
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Literature & Fiction
- MUSIC BOOKS
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- REFERENCE BOOKS SALES
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science & Nature
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports & Outdoors
- Teens
- Travel
- NEW MUSIC
BOOKS
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BIOGRAPHIES
- BEST
SELLERS
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DISCS
newBOOKnews NEWSLETTER
Biographies
Biographies
POSTED JUNE 6, 2001
"At Home in Heart of Appalachia"
John O'Brien
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
John O'Brien was born in Philadelphia, his father having left his
beloved home in the West Virginia mountains after an impoverished
childhood made all the more painful by family tragedy. Struggling to
escape a father defeated by disappointment, displacement, and
poverty, John too left home. When he decided to settle near his
father's birthplace in West Virginia, he hoped to comprehend the
elder O'Brien's attachment to the land, as well as the disabling
fatalism he had carried north. "At Home in the Heart of Appalachia"
is a deeply evocative book that reveals a place and a way of
life--and the lives of an estranged father and son whose differences
rest, ironically, in their own powerful bonds to Appalachia. --From
the publisher
"Saving Milly: Love, Politics, and Parkinson's Disease"
Morton Kondracke
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
Morton Kondracke did not intend to marry Millicent Martinez. He
intended to marry an Ivy League heiress whose connections and
credentials might help his career. But Milly--a Mexican American,
inner-city Chicago kid--eventually captured his heart. They married,
and loved and fought with each other passionately for 20 years. Then
one day in 1987, Milly noticed a glitch in her handwriting; a small
tremor that would lead to the shattering diagnosis of Parkinson's
disease. "Saving Milly" is a moving, unflinchingly honest memoir by
the renowned political journalist of his extraordinary relationship
with his wife, Milly, and how her battle with Parkinson's disease
has transformed their lives. --From the publisher
"An Italian Affair"
Laura Fraser
Our price: $17.60 | You save: $4.40
...order here.
When Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school
sweetheart, she takes off for the Italian island of Ischia, to nurse
her shattered ego. There she meets M., an aesthetics professor from
Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be
a casual vacation tryst turns into a passionate, transatlantic love
affair, as they rendezvous in Marrakech, Lago Maggiore, Stromboli,
London, and San Francisco--each encounter a delirious immersion into
place and into each other. Both travelogue and memoir, "An Italian
Affair" is wonderfully made of rich, sensual detail, with the
irresistible honesty of a story told from and about the heart.
--From the publisher
SNEAK PEEK: CHARLES GALLENKAMP'S "DRAGON HUNTER"
"I was born to be an explorer. There never was any decision to
make. I couldn't do anything else and be happy.... The desire to see
new places, to discover new facts--the curiosity of life always has
been a resistless driving force in me.' So Roy Chapman Andrews wrote
in the foreword to his book "This Business of Exploring." It was a
conviction he repeated many times in print and from lecture
platforms, and the course of his life confirmed its validity."
Continue reading from Charles Gallenkamp's "Dragon Hunter: Roy
Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions."
...order here.
NEW IN HARDCOVER
"Tale of the Rose: The Passion That Inspired the Little Prince"
Consuelo De Saint-Exupery
Our price: $19.16 | You save: $4.79
...order here.
In the spring of 1944, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of
"The Little Prince," left his wife, Consuelo, to return to the war
in Europe. Soon after, he disappeared while flying a reconnaissance
mission over occupied France. Neither his plane nor his body was
ever found. "The Tale of the Rose" is Consuelo's account of their
extraordinary marriage. It is a love story about a pilot and his
wife, a man who yearned for the stars and the spirited woman who
gave him the strength to fulfill his dreams. --From the publisher
"Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood"
Suzanne Finstad
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
"Natasha" is the haunting story of Natalie Wood, a vulnerable and
talented actress whom many of us felt we knew. She has been
hailed--along with Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor--as one of
the top three female movie stars in the history of film, making her
a legend in her own lifetime and beyond. But the story of what
Natalie endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the
soundstages closed, has long been obscured. Until now. Suzanne
Finstad tells this beauty's heartbreaking story with sensitivity and
grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and
strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have
resisted. --From the publisher
"Wild Man: The Life and Times of Daniel Ellsberg"
Tom Wells
Our price: $26.00 | You save: $6.50
...order here.
In March 1971, Daniel Ellsberg gave The New York Times access to a
classified government report revealing the secret history of the
Vietnam War. Ellsberg, a former Vietnam Marine, said he violated
national security to protest an illegal war. The release of the
Pentagon Papers exploded in controversy. Ellsberg was indicted for
espionage; charges were dropped when it was revealed that Nixon
operatives burglarized the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist in
order to discredit him. "Wild Man" is the first biography of the man
at center stage in one of the most remarkable periods in American
history. --From the publisher
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table"
Ruth Reichl
Our price: $14.97 | You save: $9.98
...order here.
Ruth Reichl's autobiographical bestseller "Tender at the Bone"
disarmed readers with its droll candor, and in it the former
restaurant critic for The New York Times and editor in chief of
Gourmet magazine told great stories about growing up and loving
food. "Comfort Me with Apples" begins where the first book ended,
tracing Reichl's evolution from chef to food writer while detailing
the dissolution of her first marriage, the start of a second, and
motherhood at the age of 40. The book also limns a sensual journey,
Reichl's awakening to the pleasures of sex as well as food, and also
to love. Reichl interweaves her diverse coming-of-age narratives
with passion (especially on the subject of food), wit, and a
no-nonsense grace, all of which add up to a wonderful
read--entertaining, but moving too.
"Augusta, Gone: A True Story"
Martha Tod Dudman
Our price: $18.40 | You save: $4.60
...order here.
Parents are advised to approach this wrenching memoir with
caution--it will evoke all their worst fears. It's not just that
Martha Tod Dudman frankly delineates her daughter Augusta's descent
into drinking, smoking, drug use, and truancy, as well as casually
lying about all of it. Dudman also acknowledges her own feelings of
isolation, despair, and incredible guilt. Dudman's plain, punchy
prose perfectly conveys the terror of a parent watching her child's
life, along with her own, careen off the tracks, yet she also
captures the charm and vitality of her "impossible, enraging,
engaging, infuriating" daughter. As upsetting as this narrative
often gets, there's always a trace of hope that Augusta and her
family will pull through.
"A Primate's Memoir"
Robert M. Sapolsky
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
Robert Sapolsky, the author of "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" and
other popular books on animal and human behavior, decided early in
life to become a primatologist, volunteering at the American Museum
of Natural History and badgering his high school principal to let
him study Swahili to prepare for travel in Africa. His memoir is, in
the main, quite humorous, although Sapolsky flings a few darts along
the way at the late activist Dian Fossey and at local bureaucrats
whose interests did not often coincide with those of Sapolsky's wild
charges. "A Primate's Memoir" is also full of good information on
primates and primatology, a subject whose practitioners, it seems,
are constantly fighting to save species and ecosystems.
DEAR OLD DAD
Let's be honest: Have you ever seen your father wear that tie you
gave him last year? And does he really need another pair of socks?
This Father's Day, give your dad a break: send him an Amazon.com
gift certificate and let him choose exactly what he wants. He'll
love you for it!
...order here.
USED BOOKS
Attention, budget-minded book fans. Discover used books at great
prices by visiting Used Books: Biographies & Memoirs.
...order here.
Sell your old biographies and memoirs--and make money. It's
easy--you can list your items at Amazon.com in less than 60 seconds.
If you're ready, get started now.
...order here.
FIND MORE GREAT BOOKS
To receive more recommendations from the Travel, History, and
Nonfiction editors, just visit the Amazon.com Delivers sign-up page.
David McCullough
Our price: $28.00 | You save: $7.00
...order here.
Due to hit the shelves May 22, "John Adams" is the latest work by
master historian and storyteller David McCullough. Though often
overshadowed by the lustrous presidents Washington and Jefferson,
who bracketed his tenure in office, John Adams emerges from
McCullough's brilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only
for his significant role in the American Revolution but also for
maintaining his personal integrity in its strife-filled aftermath.
"Staying Tuned: A Life in Journalism"
Daniel Schorr
Our price: $21.56 | You save: $5.39
...order here.
Long a familiar face to American television-news viewers, and more
recently a familiar voice to public-radio listeners, Daniel Schorr
recounts his 60-plus-year career covering some of the most
significant events of the last century in "Staying Tuned."
"Desertion: In the Time of Vietnam"
Jack Todd
Our price: $19.20 | You save: $4.80
...order here.
In "Desertion," Jack Todd relays a fateful decision he made in 1969.
A farm boy from a time and place where the obligation to serve in
the military was taken for granted, Todd had just completed basic
training at an army post near Seattle when he opted to take a
Vietnam-veteran friend's advice and slip across the border into
British Columbia rather than risk his life fighting in a war he
didn't support.
SNEAK PEEK
"But in the winter of 1784, "Vindication" lay nearly a decade in the
future. For now, Mary and Eliza were two high-strung young women
living on top of each other in a cold, dreary Hackney boardinghouse.
Mary had caught Bishop's cold and fever, and Eliza's head ached
perpetually. They had only three guineas between them and few
visitors. Eliza's momentous decision appalled (and doubtless
threatened) many of their friends like 'new married' Mrs. Brooks,
who 'with grief of heart gave up my friendship,' Mary scoffed in a
letter to Everina, though plainly the rejection hurt. Worse, none of
the Wollstonecraft girls had future prospects. And while Mary's old
champions the Clares sent them wine and pie from Hoxton, it took a
bolder new friend to find them work."
Continue reading from chapter 2 of Diane Jacobs's "Her Own Woman: The
Life of Mary Wollstonecraft."
...order here.
NEW IN HARDCOVER
"A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan"
Michael K. Deaver
Our price: $15.00 | You save: $10.00
...order here.
Michael Deaver, a longtime political advisor who served as deputy
chief of staff in the Reagan White House, offers an approving,
affectionate, and well-written portrait of the former president in
"A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan."
"Blood Washes Blood: A True Story of Love, Murder, and Redemption
Under the Sicilian Sun"
Frank Viviano
Our price: $20.76 | You save: $5.19
...order here.
In 1995, two years after his grandfather whispered the name of his
great-great-grandfather's killer, Frank Viviano visited Sicily to
learn the events that shaped his namesake's life and strongly
influenced his own. Suspenseful and well-balanced, "Blood Washes
Blood" is an exciting and thoughtful page-turner, and a remarkable
story of family, mystery, and friendship.
"Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic
Expeditions"
Charles Gallenkamp
Our price: $23.96 | You save: $5.99
...order here.
From an early age, Roy Chapman Andrews wanted nothing more than to
be an adventurer. He got his chance when he talked his way onto the
staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1906, under whose
auspices, 15 years later, he was to mount the first of his Central
Asian expeditions. "Dragon Hunter" chronicles a decade-long program
of exploration that took Andrews and his team into the heart of the
Gobi, one of the last uncharted regions on earth.
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"The Queen and Di: The Untold Story"
Ingrid Seward
Our price: $20.76 | You save: $5.19
...order here.
Ingrid Seward, a prolific writer on the English royal family, was
the last journalist to interview Princess Diana before her death in
August 1997. In "The Queen and Di," Seward gives a worm's-eye view
of Diana's trouble-plagued life, layered with episodes of betrayal
and illness, and she accords full sympathy to the minor noblewoman
who became "the people's princess." She is still more sympathetic to
Diana's sometime nemesis Queen Elizabeth II, who, in Seward's
account, labored endlessly to preserve the dignity of the monarchy
in the face of a family that behaved in anything but a dignified
manner.
"Time Lord: Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time"
Clark Blaise
Our price: $19.20 | You save: $4.80
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375401768/ref=del_166404
In "Time Lord," Clark Blaise tells the remarkable story of Sir
Sandford Fleming, the man who convinced nations around the world to
adopt his own unified standard for telling time.
"Vermeer: A View of Delft"
Anthony Bailey
Our price: $22.00 | You save: $5.50
...order here.
In "Vermeer," Anthony Bailey presents a compelling portrait of Jan
Vermeer's life and character, long lost in history. Bailey
re-creates the 17th-century atmosphere, introduces Vermeer's
contemporaries, and portrays his domestic life in vibrant detail.
Drawing on period documents and his own intense curiosity, Bailey
sheds light on the science and artistry behind the glorious, almost
mystical, paintings. --From the publisher
Editor, Stefanie Hargreaves
©, 2001 amazon.com and associate ncdn
WHAT WE'RE READING, Posted 2 MAY 2001
"Tell Me a Story: Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television"
Don Hewitt
...order here.
Don Hewitt barely knew what television was when a fellow print
journalist told him of an opening at CBS in 1948 ("You mean, where
you sit at home and watch little pictures in a box?" he asked), but
his decisive personality suited the new medium's spontaneous
techniques. In "Tell Me a Story," Hewitt fondly recalls his years as
the founder and producer of 60 Minutes, chronicles the evolution of
broadcast journalism, and expresses faith in the idealism that still
fires the men and women who practice it.
"Country Matters:
The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving from a
Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse"
Michael Korda
...order here.
Despite being city born and bred, Michael Korda looked to the
country when it was time to put down roots. He and his wife escaped
Manhattan for tiny Pleasant Valley, New York, and began blending
into their new environment. A natural raconteur, Korda makes the
quirks of living in an old house and the quest for local status in
an insular community highly entertaining, and he proves once again
that, while he may not be handy with tools, he certainly knows his
way around the written word.
"Special Agent: My Life on the Front Lines As a Woman in the FBI"
Candice Delong
...order here.
Readers may well find themselves looking nervously over their
shoulders after finishing this memoir by Candice DeLong, who met a
lot of Hannibal Lecter's soul mates during her 20 years as a
profiler for the FBI. In addition to chronicling a stream of
fascinating (and often deeply disturbing) high-profile cases like
the Unabomber, DeLong's narrative portrays a changing FBI, which now
values the special perspectives and contributions of the female
agents it once scorned.
NEW IN PAPERBACK
"Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Women"
Marie Brenner
...order here.
"Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II"
George Weigel
...order here.
"The Broke Diaries:
The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures
of a Good Girl Gone Broke"
Angela Nissel
...order here.
"Mockingbird Years:
A Life in and Out of Therapy"
Emily Fox Gordon
...order here.
"The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle
to Save the Redwoods"
Julia Butterfly Hill
...order here.
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"Granny D: Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year"
Doris Haddock
...order here.
In February 2000, Doris Haddock decided to travel to Washington,
D.C., to lobby for campaign finance reform. So, at age 89, she left
Los Angeles--on foot--to set out for the nation's capital. She
averaged 10 miles per day, and despite arthritis, emphysema, and
even a twister in Texas, made the journey in 14 months, educating
and talking with countless folks along the way. "Granny D," her
inspiring journal of the march, is more than a political platform or
a call to action--it's a chronicle of a rich and meaningful life.
"Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A.
Times Dynasty"
Dennis McDougal
...order here.
The Flamboyant Walrus, the Pennypinching Fox, the Daredevil, and the
Cereal Killer--these are the players who made and broke the Los
Angeles Times over the century it was owned by the powerful Chandler
family, infamous for greed, political powerbroking, even the making
of Los Angeles. A Times investigative reporter himself, Dennis
McDougal writes this much-needed account with the passion that comes
from witnessing the destruction of something dear. It's a riveting
tale about a dynamic, if not always ethical, bunch.
"Welch: An American Icon"
Janet Lowe
...order here.
In "Welch: An American Icon," financial writer Janet Lowe defines
the legacy that legendary General Electric chairman Jack Welch will
leave behind when he retires in the near future. Lowe examines how
he "made himself into a global icon representing American business
in its most powerful, most impressive, most efficient, and most
admired incarnation." This is the most up-to-date look at a highly
competitive strategist whose shoes will indeed be difficult to fill.
"John Adams"
David McCullough
...order here.
Due to hit the shelves May 22, "John Adams" is the latest work by
master historian and storyteller David McCullough. Though often
overshadowed by the lustrous presidents Washington and Jefferson,
who bracketed his tenure in office, Adams emerges from McCullough's
brilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only for his
significant role in the American Revolution but also for maintaining
his personal integrity in the war's strife-filled aftermath.
"Augusta, Gone: A True Story"
Martha Tod Dudman
...order here.
Parents are advised to approach this wrenching memoir with caution: it will evoke all their worst fears. It's not just that Martha Tod Dudman frankly delineates her daughter Augusta's descent into drinking, smoking, drug use, and truancy, as well as casually lying about all of it. Dudman also acknowledges her own feelings of isolation, despair, and incredible guilt. Her plain, punchy prose perfectly conveys the terror of a parent watching her child's life, along with her own, careen off the tracks, yet she also captures the charm and vitality of her "impossible, enraging, engaging, infuriating" daughter.
"Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi"
Stanley A. Wolpert
...order here.
The concision and clarity of Stanley Wolpert's "Gandhi's Passion" have their roots in the author's 50-year study of India. The depth of his knowledge and maturity of his perspective make this an essential volume for general readers seeking to understand how Mohandas
K. Gandhi, privileged son of a princely Indian state's prime minister, was transformed into Mahatma ("great soul"), champion of India's despised untouchables and the oppressed throughout the world.
Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History" Helene
Stapinski
...order here.
Fans of Mary Karr's groundbreaking memoir "The Liars' Club" will relish the similarly funny, tough-minded tone of Helene Stapinski's recollections centering on her family's petty criminal history in the sordid precincts of Jersey City. But Stapinski is nobody's clone; "Five-Finger Discount" has a tart, distinctively urban Northeast flavor that will ring a bell with anyone familiar with America's aging, deteriorating cities. Her frank rendering of her mixed feelings as Jersey City was slowly upscaled reminds us what is gained and lost through gentrification.
NEW IN PAPERBACK
"Of Time and Memory: My Parents' Love Story"
Don J. Snyder
...order here.
"A Little Pregnant: Our Memoir of Fertility, Infertility, and a Marriage"
Linda Carbone
...order here.
"The Cap: The Price of a Life"
Roman Frister
...order here.
"First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers"
Loung Ung
...order here.
"Colors of the Mountain"
Da Chen
...order here.
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin"
H. W. Brands
...order here.
Benjamin Franklin may have been the most remarkable American ever to live: a printer, scientist, inventor, politician, diplomat, and--finally--an icon. His life was so sweeping that this comprehensive biography by H.W. Brands at times reads like a history of the United States during the 18th century. Brands pours Franklin's numerous and varied accomplishments into an engrossing narrative, and they leap to life on these pages as the grand story of an exceptional man. "The First American" is an altogether excellent biography.
"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft"
Stephen King
...order here.
Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's "On Writing" really contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and a tough-love lesson for aspiring novelists. The memoir is terrific stuff, a vivid description of how a writer grew out of a misbehaving kid, how he overcame addiction, and his recovery from the van crash that nearly killed him, but the focus is always on what it all means to the craft. King isn't just a writer; he's a true teacher.
"A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness" David
J. Pelzer
...order here.
The third tale in David Pelzer's autobiographical trilogy, "A Man Named Dave" is an inspiring story of terror, recovery, and hope experienced by the author throughout his life. Ultimately triumphant, this book will have you living through the eyes of an abused child, a struggling young man, and an adult finally forgiving his dying father. (Reading with tissues nearby is recommended.) You'll finish "A Man Named Dave" with a warm heart and an enriched understanding of the need for compassion in all parts of life.
EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR ESSAY
Amanda Foreman felt a deeply personal connection with her subject while writing "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire."
...order here.
She writes, "I have lived a hundred lives through her eyes," in her account of the experience, written exclusively for Amazon.com.
...more here.
You'll find more bestselling biographies and memoirs, author interviews, and the latest great releases in Biographies & Memoirs.
...browse here.
POSTED JUNE 6, 2001
"At Home in Heart of Appalachia"
John O'Brien
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
John O'Brien was born in Philadelphia, his father having left his
beloved home in the West Virginia mountains after an impoverished
childhood made all the more painful by family tragedy. Struggling to
escape a father defeated by disappointment, displacement, and
poverty, John too left home. When he decided to settle near his
father's birthplace in West Virginia, he hoped to comprehend the
elder O'Brien's attachment to the land, as well as the disabling
fatalism he had carried north. "At Home in the Heart of Appalachia"
is a deeply evocative book that reveals a place and a way of
life--and the lives of an estranged father and son whose differences
rest, ironically, in their own powerful bonds to Appalachia. --From
the publisher
"Saving Milly: Love, Politics, and Parkinson's Disease"
Morton Kondracke
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
Morton Kondracke did not intend to marry Millicent Martinez. He
intended to marry an Ivy League heiress whose connections and
credentials might help his career. But Milly--a Mexican American,
inner-city Chicago kid--eventually captured his heart. They married,
and loved and fought with each other passionately for 20 years. Then
one day in 1987, Milly noticed a glitch in her handwriting; a small
tremor that would lead to the shattering diagnosis of Parkinson's
disease. "Saving Milly" is a moving, unflinchingly honest memoir by
the renowned political journalist of his extraordinary relationship
with his wife, Milly, and how her battle with Parkinson's disease
has transformed their lives. --From the publisher
"An Italian Affair"
Laura Fraser
Our price: $17.60 | You save: $4.40
...order here.
When Laura Fraser's husband leaves her for his high school
sweetheart, she takes off for the Italian island of Ischia, to nurse
her shattered ego. There she meets M., an aesthetics professor from
Paris with an oversized love of life. What they both assume will be
a casual vacation tryst turns into a passionate, transatlantic love
affair, as they rendezvous in Marrakech, Lago Maggiore, Stromboli,
London, and San Francisco--each encounter a delirious immersion into
place and into each other. Both travelogue and memoir, "An Italian
Affair" is wonderfully made of rich, sensual detail, with the
irresistible honesty of a story told from and about the heart.
--From the publisher
SNEAK PEEK: CHARLES GALLENKAMP'S "DRAGON HUNTER"
"I was born to be an explorer. There never was any decision to
make. I couldn't do anything else and be happy.... The desire to see
new places, to discover new facts--the curiosity of life always has
been a resistless driving force in me.' So Roy Chapman Andrews wrote
in the foreword to his book "This Business of Exploring." It was a
conviction he repeated many times in print and from lecture
platforms, and the course of his life confirmed its validity."
Continue reading from Charles Gallenkamp's "Dragon Hunter: Roy
Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic Expeditions."
...order here.
NEW IN HARDCOVER
"Tale of the Rose: The Passion That Inspired the Little Prince"
Consuelo De Saint-Exupery
Our price: $19.16 | You save: $4.79
...order here.
In the spring of 1944, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of
"The Little Prince," left his wife, Consuelo, to return to the war
in Europe. Soon after, he disappeared while flying a reconnaissance
mission over occupied France. Neither his plane nor his body was
ever found. "The Tale of the Rose" is Consuelo's account of their
extraordinary marriage. It is a love story about a pilot and his
wife, a man who yearned for the stars and the spirited woman who
gave him the strength to fulfill his dreams. --From the publisher
"Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood"
Suzanne Finstad
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
"Natasha" is the haunting story of Natalie Wood, a vulnerable and
talented actress whom many of us felt we knew. She has been
hailed--along with Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor--as one of
the top three female movie stars in the history of film, making her
a legend in her own lifetime and beyond. But the story of what
Natalie endured, of what her life was like when the doors of the
soundstages closed, has long been obscured. Until now. Suzanne
Finstad tells this beauty's heartbreaking story with sensitivity and
grace, revealing a complex and conflicting mix of fragility and
strength in a woman who was swept along by forces few could have
resisted. --From the publisher
"Wild Man: The Life and Times of Daniel Ellsberg"
Tom Wells
Our price: $26.00 | You save: $6.50
...order here.
In March 1971, Daniel Ellsberg gave The New York Times access to a
classified government report revealing the secret history of the
Vietnam War. Ellsberg, a former Vietnam Marine, said he violated
national security to protest an illegal war. The release of the
Pentagon Papers exploded in controversy. Ellsberg was indicted for
espionage; charges were dropped when it was revealed that Nixon
operatives burglarized the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist in
order to discredit him. "Wild Man" is the first biography of the man
at center stage in one of the most remarkable periods in American
history. --From the publisher
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table"
Ruth Reichl
Our price: $14.97 | You save: $9.98
...order here.
Ruth Reichl's autobiographical bestseller "Tender at the Bone"
disarmed readers with its droll candor, and in it the former
restaurant critic for The New York Times and editor in chief of
Gourmet magazine told great stories about growing up and loving
food. "Comfort Me with Apples" begins where the first book ended,
tracing Reichl's evolution from chef to food writer while detailing
the dissolution of her first marriage, the start of a second, and
motherhood at the age of 40. The book also limns a sensual journey,
Reichl's awakening to the pleasures of sex as well as food, and also
to love. Reichl interweaves her diverse coming-of-age narratives
with passion (especially on the subject of food), wit, and a
no-nonsense grace, all of which add up to a wonderful
read--entertaining, but moving too.
"Augusta, Gone: A True Story"
Martha Tod Dudman
Our price: $18.40 | You save: $4.60
...order here.
Parents are advised to approach this wrenching memoir with
caution--it will evoke all their worst fears. It's not just that
Martha Tod Dudman frankly delineates her daughter Augusta's descent
into drinking, smoking, drug use, and truancy, as well as casually
lying about all of it. Dudman also acknowledges her own feelings of
isolation, despair, and incredible guilt. Dudman's plain, punchy
prose perfectly conveys the terror of a parent watching her child's
life, along with her own, careen off the tracks, yet she also
captures the charm and vitality of her "impossible, enraging,
engaging, infuriating" daughter. As upsetting as this narrative
often gets, there's always a trace of hope that Augusta and her
family will pull through.
"A Primate's Memoir"
Robert M. Sapolsky
Our price: $20.00 | You save: $5.00
...order here.
Robert Sapolsky, the author of "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" and
other popular books on animal and human behavior, decided early in
life to become a primatologist, volunteering at the American Museum
of Natural History and badgering his high school principal to let
him study Swahili to prepare for travel in Africa. His memoir is, in
the main, quite humorous, although Sapolsky flings a few darts along
the way at the late activist Dian Fossey and at local bureaucrats
whose interests did not often coincide with those of Sapolsky's wild
charges. "A Primate's Memoir" is also full of good information on
primates and primatology, a subject whose practitioners, it seems,
are constantly fighting to save species and ecosystems.
DEAR OLD DAD
Let's be honest: Have you ever seen your father wear that tie you
gave him last year? And does he really need another pair of socks?
This Father's Day, give your dad a break: send him an Amazon.com
gift certificate and let him choose exactly what he wants. He'll
love you for it!
...order here.
USED BOOKS
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prices by visiting Used Books: Biographies & Memoirs.
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easy--you can list your items at Amazon.com in less than 60 seconds.
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FIND MORE GREAT BOOKS
To receive more recommendations from the Travel, History, and
Nonfiction editors, just visit the Amazon.com Delivers sign-up page.
David McCullough
Our price: $28.00 | You save: $7.00
...order here.
Due to hit the shelves May 22, "John Adams" is the latest work by
master historian and storyteller David McCullough. Though often
overshadowed by the lustrous presidents Washington and Jefferson,
who bracketed his tenure in office, John Adams emerges from
McCullough's brilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only
for his significant role in the American Revolution but also for
maintaining his personal integrity in its strife-filled aftermath.
"Staying Tuned: A Life in Journalism"
Daniel Schorr
Our price: $21.56 | You save: $5.39
...order here.
Long a familiar face to American television-news viewers, and more
recently a familiar voice to public-radio listeners, Daniel Schorr
recounts his 60-plus-year career covering some of the most
significant events of the last century in "Staying Tuned."
"Desertion: In the Time of Vietnam"
Jack Todd
Our price: $19.20 | You save: $4.80
...order here.
In "Desertion," Jack Todd relays a fateful decision he made in 1969.
A farm boy from a time and place where the obligation to serve in
the military was taken for granted, Todd had just completed basic
training at an army post near Seattle when he opted to take a
Vietnam-veteran friend's advice and slip across the border into
British Columbia rather than risk his life fighting in a war he
didn't support.
SNEAK PEEK
"But in the winter of 1784, "Vindication" lay nearly a decade in the
future. For now, Mary and Eliza were two high-strung young women
living on top of each other in a cold, dreary Hackney boardinghouse.
Mary had caught Bishop's cold and fever, and Eliza's head ached
perpetually. They had only three guineas between them and few
visitors. Eliza's momentous decision appalled (and doubtless
threatened) many of their friends like 'new married' Mrs. Brooks,
who 'with grief of heart gave up my friendship,' Mary scoffed in a
letter to Everina, though plainly the rejection hurt. Worse, none of
the Wollstonecraft girls had future prospects. And while Mary's old
champions the Clares sent them wine and pie from Hoxton, it took a
bolder new friend to find them work."
Continue reading from chapter 2 of Diane Jacobs's "Her Own Woman: The
Life of Mary Wollstonecraft."
...order here.
NEW IN HARDCOVER
"A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan"
Michael K. Deaver
Our price: $15.00 | You save: $10.00
...order here.
Michael Deaver, a longtime political advisor who served as deputy
chief of staff in the Reagan White House, offers an approving,
affectionate, and well-written portrait of the former president in
"A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan."
"Blood Washes Blood: A True Story of Love, Murder, and Redemption
Under the Sicilian Sun"
Frank Viviano
Our price: $20.76 | You save: $5.19
...order here.
In 1995, two years after his grandfather whispered the name of his
great-great-grandfather's killer, Frank Viviano visited Sicily to
learn the events that shaped his namesake's life and strongly
influenced his own. Suspenseful and well-balanced, "Blood Washes
Blood" is an exciting and thoughtful page-turner, and a remarkable
story of family, mystery, and friendship.
"Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews and the Central Asiatic
Expeditions"
Charles Gallenkamp
Our price: $23.96 | You save: $5.99
...order here.
From an early age, Roy Chapman Andrews wanted nothing more than to
be an adventurer. He got his chance when he talked his way onto the
staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1906, under whose
auspices, 15 years later, he was to mount the first of his Central
Asian expeditions. "Dragon Hunter" chronicles a decade-long program
of exploration that took Andrews and his team into the heart of the
Gobi, one of the last uncharted regions on earth.
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"The Queen and Di: The Untold Story"
Ingrid Seward
Our price: $20.76 | You save: $5.19
...order here.
Ingrid Seward, a prolific writer on the English royal family, was
the last journalist to interview Princess Diana before her death in
August 1997. In "The Queen and Di," Seward gives a worm's-eye view
of Diana's trouble-plagued life, layered with episodes of betrayal
and illness, and she accords full sympathy to the minor noblewoman
who became "the people's princess." She is still more sympathetic to
Diana's sometime nemesis Queen Elizabeth II, who, in Seward's
account, labored endlessly to preserve the dignity of the monarchy
in the face of a family that behaved in anything but a dignified
manner.
"Time Lord: Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time"
Clark Blaise
Our price: $19.20 | You save: $4.80
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375401768/ref=del_166404
In "Time Lord," Clark Blaise tells the remarkable story of Sir
Sandford Fleming, the man who convinced nations around the world to
adopt his own unified standard for telling time.
"Vermeer: A View of Delft"
Anthony Bailey
Our price: $22.00 | You save: $5.50
...order here.
In "Vermeer," Anthony Bailey presents a compelling portrait of Jan
Vermeer's life and character, long lost in history. Bailey
re-creates the 17th-century atmosphere, introduces Vermeer's
contemporaries, and portrays his domestic life in vibrant detail.
Drawing on period documents and his own intense curiosity, Bailey
sheds light on the science and artistry behind the glorious, almost
mystical, paintings. --From the publisher
Editor, Stefanie Hargreaves ©, 2001 amazon.com and associate ncdn
WHAT WE'RE READING, Posted 2 MAY 2001
"Tell Me a Story: Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television"
Don Hewitt
...order here.
Don Hewitt barely knew what television was when a fellow print
journalist told him of an opening at CBS in 1948 ("You mean, where
you sit at home and watch little pictures in a box?" he asked), but
his decisive personality suited the new medium's spontaneous
techniques. In "Tell Me a Story," Hewitt fondly recalls his years as
the founder and producer of 60 Minutes, chronicles the evolution of
broadcast journalism, and expresses faith in the idealism that still
fires the men and women who practice it.
"Country Matters:
The Pleasures and Tribulations of Moving from a
Big City to an Old Country Farmhouse"
Michael Korda
...order here.
Despite being city born and bred, Michael Korda looked to the
country when it was time to put down roots. He and his wife escaped
Manhattan for tiny Pleasant Valley, New York, and began blending
into their new environment. A natural raconteur, Korda makes the
quirks of living in an old house and the quest for local status in
an insular community highly entertaining, and he proves once again
that, while he may not be handy with tools, he certainly knows his
way around the written word.
"Special Agent: My Life on the Front Lines As a Woman in the FBI"
Candice Delong
...order here.
Readers may well find themselves looking nervously over their
shoulders after finishing this memoir by Candice DeLong, who met a
lot of Hannibal Lecter's soul mates during her 20 years as a
profiler for the FBI. In addition to chronicling a stream of
fascinating (and often deeply disturbing) high-profile cases like
the Unabomber, DeLong's narrative portrays a changing FBI, which now
values the special perspectives and contributions of the female
agents it once scorned.
NEW IN PAPERBACK
"Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Women"
Marie Brenner
...order here.
"Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II"
George Weigel
...order here.
"The Broke Diaries:
The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures
of a Good Girl Gone Broke"
Angela Nissel
...order here.
"Mockingbird Years:
A Life in and Out of Therapy"
Emily Fox Gordon
...order here.
"The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle
to Save the Redwoods"
Julia Butterfly Hill
...order here.
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"Granny D: Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year"
Doris Haddock
...order here.
In February 2000, Doris Haddock decided to travel to Washington,
D.C., to lobby for campaign finance reform. So, at age 89, she left
Los Angeles--on foot--to set out for the nation's capital. She
averaged 10 miles per day, and despite arthritis, emphysema, and
even a twister in Texas, made the journey in 14 months, educating
and talking with countless folks along the way. "Granny D," her
inspiring journal of the march, is more than a political platform or
a call to action--it's a chronicle of a rich and meaningful life.
"Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A.
Times Dynasty"
Dennis McDougal
...order here.
The Flamboyant Walrus, the Pennypinching Fox, the Daredevil, and the
Cereal Killer--these are the players who made and broke the Los
Angeles Times over the century it was owned by the powerful Chandler
family, infamous for greed, political powerbroking, even the making
of Los Angeles. A Times investigative reporter himself, Dennis
McDougal writes this much-needed account with the passion that comes
from witnessing the destruction of something dear. It's a riveting
tale about a dynamic, if not always ethical, bunch.
"Welch: An American Icon"
Janet Lowe
...order here.
In "Welch: An American Icon," financial writer Janet Lowe defines
the legacy that legendary General Electric chairman Jack Welch will
leave behind when he retires in the near future. Lowe examines how
he "made himself into a global icon representing American business
in its most powerful, most impressive, most efficient, and most
admired incarnation." This is the most up-to-date look at a highly
competitive strategist whose shoes will indeed be difficult to fill.
"John Adams"
David McCullough
...order here.
Due to hit the shelves May 22, "John Adams" is the latest work by
master historian and storyteller David McCullough. Though often
overshadowed by the lustrous presidents Washington and Jefferson,
who bracketed his tenure in office, Adams emerges from McCullough's
brilliant biography as a truly heroic figure--not only for his
significant role in the American Revolution but also for maintaining
his personal integrity in the war's strife-filled aftermath.
"Augusta, Gone: A True Story"
Martha Tod Dudman
...order here.
Parents are advised to approach this wrenching memoir with caution: it will evoke all their worst fears. It's not just that Martha Tod Dudman frankly delineates her daughter Augusta's descent into drinking, smoking, drug use, and truancy, as well as casually lying about all of it. Dudman also acknowledges her own feelings of isolation, despair, and incredible guilt. Her plain, punchy prose perfectly conveys the terror of a parent watching her child's life, along with her own, careen off the tracks, yet she also captures the charm and vitality of her "impossible, enraging, engaging, infuriating" daughter.
"Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi"
Stanley A. Wolpert
...order here.
The concision and clarity of Stanley Wolpert's "Gandhi's Passion" have their roots in the author's 50-year study of India. The depth of his knowledge and maturity of his perspective make this an essential volume for general readers seeking to understand how Mohandas K. Gandhi, privileged son of a princely Indian state's prime minister, was transformed into Mahatma ("great soul"), champion of India's despised untouchables and the oppressed throughout the world.
Five-Finger Discount: A Crooked Family History" Helene
Stapinski
...order here.
Fans of Mary Karr's groundbreaking memoir "The Liars' Club" will relish the similarly funny, tough-minded tone of Helene Stapinski's recollections centering on her family's petty criminal history in the sordid precincts of Jersey City. But Stapinski is nobody's clone; "Five-Finger Discount" has a tart, distinctively urban Northeast flavor that will ring a bell with anyone familiar with America's aging, deteriorating cities. Her frank rendering of her mixed feelings as Jersey City was slowly upscaled reminds us what is gained and lost through gentrification.
NEW IN PAPERBACK
"Of Time and Memory: My Parents' Love Story"
Don J. Snyder
...order here.
"A Little Pregnant: Our Memoir of Fertility, Infertility, and a Marriage"
Linda Carbone
...order here.
"The Cap: The Price of a Life"
Roman Frister
...order here.
"First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers"
Loung Ung
...order here.
"Colors of the Mountain"
Da Chen
...order here.
BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS BESTSELLERS
"The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin"
H. W. Brands
...order here.
Benjamin Franklin may have been the most remarkable American ever to live: a printer, scientist, inventor, politician, diplomat, and--finally--an icon. His life was so sweeping that this comprehensive biography by H.W. Brands at times reads like a history of the United States during the 18th century. Brands pours Franklin's numerous and varied accomplishments into an engrossing narrative, and they leap to life on these pages as the grand story of an exceptional man. "The First American" is an altogether excellent biography.
"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft"
Stephen King
...order here.
Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's "On Writing" really contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and a tough-love lesson for aspiring novelists. The memoir is terrific stuff, a vivid description of how a writer grew out of a misbehaving kid, how he overcame addiction, and his recovery from the van crash that nearly killed him, but the focus is always on what it all means to the craft. King isn't just a writer; he's a true teacher.
"A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness" David
J. Pelzer
...order here.
The third tale in David Pelzer's autobiographical trilogy, "A Man Named Dave" is an inspiring story of terror, recovery, and hope experienced by the author throughout his life. Ultimately triumphant, this book will have you living through the eyes of an abused child, a struggling young man, and an adult finally forgiving his dying father. (Reading with tissues nearby is recommended.) You'll finish "A Man Named Dave" with a warm heart and an enriched understanding of the need for compassion in all parts of life.
EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR ESSAY
Amanda Foreman felt a deeply personal connection with her subject while writing "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire."
...order here.
She writes, "I have lived a hundred lives through her eyes," in her account of the experience, written exclusively for Amazon.com.
...more here.
You'll find more bestselling biographies and memoirs, author interviews, and the latest great releases in Biographies & Memoirs.
...browse here.
Shawn Carkonen, Editor ncdn in association with amazon.com © 2001
"Running After Antelope"
Scott Carrier
...Order it here. Sometimes sad, sometimes haunting, often funny, Scott Carrier writes about travels to war-torn areas, personal relationship crises, and, of course, his quest to chase down an antelope. An NPR contributor for over two decades, Carrier is constantly moving, and he would be the first to remind us that the pursuit--be it for peace, love, or science--has a purpose unto itself. "Running After Antelope" celebrates that pursuit in engaging fashion.
"The Queen and Di: The Untold Story"
Ingrid Seward
...Order it here. Ingrid Seward, a prolific writer on the English royal family, was the last journalist to interview Princess Diana before her death in August 1997. In this intriguing book, Seward gives a worm's-eye view of Diana's trouble-plagued life and her complex relationship with her sometime nemesis Queen Elizabeth II. Sometimes racy and breathless, but intelligent all the same, "The Queen and Di" enlarges our understanding of the internal dynamics of the modern court while delivering no end of scandalous news, just as a palace chronicle should.
"Tip O' Neill and the Democratic Century: A Biography"
John Aloysius Farrell
...Order it here. The first full-scale biography of the larger-than-life politician from Massachusetts, "Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century" is an impressive achievement on many levels. John Farrell details the rise of O'Neill from state legislator to Speaker of the House while offering a superb governmental history of the U.S. in the process, highlighted by the epic ideological battles he fought with Ronald Reagan over the direction of the country. Sprawling and packed with anecdotes and insights, this is both a biography of a man and a portrait of an era.
NEW IN PAPERBACK
"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Vintage)"
Dave Eggers
...Order it here.
"Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo"
Kenn Harper
...Order it here.
"Time to Be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography"
P. D. James
...Order it here.
"Bye Bye Baby"
Caroline Sullivan
...Order it here.
"My Spy: Memoir of a CIA Wife"
Bina Cady Kiyonaga
...Order it here.
BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS
"Buddha (Penguin Lives)"
Karen Armstrong
...Order it here. Books on Buddhism may overflow the shelves, but the life story of the Buddha himself has remained obscure despite his more than 2,500 years of influence on millions of people around the world. In an attempt to rectify this, and to make the Buddha and Buddhism accessible to Westerners, Karen Armstrong has written a readable, sophisticated, and somewhat unconventional biography of one of the most influential people of all time, deftly blending history, philosophy, and mythology into her work.
"Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole"
Dr. Jerri Nielsen
...Order it here. Serving as doctor to the Americans "wintering over" at the South Pole in 1999, Jerri Nielsen made headlines when she discovered a lump in her breast that a self-administered biopsy revealed to be an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. No flights in or out of Antarctica were possible during the continent's long winter, and Nielsen's account of giving herself chemotherapy while she and her fellow "Polies" waited for the weather to break is even more gripping than the news reports at the time.
"Dr. Folkman's War: Angiogenesis and the Struggle to Defeat Cancer"
Robert Cooke
...Order it here. Is a cure for cancer in the immediate future? Judah Folkman believes so. In "Dr. Folkman's War," Robert Cooke offers an accessible account of Folkman's work on angiogenesis, or the formation of blood vessels, which may well point the way to new treatments for cancer and related illnesses. Following Folkman's roundabout trail, one marked by considerable resistance on the part of doubtful colleagues, readers will gain an understanding of how medical research is conducted and, almost certainly, a sense of wonder at the medical breakthroughs that are just around the corner.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY CARTER
Born on October 1, 1924, Jimmy Carter grew up on a Georgia farm during the Great Depression. In "An Hour Before Daylight," the former president tells the story of his rural boyhood and paints a sensitive portrait of America before the civil rights movement. In this exclusive interview with Amazon.com, President Carter talks about segregation, farm life, and his nickname, "Hotshot."
...here.
For quick links to the bestselling biographies and memoirs, author interviews, and the latest great releases, visit Biographies & Memoirs.
...browse Here.
Scott Carrier
...Order it here. Sometimes sad, sometimes haunting, often funny, Scott Carrier writes about travels to war-torn areas, personal relationship crises, and, of course, his quest to chase down an antelope. An NPR contributor for over two decades, Carrier is constantly moving, and he would be the first to remind us that the pursuit--be it for peace, love, or science--has a purpose unto itself. "Running After Antelope" celebrates that pursuit in engaging fashion.
"The Queen and Di: The Untold Story"
Ingrid Seward
...Order it here. Ingrid Seward, a prolific writer on the English royal family, was the last journalist to interview Princess Diana before her death in August 1997. In this intriguing book, Seward gives a worm's-eye view of Diana's trouble-plagued life and her complex relationship with her sometime nemesis Queen Elizabeth II. Sometimes racy and breathless, but intelligent all the same, "The Queen and Di" enlarges our understanding of the internal dynamics of the modern court while delivering no end of scandalous news, just as a palace chronicle should.
"Tip O' Neill and the Democratic Century: A Biography"
John Aloysius Farrell
...Order it here. The first full-scale biography of the larger-than-life politician from Massachusetts, "Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century" is an impressive achievement on many levels. John Farrell details the rise of O'Neill from state legislator to Speaker of the House while offering a superb governmental history of the U.S. in the process, highlighted by the epic ideological battles he fought with Ronald Reagan over the direction of the country. Sprawling and packed with anecdotes and insights, this is both a biography of a man and a portrait of an era.
NEW IN PAPERBACK
"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Vintage)"
Dave Eggers
...Order it here.
"Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo"
Kenn Harper
...Order it here.
"Time to Be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography"
P. D. James
...Order it here.
"Bye Bye Baby"
Caroline Sullivan
...Order it here.
"My Spy: Memoir of a CIA Wife"
Bina Cady Kiyonaga
...Order it here.
BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIRS
"Buddha (Penguin Lives)"
Karen Armstrong
...Order it here. Books on Buddhism may overflow the shelves, but the life story of the Buddha himself has remained obscure despite his more than 2,500 years of influence on millions of people around the world. In an attempt to rectify this, and to make the Buddha and Buddhism accessible to Westerners, Karen Armstrong has written a readable, sophisticated, and somewhat unconventional biography of one of the most influential people of all time, deftly blending history, philosophy, and mythology into her work.
"Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole"
Dr. Jerri Nielsen
...Order it here. Serving as doctor to the Americans "wintering over" at the South Pole in 1999, Jerri Nielsen made headlines when she discovered a lump in her breast that a self-administered biopsy revealed to be an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. No flights in or out of Antarctica were possible during the continent's long winter, and Nielsen's account of giving herself chemotherapy while she and her fellow "Polies" waited for the weather to break is even more gripping than the news reports at the time.
"Dr. Folkman's War: Angiogenesis and the Struggle to Defeat Cancer"
Robert Cooke
...Order it here. Is a cure for cancer in the immediate future? Judah Folkman believes so. In "Dr. Folkman's War," Robert Cooke offers an accessible account of Folkman's work on angiogenesis, or the formation of blood vessels, which may well point the way to new treatments for cancer and related illnesses. Following Folkman's roundabout trail, one marked by considerable resistance on the part of doubtful colleagues, readers will gain an understanding of how medical research is conducted and, almost certainly, a sense of wonder at the medical breakthroughs that are just around the corner.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY CARTER
Born on October 1, 1924, Jimmy Carter grew up on a Georgia farm during the Great Depression. In "An Hour Before Daylight," the former president tells the story of his rural boyhood and paints a sensitive portrait of America before the civil rights movement. In this exclusive interview with Amazon.com, President Carter talks about segregation, farm life, and his nickname, "Hotshot."
...here.
For quick links to the bestselling biographies and memoirs, author interviews, and the latest great releases, visit Biographies & Memoirs.
...browse Here.
Shawn Carkonen, Editor
©, 2001, amazon.com and ncdn associate
~
LINKS:
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The reviews excerpted © 2001 amazon.com & associate ncdn and CDnow, TowerRecords, Barnes & Nobel associates.
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