Best of
Biography

1944

Nikolai Gogol


Vladimir Nabokov - 1944
    There have been many bad, but a few good, translations of his work available in English, and critics have often tended to put labels on him, to make him out "the Russian Dickens" or a forerunner of our own literary champions of the oppressed.In this brilliantly recreative study, Vladimir Nabokov shows us that Gogol's comedy was not Dickensian, but biting and salty, textured throughout by a use of the irrational not duplicated by any other writer; that, in his play The Government Inspector and his great novel Dead Souls , his depiction of the frauds of bureaucracy and the vagaries of Russian serf-owners were not so much intended to work social change as to serve as a framework for portraying the fantasies of the human spirit.Nabokov, whose own uniqueness is known through his novels Lolita and The Real Life of Sebastian Knight brings the uniqueness of Gogol to life—the strange, unhappy, self-deluding man and his singular literary methods and achievements.Nikolai Gogol was originally published by New Direction some years ago, when Edmund Wilson called it "one of the best volumes so far in the interesting series called 'Makers of the Modern Literature'." And B.G. Guerney said in the New Republic, "The creative reader (and student) who wishes to soar on Gogol's own wingéd-steed troika will choose Nabokov as his exhilarating courier."

Behind the Ranges: biography of J. O. Fraser of Lisuland, Southwest China


Geraldine Guinness Taylor - 1944
    Fraser"Back cover: "The stories of struggles and victories of missionary pioneers are exciting and interesting. Behind The Ranges is no exception. From James Fraser's days of youthful adventure in England to his glorious home-going while working among his beloved Lisu, his biography throbs with the excitement of God's work in one individual."This magnificent portrayal gives glimpses of his call to missions, the challenge to selflessness, the guiding hand of God, and the change in lives as a result of his ministry. Twenty-six chapters trace this godly missionary's life. Among the many incidents which add to the adventure are a pagan marriage festival among Lisu tribespeople and a 'revolution which made the cities of the Yangtze run with blood.' But outstanding is the account of the remarkable answers to the prayers of the 'Apostle to the Lisu.' Referring to the latter, W. H. Aldis writes, 'The chapter The Prayer of Faith is almost a classic commentary on intercessory prayer.'"Today, decades after the establishing of Christ's church among the Lisu of Southwest China, it can be said that 'by the tens of thousands the Lisu tribespeople of southwest China have responded to the Gospel. This movement of God in villages high on the ridges of the Mekong and Salween canyons is one of the brightest spots in modern missionary annals.'"

The Life and Selected Writings


Thomas Jefferson - 1944
    "Jefferson aspired beyond the ambition of a nationality, and embraced in his view the whole future of man." --Henry Adams

Gilbert Keith Chesterton


Maisie Ward - 1944
    Originally published in 1942, just six years after Chesterton's untimely death, this book combines Ward's unique perspective as the author's friend and publisher with an examination of his personal correspondence and interviews with his closest friends and family. Here are Chesterton's childhood and school days, the friendship and foolery of youth, his early theological development, high spirited love letters, the variety and richness of his travel and life abroad, his lectures, his writings, and his indominable spirit. A Sheed & Ward Classic, this re-release of Ward's definitive biography is sure to delight existing 'Chestertonians' and introduce a new generation to one of Catholicism's brightest lights. From the new introduction by Andrew Greeley: 'This book had a decisive impact on me and on my life when I read it at the age of sixteen and not merely because my fictional detective Blackie Ryan is an American cousin of GKC's Father Brown. Ms. Ward's biography introduced me not only to a world of literature of which I had been unaware, but to a perspective on literature and life which was enormously attractive because it confirmed many of the insights, instincts, inclinations, biases, and loves which were knocking around in my adolescent skull. I have been a Chestertonian all my life in part because I had been one without knowing it even before I read Ms. Ward's biography.'"

Paul of Tarsus


Joseph Holzner - 1944
    Paul into a unified and inspiring biography. With a novelist's ability to take you into a scene and a historian's rigorous concern for accuracy, he traces this noble Apostle's life from his early years as a disciple of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel through his zealous persecution of the Church as a Pharisee, through his miraculous conversion, his tireless efforts to spread the Gospel, and his martyr's death in imperial Rome. Along the way, he provides instructive background information about the religious and social situation of Paul's times and the circumstances of his New Testament epistles. Here, then, is a complete and enlightening introduction to the Apostle to the Gentiles.

William the Silent: William of Nassau, Prince of Orange 1533-1584


C.V. Wedgwood - 1944
    William's life and exploits reveal him as an inspiring symbol of moral and political force in an age when ideology and intolerance were the rule.

The Unashamed Accompanist


Gerald Moore - 1944
    

The Photographs of Abraham Lincoln


Frederick Hill Meserve - 1944
    

Try and Stop Me


Bennett Cerf - 1944
    A collection of anecdotes and stories, mostly humorous, illustrated by Carl Rose.

Mozart: His Character, His Work


Alfred Einstein - 1944
    Written by one of the world's outstanding music historians and critics, the late Alfred Einstein, this classic study of Mozart's character and works brings to light many new facts about his relationship with his family, his susceptibility to ambitious women, and his associations with musical contemporaries, as well as offering a penetrating analysis of his operas, piano music, chamber music, and symphonies.

Two Worlds Of Music


Berta Geissmar - 1944
    

Citizen Toussaint


Ralph Korngold - 1944
    Haitian history backgrounds his life with its interplay of Spanish, French & English forces, & the internal struggle between the upper & lower class whites, the mulattoes & the Negroes. Self-taught, Toussaint made no break from slavery until spark of insurrection was fanned, & then, rose rapidly to power. He disciplined his troops in guerilla tactics, joined with Spain, only to become France's ally against the British. The slaves emancipated, he battled Napoleon who wished to restore slavery. Deserted by his officers, treacherously betrayed, Toussaint died in a French prison without any kind of honor. Instructive & informative reading for these days.--Kirkus (edited)

Confessions of Mrs. Smith: Reckless Recollections, True & Otherwise


Elinor Goulding Smith - 1944