Best of
Biography

1947

The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition


Anne Frank - 1947
    Version C is the one that is best known; however, all three versions were published in The Critical Edition. This ‘Definitive Edition’ is for general readers that has been compiled by Mirjam Pressler from Version C, supplemented with approximately 30% additional material from Versions A and B as well as material from five pages that were discovered in 1998.For use in schools and libraries only. An uncut edition of Anne Frank's diary includes entries originally omitted by her father and provides insight into Anne's relationship with her mother.

The Diary of a Young Girl


Anne Frank - 1947
    In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.--back cover

War as I Knew It


George S. Patton Jr. - 1947
    Patton, Jr., the legendary general, incendiary warrior, and unparalled tactician of World War II.Drawing from General Patton's vivid memories of battle and his detailed diaries, covering the moment the Third Army exploded onto the Brittany Peninsula to the final Allied casualty report, this narrative presents a grueling, human account of daily combat and heroic feats ??—?? including a riveting look at the Battle of the Bulge. Patton's letters from earlier military campaigns in North Africa and Sicily, complemented by a powerful retrospective of his guiding philosophies, further reveal a man of uncompromising will and uncommon character. War As I Knew It presents a fascinating portrait of the full-of-vinegar, controversial commander."Few military figures in American history have laid siege to the public imagination more relentlessly than George S. Patton, Jr...His name still evokes the dash and brio of a cavalry charge."??—??from the Introduction by Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Rick Atkinson

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin


Marguerite Henry - 1947
    But I like to remember him as a boy who wanted so very much to paint that he dug his colors out of the earth and made his brushes from his cat's tail." Marguerite Henry

Marlborough: His Life and Times, Book One


Winston S. Churchill - 1947
    Victorious in the Battles of Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and countless other campaigns, Marlborough, whose political intrigues were almost as legendary as his military skill, never fought a battle he didn't win. Although he helped James II crush the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, Marlborough later supported William of Orange against James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and brilliantly managed England's diplomatic triumphs during the War of the Spanish Succession. Marlborough also bequeathed the world another great British military strategist and diplomat—his descendant, Winston S. Churchill, who wrote this book to redeem Marlborough's reputation from Macaulay's smears.One million words long and ten years in the making, Churchill's Marlborough stands as both a literary and historical masterpiece, giving us unique insights into the Churchill of World War II, for just as Churchill's literary skill helps us understand the complexities of Marlborough's life, so too did his writing of Marlborough help Churchill master the arts of military strategy and diplomacy. This two-volume edition includes the entire text and almost all the original maps.

The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo


Lin Yutang - 1947
    Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Hieronymus Bosch


Wilhelm Fraenger - 1947
    For the millions of art lovers fascinated by the powerful paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, this book sheds light on the shifting tides of religious and secular thought that shaped the artist's world and work.

Reilly of the White House: Behind the Scenes with FDR


Michael Reilly - 1947
    Roosevelt. The book details his security and protection measures for the President, the close-calls from those attempting to harm FDR, and his worldwide travels, including meetings of Roosevelt with Churchill, Stalin, and other world leaders. From the dust jacket: Mike Reilly guarded, for four years, the number one Nazi target: FDR. This is the story of that stewardship, which ranged from buying White House groceries to standing behind a curtain with his gun trained on the middle button of a diplomat’s uniform.Reilly never left the President’s side. His protection methods had to be fast and frequently unorthodox. His behind-the-scenes story—of those methods, of the hair-trigger emergencies, of the world-famous people he met; above all, of FDR—is even faster and even more unorthodox.It was on December 7th, 1941, that Mike Reilly took over the top Secret Service spot of guarding the President. From that day on it was his business to protect the President from assassination which might come via guns, daggers, bombs, poison, fire, or the well-known blunt instrument. In order to get an armored car, for example—which the Constitution does not provide for—Mike had to borrow one from the Treasury Department. It was Al Capone’s originally and it served until one of the big automobile companies made one specially and leased it to the President for one dollar a year.

Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff


Opal Wheeler - 1947
    Unlike many of his contemporaries, he had few major problems to overcome. His work, his family life, all brought him the reward of renown and joy. Even the stiff finger which virtually ended his career as a musician was the means of emphasizing his genius as a composer. Opal Wheeler has written a most engaging story for children of this great man s life, and the carefully chosen selections from his compositions which have been added make this a distinguished acquisition to any young reader s library."

Knudsen: A Biography


Norman Beasley - 1947
    Norman Beasley presents the story of Signius Wilhelm Poul Knudsen, a young man who came to the U.S. with an unshakeable faith in American opportunity, an eye for efficiency, and twenty dollars in his pocket. Four decades later, that man would become Lieutenant-General William S. Knudsen, the mind behind America’s production at the most crucial point in modern history.Knudsen began his time in American industry in the shipyards and factories, eventually landing a job as foreman in a bicycle manufacturing plant. He quickly demonstrated his skill in organizing production. Henry Ford took notice and bought the company on the condition that Knudsen come work for him. Knudsen succeeded everywhere he went, leading first Ford and later Chevrolet to dominating the automobile markets.When WWII loomed on the horizon, President Roosevelt needed the best production man in the country to give the U.S. and its allies a fighting chance; he chose Knudsen.This inspiring story shows a man who believed in and achieved the American dream, rising from rags to riches and changing not only the world of his time, but the course of history. Without Knudsen, America, and indeed the world, might have faced a much darker future.

There once was a slave...the heroic story of Frederick Douglas


Shirley Graham Du Bois - 1947
    

Thomas Paine Author of the Declaration of Indpendence


Joseph Lewis - 1947
    

Albert Schweitzer: The Man and His Mind


George Seaver - 1947
    

My Life Story: An Autobiography


Joe Louis - 1947