In this extraordinary and beautifully-written autobiography, Asad tells of his initial rejection of all institutional religions, his entree into Taoism, his fascinating travels as a diplomat, and finally his embrace of Islam.

    She writes of the way the "unwanted" feeling was erased with devoted love and understanding and how the children united into one happy family. Her account reads like a novel, with scenes of hard times and triumphs described in vivid prose. The Family Nobody Wanted, which inspired two films, opened doors for other adoptive families and was a popular favorite among parents, young adults, and children for more than thirty years. Now this edition will introduce the classic to a new generation of readers. An epilogue by Helen Doss that updates the family's progress since 1954 will delight the book's loyal legion of fans around the world.

    This is one of the most tragic, yet most inspiring and faith-giving true stories of modern times.

    The inspirational story of Douglas Bader, DSO, DFC.

    Trotsky’s extraordinary life and extensive writings have left an indelible mark on revolutionary conscience; and yet there was at one time a danger that his name would disappear altogether from history. Isaac Deutscher’s magisterial three-volume biography was the first major publication to counter the powerful Stalinist propaganda machine, and in this definitive work Trotsky emerges in his real stature, as the most heroic, and ultimately tragic, character of the Russian revolution.This first volume of the trilogy, originally published in 1954, traces Trotsky’s political development: his early activities, the formation and crystallization of his distinctive and motivating idea—the permanent revolution— his long feud and final reconciliation with Lenin and Bolshevism, and his role in the October insurrection of 1917. The volume ends in the year 1921, when Trotsky, then at the climax of his power, unwittingly sowed the seeds of his own defeat.

    But it didn't stop him from exploring the American West. Here Wallace Stegner, a Pulitzer Prize-winner, gives us a thrilling account of Powell's struggle against western geography and Washington politics. We witness the successes and frustrations of Powell's distinguished career, and appreciate his unparalleled understanding of the West.<

    A memoir of the life of the first female Nobel Laureate for Literature, who was also a world citizen and a major humanitarian, Pearl (Sydenstricker) Buck (1892-1973) three quarters of the way through her life. Published by the John Day Company to whose president, Richard John Walsh (1886-1960), she was then married, the book was successful and temporarily revived her waning reputation. The China oriented writer Helen Foster Snow described her partnership with John Day and Walsh as "the most successful writing and publishing partnership in the history of American letters." The firm had published everything she'd written since their marriage in 1935. Her biographer, Professor Peter Conn, describes the book as "a thickly textured representation of the Chinese and American societies in which she had lived." Friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, cultural ambassador between China and America, tireless advocate for racial democracy and women's rights and founder of the first international adoption agency, this is a book by and about a special American citizen of the twentieth century

    Introduced to the West by Paul Brunton, Ramana Maharshi's spirituality, simplicity, kindness and shrewdness had a great impact on many Westerners.

    Escape seemed impossible--certainly dangerous. Yet Harriet did escape North, by the secret route called the Underground Railroad. Harriet didn't forget her people. Again and again she risked her life to lead them on the same secret, dangerous journey.

    Lee, no Confederate general was more feared or admired than Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Once derisively known as “Tom Fool,” Jackson was an innovative battlefield strategist who struck terror in the hearts of Union army commanders and inspired Confederate soldiers to victory after victory in the early days of the Civil War. A fanatically religious man, Jackson prayed at the start and conclusion of every battle—yet showed no mercy when confronting the enemy. Eccentric, enigmatic, and fiercely intelligent, he became the stuff of legend soon after he died from wounds suffered during the Battle of Chancellorsville; his untimely death would help to change the course of the conflict. Based on a wealth of first-person sources, including Jackson’s private papers and correspondences, and the memoirs of family, friends, and colleagues, They Called Him Stonewall is a masterful portrait of the man behind the myth.

    A biographical novel of Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln

    A brilliant and dedicated woman, she graduated from Hunter College and NYU Law School. She became head of the New York State Teachers Union and was a member of the Communist Party's (CPUSA's) National Council until 1949. "School of Darkness" is her autobiography, detailing her life's work with the Communist Party, her disillusionment, her testimony before the Tydings Committee, and her return to the Catholic faith with the assistance of Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen. Warning - this book will be difficult to put down. Have a "Look Inside". This is a "must read".

    

    He has collected anecdotes and assessments from a large number of Mr Jinnah’s colleagues and acquaintances, and he has strung them together very skilfully upon an outline of the domestic events of Mr Jinnah’s life and of the great political events in which he played so dominant a part.’—Tablet, 5 February 1955‘In his Jinnah Hector Bolitho has written his best book for many years—a direct, unpretentious biography of the man whose single and unswerving determination primarily created Pakistan and who…accepted the sacrifices entailed without demur.’—Daily Telegraph, 26 November 1954‘By the test of sheer achievement, Mohammed Ali Jinnah must be reckoned as one of the most dynamic and successful political leaders thrown up by the present century. It has fallen to Mr Bolitho to write the first full-scale biography of this remarkable man, and he has done it very successfully.’ —The Economist, 4 January 1955 ‘He has taken the greatest care to check his facts, and to take the opinions at first hand of Jinnah’s contemporaries. The result is a fascinating biography packed with incident and anecdote, which does not forget the magnitude and the growth of Jinnah—a biography that is eminently readable.’—Nottingham Journal, 1 February 1956

    S. Grant and the American Military Tradition, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Bruce Catton explores the life and legacy of one of the nation’s greatest and most misunderstood heroes, before, during, and after the terrible War Between the States that violently split the country in two. Beginning with Ulysses S. Grant’s youth in Ohio and his service as a young lieutenant under General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican-American War, the story continues through Grant’s post-war disgrace, his forced resignation for drinking, and his failures as a citizen farmer and salesman. But after the Civil War broke out, Grant rose from the rank of an unknown solider to commanding general of the US Army, finding redemption as the military savior of the embattled Union.   Proving his reputation as America’s premiere expert on the Civil War, Catton examines Grant’s campaigns in enthralling detail, including Fort Henry; Shiloh; the Siege of Vicksburg, which set the Confederate enemy on the inevitable road to defeat; and Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, which solidified Grant as a figure of national acclaim. Catton then explores Grant’s two-term presidency and final years, casting an illuminating new light on a complex and controversial national figure whose great accomplishments have all too often been downplayed or overlooked.

    Sharply observed, vivid, and dispassionate, it offers not only an unforgettable portrait of Wilde himself, his circle of friends, and his band of persecutors, but also a touching chronicle of Holland's own childhood, of the loneliness he experienced as the son of a remarkable, notorious father and of his emergence from the shadows of cruel injustice and dark scandal. "Fascinating for the light it sheds on Wilde's Oxford days and on his domestic life." - Atlantic Monthly "A strange chronicle . . . of considerable literary value." - New Yorker "Mr. Holland's vivid glimpses of the aftermath of that cause célèbre of the Nineties [do] a valuable service of his father's memory." - Saturday Review "An essential addition to Wildeana by a witness uniquely qualified to testify" - Library Journal "A biographical tour de force" - Observer

    This is the life story of Don Bede Griffiths, now a Benedictine monk of Prinknash Abbey, in England. It opens with a mystical experience of school days which led Griffiths to becoming a sensitive nature worshiper -- but with steadily diminishing religious faith. Then, under the influence of C.S. Lewis at Oxford, he launched into a wide program of reading philosophy and literature. Disillusioned by World War I, Griffiths and two friends cut themselves off from the world in a ""return to nature"", living in a remote cottage, entering gradually on a regime of fasting, then Bible reading and prayer. By degrees, Griffiths became intrigued by the Catholic Church and finally was baptised and soon thereafter entered monastic life.

    The written prayers of Peter Marshall includes: Part One - Pastoral Prayers (Personal Needs - Special Days - Nation and World) - Part Two - Senate Prayers (80th Congress & 81st Congress)

    His works uniquely reflect the man, and this is the landmark work of the journalist and co-author of plays, The Front Page and Twentieth Century.As Sidney Zion observes in his introduction: "To write a great autobiography, you have to live it. And while most writers are lucky to life half a life and are seldom comfortable doing it, Ben Hecht lived a dozen worlds, enjoying them as if he were a citizen of each. Acrobat, magician, poet, newspaperman, author, screenwriter, propagandist---Hecht was all of these and then some. He lived with passion and wit This book is loaded with marvelous tales of Chicago, New York and Hollywood, of H.L. Mencken, Charles MacArthur, John Barrymore, Harpo Marx, Sherwood Anderson, Fanny Brice, Dorothy Parker..."

    Note: this hardcover issue is available to purchase on Amazom.com.

    It was the honky-tonk where levee workers would congregate every Saturday night and trade with the gals who'd stroll up and down the floor and the bar. Those guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws. Bottles would come flying over the bandstand like crazy, and there was lots of just plain common shooting and cutting. But somehow all that jive didn't faze me at all, I was so happy to have some place to blow my horn." So says Louis Armstrong, a tough kid who just happened to be a musical genius, about one of the places where he performed and grew up. This raucous, rich tale of his early days in New Orleans concludes with his departure to Chicago at twenty-one to play with his boyhood idol King Oliver, and tells the story of a life that began, mythically, on July 4, 1900, in the city that sowed the seeds of jazz.

    A narrative of needle-nosed ships flying at blistering speeds, it is also the moving testament of a man risking his life to push back the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Like St.-Exupry, Bridgeman is capable of describing the vastness and beauty of the skies. But as America's foremost experimental test pilot, he is constantly aware of the multitude of technical information which he is called upon to use at any given instant.After the war, Bill Bridgeman left the Navy a restless man. Seeking action, he joined Douglas Aircraft as an engineering test pilot. Soon he was asked to take over the final stages of the Skyrocket testing program. The Skyrocket, a javelin-shaped experimental ship, was a challenge to Bridgeman. The story of his day-by-day life with the plane is the substance of THE LONELY SKY.

    

    

    

    

    In the 20th century, however, he came to be regarded as one of the greatest English poets & painters, one whose insights have profoundly influenced such thinkers as Nietzsche, Freud & D.H. Lawrence. In this volume, a leading Blake scholar shows how the political & social events & movements of the 18th & early 19th centuries influenced or inspired many of his finest poems: "America," "Europe," "The Marriage of Heaven & Hell," "The French Revolution," "Songs of Innocence & of Experience," "The Four Zoas" etc. While the poems can be read on many levels, this in-depth critical study demonstrates that much of the strange symbolism of this poetry represents a literary campaign against the political tyranny of the day. For the 3rd edition, Erdman added much new material that came to light after the original publication of the book in 1954. Also included are over 30 illustrations, a Chronology, an Appendix of Additions & Revisions, & other materials. Written for students, scholars & specialists—anyone interested in the relationship of the poet's extraordinary symbolism & complex thought to the history of his own times—Erdman's meticulously documented study is the definitive treatment of this aspect of Blake's work. "For our sense of Blake in his own times we are indebted to David Erdman more than anyone else."—Times Literary Supplement.

    Born in Lexington, Kentucky, but drawn by the promise of the growing West, Shelby became one of the richest men in Missouri. Siding with the Confederacy at the outbreak of the Civil War, he organized his Iron Brigade of cavalry--whose ranks included Frank and Jesse James--taught his men a slashing frontier style of fighting, and led them on incredible raids against Federal forces in Missouri. When the Confederacy fell, Shelby refused to surrender and instead took his command to Mexico, where they fought in support of the emperor Maximilian. Upon his return to Missouri, Shelby became an immensely popular figure in the state, eventually attaining the status of folk hero, a living symbol of the Civil War in the West."O'Flaherty has written a first-rate book . . . combining careful scholarship with the ability to tell a story in an engaging manner.--Saturday Review"An interesting and readable life story of a long neglected Confederate general.--Military Affairs

    And yet, in his life and in his art, he was constantly haunted by the symbolic 'fable' which he longed to find beneath the surface reality of the everyday. From his dream notebooks to his travels in Eastern Europe, Muir paints an unforgettable picture of the slow and sometimes painful growth of a poet's sensibility as he comes to terms with his own nature amidst the terror and confusion of the twentieth century.

    

    

    A slim, small boy in Kansas in 1876, Gene was soon to move to New Mexico with his family where the years of ranching in the San Andres Mountains were to provide the vivid background of his many novels and stories. Vivid itself, the biography seems to prove its point- that Rhodes didn't need to invent material- for as he grew, ranched, went to college and wrote, one exciting thing after another seemed to happen to him. As a child he rescued his baby brother from a wolf; at 12 he was busting broncos; as a rancher and struggling writer he fell in love by mail and went East to marry May Davidson. For the audience, a better than average ""western"" pays tribute to days of glory.

    With a handful of German Special Troops, Otto Skorzeny performed the impossible by snatching Mussolini from an "impenetrable" mountain. He astounded the world and gave a brilliant demonstration of the new warfare, which extends beyond the lines of battle beyond the lines of battle beyond even the "rules of war".Here is the inside story of the abduction of Horthy from Budapest, the "disguised brigade" behind American lines in the Ardennes, the destruction of the Nymegan bridge, and the incredible rescue of the "doomed" German division in the Balkans. Here is the complete and astounding saga of Skorzeny, the greatest adventurer of World War II.

    A noted British critic here examines those aspects of Byron's life and thought which were peculiarly modern, set against the background of the Romantic movement.THIS TITLE IS CITED AND RECOMMENDED BY: Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature.

    

    (1779 - 1820). He was an American Naval officer who fought in the Barabary wars and the War of 1812.

    

    Men who knew him, however, found him essentially modest, simple and of exceptional integrity. From 1896 (when he finished his first novel, A Man From the North, at the age of twenty-nine) to the end of his life in 1931 (when Baker Street was 'strawed' to hush the traffic) he kept a diary. Here he recorded what he had done, or seen, or been told, whether in England, France, America or elsewhere, whether at home, in hotels, abroad liners or yachts. His journals are of interest not only for his impressions of well-known writers and political figures, but also for their record of an author's life, of books planned, words written, pounds earned.

    

    

    Forester, the creator of Hornblower, this is the lively diary of a British seaman who was impressed into the Royal Navy to fight the French at the beginning of the 19th century.