Best of
Biography-Memoir

1977

Spencer W. Kimball, Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints


Edward L. Kimball - 1977
    

With Malice Toward None: A Biography of Abraham Lincoln


Stephen B. Oates - 1977
    . . . Certainly the most objective biography of Lincoln ever written.” —Pulitzer Prize-winner David Herbert Donald, New York Times Book ReviewFrom preeminent Civil War historian Stephen B. Oates comes the book the Washington Post hails as “the standard one-volume biography of Lincoln.” Oates’ With Malice Toward None is recognized as the seminal biography of the Sixteenth President, by one of America’s most prominent historians.

I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God


Bilquis Sheikh - 1977
    Her entire life turned upside down as a series of strange dreams launched her on a quest that would forever consume her heart, mind and soul.This 25th anniversary edition contains a new afterword by a Western friend of Bilquis and a new appendix on how the East enriches the West.

A Severe Mercy: A Story of Faith, Tragedy and Triumph


Sheldon Vanauken - 1977
    S. Lewis, and a spiritual strength that sustained Vanauken after his wife's untimely death. Replete with 18 letters from C.S. Lewis, A Severe Mercy addresses some of the universal questions that surround faith--the existence of God and the reasons behind tragedy.

If I Perish


Esther Ahn Kim - 1977
    Sook stood alone among thousands of kneeling people. Her bold defiance of the tyrannical demand to bow to pagan Japanese shrines condemned her to a living death in the filth and degradation of a Japanese prison. This brave woman remained faithful to Christ in the face of brutality, oppression, and ruthlessness of her captors. The story of how she won many of her fellow prisoners to Christ in the most deplorable conditions is an inspiration to all.

The Diary of Virginia Woolf, Volume One: 1915-1919


Virginia Woolf - 1977
    [This] is a first chance to meet the writer in her own unguarded words and to observe the root impulses of her art without the distractions of a commentary” (New York Times). Edited and with a Preface by Anne Olivier Bell; Introduction by Quentin Bell; Index.

Anne Sexton: A Self-Portrait in Letters


Anne Sexton - 1977
    Anne's daughter Linda Gray Sexton and her close confidant Lois Ames have judiciously chosen from among thousands of letters and provided commentary where necessary. Illustrated throughout with candid photographs and memorabilia, the letters -- brilliant, lyrical, caustic, passionate, angry -- are a consistently revealing index to Sexton's quixotic and exuberant personality.

Beethoven


Maynard Solomon - 1977
    Includes a 30-page bibliographical essay, numerous illustrations, and a full-color pictorial biography of the composer.

Catherine the Great


Henri Troyat - 1977
    Those who served her throne, or her bed, were well rewarded while the serfs were condemned to ever-worsening conditions. Men were instruments of pleasure. The weak had to perish. The future belonged to men - and sometimes a man could have the outward appearance of a woman. She was proof of that. This literary tour de force paints an enthralling picture of Catherine, her seductions, her coaxings and her phenomenal devotion to politics and work, but it also brings the Russian court - with all its intrigues - brilliantly to life.

The House by the Sea


May Sarton - 1977
    The journal records the renewing of her life and work in this place.

Walks with Walser


Carl Seelig - 1977
    While at the Herisau sanitarium, instead of writing, Walser practiced another favorite activity: walking. Starting in 1936, Carl Seelig, Walser’s friend and literary executor, visited and accompanied him on these walks, meticulously recording their conversations. As they strolled, Walser told stories, shared his daily experiences of the sanatorium, and expressed his opinions about books and art, writing and history. When Seelig asked why he no longer wrote, Walser famously replied: “I’m not here to write, I’m here to be mad.” Filled with lively anecdotes and details, Walks with Walser offers the fullest available account of this wonderful writer’s inner and outer life.

Midnight Express


Billy Hayes - 1977
    A classic story of survival and human endurance, told with humor, honesty, and heart, it became a worldwide best-seller and the Academy Award-winning blockbuster film of the same name. In 1970 Billy Hayes was an English major who left college in search of adventures to write about, like his hero Jack London. He had a rude awakening when he was arrested at the airport in Istanbul trying to board a plane while carrying four pounds of hashish, and given a life sentence. After five brutal years, relentless efforts by his family to gain his release, and endless escape plotting, Hayes finally took matters into his own hands. On a dark night, in a wailing storm he began a desperate and daring escape to freedom... This is the astounding journey, told in Billy Hayes's own words, of those five years of living hell and of the harrowing ordeal of his time on the run.

Agatha Christie: An Autobiography


Agatha Christie - 1977
    Though she kept her private life a mystery, for some years Agatha had secretly written her autobiography, and when it was published after her death, millions of her fans agreed - this was her best story!From early childhood at the end of the 19th century, through two marriages and two World Wars, and her experiences both as a writer and on archaeological expeditions with her second husband, Max Mallowan, this book reveals the true genius of her legendary success with real passion and openness.

Casals and the Art of Interpretation


David Blum - 1977
    Blum has captured in great detail the little things that so often make a great teacher. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Art of Interpretation."—Music Teacher"The volume belongs to an exceptional class of literature: it is to be welcomed as a significant contribution. In his Forward, Antony Hopkins in a most eloquent way makes us fully aware of our possible great loss had the subject material forming this book not been preserved for posterity...throughout the book one remains not only an absorbed reader, but very much an active participant."—Violoncello Society Newsletter"Now we have an authoritative guide to this great artist's approach to interpretation...a book which should be compulsory reading for every player, conductor and teacher."—Music Journal of the Incorporated Society of Musicians"Blum has elegantly combined precise music terminology with meticulous music examples to present lucid and revealing details of interpretation that can be quickly and easily grasped. Only superlatives apply to this book, and all serious musicians would find immense pleasure and musical profit from reading this work. Highly recommended at all levels."—Choice

Stolen Years


Sara Zyskind - 1977
    She was a young woman of seventeen when their reign of horror ended. Sara's story is one of savage suffering and supreme testing. Hers is an odyssey of agony, and an epic of love and courage no reader will ever forget.

A Postillion Struck by Lightning


Dirk Bogarde - 1977
    Round the cottage was a rickety wooden fence with bits of wire and an old bedstead stuck in it, and some apple trees and the privy with its roof of ivy and honeysuckle'A POSTILLION STRUCK BY LIGHTNING marked Dirk Bogarde's transition from star of stage and screen to a bestselling and internationally acclaimed author.This vivid and engaging memoir traces the first steps of Dirk Bogarde as a young actor before he became world famous as well as his childhood amidst the enchanting beauty of rural Sussex. Here is the delightful harmony of summer days spent fishing with his young sister, a hunt for an escaped tortoise, the discovery of the biggest mushroom in the world, and the quest to win a pet canary at the local fair. Then came the plays he and sister used to put on in their barn, followed by the local amateur dramatic society, all a prelude to his growing desire to join the world of the stage.

My Century


Aleksander Wat - 1977
    Based on interviews with Nobel Prize winner Czeslaw Milosz, My Century describes the artistic, sexual, and political experimentation --in which Wat was a major participant-- that followed the end of World War I: an explosion of talent and ideas which, he argues, in some ways helped to open the door to the destruction that the Nazis and Bolsheviks soon visited upon the world. But Wat's book is at heart a story of spiritual struggle and conversion. He tells of his separation during World War II from his wife and young son, of his confinement in the Soviet prison system, of the night when the sound of far-off laughter brought on a vision of "the devil in history." "It was then," Wat writes, "that I began to be a believer."

E.M. Forster: A Life


P.N. Furbank - 1977
    N. Furbank's 1978 two-volume portrait, combined here into one edition, is generally considered the definitive biography of novelist E. M. Forster. "One of the best biographies of a writer I've ever read."--Walter Clemons, Newsweek

Conversations with Marilyn: Portrait of Marilyn Monroe


Marilyn Monroe - 1977
    

My Glimpse of Eternity


Betty Malz - 1977
    Almost thirty minutes later she returned to her body--to the amazement of her grieving family and the stunned hospital personnel.This is her amazing account of what she saw, felt, and heard on the other side of the dividing wall that we call death. And it's the moving, real-life story of how God changed a young mom who had to die to learn how to live.Show More Show Less

Tall, Dark, and Gruesome


Christopher Lee - 1977
    Here he describes his extraordinary career, acting with stars such as Errol Flynn and John Belushi, and his role in the animated TV Terry Pratchett series.

Return To The Marshes: Life With The Marsh Arabs Of Iraq


Gavin Young - 1977
    

The Weight of the World


Peter Handke - 1977
    Along with references to such mentors as Truffaut, John Cowper Powys, Robert DeNiro and Goethe, the journal recounts Handke's passing impressions of strangers; the deep and delicate nature of his relationship with his daughter; and a brief hospital stay which stirs his ever-present fear of death.

I Was A Stranger


John W. Hackett - 1977
    After four months in hiding, Hackett was at last well enough to strap a battered suitcase to an ancient bicycle and set out on a high adventure which would, he hoped, lead him to freedom.

A Man Called Mr. Pentecost


David Du Plessis - 1977
    "Yes, Brother Wigglesworth." He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me against the wall - not roughly, but certainly firmly. He began to speak, and I knew he was prophesying. What followed was a remarkable and, to a Pentecostal in 1936, heretical message. The Lord would pour out His Spirit upon the established Church, he said, and the ensuing revival would eclipse anything the Pentecostals had experienced. And David du Plessis would be mightily used by God to bring acceptance of the Pentecostal message to the established churches. It was an extraordinary prophecy, and the years that followed have been equally amazing. How was the prophecy fulfilled? How is it still? Here is the remarkable story.

Crying Wind: Beaten, Deserted, and Afraid of Both Death and Life, a Young Indian Girl Finds Life


Crying Wind - 1977
    Simply and sensitively written, Crying Wind's true story gives insights into American Indian culture and the cultural barriers an Indian must hurdle when he accepts Christ.

Queens of England


Norah Lofts - 1977
    From Boadicea, who defied the Romans, to Elizabeth II, now celebrating 25 years on the throne, the Queens of England are given new dimension with all of Norah Lofts' compassion, wit and biographical skill.What were the problems these women faced, in the palace and on the battlefield, in the bedroom as well as the kingdom? How did they cope--what were the living conditions and how did these affect their policies and reactions to events? Queens of England is a magnificent pageant, a tale of successes, mistakes, dangers and wars, happiness, pomp and power. It is a splendidly moving drama, charting national and royal fortunes and misfortunes with appealing new clarity.

Pearl, her love touched two worlds


Donita Dyer - 1977
    

Abba Eban: An Autobiography


Abba Eban - 1977
    He frankly describes leading statesman of the period, gives insight into the intricacies of diplomatic manoeuvering, & vividly depicts the ordeals & achievements of modern Israel since its establishment.Divided childhood From Cambridge to Cairo 1934-40 The road to Jerusalem 1941-45The break in the clouds 1945-47Present at the birth 1947-48The first flush of statehood 1948-50Story of a mission 1950-56Explosion at Suez 1956-57End of a mission: first steps in politics 1957-60Seven ministerial years 1960-66The foreign ministry 1966-67Nasser toward the brink 1967 Negotiations in three cities 1967Days of decision June 1967A political success 1967 Jarring, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon & "242" 1967-70The twilight years 1971-72Year of wrath 1973 The Geneva conference disengagement & cabinet changes 1974In retrospectIndex

Dear Sammy: Letters from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas


Gertrude Stein - 1977
    Letters to Steward from the famous expatriate pair, dating from the 1930s through 1966, reflect a true friendship among the correspondents, the striking personalities of Stein and Toklas, and their life in Paris.