Book picks similar to
The True Adventures of John Steinbeck, Writer by Jackson J. Benson
biography
biographies
non-fiction
non-fiction-megalist
Ocean Star: A Memoir
Christina Dimari - 2006
"Ocean Star" is the story of how God found her in the midst of an abusive childhood, became the loving parent she never had, and revealed himself in tangible ways through her amazing life journey. Filled with insightful symbolism, "Ocean Star" will help Christians and non-Christians find hope, humor, and healing in a powerful true story of a broken life made new.
No Limits: My Autobiography
Ian Poulter - 2014
Here he tells his inspirational story, from his early rejection as an Spurs youth player, right through to his match-winning contributions to successive European Ryder Cup Triumphs. Poulter went from an Assistant Professional staffing the club shop to a global superstar, turning pro when he still had a handicap of 4 but the drive and self-belief to make it to the top. His infectious optimism, will power and flair have ensured he remains one of the biggest names on the tour. As well as insights into the crucial moments in his career, and the life of a professional golfer, he talks about his passions outside the game, including his own riotous brand of clothing. Just as Poulter's appearance on the scene came as a refreshing antidote to a sport that was staid and stuffy, so his own book is as forthright and passionate as Poults himself.
Billy Graham: The Man I Knew
Greg Laurie - 2021
But Very Few Knew Him Personally. Pastor and bestselling author Greg Laurie was one of those fortunate few, blessed with an insider’s view of Billy Graham’s world for more than two decades. With the same painstaking research and eye for detail that distinguishes his previous biographies, Steve McQueen: Salvation of an American Icon and Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon, Laurie now turns to the life of his beloved mentor, offering the intimate perspective of a disciple and friend. As a strapping North Carolina farm boy, Graham surrendered his life to Jesus at a camp meeting led by a blustery itinerant preacher, but he never lost the mischievous twinkle in his eye or his fun-loving air. Laurie sheds light on Graham’s lesser-known struggles—such as a broken heart before he met the love of his life and a crisis of faith from which he emerged stronger than ever. From the evangelist’s private challenges and public successes to his disappointments and joys, Billy Graham: The Man I Knew provides a vivid portrait of one of history’s most remarkable Christian lives.
Left for Dead in the Outback: How I Survived 71 Days Lost in a Desert Hell
Ricky Megee - 2008
The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year
Curt Sampson - 1992
Here was Arnold Palmer, the workingman's hero, "sweating, chain-smoking, shirt-tail flying"; Ben Hogan, the greatest player of the fifties, a perfectionist battling twin demons of age and nerves; and, making his big-time debut, a crew-cut college kid who seemed to have the makings of a champion: twenty-year-old Jack Nicklaus. And of course, the rest: Ken Venturi, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Doug Sanders, Gary Player, and the many other colorful characters who chased around a little white ball--and a dream. Would Palmer win the mythical Grand Slam of golf? Could Hogan win one more major tournament? Was Nicklaus the real thing? Even more than an intimate portrait of these men and their exciting times, The Eternal Summer is also an entertaining, perceptive, and hypnotically readable exploration of professional golf in America.
Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1, Reader's Edition
Mark Twain - 2010
It includes a brief introduction describing the evolution of Mark Twain’s ideas about writing his autobiography, as well as a chronology of his life, brief family biographies, and an excerpt from the forthcoming Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2—a controversial but characteristically humorous attack on Christian doctrine.The year 2010 marked the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain’s death. In celebration of this important milestone and in honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain’s works, UC Press published Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1, the first of a projected three-volume edition of the complete, uncensored autobiography. The book became an immediate bestseller and was hailed as the capstone of the life’s work of America’s favorite author.Read an excerpt here: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1:The Complete and Authoritative Edition by Mark Twain by University of California Press
Only When I Step On It: One Man's Inspiring Journey to Hike The Appalachian Trail Alone
Peter Conti - 2021
Evil Spirits: The Life of Oliver Reed
Cliff Goodwin - 2000
Having risen through Hammer Horror films to international stardom as Bill Sykes in Oliver!, Reed became, in his own works, 'the biggest star this country has got'. With his legendary off-screen exploits and blunt opinions - especially of his co-stars - he was also one of the most infamous.Bestselling author Cliff Goodwin uses material from first-hand interviews with Reed's family, friends and colleagues and never before seen photographs to explore Reed's eventful career. But he also reveals another side to this unique and complex man.
Brand New Me
Charlotte Crosby - 2017
Her jam-packed TV schedule has included appearances on some of the nation's favourite shows such as Celebrity Juice and This Morning, she is the presenter of MTV's new hit show Just Tattoo of Us and is now the face of her very own make-up range, Flique.Here in BRAND NEW ME Charlotte talks us through an incredibly busy year, making us laugh as ever with her funny moments (like when her mum woke up on Christmas morning to find her passed out naked by her new swimming pool) but also opening up about the difficult months surrounding her shock departure from Geordie Shore, betrayal and her heartbreaking ectopic pregnancy. After working through her loss by bravely speaking out, she is now an ambassador of the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, helping raise awareness of the symptoms so other women can get early treatment and help if they find themselves going through a similar experience.So welcome to BRAND NEW ME, the next chapter in Charlotte's life: businesswoman, TV presenter, charity spokesperson, stronger than ever, inspiring us with her work ethic, smashing it with her style and still making us wet our pants laughing.
Patriarchen. Zehn Portraits
Alex Capus - 2006
Ten men of the 19th century, all inventors, pioneers and creative problem solvers, who significantly affected the world economy into the 20th century. Using material discovered in his in-depth research, the Swiss writer Alex Capus elegantly traces the life stories of these men. In 1886, mill owner Julius Maggi, who for years experimented with quickly prepared health foods, came up with a recipe for bouillon extract. To this day the recipe, unchanged and confidential, is known throughout the world as Maggi Wrze. Alex Capus follows the career of Julius Maggi from his beginning as a tirelessly working businessman up to his final years. Capus describes how the German Heinrich Nestle became the Swiss Henri Nestl, and how a pair of chic Parisian womens boots that Carl Franz Bally brought his wife in 1850 were the impetus for building the worlds largest shoe factory. The drug manufacturer Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche and the confectioner Rudolph Lindt all of them were impetuous, persistent and cosmopolitan. With a keen instinct for impending changes and innovation, they devoted their lives to a single idea and did not become discouraged by years of failure. They accepted no limits governmental, social or moral and never allowed themselves to be unduly influenced by politics, religion, or family. He writes subtly, wittily, and clearly, moving dextrously between personal circumstances, social conditions, business ventures and human adventures. What results is the panorama of an epoch in which freedom, curiosity andcourage triumphed over subjection, restriction, and timidity. Press Alex Capus possesses a wonderful dual talent: he not only researches accurately and in-depth, but he can also write incredibly well. Under his pen, dry biographical facts become people of flesh and blood. With quick yet precise strokes, he encapsulates in but a few paragraphs whole life stories and fates. Hessischer Rundfunk Alex Capus is a superior storyteller. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung Alex Capus is a wonderful writer for whom the world is something to read and everything has a story. Wherever Capus follows a clue, he finds something of significance, and then in a light and elegant manner, he relates his discovery to us. Sddeutsche Zeitung Capus is a very shrewd writer. One can read his book on Stevenson with pleasure and profit, even without needing to follow his thematic speculations. Neue Zrcher Zeitung What is typical Swiss? Alpenhorns, chocolate, Max Frisch, Friedrich Drrenmatt, and of course Alex Capus Buchkultur Wien Author Alex Capus, born in 1961 in France, studied history and philosophy in Basel. Today he is a journalist and author. Thus far he has had seven books published, all of them receiving high critical praise. Most recently published by Knaus is Travelling by the Light of the Stars Reisen im Licht der Sterne].
Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller
Marshall Chapman - 2003
Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller is an inventive and original book from Nashville singer/songwriter Chapman, who uses twelve of her most resonant songs as entry points to many of her life's adventures. Not a memoir, but a map of the places Chapman's been and what went through her mind as she was traveling there, this book is funny and tender, warm and exuberant. Raised a debutante in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the daughter of a mill owner and firmly part of proper society, Chapman became a rocker at a time when women weren't yet picking up electric guitars. She is "a living example," as one reviewer wrote, "of the triumph of rock and roll over good breeding."From New Year's Eve in 1978 when Jerry Lee Lewis gave Chapman advice on how to live life ("I mean it's one thing when your mother says 'Honey don't you think you'd better slow down?' But when The Killer voices his concern....") to the time her black maid Cora Jeter took the seven-year-old to see Elvis, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller goes to the moments when the influences on Chapman's songwriting and psyche were cemented. And it winningly reveals how the creative process comes from life: one of Chapman's favorite songs was written after waking up facedown in her underpants in her front-yard vegetable garden. Revealing intimate rock and roll moments and memories of a South Carolina childhood, Marshall Chapman is a fresh voice firmly in the Southern tradition.
Gore Vidal: A Biography
Fred Kaplan - 1999
50 illustrations throughout.
Forever Young: The Story of Adrian Doherty, Football's Lost Genius
Oliver Kay - 2016
For one thing, he was blessed with extraordinary talent. Those who played alongside and watched him in the Manchester United youth team in the early 1990s insist he was as good as Ryan Giggs - possibly even better. Giggs, who played on the opposite wing, says he is inclined to agree.Doherty was also an eccentric - by football standards, at least. When his colleagues went to Old Trafford to watch the first team on Saturday afternoons, he preferred to take the bus into Manchester to go busking. He wore second-hand clothes, worshipped Bob Dylan, read about theology and French existentialism and wrote songs and poems. One team-mate says "it was like having Bob Dylan in a No 7 shirt".On his 17th birthday, Doherty was offered a five-year contract - unprecedented for a United youngster at that time - and told by Alex Ferguson that he was destined for stardom. But what followed over the next decade is a tale so mysterious, so shocking, so unusual, so amusing but ultimately so tragic, that you are left wondering how on earth it has been untold for so long.The stories of Doherty's contemporaries, that group of Manchester United youngsters who became known as the "Class of '92", are well known. Giggs ended up as the most decorated player in United's history; David Beckham became the most recognisable footballer on the planet; Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and others are household names. The story you don't know is about the player who, having had the world at his feet, died the day before his 27th birthday following an accident in a canal in Holland.
The Things That Make Us: Life, loss and football
Nick Riewoldt - 2017
1 pick in the 2000 AFL draft, to six-time winner of St Kilda's best and fairest award, to five-time All Australian, to captaining his club for a record 220 games, to more than 330 games as a star of the AFL, Nick Riewoldt is an out-and-out champion.The Things that Make Us is Nick's autobiography, written with a deep intelligence and insight, and giving a fascinating perspective on his extraordinary life and career. As Nick describes it:'I hope there's something in these pages for everyone who's known grief, especially anyone who's lost a sibling. I hope, too, that my story brings a deeper understanding of a footballer's crazy world. An insight into what goes into making it, what it takes to stay there, and the crippling anxiety that can consume you when your burden is to accept only the best. I hope it paints a picture of what it's like to be the focus of acclamation and scandal, the good and bad of a searing spotlight, and how these experiences can bring out the best and worst in us.'I hope it honours my family - the German and Tasmanian sides with their stories of struggle and endurance - who are the essence of the book's title. I hope it gives thanks for the love I found on the other side of the world, and the beautiful next generation Cath and I are building together. 'I hope above all that it honours my sister Maddie. 'These are the things that made me.'The Things That Make Us is the intimate, powerful and revealing account of the life of an AFL superstar, and a classic in the making.
This Crazy Thing Called Love: The Golden World and Fatal Marriage of Ann and Billy Woodward
Susan Braudy - 1992
While she was cleared by a grand jury, which believed her story that she had mistaken Billy for a prowler who had been recently breaking into neighboring houses, New York society was convinced that she had deliberately murdered Billy and that her formidable mother-in-law, Elsie Woodward, had covered up the crime to prevent further scandal to the socially prominent family. The incident became fiction in Truman Capote's malicious 1975 Esquire story, leading to Ann's suicide, and later was the subject of Dominick Dunne's The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. Now, after years of research, Braudy reveals the truth behind the legend. Tracing Ann's life from her difficult Kansas childhood through her early years as a model and aspiring actress to her stormy marriage to Billy Woodward and the sad years of her social exile after his death, Braudy shows how Ann, a victim of cruel gossip and class snobbery, could not have deliberately killed Billy.