3040 results for "Biography"

In the lion's den: Israel and the world

Danon, Danny
"Israeli statesman and former UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, presents a compelling vision of Israel's future as a major player on the global stage.In the Lion's Den is a book about the life events that encouraged Danny Danon to pursue his chosen career path and take his distinct and direct approach during his time as Knesset Member and later on in his political career. It is a book that tells the story of his journey to the United Nations and the key events that occurred during the five years he served as Israel's 17th Permanent Representative to the UN.In the Lion's Den draws on the unique perspective of a man who has spent his entire career in his nation's public service. Danon shares his experiences on the front lines of Israel's global presence--the successes as well as the disappointments. Danon makes a compelling case for an Israel that must be proud of its identity and faith; forge relationships with diverse peoples; make autonomous domestic decisions; and determine its own foreign policy.In this book, Danon lays out a roadmap for Israel's future on the regional and global stage and outlines the path Israel must follow in order to continue to make a positive contribution to global prosperity and peace and ensure its safety in a fraught region. As the Jewish state enters the next phase of its existence, Danon's inspiring vision will help Israel fulfill the noble vision of its founders."---amazon
Wicked Son 2022 204 pages

How to succeed in business without really crying

Leifer, Carol
"For many years, television comedy was an exclusive all boys' club--until a brilliant comedian named Carol Leifer came along, blazing a trail for funny women everywhere. From Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live to Seinfeld, The Ellen Show, and Modern Family, Carol has written for and/or performed on some of the best TV comedies of all time. This hilarious collection of essays charts her extraordinary three-decade journey through show business, illuminating her many triumphs and some missteps along the way--and offering valuable lessons for women and men in any profession. Part memoir, part guide to life, and all incredibly funny,How to Succeed in Business without Really Crying offers tips and tricks for getting ahead, finding your way, and opening locked doors--even if you have to use a sledgehammer" --
Quirk Books 2014-04-08 239 pages

Boys in the trees: a memoir

Simon, Carly
Simon's memoir reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster, her musical debut as half of The Simon Sisters performing folk songs with her sister Lucy in Greenwich Village, to a meteoric solo career that would result in 13 top-40 hits, including the #1 song "You're So Vain." She was the first artist in history to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, for a song composed, written, and performed entirely by a single artist: "Let the River Run" from the movie Working Girl. The memoir recalls a childhood enriched by music and culture, but also one shrouded in secrets that would eventually tear her family apart. Simon captures moments of creative inspiration, the sparks of songs, and the stories behind writing "Anticipation" and "We Have No Secrets" among many others. Romantic entanglements with some of the most famous men of the day fueled her confessional lyrics, as well as the unraveling of her storybook marriage to James Taylor.
Flatiron Books 2015-11-24 376 pages

My anecdotal life : a memoir

Reiner, Carl
More than once, Carl Reiner has had friends say, “Hey, Reiner, you ought to write those things down.” And at eighty, he finally has. In this funny and engaging memoir, one of the best raconteurs on the planet recalls his life in show business in short comic takes. Reiner tells of how, after answering an ad for free acting classes on his brother Charlie’s advice, he forsakes a budding career as a machinist for an acting career. In “Sidney Bechet and His Jazz Band Meet Franz Kafka,” he captivates the legendary jazz man and his band with an unusual reading of The Metamorphosis , during a thunderstorm at a Catskills resort in 1942. Reiner also recalls the highlights of the succeeding decades: his first sweaty audition, impersonating a dog impersonating movie stars; his forays into the theater; his work on Your Show of Shows and The Dick Van Dyke Show during TV’s golden days; and his long friendship and collaboration with Mel Brooks which gave birth to the Two Thousand Year Old Man. In “A Recipe to Remember,” he recites a recipe for cream cheese cookies to a star-studded audience that includes Paul Newman, Leonard Bernstein, and Barbra Streisand. In “The Gourmet Eating Club,” he gives an insider’s take on the now-legendary group that included Mario Puzo, Joseph Heller, Zero Mostel, and other luminaries. Mary Tyler Moore, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Johnny Carson, Cary Grant, Dinah Shore, Ann Bancroft, Jean Renoir – the list goes on and on – also appear in what Reiner calls the “literary variety show” that captures the highs and lows of his extraordinary life. Through it all, Reiner displays the wit and warmth that have made him one of the most beloved figures in the entertainment business. This charming memoir will delight anyone who wants a behind-the-scenes look at five decades of Hollywood and television history.
St. Martin's Press 2003-05-16 236 pages

A view from a broad

Midler, Bette
Bette Midler, also known as Divine Miss M—the indomitable and incomparable singer, actor, and musical theater extraordinaire, with a career spanning almost half a century—revisits her classic memoir, now with a new introduction. This book was a kind of last hurrah. When I read it, I hear a disarmingly younger, sweeter voice…I am not sure that this little confection captures a whole time, but I think it’s an accurate picture of the spirit and tone of what I was doing in those days...I hope it holds up, and that you find your best younger self in it as I do... With her brassy voice and bold performances making the world finally pay attention, this ambitious Jewish girl from Hawaii, needs no introduction. Grammy award–winning singer, Academy Award–nominee, Broadway star of her critically acclaimed one-woman show, and beloved actress in The Rose, Beaches, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills—Bette Midler is a household name whose career and fans span generations. In A View from A Broad, Bette relives her career through memories of endless rehearsals, her fear of flying, crazy schedules, and wisdom she learned from Thai Gondoliers with her trademark razor-blade wit that her fans have grown to know, love, and expect. Filled with photographs, a new introduction, and heartwarming stories that highlight only a portion of a brilliant career, A View from a Broad is the perfect gift for anyone who loves music, theater, or just plain fun—and will be cherished by the fans of Divine Miss M for years to come.
Simon and Schuster 1981 150 pages

Annie Duke: how I raised, folded, bluffed, flirted, cursed, and won millions at the world series of poker

Duke, Annie
The top-ranked female poker player in the world reveals an insider’s view of the World Series of Poker, a glimpse of her fascinating journey to the top, and keen analysis of winning hands.From the IntroductionI never set out to become a professional poker player. I was schooled at St. Paul’s School, where my father taught English; Columbia University, where I majored in psychology and English lite[Bokinfo]
Hudson Street Press 2005 260 pages

Eyes to the wind: a memoir of love and death, hope, and resistance

Barkan, Ady
In this “gripping story of resistance and the triumph of human will” (Senator Elizabeth Warren), activist and subject of the documentary Not Going Quietly Ady Barkan explores his life with ALS and how his diagnosis gave him a profound new understanding of his commitment to social justice for all. Ady Barkan loved taking afternoon runs on the California coast and holding his newborn son, Carl. But one day, he noticed a troubling weakness in his hand. At first, he brushed it off as carpal tunnel syndrome, but after a week of neurological exams and two MRIs, he learned the cause of the problem: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. At age thirty-two, Ady was given just three to four years to live. Yet despite the devastating diagnosis, he refused to let his remaining days go to waste. Eyes to the Wind is a rousing memoir featuring intertwining storylines about determination, perseverance, and how to live a life filled with purpose and intention. The first traces Ady’s battle with ALS: how he turned the initial shock and panic from his diagnosis into a renewed commitment to social justice—not despite his disability but because of it. The second, told in flashbacks, illustrates Ady’s journey from a goofy political nerd to a prominent figure in the enduring fight for equity and justice whose “selfless activism fighting to make health care a right should be an inspiration to us all” (Senator Bernie Sanders). From one of the most vocal advocates for social justice, Eyes to the Wind ’s “primary question is existential: how to live when you are dying? Barkan’s answer is to share, open up, act, and capital-R Resist, and his memoir, clearly and candidly written, establishes a legacy” ( Booklist ).
Atria Books 2019 281 pages

Jim Brown: last man standing

Zirin, Dave
A unique biography of Jim Brown—football legend, Hollywood star, and controversial activist—written by acclaimed sports journalist Dave Zirin. Jim Brown is recognized as perhaps the greatest football player to ever live. But his phenomenal nine-year career with the Cleveland Browns is only part of his remarkable story, the opening salvo to a much more sprawling epic. Brown parlayed his athletic fame into stardom in Hollywood, where it was thought that he could become “the black John Wayne.” He was an outspoken Black Power icon in the 1960s, and he formed Black Economic Unions to challenge racism in the business world. For this and for his decades of work as a truce negotiator with street gangs, Brown—along with such figures as Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, and Billie Jean King—is revered as a socially conscious athlete. On the most hypermasculine cultural canvases of the United States—NFL football, the Black Power movement, Hollywood's blaxploitation films, gang intervention both inside and outside prison walls—Jim Brown has made his mark. Yet in the landscape of the most toxic expression of “what makes a man”—numerous accusations of violence against women—he has left a jagged mark as well. Dave Zirin's book redefines an American icon, and not always in a flattering light. At eighty-one years old, Brown continues to speak out and look for fights. His recent public support of Donald Trump and criticism of Colin Kaepernick are just the latest examples of someone who seems restless if he is not in conflict. Jim Brown is a raw and thrilling account of Brown's remarkable life and a must-read for sports fans and students of the black freedom struggle.
Blue Rider Press 2018-05-15 320 pages

The Romanovs: 1613-1918

Sebag Montefiore, Simon
The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin, to Bismarck, Lincoln, Queen Victoria and Lenin. To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six of the last twelve tsars were murdered. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband (who was murdered soon afterward), enjoyed affairs with a series of young male favorites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul I was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who in turn faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever composed by a ruler. The Romanovs climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas II and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution--and the harrowing massacre of the entire family. Dazzlingly entertaining and beautifully written from start to finish, The Romanovs brings these monarchs--male and female, great and flawed, their families and courts--blazingly to life. Drawing on new archival research, Montefiore delivers an enthralling epic of triumph and tragedy, love and murder, encompassing the seminal years 1812, 1914 and 1917, that is both a universal study of power and a portrait of empire that helps define Russia today.
Alfred A. Knopf 2016 744 pages

William Howard Taft

Rosen, Jeffrey
The only man to serve as president and chief justice, who approached every decision in constitutional terms, defending the Founders’ vision against new populist threats to American democracy William Howard Taft never wanted to be president and yearned instead to serve as chief justice of the United States. But despite his ambivalence about politics, the former federal judge found success in the executive branch as governor of the Philippines and secretary of war, and he won a resounding victory in the presidential election of 1908 as Theodore Roosevelt’s handpicked successor. In this provocative assessment, Jeffrey Rosen reveals Taft’s crucial role in shaping how America balances populism against the rule of law. Taft approached each decision as president by asking whether it comported with the Constitution, seeking to put Roosevelt’s activist executive orders on firm legal grounds. But unlike Roosevelt, who thought the president could do anything the Constitution didn’t forbid, Taft insisted he could do only what the Constitution explicitly allowed. This led to a dramatic breach with Roosevelt in the historic election of 1912, which Taft viewed as a crusade to defend the Constitution against the demagogic populism of Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Nine years later, Taft achieved his lifelong dream when President Warren Harding appointed him chief justice, and during his years on the Court he promoted consensus among the justices and transformed the judiciary into a modern, fully equal branch. Though he had chafed in the White House as a judicial president, he thrived as a presidential chief justice.
Times Books, Henry Holt and Company 2018-03-20 183 pages