1560 results for "Autobiography"

Princess Margaret

Theo Aronson
"Theo Aronson's latest royal book is a model of what a royal biography should be... The problems of being a princess in today's monarchy are vividly implicit in every page... I found the book eminently readable in an easy style that lends itself to wit and irony..." Elizabeth Longford, The Tablet "A balanced and on the whole generous interpretation of this most elusive of royal characters. Aronson expounds convincingly the almost intolerable pressures to which a woman of intelligence and character must find herself subjected when entrapped in the mesh of royal responsibilities." PHILIP ZIEGLER, Daily Telegraph 'Books of the Year' "Theo Aronson is a practised royal biographer who writes with fluidity... It is good to find royal gossip in which no one is absurdly inflated and no one viciously demeaned." Times Literary Supplement "Aronson's strength is his style: he is an elegant writer who can handle the broad picture and the telling detail." Daily Telegraph Part imperious royal figure, part femme du monde, Princess Margaret spent the greater part of her life torn between meeting the exacting standards of the monarchy and flouting its long-established conventions. She has been described as tragic, unresolved, a royal maverick, a woman of conflict, a princess without a cause. From any viewpoint, she remains the most interesting member of the royal family. Widely praised on its publication in hardback, this is the first detailed, in-depth study of this controversial figure. A respected royal biographer. Theo Aronson is uniquely qualified to tell the Princess's story - from her private and public life. He has been helped by many who know Princess Margaret and has drawn on several new and unfamiliar sources. He has also had the incalculable advantage of several audiences with her, allowing him to incorporate many of her memories, observations and opinions in his book. This is a fresh, frank and highly entertaining account of an always colourful life.
Thistle Publishing 2013-08-13 388 pages

Truth Is a Total Defense My Fifty Years in Television

Steven Bochco
Insightful, candid, and utterly entertaining, Steven Bochco's memoir TRUTH IS A TOTAL DEFENSE: My Fifty Years in Television is an in-studio view of the inception of the second Golden Age of television, delivered by the man who helped create it. Bochco reveals the mad genius, vision, mayhem, and brilliance behind his groundbreaking, widely popular hits (and near misses). Sparing no one, including himself, he shares insider anecdotes from his triumphs-"Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law," "Doogie Howser, M.D.," and "NYPD Blue"-and turbulent times in broadcast TV. He started reading and synopsizing scripts, plays, and books for Sam Goldwyn, Jr. Moving through his 10-Emmy Award career (so far), to his hot, homicide detective show "Murder in the First" now on TNT, the prolific and successful TV writer and producer describes generous, tough, and conniving mentors and moguls. He shares the how-tos and better-nots of working with highly talented writers, directors, actors, and remembrances of building remarkable television and a memorable life. His remembrances include: Albert Einstein once wangling an invitation to one of his dad's Sunday musical soirees; being nominated for an Emmy for the first "Columbo" he wrote, directed by some young director on the lot named Steven Spielberg; Bruce Paltrow (father of Gwyneth and Jake) teaching him how to have fun at work; Brandon Tartikoff calling to say, "I'm moving 'L.A. Law' to a better time slot. You're replacing 'Hill Street'"; "NYPD Blue" co-creator David Milch asking for an advance because he'd lost $1 million betting on football games that day; Stephen J. Cannell turning down a cop show pilot at ABC, telling their head of development that "Hill Street Blues" was the best cop show ever made, and he didn't want to compete with it; fighting ABC to hire Neil Patrick Harris for "Doogie Howser, M.D."; and keeping friends and family close during his 70-day in-hospital cancer treatment with witty, heartfelt emails signed-as time went on-Cancer Boy, Remission and Retention Boy, Transplant Boy (Soon to be Transplanted Boy), and (The newly reconstructed) Steven. Writers, as he says, write. He also describes the creative arc of building his shows, including several script excerpts, the finances and finagling of modern television production, and more. Combining discerning and from-the-hip thoughts on the business of television writing and production, tales from the wild side, and personal lessons from his life-threatening and altering battle with a rare form of leukemia, Steven Bochco delivers a revealing, wryly humorous page turner. Praise for TRUTH IS A TOTAL DEFENSE: My Fifty Years in Television "An inside look at television from the man who transformed it. The origins of today's golden age of television dramas can be traced to one man: Steven Bochco. This juicy and fascinating account tells you how he did it. A must read." -David E. Kelley, Emmy Award winner and prolific creator of TV hits "Picket Fences," "Chicago Hope," "The Practice," "Ally McBeal," "Boston Public," and "Boston Legal" "Steven Bochco's Truth Is A Total Defense: My Fifty Years in Television is a great in-the-room chronicle of the modern television industry, told by a man who's created some of the most influential and popular shows of the last forty years. I highly recommend it." -Neil Patrick Harris, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor "It's raucous, it's witty, and very savvy on the business of television. It's master storyteller Steven Bochco telling the story of his life and his life's work-creating groundbreaking TV shows. Fascinating and funny. Read it." -Danny DeVito, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor, director, and producer
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2016-05-10 344 pages

Born to Bark My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog

Stanley Coren
"For Christmas the woman who would become my wife bought me a dog—a little terrier. The next year her Christmas gift to me was a shotgun. Most of the people in my family believe that those two gifts were not unrelated." So begins Born to Bark , the charming new memoir by psychologist and beloved dog expert Stan Coren of his relationship with an irrepressible gray Cairn terrier named Flint. Stan immediately loved the pup for his friendly nature and indefatigable spirit, though his wife soon found the dog’s unpredictable exuberance difficult to deal with, to say the least. Even though Flint drove Stan’s wife up the wall, he became the joy of Stan’s life. The key to unlocking this psychologist-author’s way of looking at dog behavior, Flint also became the inspiration behind Coren’s classic, The Intelligence of Dogs . Undeterred by Flint’s irrepressible behavior (and by the breeder’s warning that he might be untrainable), Coren set out to prove that his furry companion could pass muster with the best of them. He persevered in training the unruly dog and even ventured into the competitive circles of obedience trials in dog shows, where Flint eventually made canine history as the highest-scoring Cairn terrier in obedience competition up to that time. (Stan chose not to tell his wife that the highest-ranking obedience dog of that year, a border collie, earned a total score that was fifty times higher.) The longest-running popular expert on human-dog bonding, Coren has enlivened his respected books and theories about dogs with accounts of his own experiences in training, living with, loving, and trying to understand them. A consummate storyteller, Coren now tells the wry, poignant, goofy, and good-hearted tale of his life with the dog who (in the words of his own book titles) taught him How to Speak Dog and How Dogs Think and whose antics made him ask Why Does My Dog Act That Way? Illustrated with Coren’s own delightful line drawings and photos, and interwoven with his heartfelt anecdotes of other beloved dogs from his earlier life, Born to Bark is an irresistible good dog/bad dog tale of this extraordinary, willful pooch and his profound impact on his master’s insights into canine behavior as a research psychologist and on his outlook on life as a whole.
Simon and Schuster 2011-08-16 320 pages

The Way of Baseball Finding Stillness at 95 Mph

Shawn Green
Two-time All Star Shawn Green shows how the surprising lessons the game has taught him transcend baseball and compose a life well lived. Shawn Green’s career statistics can be found on the backs of baseball cards in shoeboxes across America: 328 home runs, 1,071 RBIs, .282 career batting average, All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger...but numbers tell only part of the story. In the tradition of Phil Jackson’s Sacred Hoops, Shawn Green illustrates the spiritual practices that guided his career and enabled him to “bring stillness into the flow of life.” In The Way of Baseball, he shares the secrets to remaining focused both on and off the field, shedding light on a signature approach to living by using his remarkable baseball experiences to exemplify how one can find full awareness, presence, and, ultimately, fulfillment in any endeavor.
Simon and Schuster 2012-06-05 224 pages

East Into Upper East Plain Tales from New York and New Delhi

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Hailed as one of the best books of 1998 by the Los Angeles Times , this group of twelve short stories was written over the past twenty years. From the steamy streets of New Delhi to New York's tony Upper East Side, Jhabvala's characters grapple with the universal quandaries of the human experience–jealousy, passion, temptation, and deception–truths of life and love that follow no matter where we wander.
Catapult 1999-12-03 324 pages

Tales of a Road Dog The Lowdown Along the Blues Highway

Ron Levy
"Wow, Ron Levy's book is AMAZING! Wonderful reading, entertaining, fun, educational and, well, AMAZING!" - Norman Darwen - Blues Matters! - UK "I want everyone to know, Ron Levy is one of the very best musicians I've ever played and worked with. Now, he's even written a great book! I'm so proud of my 'son'." B.B. King 4/13/13 "Ron Levy endures as an ingenious Blues keyboardist -- touring most notably with B.B. King for 7 years -- and he was there when B.B. played Muhammad Ali's private parties, as well as stadium shows in Africa and throughout the world. He was the ultimate road warrior, also tickling the ivories for Albert King, Roomful of Blues and his own Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom, while meeting everyone from Elvis Presley to Nina Simone. He distills it all in his lively, remarkably honest book (NOW IN PAPERBACK), 'Tales of a Road Dog.' Nearly everything is unique in these gritty and humorous stories of survival with some of music's great pioneers and the musicians who powered them on stage. If you thought you knew about music history, trust me that you'll know even more when you delve into Levy's rich and colorful text. This guy can write as well as he can play." - STEVE MORSE - Boston Globe, Billboard and Rolling Stone. A download link to Levy's critically acclaimed album "FUNKY FIESTA!" is included. - Also available as a Web-book & eBook!
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2013 512 pages

The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue A Child of the Fifties Looks Back

Robert Klein
A funny and evocative coming-of-age memoir by Robert Klein, the beloved and award-winning comedian who has entertained audiences for more than four decades. Best known for his unique brand of observational humor—seen on Broadway and in film and television—Klein details his life from ages nine to twenty-five as seen “through the gauze of time.” Klein’s theme park of memories alternates dark moments with sunlit humor. Teenage frustrations prompted a visit to a Harlem prostitute, which filled Klein with “shame and triumph and guilt.” He encountered individual and institutional anti-Semitism at Alfred University, yet led the frat house fun, moving on to the Yale School of Drama, Chicago’s Second City, New York theater and a variety of romances. Along the way, Klein had successes and failures, both in bed and on stage. Probing not only his own psyche but also the evolution of sexual mores during the 1950s and ‘60s, he unfurls an array of captivating anecdotes, writing with wry wit and honesty.
Touchstone 2006-06-05 384 pages

Locked in the Cabinet

Robert B. Reich
Locked in the Cabinet is a close-up view of the way things work, and often don't work, at the highest levels of government--and a uniquely personal account by the man whose ideas inspired and animated much of the Clinton campaign of 1992 and who became the cabinet officer in charge of helping ordinary Americans get better jobs. Robert B. Reich, writer, teacher, social critic--and a friend of the Clintons since they were all in their twenties--came to be known as the "conscience of the Clinton administration and one of the most successful Labor Secretaries in history. Here is his sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant chronicle of trying to put ideas and ideals into practice. With wit, passion, and dead-aim honesty, Reich writes of those in Washington who possess hard heads and soft hearts, and those with exactly the opposite attributes. He introduces us to the career bureaucrats who make Washington run and the politicians who, on occasion, make it stop; to business tycoons and labor leaders who clash by day and party together by night; to a president who wants to change America and his opponents (on both the left and the right) who want to keep it as it is or return it to where it used to be. Reich guides us to the pinnacles of power and pretension, as bills are passed or stalled, reputations built or destroyed, secrets leaked, numbers fudged, egos bruised, news stories spun, hypocrisies exposed, and good intentions occasionally derailed. And to the places across America where those who are the objects of this drama are simply trying to get by--assembly lines, sweatshops, union halls, the main streets of small towns and the tough streets of central cities. Locked in the Cabinetis an intimate odyssey involving a memorable cast--a friend who is elected President of the United States, only to discover the limits of power; Alan Greenspan, who is the most powerful man in America; and Newt Gingrich, who tries to be. Plus a host of others: White House staffers and cabinet members who can't find "the loop; political consultant Dick Morris, who becomes "the loop; baseball players and owners who can't agree on how to divide up $2 billion a year; a union leader who accuses Reich of not knowing what a screwdriver looks like; a heretofore invisible civil servant deep in the Labor Department whose brainchild becomes the law of the land; and a wondrous collection of senators, foreign ministers, cabinet officers, and television celebrities. And it is also an odyssey for Reich's wife and two young sons, who learn to tolerate their own cabinet member but not to abide Washington. Here is Reich--determined to work for a more just society, laboring in a capital obsessed with exorcising the deficit and keeping Wall Street happy--learning that Washington is not only altogether different from the world of ordinary citizens but ultimately, and more importantly, exactly like it: a world in which Murphy's Law reigns alongside the powerful and the privileged, but where hope amazingly persists. There are triumphs here to fill a lifetime, and frustrations to fill two more. Never has this world been revealed with such richness of evidence, humor, and warmhearted candor.
Random House Value Publishing 1998-12-15

I Am Not Dead-- Yet!, Or, "The Corpse Moved" A Medical Memoir

Robby Benson
A riveting medical memoir actor/writer/director Robby Benson takes us on a candid journey from athletic soft-spoken heartthrob on Broadway and film, to husband, father, professor and courageous survivor of 4 open-heart surgeries. From One on One, Ice Castles, The Chosen, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast to directing Ellen and Friends, the funny and explicit narrative is a must for fans and essential reading for heart patients, patients of all kinds, their loved ones, and anyone searching for what should be the template for healthcare in America. New York Times #1 bestselling author, Michael F. Roizen, M.D. praised I'm Not Dead... Yet : "When you read this funny and courageously blunt book, you'll understand how to gain the vibrancy that Robby and his wife, Karla, have. ...What a great read and what an important story for all patients and their families dealing with a challenging illness."
ValorEditions.com 2012 384 pages

I Still Have It ... I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It Confessions of a Fiftysomething

Rita Rudner
While there are people who actually embrace getting older (although we confess not to know any) most try to deny it. Rita Rudner is no exception. When she reached 50, she couldn't even bear to admit it: "It was more comfortable getting a laugh and telling people I was filthy than having to say the word fffiffffty," she writes. In her hysterically dead-on book I Still Have It...I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It , she relates her absurd adventures as a woman of a certain age navigating the strange and terrifyingly funny world of "near-sighted insights." In chapters such as "Artificially Hip"; "Older Than Springtime, Younger Than Angela Lansbury"; "I Won't Blog, Don't Ask Me"; and "The Advantage of Vintage," Rudner tackles body issues, style, and technology, and looks at the wonders and surprises of life on the dark side of 50. So put on your bifocals and get ready to laugh. Just don't blame Rita if your laugh lines become visibly deeper. "Sexy deadpan is comedian Rita Rudner's trademark style, never more in evidence than in I Still Have It ... I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It ... Pure vaudeville, a kick at any age."-- O, The Oprah Magazine
Crown Publishing Group 2009-05-05 272 pages

Kings of the Hill How Nine Powerful Men Changed the Course of American History

Richard B. Cheney,Lynne Cheney
Since the early days of our country, leaders in the House of Representatives have exerted tremendous force and influence on governmental policy and consequently on both domestic and world affairs. Now, two government insiders profile nine of America's most provocative, colorful and controversial congressional leaders--from Henry Clay and James K. Polk to Sam Rayburn and Newt Gingrich. photo insert. National ads, print.
DIANE Publishing Company 1996-07 248 pages

The Diary of Petr Ginz

Petr Ginz
Not since Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has such an intimately candid, deeply affecting account of a childhood compromised by Nazi tyranny come to light. As a fourteen-year-old Jewish boy living in Prague in the early 1940s, Petr Ginz dutifully kept a diary that captured the increasingly precarious texture of daily life. His stunningly mature paintings, drawings, and writings reflect his insatiable appetite for learning and experience and openly display his growing artistic and literary genius. Petr was killed in a gas chamber at Auschwitz at the age of sixteen. His diaries--recently discovered in a Prague attic under extraordinary circumstances--are an invaluable historical document and a testament to one remarkable child's insuppressible hunger for life.
Grove Press 2008-09 192 pages