157 results for "Autobiography"

An Especially Good View Watching History Happen

Peter L. W. Osnos
In more than five decades as a reporter, editor and publisher, Peter Osnos has had an especially good view of momentous events and relationships with some of the most influential personalities of our time. As a young journalist for I.F. Stone's Weekly, one of the leading publications of the turbulent 1960s and in 18 years at The Washington Post , he covered the war in Vietnam and Cambodia, the Soviet Union at the height of Kremlin power, Washington D.C. as National Editor, "Swinging London" in the 60s and Thatcher's Britain in the 1980s. At Random House and the company he founded, PublicAffairs, he was responsible for books by four presidents -Carter, Clinton, Obama and Trump; celebrated Washington figures including Robert McNamara, House Speaker Tip O'Neill and Vernon Jordan, first ladies Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan, the billionaire George Soros, basketball superstars Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Magic Johnson, legendary spies, political dissidents and the writers, Molly Ivins and Peggy Noonan, among many others. In this unusually wide-ranging memoir, Osnos uses a reporter's skills to portray historic events and encounters beginning with his parents' extraordinary World War II experiences escaping Europe to India, where he was born, to the present day. He shares unique portraits of the famous people he worked with and an insider's perspective of the news and publishing businesses. As he charts the evolution of his career and recent history, he also explores the influence and impact of family, character, curiosity, luck, resilience, a well-pressed suit and some unexpected wrinkles. Also featuring a "virtual attic" of photographs, documents and video at anespeciallygoodview.com.
Platform Books LLC 2025-01-07 400 pages

Solitary Courage Mona Winberg and the Triumph over Disability

Mona Winberg
Solitary Courage is the story of a mother’s tough-love determination, her severely disabled daughter’s astonishing triumphs, and a documentary record of the political battles, organizational conflicts, and human struggles that citizens with disabilities face and fight every day of their lives. Mona Winberg became a pioneer of independent living, and emerged a leading advocate for citizens with mental and physical disabilities. Her courageous causes erupted from her deep reservoir of compassion and concern. Her unflinching challenges to the status quo expressed both optimism and realism about life and society. Her life is testament to the power of Solitary Courage . Between 1986 and 1999 she was the only newspaper columnist in North America regularly writing about disability issues. Through her award-winning column "Disabled Today" in Toronto’s Sunday Sun , Mona Winberg painstakingly built up a body of work of more than 600 articles chronicling front-line battles for equality. She was a realist, a wise person with a no-nonsense approach, kindly, but clear-eyed. Solitary Courage begins with the story of Mona Winberg’s life, followed by a representative selection of 156 of her columns organized into 20 thematic chapters, the best of Mona in her own words. The last part of the book reflects upon Mona Winberg’s legacy of lessons that still connect to programs and policies touching the lives of Canadians with disabilities today. The subjects are wide-ranging and engaging because Mona used personal examples of individuals with disabilities and news-making issues raised by their plight. She also reported on the street-level outcomes of government policies. This variety and approach to disability issues provides real education and genuine human interest, whatever a reader’s background or experience.
Dundurn Press 2010-10-26 383 pages

The Warren Court in Historical and Political Perspective

Mark V. Tushnet
The tenure of Earl Warren as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1953-69) was marked by a series of decisions unique in the history of the Court for the progressive agenda they bespoke. What made the Warren Court special? How can students of history and political science understand the Warren Court as part of constitutional history and politics? To answer such questions, nine well-known legal scholars and historians explore how each justice contributed to the distinctiveness of the Warren Court in Supreme Court history.
University of Virginia Press 1993 220 pages

I'm Not Done Yet! Keeping at It, Remaining Relevant, and Having the Time of My Life

Edward I. Kock,Ed Koch,Daniel Paisner
Who better to give us the message that we can all stay vibrant, exuberant, engaged, involved, and relevant than the world's most recognizable Noo Yawker, the man who, perhaps more than anyone else, has come to epitomize the active, with-it, no-quit, in-your-face, gritty New York spirit: the Honorable Edward I. Koch? In this lively primer, the colorful three-term mayor of New York City and noted television and radio personality, columnist, and commentator, offers anecdotal evidence to suggest that the healthiest outlook on advancing age is to keep active at the work you love.
Thorndike Press 2000 301 pages

The Gods of Antenna

Bruce Herschensohn
If the new generation is not told accurate information, then not only will the new generation and the generations that follow be misguided but, more importantly, the policy makers of the future will be making decisions based on mis-assessments. There are three areas in which the truth of the past has been tragically misrepresented: The actions of the President, the role of the media, and the buried legacy of the South Vietnamese, the Laotians, the Cambodians and, of course, the Americans who gave their lives for the liberty of others. There is no higher morality than dying for the well-being of a stranger, and that is what they did. Their enemies were not only on the battlefield: many of their enemies are still revising the history of those days, either to justify their past actions, or to cloak their consciences, or they simply don't know the truth because they have been bombarded by those who rejected it. Their recorded words and fictionalized images are, at best, what they think is true, and at worst, are meant to deceive you.
iUniverse 2000-11 152 pages

The Show Another Side of Santamaria's Movement

Mark Aarons
In 1942, on the recommendation of 26-year-old Bob Santamaria, Australia's Catholic bishops created a clandestine church organisation to smash the Communist Party's massive trade union base. Soon, The Movement, working closely with ASIO, became a sophisticated intelligence agency that would influence every corner of politics. Santamaria based his Movement (also called The Show) completely on the Communist Party, copying its spectacularly successful union-organising machinery. Within a decade, it had defeated communist power in many major unions. He also adopted the communists' strategy of infiltrating the Labor Party, and embarked on an aggressive program to transform it into a Catholic political machine, helping spark the great Labor Split of the mid-1950s. Ironically, in modelling the Movement on his enemy, Santamaria imported its most odious characteristic: Stalinism. He rapidly embraced the characteristics of a Stalinist leader, actively cultivating his own 'cult of personality'. Over time, this infected The Movement, as it adopted authoritarian practices and imposed anti-democratic policies on the unions it controlled, mirroring the communists' modus operandi . As in the Communist Party, this inevitably caused internal battles and catastrophic splits that undermined and, eventually, destroyed The Movement. Weaving together a rich story from previously secret archives of both The Movement and the Communist Party, ASIO's massive files, and extensive oralhistory interviews, The Show exposes a previously unseen side of Santamaria's Catholic Movement.
Scribe Publications Pty Limited 2018-10-02 288 pages

What Hitler Wants

Leon Trotsky
""What Hitler Wants"" is a political analysis written by Leon Trotsky in 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. The book explores the motivations, goals, and strategies of the Nazi regime, particularly in regards to its expansionist ambitions and its hostility towards the Soviet Union. Trotsky argues that Hitler's regime is driven by a desire for territorial conquest and domination, fueled by a toxic blend of racism, nationalism, and anti-communism. He also critiques the policies of the Western powers, particularly their appeasement of Hitler and their failure to recognize the threat posed by fascism. The book is a powerful warning against the dangers of fascism and the need for international solidarity in the face of authoritarianism.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
Literary Licensing, LLC 2011-07 30 pages

Ambassador Morgenthau's Story - Henry Morgenthau

Morgenthau Henry Morgenthau,Henry Morgenthau
By this time the American people have probably become convinced that the Germans deliberately planned the conquest of the world. Yet they hesitate to convict on circumstantial evidence and for this reason all eye witnesses to this, the greatest crime in modern history, should volunteer their testimony. I have therefore laid aside any scruples I had as to the propriety of disclosing to my fellow countrymen the facts which I learned while representing them in Turkey. I acquired this knowledge as the servant of the American people, and it is their property as much as it is mine. I greatly regret that I have been obliged to omit an account of the splendid activities of the American Missionary and Educational Institutions in Turkey, but to do justice to this subject would require a book by itself. I have had to omit the story of the Jews in Turkey for the same reasons. My thanks are due to my friend, Mr. Burton J. Hendrick, for the invaluable assistance he has rendered in the preparation of the book Henry Morgenthau.
Standard Publications, Incorporated 2007-11 476 pages

The Curtain Falls Last Days of the Third Reich

Folke Bernadotte
""The Curtain Falls: Last Days Of The Third Reich"" is a historical account of the final days of Nazi Germany, written by Swedish diplomat and humanitarian, Folke Bernadotte. The book provides a detailed and personal perspective of the events leading up to the fall of Hitler's regime, including the military campaigns, political negotiations, and the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. Bernadotte's firsthand experiences as a mediator between the Allies and Nazi officials, as well as his interactions with key figures such as Himmler and Goebbels, offer unique insight into the inner workings of the Nazi government during its final days. The book also delves into the aftermath of the war and the Nuremberg Trials, providing a comprehensive look at the end of one of the darkest periods in human history. Overall, ""The Curtain Falls"" is a compelling and informative read for anyone interested in the history of World War II and the downfall of the Third Reich.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
Literary Licensing, LLC 2011-04 168 pages

I Was a Communist for the FBI The Unhappy Life and Times of Matt Cvetic

Daniel J. Leab
Who is Matt Cvetic? Hero? Scoundrel? Mole? The man who loosely provided the inspiration for the B-Grade cult movie I Was a Communist for the FBI had a life that was marred by alcoholism, damaged expectations, and greed. Cvetic, at the request of the FBI, joined a Pittsburgh branch of the CPUSA in 1943. He became one of many plants in the Party during that decade and gained the nickname "Pennsylvania's most significant mole." However, because of his erratic behavior, the FBI fired him in 1950, at which time he surfaced and suddenly became a celebrity through his testimony before the HUAC hearing. Journalist Richard Rovere described Cvetic as a "kept witness," a term that fits those who "made a business of being witnesses," thereby "befouling due process." Cvetic was the subject of a multipart series in the Saturday Evening Post. The articles bordered on fiction, but they gave Cvetic the national exposure he needed to secure a screen deal. Warner Brothers bought the story, made the movie, and enhanced Cvetic's celebrity as pop icon. In the mid-1950s, Cvetic was discredited as a witness by the courts. His career ended and he found a new niche on the Radical Right, yet he died in 1962 after years of fighting to uphold his image with the media. Today Cvetic's image is dimly remembered as he continues to fight "the Red Menace" on late-night television. Leab juxtaposes Cvetic's real life with his reel life. He chronicles his fall from grace, yet admits that Cvetic's life offers fascinating and useful insights into the creation, merchandising, and distribution of a reckless professional witness. Leab also writes about Cvetic's life prior to his involvement with the FBI, his glory days, and shows that there is much to be learned from the story of an "anti-Communist icon."
Pennsylvania State University Press 2008 184 pages

Acknowledgements A Cultural Memoir and Other Essays

Barbara Kay
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: A Cultural Memoir and Other Essays is a collection of previously unpublished writing by National Post columnist Barbara Kay. This wide-ranging selection includes original essays - notably the title essay, a mini-memoir of the cultural and intellectual influences that shaped Kay's worldview - as well as a discursive ramble through the bizarre subculture of the pit bull advocacy movement. In between, readers familiar with Kay's weekly columns over the last ten years will find elaborated commentaries on her niche subjects: the negative impact of feminism on our public institutions and families, the erosion of academic integrity in the universities and our politically correct "rights" culture's sub-version of social and civic reciprocity in Canadian communities.
Barbara Kay 2015-05-30 218 pages

The Family File

Mark Aarons
In early 1965 at age thirteen, Mark Aarons came under the 'adverse notice' of ASIO, which opened volume one of his nine-volume security file. Mark was following in the footsteps of his father, Laurie Aarons, whose 85-volume file commenced in the early 1930s when he was fourteen. For four generations the Aarons family were 'subversive revolutionaries', avowed communists who challenged the established constitutional order. Having obtained access to his family's ASIO files - the largest collection in the nation's history - Mark Aarons combines their meticulous chronicles with his family's own accounts to tell a political tale of revolution and dissent, idealism and intrigue. It is also an intimate story of life under surveillance, a reflection on communism and its legacy, and on what it was to be a radical in Australia in eventful times.
ReadHowYouWant.com 2010-09 536 pages

The Way It Works Inside Ottawa

Eddie Goldenberg
The ultimate insider takes us behind the scenes, in the book everyone is waiting for. As Jean Chrétien’s right-hand man for thirty years in Ministries all over Ottawa, Eddie Goldenberg got to know how things worked — especially from 1993 to 2003, when he was Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister. What did this title mean? It meant that Eddie made things happen. For example, during Paul Martin’s years at Finance, Eddie was the go-between who linked Chrétien and Martin, who were for much of the time barely on speaking terms. Or when vital decisions about the Iraq War had to be made, Eddie was the man who wrote the words, “If military action proceeds without a new resolution of the Security Council, Canada will not participate.” And that’s the way this revealing book works; important decisions are used as case studies as we learn how things really happen in the tough world of politics. Those less concerned with mastering the system will simply enjoy reading this as an engaging account of an exciting arena, filled with memorable anecdotes about the world’s biggest names. “Journalists look for winners and losers so as to make good headlines. The real story is much more interesting, but is harder to write, and is very difficult to put in a clip of a few seconds.” “President Bush smiled and said, ‘You know the guy who wanted to see me, What’s-his-name? I didn’t see him.’ I thought, poor Joe Clark; he had gone from ‘Joe Who’ to ‘What’s-his-name’ in less than twenty years.” — Excerpt from The Way it Works
National Geographic Books 2007-09-18 432 pages

A Year at Hartlebury, Or, The Election

Benjamin Disraeli,Sarah Disraeli
The revelation that a long forgotten novel first published anonymously in 1834 is the work of Benjamin Disraeli and his sister Sarah is an exciting literary event. Newly discovered letters between brother and sister prove without doubt that it was written jointly by them. We do not have to look far for the reason for their secrecy. The vividly described election which forms the centrepiece of the story is clearly based on Disraeli's recent experiences as an unsuccessful candidate in two elections at High Wycombe. His political career had a long way to go and the last thing he wanted was to jeopardize it by revealing his motives in the past or his hopes for the future. The hero, Aubrey Bohun, has, like Disraeli, recently returned from mysterious travels in the East, but unlike him has his own castle and an income of £30,000 a year. Bohun obviously contains an element of wish fulfilment and allows the authors to incorporate in the novel elements of wish fulfilment and allows the authors to incorporate in the novel elements of a popular genre known in its day as 'silver fork' fiction – revelations of high life. Although there is much of this and of melodrama too, there is also some splendid social irony. Michael Foot says 'the volume is quite fit to takes its place in the true Disraeli canon and contains many gems which add fresh gleams to the portrait of Disraeli himself.' Two appendixes explain the literary detection that proved the book's authorship and the parallels between the politics of Aubrey Bohun and Disraeli.
University of Toronto Press 1983-12-15 230 pages

Dissenter in Zion From the Writings of Judah L. Magnes

Arthur A. Goren
For nearly half a century, until his death in October 1948, Judah Magnes occupied a singular place in Jewish public life. He won fame early as a preacher and communal leader, but abandoned these pursuits at the height of his influence for the roles of political dissenter and moral gadfly. During World War I he became an outspoken pacifist and supporter of radical causes. Settling permanently in Palestine in 1922, he was a founder and the first president of the Hebrew University. Increasingly, he viewed rapprochement with the Arabs as the practical and moral test of Zionism, and the formation of a bi-national state of Arabs and Jews became his chief political goal. His life interests thus focused on the core issues that confronted and still confront the Jewish people: group survival in democratic America, the direction and character of the return to Zion, and the reconciliation of universal ideals with Jewish aspirations and needs. Dissenter in Zion draws upon a rich corpus of private letters, personal journals, and diaries to offer a moving account of an eloquent and sensitive person grappling with the great questions of the day and of an activist striving to translate private moral feelings into public deeds through politics and diplomacy. We see Magnes disagreeing with Brandeis over the leadership and direction of American Zionism and with Weizmann and Ben-Gurion over ways to achieve peaceful relations with the Arabs; defending himself against charges by Einstein that he was mismanaging the affairs of the Hebrew University; and persistently negotiating with Arab leaders, trying to reach a compromise on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel. Dissenter in Zion also contains a biographical essay on Magnes by Arthur Goren, assessing his ideas and motives and placing him in the context of his times. It shows Magnes's profundity without covering up his weaknesses, his lifelong tactic for courting repeated defeat in favor of long-term goals that could not come to pass in his lifetime.
Harvard University Press 1982-02-05 569 pages