Showing titles in Biographies

In the hills of Appalachia, humor and wisdom are mixed up forever in funny, wise stories that seem to grow more lustrous with each telling. Here are two of the best.

Inspired by his nearly-deaf mother and a father who developed a "visible alphabet" of all the possible sounds a human being can make, Alexander Graham Bell spent the greater part of his life trying to improve the way people communicated with one another. It was this desire that led him to create his most famous invention, the telephone, and turned him into one of the most well-known names of all time.

An often hilarious and always relevant memoir about one teen boy's battle with brain cancer and his Starlight Children's Foundation wish: to meet Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia and plead for nuclear disarmament and world peace. It's 1986, and Jeff is an average fifteen-year-old: he thinks a lot...

Eden Pruitt didn’t find the enemy. She stumbled upon the Resistance and unwittingly led the military to their doorstep. Because of her, they have been all but demolished. Most are dead. Several more have been imprisoned, along with Cassian Gray, the dangerous, tantalizing boy Eden loves. As Cassian’s execution draws near, Eden must convince the Resistance to let her join them. They have the same mission, after all. Stop the Monarch before he carries out his evil plans. Step one of that mission—rescue the prisoners. Step two—destroy the Monarch’s army of super-human soldiers.

Return to President Obama's White House in this New York Times best-selling anthology for young women by young women, featuring stories from 10 inspiring young staffers who joined his administration in their 20s with the hope of making a difference.

Daniel Boone opened up the American west; more than 200,000 settlers poured into Kentucky on the Wilderness Road he helped establish. John Mason Brown's classic biography brilliantly depicts Boone's life and times, delving into all the complexities of this fascinating man as well as the landmark historical events he lived through - including the Revolutionary War and Louisiana Purchase.

With her election to the vice presidency, her election to the US Senate, and her position as attorney general of California, Kamala Harris has blazed trails throughout her entire political career. But how did she achieve her goals? What values and influences guided and inspired her along the way? In this young listeners edition of Kamala Harris' memoir, we learn about the impact that her family and community had on her life, and see what led her to discover her own sense of self and purpose. 

An immersive YA biography and introduction to the bold and deeply influential life of Augustine of Hippo. The philosophy of this thinker from the waning years of the Roman Empire has guided Western thought for nearly two thousand years. “Suddenly every vain hope became empty to me, and I...

Eduardo F. Calcines was a child of Fidel Castro’s Cuba; he was just three years old when Castro came to power in January 1959. After that, everything changed for his family and his country, and over the next few years, it was hard for Eduardo to understand why soldiers now stood on every...

From the governor-elect of Maryland comes a story of two fatherless boys from Baltimore, both named Wes Moore. One is in prison, serving a life sentence for murder. The other is a Rhodes Scholar, an army veteran, and an author whose book is being turned into a movie produced by Oprah Winfrey. ...

Ashley Eckstein grew up inspired by all things Disney. She launched Her Universe, an apparel company catering to fan girls, which has become a preferred partner for Disney and their girl power initiative. In IT'S YOUR UNIVERSE, Ashley shares her own life lessons, as well as lessons from iconic...

An insightful memoir from a figure skating champion about her life as a bisexual professional athlete, perfect for readers of Fierce by Aly Raisman and Forward by Abby Wambach. Karina Manta has had a busy few years: Not only did she capture the hearts of many with her...

In the mid- to late-19th century, a burgeoning science called electricity promised to shine new light on a rousing nation. Inventive and ambitious minds were hard at work. Soon that spark was fanned, and a war was under way to be the first to light - and run - the world with electricity. Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of direct current (DC), engaged in a brutal battle with Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, the inventors of alternating current (AC). There would be no ties in this race - only a winner and a loser - and the prize was a nationwide monopoly in electric current.

In his meteoric, 13-year rise to fame, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a mass movement for civil rights - with his relentless peaceful, non-violent protests, public demonstrations, and eloquent speeches. But as violent threats cast a dark shadow over Dr. King's life, Swanson hones in on James Earl Ray, a bizarre, racist prison escapee who tragically ends King's life.

In the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer desperate for adventure, college cash, and a way out of a dead-end job. For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a sixty-foot yacht loaded with hashish from the Virgin Islands to New York City, where he and his partners...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only four-term president in American history, and the man who fearlessly guided the United States through both the Great Depression and the Second World War. Although left partially paralyzed by polio, he persevered and became a powerful leader during a difficult period in U.S. history.

This is a true story of growing up, breaking down, and coming to grips with a psychological disorder. When Samantha Schutz first left home for college, she was excited by the possibilities - freedom from parents, freedom from a boyfriend who was reckless with her affections, freedom from the person she was supposed to be. At first, she revelled in the independence...but as pressures increased, she began to suffer anxiety attacks that would leave her mentally shaken and physically incapacitated.

An accessible, exciting biography of the most powerful woman in the USA. First . . . student commencement speaker at Wellesley First . . . woman to become full partner at Rose Law Firm First . . . Lady of the United States First . . . First Lady to hold a postgraduate degree First . . . First...

From the bestselling author of the Don't Know Much About books comes a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history's deadliest dictators. What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders-strongmen-capable...

In her coming-of-age memoir, refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee. With no word for “gay” in Arabic, Luma may not have known what to call the feelings she had growing up in...