Genius Biographies

What propels some individuals to reach extraordinary creative heights in the earliest years of life while others discover their passions decades later? Are prodigies imbued with innate talent? Do late bloomers reveal their talents because their skills require life experience and contemplation? Through engaging storytelling and intriguing historical and cutting-edge scientific research, best-selling author and acclaimed journalist Claudia Kalb explores these questions to uncover what makes a prodigy and what drives a late bloomer.

A mango...is just one thing. But if I chop it in two, then chop the half in two, and keep on chopping, I get more and more bits, on and on, endlessly, to an infinity I could never ever reach. In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor.

This biography was written by Albert Einstein’s close relative, his son-in-law, Rudolf Kayser. It was first published in 1930 under the pseudonym "Anton Reiser" which itself is the title of an important book of the literary history of Germany.

For 10 years, they exchanged notes, letters, faxes, and phone calls. Stephen Sondheim would contact him, and Paul Salsini, the founder and editor of The Sondheim Review, would respond. And vice versa. Now, Salsini, a Milwaukee journalist, has described his unlikely long-distance relationship with the fabled composer/lyricist. Almost none of the book material has been seen by the general public. To thoroughly understand the great, revolutionary artistry of Stephen Sondheim, Sondheim & Me is indispensable.

In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius versus greed, innocence versus deceit, and independent brilliance versus corporate arrogance. Many men have laid claim to the title "father of television," but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Driven by his obsession to demonstrate his idea, by the age of 20 Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing for patents. The resulting publicity caught the attention of RCA tycoon David Sarnoff, who became determined to control television in the same way he monopolized radio.

Il primo audiolibro italiano su Steve JobsIl 12 giugno 2005, agli studenti della Stanford University, Steve Jobs pronuncia la frase che è diventata il suo testamento spirituale: "Stay hungry, stay foolish", "Siate affamati, siate folli". Affamato e folle. Così è sempre stato Steve Jobs, con i suoi successi e i suoi fallimenti, il suo carattere estremo e la sua visione estrema di purezza e perfezione.

You're driving on a deserted road when your car dies. Your cell phone isn't getting service. All you have on hand are a gum wrapper and a wire hanger. Or maybe you're living in a building without central air conditioning in July. You can't afford an AC; all you have access to are a fan and a bucket of water. In such times of desperation, many have called upon the symbol of all that is inventive, the hero who awed thousands with his cool, quick wit: "What would MacGyver do?" they ask.

What does it take to be a STEM genius? Check out these exciting, highly listenable profiles of a dozen contemporary women who are on the cutting edge of scientific research.

On the night of March 26, 1938, nuclear physicist Ettore Majorana boarded a ship, cash and passport in hand. He was never seen again. In A Brilliant Darkness, theoretical physicist Joo Magueijo tells the story of Majorana and his research group, the Via Panisperna Boys, who discovered atomic fission in 1934. As Majorana, the most brilliant of the group, began to realize the implications of what they had found, he became increasingly unstable.

Marie Curie, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger e Albert Einstein não só revolucionaram a física, mas redefiniram nosso mundo e a realidade em que vivemos. Em A era da incerteza, Tobias Hürter reconstrói a época de ouro desse campo do saber através da história de seus heróis e heroínas deslumbrantes, imperfeitos e inesquecíveis.

Thomas Edison was born into a hard-working but attentive family. He struggled in school and became deaf at an early age. Born on February 11, 1847, Edison would become, arguably, the best-known American inventor of all time. His invention of the light bulb was one of more than 1,000 patents he held during his lifetime. Others included the phonograph, the electrical grid, and motion pictures. His work changed the way we see and hear the world around us.

Introducing the ultimate audiobook bundle for anyone interested in the lives and legacies of two of America's greatest Founding Fathers: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In this bundle, learn everything about the lives of these two iconic figures, their remarkable achievements and the legacies they left behind.

Edison isn’t just a biography. It’s a blueprint. A story of how modern innovation was wired, sold, and mythologized—and why we’re still living in its current.

Science often entails continuous studies, discoveries and innovations. Before, everything in this world seems vague, as to how everything works, how things are formed and how they exist. However, this changed because of our skillful scientists, who spent years to investigate and come up with theories about certain aspects of this world. One of the great scientists, who has influenced and continues to inspire people, is Albert Einstein.

Escritor, guionista y fotógrafo mexicano, perteneciente a la generación del 52, y considerado uno de los más destacados escritores en la lengua española, su gran reputación se asienta en dos libros: El llano en llamas, y la novela Pedro Páramo.

Extraordinario director de cine italiano, sus películas 'Il conformista', 'The Sheltering Sky (El cielo protector), Little Buddha (Pequeño Buda) y especialmente, The Last Emperor (El último emperador) que ganó nueve premios Óscar en 1988, son el corolario de un tipo de cine caracterizado por un esmerado uso de la cámara y del montaje, y el trabajo de la fotografía con finalidades simbólicas.

Denominado en la historia del arte como "el primer moderno", fue un notable escultor francés contemporáneo a la corriente Impresionista. Enmarcado en el academicismo más absoluto de la escuela escultórica neoclásica, Rodin es el escultor encargado no sólo de poner fin a más de dos siglos en busca de la mimesis en las artes tridimensionales, sino de dar además un nuevo rumbo a la ya obsoleta concepción del monumento y la escultura pública.

¿Existe alguien que no lo considere un genio del cine? Allan Stewart Königsberg, su verdadero nombre, es como la figura condensada de todo el séptimo arte. Además de notable director, es guionista, actor, músico, escritor y ganador del premio Óscar en múltiples ocasiones. Hoy es uno de los personajes más respetados, influyentes y prolíficos de la era moderna.

قصة حياته أشبه بالروايات أكثر من الروايات نفسها، الكاتب الذي صعد إلى قمة النجاح والشهرة، عُرف بحس فكاهةٍ لا مثيل له، كتب أعمالاً أدبيةً بالغة الروعة، وعاش حياةً متميزةً جعلته لفترةٍ من الزمن من أهم فناني عصره، عاش حقيقةً الحلم الذي يحلم به أي كاتبٍ أو فنان، لكن الحياة لا تدوم على حال وكان لا بد للحظ أن يخذله ذات يوم، وقد خذله في الأصدقاء، فسقط بعد ذلك سقطةٍ غير مسبوقةٍ بسبب فضائح كبرى وحياةٍ مشينة.

Cultivador de un cine creador, vanguardista, pero accesible en su conjunto, este excelente director de cine franco-suizo es considerado uno de los miembros más influyentes de la nouvelle vague, a la vez caracterizado por su acidez crítica y por la poesía de sus imágenes.