Literary Biography

"Who is Mr Ian Fleming, the creator of this—to put it mildly—rubbish?" The whole Bond phenomenon is attacked as pornography, capitalist filth and anti-socialist poison. Here, translated into English for the first time, you will also hear the long Russian critique of the Bond films by Maja Turovskaya published in 1966, and the extremely interesting account that appeared in Prague the following year of Sean Connery’s rise to fame. A bonus is the Bulgarian attempt to publish a novel in which Bond was killed.

There are artists out there able to lift the spirits of the downtrodden, who point towards a better world with all they are. Sometimes, they do this in DIY punk style: raw, unplugged, and deeply human. Patrick Schneeweis, better known as Pat the Bunny, is an artist who chose the road less travelled, instinctively deeming it more honest and less controlling. Freer. He grew up in Vermont, where he found people liked his voice and the controversial topics he tackled, and by 16 years old, he had released his first album ‘Fire Hazard’.

Isabel Allende is an informative introduction to the distinguished author. Isabel Allende, one of the world's most widely read Latin American writers, is a Chilean novelest who, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was strongly influenced by her grandparents. Her vivid fiction, such as The House of the Spirits, blends realism with magical elements and spotlights political and often feminist concerns.

Karl August Böttiger war Zeitgenosse der großen Dichter und Denker von Weimar – und hielt alles fest, was ihm in die Quere kam: Stimmen und Bilder, Klatsch und Tratsch. Heute würde man Böttiger Züge eines Paparazzos zuschreiben, wenn er etwa über Goethes Häuslichkeit schreibt: "Abends sitzt er in einer wohlgeheizten Stube, eine weiße Fuhrmannsmütze auf dem Kopf, ein Moltumjäckchen und lange Flauschpantalons an." Böttiger machte sich mit seinen Schriften in Weimar so unbeliebt, dass er 1804 die Stadt verlassen musste.

Among these biographies, listeners will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include artist Aaron Douglas, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, musician Prince, photographer Gordon Parks, tennis champion Arthur Ashe, and writer James Baldwin.

André Gide met Wilde many times and was one of the small number of celebrities who maintained contact with him until his death in Paris in 1900.

How did Jon Scieszka get so funny, anyway? Growing up as one of six brothers was a good start, but that was just the beginning. Throw in Catholic school, lots of comic books, lazy summers at the lake with time to kill, babysitting misadventures, TV shows, jokes told at family dinner, and the result is Knucklehead. Part memoir, part scrapbook, this hilarious trip down memory lane provides a unique glimpse into the formation of a creative mind and a free spirit.

Imprisoned for preaching outside the Anglican Church, John Bunyan recorded the doubts, temptations, and hopes of his own spiritual journey, a journey later traveled by the searching sojourner in The Pilgrim's Progress.

Tomie celebrates his sixth birthday in style, dresses up as Snow White for his first Halloween, celebrates holidays with his family, suffers through a bout of the chicken pox, and gets to stay up to see the new year in!

Molière est notre plus grand homme de théâtre, celui dont nous connaissons tous une pièce, une phrase, un mot, que nous étudions en classe, et qui nous émeut, nous fait rire plus de trois siècles plus tard. Il a façonné notre manière de parler : nous nous exprimons dans la langue de Molière. Nous nous sommes emparés de lui comme d'un monument, d'un patrimoine, et pourtant sa vie fascinante, en grande partie, nous échappe. Un livre audio savoureux pour découvrir sa vie, s'immerger dans son siècle et vivre quelques minutes près de lui...

From the best-selling book On The Road With Charles Kuralt, these classic stories represent Kuralt's defining, and perhaps finest, work. Never before released on audio, this collection ensures that his unforgettable voice will be heard by generations to come.

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

Ci si può accostare ai grandi scrittori della nostra letteratura dall’alto delle loro opere, con un punto di vista intellettualmente critico, colto, accademico. Oppure ci si può avvicinare al loro vissuto, per quanto sghembo, contraddittorio e difficile, da una normale quotidianità. Qui ci viene raccontato Giorgio Manganelli mentre sceglie il vino più opportuno per un invito a cena o fa la sua ordinazione al ristorante con assoluta precisione.

Discover the origins of one of literature's most famous couples, Romeo and Juliet, and their creator, William Shakespeare, in this fun and informative addition to the What Is the Story Of? series.

Discover how animals influenced 20 of the world's most beloved authors, from Charles Dickens to J. K. Rowling. Did you know that a dog saved Pablo Neruda's life? Or that Mark Twain had a cat named Bambino? Or that Edgar Allan Poe wrote with a cat on his shoulders? Writers and Their Pets tells these stories and many more that will delight not only children but also literary experts, history lovers, and animal enthusiasts. Writers and Their Pets features a diverse list of both male and female international authors, from the 19th to the 21st century.

Gary Paulsen’s slapstick tales capture the “wonderful madness” of growing up in a small town in northern Minnesota, when high spirits, showing off for girls, and general idiocy led Gary and his pals to attempt some amazing stunts! Wacky, daring, just plain nuts - extreme sports lead to extreme fun in new stories from Gary’s boyhood.

August Wilson grew up open to the creative inspiration in everything he encountered: in library books, in music, in artworks, in the lively conversations overheard in the restaurants and barbershops lining the Pittsburgh neighborhood of his childhood. August paid attention. He listened. And when he got older, he got ideas about what to do with everything he’d seen and heard—ideas that would make him one of the greatest playwrights in American history.

Walt Whitman is celebrated as an iconic American poet, but few know of the crucial and heroic role he played tending to the wounded and dying in Civil War hospitals. This nonfiction book highlights Whitman’s compassion and teaches an important lesson about empathy. New York Times-bestselling author Gary Golio and Caldecott Honor artist E. B. Lewis bring Whitman’s story and his passion for America to life.

The year Paul Zindel, his sister, Betty, and their mother lived in the town of Travis, Staten Island, New York, was the most important time of his teenage life. It was the year he and Jennifer Wolupopski were best friends. It was the year of the apple tree, the water-head baby, and Cemetery Hill. And it was the year he met Nonno Frankie Vivona, who became his Pigman. The Pigman & Me has an added bonus--one crucial piece of information: the secret of life, according to the Pigman.

La vie, romancée pour les enfants, d'Antoine de Saint-Exupéry une personnalité qui a marqué l'histoire par son destin de pilote de l'aéropostale et par son oeuvre littéraire, notamment le célèbre Petit Prince. Une adaptation immersive, tout en musique et en sons, de la collection Romans Doc aventure à destination des petits mais aussi des grands.