Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Biographies & Memoirs

More than once, friends of Carl Reiner said, “You ought to write those things down.” And at the age of eighty, Carl finally did. In this funny and engaging memoir, Reiner recounts his show business life in short comic takes....

Lana Turner was the last of the great screen goddesses. A legendary blonde bombshell, Turner led a fairy-tale life that turned into a nightmare following the bizarre murder of her gangster lover, Johnny Stompanato, in 1958. This detailed, honest, heartwarming account reveals the real woman behind the Hollywood facade, as well as a tender friendship that endured both heaven and hell for 25 years.

When Ted Turner started out in business, he owned a small billboard company in rural Georgia. Over the decades, he built a multi-billion empire that included CNN, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), MGM studios, and the Atlanta Braves. Risk-taking, careful planning, and steely determination are the hallmarks of this brash, outspoken, and wildly successful media mogul. On the other side of the world, his counterpart—Australian-born Rupert Murdoch—began with one small newspaper and parlayed it into more than 100 newspapers and magazines around the globe.

From the pen of a Santee Sioux—Charles Eastman—come these biographical portraits of American Indian leaders Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Chief Joseph. Eastman was born in Red Falls, Minnesota, and raised by his grandmother and uncle in Manitoba, Canada, where he learned Native American traditions and lore. Eastman's writings are truly invaluable and unique, as he is known to have been acquainted with the individuals about whom he wrote.

No one looked like her. No one walked like her. No one talked like her. Sexy, yet vulnerable, and unexpectedly talented, Marilyn Monroe was no ordinary screen goddess. But few really knew her. On June 1, 1962—Marilyn's 36th birthday—famed photographer and reporter George Barris visited Marilyn on the set of what would be her final, unfinished, film. For the next six weeks, Barris photographed and interviewed the actress. "Don't believe anything you read about me except this...." she told Barris.

In the 1960s and 70s, actor Steve McQueen was the king of cool, appearing in such classics as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and Bullitt. McQueen left the world at age 50, a film legend who went from abandoned child to glittering superstar to a haunted man. In My Husband, My Friend: A Memoir, Steve's wife of more than 15 years, Neile, rode the dazzling Hollywood roller coaster with him. Anecdotally, she details the actor's private personality and his feelings about his career.

When Pauline Chen began medical school, she dreamed of saving lives. What she didn't count on was how much death would be a part of her work. Final Exam follows Chen over the course of her training, as she struggles to reconcile a shared humanity with her patients and to separate ideals about healing from a fierce desire to cure. Chen's transfixing and beautiful rumination on how doctors negotiate the ineluctable fact of death becomes, in the end, a brilliant questioning of how we should live.

Famously neurotic comedian Richard Lewis finds himself on a gurney in the ER at the age of 44, hallucinating from excess cocaine use and his body poisoned by acute alcoholism. The same dysfunctions that had been the basis for his successful stage persona and inspired his best material had, it seemed, turned on him. In this very funny, deeply honest, and inspiring book, Lewis explores how he got there, how he finally got on the road to recovery, and how he copes with being Richard Lewis sober on a daily basis.

In August of 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, to death—a cold-blooded act that shocked the nation. Seven years later, the brothers were convicted of murder, and both were sentenced to life in prison without parole. The brothers' first trial started a media frenzy and was filled with lurid details, but these never clearly explained why they killed their parents. Now, catch a rare glimpse inside the mind of one of the most notorious murderers in American history.

On Thursday, August 28, 1947, a 30-year-old millionaire named Manuel Laureano Rodriguez—Manolete—and a Miura bull named Islero killed each other. The Death of Manolete recounts the extraordinary life and demise of this young bullfighter, from the childhood that made the Spanish boy and the sacrifice that made the man to the girl who brought him love and the acclaim that brought him incredible success.

After decades of atheism and hard living, author Dan Wakefield experienced a profound religious awakening that led him back to the church. He describes his religious journey, fraught with peaks and pitfalls, and his hard-won realization that faith is not static. In a continuing quest to maintain his faith over the long-haul, Wakefield speaks plainly about the challenges of maintaining one's convictions in today's complex, secular world. Wakefield's acknowledgement that each day holds the promise of renewal will resonate with listeners who seek to keep their faith.

Miracles can and do happen—when one does the footwork. Dr. Walter Turnbull dreamed of creating opportunities and better lives for the children of Harlem, and Lift Every Voice is the inspirational story of how he realized his dream. Dr. Turnbull shares the hard-bought wisdom he learned throughout his life—from his impoverished childhood in backwoods Mississippi to his experiences as founder and director of the Grammy Award-winning Boys Choir of Harlem. Turnbull shares insights on how to teach children that with hard work, discipline, and self-respect they can attain their highest goals.

Though celebrated playwright Wendy Wasserstein was firmly rooted in New York's cultural life, her appeal is universal. Shiksa Goddess collects her urbane, inspiring, and deeply empathetic essays, all written when she was in her forties, and all infused with her trademark irreverent humor. The full range of Wasserstein's mid-life obsessions are covered in this eclectic collection— everything from Chekhov, politics, and celebrity to family, fashion, and real estate.