Showing titles in Biographies

Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, Earth Guardians Youth Director and hip-hop artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez shows us how his music feeds his environmental activism and vice versa. Martinez visualizes a future that allows us to direct our anger, fear, and passion toward creating change. Because, at the end of the day, we all have a part to play.

Tsultrim Dolma, born in a tiny village in the stunning mountains of eastern Tibet, always knew there had to be more than the life expected of her: More than no education, because her family was poor. More than being married off at a young age, because she was a girl. More than barely getting by under oppressive Chinese occupation, because she was Tibetan. When she was sixteen, Tsultrim found more, joining protests for the Tibetan independence movement, the call for her beloved country’s liberation from the People’s Republic of China.

Street and the Street Boys broke up, as everyone grew up and went their separate ways to pursue their own careers. He was alone, as he lost contact with almost everyone, including family members. Years passed. He continued on his roller-coaster journey to fulfill his passion. He found love. He lost it. He renewed his faith. He questioned it, until... Many obstacles came along as he walked alone through the twists and turns in his life, with eye-popping experiences as he became a grown man. Some were so powerful and frightening that only the strongest would survive.

In this YA memoir, pro surfer Maya Gabeira tells the awe-inspiring true story of her journey from unstoppable teenager to the Guinness World Record–holding legend she is today.

At the age of 17, Don Stinson accidentally landed a job in the White House during Watergate, the largest political scandal in American history. A truly insignificant member of the Nixon White House staff, he frequently loitered outside of the Oval Office to watch it unfold. What he saw throughout the White House ran the gamut from the deeply profound to the wildly hilarious.

In his first ever book, The IF in Life: How to Get Off Life’s Sidelines and Become Your Best Self, NFL running back and Dancing with the Stars champion Rashad Jennings shares his inspiring story and experiences, imparts practical advice, and encourages listeners to follow their dreams.

Meet Barbara Reichmann, once known as Gucia Gomolinska: smart, determined, independent, and steadfast in the face of injustice. A Jew growing up in predominantly Catholic Poland during the 1920s and ’30s, Gucia studies hard, makes friends, falls in love, and dreams of a bright future. Her world is turned upside down when Nazis invade Poland and establish the first Jewish ghetto of World War II in her town of Piotrko´w Trybunalski.

Perhaps more than even Washington, Jefferson, or Adams, Ben Franklin is the Founding Father who best exemplifies the authentic American spirit and values. Eminent historian Thomas Fleming paints a lively portrait of this self-made man blessed with a wealth of talents: a best-selling author, the most important newspaper publisher in America, and a world-renowned scientist and inventor before he took on the task of becoming the true "Father" of American independence.

Christian teens care very much about their connection and relationship with God, but they are also experiencing all the ups and downs of teenage life, with the attendant joys and sorrows of growing up. This book, filled with stories written by Christian teens for Christian teens, helps teens who care about their faith navigate their teenage years.

Matt Groening is a cartoonist, animator, and producer best known for creating The Simpsons, television's longest-running primetime animated series. Although it debuted as a series of cartoon shorts for another television show in 1987, The Simpsons launched on its own in 1989, making the dysfunctional family of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie famous almost overnight.

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.

At 24, Sally Hobart was a schoolteacher who was living a happy life in Southern California. Waking up one morning, she discovered that a gray cloud had descended upon everything around her. A trip to the ophthamologist’s office revealed that she was suffering from a retinal hemorrhage. Several treatments later, Sally began to understand that soon she would be completely blind. With courage and conviction, Sally has struggled to overcome her visual impairment, and her story is one of great inspiration.

Some say he was the greatest warrior in history, building an empire that extended from Europe to Africa and on to India and Central Asia. In a stirring narrative, famed historian John Gunther tells the story of Alexander the Great who, at only age 21, became King of Macedonia and set off on a 12-year journey to conquer the known world and extend the boundaries of Greek civilization.

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.

On July 16, 1963, Jane Goodall stepped onto the shores of the Tanganyika in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, Africa, for the very first time. The 23-year-old researcher was about to begin the adventure of a lifetime, studying the wild chimpanzees in their forest home. The discoveries she made there about chimpanzee behavior changed the way people thought about chimpanzees, as well as human beings

Iqbal Masih, ceduto dalla sua famiglia di contadini ridotti in miseria, in cambio del prestito di 26 dollari, costretto a lavorare in una tessitura di tappeti dall'alba al tramonto, incatenato al telaio, in condizioni disumane, come milioni di altri bambini nei paesi più poveri del mondo, troverà la forza di ribellarsi, di far arrestare il suo padrone, di denunciare la "mafia dei tappeti", contribuendo alla liberazione di centinaia di altri piccoli schiavi.

Born into a family of privilege and wealth, he was sent to military school at the age of 13. After an unremarkable academic career, he joined the family business in real estate and built his fortune. His personal brand: sex, money, and power. From no-holds-barred reality TV star to unlikely candidate, Donald J. Trump rose to the highest political office: president of the US. Learn fascinating details about his personal history.

Hai cinque anni, due sorelle e desidereresti tanto un fratellino per fare con lui giochi da maschio. Una sera i tuoi genitori ti annunciano che lo avrai, questo fratello, e che sarà speciale. Tu sei felicissimo: speciale, per te, vuol dire "supereroe". Gli scegli pure il nome: Giovanni. Poi lui nasce, e a poco a poco capisci che sì, è diverso dagli altri, ma i superpoteri non li ha. Alla fine scopri la parola "Down", e il tuo entusiasmo si trasforma in rifiuto, addirittura in vergogna.

Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.

With a number-one album in multiple countries and more than 53 million Instagram followers, Billie Eilish is a global star. She has collaborated with Justin Bieber and Khalid, headlined at Glastonbury and Coachella, and has appeared in Calvin Klein ad campaigns. In a short career, she has become an icon to Generation Z. Billie grew up in a close-knit family - her brother, Finneas, still writes and produces her songs - in Highland Park, a suburb of LA.