Biography Collection

Although Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee had been reading each other’s books for years, the two writers did not meet until February 2008. Not long after, Auster received a letter from Coetzee, suggesting they begin exchanging letters on a regular basis and, “God willing, strike sparks off each other.” Here and Now is the result of that proposal: the epistolary dialogue between two great writers who became great friends. Over three years their letters touched on nearly every subject, from sports to fatherhood, film festivals to incest, philosophy to politics....

In the era of Watergate and rising feminist awareness, reporter Pam Zekman was queen of the muckrakers. Her biggest investigation: buy a bar, document the inevitable city department shakedowns and bribes, and publicly document Chicago’s institutionalized corruption. Her epic story changed Chicago and also raised serious questions about the future of journalism.

The book features a great collection of America’s founding fathers and mothers, whose contribution to the fight for independence, human rights, democracy, and proper governance will never be forgotten!

One prisoner’s ninety-year murder conviction becomes another prisoner’s crusade in this ongoing true account of an unlikely friendship forged behind bars and the enduring power of hope. For seventeen years and counting, Robert Chattler has made good on his promise to help exonerate his former cellmate, Lee Harris, who he believes was baited and duped by Chicago PD and buried by the false testimony of a bribed witness. In this emotional story of courage and trust, suspicion and sacrifice, Tori Marlan reveals the uncanny friendship powering an impassioned fight for justice.

The fair sex. We've often heard this cliched expression being used to refer to women. Although it has become increasingly outdated, the mindset still exists that women are the gentle and nurturing sex. When it comes to murder, that notion gets turned on its head. And this isn't a recent phenomenon; we can find plenty of female killers going back in history. In fact, some of the world's most notorious serial killers have been women. These female killers give their male counterparts a run for their money and deserve to be counted among the most famous serial killers.

A horrific event at the age of 17 left Rhonda continually searching for something or someone to fill the dark chasm of her heart. Tears seemed to puddle around her wherever she went. However, she learned to carefully hide herself in a masquerade put on for the outside world, allowing her to project that all was well with her soul even as the slow decay continued from within. Those who find themselves pretending will be drawn to the answers her story presents. But it was God who worked to lift the veil from Rhonda’s eyes.

In this collection of more than 30 essays, published in the New York Times, Esquire, and the New Republic, the vast range of Saul Bellow’s nonfiction is made abundantly clear. In Bellow’s capable hands, a single essay can range fluidly across topics as various as the talents of President Roosevelt, the economic narrative of Jay Gatsby, and childhood adventures in Chicago.

Plato recorded the final days of his mentor, Socrates, who was tried and condemned in Athens in 399 B.C. on trumped-up charges of being a heretic and corrupter of the young. This collection comprises 4 books: Euthyphro, in which Socrates engages Euthyphro in a debate on the steps of the courthouse where he is to stand trial, The Apology, in which Socrates argues on his own behalf, Crito, in which Socrates's friends and supporters visit him in prison and urge him to recant.

Tyrone Power was as versatile in life as he was on the screen. He was a multifaceted man and was the last idol created by the vast star-making machine 20th Century Fox. Coming from a family of multi-generational actors, Tyrone Power broke the proverbial mold. His on-screen charisma in the 30s and 40s propelled him to the forefront of must-have actors. His on-screen accomplishments were many, yet he did not hesitate to enter the military when his country went to war. After the war, he continued in his career, but the years took their toll.

100 Years Old & Still Cooking Beans is a deeply personal collection of poetry, biographies, and photographs created to honor the lives of beloved family and friends. Each poem is paired with a short biography and a photograph—either black and white or full color, depending on the edition—bringing to life the unique personalities and lasting impact of those who have shaped the author’s world. These stories are woven together with gentle, nostalgic prose and vivid poetic snapshots that reflect faith, perseverance, humor, and grace. From devoted grandparents and hardworking parents to ...

Though the Romans were known for having contributed much to culture and the arts, there was one facet that was unrivaled when it came to ancient civilizations: their published works. Philosophy was their forte, and it goes without saying that the meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a superb piece of philosophical writings and musings. What is interesting about this collection is that it chronicles his thoughts during the time of his reign as Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180.

Sex and Cupcakes is a collection of essays from writer Rachel Kramer Bussel reflecting on her years as a sex columnist and cupcake blogger, detailing her dirty and sweet sides as well as sexual adventures, politics, heartbreak, tattoos, and more.

Petrifying. Bone-chilling. Depraved. Their acts made headlines. Their names live in infamy in the darkest recesses of the internet, but for those who are left behind, these heartless monsters are always there, looming over their every move. This true crime four-book set exposes their inner secrets, details their heinous crimes, and pulls the curtain on the long, hard-fought investigations.

More than two decades after Darrell Cannon was tortured into a false confession of murder, he was finally released from prison with hardly an apology. He wasn’t the only one with a story to tell. Award-winning author Natalie Y. Moore reveals the fight for justice and reparations engineered by Chicago’s Black People Against Police Torture movement. More than one hundred African Americans were brutalized by Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge’s sadistic, state-sanctioned “interrogation” ring that operated within the department for decades.

This audiobook includes unabridged recordings of Mark Twain's Chapters From My Autobiography; 5 pieces of short non-fiction; and 6 pieces of his groundbreaking, wide-ranging travel writing.

Best-selling authors Gregg Olsen and Kathryn Casey take a new look at some of the Southwest's most heinous crimes, including drag queen Cliff Youens (who went by the name Brandi West on stage), convicted of stabbing his/her girlfriend 39 times; Hurley Fontenot, a junior high school principal accused of killing his rival, the football coach, over the love of a school secretary; and Tanya Reid, the first Munchhausen Syndrome By Proxy mother most Americans ever heard of.

When a middle-class kid from the suburbs was caught using Facebook to distribute firearms bought legally at Indiana gun shows to notorious gangsters across the border - was he a kingpin or a scapegoat? David Lewisbey received perhaps the harshest sentence ever in a gun-trafficking trial. A college student from the suburban outskirts of Chicago, he allegedly embodied the enterprising swagger of his favorite rap lyrics, moving weapons for stacks of cash. John H. Richardson tours Chicago’s gun-soaked South Side with Lewisbey’s clientele and meets with the “Big Man” himself to unpack the truth.

Cutting through the confusion and the media hype surrounding the infamous Russia-Ukraine conflict, this illuminating collection offers a factual, concise, and up-to-date account of the key events and figures in this rapidly unfolding war. With a play-by-play recap of the long-running tensions between these two countries and their places on the world stage, you’ll also discover how their struggle has spilled out to impact politics across the globe.

The Virginia Woolf Complete Collection brings together 6 of her published novels, from her very first published work, the excubrantly youthful The Voyage Out, to the modern masterpieces of Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, as well as the hugely ambitious and ever-relevant Orlando, alongside other wide-ranging and ever-inventive works of fiction.

It all started with a list of paintings. There, scribbled by a cousin she hadn't seen for years, were the names of the masters whose works once belonged to her great-grandfather, Jules Strauss: Renoir, Monet, Degas, Tiepolo, and more.