Biography Collection

“Becoming Me” is a collection of personal accounts of individuals who identify as transgender or non-binary, sharing their unique experiences of coming out to family, friends, and the wider community. This book aims to educate and inspire listeners about the diverse experiences of transgender people and to provide a supportive resource for those who may be struggling with their own gender identity.

When the black comedian first meets the beloved Sicilian grandfather of his Italian American girlfriend, Melissa, the wrong sparks fly. The most important member of her large family shuns Kamau. What follows is a bracing, true account of conflict and patience, in-laws and family heirlooms, as Melissa and Kamau deal with cold shoulders, rejection, and finally resolution.

Thomas Jefferson lived a dozen lifetimes in one. Patriot, scientist, architect, president, author of the Declaration of Independence - he preferred, above all titles, “father” and “grandfather". Yet, time and again, demand for his unique skills drew him from the quiet home he loved. In this recording, you will thrill to true stories of war and peace, loyalty and betrayal, battles against empires, and struggles against slavery.

As dramatic as any great literary classic, and told in Jim Weiss’s warm, accessible style, these stories reveal the personal, professional, and societal challenges these geniuses overcame, and shine a light on the nature of genius itself. And as a clear, family-friendly introduction to mathematics and science, listeners will find an inspiring, welcoming world opening up.

It is no secret that true crime murder stories are not for the faint of heart. They can lead you to double-check your windows and doors at night, and question everything you thought or believed about human nature. Yet they are intriguing and fascinating at the same time. What is it that makes us different from those who take the lives of others? That is a question that many ask themselves, and these true crime stories help to identify the method and psychology behind some of the most terrifying killers in modern history.

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.

In a series of fascinating conversations with eighteen American poets, and in dozens of poems, The Language of Life celebrates language in its "most exalted, wrenching, delighted, and concentrated form," and its unique power to recreate the human experience: falling in love, facing death, leaving home, losing faith, finding God.

The Faceless Villain: Volume One is the first in a three volume series that explores the most mysterious and disturbing unsolved murders of the 20th century. This volume is comprised of the years 1900 through 1959 and includes all of the best known cases of the period as well as many more lesser known murders, all presented in a compelling chronological narrative that takes the reader on a grisly journey through the blood-soaked avenues of early 20th century crime.

For more than a year, over two brutal Northeast winters, the whole of Vermont was captivated by the hunt for a runaway golden retriever named Murphy. He was more than a missing dog - he was a target for capture, and journalistic obsession. This is that story. Murphy’s disappearance would unite the dog’s increasingly anxious owners with an impassioned reporter - Wilson Ring, the state’s correspondent for the Associated Press - and an online community of animal lovers. As Murphy kept running, the quest to bring him home, safe and sound, seemed more and more impossible.

Dr. Hans Holzer is perhaps best known as the famed ghost hunter and paranormal investigator associated with the Amityville horror investigations, which later became the subject of several popular horror films. In January 1977, Holzer, working with the well-known trance medium Ethel Johnson-Meyers, entered 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. In 1974 this had been the place of a horrific crime when the then-occupant Ronald DeFeo, Jr., murdered his own parents and four siblings.

After Kevin Corley’s military career came to an ill-fated end, he answered another call of duty, unaware that he was walking into a ruse orchestrated by one of the government’s most enterprising agents. John Leonard was posing online as an underworld figure to entrap those who were predisposed to crime. When he lured Lieutenant Corley into his scheme, he didn’t know how wrong it would go. And Corley had no idea he had so much left to lose.

Marion Davies was, in so many ways, created by and for William Randolph Hearst - their symbiotic relationship spanned from 1915 when W. R. first ogled her chorus-girl charms until his death in 1951. But she was much more quickly superannuated, cinema-historically speaking, by the Orson Welles-Herman Mankiewicz dumb-blonde caricature in Citizen Kane, paradoxically the most important film in her life.

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.

It’s a Darien, Connecticut, tradition: an emergency medical service managed by adolescents. One kid is a varsity soccer captain. There’s a future doctor, a band dork, a theater geek. Theirs is a view of town without the niceties. A drunken spouse turned violent. Lonely old people stuck in the bath. A midlife suicide. How do these kids process the sometimes shocking and violent life-and-death secrets of their community? The answer is a story of high stress and uncommon high school lives, told by a writer who spent his own youth on the night shift. Welcome to Post 53.

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....

Drawing inspiration from the greatest business titans and entrepreneurs of the 19th and 20th centuries, this eye-opening book dives into the humble origins and incredible achievements of Ford, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller, unveiling the tried-and-tested lessons that helped them become some of the richest men in the world. Artfully blending detailed facts and engaging prose with profound insights into these four business titans and their philanthropy, this collection offers you an enlightening look into the entrepreneurs of old America.

Exploring the incredible lives of five presidents who shaped the course of United States history forever, this eye-opening collection reveals the lives, legacies, and achievements of some of America’s most memorable men. From top-ranking military heroes to tireless defenders of justice and liberty, these presidents played a crucial role in solidifying America as the powerhouse and bastion of freedom that it is today.

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.

It was early February 1912, and Franz Reichelt, a Paris tailor, and Rodman Law, a self-described “professional jackass” from New York, were poised, respectively, on the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty, ready to deploy an experimental parachute. In bat wings and bundled linen, they were almost certain their contraptions would work. Here is the tale of their inspirations and their pluck - and what happened next.

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!