Biography For Boys

A story of thrill-seeking teens, of hope and love, freedom and failure, Kickflip Boys reveals a sport and a community that have become a refuge for adolescent boys who don’t fit in. Ultimately, it’s the survival story of a loving modern American family, of acceptance, forgiveness, and letting go.

Joe Bonsall was a renowned American musician celebrated for his distinct tenor voice and influential role as a member of The Oak Ridge Boys. Born on May 18, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his career spanned several decades, marked by chart-topping hits, including "Elvira" and "Bobbie Sue," which showcased the group's blend of country and gospel music. Beyond music, he was also an accomplished author, known for his memoirs and children's books. His legacy is characterized by his unwavering dedication to music, faith, and philanthropy, leaving an enduring impact on both country music ...

Britain has been battling the Second World War for three discouraging years. Nazi Germany is at the pinnacle of its power. But now, with the Americans drawn into the monumental conflict, a critical turning point has been reached. First Lieutenant Michael Carlyle is being transferred from captaining a motor torpedo boat close to home in the English Channel to fighting against the Germans and Italians in North Africa. As Michael fights on the unforgiving Mediterranean shores of North Africa and the rugged countryside of Italy and Southern France, his father, Lord Philip Carlyle, undertakes a ...

In this delightful memoir, Jared Gulian describes the first four years of their new life in the country, its disasters, small triumphs, surprises, and pleasures. But most of all, he describes the warmth of the local community that welcomed them, saved them from certain peril, taught them how to cook, how to care for animals, and how to understand and love the land.

‘Have kids, will travel’ is veteran travel journalist Kate’s mantra. Her intrepid spirit is infectious in this warm, engaging account of her family’s adventures and misadventures. She shares the life lessons learnt on their travels, from overcoming disappointment in Thailand to saying sorry in Japan, discovering perseverance in Borneo and learning about conservation in Malaysia.

Country Editor's Boy picks up where Hal Borland's classic memoir High, Wide and Lonesome left off: with Borland, on the cusp of adulthood in the early twentieth century, making his way in an eastern Colorado town that still retained all the flavors of the Old West. Borland's father, the editor of a local weekly newspaper, was working to help his publication transition along with the town around him. At the same time, young Hal was experiencing dramatic social and economic change in his own way.

Before Ratmansky was the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, the resident choreographer at American Ballet Theatre, the artist in residence at New York City Ballet, and generally, as The New Yorker has it, "the most sought-after man in ballet," he was just a boy from Kyiv, sneaking into the ballet at night, concocting his own juvenile adaptations of novels and stories, and dreaming up new possibilities for bodies in motion.

On Good Friday, 2015, a tornado rips through the countryside toward Whetstone Boys Ranch, a therapeutic boarding school in the Missouri Ozarks. Five young men sleep quietly in their upstairs rooms while two night-staff monitor the approaching threat. At 12:30 a.m., all seven souls hustle to the basement, and minutes later the windows on two levels of the 10,000-square-foot facility explode at once.

Like the script of a riveting Hollywood Western and nearly forgotten for over 130 years, the Meeks Family Tragedy of 1894 is one of the most heartbreaking stories in the history of America. From bank fraud, bribery, “blind tiger” saloons and cheating at cards, to poisoning, insurance fraud, Mickey Finns, murder and more, this is a fascinating look at the treacherous Taylor Boys.

Tortured by nightmares about the teens who roughed him up, Steve Mariotti sought counseling. When his therapist suggested that he face his fears, Mariotti closed his small import-export business and became a teacher at the city's most notorious public school - Boys and Girls High in Bed-Stuy. Although his nightmares promptly ceased, Mariotti's out-of-control students rapidly drove him to despair. One day, Mariotti stepped out of the classroom so his students wouldn't see him cry.

In the summers of the early 1970s, Morris Ardoin and his siblings helped run their family's roadside motel in a hot, buggy, bayou town in Cajun Louisiana. The stifling, sticky heat inspired them to find creative ways to stay cool and out of trouble. When they were not doing their chores — handling a colorful cast of customers, scrubbing motel-room toilets, plucking chicken bones and used condoms from under the beds — they played canasta, an old ladies’ game that provided them with a refuge from the sun and helped them avoid their violent, troubled father.

In 1975, Viv Albertine was obsessed with music, but it never occurred to her she could be in a band, as she couldn't play an instrument, and she'd never seen a girl play electric guitar. A year later, she was the guitarist in the hugely influential all-girl band the Slits, who fearlessly took on the male-dominated music scene and became part of a movement that changed music. A raw, thrilling story of life on the frontiers and a candid account of Viv's life post-punk - taking in a career in film, the pain of IVF, illness and divorce and the triumph of making music again - Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. is a remarkable memoir.

James Webb’s life is the American dream in a nutshell. Born to teenage parents in Laurel, Mississippi, and faced with a future working in the town’s only two factories, James chose to change his fate and forge his own path—to become a titan of business, a mentor, and a philanthropist. In Redneck Resilience, James shares stories of amazing wins and devastating losses, of sin and redemption, of recovery and forward momentum. Most importantly, he discusses the benefits and advantages of resilience.

Once below the Potomac River, the Union troopers raced down the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains but were unable to prevent General Lee's wounded Army of Northern Virginia from reaching Culpeper. The balance of 1863 was a series of maneuvers, raids, and fighting that witnessed the near-destruction of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade at Buckland Mills and the indecisive and frustrating efforts of the Bristoe Station and Mine Run campaigns. Alfred Pleasonton's controversial command of the mounted arm ended abruptly, only to be replaced by the more controversial Philip H. Sheridan.

Wildlife expert and YouTube phenomenon, Coyote Peterson, is back with the sequel to the best-selling Brave Adventures: Wild Animals in a Wild World. Once again, Coyote and his crew voyage to new environments and encounter an even more eclectic ensemble of the planets' animals. From a slimy octopus to elusive tree climbing lizards to nomadic wolverines - this book promises to be another fast-paced, wild experience.

Dillibe was the second Black boy to study at Eton - joining in 1965 - and the first to complete his education there. Written at just 21, this is a deeply personal, revelatory account of the racism he endured during his time as a student at the prestigious institution. He tells in vivid detail of his own background as the son of a Nigerian judge at the International Court of Justice at the Hague, of his arrival at the school, of the curriculum, of his reception by other boys (and masters) and of his punishments.

Heirs to the renowned German-American Bergdoll Beer fortune at a young age, the Bergdoll boys used their millions to become champion race car drivers and pioneer aviation heroes in the early 1900s. Then, just as Grover is trying to buy a bigger plane to set more records and attempt to fly to Europe a decade before Lindbergh, they're snared by vengeful local military draft officials. Running and hiding from their war duty, the fugitives are so reviled by nationalistic Americans that two older brothers change their names to avoid infamy.

Long before Kevin Jennings began advocating to end anti-LGBT bias in schools, he was a victim of it. In Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son, Jennings traces the roots of his activism to his elementary school days in the conservative South, where "faggot" became more familiar to him than his own name. Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son is that rare memoir that is both a riveting personal story and an inside account of a critical chapter in our recent history.

A coming-of-age story set against the rise of fascism, the collapse of democracy in Slovakia and Hungary, the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, and the eventual conquest of the Allied Forces over Nazi Germany, Escape to the Tatras tells the story of one child’s remarkable journey encompassing the essence of life before and throughout World War II.

An eight-year-old boy survives triple-limb amputation by freight train. One of America’s famous yet untold stories of overcoming the stigma of disability and responding with inspirational resilience. To change your perspective on life, listen now! Boy Interrupted takes the listener on Ricky’s remarkable journey of miraculous survival, the power of kindness, humor, mistakes, post-traumatic growth, and other surprises.