Biography For Boys

Cretin High School, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was a Catholic, all-male, military academy that brought unique twists to the already difficult high school experience. Cretin Boys, as they were called, were subject to the oppression of both church and state as they navigated the diverse teaching styles of Christian Brothers, military instructors, and lay teachers. Cretin Boy looks at those menial first jobs, takes you dancing with a girl at that first high school formal, and peels down the street in a Corvette-on-loan with a teen at the wheel.

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.

A mango...is just one thing. But if I chop it in two, then chop the half in two, and keep on chopping, I get more and more bits, on and on, endlessly, to an infinity I could never ever reach. In 1887 in India, a boy named Ramanujan is born with a passion for numbers. He sees numbers in the squares of light pricking his thatched roof and in the beasts dancing on the temple tower. He writes mathematics with his finger in the sand, across the pages of his notebooks, and with chalk on the temple floor.

Three months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, prizefighters Charles "Sonny" Liston and Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. stepped into a boxing ring in Miami to dispute the heavyweight championship of the world. Liston was a mob fighter with a criminal past, and rumors were spreading that Clay was not just a noisy, bright-eyed boy blessed with more than his share of the craziness of youth, but a believer in a shadowy cult: the Nation of Islam. Instead of a hero and a villain, boxing had served up two bad guys.

On the seventy-fifth anniversary of Kristallnacht comes this untold story of a teenager whose act of defiance would have dire international consequences. On the morning of November 7, 1938, a seventeen-year-old Jewish refugee, Herschel Grynszpan, walked into the German embassy in Paris and in an act of desperation assassinated Ernst vom Rath, a low-level Nazi diplomat. He did it, he said, out “of love for my parents and for my people.”

You have probably heard the word Disney before. Come on, who hasn’t? You’ve seen Disney movies, watched Disney TV shows, and maybe even visited Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Did you know there were two brothers with the last name of Disney who created this entertainment empire? Walt and Roy Disney built the world’s most popular theme parks and brought to life some of the best known cartoon characters in family entertainment. The story of their lives is a wonderful tale of hard work, determination, and cooperation.

This is a short audio biography of the 20th president of the US, James A. Garfield.

This provocative story is about an adolescent who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society. He was spirited to the Middle East, from his UK boarding school. He attended the Bahriji School in the United Arab Emirates in preparation for serving in harems for the wealthy and elite.

We think of perception as a passive, mechanical process, as if our eyes are cameras and our ears microphones. But as neurobiologist Susan R. Barry argues, perception is a deeply personal act. Our environments, our relationships, and our actions shape and reshape our senses throughout our lives. This idea is no more apparent than in the cases of people who gain senses as adults. Barry tells the stories of Liam McCoy, practically blind from birth, and Zohra Damji, born deaf, in the decade following surgeries that restored their senses.

On December 6th 1995, three memebers of the notorious Essex Boys firm were brutally executed in the most infamous gangland murders in British history. Many believe Jack Whomes and Micheal Steele were wrongly convicted of crime, and the myths and speculation surrounding the murders have continued to grow. Following the investigation, a new generation of Essex Boys emerged to take over, continuing the bloodshed for years to come.

Coming of age in Thatcher's Britain in the late '70s and early '80s was really tough, especially if you lived in Crawley. But against the grinding austerity, social unrest and suburban boredom, the spark of rebellion that was punk set alight three young men who would become one of the most revered and successful bands of their generation: The Cure. Cured is a memoir by Lol Tolhurst, one of the founding imaginary boys, who met Robert Smith when they were six.

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.

'A Boy Named Henry – British Boxing Legend Sir Henry Cooper's Story 'by Stu Armstrong is a captivating journey through the life of one of Britain’s most cherished sporting heroes. From humble beginnings in Bermondsey, South London, to his iconic battles in the ring, this compelling biography shines a light on the extraordinary man behind the gloves.

Thomas Trigg shares his life experiences as a boy growing up after World War II, living in West Berlin during the Cold War. Thomas’ journey shows that one can find success after failure. During his journey, Thomas Trigg discovers his passion for discovering the truth of the mysteries of the universe and reveals the results in his personal search.

Eddie Rickenbacker was a World War I Flying Ace, a Medal of Honor winner, and even a racecar driver. But did you know that his first attempt at flying was to ride his bicycle off the roof of his house while holding an umbrella?

These recollections cover the time from the very early 1960s until after my last significant acting role. After that I pulled a disappearing act and became a regular bloke for the most part. The transition from child/youth actor through to adult is notoriously difficult, some have succeeded, some spectacularly so. Some have stumbled along and sadly, some have fallen. I chose to take a break, which I’m still on. I’ve been the subject of many 'where are they now?' articles and musings. Well, I’m here now, writing this.

This is Aijazuddin’s riotous, intelligent memoir of searching for his place between two worlds while navigating a minefield of expectations, prejudice and self-doubt. In Manboobs, Aijazuddin confidently announces himself as a sharp voice in humour with his moving, wickedly funny search for love and the bravery required to be yourself.

John Creedon’s scenes from an Irish childhood paint a colourful and sometimes hilarious picture of a changing Ireland and the growing pains of boyhood. Set in a city-centre household bustling with humanity, the cast includes a dozen children and another dozen adults, including aunts, an American writer, an African doctor, and a Scottish bookie. The streets outside overflow with brewery horses, beat clubs, dance halls, nuns, priests, a Turkish delight shop and a pub where a child could sit up on a high stool and smoke his cigarette in peace.

Completely revised and updated for 2020, My 48 Years at Sea provides the reader with a fascinating look at the life of a merchant seaman in the 20th century. His adventures include harrowing stories of survival on storm-tossed ships, funny anecdotes of unforgettable characters encountered on his journeys and the rescue of stranded Vietnamese refugees looking for a better life.

Owen-known to his family as "little buddy" or "Little B"-has a rare genetic disorder that leaves him largely confined to a wheelchair. Before being united with Haatchi, Little B was anxious and found it difficult to make friends. Haatchi-an adorable Anatolian Shepherd puppy-was abused and left for dead on railroad tracks. He was struck by an oncoming train, and although his life was saved, his leg and tail were partially severed. Haatchi was left massively disabled and totally dispirited.