Historical Bio

It was 1945, and Romek Wajsman had just been liberated from Buchenwald, a brutal concentration camp where more than 60,000 people were killed. He was starving, tortured and had no idea where his family was - let alone if they were alive. Along with 472 other boys, including Elie Wiesel, these teens were dubbed 'The Buchenwald Boys'. They were angry at the world for their abuse and turned to violence: stealing, fighting and struggling for power. Everything changed for Romek and the other boys when Albert Einstein and Rabbi Herschel Schacter brought them to a home for rehabilitation.

Talented and impressionable, Cambridge undergraduate Joan Stanley befriends the worldly Sonya, whose daring history is at odds with Joan's provincial upbringing. Joan also feels a growing attraction toward Leo, Sonya's mysterious and charismatic cousin. Sonya and Leo, known communist sympathizers with ties to Russia and Germany, interpret wartime loyalty in ways Joan can only begin to fathom. As nations throughout the continent fall to fascism, Joan is enlisted into an urgent project that will change the course of the war - and the world - forever. Decades later, MI5 agents appear at her doorstep....

San Francisco, 1915. As America teeters on the brink of world war, Charmian and her husband, famed novelist Jack London, wrestle with genius and desire, politics and marital competitiveness. Charmian longs to be viewed as an equal partner who put her own career on hold to support her husband, but Jack doesn't see it that way...until Charmian is pulled from the audience during a magic show by escape artist Harry Houdini, a man enmeshed in his own complicated marriage. Suddenly charmed, Charmian's eyes open to a world of possibilities.

The American century opened with the election of that quintessentially American adventurer, Theodore Roosevelt. Louis Auchincloss' biography introduces us to the man behind the many myths of Theodore Roosevelt. From his early involvement in the politics of New York City and then New York State, we trace his celebrated military career and finally his ascent to the national political stage.

In this stunning, elliptical novel, Louisa Hall has crafted a breathtaking and explosive story about the ability of the human mind to believe what it wants, about public and private tragedy, and about power and guilt. Blending science with literature and fiction with biography, Trinity asks searing questions about what it means to truly know someone, and about the secrets we keep from the world and from ourselves.

Edgar Laplante was a small-time grifter, an erstwhile vaudeville performer, and an unabashed charmer. But after years of playing thankless gigs and traveling with medicine shows, he decided to undertake the most demanding and bravura performance of his life. In the fall of 1917, Laplante reinvented himself as Chief White Elk: war hero, sports star, civil rights campaigner, Cherokee nation leader - and total fraud.

Gustav Klimt gave Alma her first kiss. Gustav Mahler fell in love with her at first sight and proposed only a few weeks later. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius abandoned all reason to pursue her. But who was this woman who brought these eminent men to their knees? In Ecstasy, Mary Sharratt answers that question. Coming of age in the midst of a creative and cultural whirlwind, Alma Schindler yearned to make her mark as a composer. But when Alma lost her heart to the great composer Gustav Mahler, he demanded that she give up music.

Richard Carr’s Charlie Chaplin places politics at the centre of the filmmaker’s life as it looks beyond Chaplin’s role as a comedic figure to his constant political engagement both on and off the screen. Drawing from a wealth of archival sources from across the globe, Carr provides an in-depth examination of Chaplin’s life as he made his way from Lambeth to Los Angeles. From his experiences in the workhouse to his controversial romantic relationships and his connections with some of the leading political figures of his day, this book sheds new light on Chaplin’s private life.

Through the centuries and all over the world, there have been certain men and women whose dedication and hard work have changed our world and the lives of individuals for the better. The names of such are heard so often that everyone should know a few facts about them.

Born in a cabin deep in the backwoods of Kentucky and growing up in a family considered the poorest of the poor, Abraham Lincoln rose to become the 16th president of the United States. As president, he guided the United States through the Civil War, helped end slavery in America, and strengthened the federal government. This third installment in the Making of America series continues the story of the first 100 years of America's constitutional history, a story that began with Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson.

Did you know that Muhammad Ali was so terrified of flying on planes that he would bring a parachute? Or that he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom? Bet you didn’t know that he had an official sweat-taster to determine how salty his sweat was after each match! Siblings Paige and Turner do - and they’ve collected some of the most unusual and surprising facts about him, from his childhood and the spark of his boxing career through his time as heavyweight champion of the world.

This Highlights Listen & Learn! Audio Study, intended for those in grade three, introduces listeners to Elizabeth Jane Cochran, better known as Nellie Bly. She was an uneducated woman who landed a job as a journalist in a time when women were thought to belong at home and not in the workforce. The comprehension skills featured in this audio study include understanding informational texts, problems and solutions, and vocabulary-building.

A student of Tudor history for 50 years, author Debra Shiveley Welch tells the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as she truly believes they were, and unravels the complexities of Henrician politics. When 21-year-old Bridget Littleton sails toward Bermuda, she discovers that the legends about the Bermuda Triangle are true. After seeing a face in the ocean waves, her next memory is of spinning water and blackness. She awakens in England in the year 1532. Rumors of her beauty reach the court, and soon Bridget finds herself in the court of Henry VIII and Lady in Waiting to none other than Anne Boleyn.

Dovey Johnson Roundtree was most famous for her successful defense of an indigent Black man accused of the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer, a prominent White Washington, DC, socialite, in 1965. Despite her triumph in this high-profile case, Roundtree continued to represent the poor and the underserved. She was the first lawyer to bring a bus-desegregation case before the Interstate Commerce Commission, clinching the ruling that enabled Robert F. Kennedy to enforce bus integration. She was also among the first Black women to enter the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.

Mahalia Jackson was known as the queen of gospel music. A close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s, she was also a civil rights activist who sang at the March on Washington. And she traveled the world, too! Experience all the inspiring moments in Mahalia's big life in this thrilling biography, packed with fun facts, like who invented rock and roll! Short and engaging chapters are interspersed with special lists and other information made to order to engage kids, whether they're already biography fans or "have to" write a report for school.

In this kids' biography, follow the remarkable life story of Albert Einstein, whose legendary genius and creative imagination made him one of the world's most famous thinkers.

In this biography, discover the incredible story of Anne Frank, the courageous young writer who hid from the Nazis during World War II. Anne Frank's diary is read by children and adults worldwide. It tells two stories: one of an extraordinary young girl living in hiding during one of the most fearsome times in history, and one of a relatable young girl facing the same questions and troubles that kids come up against today. Learn how both sides of this puzzle made up the person who is Anne Frank.

Mohandas Gandhi was born at a time when his home country was choked under the oppression of British rule. Although many thought that violence was the only way to fight this injustice, Gandhi successfully used his teachings of non-violence and civil disobedience to win his country's freedom - and create a philosophy of peace and equality. Called Mahatma, or 'great soul', by his many followers, Gandhi's inspiring words and deeds still resonate worldwide today.