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King: A Life
by Jonathan EigWINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHYA finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award | Named one of the ten best books of 2023 by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and TimeA New York Times bestseller and notable book of 2023 | One of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2023One of The New Yorker’s essential reads of 2023 | A Christian Science Monitor best book of the year | One of Air Mail’s twelve best books of 2023A Washington Post and national indie bestseller | One of Publishers Weekly’s best nonfiction books of 2023 | One of Smithsonian magazine’s ten best books of 2023“Supple, penetrating, heartstring-pulling and compulsively readable . . . Eig’s book is worthy of its subject.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)“[King is] infused with the narrative energy of a thriller . . . The most compelling account of King’s life in a generation.” —Mark Whitaker, The Washington Post“No book could be more timely than Jonathan Eig’s sweeping and majestic new King . . . Eig has created 2023′s most vital tome.” —Will Bunch, The Philadelphia InquirerHailed by The New York Times as “the new definitive biography,” King mixes revelatory new research with accessible storytelling to offer an MLK for our times.Vividly written and exhaustively researched, Jonathan Eig’s King: A Life is the first major biography in decades of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.—and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, the bestselling biographer gives us an intimate view of the courageous and often emotionally troubled human being who demanded peaceful protest for his movement but was rarely at peace with himself. He casts fresh light on the King family’s origins as well as MLK’s complex relationships with his wife, father, and fellow activists. King reveals a minister wrestling with his own human frailties and dark moods, a citizen hunted by his own government, and a man determined to fight for justice even if it proved to be a fight to the death. As he follows MLK from the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, Eig dramatically re-creates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father—as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.In this landmark biography, Eig gives us an MLK for our times: a deep thinker, a brilliant strategist, and a committed radical who led one of history’s greatest movements, and whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime.Includes 8 pages of black-and-white photographs
King: A Biography
by David Levering LewisAcclaimed by leading historians and critics when it appeared shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this foundational biography wends through the corridors in which King held court, posing the right questions and providing a keen measure of the man whose career and mission enthrall scholars and general readers to this day. Updated with a new preface and more than a dozen photographs of King and his contemporaries, this edition presents the unforgettable story of King's life and death for a new generation.
King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game
by Paul HoffmanAs a young man, Paul Hoffman was a brilliant chess player . . . until the pressures of competition drove him to the brink of madness.In King's Gambit, he interweaves a gripping overview of the history of the game and an in-depth look at the state of modern chess into the story of his own attempt to get his game back up to master level--without losing his mind. It's also a father and son story, as Hoffman grapples with the bizarre legacy of his own dad, who haunts Hoffman's game and life.
King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus
by Timothy KellerNew York Times bestselling author and nationally renowned minister Timothy Keller unlocks new insights into the life of Jesus Christ. King's Cross is Timothy Keller's revelatory look at the life of Christ as told in the Gospel of Mark. There have been many biographies of Jesus, but few will be as anticipated as one by Keller, the man Newsweek calls "a C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century. " In it, Keller shows how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal, calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God. Like Keller's other books it has tremendous crossover appeal, but it is also ideal for the faithful, those who are looking for a closer connection to Jesus and Christianity.
King's Counsellor: Abdication and War: the Diaries of Sir Alan Lascelles edited by Duff Hart-Davis
by Alan LascellesThe diaries of 'Tommy' Lascelles - as featured in the Netflix hit THE CROWN 'Brilliantly entertaining and historically priceless' Spectator'Fascinating ... as much a contribution to royal legend as to the history of the war' Daily TelegraphAs Assistant Private Secretary to four monarchs, 'Tommy' Lascelles had a ringside seat from which to observe the workings of the royal household and Downing Street during the first half of the 20th century.These fascinating diaries begin with Edward VIII's abdication and end with George VI's death and his daughter Elizabeth's Coronation. In between we see George VI at work and play, a portrait more intimate than any other previously published.This compelling account also includes Princess Margaret's relationship with Peter Townsend, and throws an intriguing new light on the way in which King George VI and Winston Churchill worked together during the Second World War. Lascelles was a fine writer - like most of the best diaries his are a delight to read as well as being invaluable history.
King's Counsellor: Abdication and War: the Diaries of Sir Alan Lascelles edited by Duff Hart-Davis
by Sir Alan LascellesThe diaries of 'Tommy' Lascelles - as featured in the Netflix hit THE CROWN 'Brilliantly entertaining and historically priceless' Spectator'Fascinating ... as much a contribution to royal legend as to the history of the war' Daily TelegraphAs Assistant Private Secretary to four monarchs, 'Tommy' Lascelles had a ringside seat from which to observe the workings of the royal household and Downing Street during the first half of the 20th century.These fascinating diaries begin with Edward VIII's abdication and end with George VI's death and his daughter Elizabeth's Coronation. In between we see George VI at work and play, a portrait more intimate than any other previously published.This compelling account also includes Princess Margaret's relationship with Peter Townsend, and throws an intriguing new light on the way in which King George VI and Winston Churchill worked together during the Second World War. Lascelles was a fine writer - like most of the best diaries his are a delight to read as well as being invaluable history.
King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV
by Philip ManselLouis XIV was a man in pursuit of glory. Not content to be the ruler of a world power, he wanted the power to rule the world. And, for a time, he came tantalizingly close. Philip Mansel’s King of the World is the most comprehensive and up-to-date biography in English of this hypnotic, flawed figure who continues to captivate our attention. This lively work takes Louis outside Versailles and shows the true extent of his global ambitions, with stops in London, Madrid, Constantinople, Bangkok, and beyond. We witness the importance of his alliance with the Spanish crown and his success in securing Spain for his descendants, his enmity with England, and his relations with the rest of Europe, as well as Asia, Africa, and the Americas. We also see the king’s effect on the two great global diasporas of Huguenots and Jacobites, and their influence on him as he failed in his brutal attempts to stop Protestants from leaving France. Along the way, we are enveloped in the splendor of Louis’s court and the fascinating cast of characters who prostrated and plotted within it. King of the World is exceptionally researched, drawing on international archives and incorporating sources who knew the king intimately, including the newly released correspondence of Louis’s second wife, Madame de Maintenon. Mansel’s narrative flair is a perfect match for this grand figure, and he brings the Sun King’s world to vivid life. This is a global biography of a global king, whose power was extensive but also limited by laws and circumstances, and whose interests and ambitions stretched far beyond his homeland. Through it all, we watch Louis XIV progressively turn from a dazzling, attractive young king to a belligerent reactionary who sets France on the path to 1789. It is a convincing and compelling portrait of a man who, three hundred years after his death, still epitomizes the idea of le grand monarque.
King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero
by David RemnickThere were mythic sports figures before him--Jack Johnson, Babe Ruth, Joe Louis, Joe DiMaggio--but when Cassius Clay burst onto the sports scene from his native Louisville in the 1950s, he broke the mold. He changed the world of sports and went on to change the world itself. As Muhammad Ali, he would become the most recognized face on the planet. Ali was a transcendent athlete and entertainer, a heavyweight Fred Astaire, a rapper before rap was born. He was a mirror of his era, a dynamic figure in the racial and cultural battles of his time. This unforgettable story of his rise and self-creation, told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, places Ali in a heritage of great American originals. Cassius Clay grew up in the Jim Crow South and came of athletic age when boxers were at the mercy of the mob. From the start, Clay rebelled against everything and everyone who would keep him and his people down. He refused the old stereotypes and refused the glad hand of the mob. And, to the confusion and fury of white sportswriters, who were far more comfortable with the self-effacing Joe Louis, Clay came forward as a rebel, insistent on his political views, on his new religion, and, eventually, on a new name. His rebellion nearly cost him the chance to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world. King of the World features some of the pivotal figures of the 1960s--Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, John F. Kennedy--and its pivotal events: the civil rights movement, political assassinations, the war in Vietnam. Muhammad Ali is a great hero and a beloved figure in American life. King of the World takes us back to the days when his life was a series of battles, inside the ring and out. A master storyteller at the height of his powers, David Remnick has written a book worthy of America's most dynamic modern hero.
King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero
by David RemnickAs Muhammad Ali, he would become the most recognized face on the planet. Ali was an athlete, a heavyweight Fred Astaire, a rapper before rap was born. He was a mirror of his era, a dynamic figure in the racial and cultural battles of his time.
King of the Tightrope: When the Great Blondin Ruled Niagara
by Donna Janell BowmanIn 1859, The Great Blondin took the most dangerous tightrope walk of his career—a death-defying walk across Niagara Falls. History and STEAM combine for an edge-of-your-seat read. At the age of four, Jean-Francois Gravelet walked across his first balance beam. Later, he took to the tightrope like a spider to its web and climbed toward stardom. Though his feats became more and more marvelous, he grew bored. That is, until he visited Niagara Falls and imagined doing something that no one else had ever accomplished.To cross the raging river, the Great Blondin needed determination, an understanding of engineering, and a belief that what he could imagine, he could accomplish. And in 1859, with all of his preparation complete, Blondin stepped out onto the most dangerous tightrope walk he'd ever faced.Award-winning nonfiction author Donna Janell Bowman uses her trademark in-depth research to give readers a close look at the hard work and meticulous mathematic and scientific planning it took to plan and execute and astonish feat. Adam Gustavson's detailed illustrations turn this book into an experience that will astound and inspire. This fascinating, STEAM-filled story will have readers holding their breath!
King of the Night: The Life of Johnny Carson
by Laurence LeamerA candid, unauthorized portrait of Johnny Carson draws on the observations of ex-wives, paramours, colleagues, family, and friends to provide a close-up study of America's most famous talk-show host.
King of the Night
by Laurence LeamerA candid, unauthorized portrait of Johnny Carson draws on the observations of ex-wives, paramours, colleagues, family, and friends to provide a close-up study of America's most famous talk-show host.
King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography
by Chris CrutcherDo You Know: A good reason to be phobic about oysters and olives? That you can step inside a roaring coal furnace and feet cool? That Jesus had an older brother? How shutting your mouth can help you avoid brain surgery? How to avoid cow-pies during your baptism? How to survive in the winter wilderness with only a fishing pole and a sausage? Chris Crutcher knows the answers to these things and more. And once you have read about Chris Crutcher's life as a dateless, broken-toothed, scabbed-over, God-fearing dweeb, and once you have contemplated his ascension to the buckskin-upholstered throne of the King of the Mild Frontier, you will close this book, close your eyes and hold it to your chest, and say, "I, too, can be an author." Hell, anyone can.
King of the Lobby: The Life and Times of Sam Ward, Man-About-Washington in the Gilded Age
by Kathryn Allamong JacobKing of the Lobby tells the story of how one man harnessed delicious food, fine wine, and good conversation to the task of becoming the most influential lobbyist of the Gilded Age.Sam Ward was a colorful character. Scion of an old and honorable family, best friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and charming man-about-Washington, Ward held his own in an era crowded with larger-than-life personalities. Living by the motto that the shortest route between a pending bill and a congressman’s "aye" was through his stomach, Ward elegantly entertained political elites in return for their votes.At a time when waves of scandal washed over Washington, the popular press railed against the wickedness of the lobby, and self-righteous politicians predicted that special interests would cause the downfall of democratic government, Sam Ward still reigned supreme. By the early 1870s, he had earned the title "King of the Lobby" and jokingly referred to himself as "Rex Vestiari." Ward cultivated a style of lobbying that survives today in the form of expensive golf outings, extravagant dinners, and luxurious vacations. Kathryn Allamong Jacob's engaging account shows how the "king" earned his crown through cookery and conversation and how this son of wealth and privilege helped to create a questionable profession in a city that then, as now, rested on power and influence.
King of the Lobby: The Life and Times of Sam Ward, Man-About-Washington in the Gilded Age
by Kathryn Allamong JacobA biography of the “influential and engaging character” who courted Congress with food, wine, and gifts in the post-Civil War era (The Washington Post Book World).King of the Lobby tells the story of how one man harnessed delicious food, fine wine, and good conversation to become the most influential lobbyist of the Gilded Age.Scion of an old and honorable family, best friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and charming man-about-town, Sam Ward held his own in an era crowded with larger-than-life personalities. Living by the motto that the shortest route between a pending bill and a congressman’s “aye” was through his stomach, Ward elegantly entertained political elites in return for their votes.At a time when waves of scandal washed over Washington, the popular press railed against the wickedness of the lobby, and self-righteous politicians predicted that special interests would cause the downfall of democratic government, Sam Ward still reigned supreme. By the early 1870s, he had earned the title “King of the Lobby,” cultivating an extraordinary network of prominent figures and a style that survives today in the form of expensive golf outings, extravagant dinners, and luxurious vacations. Kathryn Allamong Jacob’s account shows how the king earned his crown, and how this son of wealth and privilege helped to create a questionable profession in a city that then, as now, rested on power and influence.“Her extensive research is reflected in her recounting of Ward’s life, successfully putting it into the context of the history of lobbying…will appeal to American history buffs.” —Publishers Weekly
King of the Empty Plain
by Cyrus Stearns"Tangtong Gyalpo, the King of the Empty Plain, the famous and beloved wild engineer-saint of Tibet and Bhutan, is surely one of the most fascinating and brilliant characters ever to appear in Buddhist legend and literature. Even now he has a presence in nearly every household in Tibet. . . . Cyrus Stearns has been intimately involved with the life and teachings of this great adept for over thirty years. . . . This book embodies the fruition of that devotion, of masterful scholarship, and of an integrated understanding of the material. How fortunate that we all now have access to this great story in a worthy translation and illuminating commentary. "-Sarah Harding, author of Machik's Complete Explanation
King of the Cowboys: The Life and Times of Jerry Jones
by Jim DentThe inside story of the larger-than-life owner of the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team". Based on interviews with Jones and his friends, colleagues, and competitors, this book profiles Jones' hardscrabble upbringing, the millions he has made, his purchase of the Cowboys, his firing of Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson, and his hiring of Barry Switzer.
King of the Cowboys
by Steve Eubanks Ty MurrayThe most famous rodeo champion of all time tells his amazing true story -- and opens a fascinating window into the world of the professional cowboy. Ty Murray was born to be a rodeo star -- in fact, his first words were "I'm a bull rider." Before he was even out of diapers, he was climbing atop his mother's Singer sewing machine case, which just so happened to be the perfect mechanical bull for a 13-month-old. Before long, Ty was winning peewee events by the hatful, and his special talent was obvious...obvious even to a man called Larry Mahan. At the time the greatest living rodeo legend, six-time champion Mahan invited a teenaged Ty Murray to spend a summer on his ranch learning not just rodeoing but also some life lessons. Those lessons prepared Ty for a career that eventually surpassed even Mahan's own -- Ty's seven All-Around Championships. In King of the Cowboys, Ty Murray invites us into the daredevil world of rodeo and the life of the cowboy. Along the way, he details a life spent constantly on the road, heading to the next event; the tragic death of his friend and fellow rodeo star Lane Frost; and the years of debilitating injuries that led some to say Ty Murray was finished. He wasn't. In fact, Ty Murray has brought the world of rodeo into the twenty-first century, through his unparalleled achievements in the ring, through advancing the case for the sport as a television color-commentator, and through the Professional Bull Riders, an organization he helped to build. In the end, though, Ty Murray is first and foremost a cowboy, and now that he's retired from competition, he takes this chance to reflect on his remarkable life and career. In King of the Cowboys, Ty Murray opens up his world as never before.
King of the Bowery: Big Tim Sullivan, Tammany Hall, and New York City from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era (Excelsior Editions)
by Richard F. WelchKing of the Bowery is the first full-length biography of Timothy D. "Big Tim" Sullivan, the archetypal Tammany Hall leader who dominated New York City politics—and much of its social life—from 1890 to 1913. A poor Irish kid from the Five Points who rose through ambition, shrewdness, and charisma to become the most powerful single politician in New York, Sullivan was quick to perceive and embrace the shifting demographics of downtown New York, recruiting Jewish and Italian newcomers to his largely Irish machine to create one of the nation's first multiethnic political organizations. Though a master of the personal, paternalistic, and corrupt politics of the late nineteenth century, Sullivan paradoxically embraced a variety of progressive causes, especially labor and women's rights, anticipating many of the policies later pursued by his early acquaintances and sometimes antagonists Al Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Drawing extensively on contemporary sources, King of the Bowery offers a rich, readable, and authoritative potrayal of Gotham on the cusp of the modern age, as refracted through the life of a man who exemplified much of it."... a necessary book for anyone unsatisfied by the usual histories of Irish-American urban political machines. ... The Irish-American boss has rarely been awarded the careful appraisal of the kind that Welch ... gives Sullivan. ... But caveat lector: you don't have to be Irish American or a New Yorker or a Democrat to enjoy this book. All you have to be is interested in a well-told story that is also a first-rate work of history." — Peter Quinn, Commonweal
King of the Australian Coast
by Marsden HordernPhillip Parker King has been described as the greatest of Australia's early marine surveyors. But while the achievements of Cook and Flinders are widely known, this is the first telling of King's story.Unlike Cook and Flinders, King was Australian-born—the son of Philip Gidley King, governor of New South Wales. In a series of gruelling voyages between 1817 and 1822, King charted most of the north-west coast of Australia from the eastern tip of Arnhem Land all the way round to Cape Leeuwin and King George Sound. He surveyed Macquarie Harbour in Van Diemen's Land and the treacherous waters inside the Great Barrier Reef, filling gaps in the work of his famous predecessors.Marsden Hordern, a splendid storyteller, creates for the reader a sense of following, engrossed, in King's wake. The hazards of reefs, shoals and tides are ever-present, as is delight in unfamiliar wildlife and curiosity about the Aboriginal people. The question left hanging is whether King might be better known today had he been a less capable, good and faithful servant of the Crown, and more inclined to the excess and ineptitude of certain other early explorers.Winner of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for General History.Companion volume to Mariners are Warned!, another prize-winning maritime biography by the same author.
King of Spies: The Dark Reign of America's Spymaster in Korea
by Blaine HardenFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Camp 14, the shocking, gripping account of the most powerful American spy you’ve never heard of, whose role at the center of the Korean War—which gave rise to the North Korean regime—is essential to understanding the most intractable foreign policy conflict of our time. In 1946, master sergeant Donald Nichols was repairing jeeps on the sleepy island of Guam when he caught the eye of recruiters from the army's Counter Intelligence Corps. After just three months' training, he was sent to Korea, then a backwater beneath the radar of MacArthur's Pacific Command. Though he lacked the pedigree of most U.S. spies—Nichols was a 7th grade dropout—he quickly metamorphosed from army mechanic to black ops phenomenon. He insinuated himself into the affections of America’s chosen puppet in South Korea, President Syngman Rhee, and became a pivotal player in the Korean War, warning months in advance about the North Korean invasion, breaking enemy codes, and identifying most of the targets destroyed by American bombs in North Korea. But Nichols's triumphs had a dark side. Immersed in a world of torture and beheadings, he became a spymaster with his own secret base, his own covert army, and his own rules. He recruited agents from refugee camps and prisons, sending many to their deaths on reckless missions. His closeness to Rhee meant that he witnessed—and did nothing to stop or even report—the slaughter of tens of thousands of South Korean civilians in anticommunist purges. Nichols’s clandestine reign lasted for an astounding eleven years. In this riveting book, Blaine Harden traces Nichols's unlikely rise and tragic ruin, from his birth in an operatically dysfunctional family in New Jersey to his sordid postwar decline, which began when the U.S. military sacked him in Korea, sent him to an air force psych ward in Florida, and subjected him—against his will—to months of electroshock therapy. But King of Spies is not just the story of one American spy: with napalmed villages and severed heads, high-level lies and long-running cover-ups, it reminds us that the darkest sins of the Vietnam War—and many other conflicts that followed—were first committed in Korea.
King of Kings: Warrior of Rome (Warrior Of Rome Ser. #2)
by Harry SidebottomThe acclaimed author continues his epic tale of Ancient Roman intrigue in the tumultuous third-century in this sequel to Fire in the East. Born a Barbarian, Marcus Clodius Ballista rises through the ranks of the Roman army to become defender of the Empire&’s eastern border. But when treachery causes him to lose the city of Arete, Ballista finds himself in retreat from the Persian Sassanid forces—and out of favor among the senators at home. As the imperial court grows increasingly concerned about religious fanaticism, the aging emperor Valerian once again calls on Ballista to defend the empire, this time sending him to the far-off port city of Ephesus. There, Ballista is charged with crushing a troublesome Christian sect. Renowned for their skilled blending of action and historical accuracy, Sidebottom's Warrior of Rome novels take the reader from the shouts of the battlefield to the whisperings of the emperor's inner circle. Endnotes and an extensive bibliography reveal the fascinating research and scholarship brought to life in this exciting tale.
King of Fools: The Dark Truth Behind the Romantic Legend of Edward & Wallis
by John ParkerWas the Duke of Windsor a tragic romantic torn by duty & desire? Was he merely a shallow weakling, lacking the character to fulfill his destiny? Or was he something more villainous? In this startling biography, top British journalist John Parker exposes the Duke's & Duchess's ties with Nazis, Fascists, organized crime, gambling, sexual deviance - and even murder - to reveal a couple who compromised the integrity of the British monarchy & ultimately put all of Europe in danger.
King of Diamonds: Harry Winston, the Definitive Biography of an American Icon
by William Stadiem Ronald WinstonThis authoritative and intimate biography, written by his only living son, Ronald Winston, marries the Gilded Age glamour and romance of Edith Wharton with the ruthless family dynamics of HBO&’s hit series, Succession. Few American success stories rival that of Harry Winston. Born Harry Weinstein, he came from humble roots—his parents were poor Jewish immigrants who left Ukraine around 1890 for New York, where they settled and started a small jewelry business. His genius for spotting priceless gems emerged young. When Harry was twelve years old, he recognized a two-carat emerald in a pawn shop and bought it for 25 cents, selling it two days later for $800—a massive sum in the early 1900s. From that moment on, Harry became obsessed with gems, especially diamonds. A compact, unassuming man with no formal education, but unlimited drive and ambition, Harry Weinstein transformed himself into Harry Winston, the enigmatic figure who created the world&’s most prestigious luxury brand. Harry Winston built his empire while the Depression raged, World War II reshaped the world, and America entered its post-war period of prosperity. In this riveting biography, readers get a bird&’s eye view of the dangers of the diamond trade and the lengths men would go to get their hands on the best of the &“rough.&” There&’s also a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous, who clamored for Winston&’s gems. Although he traveled the world doing business with kings, queens, and movie stars, Winston remained a devoted family man, whose chief wish was that his sons carry on the legacy he had built. Harry&’s older son Ronald Winston worked alongside his father for decades. After Harry&’s death, Ron grew the company into the international brand that is still revered today. He ran it expertly, until he was forced to sell the company, due to his younger brother&’s maligning litigation. This is the story of a family business that survived and thrived for more than a century, until it was undone by one, bitter family member. KING OF DIAMONDS is at once a portrait of American ingenuity at its best, and the story of sibling rivalry that is Shakespearean in its tragedy.