DailyLit: Biography Books

Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters

by Austen-Leigh and Austen-Leigh

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Memoir of Jane Austen

by James Edward Austen-Leigh

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Finding Iris Chang

by Paula Kamen

Description

Iris Chang's mysterious suicide in 2004, at age thirty-six, didn't seem to make any sense. She had more to live for than anyone, including fame, fortune, beauty, a husband, and child. Some even wondered if the controversial author of the Rape of Nanking had been murdered. Long-time friend Paula Kamen was among those left wondering what had gone so wrong. Seeking to reconcile the suicide with the image of Chang's "perfect" life, Kamen searched her own memory and scoured Chang's letters, diaries, and archival material to fill in the gaps of Chang's personal transformation—from awkward teen to homecoming princess in college, from "ex-shy person" to world-class speaker and international human rights pioneer—and later decline into mental illness and paranoia. A literary investigation of an important writer's journey, Finding Iris Chang is a tribute to a lost heroine, a portrait of the real and vulnerable woman who inspired so many around the world.

Praise for Finding Iris Chang

"A rewardingly complex portrait of a driven and troubled woman."
&mdashKirkus Reviews

"Part biography, part detective story, part memoir of a thorny but enduring friendship, this book takes us to the heart of Iris Chang's tragic life. Paula Kamen writes with astute psychological insight, the intuition of a close friend—and with the determination of an investigative reported resolved to get to the bottom of a death as baffling as it is heartbreaking."
—Molly Worthen, author of The Man on Whom Nothing Was Lost

"Iris Chang inspired many, including me. Now Iris's life has inspired her friend Paula Kamen to write a tender remembrance of a great woman."
—James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys

"Journalist Paula Kamen leaves no clue unturned in this riveting narrative that is part detective story, part psychological drama, part homage to a friend, as she peels back the complexities of Iris Chang's life and death—revealing the obsessions, frailties, significance, and, ultimately, the humanity of this legendary Chinese American woman warrior."
—Helen Zia, author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People

Extended Copyright Information

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Previously published by Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Cover design by Georgia Liebman.
Cover photograph by Tamara Staples; college graduation photograph courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives; Iris Chang Papers.

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The Education of Henry Adams

by Henry Adams

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Free as in Freedom

by Sam Williams

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Boswell's Life of Johnson

by James Boswell

Description

When it came time to tell the life story of Samuel Johnson, a central figure of British thought and literature, only the most brilliant of biographers would do. Happily, in 1791, James Boswell rose to the task, and the resulting Life of Johnson is a masterpiece. Originally written in six volumes, the work was abridged in modern times, maintaining all of its original dazzle. Here, Boswell traces Johnson's life from humble beginnings and his career as a magazine writer, through the creation of his greatest work, the Dictionary of the English Language—a catalog of astounding depth and range that revolutionized knowledge of the English language for all time. Johnson hobnobbed with some of the greatest minds of his day, from novelists to philosophers. In Boswell's expert hands, the writer and his circle are brought vividly back to life, their meetings and conversations detailed for all time. Capturing the essence of a great writer and thinker, full of Johnson's oft-quoted words of wisdom ("when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"), this biography is celebrated as one of the greatest ever written.

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Life on the Mississippi

by Mark Twain

Description

Before he became one of America's best-loved authors, Mark Twain lived out his own adventures as a steamboat captain on the Mississippi River. The waterway that would run through the heart of some of his most famous novels defines this autobiographical work. We read of formative experiences on the river and we revisit the Mississippi many years later with Twain as he travels aboard a steamboat, reflecting on the changes he has witnessed in a growing, developing, nation. Twain's signature "tall tales" feature prominently throughout this integral American work, sure to be enjoyed for its most unique blend of nonfiction, autobiography, and pure fancy.

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Up from Slavery

by Booker T. Washington

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My Life and Work

by Henry Ford

Description

Born into a modest Detroit family, Henry Ford became a pioneer of American ingenuity and industry. In 1922, at the peak of his success in putting countless automobiles on the road, Ford put his own story onto paper. A practical statement of his personal history and shrewd business values, this book is the self-portrait of an American icon, one of the greatest success stories of United States history in his own words.

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A Voyage to the South Sea

by William Bligh

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