Biography & Autobiography : Historical

One of the world's leading historians of Renaissance Italy brings to life here the vibrant--and violent--society of fifteenth-century Florence. His disturbing narrative opens up an entire culture, revealing the dark side of Renaissance man and politician Lorenzo de' Medici. On a Sunday in April 1478, assassins attacked Lorenzo and his brother as they attended Mass in the cathedral of Florence. Lorenzo scrambled to safety as Giuliano bled to death on the cathedral floor. April Blood moves outward in time and space from that murderous event, unfolding a story of tangled passions, ambition, treachery, and revenge. The conspiracy was led by one of the city's most noble clans, the Pazzi, financiers who feared and resented the Medici's swaggering new role as political bosses--but the web of intrigue spread through all of Italy. Bankers, mercenaries, the Duke of Urbino, the King of Naples, and Pope Sixtus IV entered secretly into the plot. Florence was plunged into a peninsular war, and Lorenzo was soon fighting for his own and his family's survival. The failed assassination doomed the Pazzi. Medici revenge was swift and brutal--plotters were hanged or beheaded, innocents were hacked to pieces, and bodies were put out to dangle from the windows of the government palace. All remaining members of the larger Pazzi clan were forced to change their surname, and every public sign or symbol of the family was expunged or destroyed. April Blood offers us a fresh portrait of Renaissance Florence, where dazzling artistic achievements went side by side with violence, craft, and bare-knuckle politics. At the center of the canvas is the figure of Lorenzo the Magnificent--poet, statesman, connoisseur, patron of the arts, and ruthless "boss of bosses." This extraordinarily vivid account of a turning point in the Italian Renaissance is bound to become a lasting work of history. more...

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Frederick Douglass was an ex-slave and a great orator in early 19th-century USA. His autobiography details his experiences as a slave and is considered the most famous such work, though many similar were written by his contemporaries. This work also influenced and fueled the abolitionist movement, in which Douglass was an important figure. more...

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Learn more about 100 Most Influential People of all times - from Buddha and Hammurabi to Thomas Edison and Brothers Wright. Their lifes, views, and careers illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps. Fully illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps. Navigate from Table of Contents or search for the words or phrases. Written in clear and concise language,. Table of Contents. Kings, Emperors and Politicians. Religious Leaders. Humanitarians. Thinkers and Philosophers. Scientists. Inventors. Explorers and Pioneers. Musicians and Composers. Writers. Painters, Sculptors and Architects. Stage, Screen and Photography. Kings, Emperors and Politicians. Menes (ca. 3100-3000 BC) - united Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. Hammurabi (c.1792-1750 BC) - first king of the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus the Great (ca.576-530 BC) - founder of the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) - king of Macedon; he conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks, never losing a battle. Asoka (304-232 BC) - emperor of India who converted to and spread Buddhism. Qin Shi Huang (260-210 BC) - Chinese Emperor; unified China, initiated construction of the Great Wall of China. Hannibal (247-183 BC) Carthaginian military commander and politician. Julius Caesar (c.100-44 BC) - Roman military and political leader; key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. ... Religious Leaders. Zoroaster (c.1200 BC) - ancient Iranian prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism. Buddha (c.563-c.483 BC) - founder of Buddhism. Jesus Christ (c.6 BC-c.30 AD) - founder of Christianity. St. Paul (b. c. 10-d. c. 67 AD) - proselytizer of Christianity. Muhammad (c.570-632 AD) - Prophet of Islam; conqueror of Arabia. ... Thinkers and Philosophers. Lao Zi [Lao Tzu] (c.600 BC) - founder of Taoism. Confucius (551-479 BC) - founder of Confucianism. Socrates (469-399 BC) - ancient Greek philosopher who is credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. Plato (c.4 more...

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Despite Alexander the Great's unprecedented accomplishments, during the last seven years of his life, this indomitable warrior became increasingly unpredictable, sporadically violent, megalomaniacal, and suspicious of friends as well as enemies. What could have caused such a lamentable transformation? This biography seeks to answer that question by assessing the role of alcohol in Alexander the Great's life, using the figure of Dionysus as a symbol of its destructive effects on his psyche. more...

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Narratives of Antarctic exploration and adventure by two world-renowned polar explorers – Captain Roald Amundsen’s account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the “Fram” (1910-1912) and Sir Ernest Shackleton’s account of the British expedition (1914-1917) aboard the Endurance and the Aurora. more...

Price: $5.99