Biography & Autobiography

Frederick Douglass, (1817-1895), was the leading spokesman for African Americans in the 1800's. Born a slave, Douglass became a noted reformer, author, and speaker. He devoted his life to the abolition of slavery and the fight for black rights. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in Tuckahoe, MD. He changed his name to Douglass to avoid capture after he fled from his master in 1838. He arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts and because he was a black man, could only find work as an unskilled laborer. His life changed from that of an unskilled laborer to sought-after speaker when the Massachusetts Antislavery Society hired him as a lecturer. Douglass was an outspoken pioneer in the anti-slavery movement. He protested the discriminatory practices of segregated employment, education, worship and public transportation. His house was a station on the Underground Railroad. He conferred with Abraham Lincoln on several occasions and helped recruit African Americans for the Union Army during the Civil War. The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass is the expanded version of the autobiography he published in England. more...

Price: $4.95

If someone you love is diagnosed with autism, LOUDER THAN WORDS is the first book you should read. One morning, Jenny McCarthy was having a cup of coffee when she sensed something was wrong. She ran into her two-year-old son Evan’s room and found him seizing. In that moment, Jenny went from being the mother of an average toddler to being in the midst of a medical odyssey. Doctor after doctor misdiagnosed Evan until—after many harrowing, life-threatening episodes later—one amazing doctor discovered that Evan is autistic. Though Evan finally had a diagnosis, Jenny didn’t know what to do next and she soon found herself alone without any resources except for her determination to help her son. Jenny eventually realized that she’d have to become a detective. She spoke with many doctors, parents, governmental agencies, private foundations, and essentially earned a Phd in “Google Research.” At last, she discovered an intense combination of behavioral therapy, diet, and supplements that became the key to saving Evan from autism. And, now in this book, she creates a roadmap for parents who are concerned about their own child. Jenny does more than just reveal the winning formula that worked for Evan. Her story shares the frustrations and joys of raising an autistic child and shows how with love and determination a parent can shape their child’s life and happiness. more...

Price: $14.00

An unforgettable story of the joy of motherhood, the bravery of a community, and the hope of one extraordinary woman. At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war London’s East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies all over London—from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives to the woman with twenty-four children who can’t speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the city’s seedier side—illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, The Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother. more...

Price: $15.00

Helen Keller's autobiography, The Story of My Life , tells of her early life and of her experiences with Annie Sullivan, her teacher and companion. It was first published in 1903. Keller was the first deaf-blind person to attain a Bachelor of Arts degree, became well traveled and a prolific author, and was outspoken in her campaigning against war and for many other progressive causes. This story shows how Annie Sullivan helped Keller break through her isolation and absence of... more...

Price: $4.99

'Tis is the story of Frank's American journey from impoverished immigrant to brilliant teacher and raconteur. Frank lands in New York at age nineteen, in the company of a priest he meets on the boat. He gets a job at the Biltmore Hotel, where he immediately encounters the vivid hierarchies of this 'classless country', and then is drafted into the army and is sent to Germany to train dogs and type reports. It is Frank's incomparable voice - his uncanny humor and his astonishing ear for dialogue - that renders these experiences spellbinding. more...

Price: $9.99