Western Biography

Jesse James grew up in Clay County, Missouri, a place where north and south conflicted over the issue of slavery. Tensions grew in the lead-up to the Civil War, and James’ Southern loyalties meant he had to make a decision. When war broke out, Jesse and his brother Frank joined the Confederate guerrillas known as “bushwhackers” alongside other notorious characters like “Bloody Bill”. By the age of 17, Jesse had escaped death twice and gained a reputation as a ruthless killer.

Country Editor's Boy picks up where Hal Borland's classic memoir High, Wide and Lonesome left off: with Borland, on the cusp of adulthood in the early twentieth century, making his way in an eastern Colorado town that still retained all the flavors of the Old West. Borland's father, the editor of a local weekly newspaper, was working to help his publication transition along with the town around him. At the same time, young Hal was experiencing dramatic social and economic change in his own way.

For two and a half years, Ari Fleischer served as the official liaison between the White House and members of the press, acting as the voice of President George W. Bush.

With the coming of the railroads, the American cowboy's job changed drastically, as the great trail herds became a thing of the past. Many cowboys faded into history, but there was a place in northwest Colorado and northeast Utah that still prized their skills. Val FitzPatrick's family homesteaded in this region, and Val became a rider for the Two-Bar at the age of 14. In later years, Val wrote many accounts of his life, and The Arbuckle Cafe is a collection of the best of his stories, all classic and authentic insights of what life on the range was really like.

A riveting memoir of the first Israeli-born Jewish American to be sent as a Peace Corps volunteer to a closed Arab society. A good memoir is a survivor's tale - the story of a person who has faced obstacles and made it through well enough to tell it. Dalya Cohen-Mor, a Sabra-born American woman, volunteered to serve in the Peace Corps, went through a lengthy and highly competitive application process, was accepted, and was sent to serve in the predominantly Palestinian country of Jordan.

The 25-year old Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, and took off for Paris, determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris. For the next 33 hours, as he navigated through storms across the perilous Atlantic Ocean, news of his attempt circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Paris.

Deutschland – Deutschland: ein historischer Moment. Selten gibt es Augenblicke in der Geschichte, die wie ein Brennglas wirken. Das einzige Fußballspiel zwischen der DDR und der BRD ist ein solcher herausragender, brisanter und zugleich universaler Moment. Als sich am 22. Juni 1974 für neunzig Minuten die Bruderstaaten gegenübertraten und die DDR durch ein 1:0 von Jürgen Sparwasser den Sieg davontrug, brachten der Zufall und die Zeitläufte Menschen und Ereignisse zusammen, die Einfluss nahmen auf das Leben nicht nur der Beteiligten, sondern auf beide Länder und ihre Menschen.

Many of the first artists in the West were assigned to exploration and geological parties, working as archivists and obedient to demands of cold accuracy. However, a few were driven by an imaginative mix of real events and fantastical visions to whet the appetite of Eastern consumers and preserve their own nostalgia on canvas. Among the most prominent artists depicting the "old" West was Charles Marion Russell, a prolific painter, sculptor, writer, and storyteller based in the heart of the Montana country.

>From his name to his college transcript to his literary style, Nathanael West was self-invented. Born Nathan Weinstein, the author of the classics Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) and The Day of the Locust (1939) was an uncompromising artist obsessed with writing the perfect novel. He pursued his passion from New York to California, flirting dangerously with the bleak, faux-glamour of Hollywood as the country suffered through the grim realities of the Great Depression.

George Mergenthaler, the grandson of the inventor of the Linotype, was an only child, and at the time of his birth in 1920, became the sole male heir the family fortune. Tall, handsome, Ivy League educated, speaking fluent German and French, "Merg" as he was know to his friends, did what many in his generation did following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor: He enlisted in the Army.

You probably heard the stories of Pablo Escobar, the Medellín Cartel, and Narcos. But do you know the story of the equally essential founder of the cartel and the guy who appears in FORBES 1988 World's Billionaires List as a Druglord?—Meet José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha

Between 1941 and 1944, sixteen thousand plucky homing pigeons were dropped in an arc from Bordeaux to Copenhagen as part of 'Columba' – a secret British operation to bring back intelligence from those living under Nazi occupation.

How could Annie Oakley, a woman of barely 110 pounds with a childlike beauty, beat so many of the greatest sharpshooters with her skill and talent? The name is probably familiar to most people, but not many know about her early life or her great love for her husband, who was also a sharpshooter. We are taking you back more than a century to meet one of the greatest American folklore heroines who ever existed.

Alexander Hamilton, born in the British West Indies, was an outsider from the very beginning. His illegitimate birth drove him to prove his worthiness to others throughout his life. His quest for honor was one of the defining characteristics that colored his decisions. Hamilton was a small man with a large ambition, and this would drive him to greatness and create some powerful enemies in his wake.

From the award-winning historian: the remarkable life of "the most beautiful woman of 19th-century Baltimore", whose marriage in 1803 to Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon, became inextricably bound to the diplomatic and political 19th-century histories of the United States, France, and England.

Governor Culbert L. Olson is one of the most important and prominent men you have probably never heard of. Elected governor of California in 1938, he is noted for being the first Democratic governor of the state in over 40 years. His term spanned the years 1939 to 1943, years of tumult and trial for California and for all of America. It included the last part of America's Great Depression and the first part of World War II. Olson led California through this difficult time with a progressive agenda known as Olson's "New Deal for California."

The Literary Legacy of Rebecca West is the first book to explore the entire corpus of her extraordinary 71-year writing career. The general introductory studies of West are outdated and do not take into account her posthumous publications, or her large literary archive of unpublished letters and manuscripts. Previous scholarly books have chopped West up into categories and genres instead of following the evolution of her career.

Born of humble beginnings, Ronald Reagan came into the world as the son of working class parents in Illinois. During his youth, he wasn't a particularly gifted student, but he did graduate from college. A Hollywood actor and union leader turned politician, he served as the 33rd governor of California during the tumultuous period from 1967 to 1975. Though his hard work, determination, and a bit of good luck, Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States, in office between 1981 and 1989.

Before there was Charles Ponzi, there was Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II. The famed Old West con artist and gangster's criminal career ranged from Texas to Alaska, from Denver to the Klondike. Soapy Smith: The Life and Legacy of the Wild West’s Most Infamous Con Artist looks at the controversial times and crimes of the Western huckster, and the career that led to a notorious end. You will learn about Soapy Smith like never before.

Author Orlando "Ori" Spado honestly recounts his humble beginnings from the small town of Rome in Upstate New York to becoming known as "The Mob Boss of Hollywood". This candid account documents his fall from the life of a well-known Hollywood fixer who mixed with A-list celebrities to serving 62 months in a federal prison and ultimately making a determined comeback.