Biography

Charles Darwin's THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, published in 1859, still creates tension between the scientific and religious communities. This same debate raged within Darwin himself: his wife, Emma, was quite religious, and her faith gave Charles a lot to think about as he developed his groundbreaking theory.

Provoked by the horrors he saw every day, Charles Dickens wrote novels that were originally intended as instruments for social change --- to save his country’s children.

In 1957, a photograph was taken of a black high school girl walking stoically in front of Little Rock Central High School, being screamed at by a white girl. In this gripping book, David Margolick recounts how the photograph has unexpectedly followed both women throughout their lives.

In April 1992, a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness. He had given away his savings, abandoned most of his possessions, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, a moose hunter found McCandless's body. This is the story of how he came to die.

Beginning with Lenny's childhood in Boston and ending with his triumphant conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic when he was just twenty-five, MUSIC WAS IT draws readers into the energetic, passionate, challenging music-filled life of young Leonard Bernstein.

Ian O'Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Derek Jeter that has spanned some 15 years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York's most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete.