Biography & Autobiography Books

THE EMPRESS CATHARINE AND PRINCE POTEMKIN It has often been said that the greatest Frenchman who ever lived was in reality an Italian. It might with equal truth be asserted that the greatest Russian woman who ever lived was in reality a German. But the Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Catharine II. resemble each other in something else. Napoleon, though Italian in blood and lineage, made himself so... more...

CHAPTER I WASHINGTON'S EARLY LIFE—APPOINTED AS SURVEYOR—FIRST TRIP INTO THE WILDERNESS—ENTRUSTED WITH MESSAGE TO THE FRENCH—1732-1754 The twenty-second day of February is a national holiday in America because, as everybody knows, it is the anniversary of George Washington's birthday. All loyal Americans love and honor him, the greatest man in the history of the Republic. He was born... more...

I. If it be no small task for a man of the most favored antecedents and the most fortunate surroundings to rise above mediocrity in a great nation, it is surely a more remarkable achievement for a man of the very humblest origin possible to humanity in any country in any age of the world, in the face of obstacles seemingly insurmountable, to win high honors and rewards, to retain for more than a... more...

CHAPTER I If origin, if early training and habits of life, if tastes, and character, and associations, fix a man's nationality, then John Ruskin must be reckoned a Scotsman. He was born in London, but his family was from Scotland. He was brought up in England, but the friends and teachers, the standards and influences of his early life, were chiefly Scottish. The writers who directed him into the... more...

INTRODUCTION. Very little is known concerning the life of Tacitus, the historian, except that which he tells us in his own writings and those incidents which are related of him by his contemporary, Pliny. His full name was Caius Cornelius Tacitus. The date of his birth can only be arrived at by conjecture, and then only approximately. The younger Pliny speaks of him as prope modum aequales, about the... more...

ABOUT THIS BOOK In a very real and interesting way, The King Nobody Wanted tells the story of Jesus. Where the actual words of the Bible are used, they are from the King James Version. But the greater part of the story is told in the words of every day. Since you will certainly want to look up these stories in your own Bible, the references are given on pages 191 and 192. You will discover that often... more...

There was at this same time in Florence a painter of most beautiful intelligence and most lovely invention, namely, Filippo, son of Fra Filippo of the Carmine, who, following in the steps of his dead father in the art of painting, was brought up and instructed, being still very young, by Sandro Botticelli, notwithstanding that his father had commended him on his death-bed to Fra Diamante, who was much... more...

PREFACE In writing the following pages I have felt very strongly one disqualification for my task. The life of my brother, Sir J. F. Stephen, was chiefly devoted to work which requires some legal knowledge for its full appreciation. I am no lawyer; and I should have considered this fact to be a sufficient reason for silence, had it been essential to give any adequate estimate of the labours in... more...

PLANTATION LIFE AS VIEWED BY AN EX-SLAVEGEORGIA TELFAIR, Age 74Box 131, R.F.D. #2Athens, Ga. Written by:Miss Grace McCuneAthens, Ga. Edited by:Mrs. Sarah H. HallAthens, Ga. andMrs. Leila HarrisAugusta, Ga.[Date Stamp: APR 29 1938] "Yes chile, I'll be glad to tell you de story of my life, I can't tell you much 'bout slav'ry 'cause I wuz jus' six months old when freedom... more...

PREFATORY NOTE Certain happenings as recorded in this work will be found to differ materially from the same incidents and episodes as set down in the writings of Mr. Clemens himself. Mark Twain's spirit was built of the very fabric of truth, so far as moral intent was concerned, but in his earlier autobiographical writings—and most of his earlier writings were autobiographical—he made no real... more...