National Book Award finalist Prose renders the brief but tumultuous life of one of the greatest of all painters with passion and acute sensitivity. 8-page color insert. …More

Da Chen was treated as an outcast in Communist China until hard work and his family's support earned him a place at prestigious Beijing University. Now his family's past would not harm their future. …More

2010 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction
BookPage Notable Title

Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species," his revolutionary tract on evolution and the fundamental ideas involved, in 1859. Nearly 150 years later, the theory of evolution continues to create tension between the scientific and religious communities. Challenges about teaching the theory of evolution in schools occur annually all over the country. This same debate raged within Darwin himself, and played an important part in his marriage: his wife, Emma, was quite religious, and her faith gave Charles a lot to think about as he worked on a theory that continues to spark intense debates.Deborah Heiligman's new biography of Charles Darwin is a thought-provoking account of the man behind evolutionary theory: how his personal life affected his work and vice versa. The end result is an engaging exploration of history, science, and religion for young readers.   …More

…More

She died mysteriously before she was forty. Yet in the last decade of her life Amelia Earhart soared from obscurity to fame as the best-known female aviator in the world. Rich's exhaustively researched biography downplays the "What Happened to Amelia Earhart?" myth by disclosing who Earhart really was--a woman of three centuries, born in the 19th, pioneering in the 20th, and advocating ideals and dreams relevant to the 21st. 15 illustrations. …More

…More

An international bestseller, the extraordinary diary that awakened the world's conscience is now updated with a new Introduction by the author. "The only bright thing to come from [Sarajevo's] recent history."--"USA Today." …More

"The first book to belong permanently to literature. It created a man."

-- From the Introduction

Few men could compare to Benjamin Franklin. Virtually self-taught, he excelled as an athlete, a man of letters, a printer, a scientist, a wit, an inventor, an editor, and a writer, and he was probably the most successful diplomat in American history. David Hume hailed him as the first great philosopher and great man of letters in the New World.

Written initially to guide his son, Franklin's autobiography is a lively, spellbinding account of his unique and eventful life. Stylistically his best work, it has become a classic in world literature, one to inspire and delight readers everywhere. …More

You may know that computer genius Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, but did you know that he roller-skates, skis, eats fast-food cheeseburgers, and has a passion for reading? Bill Gates became fascinated with computers when he was only 13 years old and began writing computer code and language for companies while still attending high school. After dropping out of Harvard, he formed the Microsoft corporation with longtime friend, Paul Allen and started down the path that has led to Microsoft becoming a multibillion-dollar business. Along the way, Gates has remained passionate about his work, his friends, and, perhaps most importantly, about his family. Discover the story behind the man whose name has become synonymous with computers and software. …More

2010 Alex Award Winner

This immensely engaging tale relates how an enterprising teenager in Malawi builds a windmill from scraps he finds around his village and brings electricity--and a future--to his family. …More

Lekuton provides a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a nomadic tribe and recalls his first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. …More

This acclaimed memoir tells the unforgettable story of a young boy's journey from a refugee camp in Sudan to Chicago, where his family survived on welfare. Mawi followed his father's advice to "treat people . . . as though they were angels sent from heaven," and realized his dream of a full-tuition scholarship to Harvard University. …More

Its not a jock book. Its not a sociology book. Its a storybook about modern society, ancient virtues, and the power of love, money and talent to do a little good. …More

Ayn Rand made a profound impact as both a philosopher who founded a school of social thought, Objectivism, and as a novelist of penetrating insight and vision. Her works are founded on heroic ideals, demonstrating the maxim that, mans ego is the fountainhead of human progress.

The photos and illustrations in this volume have been hand-selected from the Ayn Rand Archives, and most have never been published. They include personal mementos of a Petersburg childhood, her family and their home on Nevsky Prospect; photos from her early years in America; personal papers, including her list of the twelve publishers who passed on "The Fountainhead"; original newspaper articles, film posters, notes, drawings, and much more.

In a recent poll conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book-of-the-Month Club, Rands "Atlas Shrugged" was voted the novel most influential to American readers. This latest volume of the acclaimed Overlook Illustrated Lives series gives her legions of fans an unprecedented chance to better understand the author they adore. …More

In the first volume of an extraordinary autobiographical series, one of the most inspiring authors of our time recalls--with candor, humor, poignancy and grace--how her journey began.... …More

Originally published more than a decade ago, this searing account of the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock--an ALA Nonfiction Book of the Year--is written by one of the black teenagers chosen to become warriors on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. …More

In this compelling biography, Murphy goes in search of the real man behind the traitor label, rumors, and folklore that became a part of the Benedict Arnold legend. Dramatic accounts of crucial battles and political maneuvers round out this portrait of a patriot who could have been a hero. Illustrated with archival prints and photos. …More

This absorbing account by a young man who, as a boy of 12, gets swept up in Sierra Leone's civil war, goes beyond even the best journalistic efforts in revealing the life and mind of a child abducted into the horrors of warfare. …More

This eloquent new biography of one of Western culture's greatest geniuses is written by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and classical pianist Morris. …More

A BookPage Notable Title
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language comes a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the middle of the United States in the middle of the last century. …More

Beatty Award Winner - 2003
Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photos, this biography celebratesAnsel Adams' 100th birthday. …More