The Best Historical Biographies & Memoirs 2025

1. The Jew Store (Paperback)

The story of a man who, in 1920, moved his Jewish family and business into a small-town in Tennessee that discouraged outsiders. For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should make also a life.--Aaron Bronson. In 1920, in small town America, the ubiquitous dry goods store--suits and coats, shoes and hats, work clothes and school clothes, yard goods and notions--was usually owned by Jews and often referred to as "the Jew store." That's how Stella Suberman's father's store, Bronson's Low-Priced Store, in Concordia, Tennessee, was known locally. The Bronsons were the first Jews to ever live in that tiny town (1920 population: 5,318) of one main street, one bank, one drugstore, one picture show, one feed and seed, one hardware, one barber shop, one beauty parlor, one blacksmith, and many Christian churches. Aaron Bronson moved his family all the way from New York City to that remote corner of northwest Tennessee to prove himself a born salesman--and much more. Told by Aaron's youngest child, THE JEW STORE is that rare thing--an intimate family story that sheds new light on a piece of American history. Here is ONE MAN'S FAMILY with a twist--a Jew, born into poverty in prerevolutionary Russia and orphaned from birth, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome. With a novelist's sense of scene, suspense, and above all, characterization, Stella Suberman turns the clock back to a time when rural America was more peaceful but no less prejudiced, when educated liberals were suspect, and when the Klan was threatening to outsiders. In that setting, she brings to life her remarkable father, a man whose own brand of success proves that intelligence, empathy, liberality, and decency can build a home anywhere. THE JEW STORE is a heartwarming--even inspiring--story.

"For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should make also a life." --Aaron Bronson In 1920, in small-town America, the ubiquitous dry goods store--suits and coats, shoes and hats, work clothes and school clothes, yard goods and notions--was usually owned by Jews and often referred to as "the Jew store." That's how Stella Suberman's father's store, Bronson's Low-Priced Store, in Concordia, Tennessee, was known locally. The Bronsons were the first Jews to ever live in that tiny town (1920 population: 5,318) of one main street, one bank, one drugstore, one picture show, one feed and seed, one hardware, one barber shop, one beauty parlor, one blacksmith, and many Christian churches. Aaron Bronson moved his family all the way from New York City to that remote corner of northwest Tennessee to prove himself a born salesman--and much more. Told by Aaron's youngest child, The Jew Store is that rare thing--an intimate family story that sheds new light on a piece of American history. Here is One Man's Family with a twist--a Jew, born into poverty in prerevolutionary Russia and orphaned from birth, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome. With a novelist's sense of scene, suspense, and above all, characterization, Stella Suberman turns the clock back to a time when rural America was more peaceful but no less prejudiced, when educated liberals were suspect, and when the Klan was threatening to outsiders. In that setting, she brings to life her remarkable father, a man whose own brand of success proves that intelligence, empathy, liberality, and decency can build a home anywhere. The Jew Store is a heartwarming--even inspiring--story.

2. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius (Paperback)

The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau burst unexpectedly onto the eighteenth-century literary scene as a provocateur whose works electrified readers. An autodidact who had not written anything of significance by age thirty, Rousseau seemed an unlikely candidate to become one of the most influential thinkers in history. Yet the power of his ideas is felt to this day in our political and social lives. In a masterly and definitive biography, Leo Damrosch traces the extraordinary life of Rousseau with novelistic verve. He presents Rousseau's books -- The Social Contract, one of the greatest works on political theory; Emile, a groundbreaking treatise on education; and the Confessions, which created the genre of introspective autobiography -- as works uncannily alive and provocative even today. Jean-Jacques Rousseau offers a vivid portrait of the visionary's tumultuous life.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius (Paperback)

3. David Crockett: The Lion of the West, (Paperback)

Popular culture transformed his memory into "Davy Crockett," and Hollywood gave him a raccoon hat he hardly ever wore. In this surprising New York Times bestseller, historian Michael Wallis has cast a fresh look at the flesh-and-blood man behind one of the most celebrated figures in American history. More than a riveting story, Wallis's David Crockett is a revelatory, authoritative biography that separates fact from fiction and provides us with an extraordinary evocation of not only a true American hero but also the rough-and-tumble times in which he lived.

David Crockett: The Lion of the West, (Paperback) Author: W. W. Norton & Company ISBN: 9780393342277 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2012-04-23 Page Count: 400

4. Everything Profiles: The Everything Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Book : A Portrait of an American Icon (Paperback)

A Portrait of an American IconJacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis-better known as Jackie O. to the tabloids, the deb to the Kennedy clan, and the 35th First Lady to historians-is easily one of the most recognizable Presidential wives. She remains the model of the proper American woman. But what was Jackie O. hiding behind those big, dark shades?From her New York society upbringing to her time in the White House to her days spent as a Doubleday editor, this is the ultimate biography of a woman everyone recognized but few knew. Did you know that: Her first job was as the Inquiring Camera Girl for the Washington Times-Herald?Before she started dating Jack Kennedy, she hadn't even voted in a national election?She was the only family member strong enough to remove Robert Kennedy from life-support measures after he was shot?She asked Rose Kennedy for her blessing before she married Aristotle Onassis?She was American royalty and is now an American icon. The Everything Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Book delivers everything you always wanted to know about this captivating woman.

A Portrait of an American IconJacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis-better known as Jackie O. to the tabloids, "the deb" to the Kennedy clan, and the 35th First Lady to historians-is easily one of the most recognizable Presidential wives. She remains the model of the proper American woman. But what was Jackie O. hiding behind those big, dark shades?From her New York society upbringing to her time in the White House to her days spent as a Doubleday editor, this is the ultimate biography of a woman everyone recognized but few knew. Did you know that:Her first job was as the "Inquiring Camera Girl" for the Washington Times-Herald?Before she started dating Jack Kennedy, she hadn't even voted in a national election?She was the only family member strong enough to remove Robert Kennedy from life-support measures after he was shot?She asked Rose Kennedy for her blessing before she married Aristotle Onassis?She was American royalty and is now an American icon. The Everything Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Book delivers everything you always wanted to know about this captivating woman.

5. Alexander the Great : Man and God (Hardcover)

An account of the life of Alexander the Great - his successes and failures, his paranoia, drinking and megalomania. The author describes a King corrupted by power and who, for his own personal ends, sacrificed the empire his father had fought to establish.

He conquered most of the known world and thought himself a god. However, he also died a paranoid, alocholic wreck at the age of 33...after which his entire empire collapsed. So, just how great was Alexander?Hardback was - very - successful. Paperback to be released same time as new Colin Farrell film New material in the paperback on the army and Alexander's treatment of exiles Huge interest in ancient world at the moment driven by "Gladiator, Troy "and multifarious TV programmes and of course specific films and TV on Alexander the Great. There are two new Hollywood films of his life in production. Accessibly written for general reader, not scholar New portrait of the single most important figure of the ancient world - reveals the real Alexander, waste and all. Fascinating account of a massively colourful if ultimately destructive life Provides new interpretations of the question of Alexander's corruption and paranoia Fully illustrated - brings alive the age as well as the man

6. Living History (Hardcover)

One of the most intelligent and influential women in America reflects on her eight years as First Lady of the United States in a revealing book that is personal, political, and news making. 32-pages of photos. The author chronicles her eight years as First Lady of the United States, looking back on her husband's two administrations, the challenges she faced during the period, the impeachment crisis, and her own political work.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is known to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Yet few beyond her close friends and family have ever heard her account of her extraordinary journey. She writes with candor, humor and passion about her upbringing in suburban, middle-class America in the 1950s and her transformation from Goldwater Girl to student activist to controversial First Lady. "Living History" is her revealing memoir of life through the White House years. It is also her chronicle of living history with Bill Clinton, a thirty-year adventure in love and politics that survives personal betrayal, relentless partisan investigations and constant public scrutiny. Hillary Rodham Clinton came of age during a time of tumultuous social and political change in America. Like many women of her generation, she grew up with choices and opportunities unknown to her mother or grandmother. She charted her own course through unexplored terrain -- responding to the changing times and her own internal compass -- and became an emblem for some and a lightning rod for others. Wife, mother, lawyer, advocate and international icon, she has lived through America's great political wars, from Watergate to Whitewater. The only First Lady to play a major role in shaping domestic legislation, Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled tirelessly around the country to champion health care, expand economic and educational opportunity and promote the needs of children and families, and she crisscrossed the globe on behalf of women's rights, human rights and democracy. She redefined the position of First Lady and helped save the presidency from an unconstitutional, politically motivated impeachment. Intimate, powerful and inspiring, "Living History" captures the essence of one of the most remarkable women of our time and the challenging process by which she came to define herself and find her own voice -- as a woman and as a formidable figure in American politics.

7. Pre-Owned True West Paperback

Pre-Owned - Comedy / 3m, 1f / Int. Recently revived at New York's Circle in the Square, where Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly alternated playing the roles of the brothers, this American classic explores alternatives that might spring from the demented terrain of the California landscape. Sons of a desert dwelling alcoholic and a suburban wanderer clash over a film script. Austin, the achiever, is working on a script he has sold to producer Sal Kimmer when Lee, a demented petty thief, drops in. He pitch

Pre-Owned, True West, (Paperback)

8. The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey to Freedom, Pre-Owned (Paperback)

Pre-Owned - When John F. Baker Jr. was in the seventh grade, he saw a photograph of four former slaves in his social studies textbook--two of them were his grandmother's grandparents. He began the lifelong research project that would become The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation, the fruit of more than thirty years of archival and field research and DNA testing spanning 250 years. A descendant of Wessyngton slaves, Baker has written the most accessible and exciting work of African American history since Roots. He has not only written his own family's story but included the history of hundreds of slaves and their descendants now numbering in the thousands throughout the United States. More than one hundred rare photographs and portraits of African Americans who were slaves on the plantation bring this compelling American history to life. Founded in 1796 by Joseph Washington, a distant cousin of America's first president, Wessyngton Plantation covered 15,000 acres and held 274 slaves, whose labor made it the largest tobacco plantation in America. Atypically, the Washingtons sold only two slaves, so the slave families remained intact for generations. Many of their descendants still reside in the area surrounding the plantation. The Washington family owned the plantation until 1983; their family papers, housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, include birth registers from 1795 to 1860, letters, diaries, and more. Baker also conducted dozens of interviews--three of his subjects were more than one hundred years old--and discovered caches of historic photographs and paintings. A groundbreaking work of history and a deeply personal journey of discovery, The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation is an uplifting story of survival and family that gives fresh insight into the institution of slavery and its ongoing legacy today.

The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey to Freedom, Pre-Owned (Paperback)

9. Pre-Owned Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone (Audiobook) by Martin Dugard, Simon Jones

Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone : CD (Pre-Owned)

ISBN: 9780739302385 Condition: Pre-Owned: Good Audiobook CD Abridged. Language: English 5 CDs in jewel case. "Into Africa" traces the journeys of Dr. David Livingstone and journalist Morton Stanley in alternating chapters, capturing with immediacy the dangers, disease, and beauty they encountered in the heart of Africa. Abridged. 5 CDs.

10. An old man's diary, Used [Hardcover]

Spine of price clipped dust jacket faded, owner's inscription. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.

An old man's diary, Used [Hardcover]