Biography

By his early thirties, Paul Allen was a world-famous billionaire-and that was just the beginning.  In 2007 and 2008, Time named Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft, one of the hundred most influential people in the world. Since he made his fortune, his impact has been felt in science, technology, business, medicine, sports, music, and philanthropy. His passion, curiosity, and intellectual rigor-combined with the resources to launch and support new initiatives-have literally changed the world. In 2009 Allen discovered that he had lymphoma, lending urgency to his ...

Comedian and star of The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Ellie Kemper delivers a hilarious and uplifting collection of essays about one pale woman’s journey from Midwestern naïf to Hollywood semi-celebrity to outrageously reasonable New Yorker. There comes a time in every sitcom actress’s life when she is faced with the prospect of writing a book. When Ellie Kemper’s number was up, she was ready. Contagiously cheerful, predictably wholesome, and mostly inspiring except for one essay about her husband’s feet, My Squirrel Days is a funny, free-wheeling tour of Ellie’s life—from ...

When my mother died, leaving me to raise my siblings and look after my father, my dream of leaving Naples for a better life died too. Her life had been filled with hard work and sacrifice, and no appreciation. That became my life. My father became possessive of my time. My boyfriend cheated. Working day and night, I didn’t have time to dream of anything better. One day at a Marine Corps dance I met Brandon. We spoke different languages, but he was able to ...

Z.O.S. is the memoir of sex, blood, money, and the CIA in Southeast Asia. Kay Merkel Boruff tells the story from her perspective of wife and widow of an Air America pilot killed during covert operations in Laos. She takes the reader there as only one who has been there can. You experience the highs, understand the efforts to escape the constant fear of the dangerous reality these American heroes face daily, feel the anguish of her loss and the isolation of the “zone of ...

An unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University Book Club Pick for Now Read This, from PBS NewsHour and The New York Times “A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable.”—USA Today “The extremity of Westover’s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing.”—The New York Times Book Review ...

A scandalous, sentimental, no-holds-barred, New York Times bestselling memoir from one of Hollywood’s most enduring and resilient stars. Burt Reynolds is a Hollywood leading man known for his legendary performances, sex symbol status, and infamous Hollywood romances. In his decades of stardom, Reynolds has seen it all. But Enough About Me will, in his words, “call out the assholes,” try to make amends for “being the asshole myself on too many occasions,” and pay homage to the superstars and ordinary heroes he has come to love and respect. Beginning ...

The complete memoirs of Neil Simon, the greatest—and most successful—American playwright of all time, the author of such iconic works as Lost in Yonkers, The Odd Couple, Biloxi Blues, and The Goodbye Girl, now with an insightful Introduction by Nathan Lane. This omnibus edition combines Neil Simon’s two memoirs, Rewrites and The Play Goes On, into one volume that spans his extraordinary five-decade career in theater, television, and film. Rewrites takes Simon through his first love, his first play, and his first brush with failure. There is the humor of growing up in Washington ...

In this candid new political memoir from Senator John McCain, an American hero reflects on his life—and what matters most. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. Maybe I’ll have another five years. Maybe, with the advances in oncology, they’ll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I’ll be gone before you read this. My predicament is, well, rather unpredictable. But I’m prepared for either contingency, or at least I’m getting prepared. I have some things I’d like ...