Showing results by publisher "Bettie Youngs Book Publishers Co., Inc." in Biographies & Memoirs

In 1915, when a kitchen stove fire singed his sister Mabel's lashes and brows, Tom Lyle Williams watched in fascination as she performed what she called "a secret of the harem" - mixing petroleum jelly with coal dust and ash from a burnt cork and applying it to her lashes and brows. Mabel's simple beauty trick ignited Tom Lyle's imagination, and he started what would become a billion-dollar business, one that remains a viable American icon after nearly a century. He named it Maybelline in her honor.

"I want you to like me, to think I am the most beautiful, the smartest, the thinnest...." With these words, Abby Kelly encapsulates the overwhelming struggle of her 15-year bout with anorexia. Beginning in her teenage years when the predatory lies of the disease took root in her psyche as she felt pressured from family and peers for not being "enough", Abby lays bare the reality of anorexia.

Tired of his disconnected life and uninspiring job, Leon Logothetis leaves it all behind - job, money, home, and even his cell phone - and hits the road with nothing but the clothes on his back and five dollars in his pocket, relying on the kindness of strangers and the serendipity of the open road for his daily keep. Along the way, Leon offers up the intriguing and charming tales gathered along his one-of-a-kind journey: riding in trains, buses, big rigs and classic cars; sleeping on streets and couches and firehouses....

Everyone has heard of Habitat for Humanity, the faith-based housing initiative that has built homes for more than a million of the world's poor. Many are familiar with its founders, Millard and Linda Fuller. But few know the amazing love story behind the movement a story that began accidentally and will conclude in a world forever changed by its impact. By age 29, Millard Fuller was a self-made millionaire. But that success came at a cost.

The 1970s were known for free love and experimentation. Few cared if you were gay, straight, bisexual or transgender. It was the era of "sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll". In the midst of all this appeared a woman who had turned the head of Al Capone, married into the famous Maybelline company, and possessed more than enough beauty, magnetism and allure to make men do most anything.

"I'd grown up in the land of Transylvania, homeland to Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and worse, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu," writes the author. "Under his rule, like vampires, we came to life after sundown, hiding our heirloom jewels and precious documents deep into the earth." Fleeing to the US to rebuild her life, she discovers a startling truth about straddling two cultures and striking a balance between one's dreams and the sacrifices that allow a sense of "home".

A trip to Tripoli for discussions with then Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi forever changed Dr. William C. Chasey's life. Upon his return, his bank accounts were frozen, clients had been strongly discouraged from working with him, and even his close friends had been advised not to associate with him. The CIA, FBI, IRS, and federal judiciary conspired to coerce him into using his unique Libyan access to participate in a CIA-sponsored assassination plot against the two Libyans indicted for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103.

The terrifying legend of Count Dracula silently skulking through the Transylvania night may have terrified generations of filmgoers, but the tall, elegant vampire captivated and electrified a young Jane Congdon, igniting a dream to one day see his mysterious land of ancient castles and misty hollows. Four decades later she finally takes her long-awaited trip - never dreaming that it will unearth decades-buried memories of life with an alcoholic mother.

Suzzan Blac's early years were the stuff of the darkest nightmares: abject poverty and spirit-crushing abuse. Adolescence brought a harrowing coercion into the horrific world of the sex trade where she was held prisoner. She escaped, but spiraled into depression. Eventual marriage to a loving man and two beautiful children gave her a sense of normalcy for the first time in her life. But the long buried memories kept her an emotional hostage. To free herself and heal, she started painting. Out came 42 pieces.

Tony Volpentest was born without hands and feet, a condition so rare it does not have a name. Doctors said he would never be able to walk without prosthetics or special accommodations. Tony proved them all wrong when he started walking at 15 months old and went on to do everything any other kid could do: ride a bike, play basketball, and learn to write. In high school, he took up the least likely sport for someone without feet - track.

Few people then or now know about the clandestine war that the CIA ran in Vietnam, using the Green Berets for secret operations throughout Southeast Asia. This was not the Vietnam War of the newsreels - the body counts, rice paddy footage, and men smoking cigarettes on the sandbag bunkers.

The Hungarian Revolution forever changed the West's perspective on Communism. The intensely interesting story of Vincent Szabo shows why the Hungarians eventually revolted against their government. Many made their way to America - and lead successful lives.

Maddie built the village orphans a shelter and a school, and she provided food and clean water. But this was just the start. Despite being bedridden, and then hospital-bound by her disease, until her dying day Maddie became an indefatigable fundraiser for her children. Maddie was recognized, in life and posthumously, with a number of awards, honors, and memorials. But, until the end, all that was important to her was providing hope and future to the village children who had filled her heart.

Prince Dmitri Kantemir (1673-1723), also the Prince of Moldavia, Prince of the Russian Empire, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Imperial Chancellor to Peter the Great of Russia, lived in forced exile in Istanbul for 22 years. He became a great writer, statesman, scientist, and composer of Ottoman music. His children were prominent in Russian history: Antioch Kantemir became Russia's first satirist and Maria Kantemir was the last love of Peter the Great.

Southern Italy in the 1930s was chaotic and violent - the rise of dictator Mussolini, the dawn of Europe's descent into another World War, and continuation of turf battles between Mafia families. This was certainly no place for a young woman to assume power, but 17-year-old Carina broke the mold. Forced to become the family matriarch after her father's sudden death, Carina finds herself responsible for the care of her 12 younger siblings.

The day Archie lost his 31-year job as a laborer at a meatpacking company, he was forced to confront the secret he had held so closely for most of his life: at the age of 54, he couldn't read. For all his adult life, he'd been able to skirt around the issue. But now, forced to find a new job to support his family, he could no longer hide from the truth. The Last Reader Standing is the story of Archie's amazing and often painful journey of becoming literate at middle age, struggling with the newfound knowledge of his dyslexia.

Constantin C. Giurescu was Romania's leading historian and author of the seminal work The History of the Romanian People. His granddaughter's fascinating story of this remarkable man and his family follows their struggles in war-torn Romania from 1900 to the fall of the Soviet Union.

With yet-unhealed wounds from recent combat in southeast Asia, John Moore undertook an unexpected walking tour in the rugged Scottish Highlands. With a season of freezing rainstorms approaching, he took shelter in a remote monastery. This chance encounter would change his future, his beliefs about blind chance, and the unexpected courses by which the best in human nature can smuggle its way into the life of a stranger.

Fraudulent car accidents is a multi-million dollar racket, involving unscrupulous medical providers, personal injury attorneys, and the cooperating passengers involved in the accidents and who also receive a portion of the illegal proceeds. Such is the fate of newly engaged Nathan and Shari, whose joy is tempered by the dark cloud of mounting debt. A chance encounter with a stranger in whom Shari confides her troubles proves fortuitous: he tells her of a get-rich-quick scheme that will put her and her fiancé on easy street.

Do you believe in ghosts? Joseph Barnett didn't until he became a school custodian in a midlife career change. Joe had no idea that during his first assignment, working nights in a school, he'd be forced to confront his darkest fears.