Tragic Biographies

Zelda Fitzgerald was the mythical American Dream Girl of the Roaring Twenties who became, in the words of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald, "the first American flapper." Their romance transformed a symbol of glamour and spectacle of the Jazz Age. When Zelda cracked up, not long after the stock market crash of 1929, Scott remained loyal to her through a nightmare of later breakdowns and final madness.

Empress Alexandra Romanov – the last empress of Russia, wife of Tsar Nicholas II, and now a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church – chose Countess Sophie Buxhoeveden, one of her ladies-in-waiting, to be her authorized biographer, opening up to her about her closest relationships and giving her access to copies of her private correspondence. Additionally, as a lady-in-waiting, Countess Buxhoeveden attended on the Empress for much of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, only leaving her side when the Imperial Family was removed to Tobolsk after the Tsar’s abdication in 1917. Thereafter, she ...

Best-selling biographer Jimmy McDonough tells the story of the small-town girl who grew up to be the woman behind the microphone, whose meteoric rise led to a decades-long career full of tragedy and triumph. Through a high-profile marriage and divorce, her dreadful battle with addiction and illness, and the struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving Nashville, Tammy Wynette turned a brave smile toward the world and churned out masterful hit songs though her life resembled the most heartbreaking among them.

Valarie Clark Miller seemed to have it all. Smart and beautiful with a wealthy, successful husband and growing family, Valarie appeared to be the picture-perfect Mormon wife. But it was all a façade. Inside, she was crumbling from the pressures of long-repressed memories of a childhood filled with sexual and physical abuse.

As a student of Woodrow Wilson at Princeton, Howard Baskerville was aflame not only with the gospel of Jesus, but with the Wilsonian gospel that constitutional democracy is the birthright of all nations. Rather than become a small-town minister like his father in South Dakota, he volunteered for missionary service in Persia. Tabriz in 1907 was a hotbed of democratic revolution. Brilliant young firebrands were among Baskerville’s students at the Presbyterian school—and became his devoted friends. He lectured on freedom; they dedicated their lives to it.

In May 1996, three expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route pioneered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Crowded conditions slowed their progress. Late in the day twenty-three men and women—including expedition leaders Scott Fischer and Rob Hall—were caught in a ferocious blizzard.

"Listen to this if you want to hear a narrator at the top of his game recount a fascinating--and at times disturbing--true story of adventure, disaster, discovery, cannibalism, and more. Will Damron makes Levy's fascinating account of the Greely (Polar) Expedition come to life...This is a...

The nation wept when news broke of nearly three-year-old Caylee Anthony's disappearance from her home in Florida in July 2007. The search for Caylee made front-page headlines. But Casey Anthony continued to lie to law enforcement about her daughter's whereabouts, complicating their search for the truth.

Who was Hercules according to the ancient traditions? This book presents the complete life of Hercules, from his extraordinary birth to his immortality, as it was understood in the myths of antiquity. Free from modern simplifications, cinematic distortions, or empty spectacle, it offers a faithful reconstruction of the hero’s path in all its human, tragic, and sacred dimensions. Beyond the famous Twelve Labours, the reader will discover: the hero’s genealogy and his place between gods and mortals the trials imposed by fate and divine will madness, guilt, and atonement the great ...

There is no doubt that Yolanda Saldívar pulled the trigger and killed Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla Pérez on March 31, 1995. But does anyone know what really happened in room 158 of the Days Inn moments before the crime took place? María Celeste Arrarás has many answers, and her unrivaled coverage of the murder, trial, and aftermath made her the undisputed expert on the Selena case.

In the heart of Victorian France, a name once whispered with admiration and envy was Blanche Monnier. Known far and wide for her breathtaking beauty, Blanche was a vision of grace and charm, the epitome of a desirable young woman. However, beneath the glittering façade of her life lay a chilling secret, a dark tale of betrayal and unimaginable cruelty that would forever stain the annals of history.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Stevie Cameron’s investigative tour de force about one of North America's most prolific serial killers—now widely regarded as a true crime classic. Verteran investigative journalist Stevie Cameron first began following the story of missing women in 1998, when the odd...

Having spent 10 years as Jayne Mansfield's press secretary, Raymond Strait knows intimately both the public image and the private person that was Jayne Mansfield. Sitting through hundreds of hours of interviews and private conversations - not only with Jayne but also with her husbands, her lovers, and her children - gave Ray the opportunity to present a revealing portrait of the woman. He records her drive for fame and success and her overpowering need to be loved and to love.

The mysterious disappearance of Michael Rockefeller in New Guinea in 1961 has kept the world and his powerful, influential family guessing for years. Now, Carl Hoffman uncovers startling new evidence that finally tells the full, astonishing story. Despite exhaustive searches, no trace of...

Remembering Satan is a lucid, measured, yet absolutely riveting inquest into a case that destroyed a family, engulfed a small town, and captivated an America obsessed by rumors of a satanic underground. It follows the increasingly bizarre accusations and confessions, as well as the claims and counterclaims of police, FBI investigators, and mental-health professionals.

After a bucolic childhood in Kovno, Lithuania, Sol was just eleven when the Nazis invaded and he and his family were forced to move into the Kovno Ghetto. The Kovno Ghetto was one of the only ghettos to later become a concentration camp, and Sol was among just a few Jewish survivors from Kovno...

A fitting tribute to the troubled genius who revolutionized electric bass playing and bridged the gaps between jazz, R&B, rock, and funk. From his early days in R&B club bands through his international stardom with fusion group Weather Report and on to his solo career and tragic death at age 35, this book portrays the life and music of Jaco Pastorius, the self-proclaimed "world's greatest bass player".

The true story behind the events that inspired the major motion picture Only the Brave. A "unique and bracing" (Booklist) first-person account by the sole survivor of Arizona's disastrous 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, which took the lives of 19 "hotshots" -- firefighters trained specifically to battle...

In this unprecedented deep dive into inner-city gang life, Mark Bowden takes listeners inside a Baltimore gang, offers an in-depth portrait of its notorious leader, and chronicles the 2016 FBI investigation that landed eight gang members in prison.

“Practically every paragraph has a line or two that demands to be read aloud to the mirror, tattooed on foreheads, carved on tombstones.” –Rolling Stone “Morrissey is a pop star of unusual writing talent.” –The New York Times Autobiography covers Morrissey’s life from his birth...