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 ...

Think No Evil is the first insider account of the tragic events, the personal victories and the daily Amish life in Nickel Mines, written by a native of the Amish community who still lives and works where most of his relatives are Old Order Amish. Against the rich and fascinating backdrop of Amish culture, Beiler reveals the best of the human spirit in the midst of the worst, and leaves us all drawn heavenward, the richer for it.

"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...

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.

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.

A poignant, evocative, and wonderfully gossipy account of the two sisters who represented style and class above all else—Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill—from the authors of Furious Love. When sixty-four-year-old Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in her Fifth Avenue apartment, her younger...

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...

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.

Read by the author, Katie Prescott. A maverick outsider. An improbable life. An even more improbable death. Discover the real story of Mike Lynch, Britain’s enigmatic billionaire. From humble beginnings, Lynch rose to become one of the UK’s richest men, driving the development of his...

As America was stepping into the modern era, one great beauty became the artist's model of choice. Her perfect form became the emblem of the Gilded Age and appears on the greatest monuments of New York and the nation. Supermodel, actress, icon - her beauty paved the way for a life of glamour, passion, and ultimately tragedy. Her name is Audrey Munson.

The Life of Mary Lincoln — A Novel Step inside the world of one of America’s most misunderstood women and experience her life as she lived it—vivid, emotional, intimate, and profoundly human. The Life of Mary Lincoln is a deeply moving third-person historical novel that reimagines the triumphs and tragedies of Mary Todd Lincoln with cinematic realism and emotional depth. Drawing from biography, letters, and historical accounts—then blending them with richly imagined dialogue and character-driven scenes—this novel pulls readers into the private world behind the public legend. Born ...

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...

Traffic was the most enigmatic British band of their day. Formed in early 1967 by Chris Wood, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Dave Mason, they rejected the bright lights of London, in favor of a run-down, supposedly haunted, cottage in the country – a place to live communally and write music. With Chris especially intent on channeling the vibes of England’s landscape into their sound, days would be spent getting high, exploring, playing and working in varying proportions. Against all odds this eccentric model paid off – songs such as “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “John Barleycorn Must ...

This annotated edition of Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles includes: • An original critical afterword, "A Pure Woman" • On the seduction-or-rape question the novel never resolves • Hardy's pessimism: Schopenhauer and an indifferent universe • A biographical essay on Thomas Hardy and a note on the text A volume in CLASSICS OF WORLD LITERATURE from Erato Press. A poor country girl is sent to claim kinship with a rich family, and comes home carrying a child. From that ruin, Thomas Hardy built the most controversial novel of the Victorian age — and gave it a subtitle that scandalized...

One father's mission to find his daughter, 18 years before the chilling confession of Joran van der Sloot. I am a father who has no idea what has happened to his child. The questions run through my mind all day long. They keep me awake at night. Is she dead? Is she alive? Is she being held...

Whitney Houston (1963-2012) was a superstar. Few in the world of show business reach the career heights that she attained with what seemed such ease. Her megastardom peaked in 1992 with the release of the hit movie The Bodyguard and the international number-one hit "I Will Always Love You". The movie soundtrack still stands as one of the best-selling albums of all time. She won six Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, thirty Billboard Music Awards, and twenty-two American Music Awards, and amassed a vast fortune. Her death has shocked the entertainment world and her fans.

The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of nineteenth-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying...

The definitive biography of enigmatic golfer, commentator, and performer David Feherty—one of the most universally beloved figures in the game. John Feinstein, who has spent four decades finding intriguing sports characters and narratives and turning them into classic books, chronicles the...