It is not surprising that biography is one of the most popular literary genres of our day. What is remarkable is that there is no accessible guide for how to write one. Now, following his recent Biography: A Brief History (from Harvard), award-winning biographer and teacher Nigel Hamilton tackles the practicalities of doing biography in this first succinct primer to elucidate the tools of the biographer’s craft.
Angelina Jolie has understandably created a mystique in the eyes of the public. A rare beauty and skilled actress, she has already earned an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Academy award. Over the past decade, fans have watched her evolve from Hollywood's rebellious wild child to a mother and committed human rights advocate. Best known for portraying strong, edgy women in film, Jolie exudes her own strength off-screen as she gracefully balances the pressures of family life, humanitarian efforts, and a flourishing career.
One of Hollywood's first openly Latin stars, Jennifer Lopez has held fast to her New York Bronx roots, while rising above them to become the highest paid Latina actress in history. Her expansive body of work-ranging from film, music, and dance to television production and fashion-has broken down long-standing racial barriers and earned her a place in Forbes' 2007 list of the Top 20 Richest Women in Entertainment.
Pound for Pound - A Biography of Sugar Ray Robinson
Hailed by critics as a long overdue portrait of Sugar Ray Robinson, a man who was as elusive out of the ring as he was magisterial in it, Pound for Pound is a lively and nuanced profile of an athlete who is arguably the best boxer the sport has ever known. So great were Robinson's skills, he was eulogized by Woody Allen, compared to Joe Louis, and praised by Muhammad Ali, who called him "the king, the master, my idol."
In our fame-crazed culture, she's known as a diva of domesticity, entrepreneur, media magnate, and a living brand. She has legions of fans and at the same time, many detractors. To her fans, Martha Stewart is a homemaking maven, the do-it-yourself doyenne. To her detractors, she's taken the American woman backwards, espousing an unobtainable ideal.
