Harvard University Press - BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Einstein and Oppenheimer

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Silvan S. Schweber
Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer, two iconic scientists of the twentieth century, belonged to different generations, with the boundary marked by the advent of quantum mechanics. By exploring how these men differed—in their worldview, in their work, and in their day—this book provides powerful insights into the lives of two critical figures and into the scientific culture of their times.
Paperback October 2009

The Murder of Regilla

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Sarah B. Pomeroy
Born to an illustrious Roman family in 125 BCE, Regilla was married at the age of fifteen to Herodes, a wealthy Greek. Twenty years later--and eight months pregnant with her sixth child--Regilla died under mysterious circumstances, after a blow to the abdomen delivered by Herodes's freedman. Though Herodes was charged, he was acquitted. Pomeroy's investigation suggests that despite Herodes's erection of numerous monuments to his deceased wife, he was in fact guilty of the crime.
Paperback October 2009

John Brown's Trial

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Brian McGinty
Mixing idealism with violence, abolitionist John Brown cut a wide swath across the United States before winding up in Virginia, where he led an attack on the U.S. armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Supported by a “provisional army” of 21 men, Brown hoped to rouse the slaves in Virginia to rebellion. But he was quickly captured and, after a short but stormy trial, hanged on December 2, 1859. Brian McGinty provides the first comprehensive account of the trial, which raised important questions about jurisdiction, judicial fairness, and the nature of treason under the American constitutional system.
Hardcover October 2009

From Foot Soldier to Finance Minister

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Richard J. Smethurst
From his birth into the lowest stratum of the samurai class to his assassination at the hands of right-wing militarists, Takahashi Korekiyo (1854-1936) lived through tumultuous times that shaped the course of modern Japan. This engaging biography underscores the profound influence of the charismatic seven-time finance minister on the political and economic development of Japan by casting new light on his unusual background, unique talents, and singular experiences.
Paperback September 2009

Her Brilliant Career

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Jill Roe
Born in the Australian bush, Stella Miles Franklin became an international publishing sensation in 1901, at the age of 21, with My Brilliant Career, whose portrayal of an ambitious and independent woman defying social expectations still captivates readers. In a magisterial biography, Jill Roe details Miles’ extraordinary life.
Hardcover September 2009

The Quotable Abigail Adams

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Abigail Adams
Edited by John P. Kaminski
The Quotable Abigail Adams invites you to enjoy Abigail Adams's wit and wisdom on a wide range of subjects, drawn from writings throughout her lifetime. They are accompanied by a biographical introduction, source notes, chronology, and a comprehensive index, making this book the primary resource for those meeting this remarkable woman for the first time as well as for her longtime admirers.
Hardcover September 2009

Samuel Johnson: Selected Writings

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

A Tercentenary Celebration
Samuel Johnson
Edited by Peter Martin
Thanks to Boswell’s monumental biography of Samuel Johnson, we remember Dr. Johnson today as a great wit and conversationalist, the rationalist epitome and the sage of the Enlightenment. But in Johnson’s own day, he was best known as an essayist, critic, and lexicographer. At the center of this collection are the periodical essays from the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler. Together, these works—allied in their literary, social, and moral concerns—are the ones that continue to speak urgently to readers today.
Hardcover September 2009

Homer the Classic

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Gregory Nagy
Homer the Classic is about the reception of Homeric poetry from the fifth through the first century BCE. The aim of this book, which centers on ancient concepts of Homer as the author of a body of poetry that we know as the Iliad and the Odyssey, is not to reassess the oral poetic heritage of Homeric poetry but to show how it became a classic in the days of the Athenian empire and later. This volume is one of two books stemming from six Sather Classical Lectures given in the spring semester of 2002 at the University of California at Berkeley while the author was teaching there as the Sather Professor.
Paperback August 2009

James and Royce Reconsidered

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Edited by David C. Lamberth
In the first decade of the twentieth century, William James and Josiah Royce, both professors of philosophy at Harvard, towered over American philosophy and exerted wide influence on European thought. This volume offers a unique view of the state of the discussion on James and Royce across several disciplines. It is noteworthy both for the presence of most leading scholars in the field and for its attention to the European influence of these thinkers and the revival of interest in America and Europe.
Paperback July 2009

Adams Family Correspondence, Volume 9, January 1790–December 1793

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Adams Family
Edited by Margaret A. Hogan
Edited by C. James Taylor
Edited by Karen N. Barzilay
Edited by Hobson Woodward
Edited by Mary T. Claffey
Edited by Robert F. Karachuk
Edited by Sara B. Sikes
Edited by Gregg L. Lint
The years 1790 to 1793 marked the beginning of the American republic, a contentious period as the nation struggled to create a functioning government amid increasingly bitter factionalism. As usual, the Adams family found itself in the midst of it all. This volume offers both insight into the family and the frank commentary on life that readers have come to expect from the Adamses.
Hardcover July 2009

Daoist Modern

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Xun Liu
This book explores the Daoist encounter with modernity through the activities of Chen Yingning (1880–1969), a famous lay Daoist master, and his group in early twentieth-century Shanghai. In contrast to the usual narrative of Daoist decay, with its focus on monastic decline, clerical corruption, and popular superstitions, this study tells a story of Daoist resilience, reinvigoration, and revival.
Hardcover July 2009

From the Great Desire of Promoting Learning

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

William H. Bond
Introduction by Allen Reddick
Preface by William Stoneman
This checklist of Thomas Hollis’s gifts to Harvard College Library documents the generosity and the motives of one of the earliest and one of the greatest donors to Harvard University. Thomas Hollis and his books were the subject of William Bond’s 1982 Sandars Lectures in Bibliography at Cambridge University.
Hardcover July 2009

Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America

Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Matthew Avery Sutton
Aimee Semple McPherson was the most flamboyant and controversial minister in the United States between the world wars, building a successful megachurch, a mass media empire, and eventually a political career to resurrect what she believed was America's Christian heritage. Sutton's definitive study reveals the woman as a trail-blazing pioneer, her life marking the beginning of Pentecostalism's advance to the mainstream of American culture.
Paperback May 2009

The Annotated Origin

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Charles Darwin
Introduction and notes by James T. Costa
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is one of the most important and yet least read scientific works in the history of science. The Annotated Origin is a facsimile of the first edition of 1859, and is accompanied by James T. Costa’s marginal annotations, drawing on his extensive experience with Darwin’s ideas in the field, lab, and classroom. This edition makes available an accessible and practical resource for anyone reading the Origin for the first time or for those who want to reread it with the insights and perspective that a working biologist can provide.
Hardcover May 2009

Arthur Miller

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Christopher Bigsby
This is the long-awaited biography of one of the twentieth century’s greatest playwrights, Arthur Miller, whose postwar decade of work earned him international critical and popular acclaim. Christopher Bigsby’s gripping, meticulously researched biography examines his refusal to name names before the notorious House on Un-American Activities Committee, offers new insights into Miller’s marriage to Marilyn Monroe, and sheds new light on how their relationship informed Miller’s subsequent great plays.
Hardcover May 2009

Henry Kissinger and the American Century

Fri, 1 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Jeremi Suri
What made Henry Kissinger the kind of diplomat he was? What experiences and influences shaped his worldview and provided the framework for his approach to international relations? Suri offers a thought-provoking, interpretive study of one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the twentieth century.
Paperback May 2009

The Generalissimo

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Jay Taylor
One of the most momentous stories of the last century is China’s rise from a self-satisfied, anti-modern, decaying society into a global power that promises to one day rival the United States. Chiang Kai-shek, an autocratic, larger-than-life figure, dominates this story. Drawing heavily on Chinese sources including Chiang’s diaries, The Generalissimo provides the most lively, sweeping, and objective biography yet of a man whose length of uninterrupted, active engagement at the highest levels in the march of history is excelled by few, if any, in modern history.
Hardcover April 2009

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Frederick Douglass
Introduction by Robert B. Stepto
No book more vividly explains the horror of American slavery and the emotional impetus behind the antislavery movement than Frederick Douglass’s Narrative. In an introductory essay, Robert Stepto re-examines the extraordinary life and achievement of a man who escaped from slavery to become a leading abolitionist and one of America's most important writers. The John Harvard Library text reproduces the first edition, published in Boston in 1845.
Paperback April 2009

The Conservative Turn

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Michael Kimmage
The Conservative Turn tells the story of postwar America’s political evolution through two fascinating figures: Lionel Trilling and Whittaker Chambers, who went on to intellectual prominence, sharing the questions, crises, and challenges of their generation. Kimmage argues that the divergent careers of these two men exemplify important developments in postwar American politics: the emergence of modern conservatism and the rise of moderate liberalism.
Hardcover March 2009

East & West

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Edited by T. Corey Brennan
Edited by Harriet I. Flower
The papers in this volume are based on a 2006 Princeton University symposium in honor of Glen W. Bowersock on the occasion of his retirement from the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study. The topics offered in East and West range throughout the ancient world from the second century bce to late antiquity, from Hellenistic Greece and Republican Rome to Egypt and Arabia, from the Second Sophistic to Roman imperial discourse, from Sulla’s self-presentation in his memoirs to charitable giving among the Manichaeans in Egypt.
Hardcover March 2009

The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Sachiko Murata
William C. Chittick
Weiming Tu
Foreword by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Liu Zhi (ca. 1670–1724) was one of the most important scholars of Islam in traditional China. His Tianfang xingli (Nature and Principle in Islam), the Chinese-language text translated here, focuses on the roots or principles of Islam. The copious annotations to the translation explain Liu’s text and draw attention to parallels in Chinese-, Arabic-, and Persian-language works as well as differences.
Hardcover March 2009

Stealing Lincoln's Body

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thomas J. Craughwell
On the night of the 1876 presidential election, a gang of counterfeiters attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. Craughwell returns to this bizarre, and largely forgotten, event with the first book to place the grave robbery in historical context. This rousing story of hapless con men, intrepid federal agents, and ordinary Springfield citizens offers an unusual glimpse into late-nineteenth-century America.
Paperback February 2009

First Lady of the Confederacy

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Joan E. Cashin
When Jefferson Davis became president of the Confederacy, his wife, Varina Howell Davis, reluctantly became the First Lady. Pro-slavery but also pro-Union, Varina Davis was inhibited by her role as Confederate First Lady and unable to reveal her true convictions.Cashin offers a splendid portrait of a fascinating woman who struggled with the constraints of her time and place.
Paperback February 2009

Up from History

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert J. Norrell
This compelling biography reveals how conditions in the segregated South led Booker T. Washington to call for a less contentious path to freedom and equality. Norrell details the positive power of Washington’s vision, one that invoked hope and optimism to overcome past exploitation and present discrimination.
Hardcover January 2009

Your Death Would Be Mine

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Martha Hanna
Paul and Marie Pireaud, a young peasant couple from southwest France, were newlyweds when World War I erupted. Drawing upon the hundreds of letters they wrote, Martha Hanna tells their moving story and reveals a powerful and personal perspective on war.
Paperback December 2008

Confessions of a Confirmed Extensionalist and Other Essays

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

W. V. Quine
Edited by Dagfinn Follesdal
Edited by Douglas Boynton Quine
In the twenty years between his last collection of essays and his death in 2000, Quine continued his work and occasionally modified his position on central philosophical issues. This volume collects the main essays from this last, productive period of Quine’s prodigious career.
Hardcover November 2008

Mazarin's Quest

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Paul Sonnino
Sonnino examines the diplomatic negotiations that took place in Westphalia from 1643 to 1648, which brought an end to the agonizing civil and religious conflict of the Thirty Years’ War.
Hardcover November 2008

Quine in Dialogue

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

W. V. Quine
Edited by Dagfinn Follesdal
Edited by Douglas Boynton Quine
Quine was one of the twentieth century’s great philosophers. This volume begins with a number of interviews Quine gave about his perspectives on twentieth-century logic, science and philosophy, the ideas of others, and philosophy generally. Also included are his most important articles, reviews, and comments on other philosophers, from Rudolf Carnap to P. F. Strawson.
Hardcover November 2008