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  Mikhail Gorbachev: The Life and...

  Editors Charles River

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  After going through three elderly leaders in three years, Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen as the new General Secretary of the Soviet Union at the relatively youg age of 54 in March 1985. Gorbachev hoped to build the Soviet economy to relieve the persistent shortages of consumer goods it faced, which were caused by enormous military spending of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev tried to introduce some economic reforms, but they were blocked by communist hardliners. Gorbachev then came to the belief that the Soviet economy could not improved without political reform as well. 
  In comparison with other Soviet leaders, Gorbachev was leader of the USSR for a relatively short period, but the changes that took place under his leadership were monumental, including some that were intended and others that were unforeseen. Gorbachev oversaw the end of the Cold War and the peaceful transition away from communism in Central and Eastern Europe, and he ended the war in Afghanistan and many other proxy conflicts in the developing world. Gorbachev improved relations with the West and developed enough trust with President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush to decommission thousands of nuclear weapons. He also liberalized the political environment within the Soviet Union itself, increased accountability, and brought in a certain degree of democracy.  
  	Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for these efforts in 1990, but his regime also left a legacy of turbulence and destruction in its wake. As a result of his policies, many Soviet people rose up against the status quo, demanding national self-determination and reviving old grievances. Gorbachev could not prevent the USSR from disbanding at the end of 1991, leaving much of the country’s economy in ruins and nationalist and ethnic conflicts that are still unresolved today.

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  Don Bachardy - An Artist's Life

  Michael Schreiber, Simon Callow,...

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  A figure as fascinating as any of his celebrated subjects, Don Bachardy has lived an extraordinary life at the heart of Hollywood, literary, and artistic circles. His drawings and paintings reside in museums throughout Europe and the United States, and include portraits of movie stars, writers, artists, and public and private figures of every background—from Bette Davis and Joan Crawford to Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote—all rendered in a candid, expressive style. 
   
   
   
  In this unique oral biography, Bachardy recounts his astonishing story, providing illuminating recollections of celebrity portrait sittings and revelations about his thirty-year relationship with Christopher Isherwood. From their meeting in the 1950s until Isherwood's death in 1986, theirs was a legendary love story, courageous and uncompromising for its time, and remarkable in any era for the creative collaborations and art it continues to inspire. 
   
   
   
  Drawn from one-on-one interviews and conversations conducted at the Santa Monica home Bachardy shared with Isherwood, Michael Schreiber has crafted a biography unlike any other, filled with tantalizing celebrity tales set against the backdrop of Bachardy's artistic and personal journey. Wise, warm, and unflinching, this is a fresh and revealing portrait of a life lived with boundless bravery, curiosity, and love.

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  Mornings With Madden - My Radio...

  Stan Bunger

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  An intimate and freewheeling portrait of John Madden through the NFL legend's own words 
  John Madden is synonymous with football. He was the television face and voice of the nation’s most popular 
  sport, the namesake of its best-selling sports video game, and the man with the highest career winning 
  percentage of any NFL coach. 
  Despite his international fame, there was a side of Madden known only to those who listened to morning radio 
  broadcasts in the San Francisco Bay Area. That’s where Madden grew up, lived, and died. It's where for decades 
  he found joy in a daily chat with his hometown radio station: a chance to unwind, tell stories, and impart his 
  own brand of wit and wisdom. 
  In Mornings With Madden, Stan Bunger—the man most often on the other side of the mic—illuminates this 
  larger-than-life figure, drawing upon memories of more than fifteen years of daily broadcasts, backed up by 
  thousands of recordings of those conversations. Readers who adored Madden’s football acumen and quirky 
  personality on NFL broadcasts will get to know the father, husband, bad golfer, dog owner, lover of roadside 
  diners, and philosopher whose personality dominated our radio chats. 
  Featuring moving reflections alongside Madden's own words, this is a treasure trove of wry observations, 
  self-deprecating humor, clear-eyed thinking about sports and society, and the “Maddenisms” that endeared the 
  legendary coach to millions.

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  F Scott Fitzgerald - A Short...

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24th 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to an upper-middle-class family. His early years in Buffalo, New York showed him to be a boy of high intelligence and drive with a thirst for literature.  
   
  In 1908, his father was fired from Procter & Gamble, and the family returned to Minnesota. Here Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy, in St. Paul, until 1911. At 13 he was published in the school newspaper, it was, of all things, a detective story. In 1911, aged 15, he was sent to the prestigious Newman School, in Hackensack, New Jersey. And, after graduating in 1913, he decided to continue at Princeton University. Here he firmly dedicated himself to writing. Unfortunately his writing pursuits came at the expense of his coursework. In 1917 he dropped out to join the U.S. Army.  
   
  However this service to his country came with the very real fear that he might perish in the trenches of Western Europe with his literary dreams not yet begun. So he spent the weeks before reporting for duty at work on a novel entitled The Romantic Egotist.  Fitzgerald was assigned to Camp Sheridan, in Alabama. It was there that Fitzgerald met the love of his life; Zelda Sayre, the "golden girl," of Montgomery youth society.  
   
  The war ended before Fitzgerald could be deployed, and he moved to New York City hoping to start a career in advertising that would be lucrative enough to convince Zelda to marry him. Unable to convince her that his means were enough to support her she broke off the engagement. Fitzgerald returned to his parents in St. Paul, to revise The Romantic Egoist, now recast as This Side of Paradise. His revised novel was accepted by Scribner's and published in 1920 becoming an instant success.  
   
  It launched Fitzgerald's career as a writer and provided a steady income suitable for Zelda's ambitions. The engagement resumed and they married at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. Frances Scott "Scottie" Fitzgerald, their only child, was born on October 26, 1921. 
   
  Inspired by the parties he had attended visiting Long Island's north shore Fitzgerald began planning the greatest of his novels, The Great Gatsby, in 1923, wanting to produce "something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned."  Published in April 1925, The Great Gatsby received mixed reviews and sold poorly; only 20,000 in its first year.  Today, it is considered a literary classic and one of a small circle vying for the title "Great American Novel".  
   
  Fitzgerald continued to supplement his income by writing short stories for magazines and to sell his stories and novels to Hollywood. He called this "whoring".  
   
  In February 1932, Zelda was hospitalized with schizophrenia. Fitzgerald rented a house nearby and worked on his latest book, Tender Is the Night, and finally published it in 1934.  
   
  Fitzgerald's heavy and excessive drinking had now developed into alcoholism and with recurring financial difficulties, the emotional toll of Zelda's mental illness, this meant several difficult years.  
   
  In 1937, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood. His income improved and he began to work in the film industry. He found movies beneath his talents, but was once again in perilous financial straits, and so spent the second half of the 1930s in Hollywood, working on a triangle of short stories, scripts for MGM, and his final novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon.   
   
  In 1939, MGM ended the contract, and Fitzgerald became a writer for hire. Still an alcoholic, he now became estranged from Zelda and developed a relationship with Sheilah Graham, the Hollywood gossip columnist. They quickly became lovers.  
   
  In this last period of his life his alcoholism had left him physically wrecked. After suffering a heart attack, in Schwab's Drug Store, he was ordered to avoi

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  Transformation of Rome - From...

  Rogan Fish

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  This bundle traces one of the most pivotal shifts in world history—the evolution of Rome from a democratic republic to a sprawling autocratic empire, and ultimately to its dramatic collapse. The journey begins with the political structures of the early Republic, where consuls, senators, and assemblies worked in a delicate balance of power. Readers will discover how the ideals of civic duty and public service were gradually overshadowed by corruption, ambition, and the thirst for control, setting the stage for inevitable conflict. 
  The second part centers on the charismatic and controversial figure of Julius Caesar, whose rise exposed the Republic’s vulnerabilities. His military conquests, political maneuvering, and ultimate assassination marked the end of the old order. Following his death, the book charts the tumultuous path to empire—highlighting the power struggles between Octavian, Antony, and Cleopatra that ended in the birth of the Roman Empire under Augustus. Reforms, propaganda, and centralization of authority created a new Rome—one ruled by emperors, not elected officials. 
  In the final section, the focus broadens to the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. From the Pax Romana to the chaos of civil wars, barbarian invasions, and economic crises, readers will see how internal instability and external pressure chipped away at the once-unbreakable empire. This segment also explores Rome's lasting legacy in law, architecture, language, and governance. Transformation of Rome offers a sweeping, yet richly detailed narrative of power, collapse, and the enduring impact of one of history’s greatest civilizations.

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  Crocker's Hole - From their pens...

  R D Blackmore

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  Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on 7th June, 1825 at Longworth in Berkshire (now part of Oxfordshire), where his father, John Blackmore, was Curate-in-charge of the parish. His mother died a few months after his birth the victim of an outbreak of typhus. With this loss the family moved to Bushey, Hertfordshire, then on to their native Devon.  His elder brother Richard (by a year), however, was taken by his aunt to live near Oxford. His father married again in 1831, whereupon Richard returned to live with them.  With much of his childhood spent in the lush and pastoral "Doone Country" of Exmoor, and along the Badgworthy Water, Blackmore came to love the very countryside he immortalised in Lorna Doone.  In November 1853 he married his wife Lucy.  And the following year, 1854, his literary career began with a collection of Poems and for the next 15 years he would write in the winters and garden in the summers.  In 1860 with inherited money he built a house in Teddington just outside of London and established a market garden for the cultivation of fruit.  He loved horticulture but having little business experience could never really exploit it.  However with the publication of Lorna Doone in 1869 he was catapulted to fame.  And although he continued to write extensively nothing caught the public imagination quite like Lorna Doone.  RD Blackmore died at Teddington on 20th January, 1900 after a long and painful illness, and was buried next to his wife in Teddington cemetery.

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