Great Figures

In this succinct portrait of Alexander the Great, distinguished scholar and historian Norman Cantor draws on the major writings of Alexander's contemporaries, as well as the most recent psychological and cultural studies to illuminate this most legendary of men - a great figure in the ancient world whose puzzling personality greatly fueled his military accomplishments.

Twenty-four of the Buddha's most distinguished disciples are brought to life in ten chapters of rich narration. They include monks who were very close to him throughout his life, including Sariputta and Mahamoggallana; his cousin and companion Ananda; his principal women disciples, including the nun Isidasi and his lay disciple, the courtesan Ambapali; and the serial killer Angulimala, whose character was transformed after meeting the Buddha.

This fast-paced, inspirational narrative reveals how God used one man of great courage, discipline, and humility to bring countless souls to Christ. God’s accomplishments through George Whitefield are to this day virtually unparalleled. In an era when many ministers were timid and apologetic in their preaching, he preached the gospel with aggressive zeal and undaunted courage. In the wake of his fearless preaching, revival swept across the British Isles, and the Great Awakening transformed the American colonies.

John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce suffered lifelong opposition and endured for the causes of gospel truth, missionary zeal, and political justice. They found, in solid doctrine and humble joy, the tough roots for habitual tenderness in response to their adversaries - without doctrinal or moral flinching. They are examples of remarkable grace. In the third book of the Swans Are Not Silent series, best-selling author John Piper looks at the lives of these three great men and how they not only endured great opposition but did so with joy and without bitterness.

King David was a complicated, conflicted man of flesh. But too often he is viewed as an Americanized shepherd boy on a Sunday school felt board or a New Testament saint alongside the Virgin Mary. Not only does this neglect one of the Bible’s most complex stories of sin and redemption, it also bypasses the gritty, life lessons inherent in the amazing true story of David. Mark Rutland shreds the felt-board character, breaks down the sculpted marble statue, and unearths the real David of the Bible.

The newest addition to Palgrave's Great Generals series focuses on Andrew Jackson's career including his time as a general in Tennessee and his rise up the Army ranks. Jackson's effective use of spies in wartime and of martial law in peacetime sparked a debate about the curtailing of civil liberties in the name of national security that continues to this day.

Hubert Humphrey was one of the great liberal leaders of postwar American politics, yet because he never made it to the Oval Office, he has been largely overlooked by biographers. Historian Arnold A. Offner has explored vast troves of archival records to recapture Humphrey's life, giving us previously unknown details of the vice president's fractious relationship with Lyndon Johnson, showing how Johnson colluded with Richard Nixon to deny Humphrey the presidency, and describing the most neglected aspect of Humphrey's career.

From the moment of her ascension to the throne in 1952 at the age of twenty-five, Queen Elizabeth II has been the object of unparalleled scrutiny. But through the fog of glamour and gossip, how well do we really know the world’s most famous monarch? Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II.

In a volatile and complex world roiled by a climate crisis, global pandemics, and disruptive technologies like AI, hyper-individualized leadership models no longer make sense. To seize emerging opportunities and achieve sustainable growth, leaders must recognize that a team’s success flows from the intelligence, achievements, and growth of the entire collective. In Safe to Great, Skip Bowman proposes a leadership sea change that puts purpose before profit, and the team before the individual.

Born with the gift of hospitality, Kreis Beall helped create one of the nation’s most renowned resort destinations, Blackberry Farm, in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain foothills. For decades, she was a fixture in the travel and entertaining world and frequently appeared in the pages of popular home and design magazines. But at the pinnacle of her success, Kreis faced a series of challenges that reframed her life, including a brain injury that permanently impaired her hearing and the conclusion of her 36-year marriage to her best friend and business partner, Sandy Beall.

Monologist Mike Daisey presents a dazzling new work: four "bio-logues" about megalomania and desire constructed from the interleaved life stories of Bertolt Brecht, P.T. Barnum, Nikola Tesla, and L. Ron Hubbard. Over four nights Daisey explores the nature of genius and wrestles with the pride, insanity, and chauvinism that bind these men together, and reveals how the heights and depths of their gifts have much to teach us about ourselves.

One of the leading Christian figures of this generation, Billy Graham has preached in more than eighty countries to over 110 million people. His simple yet profound delight in God's Word continues to influence lives and win souls for Jesus Christ.

Samuel Pepys kept a diary in which he wrote with astonishing candour about the life he saw around him in London in the 1660s, and about his private desires and ambitions. The diary was kept for fewer than 10 years of his long life: Claire Tomalin tells the whole story of the Fleet Street tailor's son who made himself rich and powerful, an MP and adviser to royalty.

John Guy, one of our most acclaimed and successful historians, brings a colossal figure of British history vividly to life in this unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Thomas Becket. Read by Roy McMillan. Behind the legend, there was a man. In 1120 the wife of a Norman draper’s merchant gave birth to a baby boy in London’s bustling Cheapside.

William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833) was a British politician and philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. John Piper's biography of Wilberforce takes readers beyond his battle against slavery and explores the beliefs and motivations of this influential evangelical politician.

The Song of Simon de Montfort is the story of this extraordinary man: heir to a great warrior, devoted husband and father, fearless crusader knight and charismatic leader. It is the story of a man whose passion for good governance was so fierce that, in 1258, frustrated by the king’s refusal to take the advice of his nobles and the increasing injustice meted out to his subjects, he marched on Henry III’s hall at Westminster and seized the reins of power.

In 1932 Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the first lady with dread. By that time she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life - now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next 30 years, until Eleanor's death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship.

Mitropolit Dimitrij Rostovskij (v miru Daniil Savvich Tuptalo; 1651-1709) russkij cerkovnyj dejatel', episkop Russkoj Cerkvi; duhovnyj pisatel', propovednik. V 1757 godu proslavlen v like svjatyh Pravoslavnoj Rossijskoj Cerkov'ju; pamjat' 21 sentjabrja (po julianskomu kalendarju) i v den' Sobora Sibirskih svjatyh (10 ijunja). Dimitrij Rostovskij proslavilsja kak plodotvornyj cerkovnyj avtor -sostavitel' sbornikov zhitij svjatyh (naibolee izvestnyj, v chetyreh knigah -"Chet'i-Minei").

Mitropolit Dimitrij Rostovskij (v miru Daniil Savvich Tuptalo; 1651-1709) - russkij cerkovnyj dejatel', episkop Russkoj Cerkvi; duhovnyj pisatel', propovednik. V 1757 godu proslavlen v like svjatyh Pravoslavnoj Rossijskoj Cerkov'ju; pamjat' 21 sentjabrja (po julianskomu kalendarju) i v den' Sobora Sibirskih svjatyh (10 ijunja). Dimitrij Rostovskij proslavilsja kak plodotvornyj cerkovnyj avtor - sostavitel' sbornikov zhitij svjatyh (naibolee izvestnyj, v chetyreh knigah - "Chet'i-Minei").

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, su verdadero nombre, fue el Papa conocido con el cariñoso apelativo de Il Papa Buono, que fue pontífice romano y cabeza de la Iglesia entre los años 1958 y 1963. Su ejercicio esforzado por los pobres y su extraordinario carisma, le valieron ser beatificado en el año 2000 por el Papa Juan Pablo II, durante el Jubileo de dicho año.