It is often said that as human beings we are preprogrammed to be curious about other people -- to wonder about their motivations, fears, and how they have rebounded from failure. At the Sullivan Family Library, we would like to showcase some of our most enjoyed biographies so you too can quell your curiosity and examine the lives of these fascinating people.
"Richard Smart, the last of the Parker family to own and manage Parker Ranch, was a ranching industry leader, a wise visionary for his community, Broadway star, and humanitarian. All of these distinctions are explored and explained by authors Bergin and Vredenburg, both of whom have close personal and professional ties to Parker Ranch, located on the Island of Hawaiʻi". -- from publisher
"This book takes a close look at the extraordinary life of John Papa ʻĪʻī. Over the years, ʻĪʻī faced many personal and political changes and challenges in rapid succession, which he skillfully parried or seized, then used to fend off other attacks. he began serving in the household of Kamehameha I as an attendant in 1810, at the age of ten, and became highly familiar with the inner workings of the royal household... ʻĪʻīʻs intelligence and his good standing with those he served resulted in a great degree of influence within the Hawaiian government, with his fellow Hawaiians, and with the missionaries." -- from publisher
"In a tale that stretches back to Ireland, An Unfinished Life describes the birth of the Kennedy dynasty, the complexity of Jack's early years, and the mixture of adulation and resentment that tangled his relationships with his mother, Rose, and his father, Joseph. An Unfinished Life also discloses for the first time that Kennedy was far sicker than we ever knew." -- from publisher
"Modesty, humor, compassion, and wisdom are the traits most evident in these personal papers, most of them never before published, from the Einstein archives. The illustrious physicist wrote as thoughtfully to an Ohio fifth-grader, distressed by her discovery that scientists classify humans as animals, as to a Colorado banker, who asked whether he believed in a personal God. Witty rhymes, and exchange about fine music with Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, and expressions of his devotion to Zionism are but some of the highlights found in this rare, warm enriching book." -- from publisher
"Gates reveals the guiding genius behind the unparalleled success of Microsoft Corporation -- the biggest and most profitable personal computer software company in history -- and exposes the intensely competitive tactics that help it dominate the desktops of America... Gates is a bracing, comprehensive portrait of the industry, the company, and the man -- and what they mean for a future where software is everything." -- from publisher
"In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her -- from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and wood, to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her story as she has lived it -- in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations -- and whose story inspires us to do the same." -- from publisher
