Biography & Autobiography

Frida Kahlo’s legacy continues to grow in the public imagination in the nearly fifty years since her “discovery” in the 1970s. This collection of conversations over the course of her brief career allows a peek at the woman behind the hype. And allows us to see the image of herself she carefully crafted for the public.

Frida Kahlo is now an icon. In the decades since her death, Kahlo has been celebrated as a proto-feminist, a misunderstood genius, and a leftist hero, but during her lifetime most knew her as … Diego Rivera’s wife. Featuring conversations with American scholar and Marxist, Bertram D. Wolfe, and art critic Raquel Tibol, this collection shows an artist undervalued, but also a woman in control of her image. From her timid beginnings after her first solo show, to a woman who confidently states that she is her only influence, the many faces of Kahlo presented here clearly show us the woman behind the “Fridamania” we know today.

The Dark Child is a distinct and graceful memoir of Camara Laye’s youth in the village of Koroussa, French Guinea, a place steeped in mystery. Laye marvels over his mother’s supernatural powers, his father’s distinction as the village goldsmith, and his own passage into manhood, which is marked by animistic beliefs and bloody rituals of primeval origin.

Eventually, he must choose between this unique place and the academic success that lures him to distant cities. More than the autobiography of one boy, this is the universal story of sacred traditions struggling against the encroachment of a modern world. A passionate and deeply affecting record, The Dark Child is a classic of African literature.

There is only one Arsene Wenger – and for the very first time, in his own words, this is his story.

In this definitive autobiography, the world-renowned, revolutionary football manager discusses his life and career, sharing his leadership principles for success on and off the field. At Arsenal, Wenger won multiple Premier League titles, a record number of FA Cups, and masterminded the historic ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-2004. He changed the game in England forever, popularising an attacking approach and changing attitudes towards nutrition, fitness and coaching methods – and towards foreign managers. The book charts his extraordinary career, from his rise in France and Japan where he managed Nancy, Monaco and Nagoya Grampus Eight – clubs that also play in red-and-white – to his twenty-two years at the helm in north London.

A must-read not only for Arsenal supporters but football fans everywhere, MY LIFE IN RED AND WHITE illuminates the mystique surrounding one of the most respected managers in the world’s most popular sport.

Andy Marino recorded interviews with Narendra Modi during more than half-a-dozen exclusive meetings – unprecedented access to a very private man. What emerged is this riveting, objective biography of a man who became India’s prime minister. Not shying away from the controversies that have dogged Narendra Modi, including the Gujarat riots and questions about the Gujarat model of governance and development, this political biography provides an unbiased account of possibly the most important figure in Indian politics today. Marino records hour-by-hour details of the 2002 Gujarat riots, presenting a balanced analysis of that raw wound on India’s polity. It also reveals hitherto unpublished, authenticated documents.

The author analyses Narendra Modi’s values, the people who shaped his thinking and the sort of national leader he will make. Personal details of Modi’s early life, his wanderings in the Himalayas between the ages of seventeen and nineteen, his rise through the political ranks, his vision for India and his personal philosophy on religion and politics are revealed in a book that is lucid, fast-paced and readable. Narendra Modi: A Political Biography is an insightful, exhaustive and impeccably researched account of the ascent of a political leader.

A memoir by the internationally famous fashion designer and style icon

Mention the name “Betsey Johnson” and almost every woman from the age of 15 to 75 can rapturously recall a favorite dress or outfit; whether worn for a prom, a wedding, or just to stand out from the crowd in a colorful way. They may also know her as a renegade single mom who palled around with Edie Sedgwick, Twiggy, and The Velvet Underground, or even as a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Betsey is also famous for her iconic pink stores (she had 65 shops across the US) and for her habit of doing cartwheels and splits down the runway at the close of her fashion shows. Throughout her decades-long career, she’s taken pride in producing fun but rule-breaking clothing at an accessible price point. What they might not know is that she built an empire from scratch, and brought stretch clothing to the masses in the 80s and 90s.

Betsey will take the reader behind the tutu and delve deeply into what it took to go from a white picket fence childhood in Connecticut to becoming an internationally known force in a tough, competitive business. The book will feature Betsey’s candid memories of the fashion and downtown scene in the 60s and how she started her own business from the ground up after designing successfully for multiple other companies. She will discuss that business’s ups and downs and reinventions (including bankruptcy), and her thoughts on body image, love, divorce, men, motherhood, and her bout with breast cancer. Betsey will be richly illustrated with many of her landmark clothes, fashion sketches, and personal photos–making the book the perfect memento and gift for every girl (of any age) for whom Betsey is, as a recent New York Times profile noted, “a role model still.”