Showing results by narrator "diane lehman" in All Categories

Have you ever had a moment when you didn't know exactly how you ended up where you were in your life? Have you taken a look back and wondered where you went wrong? Do you see it and find yourself confused? I don't have this problem. I look back on my life, and I know exactly when it changed. I know exactly when everything flipped for me. It was the day that my husband told me that he was leaving. Actually it was the day that he left.

This volume represents more than 25 years of writing about female icons and biography. Rollyson provides the bits and pieces that resulted not only in his biography of Marilyn Monroe but also in much of the work he has subsequently done on Lillian Hellman, Martha Gellhorn, Rebecca West, Susan Sontag, and on the nature of biography itself.

Before the United States of America even existed, the first American celebrity was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). In his career, Franklin was an author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. After having his hand in all kinds of community service in Philadelphia, and inventing important devices like lightning rods, Franklin used his unique status as an international celebrity to become the colonies' best diplomat.

Jefferson was instrumental in authoring the Declaration of Independence, laying out the ideological groundwork of the notion of states' rights, leading one of the first political parties, and overseeing the expansion of the United States during his presidency.

In 1939, Olivia de Havilland had her most memorable role as Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind (1939), perhaps the most famous movie in American history, but Hollywood legend has it that she only got the role because her own younger sister, Joan Fontaine, was asked to audition for the part and recommended Olivia instead so that she could audition for Scarlett O'Hara.

Betsy Ross is one of the few women in American history whose name is known to every American, but that is not the only reason she's such a unique figure. Indeed, Betsy Ross is a true rarity in that she has been turned into a mythological heroine. Every country has legends, and tales that grow out of its founding, but given that the United States is a relatively young country, there is ample historical information on the lives and exploits of its Founders.

When the American Film Institute ranked its top 50 screen legends of the 20th century, many of the people named had careers spanning several decades, but one of them managed the feat despite living less than three decades. Ranked as the 22nd greatest actress of the 20th century, Jean Harlow was on the screen for less than 10 years, but in that time the "blonde bombshell" became the most popular actress of the 1930s. The platinum blonde was a leading lady for just five years before her premature death of renal failure at just 26 years old.

Snow is falling, rain is turning to snow and the children are out to play!

Come learn about dinosaurs and their amazing adventures! A Day with the Dinosaurs is a joyful rhyming story about cute dinosaurs that will have your young ones smiling and begging for more!

Mommy Duck leads her ducklings to go to Grandma's house. After saying goodbye to Daddy Duck, they're ready for their adventure away from the farm! Who will they meet on the way? What adventures are in store for the ducklings? Your children will love the answers to these questions in this sweet story!

is a cute little book about a little train engine who makes friends with all types of other engines, train cars, planes and more. They all work together to get their jobs done. Each character has a special job based on their skills.

For anyone trying to understand the origins of modern Russia, the search should begin with Tsar Peter I (1672-1725), who titled himself Peter the Great during his lifetime. The moniker is fitting, considering the manner in which Peter brought Russia out of the Middle Ages and into the 18th century.

As has happened with many of history's greatest writers, Jane Austen (1775-1817) did not earn the credit she was due until well after her death. Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, have earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature over the last 150 years. Austen's romantic fiction was an interesting genre. Her writing was laden with realism and scathing critiques of both society and the role women played in society.

Charles Dickens needs no formal introduction, having been the most popular English writer of the 19th century and still one of the most popular writers in history today. Dickens' upbringing was a mixture of happy times and sad. These qualities eventually helped forge him into a man many regard as the greatest Victorian era novelist, perhaps in the world, and the author of some of the most remarkable fictional characters who retain tremendous staying power to this day.

People in the Northeastern United States have been dealing with winter storms for centuries, and people in the South and on the East Coast have dealt with hurricanes and tropical storms for just as long, but it's rare for the weather systems that produce such storms to actually collide with each other and produce a more powerful storm. In fact it's unusual enough that when it happened in late October 1991, one weatherman dubbed it the "perfect storm".

In 1956 Duke Ellington was featured on the cover of Time magazine after a bravura performance at the Newport Jazz Festival that summer. This remains one of his most iconic achievements and a landmark for jazz music as a whole; only four jazz musicians were ever displayed on the cover of Time. At the same time, however, this recognition stands as one of the prevailing ironies of Ellington's career, as he was deep into the latter stages of his performing life by this point.

North America is full of natural wonders, but few inspire as much awe as Niagara Falls, the continent's most famous waterfalls. Comprised of three separate waterfalls (Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls), Niagara's falls can boast the fastest flow rate in the world, dropping six million cubic feet of water every minute from as high as 185 feet. Situated on the border between the United States and Canada, Niagara Falls is not just a prime tourist spot but a source of hydroelectric power.

For over two centuries, the capital of America has been located in Washington, D.C., and among all the iconic landmarks and monuments associated with the city, nothing is as conspicuous as the Capitol, the magnificent building that houses Congress and sits on Capitol Hill at the epicenter of the city. At the same time, even though the Capitol is now one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, the image everyone is familiar with took decades to achieve, and its grand scope belies its rather chaotic history

Dozens of men were called "robber barons", but none were as notorious or rich as John D. Rockefeller, who co-founded Standard Oil and turned it into the first real trust in the United States. Rockefeller had been groomed ambitiously by a huckster father nicknamed "Devil Bill", who was just as willing to cheat his son as an unsuspecting public, and John certainly chased his dreams of living long and large.

It's possible that the world would have remembered Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882) if only because she was the wife of one of America's greatest presidents, and was present for his shocking assassination. But Mary was one of the most unique women to ever be first lady, and she was in the White House during the country's most trying time. Yet history hasn't exactly been kind.