"This new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven offers connoisseurs and newcomers alike an unparalleled story of the composer's life and works, written by a renowned conductor and scholar of Beethoven's music. With unprecedented access to the archives at the Beethoven House in Bonn, Jan Caeyers expertly weaves together a deeply human and complex picture of Beethoven-his troubled youth, his unpredictable mood swings, his desires, relationships, and conflicts...

"Christians are supposed to be happy. In fact, we are supposed to radiate joy, peace, and contentment that is so unmistakable and so attractive that others are naturally drawn to us because they want what we have. And yet, in today's culture, the vast majority of Christians are perceived as angry, judgmental people who don't seem to derive any joy from life whatsoever. So why aren't we happy?Unfortunately, many Christians are taught early on that...

It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children -- four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness -- sneak out to hear their fortunes. Their prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco. Dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas...

"'After saying our good-byes to friends and neighbors, we all got in the cars and headed up the hill and down the road toward a future in Ohio that we hoped would be brighter, ' Otis Trotter writes in Keeping Heart : A Memoir of Family Struggle, Race, and Medicine. Organized around the life histories, medical struggles, and recollections of Trotter and his thirteen siblings, the story begins in 1914 with his parents. By tracing the family's movement...

"John Brown was a charismatic and deeply religious man who heard the God of the Old Testament speaking to him, telling him to destroy slavery by any means. When Congress opened Kansas territory to slavery in 1854, Brown raised a band of followers to wage war. His men tore proslavery settlers from their homes and hacked them to death with broadswords. Three years later, Brown and his men assaulted the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping...

"Pride documents the milestones in the fight for LGBTQ equality, from the victories of early activists to the passing of legislation barring discrimination, and the gradual acceptance of the LGBTQ community in politics, sports, culture, and the media. Rare images and documents cover the seminal moments, events, and breakthroughs of the movement, while personal testimonies share the voices of key figures on a broad range of topics... Pride is a unique...

"On April 9, 1942, thousands of U.S. soldiers surrendered as the Philippines island of Luzon fell to the Japanese. A few hundred Americans placed their faith in their own hands and headed for the jungles... one of them was Clay Conner Jr. -- a twenty-three year-old Army Air Force communications officer who had never even camped before... Connor showed himself to be a man of iron will, unbridled boldness, and endless perseverance. Inspired by an unlikely...