Presents biographical entries on seventy-five noteworthy Africans, historical and contemporary, in a variety of fields, from a wide range of sub-Saharan countries.

In the first book-length study to explore the origins and development of classical Arabic biography, Michael Cooperson demonstrates how Muslim scholars used the notions of heir-ship and transmission to document the activities of political, scholarly and religious communities. The author also explains how medieval Arab scholars used biography to reconstruct the life stories of important historical figures. He then examines the careers of four of these figures, analyzing their relationships and their place in later biography.

Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor who ruled the Roman Empire between AD 161 and 180, is one of the best recorded individuals from antiquity. Even his face became more than usually familiar: the imperial coinage displayed his portrait for over 40 years, from the clean-shaven young heir of Antonius to the war-weary, heavily bearded ruler who died at his post in his late fifties. His correspondence with his tutor Fronto, and even more the private notebook he kept for his last ten years, the Meditations, provides a unique series of vivid and revealing glimpses into the character and preoccupations of this emperor who spent many years in terrible wars against northern tribes. In this accessible and scholarly study, Professor Birley paints a portrait of an emperor who was human and just - an embodiment of the pagan virtues of Rome.

Originally published: Life and times of Frederick Douglass, written by himself: His early life as a slave, his escape from bondange, and his complete history to the present time... Hartford, Conn.: Park Publishing Co.; Cleveland, Ohio: Geo. M. Rewell & Co.; Chicago, Ill.: J.S. Goodman & Co.; St. Louis, Mo.: Sun Pub. Co.; San Francisco, Cal.: Phillips & Hunt, 1882.

This vividly detailed revisionist history opens a new vista on the great Ottoman Empire in the early nineteenth century, a key period often seen as the eve of Tanzimat westernizing reforms and the beginning of three distinct histories--ethnic nationalism in the Balkans, imperial modernization from Istanbul, and European colonialism in the Middle East.

"Attributed also, but more doubtfully, to James Grant"--Halkett & Laing.

Originally published: London : Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1840.

Steven Spielberg: A Biography brought about a reevaluation of the great filmmaker's life and work by those who viewed him as merely a facile entertainer. This new edition guides readers through the mature artistry of Spielberg's later period in which he manages, against considerable odds, to run a successful studio while maintaining and enlarging his high artistic standards as one of America's most thoughtful, sophisticated, and popular filmmakers.