Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness

A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness

by Dave J. Pelzer

The inspiring conclusion to A Child Called "It" and The Lost Boy "All those years you tried your best to break me, and I'm still here. One day you'll see, I'm going to make something of myself."--Dave Pelzer, from A Man Named Dave These words were Dave Pelzer's declaration of independence to his mother, and they represented the ultimate act of self-reliance. Dave's father never intervened as his... (more)

Why You Crying?: My Long, Hard Look at Life, Love, and Laughter

Why You Crying?: My Long, Hard Look at Life, Love, and Laughter

by George Lopez

George Lopez tells of his inspirational rise from dead-end, back-alley kid to prime-time TV sensation in the sidesplitting New York Times bestseller Why You Crying? When G-Lo gives a comic performance, there's not a dry eye, or an empty seat, in the house. While he can make his audiences cry with laughter, Lopez's own life -- before becoming one of America's most popular Latino personalities -- was anything... (more)

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

by Jon Lee Anderson

This New York Times “Notable Book of the Year” is the definitive biography on Che Guevara, whose epic dream was to end poverty and injustice in Latin America through armed revolution. Anderson’s biography traces Che’s extraordinary life, from his comfortable Argentine upbringing to the Cuban revolution, from the halls of power in Castro’s government to his failed campaign in the Congo and assassination in the... (more)

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom

by Catherine Clinton

Celebrated for her courageous exploits as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman has entered history as one of nineteenth-century America's most enduring and important figures. But just who was this remarkable woman? To John Brown, leader of the Harpers Ferry slave uprising, she was General Tubman. For the many slaves she led north to freedom, she was Moses. To the slaveholders who sought her... (more)

The Pursuit of Happyness

by Mim Eichler Rivas, Quincy Troupe, Chris Gardner

The astounding yet true rags-to-riches saga of a homeless father who raised and cared for his son on the mean streets of San Francisco and went on to become a crown prince of Wall Street At the age of twenty, Milwaukee native Chris Gardner, just out of the Navy, arrived in San Francisco to pursue a promising career in medicine. Considered a prodigy in scientific research, he surprised everyone and himself by... (more)

CHE (Ensayo)

by Pacho O'Donnell

El libro describe con detalle la biografía humana y política del Che. Su asma recurrente y perpetua, sus deseos de combatir la injusticia, la lucha por la igualdad de los pueblos, su pelea frente al imperialismo yanki, incluso sus diferencias con los líderes de la URSS. Escrito con detalle y agilidad, este libro recorre la infancia, juventud, combates, decisiones transcendentales, familia y amores de este icono... (more)

Joni

by Joe Musser, Joni Eareckson Tada

Here is the unforgettable autobiography of Joni Eareckson Tada and her struggles to adjust after a diving accident leaves her paralyzed from the neck down. Now with an inspirational update from Joni about the worldwide impact of her book and her Joni and Friends ministry. Includes photos and illustrations by Joni.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

by Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass (1817?-1895) was born into slavery by a slave mother and an unknown father. At the age of 8, he started to educate himself with the help of his master's wife. In 1838, he fled Baltimore for the North. There he soon became a noted author and speaker on slavery. Douglass wrote three autobiographies, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (1845), "My Bondage and My Freedom" (1855)... (more)

Dreams from My Father

A Story of Race and Inheritance

by Barack Obama

Nine years before the Senate campaign that made him one of the most influential and compelling voices in American politics, Barack Obama published this lyrical, unsentimental, and powerfully affecting memoir, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller when it was reissued in 2004. Dreams from My Father tells the story of Obama’s struggle to understand the forces that shaped him as the son of a black African... (more)

The Pianist

The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945

by Wladyslaw Szpilman

The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish pianist who survives the German invasion of Poland, the Warsaw ghetto and the ultimate destruction of the city.

Che Guevara Talks to Young People

by Ernesto Che Guevara

In eight talks from 1959 to 1964, the Argentine-born revolutionary challenges youth of Cuba and the world to study, to work, to become disciplined. To join the front lines of struggles, small and large. To politicize their organizations and themselves. To become a different kind of human being as they strive together with working people of all lands to transform the world. And, along this course, to revel in the... (more)

The Audacity of Hope

Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

by Barack Obama

In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Obama called “the audacity of hope.” The... (more)

Gather Together in My Name

by Maya Angelou

In Gather Together in My Name Maya Angelou continues her stunning autobiography. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, passionate and mellow, she fills the pages with both wisdom and wonder as she brings us along in her struggle and dance through life. From the Paperback edition.

The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager's Story

The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager's Story

by Dave J. Pelzer

From A Child Called "It" to The Lost Boy , from A Man Named Dave to Help Yourself , Dave Pelzer’s inspirational books have helped countless others triumph over hardship and misfortune. In The Privilege of Youth , he shares the missing chapter of his life: as a boy on the threshold of adulthood. With sensitivity and insight, he recounts the relentless taunting he endured from bullies; but he also... (more)

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

by Dave J. Pelzer

"The Lost Boy" is the harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of a boy's journey through the foster-care system in search of a family to love. This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to "A Child Called "It". The Lost Boy" is Pelzer's story--a moving sequel and inspirational read for all.

Warriors Don't Cry: Searing Memoir of Battle to Integrate Little Rock

Warriors Don't Cry: Searing Memoir of Battle to Integrate Little Rock

by Melba Beals

An innocent teenager. An unexpected hero. In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates... (more)

Me Talk Pretty One Day

by David Sedaris

A new collection from David Sedaris is cause for jubilation. His recent move to Paris has inspired hilarious pieces, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, about his attempts to learn French. His family is another inspiration. You Cant Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as... (more)

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women, Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people--and the times--that touched her... (more)

The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, it has been read by tens of millions of people all over the world. It remains a beloved and deeply admired testament to the indestructible nature of the human spirit. Restored in this Definitive Edition are diary entries that were omitted from the original edition. These passages,... (more)

A Child Called "It"

One Child's Courage to Survive

by David J. Pelzer

This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: autobiographies/biographies

by Dave J. Pelzer

by George Lopez

by Jon Lee Anderson

by Catherine Clinton

by Mim Eichler Rivas, Quincy Troupe, Chris Gardner

by Pacho O'Donnell

by Joe Musser, Joni Eareckson Tada

by Frederick Douglass

A Story of Race and Inheritance

by Barack Obama

The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945

by Wladyslaw Szpilman

by Ernesto Che Guevara

Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

by Barack Obama

by Maya Angelou

by Dave J. Pelzer

by Dave J. Pelzer

by Melba Beals

by David Sedaris

by Maya Angelou

by Anne Frank

One Child's Courage to Survive

by David J. Pelzer