Popular European Biography Books
Find biography books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (154)
31.
Eleni by Nicholas Gage EN
GreeceDescription:
In 1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and sent to communist "camps" inside the Iron Curtain. Eleni Gatzoyiannis, forty-one, defied the traditions of her small village and the terror of the communist insurgents to arrange for the escape of her three daughters and her son, Nicola. For that act, she was imprisoned, tortured, and executed in cold blood. Nicholas Gage joined his father in Massachusetts at the age of nine and grew up to become a top New York Times investigative reporter, honing his skills with one thought in mind: to return to Greece and uncover the one story ... continue
32.
Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg EN
ItalyDescription:
Natalia Ginzburg wrote her masterful, Strega Prize winning novel Family Lexicon while living in London in the 1960s. Homesick for her big, noisy Italian family, she summoned them in this novel, which is a celebration of the routines and rituals, in-jokes and insults and, above all, the repeated sayings that make up every family.
33.
Fermat's Last Theorem : The Story of a Riddle that Confounded the World's Greatest Minds for 358 Years by Simon Singh EN
EnglandDescription:
This is the story of the solving of a puzzle that has confounded mathematicians since the 17th century, but which every child can understand. It includes the fascinating story of Andrew Wiles who finally cracked the code.
34.
BulgariaDescription:
Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries—beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement. Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists—mostly women, mostly queer—whose public contribution have risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the w... continue
35.
Floreana by Margret Wittmer EN
GermanyDescription:
The true story of the author's 56 years spent living on Floreana in the Galapagos Islands. The story begins in 1932, when Margret Wittmer arrived on the island with her husband, stepson and two dogs.
36.
Forvandlingens metode by Édouard Louis DK
FranceDescription:
"The story of my life is a long series of broken friendships. At every stage of my life, of this race with myself, I have had to leave people I have loved in order to go even further. It was not a conscious decision on my part, nor on theirs: I was fighting to transform myself, and they did not have the same obsession..." French author Édouard Louis' autofictional novel The Method of Transformation is a story about moving from the absolute bottom of society to the top. About escaping one's background through success and becoming part of Paris's economic and soci... continue
37.
Free : A Child and a Country at the End of History by Lea Ypi EN
AlbaniaDescription:
For precocious 11-year-old Lea Ypi, Albania’s Soviet-style socialism held the promise of a preordained future, a guarantee of security among enthusiastic comrades. That is, until she found herself clinging to a stone statue of Joseph Stalin, newly beheaded by student protests. Communism had failed to deliver the promised utopia. One’s “biography”—class status and other associations long in the past—put strict boundaries around one’s individual future. When Lea’s parents spoke of relatives going to “university” or “graduating,” they were speaking of grave secrets Lea struggled to unveil. And wh... continue
38.
Free : Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi EN
Description:
Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope. Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were topple... continue
39.
Gaddafi's Harem by Annick Cojean EN
Description:
This shocking and moving investigation into the hidden abuses perpetrated by Colonel Gaddafi reveals an appalliing private life.
40.
George Frideric Handel by Paul Henry Lang EN
HungaryDescription:
Exceptionally full, detailed study of the man, his music and times. Childhood, music training, years in London; analysis of Messiah and other works; much more. Introduction. Includes 35 illustrations.