A story collection
From Around the World
From a Jewish king in Yemen to three generations of scientists who explored the farthest reaches of the world, these are stories from every corner of history worth knowing. Read them here.
Edvard Grieg
From the frozen fjords and snow-covered landscapes of the north came warm melodies filled with deep emotion. The composer who translated Norwegian folklore into classical music that has stirred hearts around the world for generations.
Oedipus
The prince who tried to escape his bitter fate, only to kill his father at a crossroads and marry his mother. The dark Greek myth of blindness and guilt that became a cornerstone of modern psychoanalysis.
Auguste Piccard
A dynasty of adventurers who refused to stay on the ground and decided to find out for themselves where the world ends. The pioneering, record-breaking scientist who soared into the stratosphere in a balloon and paved the way for the conquest of space.
Oscar Wilde
“Biographies are nothing but other people’s laundry lists,” quipped the most brilliant and daring of Irish writers. Behind the razor-sharp cynicism and elegance lay a vulnerable soul who paid a heavy price for his freedom.
Alexei Maresyev
His plane was shot down in enemy territory, and he survived for weeks in the freezing snow, only to discover that he had lost both his legs. The Soviet pilot who refused to surrender learned to walk on prostheses and returned to the cockpit to shoot down fighter planes.
Electra
The rage, grief, and thirst for revenge that gave her no peace until her mother's blood was spilled for the death of her beloved father. The mythological princess who crossed every moral boundary and became a symbol of bloody family rupture.
Erich Hartmann
352 aerial victories made him the most successful and deadliest fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare. The Luftwaffe's "Black Demon" made his enemies look to the skies in terror, and with secret admiration.
Aristides de Sousa Mendes
The Portuguese diplomat who defied his government's orders and signed thousands of life-saving visas in just a few days. He lost his position, wealth, and good name in order to save tens of thousands of refugees from extermination.
Bertrand Piccard
His grandfather conquered the skies, his father plunged into the depths, and he decided to circle the Earth without a drop of fuel. The psychiatrist and pilot who carried on the family tradition and completed the longest flight in aviation history.
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Romanian communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej rises to power amid a fierce struggle with Anna Pauker and the upheavals of the postwar era.
Douglas Bader
He lost both his legs in a horrific accident, but refused to listen to the doctors who said he would never fly again. The British pilot who returned to the skies on metal legs and fought the Luftwaffe without a gram of fear.
Pope Formosus
He had already been lying in his grave for nine months, but his bitter enemies refused to let him rest in peace. The most bizarre trial in history: the rotting corpse of a pope put on trial in a courtroom.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
One modest book, written by a determined woman, managed to ignite a bloody civil war. The author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" tore away the mask of hypocrisy from the institution of American slavery.
Henrik Ibsen
He dared to open the closed doors of the bourgeoisie and expose the polite lies beneath the surface. The Norwegian playwright who invented modern drama and made audiences in theaters shift uneasily in their seats.
Herman Kallenbach
The wealthy Jewish architect who gave up a life of comfort in South Africa and became Mahatma Gandhi's closest friend and financial supporter. The man who lived in a commune devoted to nonviolence and eventually found his final resting place in the soil of Kibbutz Degania.
Jacques Piccard
From the highest reaches of the atmosphere to the mysterious, darkest depths of the Mariana Trench. The adventurer who dove to the deepest point on Earth, proving that his family simply had no limits.
José Pepe Mujica
He gave up the magnificent presidential palace, drove around in a battered Beetle, and donated most of his salary to people in need. From a guerrilla fighter who spent many years in prison to a modest leader who broke all the rules of the political game.
Joseph Dhu Nuwas
In the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, centuries before Islam, a warrior king with ornate sidelocks on his cheeks ruled. The forgotten story of Yemen's powerful Jewish kingdom and the daring king who led it.
Chaeronea
Ancient Greece's elite unit, made up of pairs of lovers who swore to fight to their last drop of blood. The story of the warriors' heroism and absolute sacrifice, commemorated by the giant lion statue after the historic battle.
Leopold von Mildenstein
A senior SS officer tours the Land of Israel, becomes enthusiastic about the pioneer settlements and even publishes sympathetic articles about them. The scandalous and bizarre story of the Nazi officer who, for one brief moment, found common ground with the Zionist idea.
Madame de Sévigné
She turned her personal letters to her daughter into a fascinating, vivid historical account of the French royal court. A 17th-century "one-woman newspaper" who exposed all the gossip, plots, and intrigues at Louis XIV's court.
Magda Goebbels
She was considered a model of Aryan beauty and the First Lady of the Reich, but concealed dark secrets from her past. The woman behind the Nazi propaganda monster, who chose blind loyalty to Satan until the bitter end.
Magda Lupescu
The woman who turned the head of the King of Romania and led him to give up his throne for her, time and again. A tempestuous affair, political intrigue, and an international scandal that tore apart an entire kingdom over forbidden love.
Mihai, King of Romania
At an age when most children play with toys, he was forced to lead a kingdom torn between Hitler and Stalin. The astonishing story of Romania's last king, the boy who dared to defy the Nazi regime of terror.
Frederick Douglass
Born as another man's property, he secretly learned to read and write and became the moral voice of an entire nation. The slave who escaped his chains and conquered stages around the world as a brilliant orator fought uncompromisingly for freedom.
Robert the Bruce
The legendary Scottish king who fought the English all his life. His companions removed his heart and carried it on a long journey to be buried in Jerusalem.
Shota Rustaveli
Georgia's national poet, who admired Queen Tamar and found refuge and his final resting place at the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem.