This riveting book tells the stories of people who have influenced the course of history over the last 2000 years: statesmen, scientists, inventors, artists, film stars, sports heroes and many more. Arranged in themes and chronologically, all the family will enjoy The Ultimate Book of Famous People.

FREAKS OF NATURE, ODD CRIMES, SHOCKING DEATHS, DEVASTATING DISASTERS, BLOOD-CURDLING RITES, CRAZY CONSPIRACIES & MUCH, MUCH MORE -Gruesome Torture Devices -Mass Hysteria Outbreaks -Unbelievable Miniatures -Disturbingly Scary Clowns -Outer Space Mysteries -Astonishing Aphrodisiacs -Disgusting Ancient Jobs -Spooky Sports Curses -World-Famous Penises -Mail-Order-Bride Shockers -Brutal Pope Deaths -Outrageous Wedding Locales -Grossest Edible Animals -Appalling Religious Practices

This is a comprehensive look at the famous and the notorious, their achievements and the legacies they have left humankind. Organized by theme - explorers, inventors, leaders, artists, sportspeople, musicians, politicians, scientists, writers, reformers etc - each chapter looks at the famous figures pre-1000 AD to put the rest of the chapter in its historical context.

The Ultimate Book of Famous Quotes - 10,000 Famous Quotations to Inspire, Motivate, Comfort and Cheer You! The Ultimate Book of Famous Quotes is perhaps the biggest collection of quotations on Amazon, and at 10,000 entries is up to five times larger than comparable publications to date. This huge collection of quotations has been carefully curated to give you that "light bulb moment" on reading each and every quote. Whether that be to give you a new perspective on life and living, or simply to make you laugh out loud, this collection will not disappoint.The Ultimate Book of Quotes contains quotations from notables throughout history to the present day - from Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Mahatma Gandhi, all the way to cultural heroes from stage, screen and fashion, such as Coco Chanel and Lady Gaga. The range of quotations is simply astounding, and the number and diversity of notables whose contribution have been catalogued will amaze you. I very much hope that this book will continue to be a go-to reference to you for years to come.Each quotation is shown along side the famous person it is ascribed to, and all quotations are grouped by category so that you can find important quotations associated with your interests.

Vanity Fair's veteran special correspondent pulls back the curtain on the world of celebrity and those who live and die there Vanity Fair's Maureen Orth always makes news. From Hollywood to murder trials to the corridors of politics, this National Magazine Award winner covers lives led in public, on camera, in the headlines. Here she takes us close-up into the world of fame--bridging entertainment, politics, and news--and the lives of those who understand the chemistry, the very DNA, of fame and how to create it, manipulate it, sustain it. Moving from former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to Michael Jackson, the ultimate child/monster of show business, Orth describes our evolution from a society where talent attracted attention to a place where the star-making machinery of the "celebrity-industrial complex" shapes, reshapes, and sells its gods (and monsters) to the public. From divas letting their hair down (Tina Turner) to Little Gods (Woody Allen and Princess Diana's almost father-in-law Mohammed Fayed), political theater (Arnold's Hollywood hubris, Arianna Huffington's guru-guided gubernatorial quest), news-gone-soap-opera (I Love Laci), and even the Queen Mother of reinvention (Madonna as dominatrix/children's-book author), Orth delivers a portrait of an era. The Importance of Being Famous shows us the real world of the big room where the rules that govern mere mortals don't matter--and anonymity is a crime.

From former Vanity Fair magazine’s celebrity interviewer George Wayne comes a collection of piquant, poignant, and nostalgic interviews with some of the iconic personalities of our time, curated from his legendary magazine career. The man behind some of the most notorious celebrity interviews, George Wayne, has redefined, reimagined, and remastered the modern art of the conversation. For over twenty years, he documented pop culture with the George Wayne Questionnaire, his patented question and answer column, which has been one of Vanity Fair’s most iconic and intriguing features. In each issue, he posed a series of offbeat questions to some the most captivating people in the world. Refreshingly unafraid to ask anything and everything, GW has perfected what he calls—the probe and parry—to break down protective facades and get inside the heads and hearts of his interviewees. The results have been humorous, often surprising, sometimes shocking, and always revealing. Beautifully designed with illustrations, Anyone Who’s Anyone is a collection of some of his most fascinating conversations with the world’s famous and infamous, highlighted with introductory annotations and memories of each interview—first published in his own R.O.M.E., Vanity Fair, and The Daily Front Row. Cultural icons, royalty, and superstars of all kinds—including Kate Moss, Ivanka Trump, Ivana Trump, Martha Stewart, Joan Rivers, Farrah Fawcett, Fabio, Graydon Carter, and many more—spill their secrets, candidly sharing their hopes and fears. With social media increasingly dominating our personal interactions, Anyone Who’s Anyone demonstrates that nothing can replace an engaging and authentic tête-à-tête.

Need to know which baseball player was nicknamed "The Old Professor"? Stumped over Nicholas Cage's real name? Curious which of William Faulkner's books won the Pulitzer Prize? Can't remember Jimmy Durante's theme song? Whether you are a puzzler, trivia buff, or just an information hound, the Random House Famous Name Finder can help you quickly and easily look up information on over 10,000 people from arts, sports, literature, history and other fields.