In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire

Laurence Bergreen

Custom House

Louis Armstrong was the founding father of jazz and one of this century's towering cultural figures. His musical innovation and exuberance made him a household name, yet the full story of his extravagant life has never been told. Now, drawing on a vast, previously unexplored archive of Armstrong's writings and recordings, acclaimed biographer Laurence Bergreen presents an intimate, provocative, and definitive portrait of the legendary Pied Piper of American music. The musical talents of Satchmo--as Armstrong became universally known--were prodigious and groundbreaking. After learning to blow his horn in the bordellos and honky-tonks of Storyville, New Orleans's bustling red-light district, he honed his sound on a Mississippi riverboat and later became a featured solo trumpeter in the nightclub bands of Chicago and New York, where his stunning musicianship, gravelly voice, and irrepressible personality captivated audiences and critics alike. Countless recordings, nonstop touring of America and Europe, a radio show--the first ever hosted by a black man--and film appearances catapulted him to international stardom, yet he always remained true to himself and loyal to his roots. Despite his successes, Armstrong's career was also marked by intense struggle--against the Depression, against the Chicago gangsters of the 1930s, and, above all, against racial prejudice. A revolutionary musician and entertainer, Louis Armstrong was also a character of epic proportions. Born in 1901 to the sixteen-year-old daughter of a slave, he came of age, joyfully, among the prostitutes, pimps, and rag-and-bone merchants of New Orleans. He married four times and enjoyed countless romantic involvements in and around his marriages. Throughout his rich and varied life, he was a believer in marijuana for the head and laxatives for the bowels; a prolific diarist and correspondent; a devoted friend to celebrities from Bing Crosby to Ella Fitzgerald; a perceptive social observer; and, in his later years, an international goodwill ambassador. Even as segments of the black community scorned him as a sellout to the white establishment, Armstrong broke color barriers wherever he went and helped other blacks to find equality and identity in modern America. "You see that horn?" he would ask his adversaries. "That horn ain't prejudiced. A note's a note in any language." Filled with insights and information gleaned from Armstrong's voluminous reminiscences and featuring a superb collection of photographs, this remarkable book brings to life as never before the charismatic figure who forever changed the face of music. In vivid detail and with warmth, wit, and breathtaking sweep, Laurence Bergreen's Louis Armstrong reveals a man of passion, courage, humor, and genius.

Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Broadway

Here is the first complete biography of a musical icon who is one of the greatest figures in American social and cultural history. Drawing on an extraordinary, previously unexplored archive of writings and recordings, biographer Laurence Bergreen presents an unprecedented, intimate portrait of the legendary Louis Armstrong. In this entertaining and definitive chronicle, the author traces Armstrong's rich and varied life - from poverty and obscurity to the fame that made him one of the 100 most important American figures of the twentieth century, as LIFE magazine declared in 1990. Bergreen also sheds new light on Armstrong's personal life - including his four marriages, his manyromantic entanglements, and his relationships with jazz musicians and other contemporary celebrities. Filled with insights and information gleaned from Armstrong's tape-recorded reminiscences and anecdotes, LOUIS ARMSTRONG brings the founding father of jazz to life as never before.

Louis Armstrong {Unabridged Audio}

BOOKS-ON-TAPE, INC.

Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, prize-winning biographer and journalist Laurence Bergreen entwines a variety of candid, firsthand accounts, bringing to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed both the way explorers would henceforth navigate the oceans and history itself.

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe

Politics & Social Sciences

Sound Library

Columbus The Four Voyages (Unabridged Audio CDs)

RECORDED BOOKS^

Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius

Simon&Schuster

The author probes the special appeal of the Red Planet among scientists, exploring the Mars obsession and its implications for science, philosophy, and the future of humankind. 40,000 first printing.

Voyage to Mars: NASA's Search for Life Beyond Earth

Science & Math

Astronomy & Space Science

Riverhead Hardcover

Over the Edge of the World

MJF_Books

In this grand and thrilling narrative, the acclaimed biographer of Magellan, Columbus, and Marco Polo brings alive the singular life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, the&nbsp;pirate/explorer/admiral&nbsp;whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history "Bergreen masterly portrays ... the swashbuckling life and times of the explorer who achieved what Magellan could not--and made England's fortune in the process." --Kirkus, STARRED review Before he was secretly dispatched by Queen Elizabeth to&nbsp;circumnavigate the globe, or was called upon&nbsp;to save England from the Spanish Armada, Francis&nbsp;Drake was perhaps the most wanted-and successful-pirate ever to sail. Nicknamed "El Draque" by the Spaniards who placed a bounty on his head, the notorious red-haired, hot-tempered Drake pillaged galleons laden with New World gold and silver, stealing a vast fortune for his queen-and himself. For Elizabeth, Drake made the impossible real, serving as a crucial and brilliantly adaptable instrument of her ambitions to transform England from a third-rate island kingdom into a global imperial power. In 1580, sailing on Elizabeth's covert orders, Drake became the first captain to&nbsp;circumnavigate the earth successfully. (Ferdinand&nbsp;Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drake's audacious around-the-world journey in the&nbsp;Golden Hind&nbsp;reached&nbsp;Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of present-day California and Oregon, the Spice Islands, Java, and Africa. Almost a decade&nbsp;later, Elizabeth called upon Drake again. As the devil-may-care vice admiral of the English fleet, Drake dramatically defeated the once-invincible Spanish Armada, spurring&nbsp;the British Empire's ascent and permanently wounding its greatest rival.&nbsp; The relationship between Drake and Elizabeth&nbsp;is the missing link in our understanding of the rise&nbsp;of the British Empire, and its importance has not&nbsp;been fully described or appreciated. Framed around&nbsp;Drake's key voyages as a window into this crucial&nbsp;moment in British history,&nbsp;In Search of a Kingdom&nbsp;is a rousing adventure narrative entwining epic&nbsp;historical themes with intimate passions. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Historical

HarperCollins B and Blackstone Publishing

Review\n"A dramatic tale of discovery...A lively and compelling history of a man whose blend of audacity, piety and cruelty changed the world." -- "San Francisco Chronicle"\n"Bergreen masterly portrays...the swashbuckling life and times of the explorer who achieved what Magellan could not--and made England's fortune in the process."-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"\n"Fascinating...Drake's story is both dramatic and timely."-- "New York Times Book Review"\n"Readers in search of a story of how a clergyman's son gained the support of a queen and helped found the British Empire will not be disappointed."-- "Washington Independent Review of Books"\n"This fine audiobook revives all the romance and excitement of a story that circumnavigates the globe...In Michael Page he has a narrator in perfect agreement with the tone and character of his narrative...Full of action and adventure, here is history at its most colorful and satisfying. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."-- "AudioFile"\n"Bergreen details Drake's round-the-world adventures as well as political intrigues and mutinous sailors."-- "Booklist (starred review)"\nMP3 CD Format 
An exploration narrative of the highest order: the bestselling author of Over the Edge of the World brings alive the extraordinary life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history—as a pirate raiding Spanish galleons, as the first explorer to successfully circumnavigate the globe, and as a naval hero who defeated the Spanish Armada and reshaped the global order. 
Queen Elizabeth’s favorite pirate, Francis Drake, was a hot-tempered, red-haired rogue who plundered and pillaged his way to the ends of the earth. The most fascinating and accomplished of all buccaneers, Drake is regarded as a folk hero throughout Great Britain, a combination of unparalleled explorer and Robin Hood. He was vigorous and daring, but also a brash hustler who beguiled the nearly insolvent young queen of England with promises of gold and silver, and tales of heroic quests in exotic lands. For Elizabeth, he made the impossible real. 
Drake was the first captain to circumnavigate the globe successfully (Ferdinand Magellan had died in his attempt), and a decade later, when Elizabeth called upon Drake again, he dramatically defeated the Spanish Armada, making possible the rise of the British Empire. Throughout his career he reaped benefits by making himself into the instrument of Elizabeth’s imperial ambitions. And as the devil-may-care vice-admiral of the English fleet, he personified England’s transition to Great Britain. 
The relationship between Drake and Elizabeth is the missing link in the rise of the British empire, and its importance has not been fully described or appreciated – until now. Framed around Francis Drake’s key explorations as a way to illuminate this crucial moment in British history, In Search of a Kingdom is a rousing adventure narrative mingling wide-ranging historical themes with intimate passions.

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Books by Laurence Bergreen