All upcoming Biography & Autobiography programs

Gen. George S. Patton, known for both his expertise in mobile tank warfare and his brash behavior and mercurial temper, is remembered as a legendary military leader with few equals. But what were the judgments of Patton’s enemies during World War II—many of whom were also veteran masters of mobile warfare? Harry Yeide, author of Fighting Patton­, exposes the German perspective on how and why they lost their battles with Patton's forces.

In the fall and early winter of 1903, two innovative and courageous engineering teams were racing toward a once-unimaginable goal: to be the first to fly. One was a pair of brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright; the other was Dr. Samuel Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian, and his brilliant assistant, Charles Matthews Manly. We know who won—but do we know why? Writer and filmmaker Paul Glenshaw tells the story of the epic competition.

Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes, Robert Frost was a groundbreaking artist and cultural icon, a rural sage who became America’s “national poet.” His poetry suggested how small encounters between the individual and the natural world could often serve as metaphors for the larger themes of the human condition. Author Daniel Stashower delves into Frost's life and legacy and actor Scott Sedar brings the poet's words to life with readings from his most celebrated works.

From World War II through the Cold War, Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower maintained a friendship unlike any other in history, an alliance and camaraderie that defeated Nazism and kept communism at bay. Although occasionally testy, their connection remained close until Churchill’s death. Historian Mitchell Yockelson discusses the personal story of these heads of state and their lasting influence on the world.

For 46 years, director John Huston masterfully navigated the Hollywood system, offsetting conventional commercial assignments with deeply uncompromising personal projects. His films are stories of triumph and suffering, of anti-heroes and sociopaths, alcoholics, adventurers, and lusty rebels. Film historian Max Alvarez celebrates these achievements in a tribute filled with film selections and archival images drawn from the works of one of cinema’s greatest directing artisans.

As he confronted the most violent and challenging war ever waged on American soil, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation freeing the 3.5 million enslaved Americans without whom the South could neither feed nor fund their armed insurrection—ultimately dooming the rebellion led by Jefferson Davis. Historian and author Nigel Hamilton discusses how two Americans faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance and how Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last best chance to save the Union.

When Queen Anne of Britain died in 1714, the question of royal succession became a matter of political drama. Her successor was George of Hanover—a distant relative who was unknown to the British people. Historian Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger follows the long and complicated reigns of the four kings named George, who overcame an uprising, navigated a Parliament seeking more power, and provided family drama equal to that of the Tudors.

How did the name of a Continental Army general become a synonym for treason? Historian Richard Bell reconstructs the life and times of Benedict Arnold, the reasons he turned on his country, and the larger problems of betrayal and desertion that dogged George Washington’s army.

Camille Claudel was recognized as a genius in her own time, and the details of her dramatic life—her relationship with Auguste Rodin and the 30 years she spent confined against her will in a mental institution—have inspired movies, plays, a novel, a musical, and a ballet. Art historian Heidi Applegate discusses the extraordinary success that Claudel achieved despite the many barriers facing women artists, particularly sculptors, at the turn of the 20th century. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Were all of Egypt’s kings and queens guided by the divine wisdom and justice that their devoted subjects believed them to possess? Not quite, especially when their reigns were marked by civil wars, a pyramid complex, mass graves of forced laborers, and political sabotage by PR offensive. Egyptologist Jacquelyn Williamson draws from the most recent archaeological evidence to examine four of Egypt’s most influential rulers and the impact­—and darker sides—of their reigns.