Most Popular Books by Gregory White Smith

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The definitive biography for decades to come.”—Leo Jansen, curator, the Van Gogh Museum, and co-editor of Vincent van Gogh: The Complete Letters Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, who galvanized readers with their Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of Jackson Pollock, have written another tour de force—an exquisitely detailed, compellingly readable portrait of Vincent van Gogh. Working with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Naifeh and Smith have accessed a wealth of previously untapped materials to bring a crucial understanding to the larger-than-life mythology of this great artist: his early struggles to find his place in the world; his intense relationship with his brother Theo; and his move to Provence, where he painted some of the best-loved works in Western art. The authors also shed new light on many unexplored aspects of Van Gogh’s inner world: his erratic and tumultuous romantic life; his bouts of depression and mental illness; and the cloudy circumstances surrounding his death at the age of thirty-seven. Though countless books have been written about Van Gogh, no serious, ambitious examination of his life has been attempted in more than seventy years. Naifeh and Smith have re-created Van Gogh’s life with an astounding vividness and psychological acuity that bring a completely new and sympathetic understanding to this unique artistic genius. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • The Wall Street Journal • San Francisco Chronicle • NPR • The Economist • Newsday • BookReporter “In their magisterial new biography, Van Gogh: The Life, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith provide a guided tour through the personal world and work of that Dutch painter, shining a bright light on the evolution of his art. . . . What [the authors] capture so powerfully is Van Gogh’s extraordinary will to learn, to persevere against the odds.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times “Brilliant . . . Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith are the big-game hunters of modern art history. . . . [Van Gogh] rushes along on a tide of research. . . . At once a model of scholarship and an emotive, pacy chunk of hagiography.”—Martin Herbert, The Daily Telegraph (London)

Ten years ago, Gregory White Smith''s doctors gave him three months to live. He''s still here. Discover how he, and many others in this life-changing book, beat the odds and survived. The news was grim. Doctors at the prestigious Mayo Clinic told Greg Smith--young, handsome, and hard at work at the book that would one day win him a Pulitzer Prize--that he had an inoperable brain tumor. They gave him three months to live. Ten years later, Greg is fit, active, and managing his tumor with an experimental hormone therapy. Like Greg, the other courageous people in this book--whose illnesses range from cystic fibrosis to cancer--have returned from the threshold of death. They are all medical miracles. Now you can learn how they made those miracles happen. Not a survivor''s memoir, but a survivor''s handbook, this extraordinary book weaves the insights of doctors and the wisdom of patients into a road map anyone can follow out of the dark fears of dying. Discover: The one thing that makes the difference between life and death --taking control Practical steps to finding the best doctor and the best care Your own research...how to do it, why your life depends on it What you need to ask before beginning an experimental treatment Why even if there isn''t a cure now, there may be tomorrow--and how to live long enough to get it...and more

On October 15, 1985, two pipe bombs shook the calm of Salt Lake City, Utah, killing two people. The only link-both victims belonged to the Mormon Church. The next day, a third bomb was detonated in the parked car of church-going family man, Mark Hoffman. Incredibly, he survived. It wasn''t until authorities questioned the strangely evasive Hoffman that another, more shocking link between the victims emerged... It was the appearance of an alleged historic document that challenged the very bedrock of Mormon teaching, questioned the legitimacy of its founder, and threatened to disillusion millions of its faithful-unless the Mormon hierarchy buried the evidence.

Story of Cullen Davis who believed money could buy anything, and his trial for murdering his twelve year old stepdaughter.

The true story of Danny Starrett, a serial killer and rapist raised by a seemingly-perfect family. Includes passages from his prison journal describing his crimes and their causes.

Hailed in hardcover by booksellers, reviewers and dreamers addicted to Architectural Digest, here is the enchanting story of the trials and tribulations that two Pulitzer Prize-winning writers from Manhattan experience while renovating Joye Cottage, a 60-room pleasure palace in Aiken, South Carolina.

Based on more than 2,000 interviews with 850 people, Jackson Pollock is the first book to explore the life of a great artist with the psychological depth that marks the best biographies of literary and political figures. In eight years of research the authors have uncovered previously unknown letters and documents, gained access to medical and psychiatric records, and interviewed scores of the artist''s friends and acquaintances whose stories had never been told. They were also the first biographers in twenty years to benefit from the cooperation of Pollock''s widow, Lee Krasner. --from publisher description.

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853?1890) nasceu num vilarejo fronteiriço nos confins pantanosos do sul da Holanda, filho primogênito de um modesto pastor protestante. Solitário e impetuoso desde criança, o artista fracassou em todas as tentativas de se fixar numa profissão ''respeitável''. Somente encontrou alívio parcial para seus anseios excruciantes na produção de milhares de desenhos e pinturas, ao mesmo tempo em que submergia na doença e na loucura. Steven Naifeh e Gregory White Smith apresentam nesta reconstituição biográfica uma visão que procura ser ao mesmo tempo erudita e apaixonada sobre o artista holandês. Os autores buscam esmiuçar o conturbado relacionamento com os pais, a amizade com o irmão Theo, a relação intensa com a religião, a errância entre diversas cidades, a vida sexual desregrada, o fracasso em vender suas obras, a amizade conturbada com Paul Gauguin, a loucura, a orelha mutilada - e sugere uma explicação para o suposto suicídio. Naifeh e Smith visam orientar o leitor com segurança através do intrincado labirinto de referências estéticas, literárias e religiosas que definiu sua curta existência. Desse modo, diversas imprecisões, bem como mitos há muito estabelecidos na fortuna crítica vangoghiana, procuram ser esclarecidos com sensibilidade humana e artística.

Selon d''éminents psychiatres, près de la moitié des mariages ratés sont dus à l''incapacité des maris d''exprimer leurs sentiments. Pour ces derniers, " être un homme " signifie simplement être fort, combatif et invulnérable : une de leurs préoccupations majeures est donc de s''entourer d''une carapace faite de maîtrise de soi et de refoulement. Cet ouvrage nous révèle pourquoi les hommes restent si secrets et nous démontre que notre culture, en empêchant l''intimité, nourrit une peur profonde face à la dépendance et à la confiance. Ce livre apprend ensuite aux femmes à percer les défenses des hommes et à aider ceux-ci à retrouver la sincérité et la spontanéité de l''enfant qui se cache en eux. Si l''homme parvient à vaincre la peur de l''intimité, il s''épanouira pleinement et pourra entretenir une relation aussi durable que satisfaisante avec sa compagne.