Not a Simple Thing

The 1920s are often called the "Jazz Age." They were years when many Americans cared mainly about having a good time. They danced, drank, and partied, giving little thought to their responsibilities. The writer who best captured the flavor of those fast-paced times was F. Scott Fitzgerald.   Fitzgerald's first novel was published when he was just 24. A month later, he married free-spirited Zelda Sayre. They divided their time between New York and Europe, where they led a life of pleasure. But wild living, hard drinking, and big spending soon took their toll. Zelda suffered a nervous breakdown in 1930. She was in and out of hospitals the rest of her life. Drowning in debts, Fitzgerald himself nearly collapsed, and the quality of his work declined. Many of Fitzgerald's books were based on his life. This Side of Paradise is about a young man who drops out of Princeton University—as Fitzgerald did in 1917. The Beautiful and the Damned was based on his marriage. The...

Few tennis players have dominated their sport as Pete Sampras did in the 1990s. He was the top-ranked men's player in the world for six consecutive years—longer than any other player in tennis history. In 2000, Sampras broke the men's record for career victories in Grand Slam tournaments, the four most important events in tennis. His 13 Grand Slam wins included two Australian Open championships, four U.S. Open titles, and seven Wimbledon championships. Sampras added to his trophy case in 2002 with a dramatic fifth win at the U.S. Open. It was his 14th Grand Slam crown. Sampras, a 6-foot, 1-inch (1.9 meter) right-hander, won his first U.S. Open title in 1990. At 19 years and 28 days, he was the youngest man ever to win the event. With a powerful serve that approached 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour and kept his opponents off balance, Sampras reached the number-one ranking in 1993—the same year he won his first Wimbledon and second U.S. Open. He slammed an ...

She has been called America's sweetheart. With her tumbling blond curls, model-like good looks, sweet temperament—and six Grammys—country and pop singer/songwriter, Taylor Swift is a young megastar.   Swift won four Grammys at the 2008 awards ceremony. Two were Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Fearless , her second album. The other two were Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song for the single "White Horse. " Swift was 20 at the time. She had been pursuing a career in music for almost a decade. "I think I first realized I wanted to be in country music and be an artist when I was 10," Swift said. "And I started dragging my parents to festivals, and fairs, and karaoke contests. And I did that for about a year before I came to Nashville for the first time. I was 11 and I had this demo CD of me singing Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes songs. "  The Nashville record companies showed no interest in Swif...

With the release of Jaws in 1975, 28-year-old film director Steven Spielberg was hailed as Hollywood 's new boy wonder. His thrilling movie about a giant shark that terrorizes a beach community earned more than $125 million at the box office. Jaws was the first in a string of blockbusters. As a child, Steven Allan Spielberg loved films filled with adventure and heroism. He is still attracted to exciting, suspenseful stories. Spielberg brings these to life with his superb moviemaking skills. Among his more famous films are Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); E.T.—the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); and a series of Indiana Jones movies. His films are characterized by heart-stopping action, imaginative special effects, humor, and optimistic conclusions. In many Spielberg films, the main characters include children whose innocence triumphs over adult wickedness. Spielberg was once criticized for not making serious films. He rose to the challenge in 1985 when he di...

Jessica Simpson has grown as famous for her supposedly ditzy image as for her beauty and her singing voice. Yet appearances can be deceiving. The girl who once asked her husband if Chicken of the Sea was tuna or chicken is also an ambitious performer who has dedicated much of her life to becoming a star. Jessica Ann Simpson was born in Dallas , Texas. She began singing at a young age; she first sang in the choir of the local Baptist church. At age 12, she tried out for The Mickey Mouse Club . This popular television show was a well-known training ground for future talent like Simpson's eventual rivals Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. But Simpson faced an early disappointment when she was turned down for the club. Instead, with the help of her manager-father Joe (a minister) and stylist-mother Tina, Simpson signed with a small Christian-music label. Meanwhile, she attended J.J. Pearce High School, from which she graduated in 1998.   Simpson finally got ...

For much of his career, Arnold Schwarzenegger was known as a champion bodybuilder, a movie star, and a successful businessman. Then in 2003, he took on a new career—politics. Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. He served as governor until 2011. Born in Austria, Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin–Superior in 1979. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983. As a bodybuilder, he won 13 championships; his titles included Mr. Universe, Mr. Olympia, and Mr. World. His leading role in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron brought him to Hollywood's attention. It also helped to popularize bodybuilding competitions.   Schwarzenegger soon became a top box-office attraction. He made his mark as an action star in Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Predator (1987), and Total Recall (1990). He also displayed a talent for comedy in Twins (1988), Kindergarten...

Comedian and actor Adam Sandler first won notice with his hilarious stand-up routines. He became one of the most popular cast members of the television show Saturday Night Live during the early 1990s. His success on the long-running comedy show launched him to superstardom. He was born Adam Richard Sandler in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of seven children. The family soon moved to Manchester , New Hampshire, where in school, Sandler became known as the class clown. But he never thought about being a professional comedian. Then one night, his brother pushed the 17-year-old Sandler onto the stage at a Boston comedy-club amateur night. The laughs got him hooked. But he still suffered terrible stage fright until—again at his brother's suggestion—Sandler started singing funny songs as part of his act. Playing music calmed his nerves; it even helped distinguish his act during the 1980s stand-up boom. Sandler continued to perform while attending New York Universit...