| Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas BoggsDrawing on interviews and previously unreleased archival materials, National Humanities Center fellow Nicholas Boggs’ moving and intimate biography of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin examines how his personal relationships impacted his life and career. Further reading: James Baldwin: Living in Fire by Bill V. Mullen. |
|
| Coming Up Short: A Memoir of America by Robert B. ReichFormer United States Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich’s sobering yet hopeful blend of memoir and political analysis incisively explores how the rise of partisanship and tribalism has hindered American economic progress. Try this next: The Theft of a Decade: Baby Boomers, Millennials, and the Distortion of Our Economy by Joseph C. Sternberg. |
|
| The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne by Chris SweeneyJournalist Chris Sweeney's richly detailed debut profiles pioneering forensic ornithologist and Smithsonian Institution taxidermist Roxie Laybourne (1910-2003), who utilized her avian expertise to solve murders, investigate poaching activities, and inspect bird-related plane crashes, the latter of which led to aircraft safety reforms. For fans of: 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb. |
|
| Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. MorrisGeorgia Institute of Technology professor Susana M. Morris’ well-researched biography of trailblazing science fiction author Octavia E. Butler thoughtfully places Butler’s works within the sociocultural and historical contexts that shaped her, utilizing correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, and interviews. Try this next: Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha Womack. |
|
Focus on: Sports Biographies
|
|
| Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson by Sally H. JacobsFormer Boston Globe reporter Sally H. Jacobs' biography of trailblazing tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African American to win a Grand Slam tournament, offers a comprehensive portrait of a complex woman who battled racial and gender discrimination, poverty, and abuse in her journey toward stardom. Further reading: Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson by Ashley Brown. |
|
| Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David MaranissPulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss' well-researched and insightful biography of multi-hyphenate athlete Jim Thorpe, the first Indigenous American to win Olympic gold for the United States, looks at the man beyond the myth, exploring how Thorpe grappled with racist treatment, poverty and alcoholism, and fraught family relationships amid his career triumphs. Further reading: Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe by Kate Buford. |
|
| The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. MillerAmerica Magazine contributing writer John W. Miller’s evocative debut offers a nuanced portrait of Baltimore Orioles manager and Baseball Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, whose innovations helped modernize Major League Baseball and whose outsized personality frequently got him into dustups both on and off the field. For fans of: Billy Ball: Billy Martin and the Resurrection of the Oakland A's by Dale Tafoya. |
|
|
|
Charlie Hustle : the rise and fall of Pete Rose, and the last glory days of baseball by Keith O'BrienA page-turning work of narrative nonfiction chronicling the incredible story of one of America's most iconic, charismatic, and still polarizing figures, baseball immortal Pete Rose; and an exquisite cultural history of baseball and America in the second half of the twentieth century Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn't. This is no ordinary sport biography, but cultural history at its finest.
|
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|