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Biography and Memoir February 2018
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| The Trials of a Scold: The Incredible True Story of Writer Anne Royall by Jeff BiggersWhat it is: an illuminating profile of writer Anne Royall (1769-1854), one of America’s first female muckrakers, who was infamously tried for being a “common scold.”
Why you should read it: Though now nearly forgotten, Anne Royall was a trailblazing traveler and investigative journalist who was critical of both church and state -- a very modern woman ahead of her time.
Reviewers say: “Captivating and thoroughly researched” (Publishers Weekly). |
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Dare not linger : the presidential years
by Nelson Mandela
What it is: The story of Mandela's presidential years, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to leave office, but was unable to finish. Now the acclaimed South African writer Mandla Langa has completed the task, using Mandela's unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding, and a wealth of unseen archival material.
Reviewers say: "Essential to students of Mandela's political career as well as of modern African history." (Kirkus Reviews)
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Secrets we kept : three women of Trinidad
by Krystal A. Sital
What it is: An award-winning writer describes her Trinidad upbringing in the shadow of her revered grandfather, a wealthy Hindu landowner who tyrannized over three generations of women in the author's family and whose life reflected their tranquil island home's history of violence, suppression and racial tension.
Reviewers say: "In this captivating memoir, the author gracefully, honestly, and empathetically begins to reconcile her mother and grandmother's accounts of Shiva with her own pleasant memories of him, while weaving in a thoughtful analysis of how patriarchal culture limited her mother's and grandmother's choices in life. An absorbing, beautifully crafted memoir for all readers. (Library Journal)
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Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine
by Joe Hagan
What it's about: The story of Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone's founder, editor, and publisher, and the pioneering era he helped curate, is told here for the first time in glittering, glorious detail.
Reviewers say: "... using primary source documents, personal letters, and exclusive interviews.... this biographical chronicle of the cultural evolution from the 1960s to the present is a must-read for counterculture enthusiasts and historians." (Library Journal)
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| When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha BandeleWhat it's about: Artist and social justice activist Patrisse Khan-Cullors divulges the story of her life, from her 1980s childhood in suburban Los Angeles to her involvement in founding the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Is it for you? This passionate and candid coming-of-age memoir is for readers with a strong interest in social activism, the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT issues, and human rights. |
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Breaking free : how I escaped polygamy, the FLDS cult, and my father, Warren Jeffs
by Rachel Jeffs
What it's about: The daughter of the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints describes the abusive patriarchal culture in which she was raised by sister wives and dominating men, sharing insight into how her father remains a powerful influence on his followers in spite of his life prison sentence.
Reviewers say: "...this is an honest and pragmatic memoir of survival." (Library Journal)
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The monk of Mokha
by Dave Eggers
What it's about: Yemeni American Mokhtar Alkhanshali is twenty-four when he discovers the astonishing history of coffee and Yemen's central place in it. He leaves San Francisco and travels deep into his ancestral homeland, meeting beleaguered but determined farmers. When war engulfs the country and Saudi bombs rain down, Mokhtar has to find a way out of Yemen without sacrificing his dreams or abandoning his people.
Reviewers say: "The narrative turns into an increasingly surreal account of Alkhanshali's efforts to elude imprisonment and even death in order to get the coffee-bean samples he has secured back to America. Eggers's book works as both a heartwarming success story with a winning central character and an account of real-life adventures that read with the vividness of fiction. " (Publishers Weekly)
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Winfield, IL 60190
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