LibraryAware September 2025

Biography and MemoirSeptember 2025

Recent Releases

Baldwin: A Love Story
by Nicholas Boggs

Drawing 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.

Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler
by Susana M. Morris

Georgia 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places Butler’s works within the sociocultural and historical contexts that shaped her, utilizing correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, and interviews.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.

Coming Up Short: A Memoir of America
by Robert B. Reich

Former 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: How the Baby Boomers, Stole the Millennials' Future by Joseph C. Sternberg.

The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne
by Chris Sweeney

Journalist 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.

Focus on: Sports Biographies

Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson
by Sally H. Jacobs

Former 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 Maraniss

Pulitzer 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. Miller

America 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.

Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski
by Ian O'Connor

New York Post sports columnist Ian O’Connor’s (Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time) inspiring biography of legendary Duke University men’s basketball coach (and the NCAA men’s basketball all-time winningest coach) Mike Krzyzewski features interviews with colleagues, loved ones, and former players, offering an “insightful look at a colossal figure in college sports” (Publishers Weekly). Further reading: The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry by John Feinstein.

Contact your librarian for more great books!