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Biography and Memoir October 2017
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New and Recently Released |
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| The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine... by Jason FagoneDuring World War I, Elizebeth Smith, a brilliant Shakespeare scholar, met her future husband, William Friedman, at the Riverbank research facility in Chicago. Both became highly successful codebreakers, breaking German codes during the war, cracking liquor smugglers' communications during Prohibition, and deciphering Nazi signals in World War II. Elizebeth's work was so top-secret, it was easy for male officials (notably J. Edgar Hoover) to take credit for her work, but journalist Jason Fagone has stripped away the secrecy that had obscured her contributions. If you enjoyed The Woman Who Smashed Codes, check out Liza Mundy's recently published Code Girls. |
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David Bowie : A Life by Dylan JonesDrawn from over 180 interviews with friends, rivals, lovers, and collaborators, some of whom have never before spoken about their relationship with Bowie, this oral history weaves a hypnotic spell as it unfolds the story of a remarkable rise to stardom and an unparalleled artistic path. Tracing Bowie’s life from the English suburbs to London to New York to Los Angeles, Berlin, and beyond, its collective voices describe a man profoundly shaped by his relationship with his schizophrenic half-brother Terry; an intuitive artist who could absorb influences through intense relationships and yet drop people cold when they were no longer of use; and a social creature equally comfortable partying with John Lennon and dining with Frank Sinatra. By turns insightful and deliciously gossipy, David Bowie is as intimate a portrait as may ever be drawn.
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Gorbachev : His Life and Times by William Taubman In the first comprehensive biography of the final Soviet leader, William Taubman shows how a peasant boy became the Soviet system’s gravedigger, how he clambered to the top of a system designed to keep people like him down, how he found common ground with America’s arch-conservative president Ronald Reagan, and how he permitted the USSR and its East European empire to break apart without using force to preserve them. Throughout, Taubman portrays the many sides of Gorbachev’s unique character that, by Gorbachev’s own admission, make him “difficult to understand.” Drawing on interviews with Gorbachev himself, transcripts and documents from the Russian archives, and interviews with Kremlin aides and adversaries, as well as foreign leaders, Taubman’s intensely personal portrait extends to Gorbachev’s remarkable marriage to a woman he deeply loved, and to the family that they raised together. Nuanced and poignant, yet unsparing and honest, this sweeping account has all the amplitude of a great Russian novel.
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Thanks, Obama : My Hopey Changey White House Years by David Litt With a humorists’ eye for detail, David Litt describes what it’s like to accidentally trigger an international incident or nearly set a president’s hair aflame. He answers questions you never knew you had: Which White House men’s room is the classiest? What do you do when the commander in chief gets your name wrong? Where should you never, under any circumstances, change clothes on Air Force One? With nearly a decade of stories to tell, Litt makes clear that politics is completely, hopelessly absurd. But it’s also important. For all the moments of chaos, frustration, and yes, disillusionment, Litt remains a believer in the words that first drew him to the Obama campaign: “People who love this country can change it.” In telling his own story, Litt sheds fresh light on his former boss’s legacy. And he argues that, despite the current political climate, the politics championed by Barack Obama will outlive the presidency of Donald Trump.
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The Comfort Food Diaries : My Quest for the Perfect Dish to Mend a Broken Heart by Emily NunnA former New Yorker editor chronicles her quest to overcome the convergence of the sudden loss of her brother, being dumped by her fiancé, and being evicted from her apartment by cooking her way across the country while staying with friends and family. In the salty snap of a single Virginia ham biscuit, in the sour tang of Grandmother’s Lemon Cake, Nunn experiences the healing power of comfort food—and offers up dozens of recipes for the wonderful meals that saved her life. With the biting humor of David Sedaris and the emotional honesty of Cheryl Strayed, Nunn delivers a moving account of her descent into darkness and her gradual, hard-won return to the living.
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Award-Winning Biographies and Memoirs |
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| Jack London: An American Life by Earle LaborWidely celebrated American author Jack London was also a social activist who included some of his views on workers' rights in his stories and novels. In this Spur Award-winning biography, Earle Labor, curator of the Jack London Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana, explores London's life and philosophy in addition to his writing. Drawing on London's personal papers and those of his wife, as well as on interviews with people who were close to London, Labor distinguishes the legends about the larger-than-life man from the facts (which are equally impressive). Fans of American literature won't want to miss this impressive life study. |
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| The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom ReissIf you've ever wondered where the 19th-century French novelist Alexandre Dumas, père learned to swashbuckle, biographer Tom Reiss has the answer in The Black Count. The novelist's father, called Alex, was born in Santo Domingo to a black slave and a French aristocrat. Later brought to France, Alex rose through the ranks in the French Army and eventually served in Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. However, he was captured by enemies, languished in prison, and died before his son was four. Alexandre idolized his father and used parts of his life's story in his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo. Reiss' Pulitzer Prize-winning biography completes the picture of Alex's actual life. |
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| Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette WintersonWhen English novelist Jeanette Winterson was a child, her adoptive mother limited her activities to a narrow religious framework. Winterson responded by finding ways to take refuge in creativity -- especially in writing, after her mother burned her books -- and by running away at age 16 to live on her own. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won a Costa award and received acclaim for its depiction of a lesbian's coming of age. In her Lambda Literary Award-winning memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Winterson reveals her own coming-of-age struggles -- which gradually led her to understand what it means to love. |
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Thursday, October 19 History RepEATs Itself 12:00-2:00 p.m. Sample of a variety of different foods from the Cranbury Women's Club and Historical Society's cookbooks of yore. Library staff and volunteers will be dusting off jello molds and chafing dishes to present foods your grandparents (parents?) loved to eat! Then stick around to make a kitchy craft Lucy Ricardo or Mary Richards would have been proud of. Enroll online or at the library (enrollment for craft portion only). Wednesday, October 25 The Protestant Reformation 6:30-8:00 p.m. At the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Dr. Lou Mitchell will present the second of a two-part series on the events leading to this 16th-century religious, political, intellectual, and cultural upheaval. Wednesday, November 1 New Jersey Construction Bond Act Q & A 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m Learn about the Bond Referendum on the November 7 General Election ballot. Drop into the library to have your questions answered. Tuesday, November 7 Every VOTE Counts! All Day Go to Town Hall to vote, then stop by the library for coffee, tea, and cookies - our treat!
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Wednesday, November 8 LinkedIn for Job Seekers 1:00 p.m. Learn the basics of using LinkedIn for your job search. This class is a demonstration, feel free to bring your own device to use as you learn. Please enroll online or at the library. Wednesday, November 8 Aiding Syrian Refugees in Greece 7:00 p.m. Local resident Richard Moody will recount his visit to Greece and a Syrian refugee camp earlier this year. A timely and relevant discussion from someone who has experienced the situation first hand. Enroll online or at the library.
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Cranbury Public Library
23 North Main Street ~
Cranbury, NJ 08512 ~ Phone: 609-655-0555 ~ Contact Us
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