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Biography and Memoir January 2026 |
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| Joan Crawford: A Woman's Face by Scott EymanFilm historian Scott Eyman unveils a comprehensive and evenhanded biography of Joan Crawford, an original “femme fatale” of Hollywood’s golden age. Noted for her unfaltering work ethic over a five-decade career, Crawford was closely guarded about her private life. Eyman unearths sources that highlight her impoverished upbringing, multiple marriages, and the allegations of abuse of her adopted children in this “juicy Hollywood saga” (Library Journal). |
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A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore
by Matthew Davis
A comprehensive narrative history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument's 100th anniversary in 2025. A Biography of A Mountain combines history with reportage, bringing the complicated and nuanced story of Mt. Rushmore to life, from the land's origins as sacred tribal ground; to the expansion of the American West; to the larger-than-life personality of Gutzon Borglum, the artist who carved the presidential faces into the mountain.
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| Grit, Spit, and Never Quit: A Marine's Guide to Comedy and Life by Rob RiggleComedian, actor, and Marine Corps veteran Rob Riggle debuts with a funny and energetic take on comedy, military life, and a career in showbiz. Sure, his path may have been unconventional – Riggle cut his teeth on the New York stand-up stage between deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan – but he entertains by drawing surprising parallels between the two jobs. |
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| Insomnia by Robbie RobertsonIn a posthumous autobiography, musician and songwriter Robbie Robertson relates a rapid-fire, impressionistic collection of anecdotes surrounding an extended lost weekend in 1970s Los Angeles with film director Martin Scorsese. Exiled from their family home by his wife for bad behavior, Robertson moved in with Scorsese, dove into a pile of cocaine, and partied with the stars while the pair assembled the raw footage of The Last Waltz concert film. |
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The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World
by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Summer, 1856. Nineteen-year-old Mary Ann Patten and her husband Joshua were young and ambitious. Both from New England seafaring families, they had already completed their first clipper-ship voyage around the world with Joshua as captain. If they could win [a] race to San Francisco that year, their dream of building a farm and a family might be within reach, would last 18 days. Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and taking us to the brink of Antarctica, [this book] finally gives Mary Ann Patten--the first woman to command a merchant vessel as captain--her due.
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| Bread of Angels by Patti SmithPoet, musician, author, and all-around artist Patti Smith impresses with a life-spanning memoir. Smith’s writing is always lyrical, dreamlike, and filled with literary references, but here she uses it to reveal snippets of her restless, sickly childhood and intimate fragments of her marriage to the late Fred “Sonic” Smith. |
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Next of Kin: A Memoir
by Gabrielle Hamilton
In her long-awaited new memoir, the author of the New York Times bestseller and James Beard Award winner Blood, Bones & Butter tells the raw and darkly humorous (People) story of her family's unexpected dissolution. A personal account of one family's disintegration, Next of Kin is also a universal story of the emotional clarity that comes from scrutinizing our family mythologies and seeing through to the other side.
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This Is Your Mother: A Memoir
by Erika J. Simpson
When Erika Simpson was growing up, her mother loomed large, almost biblical in her life. A daughter of sharecroppers and middle child of ten, her origin story became a Genesis. Leaving home and a cheating husband while pursuing higher education, her path felt like an Exodus. Her rules for survival, repeated like commandments. But where does a mother's story end and a daughter's begin? In this brave, illuminating memoir, Erika offers a joint recollection of their lives as they navigate the realities of destitution.
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My Good Side: A Memoir
by Scheana Shay
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An intimate memoir from Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay, delving into everything from the origin story of the iconic show, to her struggles with fertility and pregnancy loss, and the behind-the-scenes moments that were left on the cutting room floor.
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Anonymous Male: A Life Among Spies
by Christopher Whitcomb
In September 2001, Christopher Whitcomb was the most visible FBI agent in the world. His best-selling memoir, Cold Zero, had led to novels, articles in GQ, and op-eds in the New York Times. He appeared on Imus in the Morning, Larry King, and Meet the Press; he was nominated for a Peabody reporting for CNBC. Then one day in 2006, without warning, Whitcomb packed a bag, flew into Somalia and dropped off the face of the earth.
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Cracking Up: From Rising Star to Junkie Despair in 1,000 Days-An Unlikely Addict's Memoir
by Gordon Lownds
Gordon Lownds's career was peaking. He was fearless. Invincible. But fate-and cocaine-intervened. A reckless, experimental hit on a crack pipe quickly morphed into a raging, hard-core, shooting-up junkie experience. It's a brutally honest account of how even the most successful can fall, and of the universal challenges faced by all addicts trying to reclaim their lives.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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