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Biography and Memoir October 2019
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| Alexander the Great: His Life and His Mysterious Death by Anthony EverittWhat it is: a riveting, richly contextualized biography of the Macedonian conqueror's life that de-mythologizes history's prior depictions of him.
Chapters include: "First Blood;" "The Empire Strikes Back;" "Show Me the Way to Go Home."
Book buzz: In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews says Alexander the Great is "a story for everyone" that "reads as easily as a novel." |
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Dutch girl : Audrey Hepburn and World War II
by Robert Matzen
What it is: describes the actress's five years in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, discussing her parents' Nazi affiliations, her own involvement with the Dutch Resistance, and her burgeoning career as a ballerina.
Read it for: Audrey's reminiscences ("I went for three days without food"), wartime diaries, and information from classified Dutch archives.
About the author: Matzen is a filmmaker as well as the author of several books, including, Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe.
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Accidental presidents : eight men who changed America
by Jared Cohen
What it is: Eight times in our republic a vice president has succeeded on the death of a president--history altered by a heartbeat.
Did you know: It took eight accidental successions, including four assassinations, before the nation provided for it in the 25th Amendment.
About the author: Cohen is the founder and CEO of Jigsaw. He was a Rhodes scholar and served as a close advisor to Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.
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| And How Are You, Dr. Sacks?: A Biographical Memoir of Oliver Sacks by Lawrence WeschlerThen: In the early 1980s, journalist Lawrence Weschler met with Oliver Sacks to write a New Yorker profile on the renowned neurologist, though the project was eventually scrapped due to the then-closeted Sacks' concerns about his privacy.
Now: In this immersive blend of biography and memoir, Weschler revisits that period and discusses his friendship with Sacks, who in his final years of life urged Weschler to publish the profile. |
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| Prince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy by A.N. WilsonWhat it is: a lively and accessible portrait of Queen Victoria's German-born Prince Consort, published to commemorate his 200th birthday.
Read it for: Albert's successful efforts to define his role and influence in his adopted homeland (such as spearheading the Great Exhibition of 1851), despite facing significant prejudice.
Book buzz: Prince Albert is the companion biography to A.N. Wilson's award-winning Victoria: A Life, the basis for the PBS series Victoria. |
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We ate Wonder Bread : a memoir of growing up on the West Side of Chicago
by Nicole Hollander
What it is: describes the hardscrabble but culturally vibrant realities of a past-world community marked by gangster activity, bed bugs, Catholicism, jukebox music, fortune tellers and frequent car trips into wealthier neighborhoods.
Why you should read it: a heart felt chronicle of a Chicago community that has disappeared into an expressway.
About the author: Hollander created the comic strip Sylvia.
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Going into town : a love letter to New York
by Roz Chast
What it is: an uproarious tribute to Manhattan that reflects on the culture clash between her rural-raised children and herself,
Don't miss: her zany and occasionally practical advice on subjects ranging from sidewalk gum wads to navigating honeycombed grids.
About the author: Chast is a cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine.
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Kid gloves : nine months of careful chaos
by Lucy Knisley
What it's about: The author describes her difficulty conceiving, multiple miscarriages, and the complications of her eventual pregnancy, which resulted in a near-death experience while giving birth.
Don't miss: the illustrated factoids, myths and research about women's reproductive health.
About the author: Knisley's books include: Relish, Something New, and French Milk.
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| Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora KrugWhat it's about: German artist Nora Krug's affecting journey to learn the truth about her family's Nazi ties.
Art alert: Krug intimately conveys her fractured relationship to her homeland by combining mixed-media illustrations, letters, and photographs in fragmented or superimposed arrangements.
Book buzz: Belonging is the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times. |
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The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir
by Thi Bui
What it's about: Faced with a life of poverty and constant surveillance in postwar Vietnam, author Thi Bui's family immigrated to America in 1976. In present day New York City, Bui, now a mother herself, reflects on her parents' complicated reasons for leaving their homeland.
Art alert: Subtle colors and expressively-drawn characters offer depth and clarity to complement the intimate and poetic narrative.
Book buzz: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) calls The Best We Could Do "a book to break your heart and heal it."
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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