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New Biographies & MemoirsJune 2026 |
Our Librarians have selected some of the newest biographies in the collection. |
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The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB by Gordon Corera Working quietly for decades inside the KGB’s guarded archives, a reserved Soviet librarian painstakingly copied classified files, hiding them in his home, migrating from loyal functionary to disillusioned spy and risking his life to spirit a vast secret record of Soviet operations to the West while turning against the state he once served - at great personal cost.
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The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State by Michael Steinberger Following the rise of a secretive data analytics company and its unconventional chief executive, Steinberger examines how software built for post‑9/11 counterterrorism grew into a sprawling tool of governments and corporations worldwide, tracing the founder’s philosophical approach to power, surveillance and responsibility in twenty‑first‑century public life.
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Googoosh: A Sinful Voice by Googoosh Growing up amid Iran’s upheavals of the 1950s and 1960s, the young singer rose to dazzling fame before the 1979 revolution abruptly silenced and then censored her through years of enforced quiet, exile and an unexpected return to performing - in this recounting of a vanished pop culture under shifting political and religious power.
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Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind by Jason Zengerle Tracing three decades in television and print, Zengerle follows the young conservative writer who once sparred amiably across the aisle as he rises through magazines and cable news to become a dominant voice on the right, examining how shifts in media economics, partisan incentives and audience appetites helped to turn an establishment-friendly commentator into a champion of grievance-driven, conspiracy-tinged politics.
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Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service by Josh Shapiro From childhood lessons in showing up for neighbors to hard campaigns and difficult decisions in office, the Pennsylvania politician reflects on family, Jewish faith and years of local and statewide service, arguing through front‑line stories that responsive government, patient listening and a focus on shared concerns can still bridge mistrust and political division.
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Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture by Fab 5 Freddy Moving through New York City’s clubs, galleries, subway yards and TV studios from the 1970s through the 1990s, this memoir follows the graffiti writer turned downtown tastemaker as he helps shape early hip‑hop, experiments with film and visual art, collaborates with emerging stars and watches underground styles gradually spill into the cultural mainstream.
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The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern by Luke BarrThis deeply researched cultural and culinary history relates how a group of French chefs in the late 1960s and 70s revolutionized food culture, first at home and then, quickly, abroad, especially in the United States. The very idea of chef as creator can be traced back to these legends of la nouvelle cuisine: Paul Bocuse, Michel Guerard, and the Troisgros brothers.
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Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs by Antony Beevor Beginning with a pregnant empress haunted by a peasant‑killer prophecy and ending in the turmoil of 1917, Beevor follows the self‑styled holy man from a Siberian village into the heart of the Romanov court, tracing how his influence, scandals and exploitation of faith fed rumor and resentment around a faltering autocracy.
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Shut Up and Read: A Memoir from Harriett's Bookshop by Jeannine A. Cook Drawing on memories of a blind librarian father and a lifelong pull toward stories, Cook follows a Philadelphia woman who, exhausted by multiple jobs and guided by imagined conversations with Harriet Tubman, opened a small shop devoted to women’s voices just weeks before the 2020 shutdowns, then improvised through the pandemic and beyond to keep a community‑minded bookstore - and her own sense of purpose - alive.
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The Sane One: A Memoirby Anna Konkle Growing up in a house literally split by her parents’ vicious fights, Anna, who idolized her charismatic father, escaped into college, shaky relationships and oddball acting jobs, only to face his worsening instability years later in Los Angeles, where his unexpected return forces her to weigh old hurts against a late, uncertain chance at reconnection.
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Have Questions? Get in touch. |
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