Biography and Memoir
August 2025
Recent Releases
Desi Arnaz : The Man Who Invented Television
by Todd S. Purdum

This biography of the visionary Cuban American entertainer and entrepreneur shows he overcame exile to revolutionize television, popularize Latin music and co-create I Love Lucy, pioneering the multi-camera sitcom format and leaving a lasting impact on American entertainment. Illustrations.
The Optimist : Sam Altman, OpenAI, and The Race to Invent the Future
by Keach Hagey

A detailed account of Sam Altman's rise from a curious child in St. Louis to the co-founder of OpenAI, exploring his ambitious journey in Silicon Valley, his leadership struggles, and his unyielding belief in AI's potential. Illustrations.
The Spinach King : The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
by John Seabrook

One of The New Yorker's most acclaimed storytellers unravels the riveting saga of the Seabrook family.
Wild thing : a life of Paul Gauguin
by Sue Prideaux

"Paul Gauguin's legend as a transgressive genius arises as much from his biography as his aesthetically daring Polynesian paintings. Gauguin is chiefly known for his pictures that eschewed convention, to celebrate the beauty of an indigenous people and their culture. In this gorgeously illustrated, myth-busting work, Sue Prideaux reveals that while Gauguin was a complicated man, his scandalous reputation is largely undeserved.Self-taught, Gauguin became a towering artist in his brief life, not just in painting but in ceramics and graphics. He fled the bustle of Paris for the beauty of Tahiti, where he lived simply and worked consistently to expose the tragic results of French Colonialism. Gauguin fought for the rights of Indigenous people, exposing French injustices and corruption in the local newspaper and acting as advocate for the Tahitian people in the French colonial courts. His unconventional career and bold, breathtaking art influenced not only Vincent van Gogh, but Matisse and Picasso"
JFK: Public, Private, Secret
by J. Randy Taraborrelli

Kennedy family biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli follows up his bestselling Jackie: Public, Private, Secret with a nuanced and well-researched portrait of America's 35th president, drawing upon interviews and previously unpublished materials to focus on his personal relationships. For more on John F. Kennedy's political life, check out the works of Robert Dallek.
A clean mess : A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb
by Tiffany Jenkins

"After a brutal struggle with opioid addiction that landed her four months in prison, Tiffany was ready for a fresh start. What she didn't expect was just how fast life would happen once she was out of prison. She went from felon to married, sober mom ofthree in just two years. But life doesn't stop happening; her marriage collapsed a few years later, a crisis that forced her reckoning with the foundations of her mental health and sobriety. As she forged her future, Tiffany learned to feel emotions and live life without numbing herself with drugs. She had to figure out how to be a mom, how to have a career, how to be married, how to get divorced, how to be an adult, and how to have feelings all at the same time. With dark humor and page-turning storytelling, she shows how she learned to survive when her crutches and band aids were taken away from her, and the gratitude and peace she found on the other side of addiction"
Kennedy's avenger : assassination, conspiracy, and the forgotten trial of Jack Ruby
by Dan Abrams

Two New York Times best-selling authors examine the story behind the bizarre trial of Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, live on national television. 300,000 first printing.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Côte Saint-Luc Public Library
5851 Cavendish Blvd.
Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec H4W 2X8
514-485-6900

csllibrary.org/