|
|
Biography and Memoir August 2023 |
|
|
|
|
| Sixty-One: Life Lessons From Papa, On and Off the Court by Chris Paul with Michael WilsonWhat it is: the moving debut memoir from two-time Olympic gold medalist and 10-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul.
Read it for: a heartfelt tribute to Paul's beloved grandfather Nathaniel "Papa" Jones, a mainstay in their North Carolina community who died the day after Paul signed his letter of intent to play college basketball.
Don't miss: the tear-jerking meaning behind the book's title. |
|
| Wannabe: Reckonings With the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha HarrisThe premise: "Pop culture shapes us, and we shape it right back in an invigorating feedback loop of creativity and interpretation."
What's inside: NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour co-host Aisha Harris' nine thoughtful essays exploring how pop culture representations of race and gender have impacted her life as a Black millennial woman.
Featuring: "Santa Claus Is a Black Man," which revisits the 2013 Slate piece Harris wrote about the history of Santa Claus that prompted Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly to famously proclaim "Santa just is white." |
|
| Bogie & Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood's Greatest Love Affair by William J. MannWhat it is: an engaging dual biography that chronicles the love story between silver screen legends and four-time costars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Read it for: a nuanced portrait supplemented with newly available archival materials, correspondence, and photographs.
Author alert: New York Times bestselling author William J. Mann has previously written biographies of Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlon Brando. |
|
| To Name the Bigger Lie: A Memoir in Two Stories by Sarah VirenWhat it's about: Decades after her high school philosophy teacher encouraged her to embrace conspiracy theories, Sarah Viren was left reeling when her wife was falsely accused of sexual misconduct at the university where they both taught, prompting her to explore the meaning of "truth" in relation to these experiences.
Book buzz: Viren expands upon her viral 2020 New York Times piece of the same name in this "mesmerizing page-turner pulled tight with psychological tension" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
| By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations, and Strategy by Michael G. VickersWhat it is: former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD-I) Michael G. Vickers' debut memoir detailing his four decades of experience in American security and intelligence communities.
Read it for: the author's clear-eyed insights on global terrorism and his encyclopedic knowledge of military conflicts in which he played a role.
Don't miss: Vickers' analysis of the challenges posed by relations with China and Russia. |
|
Focus on: True Crime Memoirs
|
|
| Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes with Robin Gaby Fisher What it's about: cold case investigator Paul Holes' involvement in high-profile cases, including the capture of the Golden State Killer.
What's inside: a sobering glimpse of the psychological toll of investigative work; empathetic profiles of cold-case victims and survivors; insightful details on lesser-known crimes.
For fans of: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. |
|
| Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika KrouseWhat it's about: novelist and private investigator Erika Krouse's time spent working on a landmark Title IX case involving a sexual assault at a Big 12 university.
Read it for: a candid and compelling blend of memoir and true crime.
Is it for you? Krouse's sobering nonfiction debut doesn't shy away from the complexities of the case, including how it affected her as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. |
|
| Slonim Woods 9 by Daniel Barban LevinHow it began: In 2010, Sarah Lawrence College freshman Daniel Barban Levin met Larry Ray, the charismatic father of his roommate, Talia. When Ray moved into the communal house Levin shared with Talia and other friends, no one batted an eye.
But then... Ray's charms turned manipulative, devolving into sexual and physical abuse and indoctrination into a cult of his own making.
Book buzz: Ray's disturbing exploits were chronicled in the 2019 New York magazine article "The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence" and the 2023 Hulu docuseries Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence. |
|
| Know My Name by Chanel MillerTrigger warning: In 2015, Stanford University student Brock Turner sexually assaulted Chanel Miller; after Turner's sentencing the following year, Miller penned a victim impact statement that went viral, inspiring her to expand upon her story via memoir.
Awards buzz: Among its many accolades, Miller's heartwrenching debut was a New York Times Notable Book and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography in 2019. |
|
| Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era by Jerry MitchellWhat it's about: award-winning investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell's decades-long efforts to reopen -- and solve -- high-profile murder cases from the civil rights era.
Cases include: the Mississippi Burning murders, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, the murders of Medgar Evers and Vernon Dahmer.
Reviewers say: "an essential addition to the history of the civil rights movement" (Kirkus Reviews). |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Atlantic County Library System | 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Phone: (609) 625-2776 | www.atlanticlibrary.org
   |
|  | Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson
Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, John W. Risley, Jr., Chairman |
|
|
|