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Biography and Memoir September 2020
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| The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life -- and Saved an American Farm by Sarah FreyWhat it's about: Growing up impoverished in rural Illinois, Sarah Frey always longed to leave her family farm, until a change of heart at age 18 inspired her to save the business from foreclosure.
About the author: Now known as "America's Pumpkin Queen," Frey is the CEO of the billion-dollar Frey Farms, one of the country's largest produce suppliers.
Who it's for: Aspiring entrepreneurs and fans of rags-to-riches stories will enjoy this heartwarming and inspiring read. |
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A knock at midnight : a story of hope, justice, and freedom
by Brittany K. Barnett
An award-winning attorney presents an urgent call for justice-system reform in the story of a disadvantaged, African-American single mother from the rural South who was separated from her young daughter and sentenced to life in prison for a first-time offense.
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Stephen Hawking : a memoir of friendship and physics
by Leonard Mlodinow
The award-winning theoretical physicist and best-selling co-author of A Briefer History of Time presents an intimate account of his personal and professional relationship with the late Stephen Hawking throughout nearly two decades of collaborative work.
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Horse crazy : the story of a woman and a world in love with an animal
by Sarah Maslin Nir
"In the bestselling tradition of works by such authors as Susan Orlean and Mary Roach, a New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist explores why so many people-including herself-are obsessed with horses. It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in America-even more than when they were the only means of transportation-and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she began riding horses when she was justtwo years old and hasn't stopped since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to these graceful animals and the people who-like her-are obsessed with them. It is also a coming-of-age story of Nir growing up an outsider within the world's most elite inner circles, and finding her true north in horses. Nir takes us into the lesser-known corners of the riding world and profiles some of its most captivating figures. We meet Monty Roberts, the California trainer whose prowess earned him the nickname "the man who listens to horses"; George and Ann Blair, the African-American husband and wife who run a riding academy for inner city youth on a tiny island in the middle of Manhattan's East River; and Francesca Kelly, a wealthy London socialite whose love for an Indian nobleman shaped her life's mission: to rescue an endangered Indian breed of horse and bring them-illegally-to America. Woven into these compelling character studies, Nir shares her own moving personal narrative. She details her father's harrowing tale of surviving the Holocaust, and describes an enchanted but deeply lonely upbringing in Manhattan, where horses became her family. She found them even in the middle of the city, in a stable disguised in an old townhouse and in Central Park, when she chased down truants as an auxiliary mounted patrol officer. And she speaks candidly of how horses have helped her overcome heartbreak and loss. Infused with heart and wit, and with each chapter named after a horse Nir has loved, Horse Crazy is an unforgettable blend of beautifully written memoir and first-rate reporting"
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| Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented... by Charles KingWhat it is: a sweeping group biography of the women who studied cultural anthropology under Franz Boas in the early 20th century.
Why you might like it: This engaging history explores how these trailblazing scientists challenged notions of Western cultural superiority.
On the roster: Ruth Benedict, Ella Cara Deloria, Margaret Mead, and Zora Neale Hurston. |
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| Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle KuoWhat it's about: the transformative power of literature, movingly experienced by Teach for America volunteer-turned-law student Michelle Kuo and her former pupil Patrick Browning, who met regularly for book discussions while the latter was in jail on a murder charge.
On the syllabus: The pair discussed works by Frederick Douglass, Rita Dove, C.S. Lewis, Marilynne Robinson, Derek Walcott, and Walt Whitman, among others. |
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| Undocumented: A Dominican Boy's Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League by Dan-el Padilla PeraltaWhat it is: Dominican author Dan-el Padilla Peralta's inspiring memoir about triumphing over adversity: growing up undocumented and impoverished in Harlem, the bookish Peralta had limited opportunities for educational advancement.
What happened next: Peralta caught the attention of a library worker who helped him find placement at Manhattan's prestigious Collegiate School; he later graduated summa cum laude from Princeton, earned a second Bachelor's degree at Oxford, and completed a PhD at Stanford. |
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| Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football by John UrschelWhat it's about: John Urschel's adventures in academia (he's currently pursuing a PhD in mathematics at MIT) and athletics (he was a Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman for three seasons).
Read it for: Urschel's infectious enthusiasm for his passions.
Want a taste? "So often, people want to divide the world into two. Matter and energy. Wave and particle. Athlete and mathematician. Why can't something (or someone) be both?" |
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| Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy WickendenWhat it's about: In 1916, two well-to-do best friends, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, left their homes in Auburn, New York to teach in the remote settlement of Elkhead on the Colorado frontier.
Author alert: Dorothy Wickenden is the executive editor of The New Yorker and the granddaughter of Dorothy Woodruff; she conducted interviews and used letters and newspaper articles to inform this fascinating fish-out-of-water tale. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Culpeper County Library 271 Southgate Shopping Center Culpeper, Virginia 22701 540-825-8691
www.cclva.org
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