|
Biography and Memoir January 2021
|
|
|
|
| The Last American Aristocrat: The Brilliant Life and Improbable Education of Henry Adams by David S. BrownWhat it is: a richly detailed portrait of historian and intellectual Henry Adams (1838-1918), a member of the Adams political family and author of the classic autobiography The Education of Henry Adams.
What sets it apart: David S. Brown's "critical profile" of his subject examines the imperialist attitudes of the Gilded Age gentry and addresses Adams' racist and anti-Semitic views.
Book buzz: The Last American Aristocrat was named a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. |
|
| Girl Gurl Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic by Kenya HuntWhat is it: a conversational essay collection from Grazia UK fashion director and London-based American expat Kenya Hunt.
What's inside: thought-provoking musings on religion, motherhood, police brutality, the limitations of #BlackGirlMagic, and more.
Featuring: guest essays from a handful of contributors (including Queenie author Candice Carty-Williams and fashion blogger Freddie Harrel) offering insights on their own experiences of Black womanhood. |
|
|
Agent Sonya : Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy
by Ben Macintyre
What is it: the story of the female spy hidden in plain sight who set the stage for the Cold War—one of the last great intelligence secrets of the 20th century.
Read it for: a look at one of the most consequential spies of the Second World War.
Reviewers say: "Espionage fans will be thrilled." (Publishers Weekly)
|
|
|
All About the Story : News, Power, Politics, and the Washington Post
by Leonard Downie
What is it: the former executive editor of the Washington Post shares his nearly 50 years at the newspaper and the importance of getting at the truth.
Read it for: an inside look at the coverage of Watergate, the Unibomber, and the Clinton impeachment
Reviewers say: "An absorbing career memoir and an illuminating history..." (Kirkus Reviews)
|
|
| How to Make a Slave and Other Essays by Jerald WalkerWhat it is: a darkly humorous essay collection from Emerson College creative writing professor and Street Shadows author Jerald Walker.
Why you might like it: This wide-ranging National Book Award Finalist offers personal reflections on Black identity and culture, life in academia, parenting, disability, and more.
Try this next: For another incisive essay collection by a Black academic, read Kiese Laymon's How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. |
|
Spotlight on: Healthcare Professionals
|
|
| In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope by Dr. Rana AwdishWhat it's about: how critical care physician Rana Awdish coped after an unknown illness hospitalized her seven months into her first pregnancy.
Is it for you? The author's heartwrenching account chronicles her miscarriage, near-death experiences, and the years it took to recover from her maladies.
What sets it apart: Awdish's patient experience prompted her to reflect on how physicians should be more empathetic while providing care. |
|
| The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger; foreword by Philip Zimbardo, PhDWhat it is: clinical psychologist and Holocaust survivor Edith Eva Eger's moving memoir detailing how she learned to live with her traumatic past.
Read it for: the author's poignant and hopeful exploration of how her own experiences have helped her in her work with survivors of trauma.
For fans of: Man's Search for Meaning, written by psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl, a friend of Eger's and fellow Holocaust survivor. |
|
|
Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir
by Carolyn Jourdan
What it is: the author returns to her Tennessee hometown to take on the job of receptionist at her father's rural doctor's office while her mother recovered from a heart attack.
Read it for: The author's warmth, humor, and understanding
Reviewers say: "a stirring, beautiful, memoir that is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, and ultimately a triumph." (Publishers Weekly)
|
|
| Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery by Henry MarshWhat it is: British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh's affecting and occasionally gruesome account of his three decades in the field.
Who it's for: Readers who prefer their bedside manner with a dose of brutal honesty will appreciate Marsh's blunt and darkly humorous debut.
Want a taste? "I often have to cut into the brain and it is something I hate doing." |
|
| Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy, M.D.What it's about: Damon Tweedy discusses his experience as a Black physician in the world of medicine, from his education at Duke University Medical School to his work as a psychiatrist in North Carolina.
Why you should read it: Tweedy's intimate memoir also looks critically at disparities in health care for Black and white Americans.
Reviewers say: “An arresting memoir that personalizes the enduring racial divide in contemporary American medicine” (Kirkus Reviews). |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
Copyright © 2020 Orland Park Public Library, All rights reserved. You joined when signing up for a library card or asked to be added to our enewsletter list.
Our mailing address is:
Orland Park Public Library14921 Ravinia Avenue Orland Park, IL 60462
|
|
|