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Biography and Memoir April 2026 |
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| Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern... by Luke EpplinReaders who love “smart sports history” (Kirkus Reviews) will devour sportswriter Luke Epplin’s dual life story of pro basketball legends Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Moses Malone, whose combined talents helped win a national championship for the Philadelphia ‘76ers in 1983. While the two men were a study in contrasts on and off the court, both the high-flying Erving and the all-business Malone were trailblazers for the modern game. |
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| Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture by Fab 5 Freddy with Mark RozzoWhen hip-hop luminary Fab 5 Freddy (aka Fred Brathwaite) puts the words “Changing the Culture” in the title of his immersive memoir, he means it. Freddy grew up in an environment that taught appreciation of art both highbrow and low, and was on a mission to merge the two. He acted as a social catalyst between musicians, DJs, promoters, and visual artists who all helped give birth to new forms of expression in late ‘70s and early ‘80s New York. For fans of: Mark Ronson’s Night People: How to Be a DJ in ‘90s New York City. |
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| The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg, and the Battle for the Soul of... by Paul FischerDocumentarian Paul Fischer’s collective biography charts the early careers of Hollywood titans Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg, whose rise coincided with the fall of the old studio system and ushered in the era of the blockbuster. Though each director has his own style and vision, Fischer’s gossipy, novelistic narrative shows the influence they had on each other as friends, competitors, and co-conspirators while changing the way movies are made. |
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| La Lucci by Susan Lucci with Laura MortonActress Susan Lucci opens up in her “vivid and engaging” (Kirkus Reviews) second memoir about her life and career highs and lows. With unsentimental candor, the soap icon recounts continuing to work in film and Broadway in her late seventies and goes deep into her inspirations, disappointments, and her motivation to keep going despite some painful losses, notably the death of her husband of 53 years, Helmut Huber, of a stroke in 2022. For Lucci's first memoir, see All My Life. |
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| Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria by Loubna MrieWhen Syrian photojournalist Loubna Mrie joined the Arab Spring protests as a teenager in 2011, her father, an intelligence official for the Assad regime, cut her off. This started her career documenting the ensuing civil war, and her powerful debut details the personal toll it took -- both from the horrors she witnessed and the implosion of her family -- as political and sectarian violence engulfed the country. For a gripping fictional account of the Arab Spring’s aftermath, try The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany. |
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| Judy Blume: A Life by Mark OppenheimerHistorian and journalist Mark Oppenheimer’s “fitting tribute” (Booklist) to author Judy Blume provides a detailed, chronological view of an ambitious, talented woman seeking something beyond the strictures of her early marriage and motherhood. Though her work was sometimes controversial, Oppenheimer pinpoints the secret of Blume’s success: she was able to produce children’s stories with a keen sense of realism in which young readers could actually see themselves. |
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| Freedom Lost, Freedom Won: A Personal History of America by Eugene RobinsonJournalist Eugene Robinson, who spent COVID-imposed downtime unearthing documentation of his Black family’s history, relates the two centuries of struggle that family endured to simply be American. Though the stories of Robinson’s ancestors’ accomplishments inspire, his impressively researched book reveals a sobering theme: throughout its history, the United States has repeatedly found insidious ways to claw back hard-won African American liberties. Read-alike: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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