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A Life Underwater
by Charlie Vernon
Hailed by David Attenborough and acclaimed a second Charles Darwin, Charlie Veron has lived up to his namesake. Even as a toddler, he had a deep affinity with the natural world, and by school age he knew more about some sciences than his teachers did. This didn't prevent him failing in a system that smothered creativity, and it was only by chance that he went to university. And only by chance that he became a marine biologist, through his love of scuba diving. But once he found his specialty he revolutionised it. He generated a new concept of evolution that incorporates environmental change and a radical idea of what species are, matters which lie at the heart of conservation.
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Astride a Fierce Wind
by Huberta Hellendoorn
Astride a Fierce Wind is a story of the life of an immigrant and what it means to leave one home behind and cross the world to find another. But it is also the story of a life of a woman who faces huge difficulties and yet chooses instead to see beauty and strength and freedom and love. Huberta Hellendoorn's memoir is a celebration of the Dutch way of life and of her adopted home, Dunedin. It is a tribute to fierce motherhood and firm friendship. A story written with courage and a belief in the transformative power of words.
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| The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine... by Jason FagoneDuring World War I, Elizebeth Smith, a brilliant Shakespeare scholar, met her future husband, William Friedman, at the Riverbank research facility in Chicago. Both became highly successful codebreakers, breaking German codes during the war, cracking liquor smugglers' communications during Prohibition, and deciphering Nazi signals in World War II. Elizebeth's work was so top-secret, it was easy for male officials (notably J. Edgar Hoover) to take credit for her work, but journalist Jason Fagone has stripped away the secrecy that had obscured her contributions. |
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| The Kelloggs: The Battling Brothers of Battle Creek by Howard MarkelBrothers John Harvey and Will Kellogg made Battle Creek, Michigan famous for their work in promoting health (and healthy breakfast cereal) from the 1870s to the mid-20th century. Ironically, they hated each other! In The Kelloggs, Dr. Howard Markel, a professor of the history of medicine, details the brothers' lives, careers, and intra-family warfare. |
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Balancing Acts: Reflections of a New Zealand Diplomat
by Gerald McGhie
This is Gerald McGhie's fascinating and insightful account of some of the highlights of almost 40 years service as a New Zealand diplomat - most notably in the Soviet Union. McGhie worked in Samoa earlier - shortly before independence in the 1960s, and later in Papua New Guinea.
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Being Here: The Life of Paula Modersohn-Becker
by Marie Darrieussecq
Born in Germany in 1876, Paula Modersohn-Becker was the first female artist to paint herself not only naked but pregnant. Being Here is a moving account of the life of this ground-breaking Expressionist painter, by the acclaimed French writer Marie Darrieussecq.
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Blue rage, black redemption : a memoir
by Stanley Tookie Williams
A late Nobel Peace Prize nominee describes his co-founding of the notorious Crips gang and the criminal activities for which he was executed in 2005, relating how from prison he became a powerful anti-gang activist and inspiration to such figures as Desmond Tutu, Jesse Jackson, and Jamie Foxx.
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But seriously
by John McEnroe
The controversial tennis star and analyst presents a follow-up to the best-selling You Cannot Be Serious that shares additional insights into his life and career while chronicling the past decade of Tour of Champions competitions and special events.
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Coming of age : the sexual awakening of Margaret Mead
by Deborah Blum
The startling coming-of-age story of the famed anthropologist shares insights into how her radical ideas challenged the social and sexual norms of her time, from keeping her maiden name after marriage to pursuing bisexual affairs, before her famed studies in the South Pacific and a chance encounter changed her life forever.
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Edward VII : the Prince of Wales and the women he loved
by Catharine Arnold
A colorful portrait of the playboy monarch and son of Queen Victoria describes his scandalous liaisons with a series of high-profile women, offering insight into how he helped transform the British monarchy into an enduring modern institution.
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Prince Harry : The Inside Story
by Duncan Larcombe
Prince Henry of Wales has emerged as the unexpected jewel in the crown of the modern British monarchy. Despite his unruly antics, for which he's made headlines all over the world, Harry's popularity rivals that of the Queen herself. Heartthrob and loveable rogue, he has won the public's heart. Duncan Larcombe's insightful and highly entertaining biography of the rebellious royal recalls Harry's Eton days, his military career and his tempestuous love life.
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Guy Martin : Portrait of a Bike Legend
by Phil Wain
Renowned for a loveable if scattergun personality, Guy Martin is a down-to-earth hero, a modern-day celebrity motivated not by wealth and fame, but by his love of his bikes and trucks. This portrait charts his eventful life in pictures and recounts Guy's career in front and away from the spotlight.
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Award-Winning Biographies and Memoirs
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| The Fry Chronicles by Stephen FryAcclaimed British actor and novelist Stephen Fry was a convicted criminal, an alcohol addict, and a failed suicide when he entered Cambridge University as an undergraduate. He thought he would be sent away immediately, but instead found his niche in acting, in addition to excelling academically. Revealing many of his personal struggles, praising his actor colleagues, especially comedy and writing partner Hugh Laurie, and wittily describing his student and professional triumphs, Fry's engrossing memoir won the 2010 Biography/Autobiography of the Year from the British Book Awards (the "Nibbies"). |
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| Jack London: An American Life by Earle LaborWidely celebrated American author Jack London was also a social activist who included some of his views on workers' rights in his stories and novels. In this Spur Award-winning biography, Earle Labor, curator of the Jack London Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana, explores London's life and philosophy in addition to his writing. Drawing on London's personal papers and those of his wife, as well as on interviews with people who were close to London, Labor distinguishes the legends about the larger-than-life man from the facts (which are equally impressive). Fans of American literature won't want to miss this impressive life study. |
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| The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom ReissIf you've ever wondered where the 19th-century French novelist Alexandre Dumas, père learned to swashbuckle, biographer Tom Reiss has the answer in The Black Count. The novelist's father, called Alex, was born in Santo Domingo to a black slave and a French aristocrat. Later brought to France, Alex rose through the ranks in the French Army and eventually served in Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. However, he was captured by enemies, languished in prison, and died before his son was four. Alexandre idolized his father and used parts of his life's story in his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo. Reiss' Pulitzer Prize-winning biography completes the picture of Alex's actual life. |
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| The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James ShapiroWhile William Shakespeare's career first flourished in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, he continued writing and producing plays under her successor, James I. During this period, political tensions dominated thoughts of commoners and aristocrats alike, and Shakespeare took advantage of this turmoil in three major plays (Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth, and King Lear). In The Year of Lear, Columbia University professor James Shapiro looks at Shakespeare's life in the historical context of 1606, when Lear first appeared on the stage. Offering scholarly and accessible insights into Shakespeare's handling of dangerous political opinions, this book won the 2015 James Tait Memorial Prize under its original title, 1606. |
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| Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette WintersonWhen English novelist Jeanette Winterson was a child, her adoptive mother limited her activities to a narrow religious framework. Winterson responded by finding ways to take refuge in creativity -- especially in writing, after her mother burned her books -- and by running away at age 16 to live on her own. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won a Costa award and received acclaim for its depiction of a lesbian's coming of age. In her Lambda Literary Award-winning memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Winterson reveals her own coming-of-age struggles -- which gradually led her to understand what it means to love. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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