Publisher: Viking
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/16/2012
ISBN-13: 9780670023301
ISBN-10: 0670023302

In time for the centennial celebration of the Girl Scouts of the USA comes this inspiring biography of Juliette Gordon Low, the Girl Scouts' founder. Low, whose nickname was "Daisy," was a Savannah, Georgia native who married a British aristocrat and met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts in England. His work inspired her to create a similar organization for American girls. Biographer Stacy Cordery "brightly illuminates" (Kirkus Reviews) Low's life, building a complete picture of an outspoken Southern belle who prevailed over numerous challenges in her personal life and in the development of the Girl Scouts. For more on the history of the organization, read Tammy Proctor's Scouting for Girls.

Publisher: Riverhead Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/20/2012
ISBN-13: 9781594488412
ISBN-10: 159448841X

In 1993, author Anne Lamott published Operating Instructions, which detailed her hopes, fears, doubts, and joys over becoming a mother. Now her son, Sam, the focus of that book, is a father, and Lamott has recorded her first year's experience of becoming a grandmother. In Some Assembly Required, Lamott transcribes emails, journal entries, interviews, and other records of grandmotherhood, drawing readers into her experiences through laugh-out-loud humor, poignant observations, and even grumpy (but entertaining) whining. If you want more of Lamott's autobiographical musings, Traveling Mercies and Plan B provide details on her spiritual life and on her relationship with her son Sam.

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/14/2012
ISBN-13: 9780312622084
ISBN-10: 0312622082

Though Gypsy culture in Europe remains closed and hostile to strangers, Mikey Walsh's pseudonymous autobiography offers a rare view of a little-known world. Walsh's father was a champion bare-knuckle boxer and expected his son to excel in this sport, too. When Mikey was just four, his father began forcing him to fight; since Mikey lacked athletic talent and was uninterested in such brutal activity, the boxing lessons turned into torture. Mikey just never fit in, and eventually realized he was gay. Yet this poetically written memoir also portrays fun, joy, and positive relationships with some of Mikey's family. Kirkus Reviews compares Gypsy Boy to Augusten Burroughs' Running with Scissors, but says it's "better written and far darker."

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Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/07/2012
ISBN-13: 9781451618068
ISBN-10: 1451618069

Author Doron Weber's son, Damon, was born with a significant heart defect. In Immortal Bird, Weber chronicles the heroic efforts to give Damon a full life, beginning with a series of open heart surgeries. As Damon begins to grow up, his parents search for signs that he may need more medical intervention, but they also make sure that his relationships with siblings and with other kids his age are as normal as possible. Damon's blog posts form part of the biography and offer a counterpoint to the heavy accounts of inadequate and even shoddy medical care. Publishers Weekly says this memoir presents "a tragic cautionary tale and a moving account."

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Publisher: Perseus Publishing
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/06/2012
ISBN-13: 9780802120106
ISBN-10: 0802120105

When 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, eventually, 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 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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April brings new hopes for the baseball season -- for owners, players, and fans alike!

Publisher: Riverhead Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/02/2010
ISBN-13: 9781594484414
ISBN-10: 1594484414

Walter O'Malley may be the most despised -- and praised -- Major League Baseball team owner who ever won a World Series...or moved a team. When O'Malley transferred the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1957, New York lost one of its beloved teams. Baseball, on the other hand, began its expansion to the West Coast, gratifying many. Biographer Michael D'Antonio, drawing on thousands of documents made available by O'Malley's estate, reveals the reasoning behind O'Malley's decision. He also draws a sympathetic and enlightening portrait of O'Malley while debunking myths about him. Booklist calls this revisionist biography "wonderfully readable, insightful, and[...]important."

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Publisher: McFarland & Company
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/01/2001
ISBN-13: 9780786409785
ISBN-10: 0786409789

The 1919 World Series lives in infamy because of the gambling scandal that earned members of the Chicago White Sox the nickname "Black Sox." Player "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was banned for life from baseball and eligibility for the Hall of Fame because of his involvement, though some people thought he was innocent -- taken in by the crooks behind the scheme. In Shoeless, biographer David Fleitz provides a more complex view of the South Carolina native and his successful business career after baseball. Fleitz "carefully examines Jackson's life in order to distinguish reality from myth" (Booklist), clarifying misunderstandings about both Jackson himself and the Black Sox scandal.

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Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/09/2010
ISBN-13: 9781416547907
ISBN-10: 1416547908

Willie Mays joined the New York Giants in 1951, just a few years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and debuted with the Dodgers. In this authorized biography, author James Hirsch celebrates the spectacular plays and amazing skills of the African-American player from Alabama -- who survived Jim Crow in his youth and endured racism in San Francisco even after proving himself in the Majors. With extensive quotes from eyewitnesses, Hirsch lifts Mays' exuberance off the page and brings to life his home runs and incredible hustle in the outfield. He also draws a portrait of Mays' more troubled life outside of baseball, though he emphasizes the "unbridled excitement that fans felt" (Booklist) when Mays was on the field.

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Publisher: Anchor Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/13/2007
ISBN-13: 9780307278647
ISBN-10: 0307278646

Matthew McGough had the ideal childhood for a baseball fan: playing Little League all summer in the daytime and watching the New York Yankees on TV in the evening. Then he got really lucky, landing a job as a bat boy for the Yankees. In this ultimate fan memoir set against the background of his daily life, McGough describes in detail his two years inside baseball. With a sense of humor about his obsession, McGough provides the inside scoop about players he knew while avoiding the "kiss and tell" effect. The "sheer joy" expressed in these reminiscences could be surpassed only by "a kid let loose in a candy store," says Kirkus Reviews.

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Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/04/2010
ISBN-13: 9780812977974
ISBN-10: 0812977971

Pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige played almost all of his phenomenal baseball career in the segregated Negro leagues, and was perhaps the most popular and highly paid player of his time -- in any league. However, he was just a bit too old to make a success of his 1948 transition, at age 42, to the Major League Cleveland Indians. Biographer Larry Tye assembled a large amount of information from written records and over 200 interviews, and carefully brings out the details of Paige's background, as well as his brilliant career -- during which he struck out several white sluggers such as Joe DiMaggio in demonstration games. If you want still more about this baseball legend, read Mark Ribowsky's Don't Look Back.

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