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Biography and Memoir June 2024 |
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George Harrison : the reluctant Beatle
by Philip Norman
"Despite being hailed as one of the best guitarists of his era, George Harrison, particularly in his early decades, battled feelings of inferiority. He was often the butt of jokes from his bandmates owing to his lower-class background and, typically, wasallowed to contribute only one or two songs per Beatles album out of the dozens he wrote. Now, acclaimed Beatles biographer Philip Norman examines Harrison through the lens of his numerous self-contradictions. Compared to songwriting luminaries John Lennon and Paul McCartney he was considered a minor talent, yet he composed such masterpieces as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Here Comes the Sun," and his solo debut album "All Things Must Pass" achieved enormous success, appearing on many lists of the100 best rock albums ever. Modern music critics place him in the pantheon of sixties guitar gods alongside Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, and Jimmy Page. Harrison railed against the material world yet wrote the first pop song complaining about income tax. He spent years lovingly restoring his Friar Park estate as a spiritual journey, but quickly mortgaged the property to help rescue a film project that would be widely banned as sacrilegious, Monty Python's Life of Brian. Harrison could be fiercely jealous, but not only did he stay friends with Eric Clapton when Clapton fell in love with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, the two men grew even closer after Clapton walked away with her. Unprecedented in scope and filled with numerous color photos, this rich biography captures George Harrison at his most multi-faceted: devoted friend, loyal son, master guitar player, brilliant songwriter, cocaine addict, serial philanderer, global philanthropist, student of Indian mysticism, self-deprecating comedian, and, ultimately, iconic artist and man beloved by millions"
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A memoir of my former self : a life in writing
by Hilary Mantel
"In addition to her celebrated career as a novelist, Hilary Mantel contributed for years to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. "Ink is a generative fluid," she explains. "If you don'tmean your words to breed consequences, don't write at all." A Memoir of My Former Self collects the finest of this writing over four decades. Her subjects are wide-ranging, sharply observed, and beautifully rendered. She discusses nationalism and her ownsense of belonging; our dream life popping into our conscious life; the mythic legacy of Princess Diana; the many themes that feed into her novels--revolutionary France, psychics, Tudor England; and other novelists, from Jane Austen to V.S. Naipaul. She writes about her father and the man who replaced him; she writes fiercely and heartbreakingly about the battles with her health that she endured as a young woman, and the stifling years she found herself living in Saudi Arabia. Here, too, is her legendaryessay "Royal Bodies," on our endless fascination with the current royal family. From her unusual childhood to her all-consuming interest in Thomas Cromwell that grew into the Wolf Hall trilogy, A Memoir of My Former Self reveals the shape of Hilary Mantel's life in her own luminous words, through "messages from people I used to be." Filled with her singular wit and wisdom, it is essential reading from one of our greatest writers"
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An Unfinished Love Story : A Personal History of the 1960s
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian reflects on her 42-year marriage with Dick Goodwin, one the shining stars of John F. Kennedy's New Frontier and the journey of going through the letters, diaries, documents and memorabilia he saved over the years.
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A very private school : a memoir
by Charles Spencer Spencer
A noted history-book author recounts the trauma of being sent away from home at age 8 to attend boarding school. Illustrations.
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The manicurist's daughter : a memoir
by Susan Lieu
The author faces her family's harrowing story: Vietnamese refugees who open two nail salons, well on their way to the American Dream, only to lose their inimitable matriarch after a routine plastic surgery operation goes horribly awry.
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Far beyond gold : running from fear to faith
by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
The two-time Olympic gold medalist shares her life story and how she overcame her pursuit of perfection and people-pleasing through her deep Christian faith while offering readers guidance on pushing past perceived limits and overcoming challenges.
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Whiskey tender : a memoir
by Deborah Jackson Taffa
Reflecting on her past and present, the author, a citizen of the Quechan (Yuma) Nation and Laguna Pueblo, reminds us of how the cultural narratives of her ancestors have been excluded from the central mythologies and structures of the "melting pot" of America, revealing all that is sacrificed for the promise of acceptance.
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Legacy : a black physician reckons with racism in medicine
by Uchâe Blackstock
Part searing indictment of our healthcare system, part generational family memoir, part call to action, a physician and thought leader on bias and racism in healthcare recounts her journey to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Illustrations.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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