|
Biography and Memoir February 2017
|
|
|
|
| Stand Tall: Fighting for My Life, Inside and Outside the Ring by Dewey Bozella with Tamara JonesConvicted of murder in 1983, amateur boxer Dewey Bozella spent 20 years in New York's Sing Sing prison. During those years, he refused to make an admission of guilt that would have secured him early release; meanwhile, he excelled as a boxer and worked towards earning a college degree. In Stand Tall, he relates his difficult early life in foster care and explains how a prominent law firm worked pro bono to overturn his conviction. Kirkus Reviews calls this account of a lifetime's fight against injustice "harrowing and inspiring." |
|
| Toussaint Louverture: A Revolutionary Life by Philippe GirardBorn into slavery in 1743 on the Caribbean island of Saint-Domingue, Toussaint Louverture became a powerful leader in the French colony, leading African-descended slaves in a 1791 revolt and becoming governor of the newly created sovereign nation of Haiti. In this well documented biography, historian Philippe Gerard depicts mid-18th-century racial relations and the practice of slavery in Saint-Domingue. Explaining that Louverture saw himself as French (not African), Girard details his efforts to achieve education, amass land holdings, and negotiate local and international politics. This vividly described, insightful portrait will please biography readers and fans of colonial and Caribbean history. |
|
| When We Rise: My Life in the Movement by Cleve JonesIn When We Rise, LGBTQ activist Cleve Jones recounts his closeted childhood in Arizona, his enthusiastic participation in San Francisco's gay community life, and his leadership in response to the AIDS epidemic (he co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and led the inspiring success of the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt). His account of the campaign for marriage equality crowns this inspiring autobiography. You might try David France's How to Survive a Plague for a history of LGBTQ activists' response to AIDS; a television miniseries with the same name is also based in part on Jones' book. |
|
| Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey by Nicola TallisAs recounted in Crown of Blood, King Edward VI's cousin Lady Jane Grey (whose great-grandfather was Henry VII) reigned over Britain for only nine days. In this well researched and engaging biography, historian Nicola Tallis not only relates the landmark events in the lives of Henry VIII and his children (important context to Lady Jane's life and death), but vividly depicts the young woman's intellect, skills, and especially her Protestant piety. According to Tallis, Jane made her mark on history by standing up for her religious beliefs in the face of deadly opposition. Women's history fans and Tudor buffs won't want to miss this accessible account. |
|
African Americans' Biographies
|
|
|
A Consequential President : The Legacy of Barack Obama
by Michael D'Antonio
In A Consequential President, Michael D'Antonio tallies President Obama’s long record of achievement, recalling both his major successes and less-noticed ones that nevertheless contribute to his legacy. The record includes Obama's role as a inspirational leader who was required to navigate race relations as the first black president and had to function in an atmosphere that included both racial acrimony from his critics and unfair expectations among supporters. In light of these conditions, Obama's greatest achievement came as he restored dignity and ethics to the office of the president, and serve as proof that he has delivered the hope and the change he promised eight years before.
|
|
| Negroland: A Memoir by Margo JeffersonIn this "page-turning, provocative" (Library Journal) memoir, journalist Margo Jefferson explains that "Negroland" isn't a place, but rather a social category or class whose elite members enjoy significant advantages. Coming of age in the 1960s, Jefferson witnessed her parents' aspirations as they modeled the ideals of Negroland. However, the societal and political changes arising from feminism, black pride, and other movements of the era led her to question her parents, the ideals of Negroland, and herself. Candid and moving, this book offers an eye-opening consideration of the challenges facing African American women. |
|
|
Blood Brothers : The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X
by Randy Roberts
In 1962, boxing writers and fans considered Cassius Clay an obnoxious self-promoter, and few believed that he would become the heavyweight champion of the world. But Malcolm X, the most famous minister in the Nation of Islam--a sect many white Americans deemed a hate cult--saw the potential in Clay, not just for boxing greatness, but as a means of spreading the Nation's message. The two became fast friends, keeping their interactions secret from the press for fear of jeopardizing Clay's career. Clay began living a double life--a patriotic "good Negro" in public, and a radical reformer behind the scenes. Soon, however, their friendship would sour, with disastrous and far-reaching consequences.
|
|
| The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne TheoharisThough her December 1, 1955 act of civil disobedience that sparked the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott is often presented as an ordinary incident with extraordinary consequences, Rosa Parks had been preparing for years for the moment when she refused to yield her seat on a bus to a white passenger. In The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, political scientist Jeanne Theoharis carefully documents the work Parks had already done as a Civil Rights activist and recounts her contributions to the movement after the bus boycott. Far from being an accidental heroine, Parks was in the forefront of the movement; Theoharis provides a fuller understanding of the changes Parks and other leaders brought to American society. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Guelph Public Library at (519)-824-6220, 100 Norfolk Street Guelph, ON N1H 4J6
|
|
|
|