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Biography and Memoir February 2018
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A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War
by Deborah Campbell
Canadian journalist Deborah Campbell began working undercover in Syria in 2007, reporting on Iraqi refugees. She became friends with Ahlam, an Iraqi woman who did humanitarian work and (at risk to her own safety) provided information to foreign reporters. After they had worked together for several years, Ahlam was arrested, and Campbell embarked on a dangerous and frustrating search for her. Vividly describing conditions in Syria, from the refugee camps to the jails, this award-winning, emotionally intense memoir may appeal to those who appreciated David Rhode and Kristen Mulvihill's A Rope and a Prayer or Amanda Lindhout's A House in the Sky.
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| When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War by Jeffrey A. EngelWhat it is: a detailed account of how U.S. President George H.W. Bush helped bring about the end of the Cold War during his time in office.
Is it for you? Packed with political play-by-plays, this meticulously researched portrait is for readers with an interest in international relations and political history.
Further reading: For more on the 41st president, try Destiny and Power by Jon Meacham. |
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1924: The Year That Made Hitler
by Peter Ross Range
Adolf Hitler spent 1924 in jail along with other German Workers' Party members convicted in the failed Beer Hall Putsch. During this time, he read extensively and considered how he could emerge victorious from his political defeat in Bavaria. This is when he wrote his manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In the book 1924, distinguished journalist Peter Range details Hitler's pivotal year, observing how he got a light sentence and early release and how his courtroom rants became the basis for his writing. This detailed, eye-opening analysis of Hitler's evolution into a successful tyrant sheds new light on the man many consider the greatest monster in history.
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| When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha BandeleWhat it's about: Artist and social justice activist Patrisse Khan-Cullors divulges the story of her life, from her 1980s childhood in suburban Los Angeles to her involvement in founding the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Is it for you? This passionate and candid coming-of-age memoir is for readers with a strong interest in social activism, LGBT issues, and human rights. |
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A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver
by Mark K. Shriver
Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy and first director of the Peace Corps, spent his life in public service, founding Head Start and Job Corps and coordinating President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. Shriver's private interactions were also notable for being consistently kind and principled -- he really was "a good man." In this memoir focused on the elder Shriver, his son, author Mark Shriver, also considers the course of his own life in the shadow of the Kennedy clan and comes to terms with himself as a distinct and independent personality. For more on the life and career of Sargent Shriver, read Scott Stossel's biography, Sarge.
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| The Black Calhouns: From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family by Gail Lumet BuckleyWhat it is: Author Gail Lumet Buckley, the daughter of singer Lena Horne, shares the multi-generational story of her African American family, from former Atlanta house slave Moses Calhoun to the family’s arrival in Brooklyn, New York, and beyond.
Further reading: For another saga of an African American family through several generations, check out From Slave Ship to Harvard by James H. Johnston. |
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| The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff HobbsWhat it's about: the haunting life story of Robert Peace, a brilliant young African American who grew up in the ghettos of 1980s Newark, New Jersey, but made his way into the Ivy League -- only to end up dealing drugs after graduation, which ultimately led to his death.
Author alert: The author of this compelling biography was Robert Peace’s roommate at Yale University.
You might also like: Kevin Powell's memoir The Education of Kevin Powell, another gripping and sobering portrayal of life for post-Civil Rights African Americans. |
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| Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man's Education by Mychal Denzel SmithWhat it is: Mychal Denzel Smith (who writes for The Nation) details the story of his life as a young black man coming of age in the United States, from his birth in 1980s Washington, D.C., to his time at the historically black Hampton University, to his life as a social activist.
Read it with: Ta-Nehisi Coates’ National Book Award-winning Between the World and Me, which also provides cultural commentary and probes the issue of race in America. |
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| Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon TweedyWhat it is: Physician Damon Tweedy discusses his experience as an African American in the world of medicine, from his education at Duke University Medical School up to his work as a psychiatrist in North Carolina.
Why you should read it: Tweedy not only shares his personal story but also looks critically at disparities in health care for black and white Americans.
Reviewers say: “An arresting memoir that personalizes the enduring racial divide in contemporary American medicine” (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File by John Edgar WidemanWhat it is: a moving and thought-provoking meditation on the 1955 death of teenager Emmett Till and also that of his father, Louis Till, who was executed by the U.S. Army ten years earlier.
What sets it apart: By considering the stories of Emmett Till and his father, Louis, together, author John Edgar Wideman provides a new and thought-provoking narrative while reflecting on race and justice in America.
Further Reading: Mamie Till-Mobley's Death of Innocence or Timothy Tyson's The Blood of Emmett Till. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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The Public Library 501 Copper NW Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102 505-768-5141abqlibrary.org |
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