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Biography and Memoir November 2017
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Defiance : the extraordinary life of Lady Anne Barnard
by Stephen Taylor
Having been given access to the private papers of Lady Anne Barnard, including six volumes of unpublished memoirs, the author chronicles the amazing life of this 18th- and 19th-century poet and painter, who lived on her own terms and defied the conventions of her day.
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| A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War by Deborah CampbellCanadian 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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| Ali: A Life by Jonathan EigIn this balanced biography of boxer Muhammad Ali, author Jonathan Eig relates Ali's family background, the complexities of his status as a celebrity, and his later life, in addition to his boxing career. Ali places political and personal controversies in the context of the 1960s and draws on previously unavailable resources to correct the record in some instances. For another well-researched and compelling study of Ali, take a look at David Remnick's King of the World. |
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| God's Wolf: The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders, Scourge of Saladin by Jeffrey LeeCrusader Reynald de Chatillon was the only Christian leader who directly attacked the legendary Sultan Saladin during the 1180s. He's seldom recalled in the West, but is still viewed with hostility in the Islamic world -- in 2010 a terrorist bomb addressed to "Reynald de Chatillon" was hidden in a London FedEx shipment. Though Reynald's Christian rivals and Muslim enemies characterized him as a brutal, violent renegade, journalist Jeffrey Lee portrays a brilliant leader with diverse talents and a chivalric manner. This accessible, thoroughly researched portrait will intrigue Crusades buffs and those interested in current Christian-Islamic relations. |
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Lights on, rats out : a memoir
by Cree LeFavour
A young college graduate one year into her increasingly obsessive treatment with a psychiatrist begins to organize her days around a compulsion to harm herself with lit cigarettes. By the James Beard Award-nominated author of Fish.
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The choice : embrace the possible
by Edith Eva Eger
A dual memoir and practical guide to healing by an eminent psychologist and Holocaust survivor counsels patients on how to escape the prisons of their own minds, describing her harrowing experiences in Auschwitz and how it gave her particular insights into the challenges of PTSD. A first book.
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In search of a prophet : a spiritual journey with Kahlil Gibran
by Paul Gordon Chandler
This book is a fascinating journey through the spiritual life of Kahlil Gibran, author of the bestselling book The Prophet. The book explores this beloved writer and artist, a mystic who sought to build bridges between East and West. Gibran’s voice is timeless, appealing to heart and mind, faith and reason—a much-needed guide for our times.
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David Bowie : a life
by Dylan Jones
Traces the life of the late music superstar through almost 200 interviews with his producers, bandmates, managers and lovers from his English childhood to key points throughout his career, including early 1970s New York and the hedonism of late 1970s Los Angeles.
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Freud : the making of an illusion
by Frederick C Crews
A critical assessment of psychoanalysis and the views of its creator draws on previously restricted archives to reveal Sigmund Freud's blunders with patients, his misunderstandings about the psychological controversies of his time and how he advanced his career on the appropriated findings of others. By a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
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Miss D & me : life with the invincible Bette Davis
by Kathryn Sermak
An assistant who became one of Bette Davis’ closest friends—who had a front-row seat to the larger-than-life actress’s career renaissance in her later years, as well as to the humiliating public betrayal that nearly killed her—presents a window into the world of this unique and formidable woman. 60,000 first printing.
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Becoming Nicole : the transformation of an American family
by Amy Ellis Nutt
Presents the story of a politically conservative New England family whose son identified as a girl, Nicole, and how they overcame their confusion and fear to champion transgender rights and allow Nicole to be herself
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Some bright morning, I'll fly away : a memoir
by Alice Anderson
A full-time wife and mother who left a lucrative career up north for her doctor husband in New Orleans, discusses his post-Katrina spiral into madness and the epic battle she faced trying to keep herself and her children safe.
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Focus on: Science and Medicine
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| My Brief History by Stephen HawkingIn My Brief History, British physicist Stephen Hawking recounts his personal story with humor (he's often laugh-out-loud funny). He describes his early years, his barely average secondary and undergraduate marks, and his diagnosis at age 21 with a motor neuron disease. Summarizing his subsequent scientific achievements and his failed marriages, Hawking presents a charming account of his life, captivating the reader with humility and frankness rather than emotion. If this short autobiography leaves you wanting more, try Hawking's A Brief History of Time; the 2014 film The Theory of Everything; or episodes of the PBS television series Genius. |
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Black man in a white coat : a doctor's reflections on race and medicine
by Damon Tweedy
A graduate of Duke Medical School and Yale Law School shares his experiences grappling with racial identity, bias and the unique health problems of black Americans, examining the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine.
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| Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center by Ray MonkOften called "the father of the atomic bomb," physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer followed his work on the Manhattan project with a postwar position as the chief advisor to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission -- although his political affiliations and reluctance to work on the development of the hydrogen bomb later made him an outcast. Focusing explicitly on Oppenheimer's scientific contributions, author Ray Monk's account also details how anti-Semitism affected his earlier career and McCarthy-era anticommunism muted his later achievements. This book offers a valuable complement to Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin's American Prometheus. |
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| The Birds of Pandemonium: Life Among the Exotic and the Endangered by Michele RaffinA certified aviculturist and founding director of Pandemonium Aviaries in Los Altos, California, author Michele Raffin became involved in bird rescue when she helped a friend who had found an injured dove. Over the course of 15 years, she began to volunteer at a homeless bird shelter, took in birds at her home, and became an expert at caring for exotic birds. Affecting and informative vignettes about the birds she's known add color to her informative memoir, which discusses the plight of endangered species alongside Raffin's adventures in aviculture. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Bedford Public Library
2424 Forest Ridge Dr.
Bedford, Texas 76021
817-952-2350
www.bedfordlibrary.org
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