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Biography and MemoirOctober 2014
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"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." ~ Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American author, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
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New and Recently Released!
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| Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek and T.J. MitchellIn Working Stiff, pathologist Judy Melinek recounts her experiences during two years training as a medical examiner in New York City, which included the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Melinek also investigated more typical deaths from natural causes, homicides, and suicides; she counseled grieving families; and she testified in court cases. This engaging memoir, co-written with her husband T.J. Mitchell, not only explains how to carry out an autopsy but humorously relates conversations about the work of a pathologist and vividly describes deaths from unusual causes -- such as being crushed in an eggroll-making machine. More squeamish readers might want to approach this absorbing and inspiring memoir with caution. |
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Journey to the sun : JunÃpero Serra's dream and the founding of California
by Gregory Orfalea
Published to mark Junipero Serra's 300th birthday, a major portrait of the intrepid priest who established the 18th-century missions of the Catholic Church in California draws on extensive research and original discoveries while discussing Serra's passionate devotion to California's native populations.
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Romance is my day job : a memoir of finding love at last
by Patience Bloom
A longtime romance editor for Harlequin describes her book-inspired teen fantasies about love, her fulfilling dream job in the romance business in spite of her lackluster dating life and the reconnection with an old friend that enabled her to experience the relationship she had been seeking.
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Duty : memoirs of a Secretary at war
by Robert Michael Gates
The former Secretary of Defense offers a candid account of serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
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Wooden : a coach's life
by Seth Davis
A provocative assessment of legendary UCLA coach John Wooden by the best-selling author of When March Went Mad draws on hundreds of interviews from all periods of his career to offer insight into his driving ambition, divided relationships and hard-won lessons. 60,000 first printing.
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Call me Burroughs : a life
by Barry Miles
An acclaimed biographer presents an overview of the life and cultural legacy of the American novelist who was an original member of the Beat Movement and became a countercultural icon in the 1960s after the publication of his seminal novel, Naked Lunch. 35,000 first printing.
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Dancing through it : my life in the ballet
by Jenifer Ringer
A behind-the-curtains tour of the rarefied world of classical ballet from the perspective of a New York City Ballet principal dancer discusses its highs and lows while recounting her childhood, the typical experiences of a dancer's day and the highlights that have defined her career.
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Company man : thirty years of controversy and crisis in the CIA
by John Anthony Rizzo
A chief legal officer with the CIA who helped create and implement counterterrorist operations after September 11 draws on previously undisclosed stories from his long career to illuminate the agency's inner workings, charting its evolution from a shadowy entity to an organization based on dynamic new laws, scandals and personalities.
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Arik : the life of Ariel Sharon
by David Landau
An in-depth portrait of the Israeli political and military leader evaluates his decisive roles in major historical events throughout the past four decades while analyzing the dramatic reversal that marked his decisions as prime minister, offering insight into how his views have been shaped by the dynamic nature of Israeli society.
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The Roosevelts : an intimate history
by Geoffrey C. Ward
An extraordinarily vivid and personal portrait of a great American political family and its impact on the United States serves as the tie-in volume to the PBS documentary to air in the fall of 2014. TV tie-in.
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A spy among friends : Kim Philby and the great betrayal
by Ben Macintyre
The best-selling author of Operation Mincemeat presents a definitive portrait of the notorious 20th-century spy that discusses his rise in MI6, high-profile intelligence friendships and 20-year espionage operation that culminated in his 1963 defection to Moscow. 150,000 first printing.
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| Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre by Tim GallagherThe imperial woodpecker, once commonly seen in the Sierra Madre mountains, may be extinct, but reports suggest that a few of these majestic birds still live there. The region is also rich with accounts of human activity, including the exploits of Geronimo and Pancho Villa, the adventures of Mormon settlers -- and present-day drug smugglers. Naturalist Tim Gallagher, following a map of reported sightings, trekked through the area in 2008 hoping to spot an imperial. In Imperial Dreams, Gallagher evocatively recounts the mountains' history, his encounters with fascinating area residents, and his party's hardships along the way. Booklist, in a starred review, declares this memoir "a triumph." |
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| Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by James L. HaleyBest known for his thrilling novels and memoirs, including The Call of the Wild and The Cruise of the Snark, San Francisco native Jack London lived an adventurous life, basing some of his fiction on his own experiences. As a youth, London was intensely curious and an enthusiastic reader; he also threw himself into the hard life of being a hobo and a sailor, traveling around the U.S. before completing high school. In Wolf, biographer James Haley relates London's travels and adventures to his writing, creating a vivid portrait of a globetrotter who was a social activist and offering insight into his prolific, successful, and sometimes controversial literary works. |
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| Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter From Haiti by Amy Wilentz"Fred Voodoo" is the condescending alias that reporters used to call the typical Haitian. Veteran journalist Amy Wilentz, who's been fascinated by and reporting on the poverty-stricken country for almost 30 years, gladly leaves behind that stereotype to present sympathetic but acute close-ups of the individuals she's met, including the powerful and the impoverished. Describing Haiti's turbulent history, and focusing especially on the devastating 2010 earthquake's aftermath, she explains why she's "stirred and moved" by what she sees. This "excellent and illuminating" (Los Angeles Times) book won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography. For more insight into post-earthquake Haiti, try Jonathan M. Katz's The Big Truck That Went By. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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530-666-8085, 226 Buckeye St., Woodland, CA 95695
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