Yolo County Library
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Biography and Memoir September 2017
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| I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad by Souad MekhennetWashington Post national security correspondent Souad Mekhennet is a Muslim who grew up in Germany. Viewed by Muslims as an interviewer they can trust, she often has access to significant newsmakers who won't meet with other Western journalists. In I Was Told to Come Alone, Mekhennet traces her life and career, offering insight into the experiences of Arabs and Muslims living in Europe. Mekhennet also vividly portrays the people she's interviewed (including several jihadis) and the places of conflict she's visited as a reporter. |
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Black Detroit : a people's history of self-determination
by Herb Boyd
The author of Baldwin's Harlem blends memoir and reportage in an examination of the dynamic culture, politics, economics and spiritual life of Detroit that discusses the city's history and significance within the African-American legacy. 25,000 first printing
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Bill Clinton : The 42nd President 1993-2001
by Michael Tomasky
A latest entry in the concise biography series is written by the author of Hillary’s Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign and co-edited by the Princeton University professor and author of The Rise of Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln.
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| Memory's Last Breath: Field Notes on My Dementia by Gerda SaundersIn Memory's Last Breath, retired gender studies professor Gerda Saunders recounts her life, reports on her exploration of neurological science in relation to her memory loss, and provides notes -- presented in sidebars -- on her experience of advancing dementia. Her lyrical descriptions of growing up in South Africa, immigrating to the U.S., and receiving acclaim for her academic achievements contrast starkly with her candid depiction of losing memory and other intellectual functions. For another engrossing first-person account of dementia's effects, pick up Thomas DiBaggio's Losing My Mind. |
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| So Much Things to Say: The Oral History of Bob Marley by Roger SteffensAuthor Roger Steffens toured with the Wailers reggae band in the 1970s and has made the study of reggae his life's work. Focusing on the central figure of reggae music and culture, Jamaican Bob Marley, Steffens collected interviews with Marley's relatives and associates to build a rich and lively oral history of the musician and his life. Weaving his sources expertly together and providing additional clarity or interpretation when accounts differ, Steffens brings Marley's childhood, musical formation, and career to life. Marley's fans and those who want to learn what reggae is all about will find So Much Things to Say enthralling. |
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| Among the Living and the Dead: A Tale of Exile and Homecoming on the War Roads... by Inara VerzemnieksPushcart Prize-winning author and Pulitzer finalist Inara Verzemnieks was raised in Tacoma, Washington by her Latvian grandparents. They had immigrated to the U.S. after World War II because their family was displaced by the 1940 Soviet invasion of Latvia. In this memoir, Verzemnieks chronicles her journeys to Latvia, after her grandparents' deaths, to look for traces of her grandmother Livija's family. In Latvia, Verzemnieks meets her great-aunt Ausma, who helps Verzemnieks understand the sisters' childhood and the suffering they both endured over 70 years earlier. This compelling account also offers a thought-provoking consideration of refugee experiences that's relevant to the present day. |
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Chester B. Himes : a biography
by Lawrence Patrick Jackson
An account of the improbable life of the controversial writer explores Himes' middle-class origins, imprisonment, creative experiences during World War II and eventual escape to Europe, where he became famous for his Harlem detective series and its themes of sexuality, racism and social injustice.
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| Henry David Thoreau: A Life by Laura Dassow WallsIn time for the 200th anniversary of Henry David Thoreau's birth, Notre Dame University professor of English Laura Dassow Walls offers a lively portrait of the Transcendentalist writer and philosopher. Setting Thoreau and his friends in the context of early 19th-century America, Walls examines Ralph Waldo Emerson's influence on the younger man, describes Thoreau's then-experimental educational venture, and details the background to his most famous work, Walden. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly says this displays a "merger of comprehensiveness in content with pleasure in reading." |
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| Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History by Rhonda K. GarelickIn this thoroughly researched biography, interdisciplinary arts professor Rhonda Garelick draws on archival records to produce a multilayered and insightful portrait of the French couturiere Coco Chanel. Depicting Chanel's determination to achieve success and examining her incomparable rise in the fashion business, Garelick vividly depicts the businesswoman who capitalized on her friendships with wealthy and powerful right-wingers -- including Nazi officials during World War II. For an intriguing political portrait of this fashion leader, check out Hal Vaughan's Sleeping with the Enemy. |
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| The Face That Changed It All: A Memoir by Beverly JohnsonAs a teenager, honors student Beverly Johnson never wanted to be a model, but with encouragement (especially from her mother), luck, and some useful connections, she made it all the way to the cover of American Vogue, the first African American to do so. But as her professional star rose, her personal life fell apart. In her memoir, she writes of the racism she encountered in the modeling industry, her struggles with drug addiction, her difficult personal relationships, and her eventual successful efforts to move past these obstacles. |
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| The Woman I Wanted to Be by Diane von FurstenbergOpening with a moving description of her mother, a concentration camp survivor who had been arrested by the Nazis for her activities in the Belgian Resistance, Diane von Furstenburg's memoir details the kind of woman she wanted to be (independent and self-sufficient) and relates how she achieved her objectives. Emphasizing the importance of her children and also providing details of her love life, von Furstenberg recounts her successes -- and some failures -- on the frontlines of couture. Readers interested in fashion or in the lives of powerful and creative women shouldn't miss this life story. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Yolo County Library
226 Buckeye St. Woodland, California 95695 530-666-8005
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