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Historical Memoirs & Biographies Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Introduction While time always flies, sometimes historical events both shape and are shaped by the people who live through a time period. Historical memoirs and biographies give the reader the added dimension of viewing history itself though the eyes of those who were there. If you are a fan of seeing history through the people who lived it, the Adult Services Department at Naper Blvd. encourages you to glimpse through these eyes.
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The Zookeeper's Wife: A war story
by Diane Ackerman
This is a well researched historical narrative of life in Warsaw during World War II. When Germany invaded Poland, the blitzkrieg devastated the city and its zoo. With most of the animals dead, the brave and resourceful keepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski sheltered over 300 Jews and Polish resisters in their villa, the animal cages and sheds. Overall, it is a fascinating and moving story with evocative language and style.-- Beth M.
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Charles and Emma : the Darwins' leap of faith
by Deborah Heiligman
An engaging exploration of history, science and religion provides a thought-provoking account of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory, examining how his personal life affected his work and vice versa because of his wife's strong religious beliefs. National Book Award Finalist, Michael L. Printz Award, New York Times Book Review Notable Book, YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction.
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Red Scarf Girl: A memoir of the Cultural Revolution
by Ji-li Jiang
This is the memoir of Ji-li Jiang, a 12 year old girl living in Shanghai, China during the Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong, which spanned 1966 through 1976. It’s a topsy-turvy world.Ji-li’s family and ancestors come from the upper class which during the Revolution is a burden one must pay for. Ji-li’s family watch as their village around them is slowly re-educated by the Red Guard. Ji-li sees with slow realization her family, too, will be a target.She must decide between protecting and advancing herself or loyalty to her family. How could an entire country fall subject to Chairman Mao and the Communist Party? Read this book to better understand what and how it happened in China. This book is suitable for grade school through adults. If you are interested to read another book with the backdrop of the Chinese Cultural Revolution read the award winning novel Brothers by Da Chen (2006).-- Kate Y.
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Longitude: The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time
by Dava Sobel
John Harrison did the "impossible", finding a solution to a problem that had confounded scientists and navigators for more than a thousand years. In 1714, the British government decided something must be done to solve the longitude problem. British might was built on its navy, but uncounted sailors died as the result of scurvy and shipwrecks that could have been avoid if only the ship's longitude could have been determined. Dava Sobel does an excellent job explaining very complex ideas in layman's terms. She outlines the problem, and why it was so difficult to solve. Harrison's solution was so simple and elegant that the august minds of the Royal Society found it almost impossible to accept. As a self-taught man, he had no political clout. And the simplicity of his methodology, which even a common sailor could perform, made his solution seem almost like witchcraft. Only the intercession of King George III finally allowed the Harrison to triumph. -- Karen T.
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Dancing to the Precipice: The life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, eyewitness to an era
by Caroline Moorehead
This biography is largely based on the subject’s own memoir (Journal d’une Femme de Cinquante Ans 1778-1815) and her vast correspondence which has been preserved. This memoir is considered one of the best first-person accounts of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era, and is still in print. Lucie was born into the French nobility, served as lady in waiting to both Marie Antoinette and the Empress Josephine, and was forced to leave France four times during the upheavals. During her first flight, she settled on a farm in upstate New York and ran a successful dairy. She lost her father and father-in-law to the guillotine, endured periods of hardship and poverty, and outlived 5 out of 6 of her children. Throughout she remained resilient and sharply observant. -- Beth M.
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Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Patti Smith, American singer-songwriter writes of a time before fame and becoming the “Godmother of Punk.” When Patti came to New York in 1967 she found a magical, bohemian Manhattan; she also found Robert Mapplethorpe. Robert and Patti instantly first became lovers and then soul mates. The memoir follows the pair as they experiment and explore art and verse in the incredibly fertile time and place of Warhol, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and romantic poverty. In the following 22 years Patti and Robert will continue to play important parts in each other’s lives though they eventually follow different paths. Robert will gain fame through his photography both great and controversial and Patti with her music and poetry. Robert will die in 1989. The National Book Award-winning story is read by Patti on the audio version. If you are an artist you will long to be a part of story.
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The autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X
The Black leader discusses his political philosophy and reveals details of his life, shedding light on the ideas that enabled him to gain the allegiance of a still growing percentage of the Black population
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Night
by Elie Wiesel
The memoir begins in the village of Sighet in Romania, where Elie was born. He was a serious boy, imbued by his parents with the Hasidic spirit, a love of study, and devotion to God. His father owned a grocery store, was active in the community, and participated in the Jewish Community Council. When word began to filter back to Sighet in the early 1940’s that the Nazis were committing atrocities against Jews, the Jewish community, including Elie’s father, refused to believe the rumors. Even after the German occupation and increasing restrictions on Jewish activity, the Jews remained optimistic about their plight. But in the spring of 1944, all of Sighet’s Jews were forcibly evacuated in cattle cars to Birkenau, the reception center for the Auschwitz death camp. For reasons he found impossible to understand, Elie Wiesel survived Birkenau and later Auschwitz, Buna and Buchenwald until the war ended; his father, mother, and one of his sisters did not. More than a description of the atrocities of the Holocaust, it describes a young man’s moral and spiritual horror, from the perspective of a religious person whose faith has been profoundly shaken by what he witnessed. -- Beth M.
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The Man Who Loved China: The fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
by Simon Winchester
Englishman Joseph Needham legacy as a socialist, and his unconventional marital situation, have largely overshadowed the magnitude of his scientific and literary legacy. This Cambridge biochemist developed a personal and intellectual fascination with China while attempting to provide Chinese scientists with equipment to continue their research during World War II. His inquisitive mind was astounded to learn of the long history of Chinese scientific accomplishment that was largely unknown to Europeans and Chinese alike. Needham compiled documentation on China's inventions, from everyday items through civil engineering onto public works. For example, China was the first country to create, discover, or use toilet paper (even scented), the compass, movable type printing, bridge works, canals, dams, and gunpowder. Needham's Science and Civilisation in China quickly expanded to the currently twenty-seven volume "book", and continues to grow. Needham's work has opened the worlds eyes to China's early scientific genius. -- Karen T.
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The Professor and the Madman: A tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English dictionary
by Simon Winchester
Lovers of the English language near worship the Oxford English Dictionary. It is an invaluable resource for determining a word or phrase's origin and tracking the changes in its usage. The original creation began in 1857 and took more than seventy years. However, most people don't know that a major contributor to the OED, Dr. William Chester Minor, was an American living in the Broadmoor insane asylum for criminals. From his prison, the obsessive Dr. Minor contributed nearly 10,000 definitions. Winchester tracks the history of the OED as well as the personal relationship that eventually developed between the OED's editor, Professor James Murray, and Dr. Minor. While the subject may sound esoteric, this work reveals details of the treatment of the insane, and murderers, in the late 1800s as well as providing insight into cultural and society of the time. Winchester step-by-step follows the mysterious clues that lead to Professor Murray's discovery that the OED owed so much to a madman, leading to an almost police procedural feel to the investigation. -- Karen T.
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