|
Biography and Memoir December 2018
|
|
|
|
|
The Ravenmaster : my life with the ravens at the Tower of London
by Christopher Skaife
"A narrative by the Tower of London's official Ravenmaster about what it's like to live among the ravens at England's most famous national monument, woven together with insight from folklore, history, and contemporary behavioral science about this unusual bird"
|
|
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De HartWhat it is: Comprehensive and timely, the first full-length biography of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an insightful look into her trailblazing life and career.
Read it for: the anecdotes and interviews that reveal Ginsburg's sly wit.
Media buzz: In addition to her starring role in this summer's documentary RBG, Ginsburg is the subject of the feature film On the Basis of Sex, also released this month. |
|
| Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese LaymonWhat it's about: In this compelling and complex memoir, Kiese Laymon examines the burdens of the frequently policed and politicized black male body. Growing up obese in 1980s Mississippi, his was no exception, and he grappled with abuse, anorexia, and addiction.
What sets it apart: Laymon's eloquent, stylistic narrative is a direct address to "you" -- his mother, an academic who instilled in him a love of language and reading.
Want a taste? "I didn’t know how to tell you or anyone else the stories my body told me, but, like you, I knew how to run, deflect, and duck." |
|
| Reagan: An American Journey by Bob SpitzWhat it is: an evenhanded cradle-to-grave biography of America's 40th president, extensively researched to include numerous interviews and personal family documents.
About the author: Bob Spitz is the bestselling author of The Beatles: The Biography and Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child.
Reviewers say: "Readers need not be Reagan fans or Republicans to enjoy this outstanding biography" (Publishers Weekly). |
|
|
A thousand farewells : a reporter's journey from refugee camp to the Arab spring
by Nahlah Ayed
In A Thousand Farewells, Ayed describes with sympathy and insight the myriad ways in which the Arab people have fought against oppression and loss as seen from her own early days witnessing protests in Amman, and the wars, crackdowns, and uprisings she has reported on in countries across the region. This is the heartfelt and personal chronicle of a journalist who has devoted much of her career to covering one of the world's most vexing regions.
|
|
|
Under an Afghan Sky : A Memoir of Captivity
by Mellissa Fung
In October 2008, Mellissa Fung, a long-time reporter for CBC’s The National, was leaving a refugee camp outside of Kabul. Suddenly, she was grabbed by armed men claiming to be Taliban, stabbed, stuffed into the back of a car and driven off into the desert. When the group finally reached a village in the middle of nowhere, her kidnappers pushed her towards a hole in the ground. For twenty-eight days, Mellissa Fung lived in that hole, which was barely big enough to stand up or lie down in, nursing her injuries, praying, writing in her notebook and, as a veteran journalist, interrogating her own captors.
|
|
| The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth WeilWhat it's about: In 1994, six-year-old Clemantine Wamariya escaped the Rwandan genocide with her older sister Claire. Separated from their parents, the pair spent the next six years in refugee camps throughout Africa before they were granted asylum in the United States.
What happened next: Settling in Chicago, Clemantine and Claire were featured on a 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, where they were reunited with the parents they believed to be dead.
Reviewers say: "a soulful, searing story about how families survive" (Booklist); "A must read" (Library Journal). |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|