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Biography and Memoir January 2017
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The princess diarist
by Carrie Fisher
The best-selling author of Postcards From the Edge and Hollywood icon best known for her Star Wars role shares interconnected essays exploring her life as the child of Tinseltown royalty, adventures on the sets of Star Wars and struggles with bipolar disorder.
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Relentless spirit : the unconventional raising of a champion
by Missy Franklin
The four-time Olympic Gold medalist and her parents trace the inspirational story of how she became both a legendary athlete and a happy and confident woman, achievements that were accomplished by doing things their own way and making the right choices for their family.
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| Peter O'Toole: The Definitive Biography by Robert SellersStage and screen actor Peter O'Toole, best known for his epic performance in David Lean's film Lawrence of Arabia, comes to life in this comprehensive biography by show-biz biographer Robert Sellers. Sellers details O'Toole's life story, including his alcohol-fueled maverick behavior and his reliance on close personal friends. Focusing the spotlight on O'Toole's talent and skill on stage and screen, Sellers illuminates the reasons for his acclaim, making this "one of the best biographies of any actor," according to Booklist's starred review. |
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| Nobody's Son: A Memoir by Mark SloukaThe parents of noted American novelist and essayist Mark Slouka were refugees from Communist Czechoslovakia after World War II; after their settlement in suburban America, their lives became increasingly dysfunctional. In Nobody's Son, Slouka traces his parents' odyssey, which began during World War I, and struggles to understand his mother's mental illness. Slouka's personal story has appeared indirectly in his fiction, but he recounts it directly in this account, manifesting the extent to which his relationship with his mother has influenced his whole life. Though at times the memoir is emotionally devastating, the lives Slouka recalls are "resurrected with amazing clarity," says Library Journal in a starred review. |
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Great books you might have missed!
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Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year
by Tavis Smiley with David Ritz
Reviled by white supremacists and eventually assassinated at age 39, Martin Luther King Jr. was the catalyst and focal point for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. In Death of a King, award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley traces the last year of King's life, detailing the victories and tribulations he experienced. During this time, he faced increasing opposition from the right wing and pressure from advocates of a more militant approach. Examining how these stresses affected King personally while highlighting the broadening of his human rights advocacy, Smiley presents a rounded portrait of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner, whose image had become oversimplified even before his death.
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| Master of Ceremonies: A Memoir by Joel GreyAward-winning actor Joel Grey is best known for his role on stage and screen as the emcee in Cabaret. In his early years, he found success as a Jewish vaudevillian touring the Borscht Belt, but, because he was homosexual, he avoided playing caricatures of gay men. In Master of Ceremonies, Grey chronicles his full career, his happy 24-year marriage to Jo Wilder, his life in the closet, and the deaths of his first child and of his friend Larry Kert. Finding late-career success in dramatic roles as gay men (The Normal Heart in addition to Cabaret), Grey eventually finds peace with himself in this "honest, memorable, eloquent" (Kirkus Reviews) memoir. |
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Eleanor Roosevelt : The War Years and After: 1939-1962
by Blanche Wiesen Cook
A concluding volume to the definitive portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt traces her post-World War II years, covering subjects ranging from FDR's death and the founding of the UN through her efforts to promote key initiatives in spite of limited support and her death in 1962.
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| The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe: A Biography by Elaine ShowalterBest known as the author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," Julia Ward Howe was an heiress whose husband squandered her money, a passionate abolitionist, and (after her husband's death) an advocate for the rights of women and Native Americans. In this first complete biography of the poet, intellectual, and reformer, we see her strict but comfortable upbringing, her controlling and dismissive husband, and her accomplishments during her widowhood. The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe draws on correspondence, diaries, and her literary works to provide a "robust and enlightening feminist portrait" (Booklist, starred review). |
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| John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit by James TraubIn this engaging depiction of John Quincy Adams, New York Times contributor James Traub draws on Adams' voluminous writings in addition to other historical records to create a richly detailed account of the erudite and complex diplomat and politician. Among many notable achievements (besides serving as the sixth President of the U.S.), Adams contributed to the negotiation and drafting of several key treaties and the Monroe Doctrine. According to Traub, his vehement arguments against the "slaveocracy" while in the House of Representatives influenced the future of slavery in the U.S. You won't want to miss this biography, which Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, called "essential." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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San Mateo Public Library 55 West 3rd Avenue San Mateo, California 94402 (650) 522-7802www.smplibrary.org |
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