|
Biography and Memoir October 2018
|
|
|
|
| Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-JobsWhat it is: a poignant memoir about the complicated family dynamics between the author and her father, Apple founder Steve Jobs.
What sets it apart: the pair's lifelong rocky relationship was instigated by Jobs' denial of paternity, a claim later rebuked by DNA testing.
Further reading: Artist Chrisann Brennan (Brennan-Jobs' mother) wrote the 2013 memoir The Bite in the Apple, also about her relationship with Jobs. |
|
| The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell KingWhat it's about: This admiring biography of children's television icon Fred Rogers celebrates his cultural impact while also plumbing the hidden depths and contradictions of his work.
Did you know? "The man who conveyed a Zen-like calm on television saw a psychiatrist for decades."
Author alert: Maxwell King is a former Philadelphia Inquirer editor who knew Rogers. |
|
|
Dam Busters : Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany
by Ted Barris
What it's about: The story of the secret 1943 air raid against the hydro electric dams of Germany's Rube River, which included many Canadian airmen.
Why you might like it: Based on personal accounts, flight logs, maps and photographs of the Canadians involved, Dam Busters recounts the dramatic story of these young Commonwealth bomber crews that were tasked with a high-risk mission against an enemy prepared to defend the Fatherland to the death.
|
|
| Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli SaslowWhat it's about: Derek Black grew up espousing white nationalist views under the tutelage of his father, Stormfront founder Don Black, and his godfather, Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Everything changed when he enrolled in college, meeting classmates from all walks of life who challenged and transformed his beliefs.
About the author: Eli Saslow is a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter for the Washington Post and the author of Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President. |
|
|
Buffy Sainte-Marie : The Authorized Biography
by Andrea Warner
What it's about: Andrea Warner draws from more than sixty hours of exclusive interviews to offer a powerful, intimate look at the life of the beloved artist and everything that she has accomplished in her seventy-seven years (and counting).
Why you might like it: Folk hero. Rock icon. Living legend. Buffy Sainte-Marie is all of these things, and Greystone is proud to celebrate the incredible Cree singer-songwriter, activist, and educator.
|
|
| A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise: A True Story About Schizophrenia by Sandra AllenWhat it's about: In 2009, Sandra Allen received an incomprehensible 60-page manuscript from her estranged uncle Bob, a paranoid schizophrenic seeking her help to tell his story. Allen relished the challenge, digging into her family history as well as the history of schizophrenia itself.
Why you might like it: This thoughtful page-turner offers an intimate glimpse into living with a mental illness for which there remains no consensus on effective treatment. |
|
| Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality by Sarah McBrideWhat it is: an enlightening and hopeful memoir tracing prominent trans activist Sarah McBride's journey towards self-acceptance and advocacy.
About the author: McBride is the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign.
Blazing a trail: McBride was the first trans person to serve as a White House intern and to speak at a national political convention. |
|
| I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'FarrellWhat it is: a contemplative, nonlinear collection of 17 essays detailing novelist Maggie O'Farrell's near-death experiences, accompanied by her intense, awe-inspiring will to survive.
Essays include: "Neck (1990);" "Baby and Bloodstream (2005);" "Cause Unknown (2003)"
For fans of: Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. |
|
|
A Newfoundlander in Canada : Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home
by Alan Doyle
What it is: Great Big Sea front man Alan Doyle presents his hilarious and heartwarming account of leaving Newfoundland and discovering Canada for the first time while trying to hold on to his sense of home.
About the author: Alan Doyle is a Canadian musician, actor and writer. His first book, Where I Belong , published in 2014, was a national bestseller. Alan lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.
|
|
| Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura ThompsonWhat it is: an insightful biography of mystery author Agatha Christie, whose elusiveness rivaled that of her own fictional creations.
Topics include: the media circus surrounding Christie's perplexing 11-day disappearance in 1926; Christie's fondness for attending her husband's spotlight-free archaeological digs later in life.
Don't miss: interviews with Christie relatives, including her daughter and grandson. |
|
|
|
|
|