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Biography and Memoir August 2018
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The Reluctant Empress
by Brigitte Hamann
Traces the fame and adulation of one of the nineteenth century's most popular women, from her impoverished youth to her strange new life married to Emperor Franz Joseph
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All Happy Families
by Jeanne McCulloch
On a mid-August weekend in 1983, two families assemble for a wedding at a rambling mansion on the beach in East Hampton, in the last days of the area's quietly refined country splendor, before traffic jams and high-end boutiques morphed the peaceful enclave into "the Hamptons." The weather is perfect; the tent is in place on the lawn. But as the festivities are readied, the father of the bride and paterfamilias of the beachfront manse suffers a massive stroke from alcohol withdrawal and lies in a coma in the hospital in the next town..
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No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy : The Life of General James Mattis
by jim Proser
In the hyperpartisan political atmosphere of 2017, General James Mattis astonishingly received every unanimous bipartisan support for his nomination for Secretary of Defense. What is it about Mattis that generates such respect and appreciation across the political spectrum? In this illuminating biography, Jim Proser takes readers through the general's illustrious career, featuring firsthand accounts of his running some of the most significant military engagements in recent American history. Readers will understand what it feels like to work for, and fight alongside, this remarkable figure.
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| Goodbye, Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival by Kelly SundbergWhat it's about: In her haunting debut memoir, Kelly Sundberg bravely chronicles her abusive eight-year marriage and the shock, grief, and confusion that accompanied her journey toward healing.
Book buzz: Goodbye, Sweet Girl is an expansion of Sundberg's viral 2014 essay "It Will Look Like A Sunset."
Is it for you? Though the subject matter may be difficult for some readers, Sundberg's invaluable insights and candid prose illuminate various aspects of domestic abuse, including how to recognize the signs. |
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| American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent by Tamer Elnoury with Kevin MaurerWhat it is: a layered and compelling reconstruction of pseudonymous FBI agent Tamer Elnoury's infiltration of an al-Qaeda unit.
Why it's significant: This intimate account provides an insightful look into the worldview of al-Qaeda operatives, perfect for fans of Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower.
Don't miss: Elnoury's reflections on what it means to be a Muslim American patriot and the dangers of enacting xenophobic policy. |
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| Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle KuoWhat it's about: the transformative power of literature, movingly experienced by Teach for America volunteer-turned-law student Michelle Kuo and her former pupil Patrick Browning, who met regularly for book discussions while the latter was in jail on a murder charge.
On the syllabus: the two discussed works by Frederick Douglass, Rita Dove, C.S. Lewis, Marilynne Robinson, Derek Walcott, and Walt Whitman, among others. |
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| Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlinWhat it's about: On the cusp of her 30th birthday, dissatisfied journalist Nina MacLaughlin quit her job at the Boston Phoenix to become a carpenter's assistant, despite having no previous experience in the trade.
Did you know? Only 2% of carpenters are women.
Reviewers say: "Book groups will love this engaging and entertaining chronicle" (Booklist); "effortless blending of literary craft with woodcraft" (Library Journal). |
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| Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Mike MassiminoWhat it is: a humble and endearing memoir from retired astronaut Mike Massimino, recounting his unlikely two-decade career at NASA (he was rejected by the agency three times before receiving a job offer).
Topics include: the impact of the Challenger explosion on Massimino's burgeoning career; his under-the-wire repair of the Hubble Telescope in 2002; becoming the first person to tweet from space.
Read it for: Massimino's childlike sense of wonder and excitement; his remarkably detailed yet straightforward prose. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books! |
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