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Popular Culture January 2018 |
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| Present at the Creation: My Life in the NFL and the Rise of America’s Game by Upton BellWhat it is: the memoir of a man who grew up with professional football.
Why you might like it: Upton Bell's father was Bert Bell, the legendary NFL Commissioner who propelled football's popularity just after World War II. Bell himself was the youngest general manager ever hired, for the New England Patriots, before becoming a journalist.
Why you might like it: Football fans will devour Bell's insider view of significant events in the NFL's history. |
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| Gold Dust Woman: A Biography of Stevie Nicks by Stephen DavisWhat's inside: This unauthorized biography pulls from interviews with singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks as well as her friends, family, and others in the music industry. Ordered chronologically, it traces Nicks' upbringing, her path to Fleetwood Mac, and her creation of a solo career.
Try this next: the oral history Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac.
Reviewers say: "All you ever wanted to know about Fleetwood Mac's mesmerizing frontwoman" (People Magazine). |
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| Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart by Scott EymanWhat it is: A sweeping, entertaining dual biography that explores the steady, close friendship between actors Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, which lasted close to 50 years despite their considerable differences.
Further reading: For another long-time Hollywood friendship, try Daniel De Vise's Andy and Don (about Andy Griffith and Don Knotts). For more on Henry Fonda, go with Devin McKinney's The Man Who Saw a Ghost; for Jimmy Stewart, try Marc Eliot's eponymous biography. |
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| The First Major: The Inside Story of the 2016 Ryder Cup by John FeinsteinWhat it's about: The Ryder Cup is one of the few team-based championships in golf, a sport that usually focuses on individual players. In 2016, the American team won in a dramatic, hard-fought battle that ended an eight-year losing streak.
Why you might like it: Providing plenty of backstory -- both about the Cup and the players -- sportswriter John Feinstein once again provides an exciting, insightful account of the sport he loves. |
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| Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John HodgmanWhat it is: offbeat and self-deprecating essays from a rueful middle-aged man with a well-developed funny bone. The ups and downs of summers in Massachusetts and Maine provide plenty of fodder.
Why you might like it: you love actor and writer John Hodgman, enjoy hearing about travel disasters, or don't always care for all the responsibilities of adulthood -- even if it's a pretty privileged one. |
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| The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir by Jenifer LewisWhat it is: an uplifting account of actress Jenifer Lewis' childhood, career trajectory, love affairs, and struggles with mental illness.
About the author: Currently appearing in the television show Black-ish, Lewis is known for portraying mothers (hence the title), and writes with both humor and honesty.
For fans of: Lewis herself, of course -- but also anyone who appreciates candid, frank stories of women who have overcome obstacles on their way to success. |
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| Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Kevin YoungWhat it's about: Tracing the history of American hoaxes and humbugs from the days of P.T. Barnum to the frauds and flimflammery of today, Bunk is an illuminating exploration of the roles of stereotype, suspicion, and prejudice as factors that shape and support fraudulent activities.
Why you might like it: You want to understand Rachel Dolezal, James Frey, Lance Armstrong, and others with a flexible definition of the truth.
Book buzz: With "fake news" now a buzzword, this National Book Award longlisted title seems to have been published at exactly the right time. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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