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Biography and Memoir January 2020
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| The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire by Francesca Cartier BrickellWhat it is: a sweeping family history of French jewelry dynasty the Cartiers, from their humble 19th-century Parisian beginnings to their contemporary status as purveyors of globally-renowned luxury goods.
Read it for: the glitz, the glamour, and the gossip.
Author alert: Francesca Cartier Brickell is the great-granddaughter of Louis-François Cartier, who founded the eponymous company in 1847. |
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I Spy : My Life in MI5 by Tom Marcus"Tom Marcus spent years of his life undercover, waging a secret war on the streets against those who want to do us harm. Now, for the first time, he tells the full story of what it is like to live your life in the shadows and who you need to become to survive. First published in 2016, Soldier spy was a series of stories from Tom's years in MI5 and has now sold over 250,000 copies across all editions and was a Sunday Times bestseller for five months. I spy takes us even deeper into the ongoing battle to keep us all safe.".
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Acid for the children : a memoir
by Flea
The co-founder of the Red Hot Chili Peppers chronicles his life from his birth in Australia and upbringing on the streets of Los Angeles through his rise to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
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A Communist in the Family : Searching for Rewi Alley by Elspeth Sandys "A ... multi-layered narrative centred on New Zealander Rewi Alley and his part in the momentous political events of mid-twentieth-century China. Part-biography, part-travel journal, part-literary commentary, A Communist in the Family brings together Alley's story and that of his author cousin, Elspeth Sandys. In 2017, Sandys travelled to China with other family members to mark the ninetieth anniversary of Rewi's arrival in Shanghai in 1927. One strand of this book follows that journey and charts Sandys' impressions of modern China. Another tells the story of Rewi's early life, in an insightful meditation on the complex and always elusive relationship between memory and writing. By placing the man, Rewi, and his work in the context of his time, Sandys is able to illuminate the life of this extraordinary New Zealander in a way that is both historically vivid and relevant to the world of today. Her focus on the role poetry played in his life, both his own and that of the Chinese poets he translated so prolifically, provides moving glimpses of the man behind the myth. Threaded through A Communist in the Family are Sandys' evolving insights into a nation that looms ever larger in the day-to-day realities of New Zealand and the world. The strange and strangely intimate link between the two countries Rewi regarded as home is one in which he played, and continues to play, a crucial role"
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Ian Mckellen : A Biography
by Garry O'Connor
A biography of the esteemed actor follows his career, which includes roles in over 400 plays and films, from his debut in London’s West End in 1964 to playing Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings film adaptations.
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| Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me by Bill HayesWhat it's about: After the death of his longtime partner, Bill Hayes moved to New York City in 2009 and found a second chance at love with renowned neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, who died in 2015.
Read it for: a moving portrait of Sacks' late-in-life acceptance of his sexuality; Hayes' poignant recollections of Sacks' idiosyncrasies.
Don't miss: Sacks wearing protective googles to pop his first bottle of champagne. |
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Learning to see : a novel of Dorothea Lange, the woman who revealed the real America
by Elise Hooper
"In 1918, a fearless twenty-two-year old arrives in bohemian San Francisco from the Northeast, determined to make her own way as an independent woman. Renaming herself Dorothea Lange she is soon the celebrated owner of the city's most prestigious and stylish portrait studio and wife of the talented but volatile painter, Maynard Dixon. By the early 1930s, as America's economy collapses, her marriage founders and Dorothea must find ways to support her two young sons single-handedly. Determined to expose the horrific conditions of the nation's poor, she takes to the road with her camera, creating images that inspire, reform, and define the era. And when the United States enters World War II, Dorothea chooses to confront another injustice--the incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans. At a time when women were supposed to keep the home fires burning, Dorothea Lange, creator of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, dares to be different. But her choices came at a steep price ..."--Back cover
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| Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady by Susan QuinnWhat it's about: the 30-year relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and reporter Lorena Hickok, who championed each other's pursuits to make the world a better place.
Why you might like it: Fast-paced and meticulously researched, this illuminating dual biography chronicles the evolution of an empowering love. |
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Kieran Read - Straight 8 : The Autobiography
by Kieran Read
As Kieran Read prepares to call time on his distinguished New Zealand career at the end of the Rugby World Cup, this is the open and honest life story of one of rugby's greatest players, a legendary All Black and a two-time World Cup winner.
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Permanent record
by Edward J. Snowden
The controversial whistle-blower describes his early nonconformity and teenage hacking, his career in the CIA and NSA, and how he managed to smuggle out top-secret documents regarding the extent of NSA surveillance.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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