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Biography and MemoirOctober 2014
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"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." ~ Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American author, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
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New and Recently Released!
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| Maeve Binchy: The Biography by Piers DudgeonIrish author Maeve Binchy engagingly portrayed her native country in numerous bestselling novels and story collections for three decades before she died in 2012. She also wrote sparkling commentary about contemporary life for the Irish Times. In this captivating biography, author Piers Dudgeon creates a portrait of Binchy that explores the connection between her personal experiences and her fiction. Binchy's fans and anyone who enjoys life stories of writers will be pleased by Maeve Binchy and may want to follow up with a collection of her Irish Times essays in Maeve's Times. |
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| Getting Schooled: The Reeducation of an American Teacher by Garret KeizerIn 2010, journalist Garret Keizer returned to teach for a year in the rural Vermont high school where he had last taught 14 years before. Getting Schooled recounts his experiences month by month from August through June, portraying not only the students he worked with, but the differences from his previous teaching stint, his perceptions of needed educational reform, and the effects of paperwork and testing on classroom effectiveness. Keizer's enthralling presentation, realistic insights, and vivid descriptions offer a valuable close-up of the challenges and rewards of public school teaching. For another experience-based, engaging view of public education, read Jonathan Kozol's Letters to a Young Teacher. |
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| Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek and T.J. MitchellIn Working Stiff, pathologist Judy Melinek recounts her experiences during two years training as a medical examiner in New York City, which included the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Melinek also investigated more typical deaths from natural causes, homicides, and suicides; she counseled grieving families; and she testified in court cases. This engaging memoir, co-written with her husband T.J. Mitchell, not only explains how to carry out an autopsy but humorously relates conversations about the work of a pathologist and vividly describes deaths from unusual causes -- such as being crushed in an eggroll-making machine. More squeamish readers might want to approach this absorbing and inspiring memoir with caution. |
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| Getting Life: An Innocent Man's 25-Year Journey from Prison to Peace by Michael MortonAuthor Michael Morton spent 25 years in prison in Texas for the murder of his wife before being exonerated. In this eye-opening memoir, he details in a "straightforward, thoughtful" manner (Booklist) how he discovered his wife's body and the prosecution that led to his wrongful conviction. Getting Life vividly recounts Morton's prison experiences and explains how the Innocence Project presented evidence that led to the actual culprit. Morton is now nearly 60; the conclusion to this account offers an inspiring resolution to his story without negating the disturbing facts of the case. For another compelling true story about a wrongful conviction, read John Grisham's The Innocent Man. |
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| Blue-Eyed Boy: A Memoir by Robert TimbergNear the end of his service as a Marine in Vietnam, Robert Timberg was severely burned and disfigured by a landmine. In Blue-Eyed Boy, he recounts his recovery and the multiple reconstructive surgeries that restored his health -- but not his looks. Needing a career to support his family, he decided to study journalism but realized he would have to interact with people to be an effective reporter. Overcoming his reluctance to be seen, he developed a successful 30-year newspaper career, which included serving as the Baltimore Sun's White House correspondent. This inspiring memoir offers an appreciation of challenges veterans face and insight into stories Timberg covered -- including the Iran-Contra affair. |
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| Queen Bee of Tuscany: The Redoubtable Janet Ross by Ben DowningJanet Ross was born in 1842 into a family of well-known (and eccentric) travelers -- her mother was Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon, who wrote Letters from Egypt. It's not surprising, then, that Janet didn't fit into expected norms for mid-19th-century British women. In Queen Bee of Tuscany, we read about her sojourn with her husband in Egypt and their longer residence in Italy, where she entertained well-known visitors (Mark Twain and William Makepeace Thackeray among them) but also worked alongside the peasants who maintained the Ross estate. Here's an enticing and colorful invitation to visit interesting lands with some unconventional Victorians. |
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| Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre by Tim GallagherThe imperial woodpecker, once commonly seen in the Sierra Madre mountains, may be extinct, but reports suggest that a few of these majestic birds still live there. The region is also rich with accounts of human activity, including the exploits of Geronimo and Pancho Villa, the adventures of Mormon settlers -- and present-day drug smugglers. Naturalist Tim Gallagher, following a map of reported sightings, trekked through the area in 2008 hoping to spot an imperial. In Imperial Dreams, Gallagher evocatively recounts the mountains' history, his encounters with fascinating area residents, and his party's hardships along the way. Booklist, in a starred review, declares this memoir "a triumph." |
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| Wolf: The Lives of Jack London by James L. HaleyBest known for his thrilling novels and memoirs, including The Call of the Wild and The Cruise of the Snark, San Francisco native Jack London lived an adventurous life, basing some of his fiction on his own experiences. As a youth, London was intensely curious and an enthusiastic reader; he also threw himself into the hard life of being a hobo and a sailor, traveling around the U.S. before completing high school. In Wolf, biographer James Haley relates London's travels and adventures to his writing, creating a vivid portrait of a globetrotter who was a social activist and offering insight into his prolific, successful, and sometimes controversial literary works. |
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| Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country... by David RosenfeltTraveling goes to the dogs in this funny, heartwarming book. As if driving from California to Maine wasn't ambitious enough, crime novelist David Rosenfelt also transported his large family of 25 rescued dogs. The author of crime novels starring dog lover Andy Carpenter relates stories of canines he's known through the years as he recounts how he crossed the country with his wife, their dogs, and several friends and fans in three RVs. Narrated in the author's amusing, self-deprecating style, Dogtripping also describes how he got involved with dog rescue, how he met his wife, and how their road trip "restored their faith in humanity" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter From Haiti by Amy Wilentz"Fred Voodoo" is the condescending alias that reporters used to call the typical Haitian. Veteran journalist Amy Wilentz, who's been fascinated by and reporting on the poverty-stricken country for almost 30 years, gladly leaves behind that stereotype to present sympathetic but acute close-ups of the individuals she's met, including the powerful and the impoverished. Describing Haiti's turbulent history, and focusing especially on the devastating 2010 earthquake's aftermath, she explains why she's "stirred and moved" by what she sees. This "excellent and illuminating" (Los Angeles Times) book won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography. For more insight into post-earthquake Haiti, try Jonathan M. Katz's The Big Truck That Went By. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 6532 Adelphi Rd. Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 301-699-3500http://www.pgcmls.info/ |
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