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Biography and Memoir January 2020
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Walter Ralegh : architect of empire
by Alan Gallay
Sir Walter Ralegh was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. She showered him with estates and political appointments. He envisioned her becoming empress of a universal empire. She gave him the opportunity to lead the way. In Walter Ralegh, Alan Gallay shows that, while Ralegh may be best known for founding the failed Roanoke colony, his historical importance vastly exceeds that enterprise. Inspired by the mystical religious philosophy of hermeticism, Ralegh led English attempts to colonize in North America, South America, and Ireland. He believed that the answer to English fears of national decline resided overseas -- and that colonialism could be achieved without conquest. Gallay reveals how Ralegh launched the English Empire and an era of colonization that shaped Western history for centuries after his death.
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Some kind of crazy : an unforgettable story of profound brokenness and breathtaking grace
by Terry Wardle
Terry Wardle grew up in the Appalachian coalfields of southwestern Pennsylvania, part of a hardscrabble family of coal miners whose cast of characters included a hot-tempered grandfather with a predilection for blowing up houses, a distant and disapproving father, and a mother who disciplined him with harsh words and threats of hellfire. After enduring a crazy childhood, Terry graduated to a troubled adolescence, and then on to what seemed like a successful transition into adulthood, earning multiple degrees and founding one of the country’s fastest growing churches. But all was not well. All his life, he felt he was never enough. Plagued by a truckload of fear no matter what he accomplished, he fell down the ladder of success into the deepest ditch of his life—ending up in a psychiatric hospital. Fortunately, that’s when he discovered that Jesus has no fear of ditches. In fact, Jesus does some of his best work with people who find themselves there. In sharing his remarkable journey, Terry offers hope that healing and wholeness are possible no matter how broken a life may be. His larger-than-life story will help you move forward along your own healing path.
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All Blood Runs Red: The Legendary Life of Eugene Bullard -- Boxer, Pilot, Soldier, Spy
by Phil Keith with Tom Clavin
Starring: the first African American fighter pilot, Eugene Bullard, a war hero whose remarkable life has been largely forgotten by history.
What he did: Bullard achieved fame as boxer "Black Sparrow," served in the French Foreign Legion during both world wars, ran a Paris nightclub during World War II that he used to spy on Germans, and much more.
Don't miss: the surprising connection Bullard's life had to Casablanca; a jaw-dropping who's who of famous figures.
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I am C-3PO : the inside story
by Anthony Daniels
The beloved Star Wars actor shares insights into the concepts, evolution and unexpected hazards of his iconic character while describing his collaborations with such legends as Sir Alec Guinness, Carrie Fisher and George Lucas.
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Carrie Fisher : a life on the edge
by Sheila Weller
A candid portrait of the beloved Hollywood actress and writer discusses her complicated relationships with her famous parents, her Star Wars fame and her struggles with bipolar disorder and drug addiction. By the best-selling author of Girls Like Us. Illustrations. Index
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Do you mind if I cancel? : (things that still annoy me)
by Gary Janetti
Gary Janetti, the writer and producer for some of the most popular television comedies of all time, and creator of one of the most wickedly funny Instagram accounts there is, now turns his skills to the page in a hilarious, and poignant book chronicling the pains and indignities of everyday life. Gary spends his twenties in New York, dreaming of starring on soap operas while in reality working at a hotel where he lusts after an unattainable colleague and battles a bellman who despises it when people actually use a bell to call him. He chronicles the torture of finding a job before the internet when you had to talk on the phone all the time, and fantasizes, as we all do, about who to tell off when he finally wins an Oscar. As Gary himself says, "These are essays from my childhood and young adulthood about things that still annoy me."
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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. Illustrations.
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Music to my years : a mixtape memoir of growing up and standing up
by Cristela Alonzo
The comedian, writer and producer, sharing stories of growing up as a first-generation Mexican-American in Texas, links significant moments of the book to certain songs, which results in a deeply moving, resonant and unforgettable playlist. Illustrations.
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Little weirds
by Jenny Slate
The actress, stand-up comedian and best-selling children’s book author explores her internal self, dreams and insecurities through bursts of writing on a wide range of subjects from heartbreak and divorce, to the smell of honeysuckle and a French-kissing rabbit.
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In the Dream House
by Carmen Maria Machado
What it's about: In this inventive collection of short essays, award-winning author Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties) unflinchingly recounts a relationship with an unstable woman that devolved into physical and psychological abuse.
What sets it apart: Machado's fragmented, genre-defying prose plays with storytelling tropes, offering a multilayered view of her relationship as a choose your own adventure, a noir, a stoner comedy, and more.
Book buzz: In the Dream House was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.
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Ordinary Girls
by Jaquira Díaz
What it's about: Growing up closeted and biracial in dysfunctional households in Puerto Rico and Florida, Jaquira Díaz found a much-needed fresh start when she enlisted in the United States Navy at 18.
What sets it apart: the thought-provoking insights into Boricua culture and Puerto Rico's history of colonialism.
Try this next: For another candid coming-of-age memoir exploring themes of sexual identity, addiction, and abuse, check out T Kira Madden's Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls.
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Mobituaries : great lives worth reliving
by Mo Rocca
The popular television correspondent and writer presents an irreverent celebration of the dead people who made life worth living, chronicling the stories of less-remembered notables, from political families and sitcom characters to a forgotten Founding Father.
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The book of gutsy women : Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience
by HIllary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, share the stories of the gutsy women who have inspired them -- women with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. Ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls remains a big piece of the unfinished business of the twenty-first century. While there's a lot of work to do, we know that throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book. So how did they do it? The answers are as unique as the women themselves. Civil rights activist Dorothy Height, LGBTQ trailblazer Edie Windsor, and swimmer Diana Nyad kept pushing forward, no matter what. Writers like Rachel Carson and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named something no one had dared talk about before. Historian Mary Beard used wit to open doors that were once closed, and Wangari Maathai, who sparked a movement to plant trees, understood the power of role modeling. Harriet Tubman and Malala Yousafzai looked fear in the face and persevered. Nearly every single one of these women was fiercely optimistic -- they had faith that their actions could make a difference. And they were right. To us, they are all gutsy women -- leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. So in the moments when the long haul seems awfully long, we hope you will draw strength from these stories. We do. Because if history shows one thing, it's that the world needs gutsy women
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Iredell County Public Library 201 North Tradd Street Statesville, North Carolina 28677 704-878-3090 Connect With Us: |
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