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Biography and MemoirApril 2015
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"For ten days the CIA team waited for the mysterious Jordanian to show up." ~ from Joby Warrick's The Triple Agent
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New and Recently Released!
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| The Man Who Couldn't Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought by David AdamThe condition called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, occurs in about 2.3% of the adult U.S. population, but non-specialists have only a vague understanding of the disease. In The Man Who Couldn't Stop, science journalist David Adam relates his own struggles with OCD and reviews the history and current scientific understanding of it. Though treatments exist, their effectiveness varies, and many people find the condition disabling. This "well-researched, witty, honest and irreverent" (Kirkus Reviews) memoir both informs readers and invites understanding and sympathy. For another compelling and eye-opening memoir about an intractable psychological condition, read Scott Stossel's My Age of Anxiety. |
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| Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice by Bill BrowderAfter the Soviet empire collapsed and Russia opened up to foreign capital investors, investment broker Bill Browder achieved significant success in the Russian financial market. However, there were significant problems with corruption among Russian oligarchs and government officials. Foreigners who didn't cooperate were expelled, and local whistleblowers were treated badly. After Browder was deported, he tried to fight back against fraudulent tax assessments aimed at seizing his company's wealth, but his Russian supporters met government roadblocks and his lawyer was murdered. Red Notice relates a gripping, astonishing account of Browder's experiences and exposes the depth of Russian financial corruption. |
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| The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers by Nicholas Irving with Gary BrozekIn The Reaper, former Army Ranger Nicholas Irving vividly relates his experiences as a sniper in Afghanistan, where he compiled a record number of confirmed kills. Though this memoir's gritty details of military technique and intense frontline action may not appeal to some readers, the book provides insight into military life that few people can even imagine. Publishers Weekly calls Irving a "humane and humble narrator" and says that his account offers a good opportunity to find out "what it's like to be a soldier" in the 21st century. |
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| The Undertaker's Daughter by Kate MayfieldIn 1960s Jubilee, Kentucky, author Kate Mayfield grew up with her siblings in their family's funeral home. As the mortician's daughter, Kate was well aware of the strangeness of her father's occupation. In addition, secrets -- both of individual families and of their small, segregated Southern town -- colored Kate's view of the world. Much like in Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, Kate's father played a central role in her life, and his own debilitating secrets eventually emerged. The Undertaker's Daughter offers an absorbing account of ordinary people in the midst of remarkable circumstances. |
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| Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America by David O. StewartJames Madison, one of the Founders of the U.S. and its fourth president, seems to fade into the background in comparison with his revolutionary comrades, who were physically taller and more extroverted. However, Madison was a brilliant writer and skilled collaborator, making him indispensable to the success of the new republic the Founders were designing. In Madison's Gift, acclaimed author David Stewart highlights Madison's abilities and details his work with five collaborators -- four other Founders and his wife Dolley. For another recent insightful biography of Madison that focuses on his character as well as his achievements, read Lynne Cheney's James Madison. |
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| The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story by Robert Baer and Dayna BaerCIA agents Robert and Dayna Baer had well-established espionage careers by the time they met during a covert operation in Sarajevo. Though they weren't instantly attracted to each other, they gradually fell in love. In alternating chapters of this dual memoir, they relate their earlier experiences with the agency, the respective collapses of their marriages, and the development of their new relationship. The Company We Keep offers a gripping true-life combination of spy thriller and love story. |
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| Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben MacintyreDouble Cross is a group biography that reads like a spy thriller. An elite corps of British double agents concealed the real location of the Allies' planned D-Day strike, persuading Nazi operatives it simply could not be Normandy after all. Author Ben Macintyre masterfully captures the agents' personalities as well as the facts of their service, from sultry femme fatale Lily Sergeyev (code name: Treasure) to chicken farmer Juan Pujol (code name: Garbo). The twists, turns, and white-knuckle tension of this account will fascinate World War II buffs and anyone else who loves brilliantly written, suspenseful history and biography. |
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| Sleeping With the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War by Hal VaughanCouturier Coco Chanel built her fashion empire in pre-World War II Paris on the foundation of her innovative clothing designs for modern women. Less well known is the extent of her wartime association with Nazi agents through her lover, who worked for German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Sleeping with the Enemy details Chanel's record of anti-Semitism, her active spying for Germany during their occupation of France, and her manipulation of witnesses to minimize the significance of her involvement. The information in this "well rendered" (Kirkus Reviews) account provides a sad and sordid perspective on Chanel's career. |
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| Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster who Created the OSS and Modern... by Douglas WallerIn this "wholly satisfying" (Kirkus Reviews) biography of William "Wild Bill" Donovan, journalist Douglas Waller draws on extensive resources, including recently declassified documents, to portray the colorful first director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Donovan earned a Medal of Honor in World War I, amassed millions as a Wall Street lawyer in the 1930s, and then accepted FDR's invitation to head up a unified U.S. intelligence agency. Though the OSS (later the CIA) has received its share of criticism, this is a fascinating account of the man who created the template for American intelligence work. |
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| The Triple Agent: The Al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIA by Joby WarrickIn December 2009, several intelligence officials at a secret base in Afghanistan awaited cyber-terrorist Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a CIA counter-terrorist operative and supposedly trustworthy Jordanian agent within al-Qaeda whom few had met. On arrival, al-Balawi detonated a suicide bomb; his shocking betrayal killed eight others, revealed devastating weaknesses in the agency's security and network of informants, and raised doubts about the CIA's Jordanian counterparts. Pulitzer Prize-winning former Washington Post national security reporter Joby Warrick delivers a first-rate portrait of this triple agent and a must-read for those interested in contemporary espionage and counter-terrorism efforts. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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