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Biography and MemoirSeptember 2014 |
"Nobody would aim for a Nobel Prize because, if you didn’t get it, your whole life would be wasted. What we were aiming at was getting people well, and the satisfaction of that is much greater than any prize you can get.”
~ Gertrude Elion (1918-1999), Nobel Prize-winning American chemist |
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New and Recently Released!
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| Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay BarbreeJournalist Jay Barbree has reported on space travel since 1957, covering every American manned space mission. During his long association with the U.S. space program, Barbree became friends with astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, and had many personal conversations with him. In this absorbing biography, Barbree portrays Armstrong's whole life, focusing on the space race and his flying career (beginning as a jet pilot during the Korean War) through his last days as an astronaut. Their conversations also provide a glimpse of the very reserved astronaut's personality. Neil Armstrong draws on official records in addition to Barbree's interviews with him, and includes photographs, many of them previously unpublished. |
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| Sylvia, Queen of the Headhunters: An Eccentric Englishwoman and Her... by Philip EadeIn the declining years of the British Raj, Sylvia Brett Brooke reigned from 1917 to 1941 as the Ranee of Sarawak. The wife of Sarawak's last White Rajah, Sir Vyner Brooke, Sylvia reveled in her queenly status in an obscure region of Borneo populated by reputed headhunters. Biographer Philip Eade vividly portrays Sylvia's extravagant lifestyle, which included an open marriage, dreams of Hollywood stardom, and adulation by her adoring subjects in Sarawak. Social and political details of the British upper classes vividly enhance this entertaining portrait. Though the Ranee herself has mostly disappeared from history, Sylvia, Queen of the Headhunters provides fascinating details about both the queen and the first half of the 20th century. |
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| Price of Fame: The Honorable Clare Boothe Luce by Sylvia Jukes MorrisClare Boothe Luce was the first Congresswoman from Connecticut, an outspoken Republican and champion of women's rights, and a well-known and widely envied beauty. Price of Fame, the follow-up to biographer Sylvia Morris' Rage for Fame (1st volume of this 2-volume biography), vividly relates Luce's later life and career, beginning with her first term in Congress. Morris was a personal friend of Luce and had unrestricted access to her private documents and diaries, which provide extensive resources for this rich and engaging portrait. Whether you're interested in Luce herself or the wider history of the mid-20th century, you'll want to pick up this biography, which "does full justice to this fascinating icon" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Maeve Binchy : the biography
by Piers Dudgeon
A first posthumous biography of the author of such best-selling works as Circle of Friends and Tara Road chronicles her path to becoming a writer as revealed through first-person anecdotes and interviews as well as the reminiscences of her closest friends. 40,000 first printing.
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Soldier girls : the battles of three women at home and at war
by Helen Thorpe
Describes the experiences of three women soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq to reveal how their military service has affected their friendship, personal lives and families, detailing the realities of their work on bases and in war zones and how their choices and losses shaped their perspectives.
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| Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman by Robert L. O'ConnellIn Fierce Patriot, historian Robert O'Connell portrays three aspects of U.S. General William Tecumseh Sherman's controversial personality. Exploring the apparent contradictions in Sherman's character, O'Connell thoroughly examines his military career from entering West Point through the Civil War, briefly discusses how Sherman commanded his army and how his soldiers related to him, and concludes with insights into his personal life and family. Sherman was both hailed and vilified in his time; this complete, balanced biography will appeal both to readers interested in Sherman and those intrigued by 19th-century history, especially the Civil War. |
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Twelve years a slave
by Solomon Northup
"Born a free man in New York State in 1808, Solomon Northup was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841. He spent the next twelve harrowing years of his life as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation. During this time he was frequently abused and often afraid for his life. After regaining his freedom in 1853, Northup decided to publish this gripping autobiographical account of his captivity. As an educated man, Northup was able to present an exceptionally detailed and accurate description of slave life and plantation society. Indeed, this book is probably the fullest, most realistic picture of the 'peculiar institution' during the three decades before the Civil War. Moreover, Northup tells his story both from the viewpoint of an outsider, who had experienced thirty years of freedom and dignity in the United States before his capture, and as a slave, reduced to total bondage and submission. Very few personal accounts of American slavery were written by slaves with a similar history. Published in 1853, Northup's book found a ready audience and almost immediately became a bestseller. Aside from its vivid depiction of the detention, transportation, and sale of slaves, Twelve years a slave is admired for its classic accounts of cotton and sugar production, its uncannily precise recall of people, times, and places, and the compelling details that recreate the daily routine of slaves in the Gulf South" -- Back cover
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| Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces by Miles J. UngerRenaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarrotti created stunning works of art that elicited wonder in his day; his techniques and the immediate success of his pieces changed Europe's concept of "artist" from craftsman for hire to visionary creative talent. Organizing this compelling biography around six of Michelangelo's greatest works, art historian Miles Unger traces the progress of the artist's achievements, from the dazzling Pietà he created in 1498-99 to his designs for St. Peter's Basilica (built after his death). Unger explores Roman and Florentine politics of the time, aesthetic controversies provoked by Michelangelo's innovations, facets of his personal life as revealed through correspondence, and other riveting details. Biography and art history fans won't want to miss this insightful account. |
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Joe and Marilyn : Legends in Love
by C. David Heymann
A portrait of the volatile relationship between baseball great Joe DiMaggio and Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe describes their sensational 1954 elopement, their enduring friendship after their divorce and DiMaggio's devotion to Monroe's memory after her mysterious death in 1962.
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| How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike BrownThe provocative title of astronomer Mike Brown's memoir, How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming, refers to Brown's research that led to the International Astronomical Union's decision that Pluto is not a planet (it's now considered a dwarf planet). This engaging memoir is about more than science, though. While detailing his studies of the icy objects in orbit near Pluto, Brown relates the significance of the project, describes his calling as a scientist, and tells how he met the woman he would marry. Whether you're interested in astronomy or just enjoy life stories combined with scientific information, you'll be taken with Brown's narration, which Publishers Weekly says "may change the public's opinion of scientists as poor communicators." |
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| The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom by Graham FarmeloEnglish physicist Paul Dirac was known for his reserved and taciturn personality, though he made significant contributions to quantum physics. Considered one of the giants in a field studded with stars like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Richard Feynman, Dirac had a difficult childhood and a life marked by tragedy. Science writer Graham Farmelo compellingly relates the details of Dirac's personal life and of his scientific career in The Strangest Man. Kirkus Reviews says that readers of this fascinating biography will "love the nuanced portrayal of an introverted eccentric who held his own in a small clique of revolutionary scientific geniuses." |
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Untamed : the wildest woman in America and the fight for Cumberland Island
by Will Harlan
A self-taught, dirt-poor naturalist and scientist describes her fight with the Carnegie family and the National Park Service to save and preserve Cumberland Island, a biologically diverse barrier island off the Georgia coast, home to sea turtles and feral horses. 20,000 first printing.
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Tesla : inventor of the electrical age
by W. Bernard Carlson
"Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the twentieth century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius. Even at the end of his life when he was living in poverty, Tesla still attracted reporters to his annual birthday interview, regaling them with claims that he had invented a particle-beam weapon capable of bringing down enemy aircraft. Plenty of biographies glamorize Tesla and his eccentricities, but until now none has carefully examined what, how, and why he invented. In this groundbreaking book, W. Bernard Carlson demystifies the legendary inventor, placing him within the cultural and technological context of his time, and focusing on his inventions themselves as well as the creation and maintenance of his celebrity. Drawing on original documents from Tesla's private and public life, Carlson shows how he was an "idealist" inventor who sought the perfect experimental realization of a great idea or principle, and who skillfully sold his inventions to the public through mythmaking and illusion. This major biography sheds new light on Tesla's visionary approach to invention and the business strategies behind his most important technological breakthroughs"
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| Stephen Hawking: An Unfettered Mind by Kitty FergusonEven though physicist Stephen Hawking specializes in some of the most abstract concepts in modern science, he has made his work accessible to general audiences, and he's so well known that he's been called a celebrity physicist. Hawking has lived with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) for decades, and in his 70s he still actively collaborates with other physicists and gives lectures. In Stephen Hawking, science writer Kitty Ferguson paints an engaging portrait of the scientist, relating details of his personal life and making some of his scientific discoveries and theories accessible to general readers. Anyone interested in Hawking himself, physics, or science biographies will find this book an enthralling read. |
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| In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind by Eric R. KandelAs a medical student studying psychiatry in the early 1950s, Eric Kandel became intrigued by the possibility of identifying the brain's physical processes. He became a pioneer in the field of neuropsychiatry, learning how nerves transmit and store information in the brain; this work led to a Nobel Prize in 2000. In this absorbing memoir on the nature of memory, Kandel relates major events in his personal life, beginning with his family's emigration from Vienna after the Nazi Anschluss, woven together with accounts of his scientific discoveries and concluding with a consideration of the phenomenon of cultural memory. Booklist, in a starred review, calls In Search of Memory an "autobiography of exceptional substance." |
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| On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson by William SouderIn 1962, marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson published what would become her magnum opus, Silent Spring. Already a bestselling author, Carson reached her biggest audience yet through her meticulously researched yet accessible discussion of environmental issues -- especially those caused by synthetic pesticides. This "expansive, nuanced" (Publishers Weekly) biography of Carson examines not only her career and the impact of her work on public policy, but also her carefully guarded private life -- which she struggled to protect in the face of both unexpected celebrity and opposition from the chemical industry. For a fascinating glimpse at the life of a woman scientist whose ideas proved prescient -- and remain largely relevant today -- don't miss this book. |
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Contact your librarian for more great reads!
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