[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Biography and Memoir April 2009
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:07:12 -0400
Biography and Memoir April 2009
"So I'm ugly. So what? I never saw anyone hit with his face."
~ Yogi Berra, American baseball player and manager
New and Recently Released!
Cheever: A Life - by Blake Bailey
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/10/2009
ISBN-13: 9781400043941
ISBN-10: 1400043948
Only six weeks before his death from cancer in 1982, American novelist and
short-story writer John Cheever received the National Medal for Literature at
Carnegie Hall. Beginning with that moment, biographer Blake Bailey presents a
riveting portrait of this literary icon, painting him as a complex man with
a deeply conflicted soul. Bailey examines all aspects of Cheever's life, from
his alcoholism to his secret bisexuality to his difficult relationships with
his children. Pick up this comprehensive and well-researched biography to learn
more about Cheever, one of the most talented writers of the last century.
Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee - by Allen Barra
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/29/2009
ISBN-13: 9780393062335
ISBN-10: 0393062333
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, one of the greatest baseball players of all time
as well as one of the most quoted, has yet to be the subject of a full-scale
biography. But thanks to author Allen Barra (whose last name is surprisingly
similar to Yogi's), Berra has now received his due. Among the topics that
Barra covers are Berra's childhood in St. Louis, his record-breaking career
with the Yankees, and his success as a manager for both the Yankees and the
Mets. If you're in the mood for more biographies of baseball greats, check out
Richard Cramer's Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life or Jonathan Eig's Luckiest
Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig.
Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor - by Brad Gooch
Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/25/2009
ISBN-13: 9780316000666
ISBN-10: 0316000663
In this new biography of Southern novelist and short-story writer Flannery
O'Connor, author Brad Gooch illuminates the iconic author's life, times, and
personal relationships. Born March 25, 1925 in Milledgeville, Georgia, O'Connor
graduated from Georgia State College for Women before attending the prestigious
Iowa Writers' Workshop. She wrote controversial, unsentimental portraits of the
American South, but her career was cut short when she died from lupus at
the age of 39. Drawing on interviews with O'Connor's literary and childhood
friends, Gooch's standout biography is a must-read for anyone who wants to
know more about this enigmatic American writer.
Live Through This: A Mother's Memoir of Runaway Daughters - by Debra Gwartney
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/11/2009
ISBN-13: 9780547054476
ISBN-10: 0547054475
When former Newsweek correspondent Debra Gwartney divorced her husband, she
decided to move from Arizona to Oregon with her four daughters. Her plan was
to build a new life for herself and her children, but instead Gwartney's life
was torn apart when her two eldest daughters, 16-year-old Amanda and 14-year-old
Stephanie, ran away and began living on the streets. Live Through This is
Gwartney's powerful story of her frantic struggle to find her missing girls,
to rehabilitate them, and to rebuild her relationship with them. Kirkus Reviews
calls this memoir an '"achingly beautiful chronicle of unfathomable sorrow,
flickering hope and quiet redemption."
Born in April
Considering Doris Day - by Tom Santopietro
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/20/2007
ISBN-13: 9780312362638
ISBN-10: 0312362633
April 3, 1924. Doris Day appeared in 39 movies and released more than 600
recordings, making her one of Hollywood's biggest success stories, yet to many
people she is remembered only as the wholesome, compliant woman that she often
portrayed. In Considering Doris Day, author Tom Santopietro analyzes both
the best and worst of Day's movie roles, studies her vast catalog of music, and
examines her surprisingly tumultuous personal life. For more on Day, pick
up David Kaufman's Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door.
Table of Contents
Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man - by Dale Peterson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/15/2006
ISBN-13: 9780395854051
ISBN-10: 0395854059
April 3, 1934. Known for her groundbreaking studies of chimpanzee behavior,
Jane Goodall is also a tireless advocate for animal, environmental, and
humanitarian
causes. In this in-depth profile, author Dale Peterson, Goodall's colleague and
occasional collaborator, offers a personal perspective on this dedicated
scientist and naturalist. From Goodall's close relationships with family
members to her years with the Gombe chimpanzees and her establishment of radical
new standards in the study of animal behavior, Peterson's biography depicts a
complex, charming, and remarkable woman.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria's Youngest Daughter - by
Matthew Dennison
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/19/2008
ISBN-13: 9780312376987
ISBN-10: 0312376987
April 14, 1857. The youngest of Queen Victoria's nine children, Princess
Beatrice was called "Baby" throughout most of her childhood. In fact, it was
Victoria's
intention to keep Beatrice always by her side, even vowing that her youngest
daughter would never be allowed to marry. Nevertheless, when Beatrice was
27, she fell in love with Prince Henry of Battenberg; Victoria reluctantly
agreed to the wedding on the condition that Beatrice remain her devoted
companion.
In this entertaining biography, author Matthew Dennison recounts Beatrice's
fascinating and almost unfathomable life. To know more about Queen Victoria's
relationship with her children, don't miss Jerrold Packard's Victoria's
Daughters.
Table of Contents
Willie Nelson: An Epic Life - by Joe Nick Patoski
Publisher: Little, Brown
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 4/21/2008
ISBN-13: 9780316017787
ISBN-10: 0316017787
April 30, 1933. Born in Depression-era Abbott, Texas, pop-culture hero Willie
Nelson is as beloved for his country music as he is for his cowboy-hippie
persona. Published to coincide with Nelson's 75th birthday, this portrait by
biographer Joe Patoski traces the artist's rise from his poverty-stricken
childhood to the heights of fame. Patoski pays particular attention to Nelson's
legendary performances, his partying lifestyle, his brushes with the law,
and his turbulent personal life. Fans of Nelson might also want to grab The Tao
of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart, written by the outlaw
himself.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Focus on: People and Animals
Grayson - by Lynne Cox
Publisher: A. A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 8/1/2006
ISBN-13: 9780307264541
ISBN-10: 0307264548
While it's easy to envision crossing paths with seaweed and fish while swimming
in the ocean, can you imagine what it would be like to suddenly find yourself
swimming alongside an 18-foot-long whale? Thirty years ago, that's just what
happened to 17-year-old Lynne Cox early one morning while swimming near Seal
Beach, California. In Grayson, Cox describes her encounter with a baby gray
whale who had become separated from its mother and discusses her efforts to
reunite the pair. Cox's memoir of her magical, unforgettable aquatic encounter
is "moving and thrilling" (Booklist).
First Chapter
From Baghdad, with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava - by Jay
Kopelman with Melinda Roth
Publisher: Lyons Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/1/2006
ISBN-13: 9781592289806
ISBN-10: 1592289800
A member of the Marines, Kopelman was in Fallujah during the first week of the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq when his battalion discovered a three-week-old
puppy in an abandoned house. Though forbidden to have pets, Kopelman took the
dog, whom he named Lava, back to his base and set about caring for him. From
Bagdad, with Love is Kopelman's story of his relationship with Lava and his
efforts to bring the pup back to the United States. Dog lovers who enjoy this
book and want another canine rescue story should look up Mark Levin's Rescuing
Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish.
First Chapter
The Cowboy and His Elephant: The Story of a Remarkable Friendship - by Malcolm
MacPherson
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/3/2002
ISBN-13: 9780312304065
ISBN-10: 0312304064
Elephants are some of the most expressive animals in nature, capable of
demonstrating joy, anger, and even grief, which cowboy Bob Norris--the original
"Marlboro Man"--knows firsthand. In 1988, Norris adopted a ten-month-old
orphaned elephant, Amy, who had been spared from a culling operation in her
native
Zimbabwe. Norris raised Amy on his ranch in the American West and the two
developed an unbelievably close relationship. This moving book recounts their
friendship and is packed with information about elephants and their behavior.
Want to read more about these majestic creatures? Give Katy Payne's In the
Presence of Elephants a try.
First Chapter
Chosen by a Horse: A Memoir - by Susan Richards
Publisher: Soho Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/1/2006
ISBN-13: 9781569474198
ISBN-10: 1569474192
In a memoir that is certain to touch the hearts of animal lovers, author Susan
Richards details how she nursed an abused horse, Lay Me Down, back to health,
and in the process healed her own damaged soul. A recovering alcoholic,
Richards already had three other horses when she adopted Lay Me Down; while
nurturing
the neglected horse back to health and integrating her into the existing herd
was a challenge for Richards, in exchange Lay Me Down helped her to overcome
her somewhat dysfunctional outlook on life. If you enjoy this book, don't miss
Richards' follow-up, Chosen Forever.
First Chapter
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