[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Biography and Memoir June 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:14:26 -0400
Biography and Memoir June 2008
"I may not have proved a great explorer, but we have done the greatest march
ever made and come very near to great success." ~ Robert Falcon Scott
(1868-1912),
British explorer, as he approached death during his last expedition
New and Recently Released!
The Sum of Our Days - by Isabel Allende; translated from the Spanish by
Margaret Sayers Peden
Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 4/1/2008
ISBN: 9780061551833
ISBN-10: 006155183X
On Chilean author Isabel Allende's website, the acclaimed writer says that "my
most significant achievement is not my writing, but the love I share with
my family." Here, in her second memoir, Allende discusses her relationship with
her imperfect but close-knit family in the years following the death of
her daughter, Paula, in 1992. Among the people who figure prominently in
Allende's book are her husband, mother, children, and friends; together they
experience
loss, joy, successes, and failures. Check out The Sum of Our Days for this
gifted storyteller's heartfelt portrait of her extraordinary family.
The Prince of Frogtown - by Rick Bragg
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/13/2008
ISBN: 9781400040407
ISBN-10: 140004040X
When Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg became the stepfather of a ten-year-old
boy, he was prompted to reexamine the life of his own father, Charlie, who
was known as "The Prince of Frogtown" in his poor Alabama neighborhood. In
alternating chapters, Bragg contrasts Charlie's hardscrabble youth and
hard-drinking
adulthood with his own very different experience as a parent, resulting in a
moving reflection on what it means to be a family, a father, and a son. If
you like this book, don't miss Bragg's two previous family-focused memoirs, All
Over but the Shoutin' and Ava's Man.
A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir - by Augusten Burroughs
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 4/29/2008
ISBN: 9780312342029
ISBN-10: 0312342020
Bestselling author Augusten Burroughs is back with another astonishing memoir,
this time detailing his relationship with his father, who is briefly mentioned
in Burroughs' Running with Scissors. With tremendous emotion and honesty,
Burroughs reveals how he was desperate for his father's affection and
unconditional
love as a boy. Sadly, he--along with his mother--was instead on the receiving
end of alcoholic rages and abuse. Sure to be a popular read this summer,
this deeply personal and psychologically charged tale will appeal to readers
who like books about dysfunctional families.
The Man Who Loved China: Joseph Needham and the Making of a Masterpiece - by
Simon Winchester
Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/1/2008
ISBN: 9780060884598
ISBN-10: 0060884592
In the 1950s, when British scientist and adventurer Joseph Needham began the
publication of his Science and Civilization in China series, he opened the
West's eyes to the culture and historical importance of China. In this
fascinating biography, bestselling author Simon Winchester (The Professor and
the
Madman) documents Needham's life and passion for the Asian nation, from his
career as a biochemist at Cambridge to his love affair with a visiting Chinese
student to his travels throughout China. Winchester's sweeping narrative makes
for an immensely enjoyable and unforgettable read.
Born in June
Thomas Hardy - by Claire Tomalin
Publisher: Penguin Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/18/2007
ISBN: 9781594201189
ISBN-10: 1594201188
June 2, 1840. Award-winning biographer Claire Tomalin has already tackled such
literary giants as Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Charles Dickens;
in this outstanding biography she focuses on another historical biggie, the
English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy. Tomalin details the 19th-century
writer's
humble beginnings, his rise through the London literary scene, his long but
troubled marriage to Emma Gifford, and the ways that Hardy's works challenged
sexual and religious conventions of his time. This elegant and insightful
biography was a New York Times Notable Book in 2007.
Scott of the Antarctic: A Life of Courage and Tragedy - by David Crane
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/14/2006
ISBN: 9780375415272
ISBN-10: 0375415270
June 6, 1868. When British explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole
in January 1912, he discovered that he had lost the "Race for the Pole" by
only one month to Norwegian Roald Amundsen. Then, to the shock of the rest of
the world, Scott and his entire party perished while attempting to return
home. Author David Crane uses Scott's own diaries and letters to probe the
explorer's life and voyages, providing a fresh perspective on the man behind
the myth. Dramatic details of polar exploration make Scott of the Antarctic a
treat for readers who like tales of survival and discovery.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Peter the Great: His Life and World - by Robert K. Massie
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/1/1996
ISBN: 9780345336194
ISBN-10: 0345336194
June 9, 1672. Regarded as one of the most extraordinary rulers in history,
Peter the Great transformed Russia from a medieval backwater into a leading
European
power. While on the throne, he instituted political and economic reforms, moved
the capital to St. Petersburg, modernized the army, and established the
Russian navy. This Pulitzer Prize-winning biography documents both the public
and personal aspects of Peter's life and also creates an atmospheric portrait
of 17th- and 18th-century Russia. For a look at another great Russian ruler,
check out Virginia Rounding's Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power.
Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich - by Mark Kriegel
Publisher: Free Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/6/2007
ISBN: 9780743284974
ISBN-10: 0743284976
June 22, 1947. As a child, Peter "Pistol Pete" Maravich learned basketball from
his father, LSU coach Press Maravich; not too many years later he was wowing
college fans with his impressive ability to handle the ball, shoot, score, and
pass. But the legendary athlete, who is still the all-time leading scorer
in NCAA history and who played NBA ball for 10 seasons, also had his share of
troubles, battling depression and alcoholism for much of his adult life.
Sadly, Maravich died at the age of 40 from an undetected heart condition.
Booklist calls this biography by sports writer Mark Kriegel "transcendent."
First Chapter
Table of Contents
A Year in the Life
Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper - by Diablo Cody
Publisher: Gotham Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 12/28/2006
ISBN: 9781592402731
ISBN-10: 1592402739
If you watched the 2008 Academy Awards, then you probably remember Diablo Cody,
who won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Juno, her debut film. But
before Cody wrote the script for that quirky independent film, she was a young
college graduate with a boring day job who decided--on a whim--to participate
in an amateur night at a Minnesota strip club. That one night led to a
year-long, full-time stint as an exotic dancer, which Cody details in this
humorous
and witty memoir. Publishers Weekly says that this book is "so alarmingly
entertaining" that "readers will wish the book were longer."
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously - by Julie Powell
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/7/2006
ISBN: 9780316013260
ISBN-10: 0316013269
New Yorker Julie Powell needed a change--her secretarial job was going nowhere
and she was sick of the lackluster Queens apartment that she shared with
her husband. So what did this ambitious foodie decide to do? She set her sights
on preparing each and every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's 1961
classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This memoir is her account of her
year-long endeavor, which not only taught her the proper way to kill a lobster
and prepare Mayonnaise Collee but also transformed her marriage, career, and
direction in life. "Spirited and funny," notes Entertainment Weekly.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Senior Year: A Father, a Son, and High School Baseball - by Dan Shaughnessy
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/16/2007
ISBN: 9780618729050
ISBN-10: 0618729054
Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy is used to writing about
professional athletics, but in this memoir he discusses sports from an entirely
different
angle: as the father of a high school baseball player. Senior Year is
Shaughnessy's chronicle of his son Sam's final year in high school, during which
Sam excelled on the baseball field, decided what college to attend, and
struggled to keep his grades up. Shaughnessy also reflects on his own childhood
and discusses how the pair's relationship changed as Sam prepared to leave
home. Don't miss this lighthearted and often poignant tribute to fathers, sons,
and America's favorite game.
First Chapter
See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America - by Logan Ward
Publisher: BenBella Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/1/2007
ISBN: 9781933771151
ISBN-10: 1933771151
Logan Ward and his lawyer wife lived in New York City with all that the modern
world had to offer at their fingertips...but they weren't happy. To fight
their dissatisfaction, they took a drastic step: they moved with their
two-year-old son, Luther, to rural Virginia in order to live as people did in
1900.
See You in a Hundred Years tells the story of their remarkable year dealing
with a new time and place--one that included a wood-burning stove, cloth baby
diapers, and lots of snakes. Fans of reality TV programs like PBS' Frontier
House should particularly enjoy this virtual trip back to the turn of the 20th
century.
Table of Contents
Other related posts:
- » [bksvol-discuss] Fw: Biography and Memoir June 2008
