[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Biography and Memoir December 2008

From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:09:27 -0500
"Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town 
library. The only entrance requirement is interest." ~ Lady Bird Johnson 
(1912-2007),
First Lady of the United States from 1963-1969
New and Recently Released!

Champlain's Dream - by David Hackett Fischer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/14/2008
ISBN: 9781416593324
ISBN-10: 1416593322
While explorer Samuel de Champlain is best remembered for founding the first 
permanent French settlements in North America, he was also a soldier, mariner,
cartographer, published writer, naturalist, and cultural diplomat. Now, on the 
400th anniversary of Champlain's establishment of Quebec, historian David
Hackett Fischer examines Champlain's accomplished life, including his dream for 
peace in the New World and his relationship with American Indians. If you
like this sweeping biography and want to read more about exploration and 
discovery in North America, check out Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage or 
Felipe
Fernández-Armesto's Amerigo.
First Chapter

The Longest Trip Home  - by John Grogan
Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/1/2008
ISBN: 9780061713248
ISBN-10: 0061713244
In his enormously popular Marley & Me, author John Grogan wrote about his 
relationship with his lovable but badly behaved Labrador retriever; in The 
Longest
Trip Home, Grogan once again delights readers with tales from his personal 
life, though this time he recounts his boyhood in suburban Detroit and his early
adulthood and career. With humor and emotion, Grogan remembers his devoutly 
Catholic parents, his stint as an altar boy, and how he met and fell in love
with his wife. This "tenderly told" (Publishers Weekly) memoir is sure to be 
one of this winter's biggest hits.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House - by Jon Meacham
Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/11/2008
ISBN: 9781400063253
ISBN-10: 1400063256
In the spirit of David McCullough's John Adams and Walter Isaacson's Benjamin 
Franklin, bestselling author and Newsweek editor Jon Meacham offers a fresh
look at a familiar face in American history, U.S. President Andrew Jackson. 
Meacham's vivid portrait of this self-made man describes his military career,
rise through American politics, and transformation of the American presidency. 
In addition, Meacham uses newly discovered letters and family papers to
offer surprising insights into Old Hickory's personality and relationship with 
his friends, family, and inner circle. Pick up American Lion for an original
and compelling look at the 7th U.S. president.
First Chapter

In Spite of Myself: A Memoir - by Christopher Plummer
Publisher: Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/11/2008
ISBN: 9780679421627
ISBN-10: 0679421629
While you may recognize Canadian-born actor Christopher Plummer from his roles 
as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music and General Chang in Star Trek
VI, you may not know that during Plummer's 60-year career he has had a long 
love affair with classical theater. In this entertaining self-portrait, Plummer,
who is now entering his 8th decade, details his privileged upbringing, early 
acting days, stage roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and colorful
personal life. He also dishes about performers with whom he has worked, such as 
Laurence Olivier and Diane Lane. "Revealing and charming," says Kirkus
Reviews.
Born in December

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination - by Neal Gabler
Publisher: Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/31/2006
ISBN: 9780679438229
ISBN-10: 067943822X
December 5, 1901. Walt Disney had an immeasurable influence on 20th-century 
American culture, and in this engaging and meticulously researched biography,
the famed animator gets his due. Author Neal Gabler, who had full access to the 
Disney archives, covers all aspects of Disney's life, from his deprived
and disciplined youth to his achievements in the field of animation, and from 
his creation of an entertainment empire to his reclusive and lonely private
world. Those who want to discover the man behind the mouse ears should add this 
engrossing biography to their must-read list.
First Chapter

Beethoven: The Universal Composer - by Edmund Morris
Publisher: Atlas Books/HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/1/2005
ISBN: 9780060759742
ISBN-10: 0060759747
December 16, 1770. Though profoundly deaf for the latter portion of his career, 
Ludwig van Beethoven is considered one of the most popular, influential,
and talented composers in all of history. In this insightful biography, 
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edmund Morris (Theodore Rex) brings Beethoven
to life as a man of astonishing complexity and overpowering intelligence. He 
pays particular attention to Beethoven's childhood and musical education,
the three phases of his work, and his private life and relationships with 
women. If you enjoy this biography and want to read even more about Beethoven
and his music, check out Lewis Lockwood's Beethoven: The Music and the Life.
Table of Contents
First Chapter

Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson - by Jan Jarboe Russell
Publisher: Taylor Trade
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 6/18/2004
ISBN: 9781589790971
ISBN-10: 1589790979
December 22, 1912. Throughout much of her life, the late Claudia Alta "Lady 
Bird" Taylor Johnson was overshadowed by her husband, U.S. President Lyndon
Johnson. But in this comprehensive biography, author Jan Jarboe Russell paints 
her as a surprisingly influential and centering force on LBJ. Russell also
examines Mrs. Johnson's childhood, support of civil rights, and business 
acumen. Readers looking for more biographies of first ladies should pick up 
Ronald
Kessler's Laura Bush, Donald Spoto's Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, or 
Blanche Wiesen Cook's two-volume Eleanor Roosevelt.

Kitchen Privileges - by Mary Higgins Clark
Publisher: Pocket Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/1/2003
ISBN: 9780743412612
ISBN-10: 0743412613
December 24, 1929. In this charming, bittersweet memoir, author Mary Higgins 
Clark--the "Queen of Suspense"--recounts growing up in the Bronx during the
Depression. She begins by reminiscing about her two brothers, Joseph and John, 
and her loving Irish parents, Luke and Nora. Clark then details her father's
untimely death at the age of 54 and her mother's subsequent decision to bring 
in a colorful assortment of boarders who changed the lives of their family.
Booklist says that "Clark's many fans will find her life just as interesting as 
her many novels."
First Chapter
Focus on: The Mafia

The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer - by Philip Carlo
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 7/11/2006
ISBN: 9780312349288
ISBN-10: 0312349289
Over a 43-year period, mafia hit man Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski murdered 
more than 200 people, the first when he was just 14 years old. Based on over
200 hours of interviews that author Philip Carlo conducted with Kuklinski, this 
chilling biography examines the Ice Man's life and crimes, including his
dealings with the Gambino crime family and how he managed to lead a double life 
as a suburban family man and cold-blooded killer. While this book is not
for the faint of heart, fans of true-crime narratives will be riveted.
First Chapter
Table of Contents

For the Sins of My Father: A Mafia Killer, His Son, and the Legacy of a Mob 
Life - by Albert Demeo
Publisher: Bantam Dell
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/1/2003
ISBN: 9780767906890
ISBN-10: 0767906896
"No one could have asked for a better father than mine...I wasn't exactly sure 
what my father did for a living, and I didn't care. I just liked being with
him," remembers Albert DeMeo, the son of Gambino-family mobster Roy DeMeo. In 
this outstanding mafia memoir, DeMeo describes how he came of age in a world
of violence and organized crime, how his father was murdered when he was 17, 
and his gradual awakening to the horror of his father's crimes. "One of the
most searing volumes ever written about the Mob...painful, intense, 
unforgettable," says Publishers Weekly.
First Chapter

Divorced From the Mob: My Journey From Organized Crime to Independent Woman - 
by Andrea Giovino with Gary Brozek
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/15/2004
ISBN: 9780786713554
ISBN-10: 0786713550
Divorced From the Mob is the "raw and very real" (Publishers Weekly) story of 
Andrea Giovino, a mother of four who was married to a mob drug runner in Staten
Island, New York. Giovino's introduction to crime came at an early age, when 
her mother pressed her into stealing food from the grocer in their Brooklyn
neighborhood. From there on out, Giovino lived on the wrong side of the law, 
becoming romantically involved with a series of "made" men and rubbing elbows
with mobsters like John Gotti. After she and her husband were busted by the 
DEA, Giovino decided to cooperate with the authorities and clean up her life.
Check out this fascinating book for her full story.

Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia - by Peter Maas
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/1/1999
ISBN: 9780060930967
ISBN-10: 0060930969
In 1991, when Gambino-family underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano 
decided to cooperate with the FBI, he was the highest-ranking mobster to ever
turn informant. In exchange for his testimony, he received a reduced sentence 
and entered the Witness Protection Program, which he has since left. Bestselling
author Peter Maas (Serpico) relays Gravano's story, describing his involvement 
in the murder of mafia head Paul Castellano, appointment as underboss to
John Gotti, and decision to cooperate with the Feds. First published in 1997, 
Underboss is a revealing, behind-the-scenes look at life in the Cosa Nostra.
First Chapter
[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Biography and Memoir December 2008

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