Biography and Memoir September 2007

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Biography and Memoir September 2007

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
~ Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British politician and Prime Minister

New and Recently Released!

Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father - by John Matteson

Publisher: W.W. Norton
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/1/2007
ISBN: 9780393059649
ISBN-10: 0393059642

Though you probably know Louisa May Alcott as the author of the beloved classic Little Women, you may not be aware that her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, a noted Transcendentalist, was also a published author. Louisa and her father were also both born on November 29 (1832 and 1799, respectively), and they died within 40 hours of each other. However, despite their similarities, these two eminent 19th-century figures shared a complex and sometimes difficult relationship, which author John Matteson details in Eden's Outcasts. "Carefully researched and sensitively written," says Kirkus Reviews.

Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife - by Irene Spencer

Publisher: Center Street
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/22/2007
ISBN: 9781599957197
ISBN-10: 1599957191

In 1953, Irene Spencer, a 16-year-old girl who was raised in a fundamentalist Mormon community, married her brother-in-law Verlan LeBaron, becoming his second wife. For 28 years, Spencer endured the emotional strain of sharing her husband with nine other wives, birthing 13 of his 58 children, and living in conditions of extreme poverty. In Shattered Dreams, Spencer speaks candidly about her experience as a plural wife and her eventual decision to break free from both her marriage and religious beliefs. Shocking and compelling, this memoir will hook you from page one.

September Birthdays

Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War - by T.J. Stiles

Publisher: Vintage Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/1/2003
ISBN: 9780375705588
ISBN-10: 0375705589

Born September 5, 1847. This biography of Jesse James chronicles the legendary American outlaw's life and criminal career, from his youth in Missouri to his years fighting alongside Confederate guerrillas to his exploits with the James-Younger gang. Author T.J. Stiles also examines whether James deserves to be remembered as a cold-blooded predator, a Robin Hood hero, or perhaps even as a forerunner of modern-day terrorists. Booklist calls this biography a "well-written and often surprising reinterpretation."

First Chapter  Table of Contents  

The Kennedy Men: 1901-1963: The Laws of the Father - by Laurence Leamer

Publisher: Perennial
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/1/2002
ISBN: 9780060502881
ISBN-10: 0060502886

Joseph P. Kennedy born September 6, 1888. Bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer (The Kennedy Women) is a leading expert on the Kennedy family, and The Kennedy Men is his revealing multi-generational portrait of the male members of this iconic clan. Beginning in 1901 with 12-year-old Joseph P. Kennedy, Leamer charts the rise of the Kennedy men to the heights of economic and political success. This book ends in 1963 with the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy; for the continuation of their saga, check out Sons of Camelot: The Fate of an American Dynasty.

Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France - by Daniel Coyle

Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 6/1/2005
ISBN: 9780060734978
ISBN-10: 0060734973

Born September 18, 1971. Before he retired, American cyclist Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times, from 1999-2005. In addition, Armstrong's amazing life story also includes his courageous battle with testicular cancer while in the midst of his racing career. Lance Armstrong's War details Armstrong's life in the months leading up to his sixth Tour de France victory, a period marked by his intense training and accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong fans or readers of sports biographies will enjoy this "honest, personal and passionate" (Publishers Weekly) book.

First Chapter  Table of Contents  

Capote: A Biography - by Gerald Clarke

Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/15/2005
ISBN: 9780786716616
ISBN-10: 0786716614

Born September 30, 1924. In this absorbing biography, author Gerald Clarke traces the extraordinary and heartbreaking life of famed American writer and eccentric Truman Capote. Clarke recounts Capote's childhood in Alabama; his literary career, including the publication of In Cold Blood; his relationships with such notable figures as Lee Radziwill and Gore Vidal; and his struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with Capote, this definitive biography of the famed writer was first published in 1988. "A masterpiece," remarks Newsday.

Focus on: Friendship Chronicles

The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship - by David Halberstam

Publisher: Hyperion
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2003
ISBN: 9781401300579
ISBN-10: 140130057X

In the 1940s, four men who wore the Boston Red Sox uniform--Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky--forged what would become a more than 50-year friendship, one that would see them through Hall of Fame inductions, ill health, and personal upheavals. Beginning with the 1,300-mile road trip that DiMaggio and Pesky made to visit the dying Williams in October of 2001, The Teammates is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam's touching tribute to their long-lasting friendship and a chronicle of their days with the Sox.

First Chapter  

Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul - by Tony Hendra

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/31/2005
ISBN: 9780812972344
ISBN-10: 0812972341

As a 14-year-old teenager in the British countryside, Tony Hendra was involved in an inappropriate relationship with an older, married woman. After they were discovered by the woman's devout Catholic husband, Hendra was sent to spend several weeks with the Rev. Joseph Warrilow at a Benedictine abbey. Hendra and Father Joe developed a close bond, and for the next 40 years Joe served as Tony's counselor, confessor, and spiritual mentor. In Father Joe, Hendra relates the story of their friendship, from their first encounter to the end of Father Joe's life. The New York Times Book Review says Father Joe is "extraordinary, luminescent, profound."

First Chapter  

Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship - by Jon Meacham

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/1/2003
ISBN: 9780375505003
ISBN-10: 0375505008

Franklin and Winston examines the fascinating relationship between U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the two leaders of the free world during World War II. Roosevelt and Churchill first met in 1918 but they didn't begin their relationship until 20 years later, when Churchill began to persistently court Roosevelt as an ally in the British war effort against the Nazis. Over the course of their friendship, they spent a considerable amount of time together and exchanged almost 2,000 messages. The Washington Post calls this portrait by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham "a memorable achievement."

First Chapter  

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship - by Ann Patchett

Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2004
ISBN: 9780060572143
ISBN-10: 0060572140

Though writers Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy were classmates at Sarah Lawrence College in the early 1980s, the two women did not become close friends until they both attended the prestigious Iowa Writer's Workshop. Grealy was the survivor of a childhood battle with cancer and throughout her life had undergone a series of seemingly endless reconstructive facial surgeries; in 2002, Grealy died after a long deterioration. Truth & Beauty is Patchett's intimate memoir about the deep, 20-year bond that she and Grealy shared. "A tough and loving tribute, hard to put down, impossible to forget," notes Kirkus Reviews.

First Chapter  

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