Biography and Memoir October 2007

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Biography and Memoir October 2007

"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."
~ Grandma Moses (1860-1961), American folk artist

New and Recently Released!

Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself - by Alan Alda

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/4/2007
ISBN: 9781400066179
ISBN-10: 1400066174

Emmy Award-winning actor Alan Alda became a household name in the 1970s when he starred on the TV show M*A*S*H, and since then he's stayed in the public eye through his roles in film, TV, and on the stage. In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda looks back and reassesses the meaning of his life and the paths he has taken, from the turbulent 1960s to the birth of his children to his thoughts on September 11th. He also ponders such questions as "What do I value?" and "What, exactly, is the good life?" If you enjoy this insightful and hilarious book, don't miss his first memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned.

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Amerigo: The Man Who Gave His Name to America - by Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/7/2007
ISBN: 9781400062812
ISBN-10: 1400062810

Though Christopher Columbus is credited with "discovering" the Western hemisphere, it is Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci whose name was used to christen these lands. Award-winning historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto looks at the life and times of this relatively unknown individual, painting a portrait of him as a talented self-promoter and borrower of others' achievements but also a courageous and daring adventurer, jewel trader, sorcerer, and cartographer. Sweeping from the Renaissance court of Ferdinand and Isabella to the soil of the New World, this "dazzling" (Publishers Weekly) biography illuminates an entire era in addition to the man himself.

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How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else - by Michael Gates Gill

Publisher: Gotham Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/20/2007
ISBN: 9781592402861
ISBN-10: 1592402860

At the age of 60, former advertising executive Michael Gates Gill's career was over, he was newly divorced, and his finances were in ruins. Then, to top things off, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In desperate need of a job with health insurance, he became a barista at a Starbucks in Manhattan. Much to his surprise, his time spent making lattés alongside his younger coworkers ended up transforming him into a happier and more empathetic person. How Starbucks Saved My Life is Gill's memoir of his life-altering experience; check it out for a riches-to-rags story of redemption and enlightenment.

Circling My Mother - by Mary Gordon

Publisher: Pantheon Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/14/2007
ISBN: 9780375424564
ISBN-10: 0375424563

Circling My Mother is acclaimed writer Mary Gordon's deeply personal portrait of her mother, Anna Gagliano Gordon, a hard-working woman whose life was shaped by polio, Catholicism, alcoholism, and dementia. Gordon describes Anna's life in all its facets, from her experiences in the Great Depression to the death of her husband to the importance of her faith. Gordon also speaks about her role supporting her mother through the final stages of her life. Pick up Circling My Mother for a bittersweet and powerfully moving chronicle of a mother-daughter relationship.

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Sovereign Ladies: The Six Reigning Queens of England - by Maureen Waller

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/4/2007
ISBN: 9780312338015
ISBN-10: 0312338015

In the long and eventful history of Britain, there have been many rulers, but only six queens regnant, or women who ruled in their own right: Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anne, Victoria, and Elizabeth II. English historian Maureen Waller offers a mini biography of each in this thought-provoking and "refreshingly feminist" (Kirkus Reviews) book. From the unpopularity of Catholic Mary I's reign to Elizabeth II's relationship with her children, each of their successes, failures, strengths, and weaknesses are assessed. Fans of British and women's history are sure to enjoy Sovereign Ladies.

October Birthdays

The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father - by Jim Wight

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2001
ISBN: 9780345434906
ISBN-10: 0345434900

Born October 3, 1916. Though millions of readers have come to know the late James Herriot through his semi-fictionalized books about life as a country vet, many of his fans may be surprised to learn that his real name was actually James Alfred Wight. In this portrait of the bestselling author, Herriot's son Jim Wight (also a vet) describes the man behind the pseudonym, detailing Herriot's training in Glasgow, his devotion to his family, his work as a rural vet in Yorkshire, and his down-to-earth nature. Written with the same warmth and gentle humor found in Herriot's own books, The Real James Herriot is a fitting tribute to this beloved writer.

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The Road from Coorain - by Jill Ker Conway

Publisher: Vintage Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/1/1990
ISBN: 9780679724360
ISBN-10: 0679724362

Born October 9, 1934. Raised until the age of 11 on an isolated, 30,000 acre Australian farm, Jill Ker Conway went on to become a Harvard-educated historian, author, and the first female president of Smith College. In The Road from Coorain, Conway describes her lonely youth in the Australian outback, the effects of her father's sudden death and her mother's subsequent depression, her intellectual awakening, and her journey to Smith College. Full of vivid descriptions of life in the grasslands of New South Wales, this memoir is an atmospheric and extraordinary coming-of-age story.

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Living History - by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 6/1/2003
ISBN: 9780743222242
ISBN-10: 0743222245

Born October 26, 1947. Now that Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is in full swing, it seems that her name and face are everywhere. In this memoir, which was published two years after her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, left office, Clinton chronicles her eight years as first lady, from her experiences working on human rights to her life on the campaign trail to her reaction to the infamous Monica Lewinsky scandal. If you want to know more about the woman hoping to become the next U.S. president, grab this revealing book off the shelves.

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John Adams - by David McCullough

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2001
ISBN: 9780684813639
ISBN-10: 0684813637

Born October 30, 1735. Author and historian David McCullough, whom Publishers Weekly calls "a preeminent master of narrative history," charts the fascinating life of America's second president, John Adams, in this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography. McCullough traces Adams' career as a Massachusetts farmer and lawyer, his marriage to Abigail, and his important role as both a Federalist and Founding Father. Other noted individuals such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr also populate this riveting book. John Adams will appeal to anyone with an interest in early U.S. history.

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Focus on: Queens

Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France - by Evelyne Lever; translated from the French by Catherine Temerson

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/1/2001
ISBN: 9780312283339
ISBN-10: 0312283334

In this biography, French historian Evelyne Lever tells the story of Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France. By using diaries, letters and other primary source materials, Lever puts a very human face on the woman who supposedly said "Let them eat cake." The portrait that emerges is one of a headstrong queen who was devoted to her family and the monarchy but who was completely out of touch with her subjects and entirely inept at court politics. Full of scandal, intrigue, sex, and lavish living, Marie Antoinette is a "spicy, unsparing chronicle" (Entertainment Weekly).

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Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life - by Queen Noor

Publisher: Miramax Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 3/1/2003
ISBN: 9780786867172
ISBN-10: 0786867175

When American-born, 27-year-old Lisa Najeeb Halaby married King Hussein of Jordan in 1978, she left behind her Western lifestyle, converted from Christianity to Islam, and became one of the most famous women in the world. Leap of Faith is Queen Noor's frank memoir of her life as queen and her marriage to King Hussein, who died in 1999. Among the topics that she discusses are the challenges of life in the public eye, her devotion to humanitarian causes, and her husband's efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. When first published in 2003, this memoir was a New York Times bestseller; check it out and see why.

Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII - by David Starkey

Publisher: Perennial
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2004
ISBN: 9780060005504
ISBN-10: 0060005505

Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived. So went the fates of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr, the six very different women who married King Henry VIII of England. In this absorbing book, historian David Starkey offers a colorful character study of each queen and discusses her relationship with the Tudor king. Beginning with Catherine of Aragon, who was married to Henry for 24 years before being cast aside for Anne Boleyn, Six Wives is a remarkable tale that fans of British history won't want to miss.

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Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life - by Alison Weir

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 4/1/2001
ISBN: 9780345434876
ISBN-10: 0345434870

Married to Louis VII of France in 1137 and to Henry II of England in 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine was a queen of both France and England, a mother of two kings, and one of the most influential women of the Middle Ages. This biography by noted historian Alison Weir documents Eleanor's exceptional life and places her story in the context of feudal Europe, a time when women had few rights and were largely considered nothing more than chattel. Grab Eleanor of Aquitaine for an immensely readable account of an intelligent, determined, and tenacious woman.

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