New Biographies – May 2009

A. Lincoln
B LINCOLN
Ronald C. White Jr.
A well-reviewed, expansive biography of the president whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life.

Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage
B ADAMS
Edith B. Gelles
The romantic story of two important figures of early American history.

Abraham Lincoln
B LINCOLN
James M. McPherson
A very concise, illuminating portrait of the 16th president.

Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist
Michael J. Fox
B FOX
The actor recounts his years with Parkinson’s Disease and learning to live a new life when he was happy with his old one.

The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Art Thief, Rock-and-Roller, and Prodigal Son
Myles J. Connor and Jenny Siler
B CONNOR
The story of legendary art thief, Myles Connor.

The Black Girl Next Door
B BASZILE
Jennifer Baszile
The author relates her coming-of-age experiences in an exclusive California white suburb in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man
Tim M. Berra
B DARWIN
The fascinating story of the man and the idea.

Crazy Love: A Memoir
B STEINER
Leslie Morgan Steiner
Even though she seemed to have the perfect life, at 22-years-of-age, the author fell in love with the wrong person.

Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes
Mary Tyler Moore
B MOORE
The well-known actress recounts her life with diabetes over the course of the past 40 years.

Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love
Myron Uhlberg
B UHLBERG
The author’s first language was American Sign Language.  His second language was English and as he learned it, he became his father’s ears and mouth in his Brooklyn neighborhood.

Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story
Isabel Gillies
B GILLIES
Happily married, or so she thought, the author’s marriage dissolved and a friend told her that it “happens every day.”

Honeymoon in Tehran: Two Years of Love and Danger in Iran
Azadeh Moaveni
B MOAVENI
Reporting for Time magazine, the author married an Iranian man and learned about life on the inside of this tumultuous country.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti: A Memoir
Giulia Melucci
B MELUCCI
Fizzled romances and steamy recipes!

Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy
Peter S. Canellos, ed.
B KENNEDY
The tumultuous life of the youngest of the Kennedy brothers.

A Little Bit Wicked (Life, Love, and Faith in Stages)
Kristin Chenoweth
B CHENOWETH
The story of a talented gal from Kansas who takes Broadway by storm.

Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir
B BUCKLEY
Christopher Buckley
The well-known author and only child of famous parents recounts the year in which both of them died.

Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found
Allegra Huston
B HUSTON
The author was four years old when her mother was killed and she was introduced to the film director John Huston with the words, “This is your father.”  Later, at age twelve, she was introduced to her real father, British historian John Julius Norwich.

Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster
B KATHERINE
Alison Weir
The story of the royal mistress who became one of the most crucial figures in the history of the British royal dynasties.

Mrs. Lincoln: A Life
B LINCOLN
Catherine Clinton
The author illuminates the remarkable, enigmatic life of the First Lady.

Not Now, Voyager: A Memoir
B SCHWARTZ
Lynne Sharon Schwartz
A memoir, both serious and amusing, about the world of travel with a personal look at the author’s experiences.

Paul Newman: A Life
B NEWMAN
Shawn Levy
The fascinating life of the legendary superstar.

Pretty in Plaid: A Memoir
B LANCASTER
Jen Lancaster
Think “David Sedaris with pearls and a supercute handbag.”

Red Princess: A Revolutionary Life
B DOLGOROUKY
Sofka Zinovieff
Born in St. Petersburg in 1907, Princess Sophy Dolgorouky’s early life was one of privilege, but ten years later, her family fled to England and then to Paris.

Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World
Mary Pipher
B PIPHER
The author of Reviving Ophelia explores her own life story and the lessons she has learned.

Somewhere Towards the End
B ATHILL
Diana Athill
The 91-year-old author relates candidly the condition of being old — both the losses and gains.

Through It All: Reflections on My Life, My Family, and My Faith
Christine King Farris
B FARRIS
The only sister of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. relates her memories of growing up, family life and her revered brother.

The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory and Redemption
Bertice Berry
B BERRY
The author presents a reflective history of her family that encompasses both pain and hope.

Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin
Lorenzo Benet
B PALIN
An up-close view of the vice-presidential nominee from an assistant-editor of  People magazine.

The Urban Hermit
B MACDONALD
Sam MacDonald
Faced with the truth that both his debts and waistline were out of control, the author devised a plan to change his life.

The Yankee Years
B TORRE
Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
The noted manager took the Yankees, once again, to the playoffs and the World Series. What did it take to keep the Yankees on the top of the baseball world?