Biographies & Memoirs ~ February 2010

Real lives of real people.

	The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army by Greg Jaffe Find in the Library They were four exceptional soldiers, a new generation asked to save an army that had been hollowed out after Vietnam. They survived the military's brutal winnowing to reach its top echelon. They became the Army's most influential generals in the crucible of Iraq. Collectively, their lives tell the story of the Army over the last four decades and illuminate the path it must travel to protect the nation over the next century. Theirs is a story of successes and failures, of ambitions achieved... more

	Last Words: A Memoir by George Carlin Find in the Library As one of America's preeminent comedic voices, George Carlin saw it all throughout his extraordinary fifty-year career and made fun of most of it. Last Words is the story of the man behind some of the most seminal comedy of the last half century, blending his signature acer-bic humor with never-before-told stories from his own life. In 1993 George Carlin asked his friend and bestselling author Tony Hendra to help him write his autobiography. For almost fifteen years, in scores of conversations,... more

	My Paper Chase: True Stories of Vanished Times by Harold Evans Find in the Library Evans recounts the wild and wonderful tale of his newspapering life--his passion for reporting, his clashes with Rupert Murdoch, and his struggle to use journalism to better the lives of those less fortunate. "My Paper Chase" offers a nostalgic journey in black and white. ...

	A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean by Tori Murden Mcclure Find in the Library "In the end," writes Tori McClure, "I know I rowed across the Atlantic to find my heart, but in the beginning, I wasn't aware that it was missing." During June 1998, Tori McClure set out to row across the Atlantic Ocean by herself in a twenty-three-foot plywood boat with no motor or sail. Within days she lost all communication with shore, but nevertheless she decided to keep going. Not only did she lose the sound of a friendly voice, she lost updates on the location of the Gulf Stream and on the... more

	Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life by Carol Sklenicka Find in the Library Raymond Carver was the most beloved American short-story writer of the late twentieth century. Two decades after his death, this definitive biography tells the story of Carver's uncanny ambition, legendary life, and enduring work. When Raymond Carver died at age fifty, readers lost a distinctive voice in its prime. Carver was, the Times of London said, "the Chekhov of middle America." His influence on a generation of writers and on the short story itself has been widely noted. Not... more

	Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright Find in the Library Before long, and without intending it, I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal. Former president George H. W. Bush had been known for saying "Read my lips." I began urging colleagues and reporters to "Read my pins." It would never have happened if not for Saddam Hussein. When U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright criticized the dictator, his poet in residence responded by calling her "an unparalleled serpent."... more

	Just Kids by Patti Smith Find in the Library Smith's evocative, honest, and moving coming-of-age story reveals her extraordinary relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Part romance, part elegy, "Just Kids" is about friendship in the truest sense, and the artist's calling. ...

	The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkar Find in the Library Patricia Highsmith, one of the great writers of 20th Century American fiction, had a life as darkly compelling as that of her favorite "hero-criminal," talented Tom Ripley. In this revolution ary biography, Joan Schenkar paints a riveting portrait-- from Highsmith's birth in Texas to Hitchcock's filming of her first novel, Strangers On a Train, to her long, strange, self-exile in Europe. We see her as a secret writer for the comics, a brilliant creator of disturbing fictions, and erotic predator... more

Biographies & Memoirs ~ February 2010

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