Biography
Read about the lives of real people.
The absent moon : a memoir of a short childhood and a long depression
Schwarcz, Luiz, author.
2023
When Luiz Schwarcz was a child, he was told little about his grandfather and namesake Laaios-"Luiz" in Hungarian. Only later would he learn that his grandfather, a devout Hungarian Jew, had defied his country's Nazi occupiers by holding secret religious services in his home and, after being put on a train to a German death camp with his son Andrae, had ordered Andrae to leap from the train to freedom at a rail crossing while Laaios himself was carried on to his death. What Luiz did know was that his father was a very unhappy man, and his melancholia haunted the house. Young Luiz blossomed into the family prodigy, becoming an outwardly gregarious, athletic, and academically successful young man, eventually growing into a literary publisher of great promise. His house was still filled with silence, but he found a home in that silence-a home that he filled with books and with reading. But then, at a high point of outward success, Luiz was brought low by a devastating mental breakdown against which his resources were pitifully inadequate.
All the beauty in the world : the Metropolitan Museum of Art and me
Bringley, Patrick, author
2023
"A fascinating, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard"-- Provided by publisher
Beautiful trauma : an explosion, an obsession, and a new lease on life
Fogg, Rebecca, author
2023
"After a freak accident, a young woman must recover from trauma and find what will make her whole again. Warm, funny, and brutally honest about what it means to feel vulnerable, this is a story of trauma and recovery for our time"-- Provided by publisher.
The best minds : a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentions
Rosen, Jonathan, 1963- author
2023
'The Best Minds' is Jonathan Rosens haunting investigation of the forces that led his closest childhood friend, Michael Laudor, from the heights of brilliant promise to the forensic psychiatric hospital where he has lived since killing the woman he loved. A story about friendship, love, and the price of self-delusion, this book explores the ways in which we understand - and fail to understand - mental illness.
Empress of the Nile : the daredevil archaeologist who saved Egypt's ancient temples from destruction
Olson, Lynne, author.
2023
In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time--an international campaign to save over a dozen ancient Egyptian temples, built during the height of the pharaohs' rule, from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the feisty French archaeologist who made it all happen. A willful, real-life version of Indiana Jones, Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything. As a brave member of the French Resistance in WWII she had survived imprisonment by the Nazis; in her fight to save the temples she had to face down two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world, Egyptian President Abdel Nasser and French President Charles de Gaulle. As she told one reporter, "You don't get anywhere without a fight, you know."
Everyday utopia : what 2,000 years of wild experiments can teach us about the good life
Ghodsee, Kristen Rogheh, 1970-
2023
A spirited tour through 2,500 years of utopian thinking and experiments to tease out better ways of imagining our domestic lives - from childrearing and housing to gender roles and private property - and a look at the communities putting these seemingly fanciful visions into practice today.
George VI and Elizabeth : the marriage that saved the monarchy
Smith, Sally Bedell, 1948- author
2023
Granted special access by Queen Elizabeth II to her parents' letters and diaries and to the papers of their close friends and family, Sally Bedell Smith brings the love story of this iconic royal couple to vibrant life. This deeply researched and revealing book shows how a loving and devoted marriage helped the King and Queen meet the challenges of World War II, lead a nation, solidify the public's faith in the monarchy, and raise their daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
It's not bragging if it's true
Avant-garde, Zaila.
2023
"Kids will be inspired to embrace their inner weirdness and persevere through obstacles after reading this empowering collection of true stories from teenage Scripps National Spelling Bee champ and Guinness World Record holder Zaila Avant-garde!"-- Provided by publisher.
Life on delay : making peace with a stutter
Hendrickson, John (Atlantic senior editor), author.
2023
"An intimate and revealing memoir of a lifelong struggle to speak"-- Provided by publisher.
The other family doctor : a veterinarian explores what animals can teach us about love, life, and mortality
Fine, Karen author
2023
Karen Fine always knew that she wanted to be a vet and wasn't going to let anything stop her: not her allergy to cats, and not the fact that in the '80s veterinary medicine was still a mostly male profession. Dr. Fine shares all these touching, joyful, heartbreaking, and life-affirming tales that make up her career as a vet. Woven into Dr. Fine's story are, of course, also the stories of her own pets: the birds, cats, and dogs who have taught her the most valuable lessons - how caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves, especially when life seems precarious.
