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Showing 1 - 20 of 7819 items
Memoir by the author of The Madonnas of Echo Park (DB 71696). Describes being raised as an American Indian by…
his single mother in Echo Park, California, in the 1970s and 1980s and discovering at the age of twelve or thirteen that he was really Mexican. Strong language. 2014
The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of…
essays. "Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores "what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self." When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks' short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom's brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer's eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo's children's books (author of the upcoming The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz's Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author's grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time
From the New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist, a biography in verse and prose of science…
fiction visionary Octavia Butler. Acclaimed novelist Ibi Zoboi illuminates the young life of the visionary storyteller Octavia E. Butler in poems and prose. Born into the Space Race, the Red Scare, and the dawning Civil Rights Movement, Butler experienced an American childhood that shaped her into the groundbreaking science-fiction storyteller whose novels continue to challenge and delight readers fifteen years after her death. Cover art © 2022 by Zharia Shinn
Explores the last twenty-seven years of the life of writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) and describes the solace that he found…
aboard his fishing boat Pilar, which he obtained in 1934. Discusses both Hemingway's literary career and his family, including his cross-dressing youngest son Gregory. Some strong language. 2011
The digital version of this audiobook contains an introduction read by Carl Bernstein. The Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of All the…
President ' s Men —the chronicle of the investigative report about the Watergate break-in and resultant political scandal which led to President Richard Nixon's resignation—recalls his formative years as a teenage newspaper reporter in JFK ' s Washington—a tale of adventures, scrapes, clever escapes, and the opportunity of a lifetime. "Carl Bernstein, Washington Star ." With these words, the sixteen-year-old senior at Montgomery Blair High School set himself apart from the high school crowd and set himself on a track that would define his life. Carl Bernstein was far from the best student in his class—in fact, he was in danger of not graduating at all—but he had a talent for writing, a burning desire to know things that other people didn't, and a flair for being in the right place at the right time. Those qualities got him inside the newsroom at the Washington Star , the afternoon paper in the nation's capital, in the summer of 1960, a pivotal time for America, for Washington, D.C., and for a young man in a hurry on the cusp of adulthood. Chasing History opens up the world of the early 1960s as Bernstein experienced it, chasing after grisly crimes with the paper's police reporter, gathering colorful details at a John F. Kennedy campaign rally, running afoul of union rules, and confronting racial tensions as the civil rights movement gained strength. We learn alongside him as he comes to understand the life of a newspaperman, and we share his pride as he hunts down information, gets his first byline, and discovers that he has a talent for the job after all. By turns exhilarating, funny, tense, and poignant, Chasing History shows us a country coming into its own maturity along with young Carl Bernstein, and when he strikes out on his own after five years at the Star , his hard-won knowledge and experience feels like ours as well. A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Company "Narrator Robert Petkoff, with an occasional assist from the author, takes listeners back to the beginning. Sounding like an indulgent grandfather telling his life story to his grandchildren, Petkoff recounts how a scrappy high schooler managed to worm his way into the WASHINGTON STAR newsroom at age 16.... This audiobook will provide hope to any would-be journalist." — AudioFile
Analyzes The Diary of a Young Girl (DB 57022) as a literary work, a Holocaust narrative, and a cultural artifact.…
Examines the evidence that Anne rewrote her memoir to increase its appeal. Discusses the published book's use in classroom instruction and its adaptation for stage and film. 2009
CBS news correspondent Barry Petersen describes his and his beloved wife Jan's experiences after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's…
disease in 2005, when she was fifty-five years old. E-mails and friends' observations help detail the changes that led to Jan's move to a long-term-care facility. 2010
Seventy authors recount their experiences of being victims, bystanders, or perpetrators of bullying and offer support and understanding for kids…
currently being tormented. Includes resources for teens, parents, and educators. Strong language and some violence. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2011
Essayist explores the life and work of George Orwell (1903-1950), best known as the author of 1984 and Animal Farm.…
Discusses Orwell's political beliefs and the ways they were shaped by the times in which he lived. Challenges Orwell's critics and argues that his ideas remain relevant. 2002
Autobiography of Roger Ebert (born 1942), a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic who worked for the Chicago Sun-Times. Highlights his early…
newspaper days, years of alcoholism, and family life. Discusses his relationship with colleague Gene Siskel and the cancer that robbed Ebert of his ability to eat, drink, or speak. 2011
Children's book author/illustrator describes suffering from a brain injury received in a 1999 car accident when she was forty; reuniting…
with her mother, a homeless schizophrenic, in 2006 after a seventeen-year separation; and discovering a storage room filled with family memorabilia. Nat'l Book Critics Circle Award. 2011
Film editor recounts her 2009 arrest at the North Korean border with her colleague Laura Ling while filming a documentary.…
Describes her five-month detention, which she spent missing her husband and daughter; her trial and twelve-year labor-camp sentence; and her elation over former President Clinton's negotiation of their release. 2010
Award-winning journalist examines the twenty-first-century social landscape of America, reflects on its past, and ponders its future. Provides profiles of…
Americans he calls "unconventional thinkers and doers," including the wife of a seriously wounded soldier, an inner-city school principal, a major league baseball pitcher, and others. Bestseller. 2011
Didion, who wrote about her husband John Gregory Dunne's death in The Year of Magical Thinking (DB 61740), here focuses…
on her adopted daughter Quintana Roo, who died at age thirty-nine in 2005. Didion reflects on Quintana's childhood, her own role as a mother, adoption issues, and aging. Bestseller. 2011
Biography of playwright Wendy Wasserstein (1950-2006), who was the first woman to win a Tony Award for playwrighting. Examines Wasserstein's…
family, experience at the Yale School of Drama with Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver, friendships with gay men, and career. Some strong language. 2011
Introduces British author Jane Austen (1775-1817) and examines her personal life and career against the backdrop of early nineteenth-century English…
society, when women had few rights. Discusses the plots and characters in Austen's six completed novels, including Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549). For grades 6-9 and older readers. 2011
Novelist recalls his relationship with his famous father, a writer and professor who deserted the family to pursue a student.…
Recounts growing up in poverty in a small Massachusetts town and fighting his way to adulthood. Describes the reconciliation that followed Dubus senior's crippling accident. Violence and strong language. 2011
African American host of National Public Radio's All Things Considered examines her family and the ways they dealt with racial…
discrimination. Describes family secrets such as a white policeman's shooting of her father in post-war Alabama in 1946--an event he never disclosed to his children. Some strong language. 2010
Author recounts the three-month, 1,100-mile solo hike she took on a whim in 1995, after years of devastating personal losses.…
Describes her encounters with rattlesnakes, locals, fellow hikers, and her own thoughts during her trek from Los Angeles to Washington State on the Pacific Crest Trail. Strong language. Bestseller. 2012
Popular Internet blogger uses dark humor to describe her everyday life. Recounts racing armadillos and swimming with pigs during her…
childhood in West Texas, dealing with anxiety disorder by hiding in bathrooms during dinner parties, and discovering that her boyfriend was planning to propose--not murder her. Strong language. Bestseller. 2012