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The devil and Sherlock Holmes: [tales of murder, madness, and obsession]
By David Grann. 2010
Each of the dozen stories in this collection reveals a hidden and often dangerous world, and pivots around the gravitational…
pull of obsession and the captivating personalities of those caught in its grip. There is the world's foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes who is found dead in mysterious circumstances; an arson sleuth trying to prove that a man about to be executed is innocent; and sandhogs racing to complete the brutally dangerous job of building New York City's water tunnels before the old system collapses. Throughout, Grann's hypnotic accounts display the power--and often the willful perversity--of the human spirit. 2010.With three beautiful children, a new house, and financial security, John and Aileen Crowley had it all until their two…
youngest children were diagnosed with Pompe disease and given only months to live. Refusing to accept a death sentence, John quit his job and invested in a biotechnology start-up to find a cure. Battling scientific setbacks, conflict of interest accusations, and business troubles, John and Aileen were tested to their limits as a revolutionary new treatment for the disease was found. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2010.Call the midwife: [a memoir of birth, joy, and hard times] (Call the Midwife. #1.)
By Jennifer Worth. 2012
In the 1950s, twenty-two-year-old Jenny Lee leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in…
London's East End slums. While delivering babies all over the city, Jenny encounters a colourful cast of women - from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives, to the woman with twenty-four children who can't speak English, to the prostitutes of the city's seedier side. Basis of the BBC TV series. Followed by "Shadows of the workhouse". 2012.First man: the life of Neil A. Armstrong
By James R Hansen. 2018
On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch thirty-eight-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become the first person…
ever to step on the surface of another heavenly body. Perhaps no words in human history became better known than those few he uttered at that historic moment. Upon his return to Earth, Armstrong was honored and celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also--as James R. Hansen reveals in this fascinating and important authorized biography--misunderstood. Armstrong's accomplishments as an engineer, a test pilot, and an astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen's unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an elusive American celebrity still renowned the world over. 2018.Hidden figures: young readers' edition
By Margot Shetterly. 2016
The amazing true story of four African American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments…
in our space program. Before John Glenn orbited the earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. This book brings to life the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four African American women who lived through the Civil Rights era, the Space Race, the Cold War, and the movement for gender equality, and whose work forever changed the face of NASA and the country. For grades 3-6. 2019 Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Best Illustration. 2016.Hidden figures: the American dream and the untold story of the black women mathematicians who helped win the space race
By Margot Lee Shetterly. 2016
Before John Glenn orbited Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as…
“human computers” used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. The book follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. Bestseller. 2016.Black mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a devil's deal
By Dick Lehr, Gerard O'Neill. 2013
Investigative journalists expose FBI corruption. In 1975 Boston FBI agent John Connolly began using Irish mobster Jim "Whitey" Bulger as…
an informant. Though Bulger committed outrageous crimes, the state police and federal drug agents were never able to get a conviction, and authorities became suspicious of a fix. 2013.All things bright and beautiful
By James Herriot. 1976
James is now married and living with his wife on the top floor of Skeldale House, while Siegfried, his former…
boss and now partner, lives downstairs with Siegfried's brother Tristan. James continues the rewarding life of a country vet, bumping over the dales in his small dog-filled car and meeting a host of unforgettable characters. 1976.All creatures great and small
By James Herriot. 1975
This is the first book in the series about a Yorkshire veterinary practice by the newest member to "the firm".…
With his wry wit and generous warmth he introduces his readers to many local characters as he goes on a daily round of calls wrestling with the ailments of the wide variety of animals he treats. Contains the first 2 books of the series: "If only they could talk" (DC00438) and "It shouldn't happen to a vet" (DC00944) as well as the first 3 chapters of "Let sleeping vets lie" (DC05525). Followed by "All things bright and beautiful". 1975.All the President's men
By Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein. 1974
Above suspicion
By Joe Sharkey. 1993
Mark Putnam's first assignment as an FBI agent is in the coal town of Pikeville, Kentucky. Almost immediately, Mark solves…
a bank robbery case with the help of local informant Susan Smith. Susan becomes enamoured of Mark (even befriending his wife to learn more about him), and Mark eventually succumbs to Susan's advances. Her "fatal attraction" response leads to a deadly struggle. Strong language and violence. c1993.Tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson
By Mitch Albom. 1997
Some twenty years after college, Mitch Albom rekindles his relationship with a former professor who is terminally ill. His weekly…
visits with his dying mentor become a colloquium on the meaning of life, and Albom gains insight into "love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally, death." Bestseller. 1997.The secret
By Deric Henderson. 2016
May 1991 in the seaside town of Castlerock in Northern Ireland and the bodies of two people, police officer Trevor…
Buchanan and nurse Lesley Howell, are found in a car filled with carbon monoxide. The pair have apparently taken their own lives, unable to live with the pain of their spouses’ affair with each other. Their adulterous spouses, Sunday school teacher Hazel Buchanan and dentist Colin Howell, continued their affair secretly but both later remarried other people. A series of disasters in Howell's life made him reveal that he and Hazel Stewart had conspired to murder their spouses nearly two decades earlier. That confession led to two of the most sensational murder trials ever seen in the UK. 2016. Uniform title: Let this be our secretThe soloist: a lost dream, an unlikely friendship, and the redemptive power of music
By Steve Lopez. 2008
Los Angeles Times columnist describes his relationship with Nathaniel Ayers, a former student at Juilliard, who became homeless after succumbing…
to paranoid schizophrenia. Lopez discusses his and his readers' efforts to expose callous treatment of Ayers and relates Ayers's attempts at recovery. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2008.Black Hawk down: a story of modern war
By Mark Bowden. 1999
Recreates the U.S. military operation in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3-4, 1993, when ninety-nine American soldiers were surrounded and trapped.…
Describes how the planned one-hour mission turned into an overnight fight for survival. Based on journalist's interviews with the soldiers, helicopter pilots, and Somali clan leaders. Bestseller. 1999.Rocket boys: a memoir
By Homer H Hickam. 1998
A retired NASA engineer reminisces about his boyhood in the Sputnik era in West Virginia, when his first rocket attempt…
burned down his mother's garden fence. He and his friends improved their models culminating in winning the 1960 National Science Fair. The movie October Sky is based on this book. 1998.Always smile: Carley Allison's secrets for laughing, loving and living /
By Alice Kuipers. 2019
Carley Allison was an up-and-coming young figure skater and singer who died tragically at the age of 18 of a…
cancer so rare there were only seven cases in the world. In this book, you will come to know Carley in her own words and in the words of the people who knew and loved her. Kuipers weaves the memories of Carley's friends, family, and boyfriend with the blog Carley kept throughout her journey, from the moment she was diagnosed until her final months of searching for treatment that would keep the disease at bay. Kuipers also recreates pivotal moments from Carley's point of view, acting as ventriloquist for a voice lost too young. This book is built around the words she lived by, both in sickness and in health. Above all, again and again, she summed up her philosophy in two words: always smile. For senior high readers. 2019.Prozac nation: young and depressed in America
By Elizabeth Wurtzel. 1996
Wurtzel claims to speak for herself and for a young generation facing major societal problems. A former popular-music critic for…
the New Yorker, she details her life with depression, from a despairing pre-adolescence through suicide attempts after college. Prozac has helped her, but she worries that its trendy reputation may minimize the seriousness of depression.A civil action
By Jonathan Harr. 1995
Written like a novel, this true account of a liability lawsuit focuses on the plaintiffs' attorney. Parents whose children died…
of leukemia retained Jan Schlichtmann, described here as flamboyant, bankrupt, and tenacious. Schlichtmann spent nine years tracking the cause of the illness to bring suit against two giant corporations. Describes how justice became secondary to the legal battle. Strong language. Bestseller. 1995.Dead man walking: an eyewitness account of the death penalty in the United States
By Helen Prejean. 1992
When Louisiana nun Helen Prejean and death-row inmate Patrick Sonnier become pen pals, Sonnier’s friendly nature and ambiguities about his…
crime reinforce Prejean’s feelings against the death penalty. After fighting unsuccessfully to have Sonnier’s sentence commuted, Prejean continues her activism, including work with victims’ groups. Includes violence and strong language. 1992.