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The wrong man: the final verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard murder case
By James Neff. 2001
Investigative reporter assembles extensive evidence exonerating Cleveland physician Sam Sheppard of murdering his pregnant wife, Marilyn, on July 4, 1954.…
Describes botched police and forensic investigations, Sheppard's retrials and eventual acquittal in 1966, and his son's anti-death-penalty activism. Identifies probable actual killer and reconstructs possible murder scenario. Some violence and some strong language. 2001Lazy B: growing up on a cattle ranch in the American southwest
By Sandra Day O'Connor. 2003
Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her younger brother, Alan Day, recall their childhood on an Arizona cattle ranch.…
They describe the hardships and adventures of western living--cattle drives, water shortages, the isolation--and the values that shaped their lives. 2002The holy thief: a con man's journey from darkness to light
By Mark Borovitz. 2004
Gangster-turned-rabbi whose "weapon of choice was a checkbook" divulges twenty-five years of crime that began when his father died and…
in financial desperation he turned to a mobster to fence goods and buy friendships. Recounts a lifesaving prison term during which he found spirituality, redemption, and rehabilitation. Strong language. 2004Judging Thomas: the life and times of Clarence Thomas
By Ken Foskett. 2004
Biography of the African American Supreme Court justice. Journalist Foskett describes Thomas's impoverished Georgia childhood, Yale Law School matriculation, legal…
career, conservative views, and 1991 appointment to the court by fellow Republican President George Bush. Also examines controversies that surround the jurist. Strong language. 2004Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court journey
By Linda Greenhouse. 2005
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter uses personal papers, correspondence, and case files to trace the life and career of Supreme Court justice…
Harry A. Blackmun (1908-1999). Chronicles Blackmun's early years in Minnesota, twenty-four-year tenure on the Supreme Court, childhood friendship with Warren Burger, and prominent cases including Roe v. Wade. 2005John Jay: founding father
By Walter Stahr. 2005
Biography of American diplomat and coauthor of The Federalist Papers (DB 26691). Chronicles Jay's personal and political life that included…
stints as president of the Continental Congress, chief justice of the Supreme Court, secretary for foreign affairs, governor of New York, and president of the American Bible Society. 2005Traces the life of twenty-one-year-old Romanian Attila Ambrus, who in 1988 sneaked into post-Communist Hungary and joined a professional ice…
hockey team. Details seven years he spent robbing banks, romancing women, and boozing. Describes the Budapest detective on his trail--who had learned crime solving from American TV. Strong language. 2004Traces Sandra Day O'Connor's rise to power culminating in her appointment by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to be the…
first female Supreme Court justice. Analyzes O'Connor's position on controversial issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and the death penalty. Discusses her role as a pivotal voter. 2005Murder in tombstone: the forgotten trial of Wyatt Earp
By Steven Lubet. 2004
Details the Arizona court case that followed the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which Wyatt Earp, his brothers,…
and Doc Holliday faced murder charges. Describes how lawyer Thomas Fitch defended Earp at the preliminary hearing and saved him from the gallows. 2004A death in Belmont
By Sebastian Junger. 2006
Examines the 1963 arrest, trial, and conviction of African American Roy Smith for the murder of Boston-area resident Bessie Goldberg.…
Describes how Smith's case was later called into question by the dubious confession of the Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. 2006Thunderstruck
By Erik Larson. 2006
Edwardian England. Chronicles the 1910 manhunt for Dr. H.H. Crippen, who murdered his wife and fled in disguise by ocean…
liner to Canada with his lover. Describes how Guglielmo Marconi's 1895 invention of wireless communication enabled Scotland Yard to pursue the killer and enthrall the world. Bestseller. 2006Supreme discomfort: the divided soul of Clarence Thomas
By Kevin Merida. 2007
Two African American Washington Post reporters examine the character and career of conservative Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, who succeeded…
Thurgood Marshall on the bench in 1991. They explore Thomas's childhood and education, postulate about his estrangement from the black community, and review his rulings. 2007Michelle: a biography
By Liza Mundy. 2008
Washington Post staff writer describes Michelle Obama's life from childhood through her political journey of becoming America's first African American…
first lady. Discusses her being the child of a Chicago city worker; her Ivy League education and successful career; marriage to Barack, who calls her "the boss"; and motherhood. 2008The Gardner heist: the true story of the world's largest unsolved art theft
By Ulrich Boser. 2009
In March of 1990 the greatest art theft in history occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Ulrich…
Boser delves deep into the art underworld to help reveal the trail of the still unsolved crime of how over a dozen masterpieces were stolen and the leads on how they can hopefully be recovered. Contains some strong languageDiscovering Wes Moore
By Wes Moore. 2012
John's Hopkins graduate recounts his Bronx upbringing and discovery of a man who shares his name. Details the decisions the…
other Wes Moore made, including dealing drugs and shooting a cop, that led to a life sentence in prison. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2012My beloved world
By Sonia Sotomayor. 2013
Memoir of United States Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor (born 1954). Recalls growing up with her Puerto Rican family in…
the Bronx and being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Discusses her family life, education at Princeton and Yale, and becoming a district court judge in 1992. Bestseller. 2013Double death: the true story of Pryce Lewis, the Civil War's most daring spy
By Gavin Mortimer. 2010
Recounts the exploits of Welsh-born Pryce Lewis (1831-1911), who joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency and became a Union spy during…
the Civil War. Describes Lewis's impersonation of a British dandy to gather information about Confederate forces, his arrest and imprisonment, and the embitterment that led to his dramatic suicide. 2010Law professor analyzes the events that led to 1919 dissent of Supreme Court Justice Holmes in the First Amendment case…
Abrams vs. United States. Examines previous decisions in opposition to the view expressed in the dissent, correspondence with interested parties, and influential personal relationships. 2013The barefoot lawyer: a blind man's fight for justice and freedom in China
By Guangcheng Chen. 2015
Chen grew up poor and blind in rural China, becoming an activist for the rights of the disabled. He was…
imprisoned by the Chinese government for four years, and he and his family were under house arrest until his daring escape to the American embassy in 2012. 2015Fresh off the boat: a memoir
By Eddie Huang. 2013
Memoir by Chinese-American restaurateur Huang. Relates growing up first in the Washington, D.C., area and later in Florida as the…
son of immigrants. Describes challenges he faced due to his heritage and ways he adapted to American culture. Inspiration for 2015 television show. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2013