New Biographies – January 2008

Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope Jimmy Carter – The former president reviews his accomplishments during his post-presidential years.

Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family Lynne Cheney – The author recounts her childhood in the small town of Caspar, Wyoming.

Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life James Blake – The well-known tennis star recounts a tumultuous year in his life and the perseverance that helped him through it.

The Case of Abraham Lincoln: A Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President Julie M. Fenster – The story of Lincoln’s rise to the head of the new Republican Party in Illinois, against the backdrop of one of his most important legal cases.

Cheney: The Untold Story of America’s Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President Stephen F. Hayes – A view of the life of the enigmatic and influential vice president.

Clapton: The Autobiography Eric Clapton – The personal and professional journey of the noted rock star.

Come Be My Light Mother Teresa – A collection of writings that reveal the inner spiritual life of an important religious figure.

The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy Glenn Kessler – A portrait of the Secretary of State and her important role in United States foreign relations.

Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe: A Memoir of Life on the Run Mike O’Connor – The author didn’t discover the mystery behind his family’s bizarre life until he became an investigative reporter.

Don’t Bet Against Me: Beating the Odds Against Breast Cancer and in Life Deanna Favre – The wife of the Packers quarterback examines her life as a breast cancer survivor and activist.

Elizabeth & Leicester Sarah Gristwood – What was the truth about the relationship between Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley?

First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson Michael G. Long, ed. – His letters show Robinson as a fearless advocate for racial justice at the highest levels of American politics.

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else Michael Gates Gill – After losing almost everything, a former ad agency executive learns about life as a barista.

Journals: 1952-2000 Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. – Observations on a half-century of public life from a noted historian.

The Last Mazurka: A Family’s Tale of War, Passion, and Loss Andrew Tarnowski – The lost world of pre-war Poland is mirrored in this tale of a once powerful family.

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s John Elder Robison – Being told, at the age of 40, that he had Asperger’s Syndrome transformed the way the author saw himself—and the world.

Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu Laurence Bergreen – Marco Polo’s odyssey–along the Silk Road and through all the adentures of his life–is chronicled in illuminating detail.

Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far Amy Grant – Reminiscences and inspiration from a popular gospel and country singer.

My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir Clarence Thomas – The Supreme Court justice relates the journey of his life, from rural Georgia to Washington, D.C.

One Drop: My Father’s Hidden Life—A Story of Race and Family Secrets Bliss Broyard – Shortly before his death, literary critic Anatole Broyard revealed to his grown children that he was black and that his parents had resorted to “passing” in order to get work.

Out of the Frying Pan: A Chef’s Memoir of Hot Kitchens, Single Motherhood, and the Family Meal Gillian Clark – A memoir of a chef’s rise from beginner to a top chef, replete with recipes.

The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy – No one has ever been in a position to see the presidents, and the presidency, so intimately, over so many years as the well known evangelist.

Sage-ing While Age-ing Shirley MacLaine – The noted actress reviews her life and sees the powerful force of synchronicity at work around her.

Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography David Michaelis – The first biography of the brilliant, unseen man behind Peanuts.

A Skating Life Dorothy Hamill – The Olympic gold medal winner reviews her life on and of the ice.

Song Without Words: The Photographs & Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy Leah Bendavid-Val – A collection of photographs and diary entries from a remarkable woman and the wife of Leo Tolstoy.

Touch and Go: A Memoir Studs Terkel – At the age of 95, the writer who has written about so many other people, reviews the highlights of his own life.

Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me Pattie Boyd – The rock and roll muse to two exceptionally famous rock stars tells her side of the story.