Biography & autobiography

Bad Faith: A Forgotten History of Family, Fatherland and Vichy France

by Carmen Callil

Bad Faith tells the story of one of history’s most despicable villains and con men—Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, Nazi collaborator and “Commissioner for Jewish Affairs” in France’s Vichy government....

Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural

by Claudine C. O'Hearn

As we approach the twenty-first century, biracialism and biculturalism are becoming increasingly common. Skin color and place of birth are no longer reliable signifiers of one's identity or origin. Simple questions...

Fathers and Sons: The Autobiography of a Family

by Alexander Waugh

If there is a literary gene, then the Waugh family most certainly has it—and it clearly seems to be passed down from father to son. The first of the literary Waughs was Arthur, who, when he won the Newdigate...

Being Shelley: The Poet's Search for Himself

by Ann Wroe

From Ann Wroe, a biographer of the first rank, comes a startlingly original look at one of the greatest poets in the Western tradition. Being Shelley aims to turn the poet's life inside out: rather than tracing...

Tori Amos: Piece by Piece

by Tori Amos & Ann Powers

I choose to fight my battles through my music . . . I was born a feminist. And then at age five, when my strict Christian grandmother punished me, I realized, I’m not penetrating here. I’m just pissing people...

Desperately Seeking Madonna: In Search of the Meaning of the World's Most Famous Woman

by Adam Sexton

From cartoons to academic essays to tabloid journalism, Madonna has been interpreted in almost every way possible. Here is an original collection of these writings that is almost as diverse as the Material Girl...

The Memory of All That

by Katharine Weber

The Memory of All That is Katharine Weber’s memoir of her extraordinary family. 

Her maternal grandmother, Kay Swift, was known both for her own music (she was the first woman to compose the score to a hit...

Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life

by Abigail Thomas

A stunning new way to celebrate the small moments that make up a life.

In flashes of vivid prose — sometimes in pieces only one page long — Abigail Thomas breaks up the notion of what is "memoir" to tell...

Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer

by David Roberts & Jon Krakauer

Finding Everett Ruess by David Roberts, with a foreword by Jon Krakauer, is the definitive biography of the artist, writer, and eloquent celebrator of the wilderness whose bold solo explorations of the American...

Ballad of a Bagpiper: Whatever Blows Up Your Kilt

by E. A. Channon

Synopsis: Ballad of a Bagpiper is the first of its kind telling the funny side of bagpipes. With an ancestor that invented the wash closet (bathroom), it's no wonder that E.A. Channon leads an unusual and interesting...

The American Dream: From an Indian Heart

by Krish Dhanam

Synopsis: "There's a lot to learn from Krish Dhanam in his book The American Dream from an Indian Heart. The lesson that appeals to me most is to develop and maintain a vast appreciation for what you have both...

A Year and Six Seconds

by Isabel Gillies

Includes a Reading Group Guide and Author Q&A

A real-life romantic comedy about getting dumped and getting over it

Isabel Gillies, the New York Times bestselling author of Happens Every Day, has written another...

England to Australia: Success or Failure?

by Brian Dudley

A true account of a young family’s emigration to Australia in 1963 courtesy of the £10.00 assisted passage scheme, and the devastating effect it had once reality replaced the fantasies otherwise presented...

HOPE BEYOND TRAUMA

by Cynthia Smith

“HOPE Beyond Trauma…a mother's journey†takes you behind closed doors of Janie Smith's family after their teenage daughter, Tanya is involved in a fatal automobile accident in 1989. She dies...

Nicole Kidman

by David Thomson

From the brilliant film historian and critic David Thomson, a book that reinvents the star biography in a singularly illuminating portrait of Nicole Kidman—and what it means to be a top actress today. At once...

The Man Who Was Robinson Crusoe

by Rick Wilson

2009 marked the 300th anniversary of the rescue of Alexander Selkirk, the Fife mariner who became the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe". The story is told not only by the author but also through...

A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII

by Sarah Helm

From an award-winning journalist comes this real-life cloak-and-dagger tale of Vera Atkins, one of Britain’s premiere secret agents during World War II.

As the head of the French Section of the British Special...

The Russian Countess

by Edith Sollohub

Countess Edith Sollohub, born Edith Natalie de Martens, was well known in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg for accompanying her husband Alexander on shooting and riding trips and for being outstandingly accurate...

Carlos Acosta

by Margaret Willis

This is about a Cuban boy, who roamed the streets barefoot when he should have been in school, stole fruit from neighbours’ orchards, was always hungry and wanted nothing more than to be a football star, just...

Franklin

by Andrew Lambert

In 1845 Captain Sir John Franklin led a large, well equipped expedition to complete the conquest of the Canadian Arctic, to find the fabled North West Passage connecting the North Atlantic to the North Pacific....