Biographies
Allred, Lance. Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA.
The NBA's first legally deaf player recounts his childhood on a polygamist compound in Montana, the difficulties he faced playing collegiate basketball, his brief time playing professionally in Europe, and the success that brought him to the NBA.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
At eight years old Maya is attacked by a man many times her age–and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
Barrymore, Drew with Todd Gold. Little Girl Lost.
She was a modern-day Shirley Temple, but at the age of nine Drew Barrymore was drinking alcohol. At ten she took up marijuana, and by twelve she began snorting cocaine. Here is her gripping, heart-wrenching story--a story of a childhood gone awry and a young woman battling to restore order to her chaotic life.
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.
Ishmael Beah tells a riveting story: how at the age of 12, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By 13, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah --- at heart a gentle boy --- found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.
Bernall, Misty. She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall.
A story of growing up in the '90s, of peer pressure, adolescent turmoil, and the tough choices parents make. It is the story of a mother's loss - of dreams and hopes dashed by the cruel reality of death at an early age. But it is also a story of redemption more enduring than the tragedy that cut a young life short.
Bitton-Jackson, Livia. I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust.
In a graphic present-tense narrative, this Holocaust memoir describes what happens to a Jewish girl who is 13 when the Nazis invade Hungary in 1944. She tells of a year of roundups, transports, selections, camps, torture, forced labor, and shootings, then of liberation and the return of a few.
Child, Julia with Alex Prud'homme. My Life in France.
When she arrived in France, she was a gawky, six-foot-two, wide-eyed girl from Pasadena, unable to cook; or, for that matter, speak French. Despite this inauspicious beginning, 32-year-old Julia Child was to transform herself into a Gallic cooking genius.
Cleary, Beverly. A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir.
Follows the popular children's author from her childhood years in Oregon through high school and into young adulthood, highlighting her family life and her growing interest in writing.
Colapinto, John. As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl.
A sorrowful account of a healthy male baby who, after suffering from a botched circumcision, was surgically altered and raised as a girl.
Conway, Jill K. The Road from Coorain.
One women's journey from a childhood in Australia's outback to adulthood as a successful American career woman. The Road From Coorain is about Everywoman, for it is about childhood loneliness, anguished parent-child relationships, dawning sensibility, discovering a vocation, and finding one's own sense of self.
Cox, Lynne. Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer.
Cox has been a risk-taker ever since she was nine and chose the freezing water of a New Hampshire pool in a storm over getting out and doing calisthenics. At 15, she broke the Channel record, and decided she needed a new goal. She plans more ambitious swims around the shark-infested Cape of Good Hope, across Alaska's Glacier Bay - to prepare for her big dream, a swim from Alaska to the Soviet Union across the Bering Strait.
Filipovic, Zlata. Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo.
Zlata Filipovic began her diary just months before her eleventh birthday in 1991. Peace still reigned in her home town of Sarajevo. But her carefree schoolgirl's life was shattered in 1992. Written with innocence and desperation, Zlata's Diary stands out as a poignant reminder that war exacts a devastating toll on everyone...including children.
Fleming, Candace. Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life.
Told in a unique "scrapbook" style, this biography presents Eleanor Roosevelt in her many roles: wife and mother, United Nations delegate, Junior Literary Guild board member, children's author, and civil rights crusader.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl.
The classic text of the diary Anne Frank kept during the two years she and her family hid from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic is a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
Freedman, Russell. Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life.
A photo-biography of the American dancer, teacher, and choreographer who was born in Pittsburgh in 1895 and who became a leading figure in the world of modern dance.
Gantos, Jack. Hole in My Life.
The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer.
Goldstein, Bruce with Tom Amico. Puppy Chow Is Better Than Prozac: The True Story of a Man and the Dog Who Saved His Life.
To Bruce Goldstein-an edgy, twenty-something New Yorker, just waking up in the morning was an ordeal. Underemployed and recently dumped, he was well into the downward spiral of bipolar disorder. Then came Ozzy, a black Labrador pup (named after metal’s “Prince of Darkness”) who leads Bruce toward recovery through complete, canine dependence.
Grogan, John. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog.
John and Jenny had just begun their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.
Hawk, Tony with Sean Mortimer. Hawk: Occupation, Skateboarder.
The grand master of extreme skateboarding, a.k.a. "The Birdman", shares the trials and tribulations that have made him a legend in skateboarding.
Herriot, James. All Creatures Great and Small.
An English veterinarian warmly recounts his sometimes hilarious experiences with both animals and people.
Hickam, Homer H., Jr. Rocket Boys: A Memoir.
In 1957, when fourteen-year-old Homer Hickam, Jr. (aka Sonny) watches Sputnik fly over his hometown of Coalwood, West Virginia, his life is changed forever. Knowing he wants to be part of the space race, Sonny and his friends, set out to learn as much as they can about launching rockets. Soon, these Rocket Boys wind up enlisting the help of everyone in the town -- and blowing up some of Sonny's mother's best kitchenware in the process.
Hopkins, Jerry and Danny Sugarman. No One Here Gets Out Alive.
Poet, rock star, philosopher, shaman: Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, was all these-and more. In the midst of the turbulent 1960s, this uncompromising, unique artist burst onto the music scene like a force of nature. Here is the definitive biography of a compelling, tormented, brilliant man, written by noted rock writer Jerry Hopkins and Daniel Sugarman, a journalist and intimate of the band.
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After World War II Internment.
The true story of one spirited Japanese American family's attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention...and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States.
Jiang, Ji-li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution.
When China's Communist Party detained Ji-li's father, the 12-year-old was faced with the most difficult choice of her life. She could denounce her father and break with her family, or she could refuse to testify and sacrifice her future in her beloved Communist Party.
Katz, Jon. Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho.
Geeks is the story of how Jesse and Eric--and others like them--used technology to try and change their lives and alter their destiny.
Keller, Helen. The Story of My Life.
An American classic rediscovered by each generation, The Story of My Life is Helen Keller’s account of her triumph over deafness and blindness. Popularized by the stage play and movie The Miracle Worker, Keller’s story has become a symbol of hope for people all over the world.
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild.
After graduating, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature.
Leaf, David & Ken Sharp. Kiss: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography.
After three decades of wild dedication, this official authorized biography provides Kiss fans their first real look inside one of rock and roll's most extraordinary bands.
Montville, Leigh. Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero.
A splendid story about Ted Williams, who joined the majors in 1938 at the age of 17 and played for 19 years. During his career, he served in both WW II and Korea.
Novak, Brandon with Joseph Franz. Dreamseller: An Addiction Memoir.
Skateboarding used to be my life. When I was fourteen years old, I was discovered by Bucky Lasek and Tony Hawk and was on my way to turning pro. I toured the country, signed autographs, and had my photo in skate magazines. Then I got hooked on heroin and threw it all away.
Partridge, Elizabeth. John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth.
Partridge chronicles the emotional highs and paralyzing lows John Lennon transformed into brilliant, evocative songs. With photos spanning his entire life, this is the unforgettable biography of one of rock's biggest legends.
Partridge, Elizabeth. Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange.
Photographer Dorothea Lange captured some of the most famous and moving images of the Great Depression. This biography, written by the daughter of Lange's assistant, showcases 60 of Lange's most famous black-and-white photos which show how she caught her subjects in relation to harsh, powerful events, and to one another.
Partridge, Elizabeth. This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie.
A biography of Woody Guthrie, a singer who wrote over 3,000 folk songs and ballads as he traveled around the United States, including "This Land is Your Land" and "So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh."
Raji Codell, Esmé. Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year.
Esmé Raji Codell, who is so full of a lust for teaching and a love of children that no crumbling public school system or stagnant bureaucracy can get in her way. Her inner-city Chicago students face intimidating odds -- poverty, violence, gangs, miseducation, and a long line of adults who don't believe "these children" can ever amount to anything. Madame Esmé, however, is undaunted. Her diary reveals a woman with boundless zeal determined to be herself and to educate her children with every last drop of energy in her body.
Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.
By age twelve, Luis Rodriguez was a veteran of East L.A. gang warfare. Lured by a seemingly invincible gang culture, he witnessed countless shootings, beatings, and arrests, then watched with increasing fear as drugs, murder, suicide, and senseless acts of street crime claimed friends and family members. Before long, Rodriguez saw a way out of the barrio through education and the power of words and successfully broke free from years of violence and desperation.
S. Tina and Jamie Pastor Bolnick. Living at the Edge of the World: A Teenager's Survival in the Tunnels of Grand Central Station.
When Tina S. meets April, a teenage runaway, she thinks she's found her best friend. She leaves behind her dysfunctional family to join April in the tunnels of Grand Central Station amidst the homeless and drug addicted. Soon she's bingeing on crack--just like April--and stealing, scamming and panhandling to support her habit and to survive on the streets.
Scott, Robyn. Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood.
When Robyn Scott 's parents decide to uproot their young family from New Zealand and move to a converted cowshed in rural Botswana, life for six-year-old Robyn changed forever. In this wild and new landscape excitement can be found around every corner, and with each misadventure she and her family learn more about the quirks, charms, and challenges of living in one of Africa's most remarkable and beautiful countries as it stands on the brink of an epidemic.
Wiesel, Elie. Night.
Night is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps.
White, Ryan and Ann Marie Cunningham. Ryan White, My Own Story.
Ryan White describes how he got AIDS, engaged in a legal battle to return to school, and became a celebrity and spokesman for issues concerning the deadly disease.
