Collection: Biography & Memoir

This tale of two sisters courageously homesteading on the prairie in 1907 provides a lively portrait of frontier life.

"Interesting in its spirit and atmosphere, and it is told simply and well. . . This is an unusual record, well worth reading."--New York Times Book Review

"Mrs. Kohl has told this story of South Dakota with a simplicity, a directness, and an understanding of its quietly heroic element which make her book an appealing as well as a significant contribution to the latter-day history of the pioneers."-Saturday Review

Eliseo Torres, known as "Cheo," grew up in the Corpus Christi area of Texas and knew, firsthand, the Mexican folk healing practiced in his home and neighborhood. Later in life, he wanted to know more about the plants and rituals of curanderismo.

Torres's story begins with his experiences in the Mexican town of Espinazo, the home of the great curandero El Niño Fidencio (1899-1939), where Torres underwent life-changing spiritual experiences. He introduces us to some of the major figures in the tradition, discusses some of the pitfalls of teaching curanderismo, and concludes with an account of a class he taught in which curanderos from Cuernavaca, Mexico, shared their knowledge with students.

Part personal pilgrimage, part compendium of medical knowledge, this moving book reveals curanderismo as both a contemplative and a medical practice that can offer new approaches to ancient problems.

From Curandero

". . . for centuries, rattlesnakes were eaten to prevent any number of conditions and illnesses, including arthritis and rheumatism. In Mexico and in other Latin American countries, rattlesnake meat is actually sold in capsule form to treat impotence and even to treat cancer. Rattlesnake meat is also dried and ground and sprinkled into open wounds and body sores to heal them, and a rattlesnake ointment is made that is applied to aches and pains as well."

This quintessential middle grade biography of Harriet Tubman now features a cover by NAACP Image Award winner and Caldecott Honor illustrator Kadir Nelson, a foreword by National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds, and additional new material. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad was praised by the New Yorker as "an evocative portrait," and by the Chicago Tribune as "superb." It is a gripping and accessible portrait of the heroic woman who guided more than 300 enslaved people to freedom.

Harriet Tubman was born in slavery and dreamed of being free. She was willing to risk everything--including her own life--to see that dream come true. After her daring escape, Harriet became a conductor on the secret Underground Railroad, helping others make the dangerous journey to freedom.

This award-winning introduction to the late abolitionist, which was named an ALA Notable Book and a New York Times Outstanding Book, includes additional educational back matter such as a timeline, discussion questions, and extension activities.

This timeless memoir documents two sisters' bravery leading up to WWII--a singular historical account that shines a light on one of humanity's darkest hours.

Ida and Louise Cook are two ordinary Englishwomen, seemingly destined never to stray from their quiet London suburb and comfortable jobs--Ida as a budding romance novelist and Louise as a civil service typist. But in 1923, a chance hearing of an aria from Madame Butterfly sparked a passion for opera in the sisters that led to the formation of friendships with some of Europe's leading singers and their network, many of them Jewish. As the Nazis rose to power, Ida and Louise began working with the opera world's insiders to save members of the community from persecution and death. Through ingenuity, thrift and bottomless goodwill, the sisters eluded the suspicion of the Nazis and helped secure safe passage for dozens of refugees. No one would have predicted such daring lives for Ida and Louise Cook--but that underestimation is exactly how they were able to save lives.

First published in 1950, Ida's memoir of the adventures she and Louise shared remains as fresh, vital and entertaining as the woman who wrote it, and is a moving testament to the extraordinary acts of courage by two everyday heroes.

Filled with incredible color photos and fun facts, this unofficial fan guide tells the full story of the global phenomenon Blackpink.

The girls of Blackpink are more than just pretty faces. Since they debuted in 2016, the group has broken record after record, played shows across the globe, and built up a dedicated fan army of BLINKS. Now they're one of the biggest K-pop groups the world has ever seen. And they're only just getting started.

Read the whole story of Blackpink's rise to fame in this extensively researched unofficial biography. Find out everything you need to know about Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé from their trainee days to their current lives as idols.

Full of high-quality photos and fun facts, this unofficial guide is a must-have for all BLINKS and K-pop fans!

"Part portrait of a place, part rescue manual, part rumination of life and death, Population: 485 is a beautiful meditation on the things that matter." -- Seattle Times

Welcome to New Auburn, Wisconsin (population: 485) where the local vigilante is a farmer's wife armed with a pistol and a Bible, the most senior member of the volunteer fire department is a cross-eyed butcher with one kidney and two ex-wives (both of whom work at the only gas station in town), and the back roads are haunted by the ghosts of children and farmers. Michael Perry loves this place. He grew up here, and now--after a decade away--he has returned.

Unable to polka or repair his own pickup, his farm-boy hands gone soft after years of writing, Perry figures the best way to regain his credibility is to join the volunteer fire department. Against a backdrop of fires and tangled wrecks, bar fights and smelt feeds, Population: 485 is a comic and sometimes heartbreaking true tale leavened with quieter meditations on an overlooked America.

Featuring original interviews with mountain guides and climbers--including Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker--this vivid and authoritative adventure history chronicles one of the least likely industries on Earth: guided climbing on Mount Everest.

Anyone who has read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air or has seen a recent photo of climbers standing in line to get to the top of Everest may think they have the mountain pretty well figured out. It's an extreme landscape where bad weather and incredible altitude can occasionally kill, but more so an overcrowded, trashed-out recreation destination where rich clients pad their egos--and social media feeds--while exploiting local Sherpas.

There's some truth to these clichés, but they're a sliver of the story. Unlike any book to date, Everest, Inc. gets to the heart of the mountain through the definitive story of its greatest invention: the Himalayan guiding industry. It all began in the 1980s with a few boot-strapping entrepreneurs who paired raw courage and naked ambition with a new style of expedition planning. Many of them are still living and climbing today, and as a result of their astonishing success, ninety percent of the people now on Everest are clients or employees of guided expeditions.

Studded with quotes from original interviews with more than a hundred western and Sherpa climbers, clients, writers, filmmakers, and even a Hollywood actor, Everest, Inc. foregrounds the voices of the people who have made the mountain what it is today. And while there is plenty of high-altitude drama in unpacking the last forty years of Everest tragedy and triumph, it ultimately transcends stereotypes and tells the uplifting counternarrative of the army of journeymen and women who have made people's dreams come true, and of the Nepalis who are pushing the industry into the future.

A legend in music, with a career that spanned five decades, Cohen was globally renowned, praised and acclaimed for his poetry, novels, lyrics and artistic work.

Cohen's most famous song, "Hallelujah" has been covered by such artists as John Cale, Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley and performed by almost 200 artists in various languages. Born Jewish and ordained as a Zen Buddhist monk, he was forced back on the road after his manager embezzled all his money, but this gave him a new lease of life and exposure to a new generation. He released three albums in the final four years of his life with another released posthumously to make 15 studio albums in all.

Discover the life of Lin-Manuel Miranda--a story about creating change through art, for kids ages 6 to 9

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an award-winning composer, actor, and playwright--best known for the hit musical Hamilton, which he created! Before he changed the world of entertainment, Lin-Manuel was an intelligent young boy who loved music and musicals. He was inspired to write his own songs and plays, and his life changed when the plays he wrote became huge successes on Broadway. This book explores how Lin-Manuel went from being an artistic boy growing up in New York City to a rising star and Pulitzer Prize winner.

What sets this book apart from other Lin-Manuel Miranda books for kids:

• Core curriculum--Kids will learn the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Lin-Manuel's life so far, and take a quick quiz to test their knowledge.
• Short chapters--This book engages young readers with brief, easy-to-digest chapters that make it a breeze to keep reading.
• His living legacy--Kids will discover how Lin-Manuel has transformed the performing arts and brought Broadway plays to a wider audience.

How will Lin-Manuel's dedication to his art and activism inspire the child in your life?

Brenda Berkman was often told that she couldn't do certain things because she was a girl. When she grew up, she longed for a job that was challenging, different every day, and required physical and mental strength. In 1977 when the New York City Fire Department finally complied with the Civil Rights Act (from 1964) by allowing women to take the FDNY exam, Brenda jumped at the chance.

But the FDNY changed the rules of the exam so women wouldn't be able to pass it. Even a lot of men couldn't pass this new exam.

So Brenda Berkman took the FDNY to court. In 1982, they finally made a fair test, and Brenda and 40 other women passed. She then founded the United Women Firefighters, an organization that helps train and prepare women to be firefighters. Brenda went on to serve in the FDNY for 25 years, reaching the positions of Lieutenant and Captain, and was a first responder during the attacks on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Send a Girl! is Brenda Berkman's inspiring story.

Throughout the 1960s, there's was one band that ruled the charts and defined the sound of a generation: The Four Seasons. On stage, they were clean cut kids from New Jersey--off stage there was an entirely different story.

You've heard the music, now find out the stories behind the music. This book takes you inside the life of Frankie Valli and the history of The Four Season.

While the contents of this biography have been researched, this book is not endorsed or affiliated in any way with Frankie Valli or The Four Seasons.

New York Times bestseller! Grammy Award-winning icon Rick Springfield shares the startling story of his rise and fall and rise again in music, film, and television and his lifelong battle with depression.

In a searingly candid memoir which he authored himself, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Rick Springfield pulls back the curtain on his image as a bright, shiny, happy performer to share the startling story of his rise and fall and rise in music, film, and television and his lifelong battle with depression.

In the 1980s, singer-songwriter and actor Rick Springfield seemed to have it all: a megahit single in "Jessie's Girl," sold-out concert tours, follow-up hits that sold more than seventeen million albums and became the pop soundtrack for an entire generation, and twelve million daily viewers who avidly tuned in to General Hospital to swoon over his portrayal of the handsome Dr. Noah Drake. Yet lurking behind his success as a pop star and soap opera heartthrob and his unstoppable drive was a moody, somber, and dark soul, one filled with depression and insecurity.

In Late, Late at Night, the memoir his millions of fans have been waiting for, Rick takes readers inside the highs and lows of his extraordinary life. By turns winningly funny and heartbreakingly sad, every page resonates with Rick's witty, wry, self-deprecating, brutally honest voice. On one level, he reveals the inside story of his ride to the top of the entertainment world. On a second, deeper level, he recounts with unsparing candor the forces that have driven his life, including his longtime battle with depression and thoughts of suicide, the shattering death of his father, and his decision to drop out at the absolute peak of fame. Having finally found a more stable equilibrium, Rick's story is ultimately a positive one, deeply informed by his passion for creative expression through his music, a deep love of his wife of twenty-six years and their two sons, and his life-long quest for spiritual peace.

Travel along with Einstein on a journey full of curiosity, laughter, and scientific discovery. Parents and children alike will appreciate this moving story of the powerful difference imagination can make in any life.

Discover why Selena, the Queen of Tejano music, became one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the twentieth century!

As a young girl, Selena Quintanilla sang in a band called Selena y Los Dinos with her brother and sister. The family performed at fairs, weddings, quinceañeras, and on street corners in their native Texas. Selena learned how to sing in Spanish and soon became hugely popular within the Latino community--so much so that she became the best-selling Latin artist of the 1990s. Selena was poised to be a great success, but her life was cut short after being fatally wounded by the president of her fan club. Selena's contributions to music and fashion during her life made her one of the top Latin musicians in the 1990s, and readers will want to know more about the woman who introduced the world to Tejano music.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Black Man in a White Coat comes a powerful and urgent call to center psychiatry and mental health care into the mainstream of medicine

As much as we all might wish that mental health problems, with their elusive causes and unsettling behaviors, simply did not exist, millions of people suffer from them, sometimes to an extreme extent. Many others face addiction to alcohol and other drugs, as overdose and suicide deaths abound. Yet the vast majority of doctors receive minimal instruction in treating these conditions during their lengthy medical training. This mismatch ignores the clear overlap between physical and mental distress, and too-often puts psychiatrists on the outside looking in as the medical system continues to fail many patients.

In Facing The Unseen, bestselling author, professor of psychiatry, and practicing physician Damon Tweedy guides us through his days working in outpatient clinics, emergency rooms, and hospitals as he meets people from all walks of life who are grappling with physical and psychological illnesses. In powerful, compassionate, and eloquent prose, Tweedy argues for a more comprehensive and integrated approach where people with mental illness have a health care system that places their full well-being front and center.

MEET MR. GRIZZLY A Saga on the Passing of the Grizzly Bear Reprint of British Edition, 1950. Includes b&w historic photos. The memoirs of a one-armed Englishman who ranched, fought Apaches, and mostly hunted bears with hounds in New Mexico, 1882-1900. Educated at Cambridge, he was one of the most literate chroniclers of New Mexico's rural history. A great Old West memoir, and a superb hound and horse training book. His well reasoned comments on natural history, dog training, and the life of an early day cattleman are an invaluable reference. This edition contains a new story by Stevens about an unforgettable Old West character. Called "Front Name Dick;" a classic tale of rough, frontier humor.