Browsing: Biographies and Memoirs

How did the first detectives of Scotland Yard manage without the advantages of fingerprinting, DNA profiling, or even reliable photography? This intriguing volume takes a look at the techniques they used to solve classic cases like the First Railway Murder.

In this “stunning” memoir (Los Angeles Review of Books), Amy Scher leaves Los Angeles behind to search the world for a chance to cure her late-stage Lyme disease — and finds unexpected wonders along the way. “Amy Scher is a brave and wonderful writer” (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Dazzlingly, daringly written, marrying the thoughtful originality of Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts with the revelatory power of Neurotribes and The…

Taken from a struggling home at a young age, Mary Hall was adopted by her grandparents, making her legally her mother’s sister. Years later, her past resurfaced in the form of hilarious and heartbreaking reunions with the family she left behind. “Gregarious, soul-baring” (Elle).

An NPR Best Book of 2018: Discover the true story of three innovative people who shaped Los Angeles from the desert. “Krist is a nimble scene-setter, and it’s the indelible details he offers that give The Mirage Factory its mesmerizing pull” (The New York Times).

In this insider perspective on space exploration with over 1,500 five-star ratings on Goodreads, a NASA astronaut recounts his adventures, including seven space walks and a life-threatening Mount Everest summit. This “down-to-earth discourse mingles the ordinary with the extraordinary” (Booklist).

After D-Day, her photograph appears on the most-wanted Nazi propaganda posters. Who is the girl with the red beret? She…

“Extraordinary and heartrending” (Junot Díaz): At age 12, Clemantine was granted refugee status in the United States — six years after fleeing the Rwandan massacre with her sister. “A powerful coming-of-age story in which a girl explores her identity in the wake of a brutal war that destroyed her family and home” (Publishers Weekly).

From a Mt. Everest avalanche to a sadistic wilderness therapy program, see the world through the eyes of the revered author of Into the Wild in this must-read collection of his classic articles and essays. “Krakauer is a masterly writer and reporter” (The New York Times Book Review).

In In My Hands, surgical oncologist Dr. Steven Curley shares the empowering lessons he’’s learned over 25 years from his…