New Nonfiction Releases
August 2010

These books are being published and released this month. They have been ordered by the Library and will be available soon.

(Do you need more information on how to place a hold? )

• Biography and Memoir 
• General Nonfiction

Biography & Memoir

The Black Nile:  One Man’s Amazing Journey Through Peace and War on the World’s Longest River
By Dan Morrison
A foreign correspondent traces the 4,000-mile plank-board boat journey he took with an inexperienced childhood friend along the Nile River from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea, a trip inspired by Alan Moorehead’s classic chronicles during which the author surveyed regional culture and politics.

The Boys of the Dark:  A Story of Betrayal and Redemption in the Deep South
By Robin Gaby Fisher
Determined to expose and confront their abusers, the authors document the horrifying practices they witnessed while students at a reform school in the 1950s, an institution at which students were routinely terrorized by sadistic guards who assaulted, raped, and possibly even murdered students. 

Composed:  A Memoir
By Rosanne Cash
The acclaimed country-music performer and songwriter recounts her upbringing by a famous father and stepmother; her marriages to Rodney Crowell and John Leventhal; and journey through the world of professional music entertainment.

A Full Cup:  Sir Thomas Lipton’s Extraordinary Life and His Quest for the America’s Cup
By Michael D’Antonio
An in-depth profile of the founder of Lipton Tea describes his post-Civil War journey across America to establish a first chain of grocery stores, his novel use of mass media to create a winning public persona, and his legendary pursuit of the America’s Cup trophy.

Hollywood:  A Third Memoir
By Larry McMurtry
In the third installment in a trilogy of memoirs, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Brokeback Mountain and The Last Picture Show shares anecdotes about his time in Hollywood, from holding hands with Cybill Shepherd to watching Jennifer Garner’s audition tape.

In a Heartbeat:  Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving
By Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy
Delivering a profound message about the power of giving, the couple at the center of the hit book and movie, The Blind Side, finally tell their side of the amazing story of their adoption of homeless football prodigy Michael Oher, detailing how they instilled their Christian values in their two biological children.

The Sugar King of Havana:  The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba’s Last Tycoon
By John Paul Rathbone
Rathbone documents the career of an influential Cuban sugar magnate whose life mirrored the turbulent course of post-independence Cuba’s republic, providing coverage of such topics as his celebrity affairs, brushes with death, and strained relationship with Che Guevara.

The Temptress:  The Scandalous Life of Alice de Janze and the Mysterious Death of Lord Erroll
By Paul Spicer
A profile of the Chicago heiress whose life inspired James Fox’s White Mischief draws on personal correspondence and detailed research to trace her scandalous and violent affairs, the unsolved murder of her lover Lord Erroll, and her suicide at the age of 42.

What We Have
By Amy Boesky
The author describes a transformative year during which she was forced to come to terms with a genetic form of cancer that had claimed the lives of several family members, a period marked by plans for a baby and her decision about undergoing major preventative surgery.

General Nonfiction

The Aftermath:  A Guide to Preparing For and Surviving Apocalypse 2012
By Lawrence E. Joseph
A follow-up to Apocalypse 2012 offers strategies for surviving disasters predicted for the near future, drawing on investigative reporting and historical research to instruct readers on how to survive everything from drought and plague to economic collapse and runaway global warming.

The Disappearing Spoon:  And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of Elements
By Sam Kean
In an engaging text centered around the periodic table, Kean explores intriguing tales about every element of the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, evil, love, the arts, and the colorful lives of the scientists who discovered them.

The Ghosts of Cannae:  Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic
By Robert L. O’Connell
A dramatic account of the violent ancient battle traces the massive defeat of the huge but inexperienced Roman army by Hannibal’s forces, interpreting the larger course of the Second Punic War and the often-disastrous ways in which the battle has been imitated throughout history.

The Girls of Murder City:  Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago
By Douglas Perry
Perry documents the true stories of the women whose sensational murder trials inspired the musical characters Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, and traces the contributions of fledgling reporter Maurine Watkins against a backdrop of Chicago’s Prohibition Era and Jazz Age culture.

Hot X:  Algebra Exposed
By Danica McKellar
The child actress and math genius author of the best-selling Math Doesn’t Suck counsels teen girls on how to tackle algebra with confidence, sharing accessible step-by-step coverage of everything from square roots and polynomials to quadratic equations and word problems.

How to Raise Your Adult Children:  Because Big Kids Have Even Bigger Problems
By Gail Parent and Susan Ende
An Emmy Award-winning writer and a noted psychotherapist present a guide for parents of grown children that shares counsel for navigating specific early adulthood challenges, from handling finances and setting boundaries to managing relationships and grandparenting.

The iConnected Parent:  Staying Close to Your Kids in College (and Beyond) While Letting Them Grow Up
By Barbara Hofer and Abigail Sullivan Moore
Drawing on their ground-breaking studies in parent-child communication to analyze how today’s electronic devices may be reinforcing college-age children’s dependency on their parents, the authors share practical advice on navigating a healthy transition toward emancipation.

Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg:  The Letters
By Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg
In a volume that spans the period from Ginsberg’s Columbia University education until shortly before Kerouac’s death, this collection of two hundred letters by the celebrated Beat movement writers offers insight into their abiding friendship and artistic views.

The Last Man on the Mountain:  The Death of an American Adventurer on K2
By Jennifer Jordan
Jordan describes the true and tragic story of a wealthy man of leisure, Dudley Wolfe, who set out to become the first man to climb K2, the world’s second highest mountain, believed to be more challenging than Mt. Everest.

The Murder Room:  The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases
By Michael Capuzzo
Capuzzo documents the efforts of the Vidocq Society, an elite trio of gifted investigators, to solve such notorious cold cases as those of JonBenet Ramsey, the Butcher of Cleveland, and Jack the Ripper, in a vivid account that details their work with the world’s top forensic specialists.

My Teenage Werewolf:  A Mother, a Daughter, a Journey Through the Thicket of Adolescence
By Lauren Kessler
A veteran journalist analyzes the relationship between mothers and daughters in early adolescence, sharing personal youth and parenting experiences while drawing on the insights of educators, therapists, and other moms.

Nina Garcia’s Look Book:  What to Wear for Every Occasion
By Nina Garcia
From the fashion editor of Marie Claire and star judge on Project Runway comes an accessible and classy illustrated guide to what to wear on any occasion.

One Dog at a Time:  Saving the Strays of Afghanistan
By Pen Farthing
Recounting how he helped create a makeshift pound for rescued and stray dogs, Farthing describes how his horrified witness to the brutality of Afghanistan’s dog-fighting activities prompted his intervention and led to his relationship with a freed canine.

The Pain Chronicles:  Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing, and the Science of Suffering
By Melanie Thernstrom
Arguing that the American medical industry adheres to outdated pain-management practices that fail to bring effective relief to millions of patients, Thernstrom’s history of pain management describes some of the colorful approaches of past cultures and offers reassuring profiles of available treatments.

The Smart Swarm:  How Understanding Flocks, Schools, and Colonies Can Make Us Better at Communicating, Decision Making, and Getting Things Done
By Peter Miller
Miller draws on the examples of insect colonies and fish schools to demonstrate how ancient animal instincts surpass modern human developments in speed and productivity, revealing how numerous technological breakthroughs were inspired by natural organizations.

The Tenth Parallel:  Dispatches From the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam
By Eliza Griswold
Through a series of true stories about the region where Islam and Christianity collide, the author examines the complex relationships of religion, land, and oil, among other resources; local conflicts and global ideology; and politics and contemporary martyrdom, both Islamic and Christian.

UFOs:  Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On the record
By Leslie Kean
An in-depth investigation into UFO phenomena documents the author’s survey of official extra-terrestrial encounters as experienced by scientists, military heads, and aviators throughout the world, in a report that evaluates government reactions while making specific recommendations.

Voyager:  Seeking Newer Worlds in the Third Great Age of Discovery
By Stephen J. Pyne
An assessment of the current state of the Voyager space program traces its origins in the 1957 Sputnik launch while citing the inspirational accomplishments of historical explorers, in an account that also evaluates the program’s relevance and its imminent departure from the solar system.

Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?  How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life
By Thomas Geoghegan
A wry, timely book explains why the worker-friendly European model for employment, especially that of Germany, may thrive well into the 21st century without compromising its citizens’ ease of living – and may actually be the best example for the United States to follow.

Where There Is Love, There Is God:  A Path to Closer Union with God and Greater Love for Others
By Mother Teresa
In a book that collects previously unpublished talks with the author’s fellow sisters, Mother Teresa’s spiritual teachings are revealed and organized into four steps of spiritual practice.

A World Without Islam
By Graham E. Fuller
In a controversial work, the author examines the history of Islam and the Middle East and imagines what the world would be like had Islam never existed, arguing that many of today’s problems in the Middle East would still exist.

The Youth Pill:  Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution
By David Stipp
The author gauges the current state of science’s battle against aging, profiling key contributors and present cutting-edge research to offer provocative insight into how a small group of optimistic scientists are developing a drug to extend life.

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