Tag Archives: Biography

All in / Jerry Yang; with Mark Tabb

Call number: B YAN

In this intimate profile of an unlikely poker champion, the life story of Jerry Yang is laid out-from his difficult Hmong childhood to his success as a professional poker player. Born in the mountains of northern Laos, Jerry spent four and a half years in a Thai refugee camp after his family escaped the Communist forces. He endured horrific living conditions there and watched his family members die at gunpoint, but miraculously escaped and immigrated to the United States. From his first chance encounter with poker to winning the 2007 World Series of Poker, his struggles and achievements are chronicled here. It details Jerry’s domination in the sport and how he uses his winnings to give back to the organizations that fed and clothed him during his childhood at the refugee camp. This autobiography is truly inspirational and is a reminder that the American dream is attainable for those with the courage and tenacity to pursue it. (From Google Books)

Between two worlds : my life and captivity in Iran / Roxana Saberi

Call number: B SAB

On the morning of January 31, 2009, Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist working in Iran, was forced from her home by four men and secretly detained in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. The intelligence agents who captured her accused her of espionage—a charge she denied. For several days, Saberi was held in solitary confinement, ruthlessly interrogated, and cut off from the outside world. For weeks, neither her family nor her friends knew her whereabouts.

After a sham trial that made headlines around the world, the thirty-one-year-old reporter was sentenced to eight years in prison. But following international pressure by family, friends, colleagues, various governments, and total strangers, she was released on appeal on May 11, 2009. Now Saberi breaks her silence to share the full account of her ordeal, describing in vivid detail the methods that Iranian hard-liners are using to try to intimidate and control many of the country’s people.
In this gripping and inspirational true story, Saberi writes movingly of her imprisonment, her trial, her eventual release, and the faith that helped her through it all. Her recollections are interwoven with insights into Iranian society, the Islamic regime, and U.S.-Iran relations, as well as stories of her fellow prisoners—many of whom were jailed for their pursuit of human rights, including freedom of speech, association, and religion. Saberi gains strength and wisdom from her cellmates who support her throughout a grueling hunger strike and remind her of the humanity that remains, even when they are denied the most basic rights.
Between Two Worlds is also a deeply revealing account of this tumultuous country and the ongoing struggle for freedom that is being fought inside Evin Prison and on the streets of Iran. From her heartfelt perspective, Saberi offers a rich, dramatic, and illuminating portrait of Iran as it undergoes a striking, historic transformation.(From Google Books)

Honored guests : citizen heroes and the State of the Union / Stephen Frantzich

Call Number: CT215 .F73 2011

In 1982, Ronald Reagan invited Lenny Skutnick, the government employee who dove into the icy waters of the Potomac River to rescue passengers following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90, to sit with First Lady Nancy Reagan in the House of Representatives balcony during the State of the Union address. Since that time, Reagan and subsequent presidents have used major presidential addresses to recognize ordinary citizens responsible for extraordinary acts of citizenship. In this book, Stephen Frantzich tells the fascinating stories of forty of the heroes who have earned this presidential recognition and explores the larger context of whether they represent a presidential gimmick or a touchstone with the American spirit. Taken together, the stories of how they got there, their decision to allow themselves to be used as symbols, and the impact of the recognition tells a great deal about the presidency, politics, and the role of heroes in American society. (From Google Books)

A complicated man : the life of Bill Clinton as told by those who know him / Michael Takiff

Call number: B CLI

Though Bill Clinton has been out of office since 2001, public fascination with him continues unabated. Many books about Clinton have been published in recent years, but no single-volume biography covers the full scope of Clinton’s life from the cradle to the present day; and books on Clinton have tended to be highly polarized, casting the former president in an overly positive or negative light. In this, the first complete oral history of Clinton’s life, historian Michael Takiff presents the first truly balanced book on one of our nation’s most controversial and fascinating presidents. Through more than 150 chronologically arranged interviews with key figures including Bob Dole, James Carville, and Tom Brokaw, among many others, this book goes far beyond the well-worn party-line territory to capture the larger-than-life essence of Clinton the man.–From publisher description.