January 28th, 2007 Biography

Everyone’s got a story to tell. It’s truly fascinating to read or hear about someone’s life story or an event that’s happened in their life. Some stories are a testament to the human spirit and can be a source of inspiration to us all. They can also introduce us to people we have never met but would like to get to know (or not!) Biographies and autobiographies are always very popular; in fact, according to Publisher’s Weekly, Bill Clinton’s My Life was the third highest bestseller of 2004 in the U.S. Let’s have a look at some biographically-related questions and what the library has to offer.

Where can I find biographies in the library?

We don’t have a separate section for these. They are found in the subject area that applies to that particular person, so a biography or autobiography on a baseball player would be found in the sports section. You can tell at a glance if a book is a biography or autobiography since it will have a bright yellow spine label withe a book symbol and the word “biography” under they symbol. You can distinguish a biography from an autobiography since the biography has a double set of letters in the call number, for both the writer and his or her subject. For example, a book on Barbra Streisand written by Christopher Andersen is labelled 782.42164 STR AND. To locate titles in the catalogue, do a keyword search for “biography” or “autobiography.

Who is the most written about person?

This is the best response as chosen by voters at Yahoo Answers: “It depends on the language and country. In the US, Abraham Lincoln has to be right up there in book count and overall coverage. Jesus has got to be right there but so much of that is myth that it's hard to sort the facts from the myth. If you're willing to consider a group, I suggest the Beatles. There are more books, magazines, movies and Web sites/blogs about the Beatles than any other individual or group that I can think of. There are hundreds -- maybe more than 1,000 -- of books about the Beatles. There are at least 15 full-length films either by or about the Beatles, in addition to several documentaries.”

Can you recommend some recent biographies?

I like amazon.ca’s editor’s list of the best biographies of 2006. Since the url is too long to include here I’m giving you the titles (with apologies for their length), in order from 1 to 10. The library has all of these books, so place your hold today! Citizen of the world: the life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, vol. one: 1919-1968, by John English. Heat: an amateur’s adventures as a kitchen slave, line cook, pasta-maker, and apprentice to a Dante-quoting butcher in Tuscany, by Bill Buford. Places in between, by Rory Stewart. Book of longing, by Leonard Cohen. Caesar: life of a colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy. Searching for Bobby Orr, by Stephen Brunt. David Suzuki: the autobiography, by David Suzuki. James Tiptree Jr.: the double life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips. Fun home: a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel. The Rookie: a season with Sidney Crosby and the new NHL, by Shawna Richer.

Check out Biography Resource Center, one of the latest additions to the Virtual Collection at the library. Here’s what it has: “ This database integrates award-winning biographies from respected Gale Group sources with related full-text articles from hundreds of periodicals, as well as tens of thousands of images and links to hand-picked web sites. Search for people---both current and historic from all eras and fields of endeavor---based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as keyword and full text. Or, combine search criteria to create a highly-targeted custom search.” You're sure to be impressed with this easy-to-use online resource.

Sylvia Renaud, Head of Reference Services