Sunday June 19th, 2011 Check out a Biography

Next time you stop by one of the branches of the Thunder Bay Public Library why not check out a new biography, perhaps one from the Globe and Mail top-ten nonfiction list some of which are noted below. Biographies are a great read for several reasons. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote “There is properly no history: only biography.” And back in 1670 Sir Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Admittedly not every biography is about a “giant” but even if the person you are reading about is not exactly your idea of a hero, there may be surprisingly many lessons to be taken from his or her life experiences.
From this Moment On by Shania Twain is a story of her life which had evolved from a series of key moments. She takes those moments and turns them into her own insights; interesting, wise and sometimes inspiring.

Does the Noise in my Head Bother You? : A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir by Steven Tyler, with David Dalton, talks of what it is like to be a living legend complete with fame, money, hotels and limos. It also reveals a side of him seldom seen.



Bossypants by Tina Fey tells her story right from childhood days to Saturday Night Live nights. Her hopes, dreams, struggles, aspirations and victories, and true to the title, how she claims her success became apparent to her when she gained the status of being bossy.


Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe, openly tells his story giving us an inside glimpse into his world full of successes, disappointments and chance encounters with the people in his life. Well written, he holds the reader’s attention.



Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan is the biography of a twenty-nine year old who traded in his job for a year-long trip around the world. He started his adventure by volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in Nepal where he found children that both challenged him and won over his heart.


There are also excellent biographies that were not recently published. For example, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer, published in 1998, is a detailed recount of the physical and mental cost of Krakauer’s spring 1996 expedition to Mt. Everest, and how he lived to tell the tale.

The Mapmaker's Wife : A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon by Robert Whitaker, is a story set in the 18th century about a couple, Isabel Grameson and her husband Jean Godin who had become geographically separated. In an attempt to reunite she set out to cross much of South America and in doing so survived several weeks alone in the rainforest. A harrowing experience well told.


How about downloading an audiobook to listen to Sir Winston Churchill’s greatest speeches, selected and introduced by his grandson, Winston S. Churchill. Titled Never Give In!: Winston Churchill’s greatest Speeches, you will hear words of inspiration from his many speeches such as 'The Few', 'This was their finest hour', and 'We can take it!'.

Biographies also serve as a reminder that history often does repeat itself. A principal figure in classical American philosophy, George Santayana said that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (1905). Biographies enable us see things from a perspective other than our own. Why not take a glance at the world through someone else’s eyes? You never know what you may learn.

Caron E. Naysmith, Library Technician