biography Archives -

Diplomat and Author Madeline Albright Dead at 83

March 24, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

The splendid American diplomat and author Madeline Albright has died. She was 83. The Washington Post remembers Secretary Albright with affection: Madeleine K. Albright, who passed away on Wednesday, shaped a generation of foreign policy leaders — gently and usually with a smile. She knew every senior official, mentored many of them, and managed to say a cheery word even to people who took “dour” as a compliment. The New York Times reports that the […]

Biography: Duke Ellington: the Notes the World Was Not Ready to Hear by Karen S. Barbera

February 1, 2022 admin 0

Karen Barbera and Randall Keith Horton were strangers who met on a train. A cordial conversation led to an eight-year collaboration to tell new and enlightening stories about Duke Ellington and to bring his forgotten masterpieces back to life. The results are concerts and Duke Ellington: the Notes the World Was Not Ready to Hear, which ends up being a biography of both Ellington and Horton focused on their unique relationship and the musical and […]

Biography: Bars for Days by Mic Nickels

January 20, 2022 admin 0

He was born Michael Ray Winick and had fate not stepped in, he would have had a comfortable, conventional and upper-middle class life as the son of a nice Jewish doctor and his wife. Then a nurse broke the rules and allowed 18-year-old Donna Lynn Winick to hold her baby before he was given up for adoption—and she never let him go. The journey from son of a single, teenaged mother to becoming a rapper, […]

Graphic Novel: The Man in the Painter’s Room by Jamison Odone

June 8, 2021 admin 0

The Man in the Painter’s Room is a graphic novel by Maryland-based author Jamison Odone that explores the final year of Van Gogh’s life, leading up to his suicide. Carefully researched from first-hand accounts of those closest to him, the first graphic novel focuses on this part of the famous painter’s life. “The Man in the Painter’s Room is an interesting exploration of the last few months of Van Gogh’s life and finding light in […]

Biography: Chasing bin Laden by Barbara K. Janik

June 8, 2021 admin 0

Early in the morning on August 16, 2006, the Terrorism Task Force arrested Osama bin Laden in Brooklyn, New York. Despite the event’s Earth-shattering significance, this clandestine story didn’t make headlines. This secret history is at the heart of the narrative by historian, computer expert and lay detective Barbara Janik who submitted the tip that led to bin Laden’s presumed 2006 arrest. In Chasing bin Laden:My Hunt for the World’s Most Notorious Terrorist, Janik takes […]

Biography: Insignificant Others by Peter Fleming

May 30, 2021 admin 0

As he wrestled with depression and even contemplated taking his own life, veteran Hamilton Spectator contributor Peter Fleming dug deep and pulled himself out of that pit. While he did it, he compiled stories and essays that reflected on these experiences and took a life on their own. The resulting book, Insignificant Others, is a meditative, irreverent and humorous compilation that encompasses the author’s struggle and ultimate triumph over suicide. Insignificant Others is a collection […]

Biography: Sex, Love & Cops Wendy Wilkins

February 4, 2021 admin 0

Actress and writer Wendy Wilkins’ memoir, Sex, Love & Cops, follows Wilkins’ story as she joins the police force as a naive 20-year-old cop in Melbourne, Australia. The book includes many firsts: her first arrest, murder, dead body, love, cop culture and a #metoo moment. The good, the bad and the ugly of life as a cop in Melbourne Australia, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A fast-paced and entertaining read with some wonderful […]

Non-Fiction: Killing Women: The True Story of Serial Killer Don Miller’s Reign of Terror by Rod Sadler

September 23, 2020 admin 0

Don Miller was quiet and reserved. As a former youth pastor, he seemed a devout Christian. No one would have ever suspected that the recent graduate of the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice was a serial killer. But when Miller was arrested for the attempted murder of two teenagers in 1978, police quickly realized he was probably responsible for the disappearances of four women. Offered a still-controversial plea bargain, he led police to […]

Biography: The Apricot Outlook of Katherine Koon Hung Wong by Dennis W.C. Wong

August 10, 2020 admin 0

The Apricot Outlook of Katherine Koon Hung Wong is a hopeful look on an author’s journey of rediscovering his roots. Highlighting the author’s aspirations and efforts to reconnect with his Chinese genealogy, the title of Dennis W.C. Wong’s first book comes from the author’s mother Katherine’s Chinese middle name “Koon Hung,” which means outlook apricot. Upon hearing, recording, and sharing his mother’s stories, author Wong went on a trip to China to explore the roots […]

Biography: Girl, Wasted by Brittany Taltos

July 22, 2020 admin 0

Brittany Taltos, who appeared on Jersey Shore and The Bachelor Pad, releases her memoir, Girl, Wasted. The book exposes the grainy details of her alcohol addiction. Girl, Wasted reveals specifics behind Taltos’ experiences with reality television. She describes alcohol’s influence on her decision-making throughout filming. In the chapter, “A Drunken Situation,” she discusses the truth behind her alcohol-fueled hookups with Mike the Situation. The following chapter, “Bachelor Pad Blackout,” examines her relationship with alcohol throughout […]