biography & autobiography / personal memoirs

Laura Kasinof studied Arabic in college and moved to Yemen a few years later to work as a freelance journalist. When she first moved to Sanaa in 2009, she was the only American reporter based there. When antigovernment protests broke out in Yemen, part of the revolts sweeping the Arab world at the time, she contacted the New York Times to see if she could cover the rapidly unfolding events for the newspaper. Laura never planned to be a war correspondent, but found herself in the middle of brutal government attacks on peaceful protesters. As foreign reporters were rounded up and shipped out of the country, Laura managed to elude the authorities but found herself increasingly isolated--and even more determined to report on what she saw.

At every stage of the author's life, he's sought answers to the mysteries of history that surrounded him -- most urgently, why he, and other black people he knew, seemed to live in fear. What were they afraid of? This book is a letter to his adolescent son and in his trademark style -- a mix of lyrical personal narrative, reimagined history, essayistic argument, and reportage -- Coates provides a new framework for understanding race: its history, our contemporary dilemma, and where we go from here.

"In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today. But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business--a business that would be dynamic, different. Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream--along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything"--.

Alex Abramovich relates details about his friendship with Trevor Latham, a man who bullied him in grade school and founded the Oakland motorcycle club the East Bay Rats; discusses his experiences living in Oakland and immersing himself in the club; and examines the social conditions of Oakland during the early twenty-first century.

" ... [a] memoir from a physical therapist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the birthplace of physical therapy and the world leader in prosthetic rehabilitation for injured war veterans"--Provided by publisher.

"A young doctor stumbles through his experience as a first year intern at a major New York hospital"--Provided by publisher.

"Shane Dawson, dubbed "YouTube's comic for the under-30 set" by the New York Times, reveals some of his most embarrassing moments in 20 original, personal essays that are at once hilarious and heartwarming, self-deprecating and, ultimately, inspiring to his audience of more than 12 million channel subscribers"--Provided by publisher.

"From the moment she uttered the brave and honest words, "I am an alcoholic," to interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Elizabeth Vargas began writing her story, as her experiences were still raw. Now, in BETWEEN BREATHS, Vargas discusses her accounts of growing up with anxiety-which began suddenly at the age of six when her father served in Vietnam-and how she dealt with this anxiety as she came of age, to her eventually turning to alcohol for relief. She tells of how she found herself living in denial, about the extent of her addiction and keeping her dependency a secret for so long. She addresses her time in rehab, her first year of sobriety, and the guilt she felt as a working mother who had never found the right balance. Honest and hopeful, BETWEEN BREATHS is an inspiring read"--.

"A...first-hand account of the terror and torture inflicted by ISIS on young Iraqi Yazidi women, and an inspiring personal story of bravery and resilience in theface of unspeakable horrors..."--Provided by publisher.

"Meditations on loss, poverty, and becoming a woman in late 1980s America, and what it means to be human"--.