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Biography (includes Autobiography): Biography & Memoir Resources

Print and online resources for exploring and learning about an individual's life

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Web Resources for Biographical Information

Browse Books and eBooks

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Bourdain : the definitive oral biography

An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the life of Anthony Bourdain from the people who knew him best.

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Walk with Me: a biography of Fannie Lou Hamer

Few figures embody the physical courage, unstinting sacrifice, and inspired heroism behind the Civil Rights movement more than Fannie Lou Hamer. The book features interviews with some of the people closest to Hamer and conversations with Civil Rights leaders who fought alongside her.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

This book examines how the telegenic lawmaker--a life-long New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent--engineered a startling victory, why her life story and ideas made her such a focus of national attention, how she has used social media to amplify her calls for economic justice and civil rights equality, and why she has come to be regarded as one of the most consequential and influential lawmakers in Congress.

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Red Paint: the ancestral autobiography of a Coast Salish punk

An Indigenous artist blends the aesthetics of punk rock with the traditional spiritual practices of the women in her lineage in this bold, contemporary journey to reclaim her heritage and unleash her power and voice while searching for a permanent home. 

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Swimming Against the Tide (ebook)

This is an inspirational story about an ordinary woman with extraordinary grit who set out to create a fair and inclusive world for the persons with disability. When she was seven months old, a massive polio attack left Madhavi paralyzed below the shoulder. Triumphing over a near-death situation with hydrotherapy, she eventually became a national champion in para swimming. 

The Daring Life and Dangerous Times of Eve Adams (ebook)

Born Chawa Zloczewer into a Jewish family in Poland, Eve Adams emigrated to the U.S. in 1912, took a new name, sold radical publications, and ran lesbian-and-gay-friendly speakeasies. In 1925, Adams risked all to write and publish a book titled Lesbian Love. Adams was jailed, deported to Europe, and ultimately murdered by Nazis in Auschwitz. 

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Citizen Spielberg (ebook)

Steven Spielberg's extraordinary career redefined Hollywood, but his achievement goes far beyond shattered box office records. Rejecting the view of Spielberg as a Barnumesque purveyor of spectacle, Lester D. Friedman presents the filmmaker as a major artist who pairs an ongoing willingness to challenge himself with a widely recognized technical mastery.

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Renoir

Expertly researched and beautifully written by the world's leading authority on Auguste Renoir's life and work, Renoir fully reveals this most intriguing of Impressionist artists. The narrative is interspersed with more than 1,100 extracts from letters by, to, and about Renoir, 452 of which come from unpublished letters.

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Paletó and Me (ebook)

Winner of the prestigious Casa de las Américas Prize, this work spins a heartfelt story of an improbable relationship between an anthropologist and her charismatic Indigenous father. Paletó and Me is a celebration of life, weaving together the author's own memories of learning the lifeways of Indigenous Amazonia with her father's testimony to Wari' persistence in the face of colonization. 

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All about Me!

All About Me! charts Mel Brooks's meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the United States Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material, looking for the perfect joke.

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The Best Weapon for Peace: Maria Montessori, Education, and Children's Rights (ebook)

The Italian educator and physician Maria Montessori is best known for the Montessori teaching method. She was also a lifelong pacifist. Author Moretti reframes Montessori's pacifism as the foundation for her educational activism, emphasizing her vision of the classroom as a gateway to reshaping society.

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Riff: The Shake Keane Story (ebook)

Riff explores the turbulent life of the Caribbean musician and poet Shake Keane.  A wanderer, he absorbed many of the themes of the 20th century - colonialism, migration and masculinity. Born in St Vincent, he migrated to London in the early 1950s where he became an important figure in the free form jazz scene. 

Browse More eBooks and Print Books

Browse more biography and memoir ebooks from the ebook database.  Check out search tips for using the library catalog to find more biographical information. 
 

Search the library catalog to find print books and DVDs. Search the person's name along with the keyword biography.

  • "Michelle Obama" AND biography
  • "David Bowie" AND biography

You can also search by topic. 

  • actors AND biography
  • painters AND biography

Search Library Databases for Biographical Information

A library database is a collection of different sources such as magazine articles, journal articles, ebooks, streaming videos, images, and more.  You can find biographical information by searching for a person's full name. You can also search using a topic keyword and the keyword biography or autobiography. 

Example searches

  • baseball AND biography
  • chef AND autobiography
  • "Steve Jobs"