Tudors versus Stewarts : the fatal inheritance of Mary, Queen of Scots

I heard my country calling : a memoir

by James H. Webb    (Get the Book)
This memoir takes the author from his birth shortly after World War II to the present, and is a rumination on the changes that the world, the United States, and the military have endured in the interim. Webb (Fields of Fire) was a marine, a company commander in Vietnam, a committee counsel for the House, an assistant secretary of defense, and a democratic senator from Virginia. Webb is a clear and accessible writer who credits his history, and that of his family and forebears, with molding his convictions and guiding his career choices. Combat in Vietnam still dogs him, both mentally and physically. The contradictions and failures of that war informed his later writings and eventual political pursuits, and led him to oppose the Iraq war as "a bad place in a bad war." Concerned with the rising inequality and inequitable division of wealth in America today he tried, unsuccessfully, to introduce measures like taxing capital gains as ordinary income. VERDICT A convincing memoir filled with ideas by a man who might be called a contrarian in today's politics. --Library Journal

The closer : [my story

by Mariano Rivera    (Get the Book)
From humble roots in Panama, Mariano "Mo" Rivera went on to become the greatest closer in baseball history, notching 652 total saves, 13 all-star appearances, and five World Series rings with the New York Yankees over 18 seasons. But in this entertaining, admirably subdued autobiography, the glory is God's: Rivera's story brims with examples of his faith. Sure, there is plenty of baseball for fans to feast on, too. The pitcher tells stories about his teammates (including Derek Jeter, A-Rod, and Joe Torre); championship moments, including the 2000 subway series against the Mets, and the startling game-seven loss in 2001 to the Arizona Diamondbacks; as well as instances of heated pitching rivalries against the Red Sox. He also recalls struggling through injuries, including an elbow issue that threatened his career early on and a blown knee that almost ended his career in 2012. Intensely competitive and a gifted athlete, Rivera will delight baseball fans. But the memories recounted here-both on the field and off-ultimately reveal something deeper: Rivera's almost incredible humility, unshakeable faith, and devotion to his family (he married his childhood sweetheart, Clara). In an age of bravado and bluster in professional sports, he is one of the few athletes who has earned a right to brag. Yet Rivera's elegance and class manage to somehow outshine his accomplishments. --Publishers Weekly

Enduring courage : ace pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the dawn of the age of speed

by John F. Ross    (Get the Book)
Once upon a time, aviator Eddie Rickenbacker was the most famous man in America, the kind of hero that songs were written about and schoolchildren dreamed of emulating. In this entertaining biography, historian Ross (War on the Run, 2009) returns to the dawn of the twentieth century, when cars and aircraft burst onto the scene. Aviation aficionados and war buffs will expect Ross to focus on Rickenbacker's WWI flying-ace achievements; instead, he takes a long look at the aviator's early success in the automotive field as both a brilliant mechanic (Put simply, engines have always talked to me, Rickenbacker explained) and a daring race-car driver. Drawing heavily on his subject's interviews and writings, while also noting areas of his personal life that Rickenbacker publicly fabricated (most notably his father's life and death), Ross peppers the text with quotes that place readers right alongside the ace through nearly every moment of his life. Obviously this is exciting material to work with after all, Rickenbacker was a man who drove in the first Indy 500 and dueled with the Red Baron's flying circus but Ross is never fawning in this thoroughly enjoyable and downright rollicking read. --Booklist

The good spy : the life and death of Robert Ames

by Kai Bird     (Get the Book)
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bird (coauthor, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer) pre-sents CIA intelligence officer Robert Ames (1934-83) as a serious intellectual, a devoted family man, and a hardworking, idealistic professional. After preparing readers for Ames's death in the massive 1983 bombing of the American embassy in Beirut, Bird takes us back through Ames's development as an expert in Arabic languages, history, and politics who increasingly -focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict. By 1980, he was a recognized policy advisor within the CIA, state department, and White House. Bird interweaves his subject's commitment to finding a solution to the Palestine dilemma with tracking the mounting unrest in Lebanon and increasing terrorism by Palestinians, Israelis, and militant Shiites. Readers are drawn to Ames and his effort to be a "good spy," building solutions, even as the U.S. government, buffeted by partisan pressures, adhered to no one constructive policy. VERDICT This is a moving biography within a balanced presentation of the complex diplomacy over the Palestinian quest for statehood and the Israeli need for security, complicated by a disintegrating Lebanon and a revolutionary Iran. Bird's view of a CIA committed to analysis and policy development contrasts with the agency depicted in Hugh Wilford's recent America's Great Game. --Library Journal

Michael Jordan : the life

by Roland Lazenby         (Get the Book)Lazenby, author of an acclaimed biography of NBA great Jerry West, correctly points out that there have been enough books written about Michael Jordan to qualify as a genre. So why another? In order to reveal, Lazenby says, more of Jordan's true self, his complex, almost bipolar personality. Jordan, we learn, driven by his hypercompetitiveness, could go from being a gracious person off the court to a vicious antagonist to teammates and opponents. As Jordan's fame grew, Lazenby shows, he became its prisoner, and his isolation worsened after his father, Michael's anchor in a world of sycophants, was murdered. Lazenby also digs into the rest of Jordan's family, noting that Michael was estranged from the family for a time over a dispute between his then-wife, Juanita, and his mother. Lazenby's resources include the vast printed Jordan library as well as interviews conducted recently, along with gleanings from the author's years on the NBA beat. Readers who have immersed themselves in the Jordan genre will be familiar with much of what's detailed here, but MJ's life is a movie worth watching again, and Lazenby adds enough deleted scenes to add some oomph to the familiar story. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Interest in Jordan remains high, and this biography will be heavily promoted and is sure to receive coverage beyond both book pages and sports sections. --Booklist

Orange is the new black : my year in a women's prison

by Piper Kerman     (Get the Book)
Just graduated from Smith College, Kerman made the mistake of getting involved with the wrong woman and agreeing to deliver a large cash payment for an international drug ring. Years later, the consequences catch up with her in the form of an indictment on conspiracy drug-smuggling and money-laundering charges. Kerman pleads guilty and is sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. Entering prison in 2004 more than 10 years after her crime Kerman finds herself submerged in the unique and sometimes overwhelming culture of prison, where kindness can come in the form of sharing toiletries, and an insult in the cafeteria can lead to an enduring enmity. Kerman quickly learns the rules asking about the length of one's prison stay is expected, but never ask about the crime that led to it and carves a niche for herself even as she witnesses the way the prison system fails those who are condemned to it, many of them nonviolent drug offenders. An absorbing, meditative look at life behind bars. --Booklist