NCW Libraries

Jessica reveals for the first time her inner monologue and most intimate struggles. Guided by the journals she's kept since age fifteen, and brimming with her unique humor and down-to-earth humanity, Open Book is as inspiring as it is entertaining. This was supposed to be a very different book. Five years ago, Jessica Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer, and nobody understood...

From celebrated New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Rick Bragg, comes a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the south. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, he explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast. Everything is explored, from...

"Following the 2016 presidential election, writer Heather Lende, inspired to take a more active role in politics, runs for assembly member in Haines, Alaska-and wins. But tiny Haines-a place accessible from the nearest city, Juneau, only by boat or plane-isn't the sleepy town it appears to be. From a bitter debate about the expansion of the fishing boat harbor to the matter of how to stop bears from rifling through garbage to the recall campaign that...

After a nomadic childhood, Charles Siringo signed on as a teenage cowboy for the noted Texas cattle king, Shanghai Pierce, and began a life that embraced all the hard work, excitement, and adventure readers today associate with the cowboy era. He "rid the Chisholm trail", driving 2,500 heads of cattle from Austin to Kansas; knew Tascosa -- now a historic monument -- when it was home to raucous saloons, red Light districts, and a fair share of violence;...

"Dr. Carrie Leiberg, a pioneer physician, fought hard for public health while nurturing both a troubled son and a fruit orchard. Her husband, John Leiberg, was a Swedish immigrant and self-taught naturalist who transformed himself from pickax Idaho prospector to special field agent for the US Forest Commission and warned Washington DC of ecological devastation of public lands. The Leiberg story opens a window into the human and natural landscape of...

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been fighting for women's rights for over 40 years. As a lawyer, a professor, and a Supreme Court Justice, Ginsburg has worked tirelessly for women's issues on a national level. Her life story is presented to readers through accessible text meant to encourage them to fight for what they believe in as Ginsberg has."--

"John Lennon was one of the world's most influential people. Mark David Chapman was one of the most invisible. By the end of 1980, the Beatles had been broken up for a decade -- a decade John Lennon had spent in search of his true identity: singer, songwriter, activist, burn out. "It's the perfect time to be coming back," he declared. Except that Lennon was a marked man. As early as the Beatles' controversial 1966 American tour, the band had feared...

"From the moments William and Harry are born into the House of Windsor, they become their young mother's whole world. 'I've got two very healthy, strong boys. I realize how incredibly lucky I am,' Diana reminds herself every morning. But even the Princess of Wales questions, 'Am I a good mother?' Diana is faced with a seemingly impossible challenge: one son destined to be King of England and another determined to find his own way. She teaches them...

"Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider"-- Blossoming from the Tenth Mountain Division in World War II, the sport of skiing was driven by adventurers seeking the rush of freedom that only cold mountain air could provide. As skiing gained in popularity, mom-and-pop...

"Was Andy Warhol a hoarder? Did Einstein have autism? In this surprising and inventive look at the evolution of mental health, respected journalist Claudia Kalb gives readers a glimpse into the lives of high-profile historic figures through the lens of modern psychology, weaving groundbreaking research into biographical narratives that are deeply embedded in our culture. From Marilyn Monroe's borderline personality disorder to Charles Darwin's anxiety,...