Arts and Humanities

FRIDA: VIVA LA VIDA = LONG LIVE LIFE
by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Biographical poems about the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

LET ME PLAY: THE STORY OF TITLE IX: THE LAW THAT CHANGED THE FUTURE OF GIRLS IN AMERICA
by Karen Blumenthal
This nonfiction work looks at Title IX, the 1972 legislation mandating that schools receiving federal funds could not discriminate on the basis of gender, ensuring equal treatment and opportunity for girls in sports and education.

WORLD RELIGIONS: THE GREAT FAITHS EXPLORED AND EXPLAINED
by John Bowker
This comprehensive work introduces the reader to faiths of the world through religious artifacts, paintings, architecture, and annotations of sacred texts. It includes a time line comparing significant events and people.

SHAKESPEARE: THE WORLD AS STAGE
by Bill Bryson
Bryson hits the mark with his characteristic wit as he explores the world of Shakespeare and the mystery surrounding the man and his plays.

THE POWER OF MYTH
by Joseph Campbell, with Bill Moyers 
A companion to the six-part television documentary originally broadcast on PBS, this book covers such subjects as the role of mythology in the modern world, the journey inward, the hero's adventure, and tales of love and marriage.

THE RED TENT
by Anita Diamant
This novel recreates the biblical life of Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, from her birth in Mesopotamia through her death in Egypt.

EAGLE BLUE: A TEAM, A TRIBE, AND A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SEASON IN ARCTIC ALASKA
by Michael D'Orso
This true story explores the tiny village of Fort Yukon, Alaska, its vanishing cultural heritage, and its relationship with mainstream American culture through its high school basketball team.

THE POET SLAVE OF CUBA: A BIOGRAPHY OF JUAN FRANCISCO MANZANO
by Margarita Engle
Written in verse, this is a portrait of Juan Francisco Manzano, the poet who was born a slave in Cuba in 1797.

PILLARS OF THE EARTH
by Ken Follett
This best selling epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power set against the canvas of twelfth-century England depicts fascinating characters and provides a spellbinding introduction to medieval religion, architecture, politics and daily life.

THE VOICE THAT CHALLENGED A NATION: MARIAN ANDERSON AND THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS 
by Russell Freedman
In the mid-1930s, Marian Anderson was a famed vocalist who had been applauded by European royalty and welcomed at the White House. But, because of her race, she was denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. This is the story of her resulting involvement in the civil rights movement of the time.

HEART TO HEART: NEW POEMS INSPIRED BY TWENTIETH-CENTURY ART
edited by Jan Greenberg
Can a painting speak? This collection of lyrical responses to famous American works of art provides answers.

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
by Sara Gruen
An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932.

YOUR OWN, SYLVIA: A VERSE PORTRAIT OF SYLVIA PLATH
by Stephanie Hemphill
In 1963, young American poet Sylvia Plath died by her own hand and passed into myth. Hemphill interprets the people, events, influences and art that made up her brief life.

SHOOTING UNDER FIRE: THE WORLD OF THE WAR PHOTOGRAPHER
by Peter Howe
Ten leading combat photographers share their experiences of horror, humor, bravery, and daring while reporting from war-torn locations such as Vietnam, Haiti, Chechnya, El Salvador, Sarajevo, and Afghanistan. Over 150 black-and-white and color photographs provide a powerful and moving look at war and those who risk everything to document it.

THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY
by A.J. Jacobs
A non-judgmental and humorous look at the twelve months Jacobs lived as closely as he could to literal compliance with biblical rules.

SHE’S GOT NEXT: A STORY OF GETTING IN, STAYING OPEN, AND TAKING A  SHOT
by Melissa King
Through pick-up basketball games and the people she meets on the streets of Chicago, the author learns valuable life lessons.

BORN STANDING UP
by Steve Martin
In a memoir full of humor and candor, Martin shares his personal itinerary as he negotiates the maze of honing his profession and the pitfalls he avoided.

OUR MOVIE HERITAGE
By Tom McGreevey and Joanne L. Yeck
This work provides over one hundred beautiful pictures of top stars, directors, and others in the film industry, but the focus is on film preservation and the race against time to salvage what is left of the large number of films that are currently deteriorating in our nation’s vaults, theaters, and private collections.

JOHN LENNON: ALL I WANT IS THE TRUTH
by Elizabeth Partridge
The story of one of rock's biggest legends, from his birth during a 1940 World War II air raid on Liverpool, through his turbulent childhood and teen years, to his celebrated life writing, recording, and performing with the Beatles and beyond.

THIS LAND WAS MADE FOR YOU AND ME: THE LIFE AND SONGS OF WOODY GUTHRIE
by Elizabeth Partridge
Guthrie was a humbling figure, while at the same time a major catalyst of social change. This work provides insight into one of our most prolific and talented musicians, as well as the creation of his music.

AMERICAN SHAOLIN: FLYING KICKS, BUDDHIST MONKS, AND THE LEGEND OF IRON CROTCH: AN ODYSSEY IN THE NEW CHINA
by Matthew Polly
Growing up a ninety-pound weakling tormented by bullies in the schoolyards of Kansas, young Matthew Polly dreamed of one day journeying to the Shaolin Temple in China to become the toughest fighter in the world, like Caine in his favorite 1970s TV series, Kung Fu. While in college, Matthew decided the time had come to pursue this quixotic dream before it was too late. Much to the dismay of his parents, he dropped out of Princeton to spend two years training with the legendary sect of monks who invented kung fu and Zen Buddhism.

PHOTOGRAPHY: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
by Martin W. Sandler
Presents the history of photography from the daguerreotypes of the mid-1800s to its acceptance as an art form and more.

THE ANNOTATED MONA LISA: A CRASH COURSE IN ART HISTORY FROM PREHISTORIC TO POST-MODERN
by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
In an accessible format, this unique work provides a basic working knowledge of art and art history through short essays, sidebars, and photographs.

GIRLS LIKE US: CAROLE KING, JONI MITCHELL, CARLY SIMON—AND THE JOURNEY OF A GENERATION
by Sheila Weller
In three interwoven biographies, Weller chronicles the life and times of three tradition-breaking women singer-songwriters who came of age in the late 1960s.