Biographies

Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks, and Second Chances by Scott Brown
Scott Brown's greatest win did not occur on a cold January election night in 2010 when he came from behind to capture the U.S. Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy for nearly fifty years. It began when he survived a savage beating at the drunken, dirty-fingernail hands of a stepfather when he was barely six years old, while trying to protect his mother. In this gripping memoir of resilience and redemption, Brown tells the story of his difficult, often nomadic childhood, shunted from house to apartment, and town to town, seventeen times over his first eighteen years.

America by Heart: Reflection on Family, Faith, and Flag by Sarah Palin
This book is a highly personal testament to Palin's deep love of country, her strong roots in faith, and her profound appreciation of family. Ranging widely over American history, culture, and current affairs, Governor Palin reflects on the key values that have been such an essential part of her own life and that continue to inform her vision of America's future. The book also includes brief readings from classic and contemporary texts that have moved and inspired her, as well as portraits of Americans, both famous and obscure, whom she admires.

Not at All What One is Used to: The Life and Times of Isabella Gardner by Marian Janssen
Born in 1915 to one of New England's elite wealthy families, Isabella Gardner was expected to follow a certain path in life--one that would take her from marriageable debutante to proper society lady. But that plan was derailed when at age eighteen, Isabella caused a drunk-driving accident. Her family, to shield her from disgrace, sent her to Europe for acting studies, not foreseeing how life abroad would fan romantic longings and artistic impulses that would define the rest of Isabella's years. Janssen tells the story of this passionate, troubled woman, whose career as a poet was in constant compromise with her wayward love life and her impulsive and reckless character.