About a Real Person

Level up with fiction and nonfiction about real people!

Updated April 14, 2025
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Be ready when the luck happens : a memoir
Garten, Ina
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten--aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon--shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table....
Black Panther woman : the political and spiritual life of Ericka Huggins
Phillips, Mary Frances
Paper Book
The first biography of Ericka Huggins, a queer Black woman who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Black Panther Party. In this groundbreaking biography, Mary Frances Phillips immerses readers in the life and legacy of Ericka Huggins, a revered Black Panther Party...
Code name: Pale Horse : how I went undercover to expose America's Nazis
Payne, Scott (FBI agent)
Paper Book
The thrilling true story of one man who risked his life to infiltrate the most dangerous neo-Nazi group in the United States, an "urgent and exciting look into the life of an FBI undercover agent" (Joe Pistone) by "one of the top undercover agents in the Bureau" (Joaquin "Jack" Garcia). ...
The dream lover : a novel
Berg, Elizabeth
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Elizabeth Berg has written a lush historical novel based on the sensuous Parisian life of the nineteenth-century writer George Sand--which is perfect for readers of Nancy Horan and Elizabeth Gilbert.   At the beginning of this...
The enigma girls : how ten teenagers broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. With numerous starred reviews and accolades, from award-winning author Candace Fleming, comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies, with their hard work and...
From under the truck : a memoir
Brolin, Josh
Paper Book
"Josh Brolin's out to catch his breath between the slant-eyed suggestions and irrefutable evidence of his past. He hears voices, and he listens, reminding us with brutal honesty that our surroundings were never there to be carried, rather woven into the fabric of the freedom to be who we are."-...
A gentleman and a thief : the daring jewel heists of a Jazz Age rogue
Jobb, Dean
Paper Book
A captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper about "the greatest jewel thief who ever lived" (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed everyone from Rockefellers to members of the royal family while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the...
The heart that fed : a father, a son, and the long shadow of war
Sciacchitano, Carl
Paper Book
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF 2024 A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST NEW COMIC OF 2024 FOR ADULTS A brilliant, "powerful" (Booklist) graphic memoir, and a loving son's exploration of his tumultuous relationship with his father, told through...
Her hidden genius : a novel
Benedict, Marie
Paper Book
"Brings to life Franklin's grit and spirit...an important contribution to the historical record." --The Washington Post The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie! She changed the world with her discovery. Three men took the credit. ...
Illuminations : a novel of Hildegard von Bingen
Sharratt, Mary
Paper Book
A triumphant portrait of a resilient and courageous woman and the life she might have lived . . . Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel,Illuminations, brings to life one of the most...
Kingmaker : Pamela Harriman's astonishing life of power, seduction, and intrigue
Purnell, Sonia
Paper Book
"A thorough account of Harriman's rise which also manages to be a brisk, twisty read ... riveting and revelatory." --The New Yorker "Rigorous but rollicking." --The New York Times Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by Apple Books, The Economist<...
A name of her own
Kirkpatrick, Jane
Paper Book
Based on the life of Marie Dorion, the first mother to cross the Rocky Mountains and remain in the Northwest, A Name of Her Own is the fictionalized adventure account of a real woman’s fight to settle in a new landscape, survive in a nation at war, protect her sons and raise them well...
On the hippie trail : Istanbul to Kathmandu and the making of a travel writer
Steves, Rick
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Stow away with Rick Steves for a glimpse into the unforgettable moments, misadventures, and memories of his 1978 journey on the legendary Hippie Trail. In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any...
The personal librarian
Benedict, Marie
Paper Book
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world as she helps build a world-class collection. But...
The princess
Holden, Wendy
Paper Book
"Readers are transported to 1961 Britain in this fascinating tale about beloved Princess Diana....What follows is an astonishing story of Diana's route to the altar and beyond."--Woman's World The whole world saw Diana Spencer step from a gilded carriage for her wedding....
Shackled : a tale of wronged kids, rogue judges, and a town that looked away
Cooper, Candy J.
Paper Book
2025 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist CCBC Choices 2025 2025 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Book Winner YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers The New York Public Library Best Books for Teens 2024 Here is the explosive story of the Kids for...
Smoke gets in your eyes : & other lessons from the crematory
Doughty, Caitlin
Paper Book
In this "morbid and illuminating" (Entertainment Weekly) New York Times bestseller that launched the death positive movement, a young mortician goes behind the scenes of her curious profession. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin...
The survivors of the Clotilda : the lost stories of the last captives of the American slave trade
Durkin, Hannah
Paper Book
NAMED A TOP BOOK OF 2024 BY AMAZON AND WASHINGTON POST "The Survivors of the Clotilda, a comprehensive account of one of the most important parts of American history, is a triumph."--Booklist (starred review) "A welcome history of defiance and survival."--Kirkus Reviews ...
Throne of grace : a mountain man, an epic adventure, and the bloody conquest of the American West
Drury, Bob
Paper Book
The explosive true saga of the legendary adventurer Jedediah Smith and the Mountain Men who explored the American frontier, written by New York Times bestselling authors of Blood and Treasure Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. It is the early 19th century, and the...
Viewfinder : a memoir of seeing and being seen
Chu, Jon M.
Paper Book
From visionary director Jon M. Chu comes a powerful, inspiring memoir of belonging, creativity, and learning to see who you really are. "A must-read for aspiring artists and dreamers of all kinds."-Ava DuVernay Long before he directed Wicked, In The Heights...
A walk in the park : the true story of a spectacular misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Paper Book
Two friends, zero preparation, one dream. From the author of the beloved bestseller The Emerald Mile, a rollicking and poignant account of the epic misadventure of a 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America's most magnificent national park and the grandest wilderness on...
Whiskey tender : a memoir
Taffa, Deborah Jackson
Paper Book
Finalist for the National Book Award Longlisted for a Carnegie Medal for Excellence Winner of the Southwest Book Award A Best Book of the Year: Washington Post, Esquire, Time, The Atlantic, NPR, and Publishers Weekly An Oprah Daily "Best New Book" and "Riveting...
The Wildes : a novel in five acts
Bayard, Louis
Paper Book
In this singularly powerful novel, bestselling author Louis Bayard brings Oscar Wilde's wife Constance and two sons out from the shadows of history and creates a vivid and poignant story of secrets, loss, and love. "Wonderfully researched, beautifully crafted, movingly...
Worm : a Cuban American odyssey
Rodriguez, Edel
Paper Book
From "America's illustrator in chief" (Fast Company), a stunning graphic memoir of a childhood in Cuba, coming to America on the Mariel boatlift, and a defense of democracy, here and there Hailed for his iconic art on the cover of Time and on jumbotrons around...

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