Biography & Memoir

Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan lists her favorite books of 2005, including novels by Mary Gaitskill and Kazuo Ishiguro, and memoirs by Joan Didion and J.R. Moehringer.

Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, has a lot of experience
rounding upevotes for Republican legislation. He's the former Senate majority
leader and former House and Senate whip. He's also the author of a new memoir,
"Herding Cats."

Rock journalist Bob Spitz's new biography of the Beatles is decidedly not prettified: venereal disease, drugs, and bad business are all part of the story of the Fab Four. The book is The Beatles: The Biography.

Graphic novelist Harvey Pekar emerged from obscurity in the surprise film hit American Splendor. His new graphic novel, The Quitter, offers details of Pekar's upbringing in 1950s Cleveland.

TV news veteran Mike Wallace has just published a book about his favorite interviews, titled Between You and Me. He shares behind-the-scenes details from encounters with politicians, celebrities and criminals.

Actor and singer Tab Hunter's new book, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, reveals his secret status as a homosexual in Hollywood. Hunter was a teen heartthrob in the 1950s and 1960s, starring in over 50 films including Damn Yankees, That Kind of Woman, and more recently, John Waters' Polyester.

From 1950 to 1956, the team of Martin and Lewis were America's favorite entertainers. A new memoir from Jerry Lewis details how their 10-year partnership was destroyed. Dean and Me: A Love Story details life behind the scenes of 16 films and numerous TV and club shows.

Peter Manseau's mother is a former nun; his father is a priest who remains under suspension. Manseau tells of their marriage — and his upbringing — in a new memoir, Vows.

Army National Guardsman Jason Christopher Hartley. While serving in Iraq, Hartley kept a blog of his experiences until his commanders forced him to shut it down. He’s now back from Iraq, and has a new memoir, “Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in Iraq” (HarperCollins).

Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce for 11 years in the television series M*A*S*H and has acted in, written, and directed many films. He has starred on Broadway, and his avid interest in science has led to his hosting PBS's Scientific American Frontiers.

Writer Mark Cotta Vaz's new book is Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong.

Writer, professor and Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan is one of those lucky people in life who has been able to combine her passion with her profession. She discusses her new memoir, Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new memoir The Tender Bar by Los Angeles Times reporter J.R. Moehringer. It tells the tale of his dysfunctional family on Long Island — and the community's center, the local bar.

Kayla Williams is a former U.S. Army soldier who served in the Middle East as an Arabic interpreter. She recounts her decision to enlist and her experiences during the Iraq war in a new memoir, Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army. Williams was a sergeant in a military intelligence company of the 101st Airborne Division.

Sen. Trent Lott, the Republican from Mississippi, has a new memoir called Herding Cats: A Life in Politics. Lott was the Senate majority leader from June 1996 to January 2001. He resigned from his position in 2002 after making racially divisive remarks.

Author and actor Martin Moran's new memoir is The Tricky Part: One Boy's Fall from Trespass into Grace. As a boy, he was sexually abused by a male counselor at a Catholic boys' camp. Nearly 30 years later, Moran went to see the man again at a convalescent home.

Journalist Karl Fleming's new book is Son of the Rough South: An Uncivil Memoir. As a civil rights reporter for Newsweek in the 1960s, he wrote about major events such as the Birmingham church bombing, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the murders of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss. While at the 1966 riots in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Fleming was severely beaten.

Paul Feig is the creator of the cult classic TV series Freaks and Geeks. His new book Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin, is the follow-up to his 2002 book Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence. Feig was an actor before moving on to writing for TV and film.