Biographies on Audio
Wake County Public Libraries own several hundred biographies on audio; here is a small sample.
John Adams by David McCullough (B ADAMS)
In this powerful, epic biography, McCullough unfolds the adventurous life-journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot – "the colossus of independence," as Thomas Jefferson called him – who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution. Note: this Audio book is divided into parts one and two.
All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg (B BRAGG)
Rick Bragg’s childhood was complicated by poverty and an abusive, alcoholic father. Were it not for the dedication and strength of his mother, he may have never left Alabama and become a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. His memoir captures the essence of the South and explores the bonds of family. Also try Eva’s Man.
An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of Rural Boyhood by Jimmy Carter (B CARTER)
In an American story of enduring importance, Jimmy Carter re-creates his Depression-era boyhood on a Georgia farm, before the civil rights movement that changed it and the country. The bestselling author of Living Faith and Sources of Strength writes about the powerful rhythms of countryside and community in a sharecropping economy.
In Black and White: the Life of Sammy Davis Jr. by Wil Haygood (B DAVIS)
From his rise to top billing on the nightclub circuit to his recording contracts, roles on Broadway and his days in Las Vegas and his Rat Pack heyday, Sammy Davis Jr. seemed to have had and done it all. Yet despite his successes, his celebrity friendships and his untold romances, the entertainer was a roiling storm of contradictions and conflict.
Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan (B DYLAN)
Through Dylan's eyes and open mind, we see Greenwich Village, circa 1961, when he first arrives in Manhattan. Dylan's New York is a magical city of possibilities – smoky, nightlong parties; literary awakenings; transient loves and unbreakable friendships. Chronicles, Volume I, is a remarkable book exploring critical junctures in Dylan’s life and career.
Einstein: His Life an Universe by Walter Isaacson (B EINSTEIN)
How did Einstein's mind work? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.
Finding Fish by Antoine Fisher (B FISHER)
Born in prison to a single mother, Antwone Fisher was a ward of Cleveland's foster care system until he was taken in by a family who subjected him to verbal and sexual abuse throughout his adolescence. Enlisting in the U.S. Navy, he found a "family" of his own. But before he could make peace with his past, he had to discover who he really was.
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson (B FRANKLIN)
In this engaging biography, journalist Walter Isaacson captures the gregarious essence of Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Father who has earned a special place in the pantheon of American patriots by dint of sheer approachability.
Father Joe: the Man who Saved My Soul by Tony Hendra (B HENDRA)
A key comic writer of the past three decades has created his most heartfelt and hard-hitting book. Father Joe is Tony Hendra's inspiring true story of finding faith, friendship, and family through the decades-long influence of a surpassingly wise Benedictine monk named Father Joseph Warrillow.
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (B KELLER)
Everyone, young and old, should know about this compellingly human, deeply spiritual and courageous woman. Keller's story has been inspiring readers for generations and was named one of the 100 most important books of the 20th century by the New York Public Library.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (B MCCANDLESS)
In 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to a charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, and invented a life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (B MCCOURT)
McCourt doesn't pull any punches in his story of growing up dirt poor in Limerick, Ireland. Having emigrated to America, his family returns to Ireland after his sister dies in Brooklyn. It is there that things turn from bad to worse.
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer (B MOEHRINGER)
In a place that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, young J.R. Moehringer lives with his single mother and mercurial grandfather in a cramped home with a rather-too-colorful cast of strident aunts, down-on-their-luck uncles, and their various offspring. It is 1970s Manhasset, Long Island, and J.R. is lonely and adrift.
A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer (B PELZER)
Dave Pelzer shares his unforgettable story of the many abuses he suffered at the hands of his alcoholic mother and the averted eyes of his neglectful father. Someone with no one to turn to, his dreams barely kept him alive. Through each of his struggles, readers will find themselves enduring his pain, comforting his loneliness and fighting for his will to survive. Also try The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave.
This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV by Bob Schiefer (B SCHIEFER)
In this memoir, the chief Washington correspondent for CBS news goes beyond the news events everyone is familiar with to share the compelling anecdotes that only his colleagues were previously privy to.
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (B SCHWARTZ)
Mitch Albom was given a second chance to connect with one his greatest teachers. He spent several months regularly visiting his college professor, Morrie Schwartz, during the elder man's final year of life. Tuesdays With Morrie is Albom's best-selling tribute to the man who gave him so much.
Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas Sparks (B SPARKS)
In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother Micah set off on a three-week trip around the world. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at 37 and 38 respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family.
A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut (B VONNEGUT)
Based on short essays and speeches composed over the last five years and plentifully illustrated with artwork by the author throughout, A Man Without a Country gives us Vonnegut both speaking out with indignation and writing tenderly to his fellow Americans, sometimes joking, at other times hopeless, always searching.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (B WALLS)
Gossip columnist Walls dishes the dirt on her own troubled youth in this remarkable story of survival against overwhelming odds. The child of charismatic vagabonds who left their offspring to raise themselves, Walls spent decades hiding an excruciating childhood filled with poverty and shocking neglect. But this is no pity party, as Walls shows her love for her deeply flawed parents.
His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis (B WASHINGTON)
Ellis has crafted a landmark biography that brings to life in all his complexity the most important and perhaps least understood figure in American history. Drawing from the newly catalogued Washington papers at the University of Virginia, Ellis paints a portrait of Washington's life and career: from his military years through his two terms as president.
Black Boy by Richard Wright (B WRIGHT)
Life in the pre-civil rights South was intensely alienating for young Richard. At every turn, his desire to communicate was stunted, whether by famiIy members who insisted he "hush!" or by teachers who harassed and mocked him.