Category Archives: Bios and Memoirs

Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson – Tara T. Green

(Reviewed by Ann Onymous ) #CommissionsEarned This book was not the biography I expected. Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935) led an incredible life, full of love and activism indeed. This contribution into the oeuvre of African American history is from Dr. Tara … Continue reading

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Taking Down Backpage: Fighting the World’s Largest Sex Trafficker – Maggy Krell

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “While a commercial sex transaction may seem consensual on the surface, the lopsided power dynamic, the history of trauma and abuse, and the lack of options often make the consent illusory. And sex without consent … Continue reading

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Where Have You Been Bobby Marr?: Friend, Felon, Hero – Morris Dalla Costa

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) #CommissionsEarned Where Have You Been Bobby Marr? is the memoir of Bobby Marr, a young man who left the US to fight in Viet Nam as a whole man, but came back in pieces, physically … Continue reading

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Things I Have Withheld – Kei Miller

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…the place where I have always felt most comfortably gay is in Jamaica. In Jamaica, I know the language and the mannerisms of queerness. In Jamaica, I know how to dance. In Jamaica, I do not … Continue reading

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Here, Right Matters: An American Story – Alexander Vindman

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Regardless of any impact on the president, the domestic and foreign policy consequences, or personal costs, I had no choice but to report what I’d heard. That duty to report is a critical component of U.S. … Continue reading

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Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys – Joe Coulombe with Patty Civalleri

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Becoming Trader Joe is a true story about a marketing genius who went against conventional mega grocery store chains to create his own style of branding, with a name with unusual food products. Joe Coulombe started … Continue reading

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Nine Moons – Gabriela Wiener, Jessica Powell (Translator)

(reviewed by JD Jung) “Europe is the best place for a Latin American to starve to death and drink good wine.” Gabriela Wiener and her husband originally travelled from Peru to Barcelona on student visas. However, when these two journalists … Continue reading

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Where Silence Ends – Angela Ruiz, Mary Ruiz

(Reviewed by Jeyran Main) Where Silence Ends is a beautiful story about how a young girl finally breaks silence over all the abuse and trauma she has gone through. Reading through four generations of Mexican American culture, family drama, and … Continue reading

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Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer – Marty Essen

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Marty Essen is an interesting personality who went from being in the music industry to becoming a political activist and then a travel writer/lecturer covering seven continents. This autobiography has a laid-back narrative that feels like … Continue reading

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Snow Blind: Recovering After the Random Shooting – William M Johnson

(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) “Why was I given the gift of almost immediate acceptance of what had happened, when othersweren’t?“ July 1991 found our author, Bill, shot in the head, which left him  permanently blind. He was working in … Continue reading

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