HPL 2026 Biographies

"On the eve of his 100th birthday, national treasure Dick Van Dyke brings us this autobiographical collection of life advice, stories, and reflections on how he's maintained a zest for life. Dick Van Dyke danced his way into our hearts with iconic roles in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Now, as he's about to turn 100 years old, Dick is still dancing and approaching life with the twinkle in his eye that we've come...

"Karie Fugett is living out of her car in a Kmart parking lot when her boyfriend Cleve suggests "Maybe we could get married or somethin'." Karie says yes out of love, but also out of convenience. As a twenty-year-old high school dropout who ran away from her family and recently lost her job, Karie has nowhere else to turn. Just months after they elope, Cleve's Marine unit is deployed to Iraq. Then Karie gets the call: Cleve's Humvee has been hit by...

"On August 25, 1944, Rose Valland, a woman of quiet daring, found herself in a desperate position. From the windows of her beloved Jeu de Paume museum, where she had worked and ultimately spied, she could see the battle to liberate Paris thundering around her. The Jeu de Paume, co-opted by Nazi leadership, was now the Germans' final line of defense. Would the museum curator be killed before she could tell the truth -- a story that would mean nothing...

"Best possible place, worst possible time" is a collection of sometimes baffling, often enlightening, and always funny anecdotes from Barry Sonnenfeld's extensive career in film and television. From fighting with studio executives to creative problem-solving on set, Sonnenfeld provides a glimpse into what it takes to make commercial art in the face of constant human foibles.

"Several years ago, a treasure trove containing some 6,000 original Bob Dylan manuscripts was revealed to exist. Their destination? Tulsa, Oklahoma. The documents, as essential as they are intriguing--draft lyrics, notebooks, and diverse ephemera--comprise one of the most important cultural archives in the modern world. Along with countless still and moving images and thousands of hours of riveting studio and live recordings, this priceless collection...

For the first time, the star of Platoon, Wall Street, Major League and Two and a Half Men writes the story of his extraordinary life in an unfiltered memoir.

"From the author of Man Gone Down-a New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year and winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award-comes a deeply personal memoir of race, trauma, alcoholism, parenting, mental illness, and ultimately hope in a portrait of three generations of Black American men. In 2007, Michael Thomas launched into the literary world with his award-winning first novel Man Gone Down, a beautiful and devastating story of a Black father trying...

"Cat Stevens was launched to fame in the swinging sixties, with chart-topping hits like "Matthew and Son" and "The First Cut is the Deepest." His early career was drastically interrupted by a mortal battle with tuberculosis--a turning point that ignited his quest for peace and understanding. Emerging from this experience, he rapidly rose to become one of the most prolific singer-songwriting icons of the seventies, captivating the world with soul-stirring...

"In an industry dominated by white men, Connie Chung stood alone, the first and only Asian woman to break into the television news industry. This is her extraordinary story, told with incisive wit and remarkable candor. Connie Chung is a pioneer. In 1969 at the age of 23, this once-shy daughter of Chinese parents took her first job at a local TV station in her hometown of Washington, D.C. and soon thereafter began working at CBS news as a correspondent....

"How do you rebuild yourself when your whole world changes overnight? Thrust onto the public stage at fifteen years old after the Taliban's brutal attack on her life, Malala Yousafzai quickly became an international icon known for bravery and resilience. But away from the cameras and crowds, she spent years struggling to find her place in an unfamiliar world. Now, for the first time ever, Malala takes us beyond the headlines in Finding My Way--a vulnerable,...