Biographies
Biography Feature
Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward." Amelia Earhart
The first woman to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic and the first person to fly solo across the Pacific, Amelia Earhart became the most famous female pilot of her time. Fascination continues to this day around Amelia's disappearance over the Pacific in her attempt to fly around the world, and her story is portrayed in the new film 'Amelia' - find out more about her with our resources below.
Shelf help:
These are just some of the biographies and works about Amelia Earhart that can be found in the library collection
Books:
Amelia Earhart: The thrill of it- By Susan Wels
- "She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and the first person to fly solo across the Pacific. But Amelia Earhart was also a photographer, poet, hospital worker, truck hauler, fashion designer, social worker, and student of chemistry, physics, and medicinebefore she vanished mysteriously in her airplane over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937. 'Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It' is the first premium-quality illustrated biography to cover all facets of the icons life, featuring never-before-seen photographs, artifacts, letters, documents, and maps. It also includes fascinating newly-revealed details about Amelia's life and brings the story of her disappearance up-to-date with the latest information about the search for her remains in the Pacific Ocean. 'Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It' vividly captures the essence of Amelia Earhart and her unorthodox, unflinching zeal for living life." (Global Books in Print)
Amelia : the centennial biography of an aviation pioneer- By Donald M. Goldstein & Katherine V. Dillon
- "Unlike the majority of books on Earhart, this one focuses on her entire life, and not just her mysterious disappearance. The authors strongly emphasize that their subject was much more than another aviator trying to set new records. Beginning with her childhood, they analyze why Earhart became not only one of aviation's great pioneers, but also a champion of women's rights and a devoted member of her family. When the inevitable disappearance is covered, it is handled with an almost scientific methodology, looking at all of the currently held theories." (School Library Journal)
Letters from Amelia, 1901-1937- Edited by Jean L. Backus
- "Until 'Letters from Amelia' amazingly little has been known about the deepest recesses of her heart. Written under all conditions - in schools, on trains, from the White House - these engrossing messages show devotion, wisdom, and a hilarious talent for playing with the English language, as well as a rare ability to stand apart from her own legend. 'Letters from Amelia' is an apt testimony to the totality of an extraordinary person." (Book jacket)
You can find more items on Amelia Earhart in our catalogue here
From our databases:
Recent items
MyLibrary:
Have a look at the libraries' Biography recent picks for new biographies.
MyLibrary is a free service which allows you to set up your own portal page to collect lists of new books, CDs and DVDs in the library. Our librarians compile these lists on a monthly basis across the different subject areas in the library's collection, and for many subjects these monthly lists are available going back a number of years.
Librarian's Choice
Recommended by our librarians this month...
Don't walk in the long grass, by Tenniel Evans (1999)- This is a charming , memoir of an exceptional child who became a celebrated actor. Tenniel Evans was born into a rumbustious colonial family living in picturesque poverty in Kenya. At the age of 10 he won a scholarship to Christ's Hospital school, travelled by sea to England, and was adopted into the family of his 'wonderful horse-faced' paternal aunt, who lived a middle-class life in a Coventry rectory. He came to love this family, which gradually replaced his own, whom he did not see again for twenty years. He became thoroughly English and made his mark on the English stage. This humorous book, which is endorsed by Alex Guinness, evokes his African childhood and his journey through an English education in all sense of the word. (Sue)
Online databases
Online biography resources can be found at mygateway.info. Check out the Biography portal page for databases such as Biography Resource Center and the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, for example, contains over 3,000 biographies of famous New Zealanders (it does not, however, include people who are alive).
Biographies can also be found on many of our other databases for particular subject areas including arts, music, and business. Ask at any library enquiries desk if you need help with these resources:
Useful websites
- NZ Edge.com
Biographies of some great New Zealand achievers. - From the BBC - Historic figures
Selected biographies of historic figures from the BBC - an A-Z index. - Who's alive and who's dead
A website dedicated to helping you find out which of the noted celebrities of our time are with us, and which ones have died. - Who2.com
- Brainy History
Magazines
Check out reviews of newly released biographies in magazines held in the Arts, Music and Literature section at Central Library.
Searching the catalogue
Catalogue Quicksearch
Looking for a particular person?
When looking for titles on a particular person, the best approach is from the Basic Search screen, choose the "search type" Subjects in the dropdown menu, enter the word "biography" and as much of the individual's name as is known - then click 'Search'. If this doesn't return any titles, or not as many as expected, repeat the search with just the individual's name i.e. leave out the word "biography".
Looking for a particular occupation?
To find titles about people in a particular occupation, also choose the Subjects search type, and enter the word "biography" and the job e.g. 'biography politicians'.
Looking for biographies about people from a particular country?
To find titles about people from a particular country, also choose the Subjects search type, and enter the word "biography" and the name of the country e.g. 'biography Russia'.
To find all our biographies...
To simply see all our available titles in the adult Biography collection, choose the 'Call Number browse' search type, and enter the word "biography". This will take you to an alphabetical list of all the titles catalogued as 'biography'.
Shelf help
Each library has a dedicated, sign-posted area for biographical books. In the Central Library this area is at the south end of the 1st Floor, on the Victoria Street side. The Children's and Young Adult sections of each library branch also have collections of biographies aimed at younger readers.
Biographies on individuals:
Biographies on individuals have a spine label of 'B', followed by the first 3 letters of the subject's surname e.g. biographies of Robert Muldoon will be labelled B MUL. Members of royal families however are labelled according to their first names i.e. books on Queen Elizabeth's I and II will both be found at B ELI.
Collected biographies:
Biographies on more than one person have a spine label of Bc, followed by the first 3 letters of either the title or author of the book. Check the catalogue to confirm in each case. These collected biographies are shelved in the same general area as, but apart from, the other biographies.
@ the Central Library:
The Central Library has a Biography Reference section near the Enquiries desk at the south end of the 1st Floor. This includes a good range of New Zealand and international Who's Who and similar titles. There is other reference only material on the 2nd Floor in the New Zealand and Maori collections.
Other places to look:
In addition to the Biography sections, there are books about some individuals shelved along with titles on the subject for which they became known. Books about popular, jazz and classical music musicians and composers are shelved in the subject area rather than with biographies. Though new books about artists, architects, photographers, actors and sports people are shelved in the biography section, older titles can be found with the relevant books in the main non-fiction sequence. You'll find some of these call numbers listed in the table below.
| Biographies of: | Dewey number: |
|---|---|
| Architects | 720.92 |
| Classical music composers & performers | 789 & 789.2 |
| Cricket players | 796.358092 |
| Movie actors | 791.43092 |
| Photographers | 770.92 |
| Popular music & jazz artists | 786.9 |
| Rugby & league players | 796.33092 |
Downloadable Digital Audiobooks
Now you can listen to someone else's story while you're getting on with other things in your own life. Check out the Biography digital audiobooks available through our Digital Audiobook service.
Contact us
This page is written and maintained by our Non-Fiction Customer Specialist, Rebecca Waechter. My aim is to keep you informed about the Biographies section of the library and to highlight parts of the collection which may interest you. I'd be pleased to hear from you about this page - you can email me with any feedback.
