The biography genre offers a dizzying array of subjects, from Malcolm X (Les Payne and Tamara Payne’s The Dead Are Arising) to Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna (Walter Isaacson’s The Code Breaker). The most stimulating and astute biographies gracefully immerse readers in the intricate stories and turbulent eras of bold figures. Kirkus Indie recently reviewed books that examine a NASA astronaut, a Los Angeles detective, and a Watergate hero.
In Wonders All Around, Bruce McCandless III paints a complex portrait of his father, a daring astronaut. Bruce McCandless II made the first untethered spacewalk—documented in a striking photograph—while on a shuttle mission. The author observes that the photo’s “contrast of a solitary man emerging from the immensity of the universe” suggests a triumph against what is “essentially incomprehensible.” Our reviewer calls the work “a fine evocation of the NASA experience—in the sky and on Earth.”
The Long Winding Road of Harry Raymond by Patrick Jenning examines an LA police detective who served on the department’s “goon squad” in the early 20th century. During his career, Raymond investigated gangsters, politicians, and corrupt cops. Called “the most feared copper in California,” he caused the exodus of numerous LA criminals to Las Vegas. “An exciting addition to the true-crime history of Depression-era LA,” our critic writes.
Adam Henig focuses on Black security guard Frank Wills in Watergate’s Forgotten Hero. Wills uncovered evidence of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Office Building in 1972. While he briefly became famous for his role in the scandal, he spent many years in poverty. In Bob Woodward’s view, Wills was “the only one in Watergate who did his job perfectly.” According to our reviewer, this book is “a remarkably well-researched and definitive account of an unheralded American hero.”
Myra Forsberg is an Indie editor.
