Genealogy — Personal, Societal, and Professional Perspectives
I recently read a few books that examine our individual and collective fascination with genealogy. At our house, we talk often about our ancestors and what we know or don’t know. Our son decided yesterday to start filming his dad when these discussions happen. Because...The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (Book Review)
The essays in The 1619 Project, created and edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine, are more vital reading than ever. This week’s events at the Supreme Court have proven that. We’re watching the dismantling of privacy and human rights here in...Jennifer Wright — Get Well Soon (Book Review)
Jennifer Wright balances aspects of medicine, science, and social history in her 2017 book, Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them. Perhaps I connected most strongly to the human and social elements because of experiencing the COVID-19...Lily Geismer — Left Behind (Book Review)
Lily Geismer covers tremendous political, social, and historical ground in Left Behind: The Democrats’ Failed Attempt to Solve Inequality. Starting with mindset changes in the post-Carter, Reagan-era Democratic Party, Geismer works through fifty years of policies....Marc Petitjean — The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris (Book Review)
Marc Petitjean separates fact from family legend in his biography, The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris. He explores the veracity of the family stories about his father’s affair with Kahlo in 1939. She gave the elder Petitjean, Michel, a painting she titled The Heart as a...Wendy Pearlman — We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled (Book Review)
Wendy Pearlman gathers an oral history in We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria. This focuses on the time period around Arab Spring when in 2011 the Syrian people rose up and protested. As a result, many individuals and families suffered greatly. And...Hyeonseo Lee — The Girl with Seven Names (Book Review)
Hyeonseo Lee tells her harrowing story in The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story. Growing up in the Northern region of her country, the Chinese border was quite close. Her mother had connections there, and her father had some family. One day, Lee...Vanguard — Martha S. Jones (Book Review)
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones made me rethink Black women’s activism. Most importantly, that activism started a full century sooner than I realized. And it happened through four primary...Two Books About Oppression, Feminism, and Social Justice
Despite my chosen title, these books aren’t solely about oppression. They are inspiring and educational, albeit heavy reads. Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 is history, biography, poetry, and introspection. Headscarves and Hymens:...Kevin Cook – The Burning Blue (Book Review)
Kevin Cook does the narrative nonfiction genre proud in The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA’s Challenger Disaster. His story of America’s Teacher in Space and the whole Challenger story kept me absorbed on every page. Once I started,...Garrett Graff — The Only Plane in the Sky (Book Review)
Garrett M. Graff created a heart-wrenching book with The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11. Since the author intended this to be an oral history, I listened to the audiobook which has a large cast of narrators. About five minutes in, during one of the...Nancy Marie Brown — The Real Valkyrie (Book Review)
Nancy Marie Brown combines history and imagination in her upcoming book, The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women. If you follow me, you know that I love books about Vikings and Norse people. And this is the best I’ve ever read. It covers a wide...Carol Anderson — One Person, No Vote (Book Review)
In 2018 I saw Carol Anderson speak about One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy. I’d just spent my first campaign season knocking doors to canvass for candidates I cared about. Anderson’s talk convinced me that voter suppression is the...Arthur Herman — The Viking Heart (Book Review)
Arthur Herman explores Scandinavian culture, history, and its worldwide effects in The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World. As the publisher puts it, he “melds a compelling historical narrative with cutting-edge archaeological and DNA research to trace...Elizabeth Packard is The Woman They Could Not Silence
in Kate Moore’s New Book (Review)
Elizabeth Packard is the subject of Kate Moore’s new book, The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear. But I’ll venture to guess you’ve never heard of Mrs. Packard. Although her story is...
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