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NonfictionWomen's HistoryMusicFashionAmerican History

Gift books: For musicians, audiophiles and anyone with a song in their heart

Feature by Hilli Levin

Whether you’re shopping for a burgeoning Bach or someone who can’t carry a tune in a bucket, these books will play on any music lover’s heartstrings.

What do you get for the music obsessive on your list in the age of streaming? Skip the Spotify gift subscriptions and try one of these lovingly curated coffee table books instead. Whether you’re buying for a Woodstock fan who wants to relive the good ol’ days or for someone who’s always hoping to discover their next favorite artist, these are sure to please the person at your holiday gathering who always asks, “Hey, do you mind if I change the music?”

She Can Really Lay It Down by Rachel Frankel
“The present—if long overdue—push toward a more progressive, feminist reading of our cultural history requires disabusing ourselves of known canons, and some pretty deeply entrenched ideas about the history of popular music,” writes Amanda Petrusich in the foreword to the celebratory book She Can Really Lay It Down: 50 Rebels, Rockers, and Musical Revolutionaries. Author Rachel Frankel gamely sets out to help us reconsider the history of popular music with short but thorough essays on big names like Beyoncé, Selena and Dolly Parton. However, the most exciting pages in Frankel’s book shine a light on figures like guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe, folk musician Violeta Parra, South African singer-songwriter Miriam Makeba and other women who have been overlooked for too long. This incisive compilation delivers more than just surface-level girl power, and it would make an excellent gift for anyone with a deep interest in music, creativity and popular culture. I’d especially recommend putting this in the hands of a teenage girl.

Supreme Glamour by Mary Wilson
From the vantage point of 2019, it’s easy to wax poetic about the essential give-and-take between fashion and music, but that relationship certainly wasn’t a given when the Supremes began performing together and crafting their iconic looks in 1961. Mary Wilson, a founding member and anchor of the legendary musical group, takes us through the group’s sartorial evolution with Supreme Glamour, a collection of more than 400 photographs of their most influential sequined, bedazzled and brightly colored outfits. Wilson’s personal musings about the group’s journey perfectly accompany the glossy full-page spreads of dazzling gowns embellished with crystals and pearls, sequined show-stoppers seen on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and marabou-trimmed couture made for their Broadway performances. Fashion lovers will especially appreciate the attention to detail, with notes that include the material, embellishments and notable appearances of the outfits along with other interesting historical tidbits.

Country Music: An Illustrated History by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns
As PBS devotees know, a new Ken Burns documentary is cause for celebration, and “Country Music” is already being hailed as one of his best. Although a big ol’ coffee table book that ties in with a television series can be a tough sell, Country Music: An Illustrated History is definitely a worthy companion piece. Country music afficionados are often left a little high and dry, as music journalists tend to reserve their ink for rock ’n’ roll heroes. But authors Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns dive deep into the roots and rise of this genre: the African American banjo players and Scottish American fiddlers who laid the foundations of the genre, the gospel-infused songs from groups like the Carter Family that helped radio stations get on board, the surprising rise of Hank Williams, the storied Nashville Sound of the 1960s, the outlaw swagger of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, the rise of modern pop-country and everything in between. This tome packs in hundreds of rare photographs, excellent historical asides and interviews with influential figures like singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris. I’d wager that this will be one of the more popular gifts for music lovers this year.

Woodstock Live: 50 Years by Julien Bitoun
It’s the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, and, like it or not, this music festival on a dairy farm in upstate New York remains one of the most influential cultural events in modern history. Long before “festival fashion” was even a part of the zeitgeist, more than 500,000 Woodstock attendees jammed out in harmony with each other, in the rain and mud, while watching performances that have reached near-mythological status. Guitarist and author Julien Bitoun revisits the weekend with Woodstock Live: 50 Years, an attractive giftbook that includes a short and reverential summary of each performance, along with every performer’s setlist, their accompanying musicians, the amount of time they spent on stage and striking photographs from each gig. Bitoun begins with Richie Havens’ improvised opening set at 5:07 on Friday and ends with Jimi Hendrix’s guitar-burning closer on Monday morning, then wraps it all up in an extensive epilogue that runs through notable absentees, the most iconic guitars played at the festival and how the weekend is remembered today. This will make a great gift for anyone hoping to relive the experience, or those who dream about traveling back in time to attend.

What do you get the music obsessive on your list in the age of streaming? Skip the Spotify gift subscriptions and try one of these lovingly curated coffee table books instead.
Mystery

Whodunit: January 2020

Feature by Bruce Tierney

The month’s best new mystery & suspense titles.

The Missing American
Lonely-hearts internet scams out of West Africa are legendary and legion, the twin epicenters being Nigeria and Ghana. Kwei Quartey’s The Missing American focuses on Ghana, where the local word for this sort of scam is sakawa. Retired American bookseller Gordon Tilson has been in contact online with a beautiful Ghanaian widow, and when she tearfully tells him that her younger sister has been in an accident, he unhesitatingly offers to send money for the girl’s medical care. If you guessed that he has just become a victim of sakawa, please pat yourself on the back and advance to the head of the queue. It takes a personal visit to Accra, Ghana’s capital, for Gordon to fully realize that he has been duped, not by a doe-eyed Ghanaian widow but more likely by a team of clever and newly wealthy young men. In a parallel narrative, police officer Emma Djan, summarily dismissed from the Accra police force after refusing sexual advances from a superior, lands a job as a private detective. When Gordon goes missing from his hotel in Accra, Emma and Gordon’s son, Derek, launch a joint search, fearing the worst but hoping and praying for the best. Sakawa scams abound, overlaid with a witch doctor (or two) and a trio of likable, if occasionally gullible, protagonists. My prediction: We will be seeing Emma Djan again.

The Body Outside the Kremlin
In 1923, the Russian government established a prison camp on the remote island of Solovetsky in which to sequester opponents of the new Bolshevik regime. By some accounts, it worked all too well, serving as the prototype for the legendary Gulag system. At the outset of James L. May’s debut novel, The Body Outside the Kremlin, Tolya Bogomolov is serving time at Solovetsky for possession of forbidden books. Quick of mind and well-versed in novels of detection, Tolya is something of a natural when it comes to assisting in the investigation of a fellow prisoner’s murder. Two bonuses: 1) Whatever time Tolya spends sleuthing is time he doesn’t have to engage in hard labor, and 2) he is a potential suspect, so assisting the investigator will deflect some of the suspicion. In the days before Solovetsky housed a prison, the island was home to a monastery that held some very rare and valuable Russian Orthodox icons, which the murder victim was in the process of restoring. Some of those icons were rumored to have fallen into the hands of the secret police, which is not a group anyone would choose to cultivate as an adversary. That choice may have been made for Tolya without his consent. Historical, atmospheric (in a frigid sort of way) and exceptionally well-written, The Body Outside the Kremlin is a first-rate debut.

The Decent Inn of Death
World War II has just ended, and a pair of retired Scotland Yard policemen with decades of experience under their belts and plenty of time on their hands investigates a mysterious death in Rennie Airth’s The Decent Inn of Death. It all starts out innocently enough, when former chief inspector Angus Sinclair receives a last-minute invitation to the home of a friend. While there, he learns of the death of the church organist, Greta Hartmann, a German woman who apparently slipped on a rock while crossing a stream, hit her head and drowned. This explanation does not sit well with her housemate, however, and Sinclair is drawn into investigating the death. It seems that a recent encounter with a stranded motorist had left Greta shaken. It’s possible that she had recognized an escaped German war criminal and, worse yet, that he recognized her as well. Later in the narrative, series linchpin John Madden shows up, as does a blinding snowstorm, at which point an English manor house becomes the scene of a locked-room murder mystery that rivals the best of Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell or P.D. James.

★ Facets of Death
Botswana police Detective David Bengu is more commonly known by his nickname, Kubu, which is Setswana for “hippopotamus,” in a nod to his plus-size dimensions. In the latest adventure from the writing team known as Michael Stanley, the portly policeman finds himself in hot pursuit of a gang of diamond thieves who engineered a devilishly clever, broad-daylight heist. Three trucks left the diamond mine at Jwaneng, each carrying a locked box. One of the boxes contained diamonds and the other two only pebbles in an attempt to confuse any potential hijackers. To say that it didn’t work would be a monumental understatement. The diamond truck was quickly identified and hijacked, while the other two made it to their destination unimpeded. Kubu quickly arrives at the conclusion that the robbery could not have been pulled off without the assistance of an insider, but that line of reasoning leads to dead end after dead end (literally more than figuratively), as one by one the likeliest perpetrators die off violently. But where are the diamonds? A fabulous test of Kubu’s legendary deductive talents, Facets of Death is easily one of the best heist novels I’ve read since Gerald Browne’s classic 11 Harrowhouse.

The best mystery & suspense novels of January 2020.

Four thrillers for bleak winter nights

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

Readers who believe that hell is other people will find validation in these sublimely suspenseful thrillers.

Within these books, the psychological tension mounts, the lies pile up, the gaslighting gets ever more complex and our protagonists try to figure out how to win battles of wits and wills while, y’know, staying alive. 

How Quickly She Disappears
It’s 1941, and Elisabeth Pfautz is trying to adjust to life in the isolated town of Tanacross, Alaska, in Raymond Fleischmann’s How Quickly She Disappears. Elisabeth’s husband, John, is hired to teach children of the Athabaskan tribe, and so they move with their daughter, Margaret, to Alaska for the government gig. They live in a large building that houses the school and is also the de facto accommodation for visitors to the tiny town. When a German pilot named Alfred arrives, Elisabeth offers him a room—even though John’s out of town and her instincts are pinging. Sure enough, Alfred commits murder, terrifying everyone and threatening the already strained relationship between the Pfautzes and the locals. It’s a sudden and dramatic shift, a finely tuned reminder of how quickly life can change.

The now-imprisoned Alfred claims to know about Elisabeth’s twin sister, who disappeared when she was 11. He promises information in exchange for favors, and she complies, while keeping everything secret from her family. She’s desperate for answers, and Fleischmann handily ratchets up the suspense as Elisabeth’s longing becomes obsession and Alfred becomes the center of her life. Elisabeth’s past crashes into her present in a compelling exploration of the power of unresolved grief and unanswered questions.

Good Girls Lie
Bestselling author J.T. Ellison’s newest thriller, Good Girls Lie, is set in an elite girls’ prep school in Virginia. It’s a beautiful place, rife with greenery and mountains and . . . murder? 

Ellison kicks things off with a gruesome scene: A girl’s lifeless body dangles from the school’s entrance gates as classmates look on in shock and horror. This is just the latest in a series of events plaguing the Goode School and its headmistress, Ford Westhaven, who took over when her mother resigned after a different student’s death.

The story unfolds via Ash, a sophomore from Oxford, England, who comes to Goode after her parents’ violent deaths. Confident and smart with a knack for coding, Ash attempts to keep to herself but draws the attention of queen bee senior Becca. Ash is excited when Becca taps her to join a secret society—sparking jealousy and suspicion that feels both inevitable and dangerous.

Ellison does an excellent job toggling between students and staff, past and present, U.K. and U.S., and readers will be engrossed even as they wonder how Ford will explain away each distressing new development. Good Girls Lie is an entertainingly twisted coming-of-age tale, pitting the desire for privacy against the corrosiveness of secrecy and taking an often harrowing look at how wealth and power can lull recipients into believing they’re untouchable. Schadenfreude, ho! 

The Poison Garden
Cults have long captured the popular imagination. We’re repelled yet fascinated, disturbed yet wildly curious. Alex Marwood’s fourth thriller, The Poison Garden, will slake readers’ thirst for stories about what goes on in such communities and what happens when everything falls apart—which it very much does for 100 members of the Ark, a doomsday prepper cult in North Wales. 

After members of the Ark are found poisoned to death, the few survivors are set loose in a world they’ve been taught will end at any minute. Romy, in her early 20s and pregnant, is set up in her own apartment and getting therapy, but she only wants to track down her half-siblings so they can rejoin any other remaining Arkians. Teens Eden and Ilo are placed with Romy’s aunt Sarah, an exhausted school administrator whose late sister joined the cult 20 years prior. 

Marwood does a wonderful job building exquisite tension among the players. Romy strives to seem normal and nonthreatening in a society she finds abnormal and frightening, and Sarah wants the kids to feel safe and heard even as she struggles to understand their beliefs. Flashbacks to the Ark’s pre-poison days boost the dread factor and gradually reveal the group’s complex dynamics, prompting readers to reflect on the nature of community, faith and survival.

The Better Liar
Debut author Tanen Jones takes sisterhood to a whole new level in The Better Liar. It begins in Las Vegas, where Leslie goes to find her estranged sister, Robin—not because she misses her but because their deceased father stipulated that his daughters would only receive their halves of his estate if they claimed them together. But Robin dies of an overdose just before Leslie’s arrival.

When Leslie encounters a woman named Mary who looks like Robin, she proposes that the vivacious waitress and aspiring actress temporarily leave her cares behind (including a stalker ex) and pose as Robin for a week so they can each claim $50,000. The two travel back to Albuquerque together, and Mary moves in to Leslie’s home, which she shares with her husband and baby. It’s unnerving to imagine letting a stranger just move in, which signals how desperately Leslie wants the cash. But why? 

As the days pass, the women grow more suspicious of each other. Readers will enjoy trying to discern which one is the titular better liar—or perhaps, which liar is the better “sister.” Leslie struggles to control the proceedings while Mary courts disaster by revisiting people and places from Robin’s past. The chapters alternate between three points of view, and the characters’ motivations converge, diverge and threaten to explode as the story builds to an unexpected yet gratifying conclusion. Jones has crafted a dark, twisty tribute to unreliable narrators and tenacious women.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Tanen Jones about The Better Liar.

Love thrillers? Sign up for our mystery & suspense newsletter here! 

Readers who believe that hell is other people will find validation in these sublimely suspenseful thrillers.

NonfictionSocial ScienceBusiness & Finance

Eight books to bring out your best self

Feature by Julie Hale

Are you pondering personal goals for 2020? Then you’ve come to the right place. 

We’ve gathered a stellar collection of books targeting a wide range of New Year’s resolutions. From fitness and finance to political activism, the volumes featured here are loaded with inspiring ideas for improving your life and the lives of those around you.

Remember: Progress is a process. Any step you take toward achieving your objectives—no matter how small—deserves to be celebrated.

If your resolution is to take better care of yourself

The new year is a time to take stock of both body and mind. If you have visions of getting in shape, spending fewer hours online or simply developing a more upbeat attitude, Dr. Jennifer Ashton’s The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter—One Month at a Time can help you move from dreaming to doing. 

In this warm, welcoming book, Ashton—a nutritionist who is the chief medical correspondent for ABC News—suggests self-care strategies for every month of the year, with recommendations for firing up your cardio routine (April), eating more veggies (May), cutting out sugar (September) and sleeping better (November). Ashton herself completed this yearlong plan, and she breaks down each month into weekly chunks with directives that will guide you toward your goals. Trying out a new technique each month, Ashton says, can bring about permanent, positive change. So get out your calendar and get cracking. The Self-Care Solution will support you every step of the way.

If your resolution is to speak your truth

In an era when “fake news” is all too real, and shiny social-media facades conceal less-than-perfect lives, honesty—once a bedrock value—seems to have lost its gravitas. How did this happen, and how can we be more forthright and fearless in our daily lives? Award-winning journalist Judi Ketteler explores these questions in Would I Lie to You? The Amazing Power of Being Honest in a World That Lies.

Throughout the book, Ketteler probes the meaning of honesty in contemporary culture and assesses the ways in which the concept shapes our morals and beliefs, our in-person and virtual relationships, and our experiences at home and on the job. Along the way, she weaves in intriguing behavioral science data. She also provides guidance through 11 “honesty principles” that address social and family interactions. If confidence issues or personal disappointments are keeping you from living an authentic life, pick up Ketteler’s book for wise counsel on managing those obstacles, and move into 2020 with a bold new attitude.

If your resolution is to cultivate more justice

Readers looking to combat inequality in our society will connect with Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist. In this thought-provoking volume, Kendi, a National Book Award-winning author and scholar, explores antiracism, a concept that runs counter to the attitudes that have caused America’s social fabric to fray. “An antiracist idea,” he writes, “is any idea that suggests the racial groups are equals in all their apparent differences—that there is nothing right or wrong with any racial group.”

Blending history, sociology and autobiography, Kendi investigates the ways in which discriminatory perspectives both subtle and overt influence how we experience other genders and races and shape our notions of physical beauty. He also opens up about the evolution of his own prejudiced perceptions. Recognizing racist prompts and shifting our mindset, Kendi says, can lead to progress. His powerful narrative proves that, for those willing to put in the work, bridging differences in today’s world can be done. Here’s to a hope-filled 2020.

If your resolution is to become more financially literate

If you want to get savvy about savings but don’t know the difference between a 401(k) and an IRA, you should check out Tina Hay’s Napkin Finance: Build Your Wealth in 30 Seconds or Less. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Hay formed Napkin Finance, a multimedia company that arms consumers with financial information via easy-to-understand diagrams and terminology.

The company’s accessible approach is reflected in this entertaining book. In short chapters filled with nifty infographics, Hay demystifies subjects like investing, budgeting, building credit and preparing for retirement. Writing in a frank, friendly style, she presents practical advice about money matters, and she makes sure her audience gets the gist through quizzes and key takeaway sections. Hay also clarifies head-scratching topics like cryptocurrency and blockchain. Her appealing M.O. makes financial planning seem feasible and (dare I say it?) fun. Now’s the time to get smart and start saving, and this book will put you on the right track.

Remember: Progress is a process. Any step you take toward achieving your objectives—no matter how small—deserves to be celebrated.

If your resolution is to participate more in our democracy

2020 promises to be a watershed year on the American political front. Reform-minded readers who want to do more than cast a vote will find essential information in Eitan Hersh’s Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change. Hersh, a political science scholar specializing in voting rights and the electoral process, brings unique expertise to this important book.

Most of us engage in what Hersh calls “political hobbyism” by checking the news online, listening to podcasts and perhaps expressing our opinions via social media. Through galvanizing stories of everyday folks whose participation in civic matters have had a marked impact, Hersh urges readers to put an end to the political dabbling, step up and get involved—by establishing local political groups, bonding with neighbors and building solidarity at the community level. His book is a fascinating mix of history, statistics, social science, storytelling and personal insight. Making the shift from political bystander to change-maker is easier than you think, and Hersh’s book can help you do it.

If your resolution is to be a better listener and to exercise more empathy

Given the disparate distractions of modern life—career demands, family matters and social media all desperately vying for our attention—focusing on what’s right in front of us can be tough. Journalist Kate Murphy delivers tips on how to stop getting sidetracked and start being present in You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters. While researching the book, Murphy interviewed people around the world about the topic of listening; it proved to be a sensitive subject. Many interviewees admitted that they felt no one in their lives really—really—heard what they had to say and confessed to being inadequate listeners themselves.

In a narrative that’s lively and fact-packed, Murphy recounts personal anecdotes (as a journalist, she earns a living by listening), talks with other professional listeners (including a CIA agent and the production team behind NPR’s “Fresh Air”) and shares input from psychologists and sociologists. “Done well and with deliberation, listening can transform your understanding of the people and the world around you,” Murphy writes. She gives sound advice in this timely book. So listen up!

If your resolution is to spend less time worrying and more time living

Taking action to combat anxiety requires a special kind of resolve. Dr. Kathleen Smith offers hope for coping in Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down. A licensed therapist, Smith encourages readers to focus on their inner selves and cultivate awareness. Learning to identify and defuse anxiety-induced reactions, she says, can result in an improved outlook and a more grounded day-to-day experience.

“We all want to live a life guided by principle rather than fear or worry,” Smith writes. “And by choosing how we handle our anxiety, we choose our fate.” In the book, she considers life categories that can be impaired by anxiety, from friendships and family to career and religion, and proposes healthy methods for navigating those areas. She also includes exercises for doing the important work of teasing apart thoughts and emotions. Through the inspiring stories of clients, she gives readers motivation to follow through on their goals. 

Banishing the haze of doubt is perfectly possible, Smith says, and she supplies the tools for doing it in this empowering book.

If your resolution is to get in shape as a family

Is your household in need of a lifestyle overhaul? Introducing healthy habits into your family’s daily routine is definitely doable—and more easily achieved when the entire clan is on board. Family Fit Plan: A 30-Day Wellness Transformation is chock-full of tactics for implementing new wellness practices that everyone under your roof will embrace. This program—created by Dr. Natalie Digate Muth, a pediatrician, dietitian and mother of two—is well rounded and designed to energize. It features delicious recipes, easy exercises, ideas for reducing device usage and pointers for staying focused. 

As Muth demonstrates in this holistic guide, getting in shape as a domestic unit can actually be a blast. Consistent family check-ins are central to her vision for better health. She simplifies the lifestyle adjustments by including sample menus, activity logs and fitness assessments. By making incremental changes over the book’s prescribed 30-day period, you can set an example the kiddos will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Grab Muth’s book, gather your group, and start planning.

Are you pondering personal goals for 2020? Then you’ve come to the right place. 

We’ve gathered a stellar collection of books targeting a wide range of New Year’s resolutions. From fitness and finance to political activism, the volumes featured here are loaded with inspiring…

FictionBlack History

5 great books of American history

Feature by Ron Wynn

THE REVOLUTIONARY AND THE PRESIDENT
Though they only met in person three times, each encounter between former slave turned outspoken freedom fighter Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln was monumental. Perhaps the biggest surprise in Douglass and Lincoln, the latest work of father-and-son team Paul and Stephen Kendrick, is how much influence Douglass is credited with having on Lincoln, whose major goal in the Civil War was always saving the Union. The authors document specific instances where Lincoln's responsiveness to abolitionist sentiments was altered after reading various Douglass letters and speeches. In turn, Douglass' views about Lincoln were equally affected by things he heard and saw coming from the president. Despite not agreeing on every issue, the two men eventually forged a common ground regarding the necessity for a Northern victory and the ultimate emancipation of the slaves. How they reached that point, as well as other intriguing insights and events that resulted from or were affected by their meetings, is illuminated and outlined in Douglass and Lincoln.

BEYOND SLAVERY
While even casual readers of American history are familiar with Frederick Douglass, very few people have heard of Sarah Johnson. Johnson was one of the many African Americans owned by the father of our country, George Washington, and her story is told in Scott E. Casper's riveting Sarah Johnson's Mount Vernon. Johnson spent more than five decades at Mount Vernon, choosing to remain after Washington's will freed her, and was an integral part of its daily operation. Casper gets to the root of some thorny issues, such as the daily routines of those who lived at Mount Vernon, how they were treated by George Washington and others, why an enslaved person would choose to remain after winning freedom, and what roles slaves played in shaping Mount Vernon into a historical shrine. Casper, a professor of history at the University of Nevada, Reno, approaches the subject with the care and scrutiny of a scholar, drawing from a number of sources. The result is an intimate and frequently surprising look at both an overlooked individual and one of the nation's foremost historical sites.

An industrious African-American couple living in the North, Lucy and Abijah Prince were far more materially successful than Sarah Johnson or indeed most people in 18th-century America. All that changed, however, when they decided to challenge convention and purchase land. In Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and Into Legend, Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, host of NPR's "The Book Show," crafts a tale that's got plenty of 21st-century intrigue and surprise. Gerzina depicts the Princes as visionary, highly determined figures who refused to let the taunts, actions or ignorance of bigots stop them. They also had enough faith in their fellow citizens to take their land battle to court in an era when the judicial system was, at best, stacked against blacks. Mr. and Mrs. Prince represents the kind of true-life story that's so amazing it should be much better known, something Gerzina's book may help accomplish.

WHERE HISTORY HAPPENED
Charles E. Cobb Jr.'s On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail may cover the most familiar ground among these books, but that doesn't make it any less important. Cobb, a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the '60s, enhances his coverage of 400 sites with poignant first-person interviews, classic speeches and more than 150 historic photos. He also includes maps and websites offering additional detail and information on the period. On the Road to Freedom should appeal both to those who grew up during this time and those who've come later.

HUNTER AND PREY
The people and places featured in James McBride's Song Yet Sung may be fictional, but they convey with authenticity and power the plight of those enslaved, while revealing the emotional damage done by those charged with maintaining this vicious and dehumanizing practice. McBride, author of the acclaimed memoir The Color of Water, considers the plight of young Liz Spocott, an escaped slave who is shot and captured by slave catcher Denwood Long. Long comes out of retirement to find Spocott; once he does, his life is turned upside down forever. While focusing mainly on the relationship between these two, McBride also ventures into the role of poverty in the formation of attitudes in the pre-war South, the family structure of slaves, African Americans in the abolitionist movement, and the way codes and news were disseminated within songs. McBride's facility with language and knowledge of the period bring his characters to life in vivid, unforgettable fashion. Spike Lee is already at work on the film adaptation of the book; that production should ultimately bring even more readers to this wonderful novel that is equally fascinating, disturbing and magnificent.

THE REVOLUTIONARY AND THE PRESIDENT
Though they only met in person three times, each encounter between former slave turned outspoken freedom fighter Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln was monumental. Perhaps the biggest surprise in Douglass and Lincoln, the latest work of father-and-son team…

NonfictionFictionBiography

Book Clubs: January 2020

Feature by Julie Hale

What to read with your book club in January 2020

★ The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
Yangsze Choo’s second novel, The Night Tiger is a suspenseful work of fiction set in 1930s Malaysia. Ren, a young servant, attempts to fulfill the extraordinary final desire of his late master, Dr. MacFarlane, whose finger was amputated following an accident. MacFarlane asks Ren to track down the finger and ensure that it’s put in his grave. If the finger isn’t buried before 49 days have passed, the doctor’s spirit will never rest. The tale of Ren’s quest intersects with the story of Ji Lin, a seamstress and dance-hall worker who comes into possession of a remarkably well-maintained amputated finger. The plot thickens when the corpse of a young woman who appears to have been attacked by a tiger is found. Mixing in elements of Malay folklore, Choo spins a wonderfully compelling historical thriller that’s enriched by themes of class and imperialism. Reading groups will savor this acclaimed, multilayered mystery.

Frederick Douglass by David W. Blight
The first substantial biography of Douglass in almost 25 years, Blight’s important book rightfully won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in History.

Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
This companion novel to Brennert’s popular Moloka'i follows the story of Ruth, whose sense of identity is transformed when she gets a letter from her mother, Rachel, who was confined to a leprosy colony in Hawaii.

Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
In 1927, Hurston interviewed 86-year-old Cudjo Lewis, one of the few remaining survivors of the transatlantic slave trade. Providing a deeply personal look at a dark chapter in history, Hurston’s book is revelatory.

The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
When her mother dies, Shalini travels to a village in the Himalayas in search of a salesman who visited her family when she was a child, convinced that he is a link to her mother. Vijay writes with poise and polish in this electrifying story of one woman’s attempt to come to terms with her past and her homeland.

What to read with your book club in January 2020.
Mystery

Whodunit: February 2020

Feature by Bruce Tierney

February's hottest mystery releases include the latest historical from mother-son writing duo Charles Todd, bestselling British writer Sophie Hannah and more.

★ A Divided Loyalty

Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge, the central character of the wildly popular series by mother-and-son writing duo Charles Todd, embarks on his 22nd adventure in A Divided Loyalty. A murder victim has been discovered in the center of a stone circle. Another officer was originally assigned to investigate, but Rutledge is deployed to reopen the case after he successfully completes a separate investigation displaying some similarities to the stone-circle murder. The deeper Rutledge becomes involved in the investigation, the more likely it looks that a fellow officer was the perpetrator. Rutledge finds this troubling not only from a public relations perspective but also because he respects and likes the officer in question. But the evidence is damning and proceeds to become more so with each passing day. Rutledge is one of the most complicated and finely drawn characters in contemporary crime fiction. Suffering from shell shock after his experiences in World War I, he carries on regular conversations with a dead soldier from his command, a man who disobeyed orders while under fire and was executed by Rutledge for his disobedience. There’s not a weak episode to be found in Todd’s terrific series.

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Perfect Little Children

Picture this: You haven’t seen your friend Flora in a dozen years, nor her husband, Lewis, nor their kids, Emily and Thomas. Then, almost as if by accident, you see her step out of her silver Range Rover, and she looks exactly the same, no sign of aging whatsoever. OK, that could happen. Diet, exercise, perhaps a little nip-and-tuck surgery—those could do the trick. But then her kids step out of the car as well, and you overhear Flora speak to them: “Oh, well done, Emily. That’s kind. Say thank you, Thomas.” But the thing is, Emily and Thomas should be teenagers by now, and these children are preschoolers. This is the situation faced by Beth Leeson in Sophie Hannah’s latest thriller, Perfect Little Children, and she cannot wrap her mind around it. So she does what any red-blooded suspense heroine would do—she noses around a bit. And then a bit more. And with each new piece of information she acquires, she becomes more convinced that there is a crime to be uncovered, and that her former friend may be in mortal danger. This notion begins to border on obsession, and the reader gets to watch as it becomes more and more deeply rooted. So what on earth is going on? Genetic age manipulation? Some strange, dark mind game? Or is Beth simply losing her marbles, one by one? Whatever the case, this is another satisfying psycho-thriller from the queen of the genre.

Alone in the Wild

Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series continues in Alone in the Wild. Deep in the Yukon Mountains, the totally off-the-grid town of Rockton is a perfect escape for criminals and battered spouses alike. After being accepted by the council and paying a hefty fee, new residents say goodbye to any communication (electronic or otherwise) with the outside world. There’s only one firm rule in place: no townspeople under the age of 18. So when Detective Casey Duncan and her partner in both work and romance, Eric Dalton, stumble upon a murdered woman holding a barely alive baby, they feel no small measure of consternation about what to do with the child while launching an investigation into the murder. The denizens of Rockton are a motley crew and certainly not the preferred cross-section of society to be engaged in childcare. Armstrong has created a unique milieu for setting her suspense novels, which is no easy task nowadays. Read one, and you will want to read the rest.

The Good Killer

If you’re up for a first-rate page turner, look no further than Harry Dolan’s The Good Killer. Iraq vet Sean and his partner, Molly, have been living under the radar for years, harboring a virtually priceless secret and trying to remain invisible to a pair of dangerous enemies. Then, by sheer unfortunate happenstance, Sean uses his military training to take down a spree killer in a Houston mall. Sean makes a fairly clean getaway, but his face and license plate number are captured by mall security cams, and he becomes something of a reluctant celebrity. Meanwhile, Molly is attending a yoga seminar in Montana, where she is required to surrender her cell phone and renounce all contact with the outside world. Sean has no choice but to drive there and collect her before anyone else can. He heads north in an aging Camry with a faulty alternator, woefully under-armored vis-à-vis the opposing teams. The rest of the book is basically one long and harrowing chase scene, right up to the explosive climax. Block out sufficient time to read The Good Killer in one sitting. It’ll be hard to stop once you get started.

February's hottest mystery releases include the latest historical from mother-son writing duo Charles Todd, bestselling British writer Sophie Hannah and more.

★ A Divided Loyalty

Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge, the central character of the wildly popular series by mother-and-son writing duo Charles Todd,…

FictionMemoir

Book Clubs: Matters of the heart

Feature by Julie Hale

Recommending four stellar book club reads that focus on the complications of love.

Lauren Groff’s electrifying, acclaimed novel Fates and Furies chronicles the vagaries of romantic passion through would-be actor Lotto and elusive Mathilde—a picture-perfect pair who meet in college and marry young. Through sections told from the perspective of each partner, the novel tracks the ups and downs of their 24-year union, and the two narratives powerfully play off each other. Mathilde’s secrets will surprise readers, and the book has a headlong momentum that suits its subject matter. From start to finish, it’s a thrilling look at the risks and rewards of love.

Mary Parsons, in debt and contending with health problems, is hired as part of actor Kurt Sky’s Girlfriend Experiment in The Answers, by novelist Catherine Lacey. Kurt aims to find a formula for the ideal romantic relationship, so he partners with women who have been prompted to display certain traits, such as Maternal Girlfriend and—in Mary’s case—Emotional Girlfriend. Mary is soon swept up in Kurt’s strange drama, and the narrative that unfolds is a disquieting and provocative exploration of the logistics of love.

Ian McEwan’s novel The Children Act tells the story of Fiona Maye, a respected judge coping with both a failing marriage and a difficult legal case. Nearly 60, Fiona finds herself at odds with her unfaithful husband while she grapples with a judgment involving a young Jehovah’s Witness, who, by forgoing medical treatment because of his religion, may die. This thorny ethical dilemma will provide fodder for book club debate. McEwan’s portrait of Fiona—an assured, confident figure who hides her vulnerability all too well—is wonderfully complex, and he presents a sensitive portrayal of a marriage that has reached its last chapter.

Poet Maggie Nelson reflects on gender, love and the nature of modern marriage in her remarkable memoir The Argonauts. Nelson, who is married to the transgender artist Harry Dodge, writes with candor about her experiences as a partner and new mother. Chronicling Dodge’s testosterone treatments and the process of her pregnancy (which involved in vitro fertilization), Nelson reflects on the changes in her understanding of partnership and the meaning of family. Rich in ideas, her book is a fascinating excavation of matters of the heart.

A BookPage reviewer since 2003, Julie Hale selects the best new paperback releases for book clubs every month.

Recommending four stellar book club reads that focus on the complications of love.

Lauren Groff’s electrifying, acclaimed novel Fates and Furies chronicles the vagaries of romantic passion through would-be actor Lotto and elusive Mathilde—a picture-perfect pair who meet in college and marry young. Through…

RomanceFantasy Romance

Romance: February 2020

Feature by Christie Ridgway

From a fantasy kingdom to a scientific outpost to a not-exactly-dream wedding, these five new romances feature settings to sink into.

★ A Heart of Blood and Ashes

Milla Vane tells an engrossing, epic story of warriors, gods, leaders and lovers in A Heart of Blood and Ashes. Commander Maddek learns of his parents’ wrongful deaths and seeks to avenge them while finding a way to keep an alliance of countries together. At his side and at his mercy is the daughter of the very king involved in the murders. Yvenne claims Maddek’s mother had approved their marriage before her father betrayed them, but he’s unconvinced someone so small and weak could be his mother’s choice. But Maddek comes to realize that Yvenne may be his own choice for a life partner—if they can survive. The characters walk through the pages with heart, soul and courage, and are matched by Vane’s equally stellar world building, which weaves seamlessly with thrilling action scenes. Be aware that Vane’s fantasy world contains some raw, grim elements, but this Heart is one to sink into!
 

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Whiteout

Thrills and (literal) chills are hallmarks of Adriana Anders’ Whiteout. Antarctica serves as an exciting location for this romantic suspense story in which a chef and a scientist must survive a life-and-death trek to safety. Angel Smith has been eyeing glaciologist Ford Cooper during her gig at a remote research station, but she’s made no headway with the “Ice Man” as her return to the U.S. approaches. But after a sudden attack on the station, Angel and Ford are left alone to trek for miles through the unforgiving landscape. With only each other to rely on, the pair finds a passion that keeps their bodies heated and their will to live primed. Riveting action and fascinating glimpses into life at a research station and what it takes to survive the harsh climate make this superb page turner stand out.

The Worst Best Man

A wedding planner rom-com is the very definition of romantic fun, and Mia Sosa doesn’t disappoint with The Worst Best Man. Three years ago, Max Hartley had to explain to his brother’s bride, Lina Santos, that the wedding was off. Fast-forward to the present, and the pair must work together to secure a lucrative new business deal for them both. Lina, who has built walls to contain her emotions, vows that nothing will stand in her way, and Max is sure his easy-breezy personality will see them through. But as they work together toward a common goal, Max begins to see Lina as more than just a business partner, despite their tangled pasts and her determination to protect herself. Sosa’s romance also addresses issues of work and family, and touches on the challenges facing women of color in business. The pages smoke from time to time, but this is essentially a sweet, light confection for the Valentine’s Day season.

Seduce Me With Sapphires

A Victorian-era aristocrat breaks through class walls in Seduce Me With Sapphires, the second book in the The London Jewels Trilogy by Jane Feather. The Honorable Miss Fenella Grantley secretly takes acting classes and is surprised when a playwright, Edward Tremayne, the illegitimate son of an earl, wants her to star in his new work. But Fenella never backs down from a challenge, though she finds Edward both fascinating and irritating. Their physical attraction propels them quickly into bed, allowing Fenella more new experiences, but the divide between the noblewoman and the man scorned by society because of his birth still remains. Feather’s love scenes burn, and readers will hope this intrepid heroine and brooding hero find their way to a bright future as they fight and make up, only to fight and make up again. 

Mermaid Inn

Small-town contemporary romance is iced with extra charm in Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday. The romance genre is beloved in part for its tropes, and this story not only includes a character returning home but also a clause in a will that forces the two leads together. Eve Abbot inherits her great-aunt’s inn, which means spending time in the proximity of her first love, who is now police chief of Moonflower, aka Matchmaker, Bay. Sawyer Collins once broke Eve’s heart, and she’s determined not to let him have another chance at it now, but there’s that pesky will and the pesky matchmaking neighbors and her pesky feelings for Sawyer that haven’t gone away. A picturesque locale, delightful citizens and some smoking-hot love scenes give this book all the feel-good joys one expects from the small-town romance subgenre.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Milla Vane about A Heart of Blood and Ashes.

From a fantasy kingdom to a scientific outpost to a not-exactly-dream wedding, these five new romances feature settings to sink into.
★ A Heart of Blood and Ashes Milla Vane tells an engrossing, epic story of warriors, gods, leaders and lovers in A Heart of Blood…
Science Fiction & FantasyNonfictionFictionYA FictionYAMemoir

The Hold List: A love letter written to me

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Greek to Me by Mary Norris

Mary Norris is sort of my idol. A grammar virtuoso, with a storied career editing some of the greatest writers of the last 40 years, and she studied Greek? In college I minored in Koine Greek, an ancient language so systematic that translating a sentence often feels like solving an algebra problem. In fact, my love for the precision of Greek led me to my current occupation as an editor. Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen is so suited to my interests that reading it makes me physically giddy—but I assure you that people with fewer than 18 credit hours of Greek to their name will also find plenty to love here. Norris is a sharp-witted, word-perfect narrator, and her wells of knowledge are as deep as they are lyrical. Anybody with a reverence for words will bow down to this book.

—Christy, Associate Editor

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I’m a simple woman with simple tastes, and if a book can be genuinely described as a “romp,” I’m probably going to like it. Scott Lynch’s debut novel is a romp set in a fantasy version of Venice populated by con artists, gangsters and a cranky priest/mentor named Father Chains, so I was contractually obligated to love it to pieces. Our titular hero, a snarky trickster who’s very bad with a sword but very good at swindling people out of their money, decides to continue his most ambitious con yet, even though the mysterious Gray King is killing off members of the criminal underworld. Irrepressibly funny even as it goes to some very dark places, Locke Lamora’s heart is pure gold, albeit a bit crooked.

—Savanna, Assistant Editor

Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds

Throughout life, I have lost many things. Many of those things cannot come back, and many of those things have been people. Every time I return to this collection, I am susceptible to a sense of longing. Every loss becomes current again, even the things I’ve recovered: The one that got away is getting away, the neighborhood I left is leaving, the dead in my family are dying. In my own poetry, I am open to returning to any point in my life, even the most heartbreaking. I love longing and reading about longing. Sharon Olds’ obituary for her marriage brings about feelings I share and enjoy taking notice of. I have found an abundance in loss, and I think, more likely than not, it can unite and bring about something else, or someone else—that someone else possibly being a better me.

—Prince, Editorial Intern

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I was 7 years old the first time I heard a pennywhistle. It was on a Chieftains cassette my mom played in the car. Something about that music—the plaintive whistle, the lumbering bagpipes, the sprightly fiddle, the pulsing bodhran—called to something deep in my bones. That same call sings in Maggie Stiefvater’s award-winning novel The Scorpio Races, a salt-soaked, wind-whipped ode to the way a fast horse at a flat-out gallop can feel like flight and freedom. The story is set on a small fictional island off the coast of Scotland you’ll be shocked not to find on a map. If you’ve ever experienced the bittersweet desire to visit a place that feels real but isn’t, the next boat for Thisby leaves on the first page of The Scorpio Races.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

I moved away from Minnesota when I was 11, so I can’t claim any ownership of its lakes and woods beyond my earliest memories. But almost better than those recollections is the Minnesota that lives in my imagination, and Leif Enger has contributed to that vision in no small way. Minnesota is a heavenly and forbidding landscape, this I know to be true, but I’ve never had a chance to understand the people who choose to live in such a cold place. Enger’s stories give me a little bit of that, and his third novel finds the members of a small town doing their best to cultivate some collective healing. The reader is looped in to their process through Virgil, who’s attempting to reclaim his life after a car crash. Like the kites flown over Lake Superior by an elderly character, the heart can’t help but lift.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

The Hold List features special reading lists compiled by BookPage staff—our personal favorites, old and new. 

When a book finds its ideal reader, it feels like the best kind of magic—as if the author has written a love letter straight to you. Though these books are loved by many, we accept them as the perfect gifts that they are.
Science Fiction & FantasyFictionYA FictionYAComing of Age

4 platonic love stories show how much a heart can hold

Feature by the editors of BookPage

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

What if we considered our lives as marked not by romantic entanglements but by the big friendships that nourish and thwart us? The first in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, My Brilliant Friend depicts the early lives of narrator Lenù and her best friend Lila, who come of age, dramatically, by the book’s end. Their impoverished Naples neighborhood is rife with violence: Early in the novel, Lila’s father throws her out a window, breaking her arm, and the girls routinely witness neighbors being beaten in the street by the local mafia. Both girls show promise in elementary school; while Lenù must study hard, Lila seems to excel without trying. Idolatrous as much as they are envious of each other, Lila and Lenù are cutthroat competitive, but they find that their friendship creates space for imagination, creativity and envisioning a future outside of their neighborhood. Until that space abruptly closes, and Lila sees that her future will be one of mere survival. Few narratives capture the euphoric, gutting fluctuations of friendship so specifically. Translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein, Lenù’s singular voice is propulsive and urgent. You will see yourself in both characters, and you will be drawn to the darkness. 

—Erica Ciccarone, Associate Editor

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Growing up, I was utterly obsessed with the ocean, and I wanted to be a marine biologist. Unfortunately, I eventually learned that marine biology was more science and less dolphin whispering, but I still get excited when I come across a story that recognizes the magic of the marine world. The premise of Remarkably Bright Creatures immediately caught my eye: a giant Pacific octopus befriends an elderly woman and helps her solve the mystery of her son’s death. Tova, our protagonist, is gentle yet resilient, earning the adoration of Marcellus (the octopus) as she works the night shift cleaning his aquarium. Marcellus has an agenda of his own—yes, we get to hear the octopus’s thoughts—but he balances it with compassion for Tova and for the human race that humans, honestly, could learn from. The characters in this story are kind to each other, yet the goodness doesn’t feel contrived. Rather, Shelby Van Pelt has achieved a tale where there are no villains but the stakes are still high. Tova and Marcellus each have a heart as big as the deep blue sea, and their unique bond reminds us what we stand to gain from offering love, empathy and generosity to the remarkably bright creatures around us.

—Jessica Peng, Editorial Intern

First Test by Tamora Pierce

In First Test, Tamora Pierce takes readers back to the enchanting and beloved realm of Tortall, which was first introduced in her acclaimed young adult fantasy series, the Song of the Lioness. Although it has been 10 years since it was decreed legal for women to become knights, Keladry of Mindelan (Kel) is the first girl brave enough to openly train for knighthood. Facing extreme scrutiny, an unfair probationary year and a training master hellbent on her failure, it seems like Kel might never achieve her dream. Enter Nealean of Queenscove (Neal), who is also considered an oddity as the oldest of the first-year pages. Neal takes Kel under his wing and becomes one of her biggest champions in her uphill battle to prove that she’s just as good as the male pages. As they bond over being set apart due to their unusual circumstances, their friendship allows them to overcome every obstacle thrown their way, from hazing taken way too far to being thrown into the middle of a very real battle. Together, best friends Kel and Neal prove that they are exactly where they are meant to be.

—Meagan Vanderhill, Production

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is an unusual love letter—written by a son to his mother, even though she cannot read. As a child in Vietnam, her school was destroyed by American napalm. Her son, called Little Dog, grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, after she immigrated there with him, and became a writer. With this letter, he is putting into words the physical language of harm and care that forms their intricate bond. He describes the impact of her PTSD from living through the Vietnam War, combined with the isolation and vulnerability of being unable to speak English in Hartford: When he tells his mother he was attacked by bullies at school, her response is to hit him, then admonish him to use his English to protect himself, because she cannot. In a way, his journey into writing is an act of love towards her, the fulfillment of her wish, even as it takes him further and further from her. Vuong tells this story with arresting beauty and intensity, following Little Dog through world-shifting experiences with love, sex and loss into his adulthood as a published writer.

—Phoebe Farrell-Sherman, Associate Editor

Valentine’s Day draws our attention to romance, but these four tales of friendship, connection and the parent-child bond affirm that platonic love is just as beautiful and impactful as romantic love—if not more.
NonfictionSocial ScienceBlack History

Start a conversation about black history

Feature by Matt Gifford

Five new books celebrate the perseverance, perspicacity and power of black Americans.

How should we talk about black history in a time like ours? Today’s political landscape definitely prompts discussion, debate and introspection, and it may warrant speaking bluntly about the state of things. When it comes to race, it’s hard to say if the world is more apt to listen to a benevolent voice or a belligerent demand, but luckily, these books have a little bit of both. As we reflect on the rich contributions of black Americans this month, the following titles make for compelling, relevant and worthy conversation starters.

Conversations in Black

Begin with Conversations in Black. Ed Gordon has assembled a who’s who of black voices in conversation with each other, discussing the world as they see it in 2020. We have Al Sharpton bouncing thoughts off of Charlamagne Tha God, Jemele Hill dissecting Obama’s legacy with Stacey Abrams, and Killer Mike and Harry Belafonte getting into it with Eric Holder. Together, they discuss the treatment of the black community during the Trump administration, the successes and failures of politicians in addressing racial disparity, reparations, the racial wealth gap and so much more. With so many voices animating the expanse of black experiences today, this is the perfect gateway to richer comprehension and, hopefully, conversation.

The Affirmative Action Puzzle

The past few years have seen renewed discussion of affirmative action, with several state legislatures reversing benefits, colleges rolling back programs and no shortage of incensed think pieces on both sides of the issue. If you’re looking to educate yourself on this complicated subject, look no further than The Affirmative Action Puzzle. Author Melvin I. Urofsky traces the development of affirmative action over the generations, beginning with hypothetical (and ultimately abandoned) motions to grant civil rights and reparations at the close of the Civil War, through the incremental fight to access voting, up to the current debate during the Trump era. With this exhaustive history under your belt, you’ll have no shortage of insights for your next roundtable discussion.

Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words

We all know Rosa Parks as the woman who bravely resisted yielding her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus in 1955, but there’s so much more to the story of this titan of American history—and who better to tell that story than her? In Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words, author Susan Reyburn provides a candid look into Parks’ personal life through previously unreleased letters, documents and photographs. The book is small enough to breeze through in one sitting, and its 96 colorful pages illustrate Parks’ innermost thoughts, fears and triumphs—from her work with the NAACP leading up to the bus boycott, through her years of relative poverty afterward and ending with her eventual glorification, meeting world leaders and seeing the impact of her life’s work upon the world. This courageous woman packed so much into her life, and likewise, the details of her life are packed into this inspiring portrait.

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

Not all of America’s black heroes won their victories by sitting down. In fact, the athletes profiled in Olympic Pride, American Prejudice ran race after race to cement their names in the history books, at a time when they weren’t allowed to even walk through the front door of many American establishments. In an accessible narrative style, authors Deborah Riley Draper and Travis Thrasher weave together the stories of 18 different runners coming into their prime at the dawn of the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and culminating in their powerful performance in the 1936 Berlin Olympics—much to the dismay of Adolf Hitler. These athletes came from all walks of life, from college students to dock workers to housewives, and competed on the world stage decades before any meaningful civil rights progress was made in the U.S. These historic track and field stars come to life in full relief on the page, revealing their fears, internal debates and complicated relationships with a power structure that simultaneously exalted and shamed them. How do you represent a country that hates you, and should you even try? It’s a complicated question, and one that is well trod in this book.

These historic track and field stars come to life in full relief on the page, revealing their complicated relationships with a power structure that simultaneously exalted and shamed them.

Driving While Black

It’s a long journey on the road to equality, and it’s a bumpy road, at that. If you’re feeling a little highway weary, I’d recommend pulling over, taking a pit stop and cracking open a copy of Driving While Black by Gretchen Sorin. Like most civil rights, vehicular freedom was a cultural battle that took several extra decades to be actualized for African Americans. Once black Americans began to drive, personal automobiles became instrumental to progressive milestones like the Montgomery bus boycotts of 1955, in which fleets of community vehicles carried activists to and from work in lieu of buses. But dangers still abounded for black Americans behind the wheel, due to segregation, Jim Crow laws and white-supremacist terrorist groups running rampant across America. Driving While Black also chronicles the rise of car culture in tandem with rock ’n’ roll music (Chuck Berry loved his Cadillacs), as well as the vast network of black-friendly establishments outlined in the popular Green Book. Feeling gassed up yet? Grab this book to-go and get to reading.

Today’s political landscape definitely prompts discussion, debate and introspection, and it may warrant speaking bluntly about the state of things. When it comes to race, it’s hard to say if the world is more apt to listen to a benevolent voice or a belligerent demand, but luckily, these books have a little bit of both.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Paths paved with dreams

Feature by Julie Danielson

Four new picture books celebrate the lives of African Americans who have contributed to the arts, sciences and the written word. 

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver opens in 1921 on the historic day that Carver addressed Congress and evangelized the many uses of the peanut. From there, author Gene Barretta travels back to 1874 to meet a frail young Carver, who lived with a white couple on the farm where he was once enslaved. Carver, who loved working in nature, tended to a secret garden. At age 12, he left the farm and eventually became the first black man to graduate from Iowa Agricultural College. Although the rest of the book emphasizes Carver’s contributions to botany and agriculture, Barretta goes beyond Carver’s work with peanuts, highlighting his innovative work in science and education and describing him as a “folk hero.” 

The final spread shows Carver as an elderly man, tending to yet another secluded garden. Illustrator Frank Morrison, working in richly colored oils, depicts Carver’s tall frame, resting on a cane, looking out over a field of vibrant flowers. Throughout the book, Morrison’s use of light is particularly effective, whether it’s the warm light that glows from behind the elderly Carver as he speaks to Congress or the rays of sunlight that illuminate his boyhood garden. The illustrations shine in this ode to a celebrated inventor who was “always ready to serve humanity.” 

By and By

By and By tells the life story of Charles Tindley, composer of dozens of hymns. Acclaimed poet Carole Boston Weatherford narrates via spare rhymes that read as if Tindley himself is singing directly to readers. “My life is a sermon inside a song,” the book opens. “I’ll sing it for you. Won’t take long.” 

Tindley’s life was remarkable. Since his mother was a free woman, he was spared from slavery at birth in Maryland. But when she died, he was hired out. He learned about scripture from spirituals sung in the fields. He taught himself to read and walked barefoot to church every Sunday. As an adult, Tindley promised himself he would learn one thing each day: “Farmhand by day, student by night.” He married, moved to Philadelphia, continued his education and became the pastor of the very church where he once worked as a janitor. As he nurtured his congregation, his “small flock” grew, and he wrote the influential hymnal Soul Echoes. 

Bryan Collier’s watercolor and collage illustrations, which incorporate sheet music, are a rich and layered tribute to Tindley’s life. The book’s backmatter includes a list of hymns that Weatherford quotes throughout the text. This first picture book biography of Tindley is a superb introduction to the man who left a rich legacy in American gospel music. 

The Power of Her Pen

Award-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome tells the story of another talented writer in The Power of Her Pen, chronicling the life and career of journalist Ethel L. Payne, known as the “First Lady of the Black Press.” Although it begins with Payne’s childhood, describing a girl with an ear for storytelling, the book focuses primarily on Payne’s accomplishments as a journalist. Payne reported from Tokyo during World War II and worked at the black newspaper The Chicago Defender—all before becoming one of only three black journalists issued a press pass to the Eisenhower White House and the first African American commentator on a national television network. 

Cline-Ransome writes reverently about Payne, who fearlessly asked questions about race that politicians would have preferred to avoid, reported on stories that the mainstream white press dismissed and uncovered answers for those “whose paths were paved with dreams.” In his signature folk-art style, John Parra’s acrylic paintings capture snapshots of Payne’s career. He incorporates many images of birds in flight, a fitting motif for a journalist whose determined reporting “created awareness and activism in the fight for civil rights for people across the globe.” 

★ The Oldest Student

Mary Walker, dubbed “the nation’s oldest student” by the U.S. Department of Education, may not be as well known as Carver, Tindley or Payne, but her life is equally extraordinary. Author Rita Lorraine Hubbard brings Walker’s exceptional story to the page in The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read. In 1863, at the age of 15, Walker was freed from slavery. When she was a teenager, an evangelist gave Walker a Bible, telling her that her “civil rights are in these pages.” Understanding the “squiggles” of that Bible became Walker’s lifelong goal. She eventually moved from Alabama to Tennessee, where, well past the age of 100, she at last learned to read. Walker diligently studied the alphabet, famously noting, “You’re never too old to learn,” and read proudly from her Bible at the age of 116. 

Hubbard commemorates Walker’s story with care; she writes in an author’s note that much about Walker is unknown and explains that she “chose to imagine . . . details to fill in the blanks.” The book’s illustrations come from Caldecott Honoree Oge Mora, who also includes bird imagery as symbolic of Walker’s longing for freedom and her determined spirit. Mora collages scraps of text into many spreads as reminders of Walker’s spectacular accomplishment. It all adds up to a riveting portrait of a strong-willed American icon. 

Four new picture books celebrate the lives of African Americans who have contributed to the arts, sciences and the written word. 

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver opens in 1921 on the historic day that Carver…

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