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New Nonfiction Books May 2026 |
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The Great Train Heist: The California Smart Taxpayer Rip-Off by Michael J. Coffino Examining how a billion-dollar commuter rail line in Sonoma and Marin Counties ended up with low ridership, high operating subsidies and limited effect on highway congestion, Coffino traces the project’s political deals, rosy projections and equity concerns as voters weigh whether to keep funding it past 2029.
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Atlas's Bones: The African Foundations of Europe by D. Vance Smith Tracing how classical and medieval writers drew on Egypt, Libya and Carthage, this study shows that many ideas later labeled “European” - from theology and political thought to epic literature - were shaped by African texts and traditions, and examines how later empires recast Africa’s past to justify colonization.
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Traversal by Maria Popova Linking the lives and work of figures from Mary Shelley and Frederick Douglass to Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Marie Tharp and Margaret Mead, Popova traces how science, art and social thought have tried to answer what life is, what matters in it and how meaning emerges between individual bodies and the wider world.
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On Morrison by Namwali Serpell Drawing on her experience as both novelist and teacher, Serpell traces Toni Morrison’s novels, essays, plays and poems to show how their inventive forms work, offering clear, rigorous close readings that invite readers into Morrison’s artistry and suggest ways to approach demanding literature more broadly.
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This Is the Door: The Body, Pain, and Faith by Darcey Steinke Moving from spine to knees to heart, this meditation on suffering draws on medical interviews, personal experience and cultural and religious history to consider how pain shapes bodies, relationships and beliefs, offering readers language and perspective for living alongside their own or others’ chronic hurt.
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P Fkn R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance by Vanessa Díaz Tracing the rise of Bad Bunny against a backdrop of hurricanes, blackouts and political upheaval, this study blends interviews and on-the-ground research to show how his music channels a longer Puerto Rican tradition of everyday resistance, political critique and celebration.
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The Secret Language of Work: Hyper-Helpful Scripts for Every Situation by Erin McGoff Drawing on real-world office scenarios, this guide offers adaptable phrases for interviews, salary negotiations, boundary setting and everyday workplace conversations, helping readers find clear, professional language for moments that often feel awkward, confusing or high-stakes.
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Tracing blackface from early nineteenth-century stages into churches, lodges, schools, military bases and even internment camps, this history shows how minstrel performance shaped everyday American entertainment, politics and race relations and follows the protests and legal challenges that sought to dislodge it from public life. |
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