| The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II by Buzz BissingerChristmas Eve, 1944: Seeking respite from their duties in the Pacific Theater, the 4th and 29th United States Marine Regiments played a game of football to determine which team had the better players.
Read it for: a richly detailed chronicle of military life on the eve of the Battle of Okinawa.
Author alert: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger is the bestselling author of Friday Night Lights. |
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| The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World by Max FisherWhat it's about: the destabilizing impact of social media-driven misinformation and extremism.
Topics include: Gamergate; Russian interference in American elections; anti-vaccine conspiracies; ethnic violence in South Asia.
Try this next: Digital Madness: How Social Media is Driving Our Mental Health Crisis -- And How to Restore Our Sanity by Nicholas Kardaras. |
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| Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920-2020 by Elisabeth GriffithWhat it is: an inclusive look at a century of women's achievements and setbacks since the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Don't miss: profiles of women whose contributions to the fight for equality have been forgotten or overlooked, including Dakota activist Zitkala-Sa and Mexican American labor organizer Dolores Huerta.
Reviewers say: "an impassioned and inspiring introduction to how far the women's movement has come, and where it still needs to go" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis by Beth MacyWhat it is: journalist and Carnegie Medal finalist Beth Macy's sobering and richly detailed follow-up to her award-winning Dopesick.
What sets it apart: Raising Lazarus focuses on frontline workers and communities tirelessly fighting to help those afflicted by opioid addiction.
Food for thought: "They say we're going to lose a generation if we don't do something. I say we've already lost that generation." |
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| American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel StashowerWhat it's about: famed lawman Eliot Ness' thwarted attempts to identify the Cleveland Torso Murderer, who killed and dismembered 12 known victims in the 1930s and was never apprehended.
Read it for: a nuanced portrait of Ness that illuminates his personal and professional flaws.
Author alert: Cleveland-born Edgar Award winner Daniel Stashower brings an insider's knowledge to this evocative true crime tale. |
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| Sinkable: Obsession, the Deep Sea, and the Shipwreck of the Titanic by Daniel StoneWhat it's about: the aftermath of the RMS Titanic's sinking in 1912.
Reviewers say: "will compel even readers who think they already know too much about the Titanic to take a plunge into this fresh narrative" (Booklist).
Did you know? There are an estimated three million shipwrecks scattered across the world's ocean floors. |
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| Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. TwittyWhat it is: a thought-provoking combination of memoir, cookbook, and exploration of African Jewish cooking.
Recipes include: Koshersoul Spring Rolls, Black-Eyed Pea Hummus, Matzo Meal Fried Chicken, Berbere Brisket, Okra Gumbo, Yam Kugel.
Series alert: Koshersoul is the 2nd in a planned trilogy focusing on the intersection of food and identity; it follows 2018's James Beard Book of the Year Award winner The Cooking Gene. |
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