| A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape... by Françoise FrenkelStarring: Berlin-based Polish Jewish bookseller Françoise Frenkel, who fled the Nazis in 1939 and spent the next four years evading capture in occupied France.
Read it for: a nail-biting tale of courage and survival.
What sets it apart: Originally published to little fanfare in 1945 Switzerland, Frenkel's memoir lingered in obscurity until a copy resurfaced in 2010, leading to its English language publication nearly 75 years after its initial release. |
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Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive
by Stephanie Land
What it's about: Single mom Stephanie Land struggles to make a living as a housecleaner and dreams of attending college to become a writer.
Is it for you? Though it does not speak to the impact of poverty on marginalized communities, Land's memoir is intimate and affecting.
Reviewers say: "An important memoir that should be required reading for anyone who has never struggled with poverty" (Kirkus Reviews).
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| And Then We Grew Up: On Creativity, Potential, and the Imperfect Art of Adulthood by Rachel FriedmanWhat if? Years after her attendance at the Interlochen Arts Camp stoked her passion for a career as a violinist, author Rachel Friedman contemplates the path her life might have taken had she stuck with her childhood dreams.
Don't miss: interviews with Friedman's former Interlochen classmates exploring creativity, ambition, and identity.
Is it for you? Readers who've felt conflicted about their life's path or the weight of expectation will find much to relate to in this reflective chronicle. |
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Permanent Record
by Edward J. Snowden
In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it.
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| Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washington's Mother by Craig ShirleyWhat it's about: how "Honored Madam" Mary Ball Washington's prickly relationship with her eldest son George Washington shaped him as a man, politician, and president.
Who it's for: readers seeking fresh perspectives about figures on the periphery of history.
Reviewers say: "a sharp and fully dimensional view of the singular Mary Bell Washington" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani PerryWhat it is: a revealing biography of acclaimed A Raisin in the Sun playwright and social activist Lorraine Hansberry.
Topics include: Hansberry's conflicted views on her privileged upbringing; career beginnings writing for Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom; brushes with the FBI; her closeted sexuality.
Why you might like it: Library Journal calls this concise and engaging portrait "a must-read for fans of black and queer history." |
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| The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. StewartWhat it is: a sweeping and thought-provoking biography of Alain Locke, the first black Rhodes Scholar and father of the Harlem Renaissance.
Awards buzz: The New Negro won the National Book Award in 2018 and the Pulitzer Prize in 2019.
Is it for you? Weighing in at over 900 pages, Jeffrey C. Stewart's extensively researched work doesn't shy away from Locke's flaws, like his penchant for misogyny or his willingness to indulge his patrons' racism for his own financial gain. |
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How to be an Antiracist
by Ibram X Kendi
A best-selling author, National Book Award-winner and professor combines ethics, history, law and science with a personal narrative to describe how to move beyond the awareness of racism and contribute to making society just and equitable.
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| The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave's Journey from Bondage... by David Walker; illustrated by Damon Smyth and Marissa LouiseWhat it is: a graphic biography of abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, based on his writings and narrated by the man himself. Art alert: Damon Smyth and Marissa Louise's detailed illustrations empathetically convey the characters' struggles and emotions.
Reviewers say: "This thoughtfully crafted portrait will delight and inform, regardless of readers' prior knowledge of Douglass's life and legacy" (Library Journal). |
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| Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Survived Slavery... by Shomari WillsWhat it's about: how six men and women -- all former slaves or children of slaves -- became millionaires in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Featuring: Mississippi teacher O.W. Gurley, who developed Tulsa, Oklahoma's affluent Black Wall Street; cosmetics and hair care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, soon to be portrayed by Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer in the Netflix series Self Made. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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