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New Nonfiction March, 2026 |
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Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria by Loubna MrieA stunning memoir of personal rebellion and political awakening from a young woman raised to be loyal to a brutal regime--and the unimaginable cost of choosing freedom Like any good Alawite girl, every day at school, Loubna Mrie pledged allegiance to Hafez al-Assad. When she complained about memorizing his speeches for class, she was told to shorten her tongue--without the president, her family believed, the Alawites would be persecuted by the Sunni majority, as they had been for centuries before the Assads came to power. A girl's role was to obey, not to question. Loubna's father, a mercurial businessman with close ties to the Assad regime, ruled over his wife and daughters with absolute authority. In their world, loyalty was survival. Curiosity was blasphemy. Dissent was betrayal. But everything changed in 2011, when the pro-democracy uprisings of the Arab Spring reached Syria. Unable to suppress her curiosity, Loubna attended an anti-government protest. What she witnessed--the courage, the brutality, and the lies that followed--ignited something in her that would not be extinguished. She joined the resistance, risking her life by fearlessly proclaiming her Alawite heritage and, later, as a photojournalist documenting the war for Reuters and other outlets. Her defiance would come at a devastating cost: the loss of loved ones, her community, and ultimately her country. Leaving behind everything she knew, she would have to find a new home within herself. Defiance is the unforgettable account of one woman's fight for freedom--against a father, a dictator, and the weight of inherited belief. From the streets of Aleppo to exile in New York City, it offers an electrifying portrait of moral courage in the face of authoritarianism and violence. Told with clarity, fury, and grace, Defiance offers a rare ground-level portrait of what it means to wake up, to resist, and to become.
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Judy Blume: A Life
by Mark Oppenheimer
The highly anticipated biography of one of the world's most treasured literary voices, showcasing a life as triumphant and inspiring as the stories she crafted. To know the name Judy Blume is to know and love literature. Her influential novels turned classics--including Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Deenie; and Summer Sisters--touched the lives of tens of millions of readers. For more than fifty-five years her work has done something revolutionary: it rewired the world's expectations of what literature for young people can be--frank, candid, earthy, and unafraid to show the messier sides of humanity. But little is known about the real woman behind the iconic persona, and the unlikely journey of her literary ascension, until now. In Judy Blume, journalist, historian, and longtime Blume aficionado Mark Oppenheimer pens a beautiful, multidimensional portrait of the acclaimed author through extensive interviews with Blume herself, invaluable access to her papers and correspondence, and thoughtful analysis of Blume's beloved novels, including early, unpublished works that shed light on the pathbreaking writer she would become. Oppenheimer goes deep, exploring Blume's middle-class 1950s upbringing, complicated childhood, varied relationships and marriages, unabashed sexual experiences, bouts of heartache and loss, and enduring legacy as a champion of free speech and contemporary literature. Oppenheimer peels back the curtain to reveal the woman behind the literary empire in all her complex, multifaceted glory--a true gift for anyone who grew up reading and loving these extraordinary books.
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Midnight Flyboys: The American Bomber Crews and Allied Secret Agents Who Aided the French Resistance in World War II
by Bruce Henderson
The untold history of a top-secret operation in the run-up to D-Day in which American flyers and Allied spies carried out some of the most daring cloak-and-dagger operations of World War II. In 1943, the OSS--precursor to the CIA--came up with a plan to increase its support to the French resistance forces that were fighting the Nazis. To start, the OSS recruited some of the best American bomber pilots and crews to a secret airfield twenty miles west of London and briefed them on the intended mission. Given a choice to stay or leave, every airman volunteered for what became known as Operation Carpetbagger. Their dangerous plan called for a new kind of flying: taking their B-24 Liberator bombers in the middle of the night across the English Channel and down to extremely low altitudes in Nazi-occupied France to find drop zones in dark fields. On the ground, resistance members waited to receive steel containers filled with everything from rifles and hand grenades to medicine and bicycle tires. Some nights, the flyers also dropped Allied secret agents by parachute to assist the French partisans. Though their story remained classified for more than fifty years, the Carpetbaggers ultimately received a Presidential Unit Citation from the US military, which declared: it is safe to say that no group of this size has made a greater contribution to the war effort. Along with other members of the wartime OSS, they were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Based on exclusive research and interviews, the definitive story of these heroic flyers--and of the brave secret agents and resistance leaders they aided--can now be told. Written in Bruce Henderson's spellbinding (USA TODAY) prose, Midnight Flyboys is an astonishing tale of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice.
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End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse, and the Unmaking of America by Chris JenningsThe gripping story of the Ruby Ridge siege, showing how the historic standoff between federal agents and a white-separatist family set the stage for the conspiracy-laced politics of the Trump era. Vivid, frightening, and fascinating...This book blew me away and opened my eyes.--Walter Isaacson, author of The Code Breaker and Elon Musk On August 21, 1992, shots rang out while federal agents were surveilling a cabin in Boundary County, Idaho as part of an operation to arrest Randy Weaver--a reclusive, mountain-dwelling survivalist--for failure to appear in court on a gun charge. When Weaver finally surrendered to the authorities eleven days later, his wife, son, and dog lay dead, as did a US Marshal. Ever since, America has been trying to make sense of what happened on Ruby Ridge. Today, the question could not be more urgent, as the shock waves from Ruby Ridge have amplified and compounded, cracking the very foundations of our democracy. In End of Days, Chris Jennings explains the significance of this historic siege by setting the story of the Weaver family within the long history of apocalyptic Christianity in the United States, illuminating the ways in which that faith has gradually transformed the nation. The strain of doomsday Christianity that gripped the Weavers, he shows, was grounded in a particular reading of biblical prophecy that can be traced back to the 1870s and up through the twentieth-century rise of Christian fundamentalism to the right-wing conspiracism that now defines American society and politics. The events at Ruby Ridge acted as an accelerant for this spreading worldview, and are essential to understanding the crisis that our nation confronts today.
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I Told You So!: Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right
by Matt Kaplan
An energetic and impassioned work of popular science about scientists who have had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted--from Darwin to Pasteur to modern day Nobel Prize winners. For two decades, Matt Kaplan has covered science for the Economist. He's seen breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the behavior of the research community, and how support can be withheld for those who don't conform or have the right connections. In this passionately argued and entertaining book, Kaplan narrates the history of the 19th century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who realized that Childbed fever--a devastating infection that only struck women who had recently given birth--was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault, and is a prime example of how the scientific community often fights new ideas, even when the facts are staring them in the face. In entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA-a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted. Kaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making reasonably small changes to the forces that shape it.
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Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour by Mark HaddonSimultaneously heart-breaking and hilarious, Leaving Home is a portrait of the artist both as a child and as an adult. His parents were not really cut out for the job of having children. They were cut out, respectively, for the jobs of designing abattoirs and keeping a pathologically clean and tidy house. At least he had the consolations of The Weetabix Solar System Wallchart, walnut whips and the occasional Babycham. Astringently honest and scalpel sharp, this is a book about being different and seeing the world differently. It's about being a cartoonist and a care assistant. It's about family. It's about knickerbocker glories and heart surgery, about papier mache and mental breakdown and great white sharks. It's about how art, in all its varied forms, provides a way of understanding and coming to terms with the mess of human life. It's richly illustrated throughout with images from the author's childhood, some of them altered in unforgiveable ways. As bracing as it is embracing, Leaving Home is about escaping a place that never felt like home and learning to create somewhere that does.
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Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built by Gayle FeldmanAt midcentury, everyone knew Bennett Cerf: witty, beloved, middle-aged panelist on What's My Line? whom TV brought into America's homes each week. But they didn't know that the handsome, driven, paradoxical young man of the 1920s had vowed to become a great publisher and, a decade later, was. By then, he'd signed Eugene O'Neill, Gertrude Stein, and William Faulkner, and had fought the landmark censorship case that gave Americans the freedom to read James Joyce's Ulysses. With his best friend and lifelong business partner Donald Klopfer, and other young Jewish entrepreneurs like the Knopfs and Simon & Schuster, Cerf remade the book business: what was published, and how. In 1925, he and Klopfer bought the Modern Library and turned it into an institution, then founded Random House, which eventually became a home to Truman Capote, Ralph Ellison, Ayn Rand, Dr. Seuss, Toni Morrison, James Michener, and many more. Even before TV, Cerf was a bestselling author and columnist as well as publisher; the show super-charged his celebrity, bringing fame--but also criticism. A brilliant social networker and major influencer before such terms existed, he connected books to Broadway, TV, Hollywood, and politics. A fervent democratizer, he published high, low, and wide, and from the Roaring Twenties to the Swinging Sixties collected an incredible array of friends, from George Gershwin to Frank Sinatra, having a fabulous time along the way. Using interviews with more than two hundred individuals, deeply researched archival material, and letters from private collections not previously available, this book brings Bennett Cerf to vibrant life, drawing book lovers into his world, finally laying open the page on a quintessential American original.
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Will This Make You Happy: Stories & Recipes from a Year of Baking by Tanya BushA hybrid memoir and cookbook about one transformative year of desire, indulgence, and dessert. With pith and passion, Tanya tells the story of how she turned the kitchen into a makeshift therapy couch, where baking is an act of self-love and the endless pursuit for excellence and precision is superseded by the pursuit of simple pleasures--
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Ace of Hearts: Lessons in Love from an Asexual Girl by CooklinStarred Review from Booklist, this powerful account will comfort those who grew up feeling broken. What does love look like when you are not interested in sex? Growing up, Caitlin Cook knew the recipe for social success from watching television and reading books: two best friends, two enemies, and a boyfriend. So she arranged her life accordingly: making friends and dreaming of the boys she met in school. But she felt that inside, something was wrong with her. Because though she wanted to get close to people, every time she experimented with sex, she just felt bored. This graphic novel follows Caitlin Cook, who is asexual but does not yet fully realize it. From evangelical purity politics to the footloose college campus, Caitlin navigates different worlds each with their own sexual orthodoxies, and clumsily attempts to fit into each of them. A thoughtful and immersive coming-of-age memoir about one girl's struggle to figure out and then claim her asexual identity.
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Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane
by Lindy West
In New York Times bestselling author Lindy West's ambitious memoir, she brings readers along on an uproarious cross-country road trip as she unpacks her last few tumultuous years, rediscovers herself, and reinvents her marriage in the process. Through Shrill--the book and then the Hulu series--Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to a narrow set of societal norms--thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change. In Adult Braces, Lindy shares the story of her rock bottom, and of the journey she took to claw her way out of it. With her trademark candor and sense of humor, she examines her post-Shrill emotional implosion, her shifting feelings about traditional marriage, and her search for her long-lost self. She also tracks the highs and lows of her journey, from eye-opening natural wonders and kitschy roadside attractions to lackluster tourist traps and campground epiphanies. The result is an engaging and laugh-out-loud narrative of becoming as Lindy transforms from a passenger into the active navigator of her own life.
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The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love
by Alice Hoffman
Fourteen beloved authors celebrate the life-changing bond with their canine companions in this heartwarming essay collection edited by New York Times bestselling author and lifelong dog lover Alice Hoffman. Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to share their life with a dog knows the experience is both profound and transformative. Here, in this charming collection of essays, fourteen celebrated authors share unforgettable tales of the dogs who left their pawprints on their hearts. With contributions from Isabel Allende, Chris Bohjalian, Bonnie Garmus, Roxane Gay, Emily Henry, Ann Leary, Tova Mirvis, Jodi Picoult, Elizabeth Strout, Amy Tan, Adriana Trigiani, Nick Trout, Paul Yoon, and Laura Zigman, The Best Dog in the World captures the full range of the canine-human connection, from the joy of welcoming a new puppy to the heartache of saying goodbye to a beloved friend. A love letter to the loyal companions who enrich our lives and teach us about empathy, joy, and unconditional love, this anthology is the perfect gift for dog lovers everywhere, offering a blend of laughter, tears, and inspiration that will resonate with anyone who has been fur-ever touched by the love of a dog.
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Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age by Ibram X. KendiRecall the words chanted in Charlottesville, Virginia: You will not replace us Recall the string of mass shooters across the globe--in Oslo, Christchurch, Buffalo, El Paso, and Pittsburgh--who claimed their crimes were a defense against White genocide. Recall business and media figures cultivating anxiety and furor over demographic change. These incidents only scratch the surface: Popular and ruling politicians in every region of the world have expressed some version of great replacement theory, eroding democratic norms in the name of preventing demographic change. The term was coined in 2011 by a French novelist who argued that Black and Brown immigrants were invading Europe, brought by shadowy elites to replace the White population. From there, politicians and theorists in the United States and elsewhere repackaged it as a story of globalists welcoming migrant criminals and promoting diversity to take away the jobs, cultures, electoral power, and very lives of White people. Over time, great replacement theory has expanded those under threat to include citizens, men, Jews, Christians, heterosexuals, and ethnic majorities in countries as distinct as Russia, El Salvador, Brazil, Italy, and India, all targeted with the message that they are facing an existential attack that only a strongman can prevent. In Chain of Ideas, internationally bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi offers an unsettling but indispensable global history of how great replacement theory brought humanity into this authoritarian age--and how we can free ourselves from it.
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Don't Think about Dinner: Save Time and Money with 125+ Easy, Nourishing, Delicious Recipes for Every Meal by Jenn LuekeNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Save time, money, and energy with strategic meal planning, grocery lists, and kitchen prep. With over 125 recipes, Don't Think About Dinner eliminates decision fatigue and makes healthy living effortless, delicious, and even fun Whether you want to improve your health, cut down food waste (and spending), reduce your mental load, or build new kitchen skills, Don't Think About Dinner provides everything you need to confidently approach every meal of the day--from shopping and stocking the pantry to storing and reheating leftovers, and everything in between.As a college student, Jenn was struggling with health problems and tired of quick-fix healthy recipes that relied on obscure, expensive ingredients that often spoiled before she could finish them. Overwhelmed and frustrated, she felt further from her health goals. So, she made a plan. Or rather, a list--filled with plants and proteins, plus simple recipes to make the most of them. This became the framework for her hugely successful business--and transformed her life.In this engaging, cleverly organized book, Jenn expands on the content that has captivated millions of devoted follows. Unlike a typical cookbook, this comprehensive handbook offers strategies, tools, tips, meal plans, and more, plus over 125 delicious recipes. Jenn includes a wide range of adaptable dishes that suit any vibe, budget, or dietary need, from breakfast and lunch to appetizers, dinner, drinks, snacks, and desserts. Don't Think About Dinner is designed to streamline the way you cook and think about your meals. With a fully stocked kitchen and plan in place, you'll be amazed at how much easier it is to cook nourishing, budget-conscious, standout meals.
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The Power of Real Optimism: A Practical, Science-Based Guide to Staying Resilient, Curious, and Open Even When Life Is Hard
by Deepika Chopra
Optimism isn't about pretending everything is fine. It's about staying open and flexible--especially when it's not. In this fresh, science-backed debut, professional psychologist and media expert Dr. Deepika Chopra shows us how to build the kind of optimism that can actually withstand real life. We've been sold the idea that optimism is a mood, a mindset, or worse--just an inherent trait. But what if real optimism is something else entirely? In The Power of Real Optimism, Dr. Deepika Chopra--known as The Optimism Doctor(R)--offers a radically different definition: optimism as a science, a skill, and a psychological muscle we can strengthen. Drawing from over a decade immersed in the science of resilience, emotional well-being, and cognitive psychology--as well as her work with clients, innovative workshops, and hallmark practices (think: evidence-based visualization, narrative reframing, her signature self-worth work, and even color therapy)--Dr. Chopra offers a toolkit for navigating the chaos, uncertainty, and nuance of being human--without losing yourself to it. Grounded, practical, and poetic in all the right ways, this book will challenge your relationship with hope, rewire how you recover from hard things, and invite you to stay soft without falling apart. With her blend of intimate storytelling, psychological insight, and tangible tools--including a 33-day Real Optimism Challenge--Dr. Chopra offers something far more enduring than a quick fix or fleeting affirmation. She invites us into a deeper, more resilient way of living--one where we can stay curious in the face of fear, open in the face of grief, and grounded even as the world wobbles beneath us. Because real optimism doesn't deny the dark--it teaches us how to see in it.
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The Dangerous Shore: How a Motley Crew of Scientists, Mobsters, Double Agents, Retirees, Volunteer Pilots (and a Boy Scout) Stopped the Invasion of Am by Sara VladicHistory books have told us, in the decades following World War II, that Pearl Harbor was the only major attack on the United States' home front. But this is not the whole truth. In The Dangerous Shore, leading researcher and bestselling author Sara Vladic unveils a much different story, one hidden away in dusty archives and behind press embargoes: Throughout the Second World War, German U-boats presented a very real threat to America's eastern coastline, destroying ships, landing spies, and planning assaults on cities. With the country's attention focused on the European and Pacific fronts, the U.S. would have been left undefended, if not for a ragtag bunch of characters who rose to the occasion. Comprised of misfits, rejects, and outlaws, this motley crew came from unexpected places. Among their ranks was the stalwart Gill Robb Wilson, leader of a barnstorming corps of volunteer civilian pilots; the brilliant Dayton engineer, Joe Desch; and the nearsighted yet clairvoyant Kenneth Knowles, commander of the Phantom Fleet, entrusted with ULTRA intelligence. Meanwhile, the cooperation of Grace Buchanan-Dineen, a self-styled countess and German spy turned double agent, helped the FBI net even more spies. Notorious but all-American mobsters Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Socks Lanza struck deals with Naval Intelligence and kept watch over critical ports. Together their efforts turned the tide of war at home and saved thousands of American lives. A thrilling and eye-opening read, The Dangerous Shore leads you through American history like never before. The story is an ode to the bravery, loyalty, and patriotism of our most unsung--and unlikely--heroes. |
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Open Space: From Earth to Eternity--The Global Race to Explore and Conquer the Cosmos by David Ariosto In 2024, the Odysseus lander touched down near the south pole of the Moon. It was the first lunar landing by Americans in more than half a century--and the first ever by a private company. Odie embodied the ambitions of a new generaÂtion of space entrepreneurs, as well as Washington's bid to challenge a rising Beijing. A gateway to interplanetary exploÂration and conquest, the Moon is now also open for busiÂness, and the race to level up technology, secure resources, and build off-world infrastructure has begun. First place isn't just a symbolic win, but a strategic path to influence and control. The United States, although turboÂcharged by tech elites, risks being outpaced by China, which increasingly aligns commercial enterprise with national secuÂrity. Not far behind are Russia, India, Japan, and the EuroÂpean Union. In Open Space, journalist and space industry analyst David Ariosto gives us a front-row seat to the future. With unprecedented access, he recounts the split-second deciÂsions in mission control and hold-your-breath moments on the launch pad. He travels from research labs orchestrating our planetary defense to an antimatter factory and the Mars Desert Research Station, where scientists imagine how an off-world colony might survive (it involves a diet of bugs). He probes inside the Chinese space sector itself, meeting with key figures and companies and traveling to a remote military station in South America. In this global odyssey, we meet the visionaries who are dreaming up the future and the engineers and physicists who are making science fiction a reality. After millennia of gazing up at the stars, humanity is now forging the tools to travel among them. Propulsive, awe-inspiring, and poignant, Open Space charts this epic journey to the final frontier and looks for our place within it.
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How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature's Revolutionaries
by David George Haskell
An exquisite exploration of the power of flowers, placing them at the center of the story of how evolution created the world we know today We live on a floral planet, yet flowers don't get the credit they deserve. We admire them for their aesthetics, not their power. In this exquisite exploration of the role flowers played in creating the world we know today, David George Haskell observes, smells, and studies flowers such as magnolias, orchids, and roses, as well as fascinating but less celebrated flowers such as seagrasses and tea to show us what we've been missing. Flowers are beautiful revolutionaries. When they evolved, they remade the natural world: Gorgeous petals and alluring aromas transformed former enemies into cooperative partners. Flowers reinvented plant sexuality and motherhood, bringing male and female together in the same flower and amply provisioning seeds and fruits, innovations that also feed legions of animals, ourselves included. Through radical genetic flexibility, flowers turned past environmental upheavals into opportunities for renewal. This inventiveness allowed them to build and sustain rainforests, savannahs, prairies, and even ocean shores. Without flowers, human beings would not exist. We are a floral species. Flowers catalyzed our evolution, and we now depend on them for food and a healthy planet. When we perfume ourselves, give a loved one a bouquet, or use blooms in gardens and religious ceremonies, we honor the special bond between people and flowers. The study of flowers also shaped modern science and horticulture in ways both marvelous and, sometimes, unjust. Looking to the future, flowers offer us lessons on resilience and creativity in the face of rapid environmental change. We need floral creativity, beauty, and joy more than ever. How Flowers Made Our World combines lyrical writing, sensual exploration, and the latest in scientific research to explore some of the most consequential life forms ever to have evolved, showing how our planet came to be and how it thrives today.
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The Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America's Birds
by James H. McCommons
A definitive history of bird conservation in America. (Kirkus Reviews, starred)From the time the country was founded, early Americans assumed that the land's natural resources were infinite, including its birds, which were zealously hunted for food, game, and fashion. With the rapid extinction of the passenger pigeon--a bird once so numerous that its flocks darkened the sky in flight--many realized actions needed to be taken if other birds were to be saved. What followed was both a spiritual awakening and a great crusade to save birds and their habitat. The campaign took place on many battlefields: society teas in Boston, hunt clubs on the East Coast, the mangroves in the Everglades, and in the editorial pages of newspapers and periodicals. From many corners of the country the bird protection movement was born and brought together a remarkable coalition of people and organizations to save America's birds. The Feather Wars is an entertaining and expansive work of American history, an incredible story about how disparate characters--progressive politicians, free-thinking society belles, nature writers and artists, bird-loving U.S. presidents, gunmakers, business titans, and brave game wardens--came together to save hundreds of species of birds. Heroes, martyrs, villains, and conflicted do-gooders--the early bird conservation movement had them all. Together they transformed how Americans thought and cared about birds, forever altering the American landscape.
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Soomaaliya: Food, Memory, and Migration: A Cookbook
by Ifrah F. Ahmed
75 recipes spanning cherished classics and modern interpretations, bringing the soul of Somali cooking to the world stage.Known by many names, the cape of spices, the nation of poets, and the land of cinnamon, Somalia is nestled in the Horn of Africa and is blessed with fertile fields, rich in spices, and endowed with the longest coastline in mainland Africa. This location and natural abundance have made Somalia a corridor between east and west, and a central point in global trade and migration, dating back millennia. In Soomaaliya, Ifrah F. Ahmed tells the story of her country through its history, its food, and its people. Somalia's role in the spice trade yields xawaash, the most distinctive of Somali flavors, a heady blend of cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and turmeric that's used in everything from marinades to stews. Cardamom also finds its ways into thin, fragrant crepes, sweet fried beignets called bur, and bariis, rice spiced with cardamom and cumin. This rice is paired hilib ari, tender goat meat stew that is a product of Somalia's deep roots in herding and agrarianism. Baasto, or pasta, a relic of the Italian colonial rule, is served with a range of simple tomato sauces to ragus. The bountiful waters supply fish freshly caught and fried. And for afternoon tea, a pot of spiced shaah, served with thick slices doolsho, an aromatic cardamom cake. These are a just a few of the over 70 recipes included that introduce the foundational flavors and tastes of the Somali palate. Through profiles of food producers, writers, and chefs, Ahmed shines a light on the many Somalis, at home and abroad, working to both preserve and transform the cuisine. Expansive and generous, and fueled by a deep love, Soomaaliya is a celebration of the richness of Somali food, and the remarkable resilience of its people.
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You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir
by Christina Applegate
Unflinchingly honest and darkly funny, You with the Sad Eyes unveils a side of Christina Applegate we've never seen, forever cementing her formidable and iconoclastic legacy. Christina Applegate came of age on sets and stages, expected to be on time, with lines learned, ready for lights-camera-action. What started as a financial necessity soon became an emotional escape from a tumultuous home life in the infamous Laurel Canyon scene of the 70s and 80s. She rocketed to stardom on the sitcom Married...with Children and went on to captivate audiences in classics like Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead..., Anchorman, and Dead to Me in her five-decade long career. Then it all stopped. A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis in 2021 confined her to a king-sized bed and the company of memories she'd rather forget: memories of the self-doubt and body dysmorphia that stalked her meteoric rise, of her mother's fight against addiction and abuse after her father left, and of the tax life had taken on her body and mind that was suddenly coming due. Now, at her most intimate and vulnerable, she unveils a story not even those closest to her fully know. She returns to the diaries she kept her whole life, finding the pain matched by joy, the losses mitigated by the extraordinary, and the weight of life lifted by her unrelenting belief that something greater lay ahead. No longer willing to lock herself away and with the perspective only our own mortality can bring, she knew it was imperative to tell it all. You with the Sad Eyes presents a remarkable woman and her legacy. In her own words, I truly believe that books can make people feel less alone. That's why I'm doing this. You with the Sad Eyes won't be some big violin scratching for my life. But it will be real. It will be filled with the ups and downs, the humor and grief of life. So here I am. Real me. Lots to say.
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Seven Sisters: Captives and Rebels in Revolutionary Europe's First Family
by Veronica Buckley
A spirited, poignant history of the seven daughters of the great Empress Maria Theresia--among them, Queen Marie Antoinette of France--tracing their lives as they balanced dynastic duty with personal ambition in a time of revolutionary cataclysm Others make war; you, happy Austria, marry. For three centuries, the astute positioning of their many princesses and princes had kept the Habsburgs at the peak of European power. By 1764, after a generation of costly war, confronted by shaken alliances, immense debts, and restive subjects, the Empress Maria Theresia was seeking once again to assert the dynasty's power through strategic marriages. Her arsenal was full: her seven daughters were to serve as her pawns in the ruthless game of eighteenth-century dynastic politicking. Delivered to the grandest or dingiest courts in Europe, they made their difficult and even dangerous ways: Marianna the seeker; the grande dame Marie Christine; Elisabeth, the malicious, disfigured beauty; fractious and wayward Amalie of Parma; the tragic bride Josepha; Carolina of Naples, Napoleon's relentless enemy; and Antonia, youngest of the seven, sacrificial offering to the gods of revolution, better known to history as Marie Antoinette. Meticulously researched and animated by the sisters' own diaries and the almost daily letters traversing the continent, Seven Sisters reveals the drama, tragedy and comedy of these exceptional yet all too human lives. It is a vivid portrait of a brilliant world collapsing in a fearful time.
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America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick by Bob CrawfordDuring the tumultuous period between the era of the Founding Fathers and the disunion of the Civil War, John Quincy Adams was the man standing in the breach. After an unsuccessful presidential reelection campaign, he was left reckoning with his political legacy. But Adams would be dragged back into the fray in ways he never expected, pitting him against the slavocracy and Southern congressmen and solidifying him as a key ally to the antislavery cause. America's Founding Son tells the tale of Adams's turbulent government career and his evolving views on slavery. Adams, along with lesser-known abolitionists Benjamin Lundy and Theodore Weld, found himself at the center of the coalition that leveled the first blow against slave power in the United States. The battles they fought would be foundational in the push for emancipation to follow. An entertaining deep dive into an under explored period in American history, America's Founding Son shows how John Quincy Adams and the grassroots activism of the 1830s and '40s shifted American politics forever.
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Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith by Rachel Held EvansNew York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans inspired a generation of questioning and evolving believers. This book offers a collection of her most impactful essays--in print for the first time. For a generation finding their footing in life after evangelicalism, Rachel Held Evans was one of the most trusted and beloved voices of our time. Stubborn in her hope, courageous in her questions, and devoted to inclusivity, her online writing was a sanctuary to the millions who read her words daily. Her death to a sudden illness in 2019 invoked a global outpouring of stories of her legacy and influence. Today, her words still speak, and now for the first time, fans old and new can experience her most viral and enduring essays in print--from those tackling patriarchy, white supremacy, and religious nationalism to those offering new interpretations of Scripture, freeing perspectives on doubt, and a better way forward. Braving the Truth is an anthology and keepsake collection letting readers borrow the bravery Rachel was best known for.
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Fodor's San Antonio, Austin & the Texas Hill Country
by Fodor's Travel Guides
Whether you want to visit the Alamo, attend South by Southwest, or explore the Texas wine country this fully-redesigned travel guide provides fresh information, an illustrated ultimate experiences guide and multiple itineraries to both organize and maximize your trip.
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Making Art and Making a Living: Adventures in Funding a Creative Life by Mason CurreyFrom family money to jobs to colorful schemes, Mason Currey, author of the acclaimed Daily Rituals, explores both the well-worn and unlikely paths forward for the up-and-coming artist. Making Art and Making a Living is an entertaining and thought-provoking examination of the collision of creative ambitions with real-world necessities, and of the messy, glorious, torturous compromises that gifted individuals have patched together when facing this eternal dilemma of an artistic life--
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To Catch a Fish: Essays on the Joy, Frustration, Curiosity, and Allure of Fishing
by Mark Kurlansky
From the award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of Cod and Salt, To Catch a Fish is an entertaining and beautifully written illustrated collection of essays that explore a lifetime fascination with fishing. For as long as there have been humans, there have been humans trying to catch fish. The two species--fish and man--live in constant tension. One chases the other. One tries to get away. Some of us--author Mark Kurlansky included--are hard-wired for that chase. Guiding readers through the waters and into the mind of the fish, Kurlansky considers who fish are and why they behave the way they do, and along the way delves into the many approaches to catching a fish, their ecology, and the ins and outs of cooking and eating your catch. Whether you're a seasoned angler or a novice, or simply want to explore the world of fish, the forty short essays in this collection and the dazzling illustrations by Bri Dostie, shed new light on these creatures and our relationship to them.
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Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America's Soul
by Matthew F. Delmont
The untold story of the Black patriots--from soldiers in combat to peace protesters--who ended the Vietnam War and defended the soul of American democracy, from a pre-eminent civil rights historian and the award-winning author of Half American As the civil rights movement blazed through America, more than 300,000 Black troops were drafted and sent to fight in the Vietnam War. These soldiers, often from disadvantaged backgrounds and subjected to the brutalities of racism back home, found themselves thrust onto the frontlines of a war many saw as unjust. On the homefront, Black antiwar activists faced another battle: Opposition to the Vietnam War, vilified by key allies in the media and government as anti-American, jeopardized the fight for civil rights. For Black Americans, the Vietnam War forced a generation to question what it truly meant to fight for justice. Award-winning civil rights historian Matthew F. Delmont weaves together the stories of two Black heroes of the Vietnam War era: Coretta Scott King, who bravely championed the antiwar cause--and eventually persuaded her husband to do the same--and Dwight Skip Johnson, a Medal of Honor recipient whose life ended tragically after returning from battle to his native Detroit. Together, these extraordinary accounts expose the contradictions of Black activism and military service during the Vietnam War. Through rich storytelling, Delmont offers a portrait of this period unlike any other, shedding light on a fractured civil rights movement, a generation of veterans failed by the country they served, and the valor of Black servicemen and peace advocates in the midst of it all. Vivid, revelatory, and meticulously researched, Until the Last Gun Is Silent: How a Civil Rights Icon and Vietnam War Hero Changed America is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the enduring legacy of Black military service, protest, and patriotism in the United States.
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How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself
by Jenny Lawson
Warm, insightful, and witty, the first book of advice from New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson--aka the Bloggess Jenny Lawson is full of contradictions. She's a celebrated author but battles self-doubt, paralysis, and anxiety. She's an award-winning humorist but struggles with treatment-resistant depression. The questions people most often ask her are, How do you do it? How do you keep going even when it feels impossible? How do you keep creating? This book is her answer. In How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay, Jenny shares more than one hundred humorous, heartfelt, and genuine tools and tricks that she relies on to keep her going even when her brain isn't working properly due to depression, anxiety, and ADHD. She also offers tips to stay passionate and focused on creative endeavors, especially when everything around you is saying to give up. With chapters like Wash Your Brain More Than You Wash Your Bra (sleep, you beautiful human), Working on Easy Mode Is Still Working (asking for accommodations is okay!), Celebrate Good Times, Come On! (make it a habit to celebrate the good things), and many more, How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay is a balm and companion, reminding us all that we are not alone. It's for anyone who struggles with self-doubt, guilt, motivation, and mental blocks and wants to rekindle their passion for creating. Funny, simple, empathetic, and full of hope, it will encourage you not to just survive but to find and curate joy in the face of difficult times.
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The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern by Luke BarrThis deeply researched cultural and culinary history tells the story of a group of French chefs who, in the late 1960s and 70s revolutionized food culture, first at home and then, quickly, abroad, especially in the United States. The very idea of chef as creator can be traced back to these legends of la nouvelle cuisine: Paul Bocuse, Michel Guerard, and the Troisgros brothers--
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Eight Septembers: A Woman on Wall Street From 9/11 to Lehman
by Jane Buyers
Eight Septembers: a Woman on Wall Street From 9/11 to Lehman is a gripping memoir that captures the tumultuous landscape of Wall Street through the eyes of a woman who lived and breathed its intensity during some of its most challenging years. Set amidst the turbulent days of Wall Street in the 2000's, a young mother pursues her banking career at J.P. Morgan while managing personal and professional obstacles. Her story begins on the morning of 9/11 when she and her colleagues in downtown Manhattan survive the terrorist attacks and continue working to help stabilize the financial system-a matter of national security. Through years of escalating banking crises and family responsibilities, her senior executive role catapults her into the center of the 2008 financial meltdown where she is forced to face the contradictions in her life and her own personal meltdown. With unflinching honesty, vulnerability, and self-reflection, Buyers tells a story of struggle, resilience, and growth that will resonate with readers from any generation.
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