Category: Books

Chris Sweeney (MSJ08)

“The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne” tells the fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist— Roxie Laybourne, who helped solve murders, investigate airplane crashes, and break up international poaching rings using nothing more than a microscope and a few fragments of feathers. Award-winning journalist Chris Sweeney takes readers deep within the vaunted backrooms of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to tell the story of this burgeoning science and the enigmatic woman who pioneered it.

Once divorced, once widowed, and sometimes surly, Roxie shattered stereotypes and pushed boundaries. Her story is one of persistence and grit, obsession and ingenuity. Drawing on reams of archival material, court documents, and exclusive interviews, Sweeney delivers a moving and amusing portrait of a woman who overcame cultural and scientific obstacles at every turn, forever changing our understanding of birds—and the feathers they leave behind. NPR selected it as one of its most anticipated books of summer, while Publishers Weekly described it as entrancing.

Dave Schechter (MSJ78)

“A Life of the Party” is a work of historical fiction about a Jewish woman who devoted four-plus decades of her life (1920s-50s) to the struggles of working men and women, as a member of the Communist Party. Amy Schechter’s adventures took her twice to Russia and across the United States, from strife in coal fields and textile mills, to docks and shipyards. Her name appeared in newspaper headlines during a textile strike in North Carolina and she chronicled labor issues for Communist Party and other sympathetic publications.

An FBI informant labeled Amy “a regular ten-minute egg” (as in hard-boiled). The New York Times called her “one of the most ardent among the New York radicals.” A Jewish columnist wrote that she was “one of the few genuinely idealistic Communists; she lives up to her ideals in her private life, sharing what she has with others less fortunate.”

Brian Pinkerton (MSJ90)

Everyone loves Alison, the new remote employee at a major energy company. She’s a rising star in the virtual workspace, displaying incredible intelligence and efficiency with digital technology. But Linda, her manager, has growing suspicions that Alison is not the person she claims to be. As Linda probes Alison’s background, Alison fights back through cyber-attacks, ravaging Linda’s work, her family and her safety. Linda must uncover the truth to save herself and discovers Alison’s past history is a lie – in fact, she has none. Is it possible Alison isn’t human at all?

The Perfect Stranger is a science-fiction thriller based on today’s headlines about artificial intelligence, cyberattacks and deepfakes.

Booklist, the magazine of the American Library Association, called The Perfect Stranger “terrifyingly realistic… a fast-paced, near-future, AI-horror nightmare that will chill readers to the core.”

To create a compelling and authentic backdrop, Pinkerton leveraged his experiences in corporate America witnessing the evolution of the virtual workplace and influence of artificial intelligence.

Cindy Handler (BSJ79)

When Prussian soldier Fritz Oppenheimer left the WWI battlefield with two Iron Crosses, he could never have imagined that the pinnacle of his military career would come 27 years later – as U.S. General Eisenhower’s legal aide at the Nazi surrender in Berlin, taking top Nazi leaders into captivity and interrogating Wilhelm Keitel, head of the Wehrmacht.

At a time when authoritarian movements worldwide once again threaten to gain traction, “A German Jew’s Triumph: Fritz Oppenheimer and the Denazification of Germany” is an untold David-and-Goliath story that reminds us how even in the darkest times, one individual’s efforts can help change the course of history and forge a more hopeful future.

Andrea Bartz (BSJ08, MSJ08)

When Abby sets foot on Isla Colel, she isn’t sure what—if anything—she’ll find. She only knows that she needs to see the place where her fiancée, Eszter, died to try and make sense of the tragic accident.

The island is nothing like Abby expected: Though it was once a bustling tourist hub, a hurricane has left it a shell of its former self. There, Abby befriends an alluring group of expats, but her sense of unease surges when one of them says he knows the truth about Eszter’s final days. Before he can tell her more, though, he vanishes from the island. Hours turn to days with no sign of him, and the others are chillingly cavalier about his disappearance.

As her quest for the truth unearths dark secrets, shady pasts, and a web of lies, Abby grows more determined than ever to find out what happened to the love of her life. And the deeper she gets in the close-knit expat community, the more she suspects that one of them is Eszter’s killer—and will do anything to keep the truth buried. But will Abby discover who it is before she becomes the island’s next victim?

Nolan Zavoral (MSJ69)

In “A Season on the Mat (Dan Gable and the Pursuit of Perfection),” the author takes the reader through the last season that the legendary Gable coached the University of Iowa wrestling team. One of the most successful coaches of any sport in NCAA history, Gable battled physical pain and emotional trauma en route to the climax of his remarkable career.

Rachel Frazin (BSJ19)

This is the shocking true-life story of how PFAS—a set of toxic chemicals most people have never heard of—poisoned the entire country. Based on original, shoe-leather reporting in four highly contaminated towns and damning documents from the polluters’ own files, Poisoning the Well traces an ugly history of corporate greed and devastation of human lives.

Readers learn that PFAS, the ‘forever chemicals’ found in everyday products, from cooking pans to mascara, are coursing through the veins of 97% of Americans. They witness the pain of families who lost sisters and daughters, cousins and neighbors, after PFAS leached into their drinking water. The book details evidence that the makers of forever chemicals may have known for decades about the deadly risks of their products—because their own scientists have been documenting these dangers since the 1960s. And it details the failure of our government, time after time, to provide basic protections to its citizens.

Maya Payne Smart (MSJ05)

Today’s children face intense pressure to meet rising academic standards and prepare for future careers, but most fall dangerously short. Early struggles with language and literacy often snowball into lasting disadvantages. Millions of U.S. kids don’t learn to read well in elementary school, driving low adult literacy rates and threatening the nation’s economic productivity, public health, and social equity.

In “Reading for Our Lives: The Urgency of Early Literacy and the Action Plan to help Your Child,” journalist Maya Payne Smart shows that the literacy crisis starts at home. Too many parents expect schools to unlock their child’s reading potential, unaware that even the best classroom instruction (which most don’t get) can’t make up for weak early preparation or inconsistent support outside of school.

Smart breaks down the latest research to show parents how to do their part to build essential literacy skills. She busts the myth that bedtime stories are parents’ greatest contribution to kids’ reading development. She advocates instead for weaving a range of simple, fun, free literacy habits and activities into everyday family life—and shows you how to do it.

With optimism and evidence, “Reading for Our Lives” delivers a clear call to action and a path forward for families, schools, and communities to beat the literacy crisis together

Don Zminda (BSJ70) “Justice Batted Last: Ernie Banks, Minnie Miñoso, and the Unheralded Players Who Integrated Chicago’s Major League Teams” tells the story of the Black players who integrated the Chicago White Sox and Cubs in the1940s and ’50s. Zminda also highlights Chicago’s pivotal role, both positive and negative, in the battle to break baseball’s color barrier. In the 19th century superstar player-manager Cap Anson of the Chicago White Stockings, precursors to the Cubs, was instrumental in driving Black players out of organized baseball. Despite pressure from activists and writers, the leagues remained all-white during the long tenure of baseball’s first commissioner, Chicago-based Kenesaw Mountain Landis. And while publicly stating that they were open to giving Black players a chance during the 1940s, the White Sox and Cubs turned away the chance to sign future superstars like Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays.

 Along with detailed coverage of the challenges and racism faced by future Baseball Hall of Famers Banks and Miñoso, Zminda takes a deep look into the careers and lives of other Black players signed by the Chicago teams during this time. Their vivid experiences are an important part of baseball history, as well as the story of race relations in America.

Ian Douglass (MSJ2006)

“Gentleman Jack and Rough Rufus: The Rise of Black American Wrestling” is a biography by Ian Douglass (MSJ ’06) about two Black professional wrestling pioneers that doubles as a socio-historical account of the development of an identifiable Black pro wrestling style between 1930 and 1960. Douglass covers the unforgettable rises and tragic downfalls of Jack Claybourne and Rufus Jones in microscopic detail, and in a way that enables readers to clearly identify the historical importance of both figures within the broader context of the professional wrestling landscape. Moreover, readers will be able to plainly see how the influence of the two athletes continues to be evident nearly 100 years after both wrestlers made their in-ring debuts.