Afterlives of the Plantation: Plotting Agrarian Futures in the Global Black South

Afterlives of the Plantation: Plotting Agrarian Futures in the Global Black South by Jarvis C. McInnis, Ph.D. from Columbia University Press Built on the grounds of a former cotton plantation, the Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington, offered agricultural and industrial education as a strategy for Black self‑determination. There—and in many other communities in the … Continue reading Afterlives of the Plantation: Plotting Agrarian Futures in the Global Black South

The Computer Always Wins

The Computer Always Wins: Using Classic Games to Teach Advanced Computer Algorithms by Elliot Joseph Lichtman from MIT Press (foreign rights available) agent Ali Lake An engaging and approachable resource for beginning-to-intermediate coders eager to learn advanced ideas in computer programming. Too often, the magic of computer science is locked behind an intimidating wall of syntax and mathematics. … Continue reading The Computer Always Wins

Dragonflies of Glass: The Story of Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls

Dragonflies of Glass: The Story of Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls by Susan Goldman Rubin illustrator Susanna Chapman from Abrams From award-winning kids’ nonfiction author Susan Goldman Rubin, and radiantly illustrated by Susanna Chapman, the picture book Dragonflies of Glass celebrates the innovation, determination, and ambition of the brilliant woman artist behind the world-famous Tiffany glass In … Continue reading Dragonflies of Glass: The Story of Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls

Oh My Nosh! What Shape Is Your Bagel? A First Book of Jewish Food

Oh My Nosh! What Shape Is Your Bagel?: A First Book of Jewish Food by The Macaroons illustrator Shahar Kober from Doubleday / Random House A board book that introduces the youngest of readers to favorite Jewish foods – such as blintzes, kugel, and gefilte fish – brought to you by the musical band The Macaroons! What shapes do YOU see … Continue reading Oh My Nosh! What Shape Is Your Bagel? A First Book of Jewish Food

A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park

A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park by Randall K. Wilson from Counterpoint This epic history of America’s first national park explores how a remote Western landscape became an iconic symbol of our country and its vast wilderness so influential to our understanding of the natural world. It has been called Wonderland, … Continue reading A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World’s First National Park

UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon

UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon by Stephanie Stuckey from Matt Holt Books / BenBella Books Discover the inspiring firsthand account of Stephanie Stuckey’s rise to CEO upon suddenly acquiring her family’s beloved yet struggling brand, which had become a “whatever happened to . . . ?” fading memory for most Americans. Stephanie Stuckey’s remarkable journey unfolds in UnStuck, a memoir … Continue reading UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon

The Girl Who Figured It Out

The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by Minda Dentler illustrator Stephanie Dehennin from Sourcebooks Explore The uplifting true story of Minda Dentler, the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship triathlon. Minda Dentler made history when she became the first … Continue reading The Girl Who Figured It Out

The Women Who Built Hollywood

The Women Who Built Hollywood: 12 Trailblazers in Front of and Behind the Camera by Susan Goldman Rubin from Astra House Publishing Discover the electrifying untold stories of the pioneering and groundbreaking women of Old Hollywood in this nonfiction book perfect for young movie buffs and budding feminists alike. While recent phenomena like #OscarsSoWhite have … Continue reading The Women Who Built Hollywood

I Am DJ Michelle: How a Nine-Year-Old DJ Became a Global Phenomenon

I Am DJ Michelle: How a Nine-Year-Old DJ Became a Global Phenomenon by Michelle Rasul as told to Rabiah York from Blackstone Audio For young readers inspired by bestselling autobiographies such as Essentially Charli and Reach for the Skai comes the extraordinary true story of how a ten-year-old DJ from Dubai became an international superstar, as told in her … Continue reading I Am DJ Michelle: How a Nine-Year-Old DJ Became a Global Phenomenon

Tenacious Beasts

Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals by Christopher J. Preston from MIT Press An inspiring look at wildlife species that are defying the odds and teaching important lessons about how to share a planet. The news about wildlife is dire—more than 900 species have been wiped off the planet since industrialization. Against … Continue reading Tenacious Beasts

Dematerialized: The Mysterious Disappearance of Marcia Moore

Dematerialized: The Mysterious Disappearance of Marcia Moore by Joseph DiSomma and Marina DiSomma from Post Hill Press The baffling true story of Marcia Moore – heiress, astrologer, and yoga master – who sacrificed her well-to-do life to study metaphysics and experiment with a mind-bending psychedelic, until her mysterious disappearance in 1979. On a bitterly cold night in January of 1979, … Continue reading Dematerialized: The Mysterious Disappearance of Marcia Moore

The Black President: Hope and Fury in the Age of Obama

The Black President: Hope and Fury in the Age of Obama by Claude A. Clegg, III from Johns Hopkins University Press The first sweeping, legacy-defining history of the entire Obama presidency. In The Black President, the first interpretative, grand-narrative history of Barack Obama’s presidency in its entirety, Claude A. Clegg III situates the former president in his … Continue reading The Black President: Hope and Fury in the Age of Obama

Sing and Shout

Sing and Shout: The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson by Susan Goldman Rubin from Highlights This comprehensive biography, written by the celebrated nonfiction author of Coco Chanel and Give Us the Vote, Susan Goldman Rubin, who explores the tumultuous and passionate life of activist, singer, and actor Paul Robeson. When faced with the decision to remain silent or be ostracized, Paul Robeson chose to sing, … Continue reading Sing and Shout

A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away

A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits—Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More by Paul Hirsch from Chicago Review Press A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away is a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most influential films of the last 50 years by Paul Hirsch, … Continue reading A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away

Sorted

Sorted by Jackson Bird from Tiller Press / Simon & Schuster An unflinching and endearing memoir from LGBTQ+ advocate Jackson Bird about how, through a childhood of gender mishaps and an awkward adolescence, he finally sorted things out and came out as a transgender man in his mid-twenties. When Jackson Bird was twenty-five, he came out as transgender to … Continue reading Sorted

Dannemora

Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State by Charles A. Gardner from Citadel / Kensington The prison break, the manhunt, the inside story: In June 2015, two vicious convicted murderers broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, in New York’s “North Country,” launching the most extensive manhunt … Continue reading Dannemora

We

We: An Adoption and a Memoir by Ben Barnz from Wyatt–MacKenzie Publishing We centers on the story of Barnz adopting a child and the legal battle with the birthfather that began the day after the child’s birth – and two days before 9/11. The book interweaves this narrative with Barnz’s path to parenthood – beginning with his closeted … Continue reading We

How the Internet Happened

How the Internet Happened: From Netscape to the iPhone by Brian McCullough from Liveright / Norton Tech-guru Brian McCullough delivers a rollicking history of the internet, why it exploded, and how it changed everything. The internet was never intended for you, opines Brian McCullough in this lively narrative of an era that utterly transformed everything we … Continue reading How the Internet Happened

Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress by Susan Goldman Rubin from Abrams Award-winning author of Give Us the Vote and Sing and Shout: The Mighty Voice of Paul Robeson, Susan Goldman Rubin introduces readers to the best known fashion designer in the world, Coco Chanel. Beginning with the difficult years Chanel spent in an orphanage, Goldman Rubin traces Coco’s development as … Continue reading Coco Chanel