About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Katie Rogers
Positive Library Journal A thoughtful and recommended exploration of the often-contradictory office of U.S. First Lady. General readers interested in learning more about Jill Biden will especially enjoy this title.
Katherine Spillar
Positive Library Journal A timely and thought-provoking collection of feminist essays, which shows how far society has come and how much work is left to do to obtain true gender equality.
Sarah Viren
Positive Library Journal A poignant musing on the changing nature of truth.
Christina Sharpe
Positive Library Journal Sharpe engages with multimedia to explore these topics and muses on photography, meaningful books, quotations, and observations from trips to museums and memorials. She integrates heartfelt personal anecdotes; stories about her family members, particularly her mother and grandmother; and lessons that she has learned from her relatives about seeing beauty in its many dimensions.
Judith Lewis Herman
Positive Library Journal An intriguing exploration of alternative methods of justice for trauma survivors.
Peniel E Joseph
Positive Library Journal Joseph centers the work of Black women and activists, while demonstrating that the current backlash to racial equity progress has deep roots in history. A compelling analysis of current events.
Mansi Choksi
Positive Library Journal The book includes background information regarding Indian laws around arranged marriages, religious conflict, honor killings, and same-sex marriages to inform unfamiliar readers ... An interesting and highly readable examination of the complexities and intersections of love, marriage, and tradition in India.
Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Positive Library Journal Rojas Contreras reflects on the importance of stories to her family’s well-being and their collective memory ... An eerie and introspective memoir.
Joanna Scutts
Positive Library Journal The majority of Heterodoxy’s members were well-off, educated white women, and Scutts also highlights the effect of race, sexual orientation and class on feminist circles ... A fascinating view of feminist activism at the beginning of the 20th century.
Amy Gajda
Positive Library Journal [A] stimulating, thoughtful work ... A fascinating and thought-provoking analysis of the history of privacy issues that will be accessible to a general audience.
Jyoti Thottam
Positive Library Journal A heartfelt account of service and change. Recommended for readers interested in Catholic or Indian history.
Julissa Arce
Positive Library Journal A necessary counterpoint to the narrative of the American dream. Recommended for readers interested in immigrant experiences.
Susan Jonusas
Positive Library Journal Jonusas places the story of the Benders in the context of Kansas’s turbulent history. Additionally, she discusses the sensationalist media coverage of the case as well as its impact in the present day ... A fascinating look at a case that still captures the imagination. Fans of historical true crime will be pleased.
Nick Charles, Curtis Bunn, Michael H. Cottman and Patrice Gaines
Positive Library Journal The essays can be read as standalone pieces, but it\'s useful to have them in one volume ... A thoughtful assessment of the Black Lives Matter movement that illuminates the work still left to do. Recommended for readers newly interested in antiracist activism.
Kati Marton
Positive Library Journal The author effectively tells how Merkel is often acutely reminded of Germany’s past and strives to ensure that Germany is a moral leader, resists authoritarianism, and remains a part of the European Union and a key member of the global community ... A fascinating look at a highly influential leader. Recommended for readers interested in world politics.
Adrian Tinniswood
Positive Library Journal A gossipy look at British estate owners. Recommended for readers interested in stately homes and aristocrats.
Qian Julie Wang
Positive Library Journal ... powerful ... Wang doesn’t gloss over the hardship and trauma she experienced as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. She movingly tells how undocumented families like hers are often overlooked and their experiences ignored ... A haunting memoir of people and places that will stay with readers long after the last page.
Deborah Copaken
Positive Library Journal A searing indictment of capitalism, the gig economy, and the U.S. medical system--all recounted with a sense of dark humor. Copaken’s latest will engage readers of feminist memoirs.
Sasha Issenberg
Positive Library Journal The legal analysis is targeted toward general readers, and the author deftly weaves the legislative and legal together to create a full picture for readers ... Although chapters tend to meander, he focuses on personalities and motivations that inflate his already detailed analysis of Supreme Court cases and other political movements in support of equality ... A comprehensive work of civil rights history that is sure to interest political and legal enthusiasts.
Carol Anderson
Rave Library Journal An important but too-compact analysis that might leave readers wishing for more. Like Anderson’s previous works, this is essential for everyone interested in U.S. history.
Scott Ellsworth
Rave Library Journal A thoughtful exploration of the importance of collective memory. It is particularly poignant as 2021 marks the centennial of the massacre. A must-read for all who are interested in how history continues to impact the present.
Julian Rubinstein
Positive Library Journal An informed analysis of the complex intersections between police and the community, which will especially draw in readers involved in community organizing and anti-racist activism.
Danielle Dreilinger
Positive Library Journal An intriguing analysis of a stereotyped field that will find a welcome place among collections specializing in feminism and women’s studies.
Don Lemon
Positive Library Journal Journalist Lemon...candidly reflects on history and the major events of 2020, beginning with a heartfelt letter to his nephew in the wake of George Floyd\'s murder, describing progress and pitfalls in racial equity since Jim Crow ... A thoughtful analysis which deserves a place on readers\' anti-racist reading lists. Recommended for those interested in trying to enact systemic change.
Thomas Healy
Positive Library Journal Healy engages with issues of race and segregation and provides insightful analysis of the project\'s successes and failures. Included are occasional photographs of prominent figures involved in the development ... An absorbing account of a visionary project that will engage readers interested in Southern history.
Nadia Owusu
Positive Library Journal Owusu’s yearning for a maternal figure and acceptance of her identity surround this moving memoir. Recommended for readers who enjoy stories of identity and multiculturalism.
Alicia Garza
Positive Library Journal She provides a vision of successful movements, elaborates on the challenges of organizing, and explores biases and blind spots that can befall movements ... An important look into community organizing that is honest about its pitfalls and promises that will engage all interested in leading and growing social movements.
Elijah Cummings
Rave Library Journal ... the congressman\'s dedication to civil service, desire to mentor younger generations, and admiration for his colleagues shines through ... Moving insight into a remarkable man, which remains a touching tribute to his accomplishments in the later years of his life. Recommended for political aficionados.
Jean Guerrero
Positive Library Journal A fascinating analysis of Miller and his frightening effects on immigration policy, enriched by the author’s vast experience reporting on the U.S.-Mexico border. Recommended for readers interested in politics and immigration.
Katie Hill
Positive Library Journal An empowering introduction to key issues facing women; however, readers familiar with current events will be unlikely to discover new material. For readers interested in feminism and political activism.
Jacob Soboroff
Positive Library Journal Readers interested in learning more about immigration policy will be drawn to this captivating account, which deftly weaves together the political and the personal.
Rosayra Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo
Positive Library Journal A heartfelt memoir of survival and the power of activism that is recommended for readers interested in personal narratives of migration.
Ilhan Omar
Mixed Library Journal An introspective and self-assured memoir that unfortunately suffers from a jumpy narrative in later chapters. Recommended for readers interested in refugee and immigration stories, but the book may disappoint those hoping for details on politics and policy proposals.
Tori Amos
Positive Library Journal A fascinating window into the creative process of an iconic songwriter, this should resonate with lovers of Amos’s music and encourage other artists.
Madeleine Albright
Rave Library Journal This passionately told account of Albright’s \'afterlife\' will inspire readers to become involved in the issues meaningful to them. Recommended for all interested in politics, leadership, and women’s studies.
Sarah Kendzior
Positive The Library Journal A chilling account of how the media, government, and public have failed to hold Trump accountable, and how this has significantly impacted U.S. democracy. Recommended for readers curious about the intersection of politics and media.
Jason Diakité, Trans. by Rachel Willson-Broyles
Positive Library Journal [Diakité’s] tense but loving relationship with his father, who initially opposed his travels, pulls the narrative together. Through these experiences, Diakité better understands his father’s point of view and comes to terms with his own identity as a multiracial Swede. Willson-Broyles’s translation captures Diakité’s sense of longing ... This touching exploration of race and heritage is incisive, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. Recommended for readers interested in multiracial memoirs and the search for family and identity.
Rebecca Solnit
Positive Library Journal Her recollection of her feelings regarding violence and being silenced are particularly resonant ... Despite such heavy subject matter, Solnit\'s passion for reading and writing shines through. Her tone is authoritative, but reassuring ... An engaging look at Solnit\'s life, which succeeds in giving voice to inequity caused by patriarchy. Recommended for memoir aficionados, especially feminist audience.
Mo Rocca
Positive Library Journal Rocca’s trademark humor and satire are present throughout and he also includes personal anecdotes, including a touching closing tribute to his father ... This amusing, concise, and sometimes tender collection of profiles is recommended for readers content with short biographies in a limited narrative format.
Susan Rice
Positive Library Journal [Rice] is tough but frank, clearly owning her successes and failures, sharing stories occasionally punctuated with anecdotes about her personal life and family ... While she offers a fascinating look into U.S. foreign policy, Rice’s desire to be comprehensive can be overwhelming. Recommended for readers interested in national security and Obama-era staff memoirs.
Andrew Marantz
Mixed Library Journal Marantz takes pains to counter the hateful speech of his subjects but never makes a compelling argument for featuring them in a full-length work ... A promising but disjointed look into the rise of hate groups, recommended for readers interested in politics, social media, and the intersection of the two.
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Rave Library Journal This approach could easily delve too much into minutiae, but Kantor and Twohey’s explanations are cohesive, concise, and fascinating. Weinstein’s efforts to silence the story are particularly nerve wracking, but the authors show well how the allegations gave momentum to the Me Too movement and empowered more victims of sexual assault to come forward with their stories of abuse ... A compelling accounting of the events that helped ignite Me Too. Highly recommended for readers interested in social justice and the reporting process.
Mike Thomson
Positive Library Journal Thomson helpfully provides background on Daraya and events of the civil war to give context to the narrative. One small drawback is that the author tends to insert unnecessarily his own experiences and reactions into the story, although the Syrians’ harrowing accounts speak for themselves ... A compelling window into the lives of Syrians’ living in a war zone. Recommended for readers interested in the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis.
Jay Kristoff
Positive Library Journal Kristoff’s...action sequences are well done, although Mia’s shadow magic and use of animal passengers leads to some one-sided encounters. The metacommentary is a bit much, but humorous footnotes provide wry asides and additional info about this well-imagined realm ... Readers who enjoyed the first two books will not be disappointed by this dark, addictive story that contains coarse language and plenty of sexual content.
Antonia Felix
Positive Library Journal Felix details Warren\'s political accomplishments up to the present and showcases her popularity. The appendixes include several key speeches by the senator ... A complem[i]ntary portrayal of a compelling political personality. Recommended for readers interested in Senator Warren, politics, and the lives of inspirational women.