RaveBooklistHirshman documents behind-the-scenes details, political maneuvering, evidence that was presented or suppressed, truths that became apparent long after decisions went into effect, and how these developments affect current events. The unabated, continuing public outcry against sexual harassment is a reminder that resolution is long overdue.
Julie Satow
RaveBooklistThis thoroughly researched, extensively documented romp ... spins an intriguing tale, smoothly integrating more than 100 years’ worth of social, economic, and cultural facts and minutiae. [Satow] deftly navigates through topics such as architecture, menus, labor disputes, parties, balls, civil unrest, jewel heists, suicides, city politics, high-end financial maneuvering, and lots and lots of great celebrity gossip ... the narrative never flags ... Readers will happily soak up period details and take notes on how the stalwart staff dealt with class snobbery, prohibition and gangsters, wartime privations, the turbulent 1960s, wealthy dowagers, blushing debutantes, persistent groupies, omnipresent prostitutes, and brawling Indian billionaires. This is social history at its best: thoughtful, engaging, and lots of fun.
Kate Mulgrew
RaveBooklistWhether already aware of Mulgrew’s charming and unique voice, or new to her compelling, introspective storytelling, audiences will appreciate this new memoir, an account of her parents during the final years of their lives ... This engrossing story of a daughter’s love, told with brutal honesty, will resonate with readers.
Rachel Louise Snyder
PositiveBooklistAlthough domestic violence is a difficult subject, this sympathetic look at victims, perpetrators, and intervention efforts by law enforcement and social agencies makes for compelling reading ... This is not a series of individual commentaries but rather honest, ongoing conversations, with multiple instances of horror, fear, guilt, bravado, remorse, forgiveness, and frustration ... Snyder’s chilling body of evidence shows that domestic abuse is a pervasive epidemic that can and does happen everywhere.
Tina Cassidy
PositiveBooklistThis engaging account of the conflict surrounding the enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, is an extensively researched, easy-to-follow narrative. Cassidy makes the struggle personal by providing telling insights into the lives of two main adversaries ... Details abound, whether appearing in biographical anecdotes, records of sordid prison conditions, or evolving slogans on protest placards. Readers will come away with increased appreciation for these heroic efforts devoted to women’s suffrage plus new-found empathy for the combatants on both sides.
Amy S Greenberg
PositiveBooklistExtensively documented ... More social history than biography, the text traces Polk’s steadily growing expertise in charming, manipulating, and exerting pressure to abet her husband’s political career, which made for lasting change in Democratic Party policies. This is an in-depth, telling account of a largely overlooked woman who was able to effect profound influence while working within the constraints of her time and place.
Pete Buttigieg
PositiveBooklistReaders will find telling insights into the events that shaped Buttigieg’s biggest decisions and share a typical day in the mayor’s office; relive Buttigieg’s tour of duty in Afghanistan (while he was still acting mayor); and understand his angst over being a young, gay public figure trying to get a date (spoiler alert: there’s a happy ending!). First and foremost a great, engaging read, this is also an inspiring story of a millennial making a difference.
Bob Berman
PositiveBooklistStraightforward, accessible tech talk ... whether ultimately alarmed or comforted, readers will come away enlightened and entertained.
Julie Yip-Williams
RaveBooklistPoignant and compelling ... [Yip-Williams\'] writing is honest and, by turns, angry, humorous, and heart-breaking, especially when she talks about her two little girls, who are just starting elementary school. Even though readers know the ending—the prologue indicates that if they’re reading this, she’s already gone—every bit of new bad news hits like a blow to the gut. Readers’ will smile when Yip-Williams facetiously describes the slutty second wife she envisions for her husband and share in her grief as she makes plans for her funeral. Never mawkish, The Unwinding of the Miracle will resonate with readers.
The March for Our Lives Founders
RaveBooklist\"This is a detailed, totally relatable account of how the anti-gun, anti-school-violence grassroots movement #NeverAgain grew and gained momentum and turned into the March 2018 March for Our Lives, an event that drew an estimated one million participants to Washington, D.C. The story is narrated by the teens who organized the march, mostly survivors of the February 14, 2018, Parkland High School shooting ...The contributions, mostly essays, are written in first person, and the accounts come across as genuine and authentic. This is a clarion call to action for teens, by teens, and it is moving and powerful.
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Jane Sherron de Hart
PositiveBooklistThis extensively documented account, incorporating more than 100 pages of chapter notes and a bibliography that cites hundreds of resources, is also quite engaging and very easy to read. Expect plenty of interest.
Jenny Linford
PositiveBooklist OnlineEngaging ... a structure that encourages cover-to-cover reading ... the sort of offering that will ensnare browsers and prove irresistible to chefs and foodies.
Anne de Courcy
PositiveBooklist OnlineDe Courcy documents the exhaustive efforts undertaken by wealthy nineteenth-century American mothers to secure titled British husbands for their hapless daughters ... Stories abound about American mamas who sacrificed their offspring to ensure entrance into the inner circles of New York society and invitations to posh summer affairs at Newport. Vanderbilts, Astors, Churchills, Marlboroughs; diamonds, tiaras, yachts, mansions; all are documented in glorious detail and should satisfy those readers with insatiable thirst for all things peerage.
Merve Emre
PositiveBooklist\"The human race has been seeking personal validation since the early Greeks (\'know thyself\'); this eye-opening account gives readers insight into how one evaluation method morphed into a neat, satisfying packaging system for our complicated psyches.\
Annie Lowrey
PositiveBooklistLowrey...maintains that just like on The Jetsons or Star Trek, we now have the technology to manipulate and redistribute money. Perhaps it’s time to consider a move toward a cashless, and hopefully more equitable, global society.
Adam Frank
PositiveBooklist...knowledgeable, witty, irreverent, provocative, and very entertaining ... For us normal earthlings, he also incorporates accessible references to H. G. Wells, Carl Sagan, the Mars rovers, Easter Island, and prosthetic Klingon foreheads. This offers solid science and lots of fun, so expect high demand.
Jessica Weisberg
RaveBooklistThis engaging, documented, and thoughtfully presented overview of advice givers begins in 1691, with British \'seers\' ... Weisberg provides historical context that frames trending angsts within bygone eras, explaining the consuming popularity of these pundits. This journey through collective incertitude doesn’t seek to answer any of life’s pressing questions, but it sure offers an enjoyable ride.
