Good Reads & Views

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Nonfiction

What is it? A narrative history of humanity's creation and evolution that explores how biology and history have defined understandings of what it means to be human. The author uses three revolutions to explain how things came to be as they presently are: cognitive, agricultural, and scientific.

Reviewers say: “provocative and entertaining" (Publishers Weekly); "one of the exceptional works of nonfiction that is both highly intellectual and compulsively readable” (Library Journal); “The great debates of history aired out with satisfying vigor” (Kirkus Reviews).

An aside: This somewhat controversial international bestseller is an excellent choice to listen to on audio or enjoy in graphic novel format.

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Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy by Gayle Jessup White
Nonfiction

What it’s about: When Gayle Jessup White was a child growing up in Washington, DC, she heard murmurs about her family’s connection to Thomas Jefferson. As an adult, she learned via DNA and genealogical research that it was true: she is a descendant of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson.

What sets it apart: While there are other books about Jefferson and Hemings, this memoir is a captivating personal story written by one of their descendants. Full of revelations, this book describes Gayle Jessup White’s journey to become the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello. She writes movingly of the importance of giving voice to the previously voiceless enslaved people who worked at Monticello.

You might also like: The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family by Bettye Kearse is also a thought-provoking memoir of a descendant of an enslaved woman and a president.

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Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Nonfiction

What it's about: Ona “Oney” Judge was born a slave at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate. One of the chosen few to accompany Martha Washington to the new nation’s capital, Judge discovered that any slave kept in Pennsylvania for more than 6 months was legally emancipated. To circumvent this, Washington sent his slaves back to Mount Vernon every 6 months. When Mrs. Washington decided to give Judge to her granddaughter, Judge had had enough. She used her contacts in the free Black community to escape to New Hampshire. This history shows a different side of the Father of our Country.

Reviewers say: “This work adds new insights into the little-known story of Ona Judge and provides an important look at America's first president from the perspective of a woman he enslaved” (Library Journal); “A startling, well-researched slave narrative that seriously questions the intentions of our first president” (Kirkus).

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Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Nonfiction

What it is: Racial disparities and racism in the United States are skillfully reframed as a classic caste system in this fascinating, well researched history lesson. Pulitzer Prize winner Wilkerson (The Warmth of Other Suns) compares America's caste system with the one that operated in Nazi Germany and the one still operating today in India. 

Want a taste? “Caste is structure. Caste is ranking. Caste is the boundaries that reinforce the fixed assignments based upon what people look like. Caste is a living, breathing entity.”

Reviewers say: "This is a brilliant book, well timed in the face of a pandemic and police brutality that cleave along the lines of a caste system” (Booklist); “A memorable, provocative book that exposes an American history in which few can take pride” (Kirkus Reviews).

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The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
Nonfiction

What it’s about: Author Larson tells the story of Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister of Britain with suspense and attention to detail. Using journals and letters of those close to Churchill, he draws a picture of May 1940 - May 1941 when Germany was conducting regular bombing raids on Britain in preparation for an invasion. Larson shows equally Churchill’s leadership and quirky personality as he tells the story of “their finest hour.”

Reviewers say: "While the story of Churchill’s premiership and the Blitz have been told in greater historical depth, they’ve rarely been rendered so vividly. Readers will rejoice" (Publisher’s Weekly); "A captivating history of Churchill's heroic year, with more than the usual emphasis on his intimates" (Kirkus Reviews); "Larson's distinctive history of Britain's 'darkest hour' offers a new angle for those already familiar with this era, while attracting readers who wish to learn more about the notable leader" (Library Journal).

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The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Nonfiction 

What it’s about: The Zookeeper's Wife is an astonishing story of the courage and selfless actions of the people of Warsaw during the Second World War who rescued and hid, at great personal danger, the hundreds of Jews who were hunted by the Nazis.

Why you might like it: The Zookeeper’s Wife is a true story set in Warsaw, Poland at the onset of WWII, and is both a horrifying and endearing story.

You might also like: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. 

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The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Nonfiction

What it’s about: From 1915 to 1970, nearly 6 million Black Americans moved from the South to the North in search of a better life. This poignant book follows three people who made this migration, and the author interweaves their individual experiences into the broader fabric of the time period.

Why it’s significant: The Great Migration was an important part of 20^th century American history, and this book blends history and personal experiences -- so you get to learn about this time frame while also gaining insight into the lives of a few of the people who made the journey. Wilkerson’s beautiful writing and evocative detail make The Warmth of Other Suns an absorbing read. If you enjoy reading narrative nonfiction that reads like fiction, this book is for you.

Book buzz: This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named one of the 10 best books of the year by The New York Times, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly.

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Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Nonfiction

What it's about: A presidential historian looks at 4 presidents and asks, are leaders born or made? Goodwin looks at Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D Roosevelt and Lyndon B Johnson, examining their early lives, dramatic reversals of fortune each experienced early in adulthood, and shows how they proved equal to the crises of their time.

Why you might like it: If you enjoy U.S. history, particularly learning new things about our presidents, give this a try. Or pick this up if you want a study in leadership qualities that is easily and compulsively readable.

You might also like: Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss if you're looking to read more about presidents and their times. Or try Dare to Lead: Brave work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts by Brene Brown if you're looking for more on leadership.

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Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Nonfiction

What it is: The history of an ordinary substance, the only rock humans consume. Throughout civilization, salt has been used as currency, influenced the establishment of trade routes, financed wars and secured empires. And flavored our food, of course.

Want a taste? “The Romans salted their greens, believing this to counteract the natural bitterness, which is the origin of the word salad, salted.” “It takes two years for the salt to reach the center of a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.”

Reviewers say: “Throughout his engaging, well-researched history, Kurlansky sprinkles witty asides and amusing anecdotes. A piquant blend of the historic, political, commercial, scientific and culinary, the book is sure to entertain as well as educate” (Publishers Weekly).

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The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone
Nonfiction

What it’s about: The true adventures of one David Fairchild, 19th-century botanist and food explorer, who was responsible for the introduction of various crops to the American marketplace, ranging from avocadoes and mangoes to seedless grapes and pomegranates.

Why you might like it: This adventure story reads like fiction and provides lots of “did you know…” tidbits, like who the Myer lemon is named after and why there are all those avocados being grown in California.

Reviewers say: “An erudite and entertaining historical biography of a food pioneer with particular interest for gastronomes and agriculture enthusiasts” (Kirkus Review).

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