Category: True Story

Over the last few decades, we’ve started to see books coming out that emphasize different histories of the United States. I’m gonna say it right now; a lot of these are published by Beacon Press, because Beacon does some good good work. Here on this 10th of July, let’s check these out:

A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross. This came out this year and is by two awesome academics. They tell the story of Black women in America from “the first African women who arrived in what became the United States to African American women of today.” They highlight enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and “women who lived outside the law.” And they do it in less than 300 pages. Amazing.

 

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. This starts with Christopher Columbus coming over and destroying people’s lives and continues up through President Clinton’s first term in office. Zinn focuses on America’s “women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers.” This book was groundbreaking in terms of its emphasis that there are other stories to be told, and we should pay attention to them.

 

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. “Native peoples have vast claims to reparations and restitution,” yet “[n]o monetary amount can compensate for lands illegally seized, particularly those sacred lands necessary for Indigenous peoples to regain social coherence.” Dunbar-Ortiz speaks against the founding myth of the U.S. and walks you through the blatant colonial and genocidal ambitions of those in power regarding Indigenous populations.

 

A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen. Published in 2012 and covering pre-1492 to then, this is the first book to “place the experiences of people with disabilities at the center of the American narrative.” I am super psyched for this, because who is FREQUENTLY left out of the narrative? Yes, people with disabilities. Nielsen is a professor and director of the disability studies program at the University of Toledo.

Have a good weekend! Be safe! And as always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Helloooo, nonfiction fan. Very excited to talk about some new releases this week, as we’ve got some great ones. We’re more than halfway through 2020! Let’s celebrate with books:

Say It Louder!: Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy by Tiffany D. Cross. Political analyst Cross looks at the role Black Americans play and have played in American politics, how they have been shut out from the voting process, and how they have been critical to particular electoral wins (ex: the 2018 Democrats’ blue Wave). She examines “how America’s composition was designed to exclude Black voters, but paradoxically would likely cease to exist without them.”

 

The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands by Jon Billman. When people vanish into the wilderness, what happens? From Search & Rescue to bloodhound handlers, river divers, detectives, and more, this book looks closely at cases of people who have gone missing, and those who search for them. Billman centers his narrative around the case of Jacob Gray and his father, who left everything in his life to search for his son. This is being compared to Into the Wild a lot, so if you like that, give this a look.

 

The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide by Zerlina Maxwell. Author Maxwell worked on two presidential campaigns and now works as a political analyst. “In 2020, after the Democratic Party’s most historically diverse pool of presidential candidates finally dwindled down to Joe Biden, once again an older white man, Maxwell has posed the ultimate question: what now, liberals?” She urges progressives to empower marginalized groups, lean into identity politics (using the actual definition), and try to level the playing field for all.

 

Lady Romeo: The Radical and Revolutionary Life of Charlotte Cushman, America’s First Celebrity by Tana Wojczuk. Haven’t heard of Charlotte Cushman? Great, ok, so — it’s the 1830s in America, and this actress comes on the scene. She played both men and women, famously playing Romeo opposite her sister in Romeo and Juliet, she was in relationships with other women (hey-o), used her fame to promote the works of African American/Native American sculptor Edmonia Lewis, and generally lived a very dramatic life.

 

How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats by Andrew Marttila. Look. We’re stuck at home. We’re all photographing our cats. And maybe we need some tips. Marttila talks photography basics, photographing your very special cat with your phone, with a regular camera (haha do people own those?), how to edit your photos, and how to best share them. If you’re really bored and want to up your game here, this is pretty ideal.

 

Hokay, happy July! If you want the full list of new releases, don’t forget to sign up for Book Riot Insiders because it has the sweet New Release Index. As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

I am genuinely super excited about these end-of-June releases. A lot of these were spring books that got pushed, and so I’ve been excited about them for a while and they are FINALLY HERE.

A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team by Arshay Cooper. Ok, this is about a group of young men growing up on Chicago’s West Side who formed the first all-Black high school rowing team in the nation. Dangit, I love stories about youths coming together and doing a thing. Author Cooper was the captain of the team and shares their story. There’s also a documentary out about this and I’m super excited about both.

 

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the 21st Century ed. by Alice Wong. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which was “a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.” If you’ve heard of people asking whether something is ADA-compliant? That’s why. More than 30 essayists contribute to this compilation that brings to the forefront the fact that one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. And we should be talking about their stories more.

 

Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park by Andy Mulvihill and Jake Rossen. Y’know how in the 1970s and ’80s no one really paid attention to things like “safety”? Action Park was a “New Jersey-based amusement playland [that] placed no limits on danger or fun” (good lord). Called a “DIY Disneyland,” it was also nicknamed Accident/Class Action Park. I’m interested in if this book veers more towards “remember the good ole days when no one had safety standards?” or is more like “omg how did this happen” à la Bad Blood. I guess we’ll see! One thing I will say is that this cover is extremely fun.

 

This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope by Shayla Lawson. Ok, speaking of good covers. I love this so much? Lawson is “on a mission to move black girls like herself from best supporting actress to a starring role in the major narrative. Whether she’s taking on workplace microaggressions or upending racist stereotypes about her home state of Kentucky, she looks for the side of the story that isn’t always told, the places where the voices of black girls haven’t been heard.” Lawson is also a poet and a writer-in-residence at Amherst. POETS. Making things happen.

So many new releases, so little space. If you want the full list, don’t forget to sign up for Book Riot Insiders because it has the sweet New Release Index. As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

More Pride! Pride all the time. We’re at the last Friday newsletter of June, so here we go with some real gay (or queer. or trans!) books:

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock. This book is a JOURNEY. Mock tells her story of growing up “young, multiracial, poor, and trans in America.” What is it like to grow up trans and without privilege? When I read this, I felt like it offered tremendous clarity about the breadth of experience out there, how every person’s journey is different, and what humans are capable of accomplishing. If you’ve already read it, check out Mock’s second book, Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. Kim on For Real HIGHLY recommends this. I bought it at Powell’s Books in Portland and haven’t read it yet, but I’m expecting it to be amazing. It’s a memoir of the emotionally abusive relationship Machado was in, as well as the aftermath. It’s called beautifully written, but “haunting,” so watch out if you can’t handle that kind of thing right now. What makes it truly stand out is that Machado changes up the style of every chapter, including a Choose Your Own Path and a Haunted House-style section.

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America by Lillian Faderman. If you were looking for queer history books 5 years ago (and I was), you would come across Faderman all the time, because she was one of the few people writing about it. This is one of her better-known works, where she traces the history of lesbian culture in America. One reviewer accuses her of holding a “culturally-based view of lesbianism,” which is legit, but overall she’s cautious with evidence and does a good job highlighting histories that might otherwise be lost.

All right! Have an excellent weekend, be safe, and as always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Are you continuing to drink water, nonfiction reader? I know it’s weirdly hard to do, but it’s important! Read a page, drink some water, read another page, drink some water. I say this while all my dehydrated cells are most likely glaring at me for the sheer hypocrisy on display here, but do as I say, not as I do, etc etc. Now, let’s look at some new books!

The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness by Emily Anthes. Did you know we spend 90% of our time indoors? Well. Probably more now. Science journalist Anthes looks at how our indoor spaces affect our mental and physical well-being and how “the pain-killing power of a well-placed window and examines how the right office layout can expand our social networks.” Super neat and REAL relevant right now.

 

I Tried to Change So You Don’t Have To: True Life Lessons by Loni Love. I was reading parts from this out loud to my fiancée because Loni Love has that special gift of being able to talk about really vulnerable and sometimes painful things, and then zing! Suddenly there’s a hilarious joke. I am always impressed by that skill. Here she talks about growing up in housing projects to Detroit, being a French horn-playing nerd, getting an engineering degree, and going to Hollywood.

 

Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America by Erin Geiger Smith. Why do so few people vote? Geiger Smith looks at the past (history!), present (news!), and future (wild speculation!) of voting. What I’m most interested in — although voting history is pretty good to learn about — is how get-out-the-vote movements + activists “innovatively use technology and grassroots techniques to energize first-time voters.” What technology! What techniques! How are they energizing! So interesting.

 

Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture by Emma Dabiri. Yissss this book. Dabiri is Irish-Nigerian and an excellent writer. Here she looks at the history of Black hair culture, while sharing stories from her own life. She takes the reader “from pre-colonial Africa, through the Harlem Renaissance, and into today’s Natural Hair Movement, exploring everything from women’s solidarity and friendship, to the criminalization of dreadlocks, to the dubious provenance of Kim Kardashian’s braids.” This book is great, get it.

That’s it for new books this week! As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

We’re at Friday! This week has felt THE longest and I say that as someone who is writing this on Wednesday. Okay, so who’s ready to be INSPIRED by some activist bios? I hope it’s you, ’cause these’re good. Here we go:

Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!: The Story of the Trans Women of Color Who Made LGBTQ+ History by Joy Ellison & Teshika Silver. Did you know there aren’t any bios of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera? But this one’s coming out this fall and you can preorder it NOW. It’s for kids ages 4-8 and “introduces children to issues surrounding gender identity and diversity.” Seems like a good one to get for a kid you know or to donate somewhere.

 

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land by Noé Álvarez. Book Riot staff LOVED this book. Álvarez grew up in Washington as the son of Mexican immigrants. At nineteen, he learned of a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, “epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America.” This book is about the four-month marathon he took part of through that movement, that went from Canada to Guatemala.

 

One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet by Anuradha Rao. This is so digestible! It’s marketed at young adults, but adults could definitely get into it. Each activist mini biography ends with a “What can you do?” section that gives you next steps. I LOVE ACTION ITEMS. They have chapters like “Feeding the Food Desert” focused on America, “Preserving Forest-People Relationships” in Kenya, “Uniting for Clean Water” in Jamaica and Canada, and a lot more. Dang, I’m gonna order this book right now.

 

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & asha bandele. I recommended this last week and here it is again! Michelle Alexander of The New Jim Crow called it a “must-read.” Khan-Cullors tells the story of her life, growing up queer and Black in Los Angeles, getting a Fulbright Scholarship and known for her activism by age 22. She later co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, which is mentioned in the book, but not the focus of it.

 

Take care of yourselves, nonfictionites. As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Nonfictionites, I hope you’re all taking care of yourselves in this, the mid-month of the year. I hope you’re still into new releases, because I have GOT ‘EM for you.

See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur. Feeling overwhelmed? Looking to figure out how to “fix a broken world without breaking ourselves”? Kaur is a Sikh activist and civil rights lawyer. Another of her callings is the idea of revolutionary love, which “extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves.” She covers this and her own story, growing up in California, becoming a law student, and then an activist.

 

Call Me American: The Extraordinary True Story of a Young Somali Immigrant (Adapted for Young Adults) by Abdi Nor Iftin. This is the young adult adaptation of Abdi Nor Iftin’s 2018 memoir. It tells the story of his youth in Somalia (more particularly in Mogadishu), flight to Kenya when a radical group rose to power, and move to the U.S. when he won the annual visa lottery (which, by the way, I did not know was a thing). I love young adult nonfiction adaptations, so this is very exciting.

 

Brag Better: Master the Art of Fearless Self-Promotion by Meredith Fineman. A lot of people seem to hesitate when talking about their accomplishments, because they’re wary of being seen as braggy. Well! You should definitely talk about them, because they’re awesome. I haven’t had a chance to read this one yet, but I am extremely pro-its core message of pushing us to talk ourselves up to the world. Who. Else. Will. Do it. Own the cool things you’re doing! (Also, side note, if you feel prouder about what you’re doing, you’re going to feel less threatened by what other people are doing and then everyone will be nicer and that is awesome.)

 

Sarah Bernhardt: The Divine and Dazzling Life of the World’s First Superstar by Catherine Reef. If you don’t know who Sarah Bernhardt is, she used to be THE name in acting. “Used to” as in the 1860s to the 1920s. This YA nonfiction bio (yayyy YA nonfiction) covers things like how she was “extravagantly eccentric, living with a series of exotic animals and sleeping in a coffin.” This, I did not know. It also has over 60 photos, which is excellent. If you want to know a bit more about her but not jump into a heavy bio, this seems like a good pick.

As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Pride Month happens in June because the Stonewall Riots were in June. On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, allegedly groped queer women, beat patrons, and finally, someone reportedly shouted, “Why don’t you guys do something?” The ensuing chaos, rioting, and destruction of property are now seen as the foundation of a movement that saved innumerable lives and led to immense social change. I’m just saying.

Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets by Gayle E Pitman. I love YA nonfiction. It frequently gives you exactly as much information as you really need about a subject. If you want a more thorough understanding of Stonewall than just its most known talking points, this gives you a background on LGBTQ+ NYC before, during, and after the riots, and it does it through objects, which is awesome. A lot of the objects are photographs, but they also include a dress and a matchbox, among other items.

 

No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies edited by E. Patrick Johnson. If you like a survey of a topic via essays, do I have the book for you! 19 essays are collected here, focusing on Black gender and sexuality. Authors include scholars, activists, and community leaders. Did you know there was a ’90s magazine by and for Black lesbians called Black Lace? Neither did I.

 

 

Queer: A Graphic History by Dr. Meg-John Barker. This graphic history looks at how we “came to view sex, gender and sexuality in the ways that we do; how these ideas get tangled up with our culture and our understanding of biology, psychology and sexology; and how these views have been disputed and challenged.” I know those are a lot of words! But it’s pretty accessible and does a good job giving a history + breaking down some complicated ideas.

 

Transgender History, second edition: The Roots of Today’s Revolution by Susan Stryker. What a helpful and informative book for a time when certain authors are making all KINDS of claims. I’m really excited to look at this one more closely. Stryker spends a chapter each on terms, history (starting from the mid-19th c.), liberation, and this second edition has a final chapter that focuses on 2000 to present day (present being 2017). If you’re interested in academically nerding out, she also wrote The Transgender Studies Reader, which came out in 2006.

 

Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis De Veaux. Lorde called herself a “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Add librarian and civil rights activist to that list, among other things. De Veaux’s biography won the Lambda Literary Award and leads you through Lorde’s personal and professional growth until passing at the too-young age of 58 in 1992. For further reading, check out Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.

 

The Stonewall Reader edited by the New York Public Library. Primary sources!! Ok, this is super cool because it gives you lots of pieces important to the LGBTQ+ movement, but they’re bite-sized, so you can read one or two or five things at a time, or pick and choose what you want to read, and it doesn’t have to be in order (I know that idea will make some of you panic). They’re split up into Before/During/After Stonewall. Awesome.

Take care of yourselves, nonfictionites. As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Greetings, all. I hope wherever you are, you’re taking care of yourself and taking some time out to read things educational but also things that are fun. No one can do all the work all at once. And now! New nonfiction for the week:

Alaric the Goth: An Outsider’s History of the Fall of Rome by Douglas Boin. Look, I’m a sucker for a Roman history, despite still knowing very little about that time period. Alaric was the king of the Visigoths and best known for the sack of Rome in 410 (you know, that one we’re all aware of). Boin examines the relationship between the Goths and Romans from the vantage point of a marginalized people who were tired of being mistreated by the empire. Great stuff.

 

Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams. It’s here! Stacey Abrams’s new book! In this, she lays out a plan to “end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country.” She argues for the importance of “robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census, and a return to moral international leadership.” Gosh, doesn’t that sound nice? I love moral international leadership.

 

Performing Jane: A Cultural History of Jane Austen Fandom by Sarah Glosson. Have you ever hand-sewn a bonnet because of your deep love for Jane Austen, or written a “what if Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet worked as rival pet store owners in the 1980s” piece of fanfic? Well, you are not alone. Austen fans have been around since her work was first published, and if you would like to dive into how she has been celebrated by the people who love her, here’s a new release for you.

 

Revolutions: How Women Changed the World on Two Wheels by Hannah Ross. I do not ride a bicycle. I live in a city and the very idea is terrifying. But! Bicycles made women more independent, more mobile, and encouraged fun things like dress reform (corsets + long skirts do not a safe bicyclist make). Ross is herself, of course, a cyclist, and here highlights not just the history of women and bicycles, but also tells stories of individual women as well as all-female cycling groups.

 

Sweet, Savory, Spicy: Exciting Street Market Food from Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and More by Sarah Tiong. Traveling might be hard right now, but you can still eat awesome street food at home. Tiong was a finalist in Masterchef Australia and shares recipes for everything from “Malaysian Chicken Satay to Vietnamese Crispy Spring Rolls (Cha giò) to Hokkien Noodles (Hokkien Mee) to Khmer Beef Curry.” There’s also a whole chapter on sweet, savory, salty, and spicy options for sauce/toppings, and it all sounds both fantastic and delicious.

Stay healthy, stay informed, nonfictionites. As always, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime and co-hosting the For Real podcast with Kim here at Book Riot. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

*I have donated my usual fee for writing this newsletter to Campaign Zero and the Loveland Therapy Fund. I encourage readers to join me in donating to mutual aid and racial justice organizations in our communities and nation.

In light of the nationwide protests, marches and vigils held in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police in Minnesota, this week we’re highlighting books that focus on or helped inspire the Black Lives Matter movement, which strives to dismantle America’s systemic racism.

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. This came out in 2016, but feels extremely of-the-moment: activist and scholar Taylor “surveys the historical and contemporary ravages of racism and persistence of structural inequality such as mass incarceration and Black unemployment. In this context, she argues that this new struggle against police violence holds the potential to reignite a broader push for Black liberation.” If you’re interested in a history of the movement, this is for you.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin. These early Baldwin essays, written in the 1940s and ’50s, capture “a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America.” The edition pictured here is published by Beacon Press, who do truly excellent work. Baldwin’s eloquent condemnation of American racism is as timely now as when these essays were first written, and many Black journalists have cited his work as an inspiration to theirs.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. In print for ten years now, Alexander’s study on mass incarceration shows that America’s prisons are being used for “the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status—denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement.” Alexander’s work has inspired many other activists and influenced the creation of Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th.

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & asha bandele. From Patrisse Khan-Cullors’s website: “Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful. In this meaningful, empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience, Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele seek to change the culture that declares innocent black life expendable.”

For more Book Riot book recommendations on this subject, check out 35 Must-Read Books About Racism, 5 Books About Black Movements and Systemic Racism in America, and 20 Must-Read Black American Memoirs for a More Inclusive TBR.