Voices from the Pandemic by Eli Saslow

VOICES FROM THE PANDEMIC by Eli Saslow is an impressive collection of first-person accounts from about 40 Americans.  Saslow, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for The Washington Post, notes, “Together these pieces tell the story of a country in crisis, but this book does not attempt to be a comprehensive history of the plague we are still living through.” After a brief chronology of the events in early 2020, he begins with commentary from Tony Sizemore, talking about Birdie Shelton’s death. I didn’t recognize the names, but I remember the faces and the story – sadly, those early deaths seemed so random and unfair and the media relayed them in detail – families not able to be together, not able to say goodbye in person. The next section is about the medical personnel and coroners feeling overwhelmed or more – again, a story that was often repeated – remember the banging of pots at night to say “thank you?” Then it was the lost jobs, no income or savings, the hunger and desperation. There are stories from patients who were intubated or who had long Covid, and from their families. Tales of tracking the numbers, of mask mandates, of eviction moratoriums, remote schooling, and vaccine trials. Covering March 2020 through January 2021, all of these stories are primary sources which future students will read and discuss – hopefully, these “Stories of Crisis, Courage and Resilience” will help to develop more empathy, caring, and pride for each other. VOICES FROM THE PANDEMIC received starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal ("an essential resource"), and Publishers Weekly.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED by Charles Finch contains his “Notes on a Long Year,” one that none of us will easily forget. At the request of The Los Angeles Times, Finch kept a day-to-day journal and this is the edited version of that account. “Life is simple: Don’t go anywhere and be afraid.” He begins in March 2020 and continues through the lockdowns and scarcities, through the summer and George Floyd’s murder, through the January 6th Insurrection. It’s a personal, rather cynical and by necessity self-centered story (weren’t we all in our own bubbles?) while also being a universal tale of an incredible time. Finch is a gifted writer who evokes emotions – grief, anger, fear, and hope – for his adult readers. Interested student researchers could look for other texts on the pandemic in our collection, including Uncontrolled Spread and World War C.

Raise a Fist, Take a Knee by John Feinstein

RAISE A FIST, TAKE A KNEE is a new work of non-fiction by John Feinstein in which he, a White man, interviews many players, coaches, and other sports figures about living the Black experience in sports. After a prologue which references the famous raised fist salute 53 (!) years ago at the Mexico City Olympics, Feinstein devotes sections of the book to football, basketball, and baseball.  He points out, for example, the ongoing discrimination where Black players in the NFL have been often asked to change positions prior to the draft. Comments from long standing NFL coaches Tony Dungy and Mike Tomlin (who describes how Black coaches are often thought of first as recruiters and find it difficult to move up) are interspersed. More examples, details, and commentary follow on the other sports, including both historic events and experiences of the younger generation. 

Here is a recent PBS NewsHour interview in which Feinstein discusses his new book, including the push to write it from former Georgetown Hoya coach John Thompson, Jr.:

RAISE A FIST, TAKE A KNEE, subtitled “Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports,” is clearly written by someone who knows and loves sports, yet who can also eloquently describe “how the protestors loved their country and wanted to make it better.” Our students, particularly those who are big sports fans, will find this to be an accessible and thought-provoking work.

Arriving Today by Christopher Mims

ARRIVING TODAY by Christopher Mims is an extremely timely book (particularly on Black Friday) in which the Wall Street Journal technology columnist discusses “From Factory to Front Door -- Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy.”  Mims offers a fascinating look at global supply chains – even though he started his research well before the current crunch.  Early chapters focus on shipping and production in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam; Mims notes how outsourcing from the US first led to production in the “Asian Tigers” whose own rising wages have “pushed manufacturing down to the next and most geographically proximate countries on the economic ladder, including India, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam.” He also explores productivity from “Taylorism” to “Bezosism.” In tracing products around the world (how is it possible that salmon are caught near Scotland, filleted in China, and then returned to Scotland for sale?), Mims looks at numerous points in the distribution channel: container ships and ports; trucking and highways; warehouses and robots. He argues that tapping a button on your phone to order a consumer good that can arrive within 24 hours requires innovations and people who use them to “come together in a planetary-scale clockwork mechanism whose behavior is impossible to understand without building it up from the smallest constituent parts.” The detail is impressive (did you know that shipping containers are only 0.075 inches thick but can be stacked 8 high?): more than ten percent of the book is devoted to notes on supporting data, plus a helpful index. Mims encourages readers to recognize that “In the twenty-first century, how things get to us matters as much as how they are made… in many ways the supply chain and the factory floor are now indistinguishable.” ARRIVING TODAY received a starred review from Publishers Weekly which says: “Readers will be hooked by Mims’s ability to turn what could’ve been a dry supply-chain explainer into a legitimate page-turner.”  I have ordered a copy for a Junior Theme student – it’s arriving on our shelves soon!

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

THESE PRECIOUS DAYS by Ann Patchett is one more thing for which to be grateful as Thanksgiving approaches. Patchett, award winning author of Bel Canto, has compiled a wonderfully uplifting set of essays full of droll wit and acute observations. An early selection profiles her three fathers: her biological one, the man who raised her, and her mother’s later partner. Describing her reaction to advice from one of them, Patchett writes, “I held the phone away from my ear. You are a duck, I would tell myself. This is rain.” From there, she moves on to a diverse set of topics, including how Snoopy was such an important influence and all about a year of no shopping (“If you want something, wait a while. Chances are the feeling will pass”). Regarding cleaning out possessions during the pandemic, she says, “I could watch myself grappling with the same themes in my writing and in my life, what I needed, whom I loved, what I could let go, and how much energy the letting go would take.” THESE PRECIOUS DAYS received starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly – these beautiful reflections on friendship, family and life are definitely worth a read.

Rise Up! by Crystal M. Fleming

RISE UP! by Crystal M. Fleming is about “How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy” and has been named to School Library Journal’s best non-fiction books of 2021. This text, recommended grades 6 and up, clearly has an action orientation. It begins with a section on (Un)learning Racism, explores what white supremacy is, and moves on to chapters about the media and sports. Fleming bolsters her arguments with discussions of colonization, Indigenous genocide, capitalism and transatlantic slavery. She writes simply, offering questions for her readers to contemplate (e.g., what assumptions have you made about other people as a result of their race?) and encourages these steps: Make a lifelong commitment to antiracism; Build relationships across racial and ethnic lines; Speak up against racist ideas, images, or behaviors; Support intersectional justice (fighting other forms of discrimination); and Get political. As such, some readers may find the book to be controversial, but Fleming supports her scholarship with extensive notes (over 25% of the text) which will be of interest to students, particularly those in American Studies, American History and Civics classes. RISE UP! received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and School Library Journal.

We are adding to our collection several other recent titles which appear on the School Library Journal list, including Yoo’s From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry about discrimination against Asian Americans; Sandler’s Picturing a Nation with photographs from the Great Depression era; and Magoon’s Revolution in Our Time (a National Book Award Finalist) about the Black Panther Party. We already own Stamped by Jason Reynolds, and, in regards to climate change, we have the adult versions of Story of More by Hope Jahren and On Fire by Naomi Klein.

The Bone Cay by Eliza Nellums

THE BONE CAY by Eliza Nellums is a mystery story that begins just as a major hurricane is bearing down on the Florida Keys. First question: how can someone be so obsessed with her job and the life of a long dead poet to risk her own life and stay behind in the storm? That’s Magda Trudell, caretaker of the estate where poet Isobel Reyes grew up in isolation and committed suicide. Next question: why is handyman Hank McGrath still on the island and can he and Magda get help for his pregnant daughter, Emily, during the worsening storm? Another question: Who is the skeleton that Magda finds buried in a trunk? Oh, and even more questions: Who broke the radio transmitter? As the storm stalls and causes major damage and flooding, how will they manage to get food and water? Will any of them survive? This soon-to-be-released fast-paced thriller is full of diverting action and creepy happenings (on several levels). Enjoy! 

Around the World in 80 Books by Damrosch

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BOOKS by David Damrosch sounded very intriguing to me. Damrosch, Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, explores titles that range from settings in London (Great Expectations and others), across more European cities (Paris, Krakow, Venice and Florence featuring Dante’s The Divine Comedy and many more) through Cairo, Istanbul and Muscat (e.g., One Thousand and One Nights).  From there, he explores the Congo and Nigeria with works like Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The next sections cover numerous titles from the Middle East, India, China, and Japan, before turning to the Western Hemisphere and South America, The Antilles, and New York. Each of the 80 books is presented in a three to five page description, often featuring personal connections and a summary/analysis of the text. Damrosch’s “Literary Journey” was a bit too literary for me and hence my favorite chapter was centered on Bar Harbor, Maine with works like McCloskey’s One Morning in Maine, Lofting’s The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, and White’s Stuart Little. Damrosch rightly points out, “we may never know when a book may prove to be a life-changing experience.” AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BOOKS received a starred review from Publishers Weekly who said, “Travel fans and literature lovers alike will find something to savor.”

More Veggies Please! by Nikki Dinki

MORE VEGGIES PLEASE! by Nikki Dinki is a beautiful cookbook filled with “Easy Kid-Approved Meals and Family-Friendly Comfort Foods with Surprising Veggie Twists.” Dinki, an experienced chef who has her own website and who appears on the Food Network and elsewhere, offers recipes for more veggies at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus snacks and desserts!  The photos are gorgeous – very appealing, as is the friendly tone where Dinki encourages her readers to try classic, remix, and Top Ten recipes. For example, I am looking forward to trying Zucchini French Toast, Double Chocolate Chip Muffins (a top ten choice made with spinach and avocado), Grilled Cheese with Sweet Potato, Pumpkin Pasta Dough, and Eggplant Parm Meatballs.  In addition to a standard index, she offers a helpful, color coded Recipe Checklist where readers can track comments and rate each recipe. Plus, there’s a super-fun section: What to make with what you have … this is perfect for gardeners because it lets readers search quickly by ingredient (e.g., eggplant, cauliflower, pumpkin) and Dinki separately notes Freezer Friendly recipes, too. One disappointing note: she doesn’t include nutrition information with each recipe so while all those veggies may be healthy, some recipes may add on calories, like Carrot Biscuits which makes 8 biscuits with a full stick of butter and a half cup of heavy cream. Overall, a fun and inspiring text.