The Black Family Who Built America

THE BLACK FAMILY WHO BUILT AMERICA is written by Cheryl McKissack Daniel, the award-winning president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack. Her family’s company is America’s oldest minority-owned construction firm and she shares the history of its development, founding, and works throughout the twentieth century until today. However, unlike Invisible Generals or The Warmth of Other Suns, THE BLACK FAMILY WHO BUILT AMERICA is written in a rather dense style, making it difficult to fully appreciate the many anecdotes about “projects like the Morris Memorial Building, Capers C.M.E. Church, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.”

Cheryl McKissack Daniel strives to be inspiring, noting, for example, “Without any hesitation, I said, ‘McKissack will do it!’ That became my motto. If I heard anything that needed to be done, I'd say, ‘we'll do it!’ It didn't matter whether we had any idea how to do it or not. I had a talented staff; I knew we could figure it out.” The multi-generation legacy is quite remarkable and readers can further appreciate the design talent described by Cheryl's twin in this video hosted by CNBC:

Guide Me Home by Attica Locke

GUIDE ME HOME by Attica Locke is the third book in the Highway 59 series which began with award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird. No doubt it would have been better to have read the entire series in order, but this one (a selection for one of my book groups) was an engaging, quick read and worked fairly well as a stand-alone. The main character is Darren Mathews, a Black man in East Texas who has just resigned his role as a Texas Ranger. Locke fills in some of the backstory regarding Darren’s dysfunctional relationship with his mother and estrangement with the uncle who raised him. When a young Black girl, Sera Fuller, goes missing from a local college campus, Darren tries to find answers, leading to his harassment by the police force at a company town called Thornhill. As readers try to piece together the events surrounding her disappearance, they are also drawn into the shifting relationship between Darren and his mother. Darren also provides frequent commentary on the current political situation, for example: “He wondered what those kids marching for civil rights, marching against Vietnam, would have made of the country today. Wondered which wounded the soul more, living in a country that had never kept any of its promises or seeing America's capacity for good catch wind and fly for a while, only to come crashing back down.” GUIDE ME HOME is a story full of principle, heartache, and forgiveness. It received a starred review from Booklist (“exceptional writing, pivotal character evolution, and a baffling mystery”). 

The Satisfaction Cafe by Kathy Wang

THE SATISFACTION CAFÉ by Kathy Wang is a LibraryReads selection for July and was recently recommended by Ann Patchett on a PBS NewsHour feature (see video below). However, I found the story evoked feelings of loneliness and sadness. The main character is named Joan and although she is from Taiwan, she eventually moves to California and becomes the fourth wife to an older, wealthy white man. It feels as though she is constantly denying herself and suppressing her feelings in order to “fit in.” No one is very welcoming; why does she bother? The book moves slowly, although it covers several decades, with her own grown children eventually confronting many of the same issues about belonging and following rules. The title reflects her dream: “Joan wished there was a place she could visit to feel less alone: a restaurant with very friendly servers, perhaps, where she might order a bowl of spaghetti and casually surrender her insecurities. When she was little, she used to daydream of a place she named in her head the Satisfaction Café, which had friendly employees and nice food and pretty toys; even as a child, Joan’s imagination had not stretched to fantastic outcomes but, rather, a reasonable amount of happiness.” That feeling proved elusive and instead of peaceful contentment, a melancholy atmosphere pervades the story. Those who prefer a feel good story will be disappointed.  

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

ATMOSPHERE is the latest novel from Taylor Jenkins Reid (Carrie Soto is Back and Daisy and the Six; Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo). Even though ATMOSPHERE received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal and was a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for June, my book group was more enthusiastic about her earlier works. This latest story is set in the mid-1980’s and looks in detail at the second class of astronauts chosen to fly the space shuttles. I thought it would be much more about NASA, but instead, the story really focuses on the personal relationship between two female astronauts (Joan Goodwin and Vanessa Ford) and how in that era they have to hide who they are in order to keep their jobs. There's an exploration of motherhood, too: both for Joan’s sister (Barbara) involving her daughter, fifth-grader Frances, plus, another female astronaut, Donna, who's a new mother and struggling with discrimination. The plot actually spans several years from their recruitment and training to class members flying in space. The author flashes forward early in the novel so readers are aware of a dangerous accident on one of those missions and alternates time periods until both stories are resolved. The space rescue is moving and well-written; the rest, perhaps paralleling some of Sally Ride’s and her peers’ experiences, less so. Taylor Jenkins Reid does provide a list of suggestions for further reading which includes The Six by Loren Grush.

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins

SPEAK TO ME OF HOME by Jeanine Cummins (American Dirt) is worth a read, but beware that the story is told out of sequence and from multiple viewpoints. The focus is on the lives of a Puerto Rican-Irish family across four generations from the 1950s to present day. The patriarch, Papamio loses his job in disgrace and the family is forced to modify its lavish lifestyle, with daughter Rafaela (Rafa) leaving private school and becoming a secretary on a Naval base. There, she meets her future husband, a white Irish Catholic, choosing security over her romantic interest in the son of the family’s former housekeeper. After several years of marriage (and accompanying tension) Rafa and Peter Brennan move to the States with their two children, Benny and Ruth. Benny is older and struggles to acclimate, but Ruth establishes friendships and begins speaking only English, thinking of herself as white. As an adult, Ruth also has a choice between a Puerto Rican man and an Irish one. Eventually she raises three children, Vic, Daisy, and Carlos, largely on her own. Ruth “wanted them to feel the kind of belonging she had always learned for and could never achieve. But she hadn't told them that. She had never explained.” The family members struggle with questions of class, ethnicity, and where to call home with Daisy moving to Puerto Rico where she is seriously injured in a storm, prompting a family reunion and revelation of a long-suspected secret. Book groups may enjoy this title, especially the emphasis on mother-daughter relationships.

Hello, Cruel World! by Melinda Wenner Moyer

HELLO, CRUEL WORLD! by Melinda Wenner Moyer offers “Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times.” In ten chapters Wenner Moyer, a contributing editor at Scientific American and a regular contributor to The New York Times, looks at Coping, Connecting, and Cultivating, all presented in a conversational, non-judgmental and helpful way. Adam Grant writes, “[Moyer’s] book is packed with evidence-based, nonobvious practical advice for nurturing resilience, kindness, critical thinking, and well-being.” I certainly saw the critical thinking aspect in the entire chapter devoted to Information Literacy which is full of ideas (including discussion prompts), plus some organizations (Thinking is Power, Reboot Foundation, etc.) that I did not know as well as skills (e.g., lateral reading) school librarians have been talking about for years. Other chapters cover self-compassion, resilience, self-control, relaxing, empathy, friendships, curiosity/inclusion, plus financial and information literacy and managing social media. HELLO, CRUEL WORLD! is a text which parents – and educators – should consult and discuss. At the end of each chapter there is a summary of key points, and the author also includes 300+ citations in a separate section. As Wenner Moyer says, much of her writing is about “being intentional about our choices and the kinds of conversations we have with our kids. … I implore you to take the advice that feels like it will be a good fit and leave the rest.”  

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Bostwick

THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick (Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly) is one of my favorite books of the year so far. Bostwick has created another work of historical fiction, focusing on the early 1960s and the suburbs of Washington, DC. Four main characters form a book club and become close friends, calling themselves The Bettys in homage to the first book they read together, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Readers meet Margaret Ryan who aspires to be a writer and helpmate to her accountant husband, Walt. Charlotte Gustafson is wealthy, creative and unhappy, trapped in a loveless marriage to Howard. Viv Buschetti adores supportive husband Tony, but she yearns to put her nursing skills to work as she manages six (make that seven!) children. Bitsy Cobb is younger and less sure of herself (except for her love of horses) and is married to an older man, Kingsley, a veterinarian. Each woman faces questions about her purpose, a possible career, and the state of her marriage and family, especially relative to societal norms. As Bostwick writes, “They had been raised to believe that the road to a happy, successful adulthood was well defined but extremely narrow, and that deviating from the path was not only irresponsible but wrong, a quick route to certain disaster.” Yet, these four quickly grow to support each other and Bostwick delves into personal crises with historical details as background (e.g., remember “the underground currency of American housewives,” S&H Green Stamps? And who knew that a married women could not open a bank account at that time without her husband’s signature?). Facing adversity, these four women learn together to appreciate what Eleanor Roosevelt used to say, “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.” This would be a marvelous book group selection as there is much to consider and discuss here. Katherine Graham and other Washington socialites make cameo appearances. In its starred review of THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN Library Journal says, "Bostwick's latest is ideal for fans of historical fiction and those who enjoyed Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry, Kristin Hannah's The Women, or Kate Quinn's The Briar Club, which explore the historical roles of women and the challenges they faced within a society structured to define and limit their roles in and out of the home." Highly recommended.

Book groups may also enjoy some of the other selections that the Bettys considered: The Group by Mary McCarthy; Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute; short stories by Flannery O’Connor; Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis; Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates; Dearly Beloved or Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Lost in Austin by Alex Hannaford

LOST IN AUSTIN by Alex Hannaford is all about “The Evolution of an American City” which has seen phenomenal growth since Hannaford first arrived around the turn of the century. Hannaford, an award-winning podcaster and journalist, outlines Austin’s distinctive history and shares impressions from longtime residents. Our “Texas My Texas” book group will be discussing this title and one member has already remarked, “I expected this book to be very dry, but instead found many interesting observations.” Hannaford does adopt a somewhat academic tone and includes many negative comments about growth, infrastructure, racism, gentrification, and climate change. However, his comments will prompt much discussion, including questions like:

• Is Austin [still] a frontier town? Was it ever?
• Is Austin still "the live music capital of the world"? Why or why not? 
• The city has seen dramatic growth in population (and property prices, taxes, and rents...); it is number 11 in terms of size of US cities, yet 181 in terms of density How has that contrast impacted its "culture"? 

I am curious as to whether readers feel that his observations about climate change ("we weren't getting a spring or fall any more, just stiflingly hot summers that lasted from April to November") are accurate.  He writes at length about issues of affordability, also addressed in this KVUE report. Hannaford opines “in the decades since the era of LBJ and Governor Ann Richards, Texas had succeeded in creating an ‘anti-California culture,’ which has alienated highly educated people working in innovative technology that Austin had fought so hard to encourage to the city.” It certainly makes one wonder whether "transplants" are welcome in Texas or in Austin currently. Hannaford clearly misses the Austin he once knew, but I do wonder to what extent he is mourning the changes in Austin versus mourning the changes in himself as he ages, or perhaps both. Kirkus summarizes LOST IN AUSTIN by saying, “the ultimate impression is that of a city steadily losing its distinctiveness and livability. A model of first-rate reportage.” For more on Hannaford’s observations, see the reviews in Texas Monthly, local station KXAN, and Los Angeles Review of Books.  Additional perspective on famous Texans and how Texas has changed over time is provided in Lone Stars Rising from Texas Monthly.

Some relevant resources include images of changes to the Austin Skyline and a series of before and after photos, both from The Austin Statesman. The newspaper also published a pictorial review of 38 years of SXSW.

Seven Social Movements that Changed America

SEVEN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS THAT CHANGED AMERICA by Linda Gordon is a penetrating look at events and happenings during the twentieth century. Gordon, an author and historian who has won numerous prizes for her biography of Dorthea Lange, reflects on several movements that still reverberate today. For example, one is the early work on old age pensions, eventually included in the Social Security Act of 1935, and highlighting the elderly as an activist political force. Other chapters discuss the efforts to unionize farm workers, promote civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, and the subsequent women’s liberation movement. A more distressing example is the influence of the Ku Klux Klan (developed even further in Gordon’s 2017 text The Second Coming of the KKK) – and echoed, sadly, in the “very fine people on both sides” comments about the white nationalists protesting in Charlottesville. Gordon writes, “I am telling these stories [the seven social movements] in a way designed to reveal their commonalities as well as their distinctiveness.” Her tone is rather academic, and she argues that “‘followers’ often exerted vital but less often-recognized leadership.” Whether she is exploring early settlement houses and the fight against poverty, or efforts to establish job programs in the 1930s, her text offers researchers and scholars a thoughtful analysis and many details of value. At least a fourth of the book lists references and footnotes.

Resist by Rita Omokha

RESIST by Rita Omokha is subtitled “How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America.” The author is an award-winning Nigerian American journalist and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In RESIST she traces people and events from the 1920s (time of Scottsboro Nine) through the Civil Rights Era (Brown v. Board and education) to protests over Trayvon Martin and George Floyd and beyond. In late 2020 Omokha traveled over 13,000 miles (thirty states in thirty-two days); she spoke with 127 people and several of their stories are included. Omokha calls herself a storyteller ("drawn to the unsung. To the disenfranchised. To those often relegated to the shadows.") and says it is "important for me to make history personal." Her eloquent writing is filled with emotion: “Today's youth have become a generation forced to witness, from infancy, the perpetuation of injustice and the normalization of othering and subjugation. But in recent years, when such injustices occur, these atrocities pop up on their screens nonstop.” I learned much from Omokha’s book and the social justice efforts of people like Ella Baker, the Bates Seven at NYU, and defenders of the Jena Six, students at a Louisiana high school. Plus, she highlights numerous new – to me – details about other, more famous, activists or events (e.g., Obama’s 1981 speech against apartheid in South Africa). Omokha has included extensive notes and a helpful index. RESIST received a starred review from Booklist (“both incredibly detailed and accessibly readable … an essential text”).

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

THE TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES by Julie Leong is a cozy fantasy debut that was chosen for the LibraryReads November 2024 list. Its beautiful cover reflects the warmth and good cheer which radiates from this story. Tao, a young girl travelling on her own is the title character. As she moves from village to town, she shares small fortunes with others, afraid to fully exercise her ability to foresee the future because of a past tragedy. It is on the road that she meets Mash, a former soldier looking for his lost daughter; Silt, a reformed thief and friend to Mash; and Kina, an apprentice baker. Together this unlikely group forms a community of sorts and their subsequent – sometimes dangerous – adventures bind them tightly together. This is a wonderful story about friendship and (found) family. Here is a favorite quote: “Aye, our lives are short and shaped by circumstance, and maybe we can't control most of what's to come. But we can control how we feel. We can savor the sweetness of a blackberry scone, and the company of our friends, and the warmth of the summer wind at night, and be grateful for it.”

In its starred review, Library Journal said, THE TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES “is a delightful cozy fantasy that will appeal to fans of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne.” Enjoy!! Discussion questions are included.

Take Care of Them Like My Own by Ala Stanford

TAKE CARE OF THEM LIKE MY OWN by Ala Stanford, pediatric surgeon and founder of the Black Doctors Consortium, deserves a wide readership. It is a fascinating tale, although there could be some triggering due to the discussions of child abuse. Stanford embraces her life story (subtitled “Faith, Fortitude, and a Surgeon's Fight for Health Justice”) and relates it in great detail. Clearly, Stanford confronted prejudice and discrimination throughout her pioneering and remarkable career. She comments on biases in the medical system, including a lack of “generational knowledge, kind of like generational wealth” and relates numerous shocking (to me) instances such as when a supervisor torpedoes Stanford’s chances at a future placement by outright lying about her. She is an accomplished, inspirational fighter, and I hope that many readers locate TAKE CARE OF THEM LIKE MY OWN. It is well-written and an engrossing read. Book Groups could consider promoting it with the newly published Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

BY ANY OTHER NAME by Jodi Picoult tells the story – in different time periods – of two women writers, real life Emilia Bassano, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, and her fictional descendant Melanie Green, a modern playwright. Both struggle for recognition and combat the many prejudices against female writers. In fact, Melanie’s fellow playwright, a young black man named Andre, submits her play (about Emilia Bassano) to a contest and then must pretend to be Mel Green so as to get the play produced. Also bending to society’s dictates, Emilia’s life is one of proximity to the court of Elizabeth I as she (at age 13) becomes mistress to the Lord Chamberlin. Once pregnant, she experiences an unhappy marriage with a cousin and eventually, per Picoult’s telling, writes plays long attributed to William Shakespeare. Although given Emilia’s situation there are a number of sex scenes, Picoult’s many fans will appreciate the details of daily life in Elizabethan England as well as her exploration of the sacrifices women must make so that their voices can be heard. BY ANY OTHER NAME received a starred review from Booklist and was named to the LibraryReads Hall of Fame selections for August.

I recently read FOOLS AND MORTALS by Bernard Cornwell which is also set in Shakespeare’s time and tells the tale of his younger brother, Richard. Our book club agreed that the opening in this novel was too slow and that while the mystery surrounding stolen plays was diverting, we would recommend other works by Cornwell instead.

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay

EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD by Randy Ribay (Patron Saints of Nothing, a National Book Award finalist) is told in multiple perspectives across four generations of a Filipino-American family. The earliest action takes place in 1930 Watsonville, California where Francisco, a recent immigrant, has to deal with violence, prejudice, and his disappointment at life in America. In 1965 Stockton, California, readers meet Emil, Francisco’s son, a dutiful student and hard-working employee at his aunt’s restaurant. He resents his labor organizer father and vows to make his own way. Then there is 1983 Denver, Colorado where Chris yearns to play football but can’t ever live up to the standards of his demanding father, Emil. Chris rebels as he discovers a love of history and pursues his own interests as a teacher. His son, named Enrique Lorenzo and called Enzo, grows up in 2020 Philadelphia, coping with anxiety, the pandemic, and continuing discrimination. Once again, Ribay offers so much to unpack – immigrant feelings, generational conflict, parenting styles, and plenty of anger. Students will relate to the stories of each of these characters as a young man and may be intrigued by the way the societal environment and the individual choices of each character impacts the next generation. The novel does flip back and forth between time periods and this may be difficult for some students, but EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD received multiple starred reviews, including from Booklist, Kirkus (“many heartwarming and heartbreaking moments offer deep insights into intergenerational patterns”), Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. The book contains a list of recommended resources, both print and online like Asian Mental Health Collective, Filipino American National Historical Society, Stop AAPI Hate, and United Farm Workers. Interested previewers can listen to an excerpt on the publisher’s website.

The Originalism Trap by Madiba K. Dennie

THE ORIGINALISM TRAP by Madiba K. Dennie offers a well-organized and research-supported explanation of “How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take it Back.” Dennie argues that applying “originalism gives the judiciary extraordinary power to put historically marginalized people ‘back in their place’ and buttress the country's longstanding stratification of power and wealth.” She convincingly points to numerous examples (e.g., Dobbs, upcoming decision in Rahimi on gun rights, court cases concerning trans youth in schools) where this has or could occur. It is scary to think about the ways that other previously guaranteed rights (e.g., same sex marriage, use of contraceptives, inter-racial marriage) could also be endangered or rescinded if the same logic were applied. Dennie devotes chapters to topics including the Due Process Clause, voting rights, and demographics (e.g., cases like Korematsu and other questions related to the Census). A final section focuses on a call for “Inclusive Constitutionalism” (emphasizing the transformative goals of the Reconstruction Amendments). Dennie assumes some basic knowledge of American institutions and processes, but this is a fascinating text for legal students and those interested in American history. Scholars like Erwin Chemerinsky (Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law) and former Senator Russell Feingold have praised THE ORIGINALISM TRAP. Roughly thirty percent of the text is devoted to notes and bibliographic references.

Fair Shake and Poverty for Profit

Here are two new books that deal with inequality in the marketplace and that make impassioned pleas for change:

FAIR SHAKE by Naomi Cahn, June Carbone and Nancy Levit (Red Families v. Blue Families) is a look at “Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy” from three law professors and mothers. They divide their book into four main sections, looking at the triple bind that women face and finally suggesting ways to tame the “winner take all” (WTA) economy. First, they utilize case studies involving Wal-Mart, General Electric, and Bank of America to show that “when women don't compete on the same terms as men, they lose.” Next, these scholars provide an excellent overview of “when women play by the same rules as the men, they lose” through the lens of case studies like Kleiner Perkins (see also Reset by Ellen Pao) and Wells Fargo. The third bind they describe as “when women see what the new rules are, they refuse to play the game” and illustrate how tech and other industries have pushed women out. While the authors readily acknowledge that issues like family responsibilities, occupational choices, risk aversion, and misogyny factor int the inequalities, they also note concerns about “the critical shift in the new economy … [and] the ability of those at the top to take a much larger share of institutional resources for themselves.” Most impressive are thoughts on fighting back and working to convert a WTA economy to one which benefits more people, especially women, children, and families. FAIR SHAKE is a well-organized, accessible text which covers numerous topics of interest to many of our students. More than a third of the text is devoted to notes or sources and Kirkus specifically comments on its “robust evidence for the need for systemic change.”  

POVERTY FOR PROFIT by Anne Kim seeks to show “How Corporations Get Rich off America’s Poor” and Kim, who is an award-winning author, lawyer and public policy expert, is strident in her condemnation: “self-serving private interests have hijacked the war on poverty.” For example, did you know that “the vast majority of dialysis services in America are provided by just two companies, whose centers are disproportionately located in low income neighborhoods”? OR that low-income taxpayers in Maryland claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit lost at least $50 million to tax preparation fees in 2020? Klein focuses on “the often pivotal role of private industry as intermediaries between government and people in poverty …. with interests often at odds with both the government and the people they purport to serve.” In addition to dialysis and tax preparation, Kim profiles industries like welfare management for the states, education or job training, and dentistry. Painful reading at times, POVERTY FOR PROFIT offers an enlightening perspective on the obstacles faced by and the exploitation of America’s poor. Notes are well-documented and encompass roughly a third of the text.

They Came for the Schools by Mike Hixenbaugh

It seems fitting to honor the 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision Brown v Board of Education (May 17, 1954) with a review of THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS by Mike Hixenbaugh in which he writes about “One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms.” Hixenbaugh’s credentials are impressive: senior investigative reporter for NBC News, named a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and won a Peabody Award for his reporting on the battle over race, gender, and sexuality in American classrooms. His debut is extremely well-written, if disturbing, as he skillfully details a history of school composition and curriculum restrictions in the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, a Dallas suburb. By requiring large lots for housing, Southlake had essentially screened for wealth and race so that “three decades after Brown, America’s schools had effectively resegregated, perhaps not explicitly based on race, but according to wealth, geography, and social status.” Moving forward in time, Hixenbaugh recounts how a 2018 viral video with a racial slur prompted district officials to take action to establish a diversity program and the resulting backlash. Much of this has been presented in Hixenbaugh’s podcast: Southlake, critiqued here in Texas Monthly. His book also describes situations in Virginia, Florida and other states; plus, he chronicles the impact of national politics (and neighborhood PACs) on local school board elections and actions. There is a section on book bans: “without fail, parents leading this new phase of school board activism reported that they were merely fighting to shield their children from graphic sexual content that violated their family’s values. But many parents and activists were conflating references to gender identity and sexual orientation with sex and pornography.” Hixenbaugh is unflinching in presenting tough situations and the blow to quality teaching and to student well-being. His research is evident (roughly fifteen percent of the text is devoted to notes and bibliographic references) and this book deserves a wide readership.

Other commentary on THEY CAME FOR THE SCHOOLS:  The Washington Post review says, “This razor-sharp book is the masterful culmination of years of reportage.” And Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, remarking, “an extraordinarily detailed analysis of current conservative thought and political activity.” But the most succinct is from Booklist, “This is a frightening but all too real piece of reporting, and belongs in every library.”