The Last American Road Trip by Sarah Kendzior

As today is a National Day of Hands Off protest, I thought I would post about a new book from a prolific social commentator. She writes, “Lincoln warned in 1838 that if the United States of America died it would be by its own hand. But what we have is more like assisted suicide. It is easy to love your homeland and hate your government. I've done it all my life and consider myself in the company of patriots…. You love it like a child and you love it like a parent, with an irrational depth and the fiercest desire to protect it from harm. You mourn the lost leverage of the ordinary American -- of elections, of courts, of protest, of documentation. You remember when those things seemed to matter or at least when the powerful felt obligated to pretend they did.” THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP by Sarah Kendzior (The View from Flyover Country) is generally VERY well-written, but oh so sad as America experiences such an unnecessary demise.

Just a couple of weeks into the new administration, Publishers Weekly described this text as a “poignant portrait of life in the Trump era.” I read (and listened to) a preview of THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP a few months ago and found then that I had to do so in shorts bursts – partly to reflect on her emotional writing and partly because this book can be upsetting. Given the events of the past two months, Kendzior’s comments seem even more prescient (and distressing) now. Kendzior writes at length and with much affection about Missouri, Mark Twain, and her efforts to expose her own children to the American Heartland between 2016 and now, saying, “A lot has changed since we first hit the road. My daughter went from being a fourth grader to a twelfth grader. My son went from being a kindergartner to an eighth grader. And the United States went from being a flawed democracy to a burgeoning autocracy; we drove past the point of no return and kept on driving.” She writes so expressively; for example, “raising children in the world running out of time means contending with two clocks ticking at once: the moments you spend with them as they grew up and the years left for your country, for the planet, for everyone. The first clock is a marvel of memory. The second a countdown to doom. You cannot live your life by these clocks, only alongside them. You forge ahead regardless of the odds because that is your obligation as a parent.”

I could keep quoting from THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP for quite a while, but end with this reflection: “The people who want to destroy my country are banking on us not missing America. To miss America is to remember America. To remember America is to explore America. To explore America is to see the best and worst in everything -- to reconcile, to repent.” 

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”).

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Described as “witty, charming, and heartwarming” by Booklist, West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge is a work of historical fiction based on true events. The setting is 1938 and the title characters are quarantined in New York, having survived a hurricane at sea. Their destination is the San Diego Zoo and Rutledge imagines that journey (avoiding overpasses less than 12’ 8”) along the Southern route (called the Lee Highway) in the company of Old Man, Woodrow Wilson Nickel (“Woody”), and Augusta Red (she’s a young, adventurous photographer, hoping for a break with Life magazine). West with Giraffes is a coming-of-age story, a romance, and a travelogue. As they drive across the US (sometimes at a top speed of ten miles an hour due to the winding, hilly roads), Rutledge chronicles numerous encounters and those provide ample opportunity for reflection and commentary on honesty, good vs. evil, families, feminism, race relations, and poverty vs. privilege. This novel is highly recommended, although there are some very sad parts as all of the main human characters are hiding secrets. Interested readers should explore this absolutely wonderful Libguide with more background on the giraffes, the book, and the author. Enjoy!

A favorite passage:
In the years ahead, through the War and beyond, it was this quiet day moving through the unmoving land with Boy and Girl and the Old Man and Red that I returned to when I needed it most. Like the jolting joy of giraffes amid the traveling bird wave, its peace passed any understanding, any attempt at words. You only get a few of those in your whole life if you're lucky, and some only get one. If that be true, this was my one. When I remember it, I'm not eighteen in the memory. I am whatever age its comfort came to me, be it 33 or 103, and I am driving us all, through the timeless red desert, headed nowhere in particular, just someplace good. Together.

The Politics of Gen Z and Polarized by Degrees

THE POLITICS OF GEN Z by Melissa Deckman describes “How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy.” Deckman, political scientist and the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, looks at voters born between 1997 and 2012 and their growing political participation. She cites interviews and research supporting the increasingly left-leaning activism of women and those concerned with LGBTQ rights; and also notes that young men in this age cohort tend to be more conservative. An entire chapter looks at “gendered spaces” in relation to issues like gun violence, climate change, and income inequality. Almost half of the book is devoted to an Index, Notes section and an extensive Methodological Appendix which includes data, statistics, and numerous graphs. Deckman’s text is an academic one that uses surveys, focus groups, and social science research to argue “the gendered political revolution is underway. Its roots are deep…” For an excellent overview and summary of her arguments, here is an interview with Deckman from PBS NewsHour:

 

In POLARIZED BY DEGREES, Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins have focused on “How the Diploma Divide and the Culture War Transformed American Politics.” Grossmann, Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University, and Hopkins, Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College, assert that “a growing ‘diploma divide’ has rapidly reversed the traditional relationship between education and partisanship, now separating degree-holding white Democrats from degree-lacking white Republicans.” They note that the combination of trends like increased educational attainment and a leftward shift in American cultural norms “has also left whites without a college degree - who maintain relatively traditionalist predispositions, hold increasingly precarious economic positions, and perceive themselves as vulnerable to downward social mobility - open to populist appeals that promote resentment of, and mobilization against, members of the cultural elite like professional journalists, educators, scientists, and intellectuals.” I have included that excerpt both for content and as an example of the often-verbose style. Numerous scholars and students (see the acknowledgements) provided feedback and input for this text; researchers interested in this topic will find much to explore in the many Notes and detailed Index which together comprise about a third of the text. Recent political discussions do feel as though we do not have shared experiences or speak a common language so I just had to add the blurb for POLARIZED BY DEGREES from The New York Times’ Thomas Edsall: “essential reading for everyone trying to figure out what the hell is going on in American politics.”

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 Movement by Clara Bingham

THE MOVEMENT by Clara Bingham is about “How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973.” Bingham (Witness to the Revolution) is an award-winning journalist and author. She has divided her latest text into sections that deal chronologically with events and people relevant to the women’s liberation movement. She has interviewed more than 100 women and consulted primary documents in order to write about topics like abortion, the formation of NOW, the role of Shirley Chisholm, and publication of Our Bodies, Ourselves. But there is so much more as Bingham once again cleverly utilizes contemporary voices to truly convey an important and tumultuous time in American history. THE MOVEMENT received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“Readers will be electrified.”) and Booklist recommends it for teen researchers, saying “This provides a wealth of information for report writers presented in a uniquely accessible format.”

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.

Reflecting on America: Chasing Hope and Tightrope

CHASING HOPE by Nicholas D. Kristof focuses on his life as a reporter and his almost forty years of working for The New York Times. Over that span, Kristof has informed the public about numerous crucial world events and still has important messages to share about the pursuit of truth and the need for compassion and action in support of others. Chapters in this lengthy text (roughly 480 pages) deal with difficult topics like the Tiananmen Square protests, the Yemeni civil war, and genocide in Sudan. Others profile lesser-known heroes, dissidents, and inspirational advocates. Commenting on Kristof’s reporting efforts, his publisher says, “Some of the risks he took while doing so make for hair-raising reading.” I concur and I think listening to the audiobook of CHASING HOPE would be fascinating – much like the tales of daring and courage which Admiral William McRaven shared in Sea Stories. Kristof weaves in interesting facts like, “My passports are huge, like paperback books, for I get extension after extension stapled in at overseas embassies. My last passport had 170 pages.” He turns to domestic issues and includes a chapter on covering Donald Trump (“I had never known an American politician so uneducated about policy, so self-absorbed and so deceitful…”) and another on campaigning to be the Governor of Oregon (“a chance to lift issues onto the agenda and generate political will for better policies”). Kristof describes how journalism has been transformed in the last half century and how public attitudes towards journalists have changed, too. Anyone who reads his pieces knows that his vision for journalistic storytelling has remained steadfast “not just as a technical craft but as one with an ethical mission: a better world.” Truly an act of hope.

TIGHTROPE by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn is subtitled “Americans Reaching for Hope.” The husband-and-wife team of Kristof and WuDunn are Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists and have written several books, including Half the Sky, together. TIGHTROPE refers to the precarious economic situation faced by lower- and middle-income Americans. Throughout, the authors reference many geographic areas of the US, but return frequently to Yamhill, Oregon where Kristof grew up and where his family has a farm. As the authors share stories of Krsitof’s high school classmates tied to addiction, drug abuse, and suicide, it also made me think of Our Kids by Robert Putnam, which, like his Bowling Alone (which Kristof and WuDunn reference), is another sociological look at changes in status and opportunity for Americans over time. Kristof’s TIGHTROPE, originally published in early 2020, shares its own sobering statistics as well: “about one-fourth of the kids who rode with Nick on the [local school] bus are dead from drugs, suicide, alcohol, obesity, reckless accidents, and other pathologies”). The authors stress that personal responsibility alone is not enough to facilitate a turnaround; this book is an effort to raise consciousness about our collective obligation, especially to today’s children. TIGHTROPE received a starred review from Booklist (“hard for readers to stop thinking about”).

An Unfinished Love Story by Doris Kearns Goodwin

AN UNFINISHED LOVE STORY by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin is indeed “A Personal History of the 1960s,” and it is a truly fascinating one. I had no idea that her husband was Dick Goodwin, an advisor and speechwriter for both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The soaring rhetoric of those times is surely missed today, and Kearns Goodwin does an excellent job of recounting events from an insider perspective (she herself later was an aide and biographer for President Johnson), complete with numerous excerpts and commentary from other public service contemporaries. In addition to sharing insights about the Kennedy administration, Kearns Goodwin documents the shock coupled with necessary planning and preparations after his assassination. She discusses international policy as well as the development of domestic programs like Johnson’s Great Society. Here, for example, is a short excerpt from the Voting Rights speech which Dick Goodwin wrote and Johnson delivered in an unusual address to both houses of Congress:

AN UNFINISHED LOVE STORY is highly recommended; for a sense of Kearns Goodwin’s intimate writing style, turn to this short essay about LBJ’s decision to not run in 1968, taken from the book and recently published in The Wall Street Journal. NOTE: beginning in October, The Briscoe Center for American History will host an exhibition on The Goodwin Papers: “History and Fate: The Goodwins and the 1960s”. 

Nosy Neighbors by Freya Sampson

NOSY NEIGHBORS by Freya Sampson (The Lost Ticket) is another heartwarming adventure about forming a community. The story is set in London, most often taking place in Shelley House on Poet’s Road – an aged Victorian converted to flats where seventy-seven-year-old Dorothy Darling has lived for over thirty years. Across the landing lives Joseph Chambers who (accompanied by his dog Reggie) forms a one-man campaign against plans to tear down the house and replace it with a new development. Joseph is older, too, and takes in a boarder, pink-haired twenty-something Kat Bennett. There are a total of six flats and each of the other residents – Gloria, Tomasz, an unnamed anti-social young man, and a father and daughter – is preoccupied with his or her own issues. Gradually they come to know and care for each other. A special bond forms between Dorothy and Kat, but that is sorely tested by some tragic circumstances from the past. Overall, this is an uplifting read where initially lonely and confused characters grow and learn to support each other. Along the way, they solve a mystery or two while working hard at redeeming Shelley House. Book groups take note: discussion questions are included.

Medgar and Myrlie by Joy-Ann Reid

I first heard about MEDGAR AND MYRLIE by Joy-Ann Reid when I saw an interview with her on pbs NewsHour:

 

Reid, an MSNBC host, subtitles her text “Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America” and delves into his life and civil rights work as well as deeply into that of his wife, Myrlie, after Medgar’s assassination in June 1963. Medgar Evers was a soldier stationed in Europe during WWII. He came home to Mississippi where he later worked for the NAACP in an era when headline news dealt with the murder of Emmett Till, the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, lunch counter sit-ins and retail boycotts, and integration of state college campuses. Reid argues that Evers’ activism “was the foundation on which later efforts by SNCC, CORE, and other organizations were built.” She conducted more than a half dozen interviews with Myrlie (who was NAACP National Chair in 1995) and also provides significant research – more than a fifth of the book is devoted to notes, bibliography, and an index. MEDGAR AND MYRLIE received a starred review from Booklist (“Reid’s spotlight shines brightest on the commitment the Everses made to the movement and to each other”). A love story involving Mississippi, America, and each other. Reid writes, “he pressed her to understand that he did his work because he loves her and their children.”

The Violence Inside Us by Chris Murphy

The Justice Department analysis of the police response to the school shooting at Robb elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was released today (1/18/24) and it prompted me to post a review for THE VIOLENCE INSIDE US by Chris Murphy. The Senator for Connecticut subtitles his work “A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy,” provides compelling statistics, and explores questions about why here is so much gun violence in America. Murphy reinforces readers’ interest through the stories he relays: a violent death on the streets for a young man trying to start his own business and the shootings at Sandy Hook elementary school. He looks deeply at his own journey around this topic as well as exploring questions about why humans, and especially Americans, hurt each other, plus, “how to demand common sense changes in our law that will reduce episodes of life altering violence.” Originally published in September, 2020, THE VIOLENCE INSIDE US received a starred review from Booklist (“emotionally passionate, and bracingly realistic”).

American Dream Come True by Tony Bertoldi

AMERICAN DREAM COME TRUE by Tony Bertoldi, published by ForbesBooks, profiles “Why Affordable Housing Is Good Policy, Good Business, and Good for America.” Bertoldi has decades of experience in the industry and currently serves as Co president at CREA, LLC, a national LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) syndication company. His passion for this topic clearly comes through and although it is a relatively dry subject, he does a good job of explaining the situation and proposing future action which he argues “benefits everyone in American society.” It is interesting to read AMERICAN DREAM COME TRUE alongside articles like Lucy Tompkin’s piece in today’s New York Times about Community First! Village, a housing option for formerly homeless people in Austin, Texas.  Basic facts about affordable housing are also found in the Pew Research report from September, 2022 and in a lengthy report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies from Harvard University. As he addresses this complex and controversial topic, Bertoldi quotes both Pew and Harvard and includes detailed references at the end of each chapter in this well-researched text.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME has a stunning cover and is the latest work of historical fiction by Isabel Allende, an award winning author long fascinated by questions related to the immigrant experience (The Japanese Lover; In the Midst of Winter). Here, Allende relates the story of Samuel, a young Jew from Vienna and part of the Kindertransport; of Leticia, whose family was killed at the 1981 El Mozote massacre; and of Anita, a young, partially blind girl from El Salvador who was separated from her mother in 2019 by the US border police. Allende definitely evokes empathy for these characters. Each story is harrowing in its own way, but this very emotional novel ultimately ends on a hopeful note as they coalesce into a family unit of sorts. THE WIND KNOWS MY NAME received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Class by Stephanie Land

CLASS by Stephanie Land (Maid) is subtitled “A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education.” It's an eye-opening non-fiction work that describes the difficulties of attending college as a single mom. Land relates her own experiences while also exploring social justice issues like food and housing insecurity, pointing out: “The fight to make rent, eat, and find childcare was constant. I never got a break from it.” Her struggles and loneliness will elicit empathy from readers while also encouraging them to think about questions such as “Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture?” For a preview of her writing style, see the Op-Ed piece in The New York Times. There she weaves in statistics like “23 percent of undergraduate students and 12 percent of graduate students face food insecurity” while also relating a harrowing after school experience for her young daughter. CLASS received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and is a LibraryReads selection for November. Land says that she shares these stories in order to let people know their feelings are valid: that life does indeed feel impossible at times. If you are interested in hearing more, Land will be speaking at an upcoming Family Action Network event on November 13 at 7:00pm. Access is available via Zoom.