Non-Fiction

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Geniusby David Eggers.From Amazon:“The moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.”

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo. “The title says it all -- a three year old having an emergency operation apparently leaves his body and goes to Heaven. He is instructed by Jesus to go back to Earth, as an answer to the child's father's prayer. Over the course of the years that follow this experience, his story is revealed to his family.”

Hellhound On His Trail by Hampton Sides. From Random House:  “”On April 23, 1967, Prisoner #416J, an inmate at the notorious Missouri State Penitentiary, escaped in a breadbox. Fashioning himself Eric Galt, this nondescript thief and con man—whose real name was James Earl Ray—drifted through the American South, into Mexico, and then Los Angeles, where he was galvanized by George Wallace’s racist presidential campaign. On February 1, 1968, two Memphis garbage men were crushed to death in their hydraulic truck, provoking the exclusively African American workforce to go on strike. Hoping to resuscitate his faltering crusade, King joined the sanitation workers’ cause, but their march down Beale Street, the historic avenue of the blues, turned violent. Humiliated, King fatefully vowed to return to Memphis that April. With relentless storytelling drive, Hampton Sides follows Galt and King as they crisscross the country, until the crushing moment at the Lorraine Motel when the drifter catches up with his prey. Against the backdrop of the resulting nationwide riots and the pathos of King’s funeral, Sides gives us a riveting cross-cut narrative of the assassin’s flight and the sixty-five-day search that led investigators to Canada, Portugal, and England—a massive manhunt ironically led by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI. Magnificent in scope, drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material, this nonfiction thriller illuminates one of the darkest hours in American life—an example of how history is so often a matter of the petty bringing down the great.”

Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayersby Anne Lamott. “It's Anne Lamott,'nuf said! Also, the title says it all.”

The Heminsges of Monticello by Annette Gordon Reed. "If you are a history buff you will love it. Get past the deep detail in the beginning and it is very readable. You will see a whole new side of Thomas Jefferson." The story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history until very recently. It brings to life not only Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson but also their children and Hemings's siblings, who shared a father with Jefferson's wife, Martha.

Here If You Need Me: A True Story by Kate Baestrup. "It may take ingenuity to interest browsers in a memoir by a middle-aged mother who, 11 years ago, was suddenly widowed, then became a Unitarian-Universalist minister, and now works as chaplain to game wardens in Maine."

Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. "An amazing story of one extraordinary man’s climb out of Appalachian poverty and into the elite halls of Yale Law School.  Along the way, JD Vance describes in detail his upbringing, the problems with Appalachian culture as he sees them, his time in the armed services, and his ideas on the difficult task of helping those people left behind in the current economy.  It helped me understand, if not sympathize with, parts of America whose votes and actions are affecting all of our lives, whether we live there or not". "There is a reason why this book has created so much buzz.   Yes, it is a story of forgotten America -  white Appalachia, the Rust belt, etc, but Vance’s voice makes it worth reading.  He shows remarkable objectivity and humanity in his writing and analysis.  He seamlessly connects his family’s experience to larger historical, economic and demographic developments".  "A book is for the geeky beach reader. This is the book that made the rounds of discussions among parent gatherings this winter and spring. It is a story about the struggle of poor, white Americans told from the perspective of one who made it to Yale law school via the Marines. JD Vance has been touted by book clubs as a window into the most recent election of Donald Trump and thus he has made it onto the pages of The Washington Post and other newspapers. I would say the book only explains a piece of the November election, but it is a fascinating piece told with a mix of pride and humility."

House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Streetby William D. Cohan. “Recommended by Malcolm Gladwell when I heard him speak as the best explanation of the financial meltdown.”

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown.  “If you loved Richard Feynman's book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) then this is the beach read for you this summer.   All the science you have long since forgotten along with a healthy dose of humor.  Even better you will be up to date with the local elementary kids.”

How Reading Changed My Lifeby Anna Quindlen “This has been around awhile, but it is quick and true to her pithy writing style. I think I picked it up on a trip to Barnes & Noble with the kids as a 'HA! See?' out of frustration that my children weren't taking enough time to read for pleasure (although seem to have time for emailing, American Idol and other sundry activities). Anyway, it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the book lists in the back, as it inspired me to create my own... and perhaps to inspire my children to do the same :)”