Non-Fiction

Once Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mazrich.  Released just prior to our 2015 list publication, this title was suggested by our mole in the publishing world.  “the untold true story of the larger-than-life billionaire oligarchs who surfed the waves of privatization to reap riches after the fall of the Soviet regime: “Godfather of the Kremlin” Boris Berezovsky, a former mathematician whose first entrepreneurial venture was running an automobile reselling business, and Roman Abramovich, his dashing young protégé who built a multi-billion-dollar empire of oil and aluminum. Locked in a complex, uniquely Russian partnership, Berezovsky and Abramovich battled their way through the “Wild East” of Russia with Berezovsky acting as the younger man’s krysha—literally, his roof, his protector.  Written with the heart-stopping pacing of a thriller—but even more compelling because it is true—this story of amassing obscene wealth and power depicts a rarefied world seldom seen up close. Under Berezovsky’s krysha, Abramovich built one of Russia’s largest oil companies from the ground up and in exchange made cash deliveries—including 491 million dollars in just one year. But their relationship frayed when Berezovsky attacked President Vladimir Putin in the media—and had to flee to the UK. Abramovich continued to prosper. Dead bodies trailed Berezovsky’s footsteps, and threats followed him to London, where an associate of his died painfully and famously of Polonium poisoning. Then Berezovsky himself was later found dead, declared a suicide.”

One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned About Everyone's Struggle to Be Singular by Abigail Pogrebin. "Not only for twins or parents of twins, this is a very interesting look at what it means to be a 'double' and how even as singletons we can learn from the unique twin relationship."

One Giant Leap by Charles Fishman.  "Best and truly fascinating book on Apollo anniversary - helps us understand NOW and the world that followed the Moon Landing."

One Summer:  America, 1927 by Bill Bryson.  From Amazon:  It’s amazing what a talented writer at the top of his game can do with a seemingly narrow topic. The title of Bill Bryson’s latest sums up the simplicity of his task: to document the “most extraordinary summer” of 1927, beginning with Charles Lindbergh’s successful flight across the Atlantic. Even though we know many of these stories--Lindbergh’s flight, Babe Ruth’s 60-homerun season, the Mississippi River flood, Al Capone’s bullet-ridden reign over Chicago--in Bryson’s hands, and in the context of one amazing summer of twentieth-century ingenuity and accomplishment, they feel fresh, lively, and just plain fun. The book is so jammed with “did you know it” nuggets and fascinating origin stories (the opening of the Holland Tunnel, the first Mickey Mouse prototype, the source of the term “hot dog”), the effect is like sitting beside a brilliant, slightly boozy barstool raconteur, who knows a little bit about everything.”

Open: An Autobiography by J R Moerhinger. “This may be an unpopular opinion, but OHMYGOD is Andre Agassi a whiny little bitch. I love JR Moerhinger's memoir (The Tender Bar), so I wanted to read this Agassi memoir to see how one of my favorite writers handled Agassi's story. The writing is only as strong as Agassi's life will allow, but it's relatively well written. I'll confess to having skimmed through some of the earlier chapters because I wanted to get to the parts about Brooke Shields (I know, I'm shallow). Worth the read whether in paperback, second-hand hardcover, or from the library.” and: “Andre opens up his life, heart and mind for inspection in a highly detailed personal account notable for its eloquence and humor. One need not be a tennis or an Agassi fan to be gripped by the experiences of a little boy whose relentless father determined that his son would one day be the best tennis player in the world.”

Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler. "A view of contemporary China and its ongoing changes through the experiences of a journalist (Peter Hessler) living there. It reads like part travel journal, part novel. At times I found the book fascinating and witty through the descriptions of the characters that Hessler encounters, whose lives weave through the book. At other times I found myself skimming through pages to get to something more interesting. In the end, it is an interesting read and one that certainly illuminates why I feel so lucky to have been born in this country."

The Orchard House by Tara Austen Weaver. “A woman and her mother, estranged along with other family struggles, by a decrepit old cottage and garden property together in an effort to heal decades-old wounds, and try to build a stable family foundation for nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.  A sweet memoir that will sometimes punch you in the gut and make you wanna call your own siblings.”

The Orpheus Clock: The Search for My Family's Art Treasures Stolen by the Nazis by Simon Goodman. “A writer discovers his father’s secret obsession of reclaiming his lost art awakening a history of being the son of a Holocaust survivor, and taking on the campaign to reclaim his birthright and artwork.”

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore. From Amazon: "Moore, an investment banker, Rhodes scholar, and former aide to Condoleezza Rice, was intrigued when he learned that another Wes Moore, his age and from the same area of Greater Baltimore, was wanted for killing a cop. Meeting his double and delving into his life reveals deeper likenesses: raised in fatherless families and poor black neighborhoods, both felt the lure of the money and status to be gained from dealing drugs. That the author resisted the criminal underworld while the other Wes drifted into it is chalked up less to character than to the influence of relatives, mentors, and expectations that pushed against his own delinquent impulses, to the point of exiling him to military school." .... “True story, quick read, thought provoking.”

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. "A statisticians view of what makes people successful. Hard to describe, but really interesting." He asks the question: "What makes high-achievers different?". His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.