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Pacific, A Novel Filled With Sharp Observation and Deadpan Wit by Tom Drury

On May 17, 2013, in Book Reviews, Fiction, by Editor

In a triumphant return to the characters that launched his career two decades ago, Tom Drury travels back to Grouse County, the setting of his landmark debut, The End of Vandalism. Drury’s depictions of the stark beauty of the Midwest and the futility of American wanderlust have earned him comparisons to Raymond Carver, Sherwood Anderson, and Paul Auster.

The Third Coast, When Chicago Built the American Dream, A Richly Detailed History by Thomas Dyja

On May 17, 2013, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, by Editor

Though today it can seem as if all American culture comes out of New York and Los Angeles, much of what defined the nation as it grew into a superpower was produced in Chicago. In luminous prose, Chicago native Thomas Dyja re-creates the story of the city in its postwar prime and explains its profound impact on modern America.

We Need New Names, An Open-Eyed Coming-Of-Age Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo

On May 16, 2013, in Book Reviews, Fiction, by Editor

NoViolet Bulawayo’s debut calls to mind the great storytellers of displacement and arrival who have come before her–from Zadie Smith to Monica Ali to J.M. Coetzee–while she tells a vivid, raw story all her own.

Americanah, A Sensitive Portrayal of Distant Love by Nigerian Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

On May 12, 2013, in Book Reviews, Fiction, by Editor

From the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, a dazzling new novel: a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home. Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today’s globalized world.

Act of Congress: How America’s Essential Institution Works, and How It Doesn’t by Robert G. Kaiser

On May 11, 2013, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, Political, by Editor

An eye-opening account of how Congress today really works—and doesn’t—that follows the dramatic journey of the sweeping financial reform bill enacted in response to the Great Crash of 2008. Act of Congress, as entertaining as it is enlightening, is an indispensable guide to a vital piece of our political system desperately in need of reform.

Southern Cross the Dog, A Novel Conjuring the Southern Delta by Bill Cheng

On May 7, 2013, in Book Reviews, Fiction, Historical Novel, by Editor

In the tradition of Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O’Connor, Bill Cheng’s Southern Cross the Dog is an epic literary debut in which the bonds between three childhood friends are upended by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. In its aftermath, one young man must choose between the lure of the future and the claims of the past.

Through the Perilous Fight: Six Weeks That Saved the Nation by Steve Vogel

On May 5, 2013, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, by Editor

In a rousing account of one of the critical turning points in American history, Through the Perilous Fight tells the gripping story of the burning of Washington and the improbable last stand at Baltimore that helped save the nation and inspired its National Anthem.

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

On April 27, 2013, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, by Editor

Drawing on the voices of the women who lived it–women who are now in their eighties and nineties– The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of American history from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage.

Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

On April 25, 2013, in Book Reviews, History, Nonfiction, by Editor

Arguably the most important American lawyer of the twentieth century, Thurgood Marshall was on the verge of bringing the landmark suit Brown v. Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court when he became embroiled in an explosive and deadly case that threatened to change the course of the civil rights movement and cost him his life.

Wash, A Novel About the Inhumanity of Slavery by Margaret Wrinkle

On March 30, 2013, in Book Reviews, Fiction, Historical Novel, by Editor

In this luminous debut, Margaret Wrinkle takes us on an unforgettable journey across continents and through time, from the burgeoning American South to West Africa and deep into the ancestral stories that reside in the soul. Wash introduces a remarkable new voice in American literature.