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Reviews

Reviews

by Carla Kaplan - Biography, History, Nonfiction

The 1920s in New York City was a time of freedom, experimentation and passion --- with Harlem at the epicenter. White men could go uptown to see jazz and modern dance, but women who embraced black culture too enthusiastically could be ostracized. MISS ANNE IN HARLEM focuses on six of the unconventional, free-thinking women who crossed race lines and defied social conventions to become a part of the culture and heartbeat of Harlem.

written by Naoki Higashida, translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell - Memoir, Nonfiction

Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart and self-aware 13-year-old boy with autism, THE REASON I JUMP demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. He shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself.

by Christopher Andersen - Biography, History, Nonfiction

They were the original power couple --- outlandishly rich, impossibly attractive and endlessly fascinating. Now, in this rare, behind-the-scenes portrait of the Kenne­dys in their final year together, biographer Christopher Andersen shows us a side of JFK and Jackie we’ve never seen before. Theirs is a love story unlike any other --- filled with secrets, scandals and bomb­shells that could never be fully revealed...until now.

by Boris Kachka - History, Nonfiction

Farrar, Straus and Giroux is arguably the most influential publishing house of the modern era. Boris Kachka deftly reveals the era and the city that built FSG through the stories of two men: founder-owner Roger Straus and editor Robert Giroux. Vast but detailed, full of both fresh gossip and keen insight into how the literary world works, HOTHOUSE is the product of five years of research and nearly 200 interviews.

by Jessica Buchanan and Erik Landemalm, with Anthony Flacco - Military, Nonfiction, True Crime

IMPOSSIBLE ODDS chronicles the mutual journey of Jessica Buchanan and her husband, Erik Landemalm, during the torturous months when Jessica was kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom by a band of Somali pirates. Together they relate the events prior to the kidnapping, the drama of Jessica’s fight to stay alive, and Erik’s efforts to bolster and support the hunt for her while he acted as liaison between their two families, the FBI, professional hostage negotiators, and the United States government.

by Tami Hoag - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

The ninth unidentified body to turn up in Minneapolis in 2012 is nicknamed Jane Doe 9. Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska take on the case and discover a shocking fact: This victim has been found without any identifiable characteristics, except for those that peg her as an adolescent girl. Before the investigation is through, the case will take the two detectives deep into the life and death of a teenage girl who wanted nothing more than to be “normal.”

by Amir Ahmad Nasr - Nonfiction

Part memoir, part passionate call for liberty, reason and doing work that matters, MY ISL@M tells the tale of how the Internet opened the eyes and heart of a once fearful young Muslim to a world beyond the dogmatism of his upbringing, and recounts his transformation into a defiant digital activist.

by David Berg - Nonfiction

In 1968, David Berg’s brother, Alan, was murdered by Charles Harrelson, a notorious hit man and father of actor Woody Harrelson. Alan was only 31 when he disappeared; six months later, his remains were found in a ditch in Texas. RUN, BROTHER, RUN is Berg’s story of the murder. But it is also his account of the psychic destruction of the Berg family by the author’s father, who allowed a grievous blunder at the age of 23 to define his life.

by Martha Grimes and Ken Grimes - Memoir, Nonfiction

People who suffer from alcoholism as well as their families and friends know that while it is possible to get sober, there is no one “right” way to do this. Now, award-winning mystery writer Martha Grimes and her son, Ken Grimes, offer two points of view on their struggles with alcoholism. In alternating chapters, they share their stories --- stories of drinking, recovery, relapse, friendship, travel, work, success and failure.

by Jimmy Connors - Nonfiction, Sports

Jimmy Connors ignited the tennis boom in the 1970s with his aggressive style of play, turning his matches with John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl into prizefights. But it was his prolonged dedication to his craft that won him the public’s adoration. More than just the story of a tennis champion, THE OUTSIDER is the uncensored account of Connors's life --- from his complicated relationship with his formidable mother and his storybook romance with tennis legend Chris Evert, to his battles with gambling and fidelity.