Books

David Greenberg’s “John Lewis: A Life” follows the civil rights leader from the Selma march to the halls of Congress. Lewis kept faith with the practice of nonviolence.

Biographer Max Boot charts the course of a politician who was famously affable and pragmatic, but who also resorted to racist dog whistles and played loose with facts. 

America First was a rallying cry of isolationists in the 1930s. Charles Lindbergh, a spokesman for the movement, clashed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt over U.S. involvement.   

In “Bringing Ben Home,” Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores the long road toward exonerating Ben Spencer, a Black man imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit.

The 10 best books of October 2024 include a thrilling naval adventure, a novel about 19th-century New Orleans, and a history of Handel’s “Messiah.”

In “Love in the Time of Self-Publishing,” researcher Christine Larson explores the strength of Romancelandia, the community of mostly women who write romance novels.

“The Message” is a collection of commentaries about African ancestry and identity, political power and polarity, and finally, a damning assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At a time when civility in politics seems increasingly rare, these books explore how the simple art of conversation can reduce conflict in our own lives.  

Bob Stains has dedicated his life to helping transform conflicts, urging us to soften our “hearts of stone” and go beyond “simple stories” about others. In a Q&A, he offers tips on how to do it.

The Nobel Prize in literature has long faced criticism for its focus on European and North American men. Han Kang, the first Asian woman to win, writes “intense lyrical prose that is both tender and brutal,” said A Nobel literature committee member.