All Books
- ‘The Holly’ digs deep into one man’s complicated efforts to end gang violence
“The Holly” shows how, faced with a system stacked against him, Terrance Roberts tried to stop gang violence in Denver.
- ‘Black Snake’ tells the saga of Dakota Access Pipeline protests
“Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice” goes to the heart of the fight for Indigenous rights.
- ‘Poetry and art unearth moments of reckoning’
Poet Yusef Komunyakaa talks about the importance of imagining ourselves in another’s skin. His latest collection is “Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth.”
- It’s the little things that make this family story come to life
In “Margreete’s Harbor,” Eleanor Morse shows a Maine family in the 1950s and ‘60s navigating the joys and struggles of everyday life.
- Two books to make you think differently about the ocean and the beach
“The Brilliant Abyss” and “The Lure of the Beach” urge action to safeguard the world’s oceans and coastlines – along with the animal life found there.
- Isaac Newton’s forgotten years as a cosmopolitan Londoner
Newton is often remembered as an isolated thinker. But in actuality, he lived a larger life in the heart of Britain’s biggest city.
- ‘The Other Black Girl’ picks apart tokenism in white work spaces
Nella is delighted when another Black woman is hired in her office. But things go downhill, and she must confront a very particular kind of racism.
- Enrich your Independence Day: Top 5 revolutionary reads of 2021
The Fourth of July is a time for national celebration – and reflection. Our reviewer’s top five new histories of the American Revolution bring timely perspective to Independence Day.
- ‘America on Fire’: How police oppression fuels protests by Black citizens
Historian Elizabeth Hinton analyzes the cycle of police aggression and Black community protests since the 1960s in "America on Fire."
- J.P. Morgan’s librarian hid her race. A novel imagines the toll on her.
“The Personal Librarian,” based on a true story, explores the life of a Black collector who hid her race while amassing rare books for J.P. Morgan.
- There’s no place like home – if you can afford Bay Area prices
A woman leaves her philandering husband in France and returns to San Francisco to relaunch her career in ‘Lorna Mott Comes Home’ by Diane Johnson.
- Beach-worthy books to savor in summer: Monitor staff picks
Books and summer go hand in hand. The Monitor’s reporters and editors offer their favorite picks, from classics to contemporary fiction to memoirs.
- Worse than Hitler? How Stalin orchestrated World War II.
Adolf Hitler is seen as the primary agent of terror in World War II. “Stalin’s War” argues that his crimes were dwarfed by those of Joseph Stalin.
- Women on a mission: Life-changing adventures by horse and bicycle
A pair of appealing books chronicles the life-changing odysseys of two women, one by horseback in 1954, the other by bicycle in 2017.
- Romantic entanglements bring humor and heartache to small town
Katherine Heiny’s novel transplants readers to Boyne City, Michigan, through the keen eyes of the town’s new schoolteacher.
- ‘On Juneteenth’: A Black historian reflects on Texas and emancipation
Annette Gordon-Reed’s “On Juneteenth” combines history, analysis, and memoir to explore the significance of the holiday and its Texas roots.
- Capitalism American-style: A financial history of the United States
“Ages of American Capitalism" by Jonathan Levy sheds light on U.S. history as seen through a financial lens.
- Benedict Arnold’s image as arch-traitor gets a makeover
Before he joined the British, Benedict Arnold was a staunch, dependable patriot. A new history explores his leadership during a critical battle.
- Q&A: An ‘everyday’ life in dance proves something quite extraordinary
Gavin Larsen’s ballet memoir “Being a Ballerina” opens up the dance world to show the determination, camaraderie, and physical strength at its core.
- The US Supreme Court’s ‘Great Dissenter’ repudiated ‘separate but equal’
Justice John Marshall Harlan’s dissents, like the one in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, earned him a reputation as a progressive force in his day.