| Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks by David Bushman & Mark T. Givens; foreword by Mark FrostWho killed Hazel Drew? In 1908 upstate New York, 20-year-old domestic servant Hazel Drew was found murdered in a pond. More than 100 years later, the case remains unsolved.
Who it's for: True crime aficionados and fans of TV's Twin Peaks (which was inspired by the case) will enjoy this vivid and richly detailed investigation.
Featuring: a foreword from Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost. |
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| You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays by Zora Neale Hurston; introduction and edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genevieve WestWhat it is: a sweeping essay collection of pieces penned by author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960).
Read it for: an irreverent chronicle of Black life, culture, and creativity from the birth of the Harlem Renaissance to the civil rights movement.
Essays include: "Race Cannot Become Great Until It Recognizes Its Talent;" "Which Way the NAACP?;" "Spirituals and Neo-Spirituals." |
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| Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955 by Harald Jähner; translated by Shaun WhitesideWhat it's about: the perils and promises of life in postwar Germany.
Why you might like it: Journalist Harald Jähner's sobering and eye-opening chronicle reveals how everyday Germans grappled with the devastation of their past to create a better future.
Book buzz: Originally published in Germany in 2019, Jähner's bestselling history won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. |
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| Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice by Tony MessengerWhat it's about: how the American justice system disproportionately penalizes the poor through costly legal fines and fees.
Who it's for: Readers who appreciate well-researched studies on the criminalization of poverty, like Matthew Desmond's Evicted, will find much to ponder in this thought-provoking call for change.
Author alert: St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger won the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for his series on debtors' prisons. |
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| Agent Sniper: The Cold War Superagent and the Ruthless Head of the CIA by Tim TateStarring: Polish intelligence officer and KGB spy Michal Goleniewski (code name: "Sniper"), who in 1961 became "the best defector the US ever had."
Read it for: a compelling and relatively unknown Cold War spy story with an enigmatic figure at its center.
Featuring: recently declassified documents. |
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| Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham (editors)What it is: an inventive and nonlinear mixed-media anthology that asks: "What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?"
What's inside: poetry, artwork, essays, memes, recipes, and interviews.
Contributors include: Ta-Nehisi Coates; Zadie Smith; Kiese Laymon; Samantha Irby; Hanif Abdurraqib; Ziwe Fumudoh. |
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| Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall; illustrated by Hugo MartínezWhat it is: a poignant tribute to enslaved women who fought against their captors during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Why you should read it: Scholar Rebecca Hall's haunting graphic narrative is an "urgent, brilliant work of historical excavation" (Kirkus Reviews).
Art alert: Bold black-and-white die-cut illustrations are paired with letters, ship logs, court records, and forensic evidence to bring this affecting history to vivid life. |
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| Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality For All by Martha S. JonesWhat it is: a moving and incisive history exploring Black women's fight for the right to vote, from the 19th century to the present.
Don't miss: Author Martha S. Jones' stories of her great-great grandmother, Susan Davis, a voting rights activist born enslaved.
Further reading: Recasting the Vote: How Women of Color Transformed the Suffrage Movement by Cathleen D. Cahill. |
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| Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-MartinWhat it is: a well-researched history of African American cuisine pairing recipes from old cookbooks with contemporary dishes.
Recipes include: Sweet Potato Biscuits with Ham; Crab Cakes; Chicken and Dumplings; Braised Celery; Quick Eggnog; Pralines; Fruit Fritters.
Awards buzz: Jubilee was named one of The New York Times' and NPR's best cookbooks of 2019. |
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| The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David Walker; illustrated by Marcus Kwame AndersonWhat it's about: the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party.
Art alert: This thought-provoking and accessible graphic novel history features realistic illustrations rendered in eye-catching colors.
Reviewers say: "nuanced and gripping" (Library Journal); "concise yet in-depth" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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