Staff Pick

Elliott Maraniss was a talented newspaperman when, in 1952, he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee for his communist affiliations. He lost his job and was blacklisted for five years, yet retained his faith in the United States and went on eventually to a successful career in journalism. In A Good American Family, David Maraniss tells his dad’s story along with the stories of others who were in the Committee hearing room—members of the Committee, his dad’s lawyer, and the FBI informant who named him. Through these individual histories, David explores what it means to be an American. On one level, the book is a touching family tale about a son’s search for his father’s past, but on a larger level it’s a resonant story with enduring universal significance, a story of courage, conviction, betrayal, political opportunism, reckoning, and ultimately American identity.

 

 

 

 

A Good American Family: The Red Scare and My Father Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781501178375
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Simon & Schuster - May 14th, 2019

Staff Pick

Building on his previous popular book, The Sports Gene, David Epstein in Range examines the factors that enable people to excel not only in sports but in the arts, business, science, and other fields. His conclusion goes against the commonly-held view that starting early and specializing in something is key. In fact, he argues generalists, not specialists, often stand a better chance of success, because they tend to be more creative, flexible, and innovative thinkers. He points to studies of accomplished individuals who went through a sort of “sampling period” in their lives before zeroing in on something. In doing so, they frequently benefitted from having gained a wealth of useful experience and the ability to make connections others don’t see. Epstein makes a persuasive case that delaying concentration in a particular area, sacrificing some depth for breadth, and cultivating range can actually boost a career in the long run rather than impede it.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780735214484
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Riverhead Books - May 28th, 2019

Staff Pick

A decorated former Marine turned journalist turned author, Elliot Ackerman has written three acclaimed novels since 2015 and now a memoir. In Places and Names, he offers a real-life accounting, writing with the same urgency, passion, and attention characteristic of his novels and with the same penetrating examination of the meaning and costs of war. He does this through a series of essays as he travels to conflict zones, old battlefields, and refugee camps, looking back on his war experiences from different angles. The result is not only an intensely personal book about the purpose and impact of war but also a meditation on the larger meaning of the past two decades of America’s ill-fated involvement in the Middle East.

 

 

 

Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780525559962
Availability: Not On Our Shelves—Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Penguin Press - June 11th, 2019

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