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Journalist Stout (Fenway 1912) puts the illicit exploits of jewel thieves Richard “Candy Kid” Whittemore and Margaret “Tiger Girl” Messler in the context of the Jazz Age in this rollicking true crime tale. Noting that the U.S. endured one of its sharpest economic downturns in the years after WWI, Stout describes the couple’s working-class childhoods in Baltimore and their 1921 marriage (“like so many of their age, all they wanted to be was something other than what they were”). A juvenile delinquent, Whittemore enlisted in the Coast Guard at age 16, was dishonorably discharged, and ended up in prison for breaking into a house eight days after his wedding to Margaret. When he got out, he formed a gang and robbed jewelry stores in New York City, netting upwards of $300,000 per heist. (Margaret often cased the places before the break-ins.) When they were caught and put on trial in 1926, Stout writes, thousands of flappers and wannabe gangsters gathered outside the courthouse to support the couple. Stout colorfully evokes the era’s political issues and cultural trends, and describes how Prohibition increased disrespect for the law across American society. This snappy page-turner informs and delights. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Higgins, founder of the “online investigative community” Bellingcat, debuts with a brisk and self-congratulatory account of his organization’s founding and contributions to recent high-profile investigations. A college dropout who “took refuge in online video games,” Higgins traces his interest in open-source investigation, or using publicly available data to break news, back to the Arab Spring, which he followed obsessively from his office desk in England, posting insights he gathered from social media and Google Maps to a Guardian live blog. To keep a record of his discoveries, Higgins launched his own blog, where he published evidence that the Syrian army was responsible for a chemical weapons attack in 2013. After getting mainstream media attention and building a network of “established experts and amateur investigators,” Higgins founded Bellingcat in 2014. He offers blow-by-blow rundowns of how the collective identified the people believed to be responsible for poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018 and shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Higgins’s self-taught skills are impressive, but statements such as “I never worried that a bad actor could infiltrate this project” come across as overweening. Still, fans of Bellingcat and advocates of citizen journalism will be fascinated by the behind-the-scenes details. Agent: Elyse Cheney, the Cheney Agency. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Worry runs through this inviting volume of ruminations on identity and self-acceptance from illustrator Sun (Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too). While taking a break from being “constantly productive,” Sun ended up writing these brief (sometimes just sentence-long) thoughts. The brevity, he notes, reflects that “we are all burnt out and don’t have enough time as it is.” Sun explores his anxiety and his need to feel productive, as well as his relationships to change, loss, and his family and friends. “You are allowed to mourn change,” he writes. “You can mourn an old home that is gone, or a world that has changed so imperceptibly until one day it no longer feels familiar.” Quirks run throughout, such as a subtheme of caring for houseplants, which acts as a connective thread to his parents (who take care of a cactus the author thought had died), and to different cities where he travels (“And so, now... it has become a coping mechanism to look for plants that I recognize from elsewhere”). While full of reflections, each section is so self-contained as to feel scattered and, at times, lacking in depth. Nevertheless, the author’s fans will no doubt appreciate these musings. Illus. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Journalist Bergman debuts with an inviting account of the year she went big on writing thank-you notes. After writing a slew of thank-you notes for a fund-raiser, Bergman realized she enjoyed the process and embarked on a daily writing routine, dividing each month into categories of people and organizations she’d write to, such as charities in January, neighbors in February, and friends in March. She shares how writing notes after traveling helps to “extend a trip’s afterglow” and letters to family expressing gratitude can “disarm and lead to change.” Bergman proposes writing to friends, family, old mentors, and even celebrities with no expectation the notes will be read. The goal of the process isn’t to win favors or even flatter others, but “to look outside myself and my lists and really see other people.” While the concept is far from new, Bergman’s flexible structure and thoughtful suggestions elevate thank-you notes to more than a courtesy. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Neuroscientist and novelist Genova (Still Alice) delivers a solid primer on the way memory works and fails to work. She proposes that “once we understand memory and become familiar with how it functions... we can both vastly improve our ability to remember and feel less rattled when we inevitably forget.” She explains the different kinds of memory (such as working memory and muscle memory) and the pitfalls inherent in each (such as how relying on working memory can lead to forgetfulness, and muscle memory can sustain bad habits), before exploring the functions of forgetting and the distinction between normal memory failures and something more serious. Genova blends popular science and self-help, providing lay reader-friendly descriptions of the function of memory and sharing tips for better memory in a helpful appendix. The writing is evocative (“In the process of consolidating an episodic memory, your brain is like a sticky-fingered, madcap chef”), and there are plenty of memorable takes on phenomena like that of having a word on “the tip of the tongue” (which is caused by “partial or weak activation of the neurons that connect” the visual, conceptual, and phonological aspects of a word). This accessible survey is an easy entry point for anyone wondering how and why they keep forgetting where they left their car keys. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Youth counselor Bradbury-Haehl (The Freshman Survival Guide) provides reassurance for readers adjusting to adulthood in this pragmatic handbook for building a successful life. One’s 20s are a strange time full of transitions and life lessons, Bradbury-Haehl writes, reminding readers, “If you are still feeling a little in-between, that’s to be expected.” She addresses big life transitions, such as attaining financial independence and making changes in living arrangements, encouraging those leaving home to develop a plan with their parents and to ask for help when necessary to “prevent finances from becoming a battleground.” For the newly employed, Bradbury-Haehl identifies difficult coworker types to look out for (the crab, bully, and gossip) and warns to “be polite, but don’t get too cozy” with one’s colleagues. A chapter on grief—both processing it and offering support to others—provides invaluable guidance on funeral etiquette and what to do when people say the wrong thing (such as saying “thank you for being here” or pivoting to an innocuous topic). The final section focuses on the importance of forgiveness and the benefits of diversity. For an age group overwhelmed with information, Bradbury-Haehl finds a way to make it all manageable. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

In this captivating debut, essayist Lin explores the gay bar as a cultural institution whose time may have passed. Focusing mainly on Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London, Lin delves into centuries of written and oral histories to chart the development of the first gay bars from as far back as the 13th century through to today, the roles different establishments played in gay liberation movements, and the many venues that have closed due to lack of traffic, rent increases, or transformation into heterosexual hangouts. He also muses on contemporary queer youth’s desire for quiet “safe spaces” as opposed to the fun, raucous, and often “raunchy” meeting places of years past. It isn’t all glowing nostalgia, though; Lin skewers what he sees as gay bars’ “persecution of the effeminate” gay man, and recaps a mid-1970s racial profiling controversy at Studio One in Los Angeles in which claims were made “by black and Chicano men that they were frequently denied entrance.” Lin’s writing is mostly sharp, though there are some bumps, as with a staid academic reference to Foucault and wordplay that can land with more of a thud than a zing (“We head[ed] to a venue less sleazy, more cheesy,” he writes about a bar-hopping night out). Nonetheless, this cogent cultural history sparks more often than not. Readers who want to go beyond Stonewall will find plenty to consider. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Journalist DiCaro debuts with a sweeping takedown of misogyny in America’s sports media and professional leagues. She describes the censure (from her employers) and online harassment (from sports fans) she receives when reporting on the sexual misconduct of athletes, and critiques her employers, including CBS Radio, for failing to hire diverse staffers and protect female employees from abuse. Though her primary focus is on media, DiCaro also looks at the unequal treatment of female pro athletes, and the ways in which organizations such as the Houston Astros normalize violence against women by signing players who have been suspended for domestic abuse and then “putting a moratorium” on how long journalists can report on the matter. DiCaro’s investigative journalism chops shine through in her insightful interviews, and she crafts engrossing narratives out of historical events like the battle to get female reporters access to locker rooms after games. Ultimately, DiCaro believes that if media outlets, teams, and fans want to address the deeply entrenched culture of inequality in the way women are treated in sports, they need to “grow the fuck up.” This bracing call to arms is a step in that direction. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Educator Tubbs debuts with an engrossing triple biography of Alberta King, mother of Martin Luther King Jr.; Louise Little, mother of Malcom X; and Berdis Baldwin, mother of James Baldwin. Though these women have been “almost entirely ignored throughout history,” Tubbs writes, their teachings and approaches to motherhood “were translated directly into their sons’ writing, speeches and protests.” All three overcame prejudice and social restrictions on an almost daily basis and “strove to equip their children not only to face the world but to change it,” Tubbs writes. Alberta King (neé Williams) earned a college degree and became a leader of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her father, husband, and son all served as pastors. Louise Little (neé Langdon), an immigrant from Grenada, was a leader in the Marcus Garvey movement. Berdis Baldwin (neé Jones) raised her children single-handedly after her husband’s death, and pushed them to fight hard for their educational opportunities. Though the world “tried to deny their humanity and their existence,” Tubbs writes, Alberta, Louise, and Berdis gave their sons the foundation to achieve greatness. Tubbs skillfully draws parallels between each woman’s story, and vividly captures the early years of the civil rights movement. This immersive history gives credit where it’s long overdue. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink

Radio broadcaster Gold (Fun Is a Serious Business) delivers a cinematic account of an unlikely romance that blossomed in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. In 1942, Josefine Lobnik passed a note to New Zealand prisoner of war Bruce Murray through the barbed wire of a prison camp outside Maribor, Slovenia. The message asked Bruce to look for Josefine’s missing brother, Leopold, whom she feared had been captured by the Nazis. All four Lobnik siblings were partisan fighters; 18-year-old Josefine smuggled documents and helped fugitive POWs. Though Bruce determined that Leopold wasn’t in the camp, he couldn’t get a reply message to Josefine. A year later, their paths crossed again at the farm of Josefine’s cousin in Radkersburg, Austria, where Bruce had been sent on a work detail. Their connection deepened, and in April 1945, Josefine helped Bruce escape from the Nazis and join the Soviet forces invading Radkersbug. After the war, Bruce and Josefine married and settled in New Zealand, where they raised three children. Gold—who admits to taking liberties with the timeline and some character details—sets a brisk pace and vividly describes the landscape of war-torn Europe. This WWII love story enthralls. Agent: Jennifer Barclay, Jennifer Barclay Literary (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/18/2020 | Details & Permalink