Books. 13+3. A Curated List.

By Karen and Erica

It has been (for us in the East, at least) a long, cold, nasty winter. Bad for outdoor fun. Good for reading. Here are some books we enjoyed.

• Culpability. Bruce Holsinger. A nightmare that could happen to any family. A self-driving car, a young driver, the young driver’s girlfriend and her father, a series of decisions to be made by a loving family. Hair raising.
• The Art Thief Michael Finkel. A truly crazy story about a young man and his girlfriend who loved art. Art owned by museums. Puts the most recent theft at the Louvre in perspective.
• Breaking Through, by Sally Susman. A lively book about communicating effectively, thinking creatively, and participating significantly in creating solutions. Emblematic of her thinking was the decision, during Covid, when Susman was Pfizer’s Chief Corporate Affairs officer, to continue supplying drugs to sick children in Russia, but to give all the proceeds to Ukraine. 
• 1929. Andrew Ross Sorkin. A breezy book about the financial collapse early last century, marked by the stock market crash of 1929. You think you know all about it—but we learned a few new things about the participants and the atmosphere. As well as facts such as–insider trading was not illegal. How else was a company to maintain its share price? 
• Nuclear War. Annie Jacobson. A thought piece, imagining a future nuclear event. Earth shattering decisions must be made without enough time or information. Many real life facts  Scary, but fascinating.  
• King of Kings. Scott Anderson. How the Shah of Iran became the Shah, how Iran became an important country, and why it remains important. The years shortly before the Ayatollah. A brilliant read, especially now.
• The Blood Telegram:Nixon, Kissinger and A Forgotten Genocide. Gary J. Bass. A shocking true tale of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide and U.S. actions. Blood was the U.S. Consul General to East Pakistan. 
• Black Woods, Blue Sky.Eowyn Ivey. An atmospheric, broody novel about a woman and her family and a bear, all in a glorious, unforgiving landscape painted with loving eyes.. 
• The Frozen River. Ariel Lawhon. Maine. !789. Murder. Inspired by the diary of a midwife who was ahead of the time in her views about how women should be treated. Engrossing. Leaves you wondering how much has changed. 
• The Wizard of the Kremlin. Giuliano da Empoli. A novel of Putin’s rise. The lyrical writing is in some ways at odds with the jarring story. Offers many insights into the thinking of some of the big players on today’s geopolitical stage.
• To Rescue the American Spirit: Theodore Roosevelt. Bret Baier. An easy read about what made Teddy tick, what he accomplished, and how he made so many want to follow him anywhere by speaking softly and carrying a big stick.
• Theo of Golden. Allen Levi. A simply wonderful story about kindness and humanity. If you haven’t read it already, do.
• Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. Belle Burden. The story of the divorce of Belle Burden, of the Vanderbilt, Mortimer, and Paley families, reminding  us that money and privilege don’t protect anyone from heartbreak and sadness. No doubt there will be many conversations and differing views of the story, the people and the marriage, but we suspect there will be general agreement that there’s hope and happiness in recovery and reinvention.

And of course don’t forget the books by the authors we have recently interviewed. Check out the interviews on the site:

• I Came Back For You. Kate White . If you have a daughter, you will read with unease. 
• Her Final Gamble. Mary Vassallo Slinkard. Slinkard is a recovering lawyer. We loved the lawyerliness of her writing and the story.
• Jill Is Not Happy. Kaira Rouda. Yikes. We hope never to meet a Jill. But fun to read about her!

What books have you enjoyed lately?